Read Online The Wizard's Secret by Rain Oxford - Free Book Online Page B

trying
to hold it and my bag.
    Magnus retrieved a small leather purse from a pocket
in his robe and handed it to me. “You should have some money in case you find
yourself in some trouble, since you can’t use sorcery.” I slipped it into the
saddlebag. “Before you go,” he said, trailing off. He made a motion towards the
crystal on my staff and it flashed with a deep red glow.
    “What was that?”
    “It will now tell you if you are doing sorcery.”
    “I know when I’m doing sorcery!”
    “If you want me to seal your power, this is what you
have to do.” He waved his staff and the room filled with light.

Chapter 6
    We appeared in front of a
very pleasant-looking forest. There was a path leading into it and I could hear
birds singing happily. Next to it were several signs.
     
    Endless Forest
    Dead End
    Do Not Enter !
    Go Back !
     
    There was another sign with arrows. The forest was to
the east.
     
    To the north: Food
    To the south: Comfortable Lodgings
    To the west: The City of Branson
    To the east: Certain Death
     
    “It looks safe to me,” Asaigo said.
    “What could go wrong in a place named the Endless
Forest?” I tried to go forth, but Kirin neighed and stepped in front of me,
nearly filleting me with his horn. “Don’t be scared, Kirin. Livia needs us.” I
pushed his head out of the way and continued into the forest. Asiago followed
and then the unicorn and griffon reluctantly trailed after us.
    For a while, it was utterly peaceful.
     
    *          *          *
     
    “Do you think we’re almost there?” Asiago asked.
    “I don’t know. I wish Magnus had told us how far it
was.” At that point, we came to a strange tower, surrounded by a very small
moat. It wasn’t a tall tower, maybe twice my height, but that wasn’t the
strangest part. There was a thick, yellow rope hanging out of the only window. I
left Kirin and hopped over the moat.
    “What are you doing?” Asiago asked.
    “I’m curious. Maybe someone needs help.”
    Asiago scoffed. “You don’t want to be a wizard; you
want to be a hero.”
    “I really don’t.” I picked up the end of the rope,
which made a wadded pile on the ground, and frowned. “This is hair.” It was
braided tightly and had lots of split ends, but it was definitely hair.
    “That is really weird. Who doesn’t cut their hair?
Oh, maybe it’s magic hair.”
    “That is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard.”
    “Hello?” yelled a woman from inside the tower. “Has
my prince finally come to save me?”
    I grabbed the sill of the window, put my foot on a
ridge in the stone, and hefted myself up to look into the tower. It was a mess,
with a small, pink bed and drawings all over the wall. It was only one room,
though a pink silk screen blocked part of it off from view. There was a young
woman standing in the middle of the room, dancing to music I couldn’t hear. Her
long, light blue dress was dingy and worn in spots.
    “How long have you been here?” It wasn’t the most
polite question, but it was more polite than anything else I wanted to ask.
    She startled and turned to me. “I’ve been here my
entire life!”
    “In this forest?”
    “In this tower.”
    “Why?”
    “I was brought here when I was a baby, and I’ve been
waiting for a prince to come and rescue me.”
    “You know you could get down easily, right? You
wouldn’t even hurt yourself if you fell out.”
    She gasped. “I couldn’t do that! I’m a princess! I
wouldn’t survive a day without my one true love.” At that point, she started
singing, but the pitch was too high to understand.
    “That’s unfortunate. I’ll leave you to it, then.” I
hopped down and returned to Asiago. “Apparently, it was a princess, but she
didn’t look like she could manage a vegetable garden, let alone a kingdom.”
    I mounted the unicorn and Asiago got back on the
griffon.
    “Just so I’m clear on this… quest… Livia is your
aunt, and she was kidnaped by your cousin,