Read Online The Sword of Darrow by Hal Malchow - Free Book Online

“Don’t be fearful. It’s only a stuffed koowik! She can’t hurt a thing.”
    Babette pulled down the blanket only slightly, inspecting the kindly wizard. His eyes, tiny and almost lost in his large face, twinkled brightly. What made him smile so, Babette could not possibly imagine. She lowered the covers and pulled herself up.
    “Where am I? And who are you?” she asked, now glancing back at the koowik with a sly smile.
    “I am Asterux, Your Highness. I stand here in your service and that of your kingdom.” Asterux gave a great bow. “You are at my cabin, deep in the Hexenwald Forest. I am a wizard and you have been sent here for protection.”
    Babette looked concerned. “Are the goblins still after me? Can they find me here?”
    “The goblins will never find you, my princess,” he replied, his eyes sparkling again.
    “How can you know?”
    “Because when they find you—if they find you—it won’t be you they find.”
    Babette blinked. Asterux made no sense, but Babette was so distracted by her surroundings that she barely noticed.
    “What will I do here?” she asked, eyeing the ceiling with interest.
    “My dear, you have powers that you do not know. One day, you will walk out of this cabin and into the forest and undo the goblin rule.”
    Babette’s heart sank. Battles and kingdoms again!
    “And how will I do all that?” she asked, annoyed to be reminded once more of that awful crown.
    “My dear, you are about to learn the wizard’s trade.”
    Babette’s eyes grew wide and for the first time a little smile emerged. Magic. That could be fun.
    “For a time, you will be my student. I have no magic to give you, for these powers can neither be given or taken from you. But I can help you find what is within your own reach. Those skills can shape the world around you, as the world around you has shaped you. It will be the hardest work you have ever imagined. It will require patience and perseverance you may not imagine you possess. But we only have a short time, so we must start quickly. ”
    “How long do we have?” asked Babette.
    “Merely ten years,” replied the kindly wizard.
    “Ten years!” exclaimed Babette. “That’s hardly a short time at all! That’s a lifetime!”
    “And like a lifetime, it shall pass in what will seem like the blink of an eye,” replied the wizard. “Now come with me.”
    She turned and looked straight into Asterux’s eyes.
    “No magic is going to make me a queen.”
    “Did you consider, my dear, that you may already be the queen, whether you like it or not?” Asterux asked with a smile. He stared hard at Babette’s face. “Before we go, I’m afraid we need to make some changes.”
    Before Babette could fully consider those words, the room went dark. From the darkness exploded a display of tiny lights as dazzling as the stars in the heavens. Babette covered her eyes against the brightness. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed, the room began to spin. Babette sank to the floor, burying her face against her knees, and wrapped her arms tightly around her legs.
    As the room reached a terrifying speed, the princess wondered if the cabin might be launched high into the sky, never to grace the earth again. A great hum echoed in her ears; above the hum, she could hear a voice—Asterux’s voice—chanting, almost singing, strange words she could not understand.
    Those words were followed by a thunderous noise that shook the cabin and bounced Babette into the air. Before she landed, the room exploded in a final flash of lights. Darkness followed by. The room was quiet.
    When the princess opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were toes. They were fat, thick, and short. She was about to laugh at whoever had such ugly toes, until she realized that they were connected to her feet. She raised her hand to touch her hair and found that it was coarse and inky black. Her fingers, also stubby and short, touched her face and found a new nose, long and pointed, a bit