Read Online The Wrong Side of Magic by Janette Rallison - Free Book Online Page B

he got rid of the troll curse, he would do his best to make sure people treated Charlotte nicely. Still, he didn’t take the compass out of his pocket. “Look, I hate to break it to you, but Princess Nomira is probably dead. King Vaygran wouldn’t want anybody around who could challenge his power.”
    Charlotte kept her hand outstretched. “King Vaygran has to keep the princess alive, because she’s the only one who knows where the ruling scepter is.” Her gaze drifted to the picture of the castle, and her eyes filled with sadness. “The scepter is the most powerful object in Logos. It can do all sorts of magic and counteract wizards’ spells. It could even raise an army out of stones.”
    Hudson said the obvious: “Then why didn’t Princess Nomira use it to keep Vaygran from stealing the throne?”
    The sadness in Charlotte’s eyes switched, traffic-light fast, to defensiveness. “Princess Nomira was ill with grief. Her mother died when she was a baby, so King Arawn was all she had. After his death, she was lost. She didn’t know how to deal with the army, the guilds, the laws, or the taxes. When her uncle said he would help her rule, she believed him.”
    Charlotte paused, and her voice grew quieter. “Or maybe she was just too young and afraid to fight him off. But at least she had the sense to refuse to give him the scepter. She hid it before he took power and wouldn’t tell him where she’d put it, no matter how many times he asked her. And then one day without warning, his wizard vanished with her. No one has seen her since.”
    Hudson considered this. “King Vaygran is ruling fine without the scepter, isn’t he? What if he decided he didn’t really need it and…”
    Charlotte bristled. “The people wouldn’t support him if he killed her. They can tell she’s alive because her tree is still in the castle courtyard.” Seeing that Hudson didn’t understand, she added, “The royalty trees were a gift from the fairy queen to the people of Logos. Whenever a new ruler reigns, a magical tree grows in the castle courtyard. That way, the people can always tell how their leaders are doing. Before my father and I left Logos, we took a branch from Princess Nomira’s tree. Charlotte gestured to the droopy blue tree in the middle of the living room. We planted it once we got here. If the princess wasn’t still alive, both this tree and the one in the courtyard would have died.”
    Hudson gave the tree a closer look. The limp leaves seemed like a bad omen. “Her tree isn’t doing very well.”
    Charlotte walked over to the tree and gingerly lifted one of the branches. “The princess must be sad … locked up where she doesn’t belong … with no friends.” Charlotte prodded a leaf upward, helping it stand. As soon as she let go, the leaf sagged again.
    The longer Hudson stared at the tree, the more depressed it seemed. He could relate. If he didn’t get rid of this mirror, he wouldn’t ever be able to go to school again. When he was older, he couldn’t have a regular job or date a girl. He’d go through life as an outcast, a wanderer. Maybe that was the deal with Bigfoot—he wasn’t a mythological creature, just a guy who had made a stupid deal with trolls.
    A worse thought came to Hudson. He’d been counting down the days until his dad came home from overseas. He’d imagined a hundred different reunions: going to the airport and seeing his dad emerge from the crowd—tall, confident, and wearing his Marine uniform. Or being at home and having his dad walk through the front door, drop his duffel bag on the floor, and hold his arms open wide. Or Hudson and Bonnie walking home from school and seeing him waiting on the sidewalk, grinning as they raced to him.
    How could Hudson be around any of his family if he didn’t get rid of the