Read Online The Mage and the Magpie by Austin J. Bailey - Free Book Online Page B

Archibald breathing, an owl hooting, his bird singing. Everything sounded right.
    But everything wasn’t right.
    His skin prickled, and he sat up.
    “Archibald!” he hissed.
    Archibald mumbled something and rolled over.
    “Hello,” a soft voice said.
    Hugo leapt to his feet, spinning around, only to find a young girl. She was sitting cross-legged on the ground a few paces behind him. Her hair was wild, but her face was kind. She didn’t look at all threatening.
    “It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t need that.”
    Looking down, he realized he had drawn his sword. In the back of his mind he was impressed with his reflexes, but he put the sword down, donning his traveling cloak instead. He glanced back at the girl and she waved at him enthusiastically. She might have been greeting a friend at a party instead of waking a stranger at night in the middle of nowhere.
    He looked back at Archibald. Should he wake him up? Probably. Still, he felt bad about last night. He could tell the conversation had worn his teacher out. This was probably just a girl that had wandered by from a nearby town.
    “Archibald,” he whispered. “Do you want to come and talk to the crazy random girl with me?”
    Archibald muttered and rolled over again. “Borborygmus,” he said in a patient tone, “is the harbinger of flatulence.”
    Hugo grinned. Always teaching.
    He walked over to the girl. “What are you doing here?” he hissed as he stepped closer to her.
    “I didn’t mean to frighten you,” she said. “My name is Tabitha. I’m a student at the Magisterium.”
    “Really?” Hugo asked, suddenly intrigued. “That’s where we are headed. You came all that way?”
    She shrugged, shaking loose a tangle of hair. “I wanted to see who you were.”
    “Why?” He took a step back. This was strange. Maybe he should wake Archibald after all.
    “I came because of your bird,” she said earnestly.
    Hugo blinked. “My bird?”
    “You have a mourning dove. It’s been singing for you every night. Haven’t you heard it?”
    “Oh…” Hugo scratched his head. “Yeah, I guess I have. But how‌—‌”
    “I’m the bird girl,” Tabitha said significantly.
    Hugo nodded. That made sense. They had a “bird man” at the castle too‌—‌a crazy old man who gathered news and sent messages through the birds. “I’m Hugo,” he said. “Hugo Paradise.”
    “Oooh,” Tabitha said, her eyes widening. “A king! I figured it would be something like that.”
    “A prince,” he corrected her. “What are you talking about, anyway?”
    “They can sing for common people,” Tabitha said, scanning the dark trees for a sight of the mourning dove, “but they usually don’t bother.”
    “You heard it all the way from the Magisterium?” Hugo asked, amazed.
    Tabitha blushed. “I’m a good listener.”
    Hugo whistled. “I guess so. Well, what now?”
    Tabitha looked confused. “What do you mean?”
    “You’ve found your elusive dove. What now?”
    Tabitha looked startled. “Oh! Nothing, I guess.”
    “Nothing? You came all the way here just because?”
    Tabitha’s forehead furrowed. “Well,” she said, “I’ve never heard a mourning dove lament in person before.”
    “Lament?”
    “Oh, yes,” Tabitha said excitedly. “The lament‌—‌the song of sorrow‌—‌it only comes out of hiding to sing for someone experiencing true sorrow.”
    Hugo felt awkward. He thought about the pain he had been feeling in his heart. He felt silly now. A bird was singing about him? And this girl heard it and now she wanted to come investigate?
    “You don’t have to tell me what it is or anything,” Tabitha said hastily. “I just wanted to see it for myself.”
    Hugo nodded hesitantly. “Okay…”
    “Okay,” Tabitha agreed. “I guess I’ll be going now?”
    Hugo nodded. “I guess so. See you at the Magisterium?”
    Tabitha looked startled again. “Oh, maybe. Probably not. Most people don’t.”
    Something swooshed over