Secrets of Yden Read Online Free

ditched his shirt and dove into the ocean to cool off. When he returned to his beach chair, Kira was tossing a football on the sand nearby with Davy, Fred, and a few other Wolverines. She looked outstanding in her shorts and T-shirt.
    Lee, sitting next to Jon, cocked his thumb at Kira. "Dude, isn't that your cousin?"
    When Jon had brought her to school one day the previous year, he'd told everyone she was his cousin from Romania to explain her lack of familiarity with American customs.
    "Er… we're not actually related by blood," he replied. "Kira and I are kind of honorary cousins."
    A group of guys jogged past, hauling a slender kid toward the water. Jon recognized their captive as a trombone player in the marching band. As the guys picked the band member up by his arms and legs and threw him in, Jon frowned.
    "What's that all about?" he asked.
    "Ty and his pals have been tossing kids in the drink for the last hour," Lee replied. "Guess you've been too distracted by girls to notice."
    "I know Ty from gym class. He's a royal pain."
    The kid staggered out of the water, giving Ty a dark look. As Ty and his five friends zeroed in on a drama student with purple hair, Jon strode over to intervene. "Cut it out, Ty."
    "Bug off," Ty replied. "Who elected you sheriff?"
    "There are other ways to have fun. Give it a rest."
    Ty focused on Jon's silver ankh. "Nice jewelry," he sneered.
    " Whatever."
    Several football players, led by Fred, approached.
    "Everything okay, Jon?" Fred called out.
    Ty held up his hands in defeat and backed away. "It's cool."
    The confrontation over, Jon waved Fred off. With a grin, Fred scooped up a football and threw a long spiral pass. "Heads up, Hansen!"
    The football arced toward Jon's outstretched hands.
    Then time stopped .
    For a moment, Jon thought maybe he was having trouble with his depth perception, but it was more than that. Everything and everyone around him was frozen in place, as if he were a patron in a wax museum. The football hung in space. The ocean waves had stopped, mid-crest. A seagull was poised overhead, midflight. A sandfly hung in the air right in front of Jon's face. The absence of noise pressed in on his eardrums and jangled his nerves. It became so unbearable, he nearly screamed.
    "Whoa," he said, staggering backward. His eyes grew wide with panic as he searched the faces around him. I know only one wizard capable of stopping time this way, but Guinn Tanner isn't a wizard anymore, and his daughter Brett is halfway across the beach, frozen like everyone else. Jon climbed on top of a flat rock and scanned the horizon for movement. He shivered with the realization there was none to be seen.
    And then, as abruptly as time had stopped, it began again. The football flew past where Jon had been standing moments before and bonked Ty in the head. While his friends convulsed with guffaws, Ty spun around looking for the culprit. When he realized Fred had thrown the football, he pretended to laugh.
    Beyond freaked out, Jon began to pack up his stuff. Casey hastened over and grabbed his arm. "Are you crazy?" he said, low. "Why'd you bring the vanyean seed here?"
    The vanyean seed was a magical object originating from the oldest tree on Dragon Isle. Resembling a bronze walnut, the seed could cast a field of magic about six feet in diameter on Earth. Jon had used it regularly when he'd first become an apprentice in order to practice magic drills in his room at home.
    "I didn't bring it here," Jon replied.
    Casey shot Jon a level look. "C'mon, I saw the whole thing. One moment you're standing in the sand, and the next moment you're on top of a rock. The only way to do that is with magic."
    "Quixoran has the seed," Jon muttered. "Time just stopped and I had nothing to do with it."
    ****
    The atmosphere in the Hansens' living room was vibrating with anxiety after Jon finished describing what had transpired on the beach. Dr. Hansen, Fred, Casey, Kira, and Brett stared at one another in alarm.
    "So