Bloodstone - Power of Youth (Book 3) Read Online Free

kind of depth from the old man.
    She noticed a breeze began to shake the leaves and with it, a hint of smoke, not the aroma of cooking, but of something else.
    Unca stood and looked in the direction of the inn, with an alarmed look on his face. “I’m afraid for my friends.” He left her sitting on the grass. “Stay.”
    Sallia couldn’t sit. She leaned against a tree, feeling the rough bark through her thin clothes and worried. She had worried about herself before, but not for others. Now she felt the glimmers of emotional pain, hoping that the innkeeper wouldn’t be harmed for her sake and that Unca would return unscathed. Just then, he rushed into the clearing.
    “Come, we have to put out the fire!” Unca took her hand and yanked her back on the path. In a few minutes, Sallia gagged as the wind blew smoke into their direction. A few turns of the path and she viewed the inn. The horses had gone and flames were beginning to lick up the side of the inn by the large chimney.
    The wizard took off on a run. She’d never thought the old man could run so fast. She hadn’t exactly run since girlhood. By the time she reached the inn, Unca had gone to the well and began drawing up buckets of water.
    “You do this and I’ll go in and douse the place. First let me change the color of your eyes. The charm won’t last more than a few weeks, but your distinctive violet eyes will now look hazel to any strangers who we meet.”  Sallia nearly commanded him to stop, but he grabbed two buckets and fled towards the fire before she had a chance to open her mouth.
    Unca ran through the smoking door. Sallia heard the sound of water splashing and Unca returned, dragging a dripping-wet woman. Sallia had two more buckets ready and this time Unca brought out a sodden man. The innkeeper and his wife? He dashed out of the building with four buckets and helped Sallia draw water.
    They kept at it for what seemed like hours. The two victims began to stir and the woman revived enough to help Sallia.
    “Save our inn!” the woman said. “I’ll help you out as I can. Ness is still breathing, but they hit him harder in the head than me.”
    Unca continued his rescue attempts and stopped for a moment trying to regain his breath. “I think we’ve got everything eight or ten feet up the wall, but I can only throw the water so high and I can’t reach the ceiling.”
    Sallia squinted. She feared for Unca and for the inn. She would think for a minute. A thought popped into her head. “Make those little water grapes. Maybe apple-sized and we can throw them up higher.”
    Unca’s eyes grew large. “That will work.” He looked at the woman. “Pol, I know a few magical spells and Sally here has seen me make some water balls. We’ll put those to work. Come on, Sally.”
    They took the four buckets into the blackened inn. Sallia could see the fire beginning to reignite up high where Unca’s water hadn’t thoroughly quenched the flame. He made a little sign with his fingers and spoke a few words and the buckets were filled with apple-sized balls of water.
    “Take good aim,” Unca said as he threw a globule of water that smashed against the embers that had begun to glow.
    Sallia hadn’t done much precision throwing in her time — just crockery and such at servants. She took aim and found her talents lay elsewhere. Pol, on the other hand, nearly matched Unca with her accuracy and Unca took a few steps back and let Pol do the throwing. Sallia took the two empty buckets and went to fill them with more water. A strategic retreat. She smiled at the thought, now that she knew the worst was over.
    “Where’s Pol?” Ness had come to and sat up in the dirt.
    “She’s helping Un… Uncle fight the fire.”
    Ness began to stand but sat back down, holding his head.
    “You stay there and let them do the work,” Sallia said helping Ness lay back down putting his arm over his face, obviously still in pain.
    She continued to fill up buckets and