Foundling Wizard (Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

attitude. He looked at her as she pulled a small loaf of bread from the bread box and wrapped it in cloth. She rummaged through the cupboard, pulled out a block of hard white cheese, and wrapped that in another cloth. She carefully placed them both into his pack.
    “What do you mean, Mother?” he asked.
    “You're either going straight to the temple, to present yourself for training, or you’re going to get as far away from them as you can. Either way, you’re going to do it now! Anything else and you're putting yourself and this family in grave danger.”
    She turned to look at him with a look he'd never seen before. “You have to get going before your father returns, or you’ll have no choice in the matter. He’ll take you straight to the temple and hand you over. I know you, son. You’d hate the temple, and I don’t want my son turned into one of them,” she almost spat the last word.
    Lorit knew Shyenn was no friend of the priests.
    “Mother, why do you hate the priests so much?” he asked. “Sure, they’re a little slimy, I know, but you seem to hate them more than most folks.”
    Shyenn stopped her packing and turned to him. She had that stern look on her face that said he was just about to get a speech that he genuinely wanted to avoid. As she glared at him, her look softened, and she sat down, heaving a heavy sigh.
    “My sister, Lia,” she said, as if that explained everything. “She was not much older than Onolt when it happened. She was so innocent and inquisitive. She was into everything, just like Onolt.” Shyenn pulled at her dress and shifted in her chair. “She ran off one summer afternoon. She went looking for adventure and excitement. She didn’t know what kind of dangers might befall her.”
    “What happened to her?” Lorit asked. He’d never heard of an Aunt Lia.
    “We found her several days later. She was bruised and cut all over. Her clothes were torn and dirty. She was wandering the streets, mumbling.” Shyenn pushed her chair back.
    “She never said a word about what happened to her except she kept whispering something about the priests.” Shyenn looked at Lorit with a tear in her eye. “She wouldn’t eat. She screamed whenever a man came into the room. She died a few weeks later without ever coming out of it.”
    She stood, continuing to squeeze various items into Lorit’s pack.
    When Onolt came back with his clothes, Shyenn filled a second pack with Lorit’s spare boots and all of his clothes and handed it to Lorit. “Off with you, boy. I know which way you’ll choose. Please be careful, but get as far away from here as you can.”
    “What’s going on, Mother?” Onolt asked.
    “Your brother has to leave,” she replied. “Now!”
    “Please, mother, he didn’t do anything wrong!” Onolt pleaded.
    “It’s not what he did that makes this necessary. It’s what he is. There’s no getting around it. I’d rather he ran than be turned into one of those slimy priests.”
    “Mother. Please,” Onolt begged. She grasped at Lorit’s arm.
    “Please don’t go, Lorit.”
    “He has to go,” Shyenn said.
    She pulled Lorit to her and hugged him with tears in her eyes. She held him tightly as she had not done since he was a little boy. Just as suddenly, she released him and pushed him sharply toward the door.
    “Go now son.” She gently guided him to the door and closed it softly behind him.
     

Mistbury Tye
    Lorit plodded down the path away from his homestead, away from his family, away from Onolt.
    The lane was quiet this late in the afternoon. Lorit didn’t see anyone else all the way to Mistbury Tye. He’d only been to the Tye on a few noteworthy occasions, like when he accompanied his father to the specialty shop. Yeraz believed in being self sufficient. He often told Lorit that everything they needed was right there on the homestead. There was no reason to leave it, and nothing but trouble in the towns.
    The sun cast a deep red glow over the town as Lorit