Battlesaurus Read Online Free

magician. But the tricks he performed were only for himself.
    *   *   *
    â€œWillem.”
    â€œMother.”
    â€œWhat is this?”
    â€œMy illusions. I will perform them at the f ê te.”
    The apparatuses and powders for those tricks now lie on the floor in front of him, removed from his closet, where he had hidden them.
    â€œYou will not,” she says. She unwinds her fingers from the silver chain at her neck and places her hands flat on the bed beside her.
    â€œIt is the spring festival, Mother!”
    â€œYour father forbade it.”
    â€œMonsieur Claude promised he would not tell you of this,” Willem says with a contemptuous glance down toward the kitchen.
    â€œMonsieur Claude knew of this?” His mother’s eyes narrow to slits.
    So the mayor has at least kept Willem’s secret.
    â€œThen how…?” Willem asks.
    â€œJean’s mother told me you were to perform at the f ê te,” his mother says. “You do not sing, you do not dance, you do not pipe or fiddle, and you said nothing of this to me. It was not difficult to deduce what your performance would be.”
    Willem shrugs.
    â€œShe said you are to be the final act,” she says.
    â€œJean’s mouth works harder than his brain,” Willem says.
    â€œHave you forgotten your father’s rules?” his mother asks. Her voice rises. “Have you so soon forgotten your father?”
    Willem takes a deep breath.
    â€œI have not forgotten him, Mother, nor will I ever. But he is no longer here to make such rules. I am fifteen. I am old enough to make rules for myself.”
    â€œIf you really were old enough, you would understand the need for prudence.”
    He reaches out and touches a finger to her lips. “You speak of prudence, so hush, lest your voice carry to the man in our kitchen.”
    The mention of the mayor makes her angrier. She shakes his finger away, and her voice rises further.
    â€œA child must obey his mother,” she says.
    Willem keeps his tone and his volume low and even. “This is true. But I am no longer a child. You are my mother, and I love and respect you. But in return, you must respect that I am now grown. I no longer wish to cower and hide like a rat in a hedgerow.”
    She looks away, and after a moment her voice softens.
    â€œYou cannot bring him back by becoming him,” she says.
    It hurts him that she would say this. That she would even think that is the reason for his actions.
    â€œI am not a fool,” he says.
    â€œThen don’t act like one,” she says. “The rules are to protect you, not to punish you.”
    â€œI am a man. I can protect myself.”
    There is a moment of silence, but it is a calm before a storm.
    She stands and raises her hands in the air. “A man? You are a barely formed boy, and you have no comprehension of the powers that will array against you. You would undo us both with your childish desire for attention.”
    Pieter, the microsaurus, now runs behind Willem, alarmed at the outburst. He peers at her from between Willem’s legs.
    â€œWe hide from the little emperor, but where is he now?” Willem asks. “A prisoner on a remote island.”
    â€œThe man yet lives. When he no longer draws breath, then we may emerge from our hole in the world.”
    â€œI am grateful for your advice, Mother, but I will make my own decisions,” Willem says, folding his arms.
    â€œI forbid it,” she says.
    â€œThat is no longer your right,” he says. “I am grown.” He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. “But more than that, I am a magician. It is in my blood and my blood burns for it. I will put on a show at the f ê te, and you shall say no more about it.”
    She looks strangely at him, shocked by this sudden display of will. Perhaps, he thinks, she sees his father in him.
    She begins to cry, a woman’s trick to get her way