Birthright-The Technomage Archive Read Online Free Page B

to anyone. I wouldn’t even make a reference to the technomages or their Artifacts that kids think are all around the school. It’s just…just a bad idea, you know?”
    “ Yeah,” Ceril said. That’s all he could say. “Yeah.”
    “ Now I have to get some sleep,” Swarley said. “Presentation is tomorrow morning. Get off my bed.”
    “ Yeah, it is, isn’t it?” Ceril said. He had barely even thought about Presentation since he had been back at Ennd’s. Ceril went to his side of the desk and set the alarm so that he wouldn’t oversleep and miss Presentation. Or worse: be late.
    Once he was satisfied that his alarm was reliable, Ceril settled into bed. Every time he closed his eyes, though, he kept seeing the mother and her child being impaled by the Flameblade.
    “ Oh, and Swarley?” he said.
    “ Yeah?”
    “ I appreciate the heads up. I really had no idea.”
    “ Sure thing, bud. It’s what I do,” Swarley said.
    The two boys lay there in silence for a while. Ceril tossed from one side to the other, unable to sleep. He said, “And thanks for not thinking I’m crazy.”
    “ Oh, I think you’re crazy, Ceril. I just don’t think you’re a terrorist.”
    “ Still, thanks.”
    “ Mmm hmm,” Swarley said. The next sound Ceril heard was his roommate snoring. He hoped that he would be soon, too. He lay his head on his pillow and lulled himself to sleep by replaying the events of the previous week in his mind.

Chapter Two

    The next thing Ceril knew, sunlight gleamed through the wall-sized window at the head of his bed. Only one of Erlon’s twin suns had risen so far, which meant it was early. He sat up and grunted; his neck ached, and so did his shoulders. He grimaced as he tried to work the stiffness out.
    Ceril was bent double over the side of his bed, stretching his back when Swarley came back into the room, already fully dressed. He opened the closet door, stood in front of the mirror, and attempted to get the slightly snug dress uniform to fit correctly over his summer growth.
    His dress uniform. Oh, no.
    Ceril threw himself out of bed, ignoring his aching muscles, and rushed to his bags and began digging through them for his own uniform. Swarley was already dressed, and that had to mean there was less than ten minutes before they had to be in the Library for Presentation. Ceril had known Swarley for long enough to know that he was notoriously last minute; punctuality meant nothing to him. If he was already up and about, then there was no way Ceril would have time to shower and groom himself for Presentation.
    “ Why didn’t you get me up?��� he asked Swarley, as he found the last piece of his uniform and headed for the door.
    “ Eh, you were sleeping,” Swarley said. “Finally. I knew you’d get up when you heard me come back in.” Swarley tugged at his collar. “Relax. We still have over half an hour before we have to be in the Library for Presentation.”
    “ What?” Ceril said, stopping and turning back toward his friend. “You’re never early for anything.”
    “ Phase II means more responsibility, Ceril. My dad said that if he hears about me losing any marks for tardiness this year, he’ll pull me out of Ennd’s and make me go to that military school my uncle teaches at. I’m a lot of things, Ceril, but a soldier I ain’t.”
    “ Me either,” Ceril agreed. Nothing in the world sounded worse to him than being a soldier.
    Ceril’s alarm began to scream and ended their conversation. The noise validated Swarley’s claim they still had plenty of time.
    “ See?” Swarley said. “Not going to be late for Presentation. Now, does this collar look okay?”
    Ceril grunted as he pushed past his roommate to head to the showers. How was it that Swarley had become the responsible one? He had always been the responsible one, waking Swarley up every day for years. He had even thought at one point that the boy couldn’t understand how alarm clocks worked. His friend’s newfound