Mind of the Magic (Arhel Book 3) Read Online Free

at her. “Have the scholars found anything, ah… interesting in the ruins?”
    The most interesting thing Faia could think that they’d discovered was that the First Folk weren’t human—or anything like human. She told him this.
    He looked stunned. He sat himself back on the bed and leaned forward. “Not human?”
    Faia nodded. “They were huge fliers. They looked a lot like giant, winged kellinks.”
    “Oh, no. Everyone has always believed the First Folk were our ancestors.” Witte shook his head woefully. “You say this is not true? You’ve been to these ruins? You saw the First Folk, perhaps? You know this to be fact?”
    “I saw the mummified remains of First Folk scholars. And the statues they made of themselves. They were huge and hideous, with scaly skin and sharp claws; they had enormous teeth. And wings,” she added. “I’m absolutely certain they weren’t human.”
    “Then the information I got is impossible, and my trip was in vain.” He covered his face with his hands and groaned.
    “What’s wrong?” Faia asked. She felt so sorry for him. He could not have looked more depressed if she’d told him the world was ending.
    “I thought I’d found proof that the First Folk and the Delmuirie Barrier were related, and I just located what I would have thought was absolute confirmation of that; however, if the First Folk weren’t even human—”
    “Delmuirie is
in
the First Folk city,” Faia blurted. Then she amended that. “At least, there was a Delmuirie scholar with us who found a man inside a pillar of magical light, and was certain that man was Edrouss Delmuirie. The rest of us couldn’t figure out who else he might be, so we assume the scholar was correct.”
    The little man bounced to his feet, grinning. “That’s
him!
That’s
him!
That
must
be him. The records all point to Delmuirie being trapped in a ‘cage of light, bright as morning sun’! How tremendous! How exciting! And you say you know where he is? You’ve seen him?”
    Faia shivered, remembering past terror—recalling the Delmuirie scholar, Thirk Huddsonne. He hadn’t simply found Edrouss Delmuirie. Once he’d found his idol’s trapped body, he’d assumed that the wizard from the past was still alive. He had attempted to sacrifice Kirtha to raise the magic he needed to break open the “cage of light” and free his hero. Only the intervention of his assistant, Roba Morgasdotte, had saved Kirtha’s life… and in saving Roba from the consequences of her heroism, Nokar Feldosonne died.
    Faia turned her back on Witte A’Winde and closed her eyes. She could still see Thirk slicing into Kirtha’s tiny arms with his knife—and she could still see the bedamned worshipful expression on the madman’s face when he looked at the trapped Delmuirie.
    “I saw Delmuirie,” she said at last; her voice grated harshly in her own ears. “A man almost killed my daughter because of him.”
    Witte said, “I’m so very glad the madman failed. Kirtha is a wonderful child. It would be—have been, I mean—a shame for anything to happen to her.” The little man shook his head thoughtfully, then began to pace again. His braid bobbed when he did, so that to Faia he looked very much like a plump little perryfowl strutting. “You have seen Edrouss Delmuirie, though? You know he really exists?”
    Faia nodded warily. “Yes.”
    “Then you could take me to the ruins?”
    “I won’t go back there.”
    Witte’s expression became woeful. “You… you won’t?” He looked at her with eyes full of hope. “Dear lady, I pray that you don’t really mean that—”
    “I do.”
    “I—I see.” He hung his head. “Ah. Well.” He turned away from her and leaned against the windowsill; he stared out into the busy street. Faia, across the room, only barely managed to hear his next, whispered, words. “Alas, my old friend, Nokar—that which I could have done in your memory must now remain forever undone.”
    Guilt settled on Faia’s