The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest Read Online Free

too fast for him; he drew Weave through
Sakar again and a blast of air rushed from the fingers of his right
hand knocking the arrow off course.
    “ Gentlemen, I believe my
friend Lex is correct.” Glarian focused arcane energies once more,
amplifying his voice and causing shadows to move and shift in
unsettling patterns. “It is time for you to go.”
    Whatever the other men saw or thought they
saw was enough to send them running down the street. It didn’t seem
to have any effect on Lex though, he was still glaring at their
retreating forms. “They bad men. Never pay, have big tab, start
fights.”
    “ Thank you for your help
Lex, I’d better get moving before that storm hits.” Said Glarian,
eyeing the sky.
     

Chapter 3
     
    A terrible gust of wind shook the house and
rattled a shutter, waking Callindra from fitful sleep. She leaned
over and opened the stove, setting a chunk of firewood on top of
the glowing bed of coals. Even that small bit of effort left her
white faced and panting in pain, but she also took a taper from the
table and lit a candle stub.
    The candle flame flickered in the wind,
throwing shadows high on the walls and ceiling of her room. She
sent a silent prayer to whatever Gods were listening that the
shutters would stay closed; there was no way she would be able to
close them if one were to blow open. Judging by the amount of snow
that was filtering through the crack, she had been right about the
storm. Strange, she didn’t remember having any kind of weather
sense before.
    A bright flash shortly followed by a loud
crackle of thunder made her start and she cried out in pain from
jostling her leg. Even through the pain, she had the presence of
mind to remember that lightning did not usually occur in snow
storms. The door to the house opened and she heard footsteps.
    “ Glarian? Is that you?” Gods
above she wished her voice hadn’t quavered like a little
girl’s.
    The footsteps came into the room and she saw
a tall figure, swathed from head to toe in black. Above his right
shoulder rose the haft of an axe and only the slightest dusting of
snow was on his head or the black leather armor he wore.
    “ Glarian? No, I am not he.
I’m an acquaintance of his. Who might you be little one?” He moved
further into the room, Callindra could hardly breathe in his
presence. His hand touched the haft of his axe, “I said Who are
you?”
    “ I am Callindra.” She
responded, before she could stop herself.
    “ Very good, much better. So
Callindra, why are you here?”
    “ A bear attacked me and
Glarian rescued me.” She said, the words tumbling out of her mouth.
This man was so wonderful, she wanted to tell him everything, “He’s
an old man, but I am forced to rely on him. You see the bear
shattered my leg and it will be months before I can walk
again.”
    “ Ah, and the Power I’ve
recently been feeling here? Has he been training you?”
    “ Training? No, he’s not much
of a nursemaid and his idea of teaching me how to read was to give
me books and let me figure it out for myself. What do you mean by
power?” Her brow furrowed in confusion, “What could he possibly
teach me?”
    “ Never mind about that,
where is he now?”
    “ He went into town to buy
supplies but he’s probably going to get caught in this storm and
I’m afraid I’ll freeze to death before he can get back, if he gets
back at all.” Callindra’s teeth chattered as her secret fear of
being abandoned and helpless bubbled to the surface. “He insisted
on going even though I told him –“
    “ Ah. Well now, I suppose I
should go question a few of the townsfolk then. Thank you for your
cooperation Callindra, forget you ever saw me.” He turned and
stalked from the room while she stared blankly at the candle for a
few moments then shook herself out of her reverie.
    “ I hope that foolish old man
gets back here soon.” She shivered, wincing in pain, knowing that
she was taking her anger out on him like a child but too