The Seventh Magic (Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

interesting thing in the world. Of course the humans had no way to know how susceptible they were to persuasion when using the keystones. Just a little nudge in the right direction, here and there, was all it had taken. It was a good thing since power had been available in such minute quantities. He'd been agonizing over pulling every last bit of energy from the air beneath a mountain, and now he soaked in sun and comet light. The potent combination left him giddy.
    Saltbark trees provided an excellent restorative. He'd eaten three trees whole before the effects kicked in. Now he floated above a natural energy flow. Though cracked, the keystones remained powerful. It was a reminder. Eventually Aggrezjhon and Murden would have access to enough power to escape their prison. He'd done his best to keep them occupied, but their interference had already cost him. If he'd not had secondary, tertiary, and quaternary plans, he might have remained trapped. Surely his former colleagues had plans of their own.
    Now he had an advantage, just as he always had. He'd always been just a little bit better than the other two. That was why she had married Aggrezjhon and not him. No one had ever said it but he knew; he'd always known. No matter how close they had been at times, he could not forgive betrayal. Memories of their last days had played in his mind ever since. The others had remained true until the very last moment, when the Noonspire trap was sprung. Weaker and slower, Aggrezjhon and Murden had fallen almost instantly. There had been no time to save them. He'd barely saved himself. Had they not turned on him then, he would have broken free. Trapped and realizing they had lost everything, they became jealous and made certain he did not get away.
    Without them to offset his power, he would have been unstoppable. He would have been . . . That thought had run through his mind so many times, it ignited familiar fury. His colleagues--his friends--had latched on to his very humanity and would not let go. Jealous, they had exacted one last vile act of revenge against him. Even then they had been lesser beings, their combined effort not enough to ensnare his spirit. Still, they took something from him. Fully assuming dragon form cost him his humanity. He'd long since forgotten what that meant or why it was important; he was, after all, a dragon.
    Without another thought he flew toward the Noonspire.

Chapter 3
    To put the well-being of another above your own is the highest form of existence.
    --Mother Gwendolin, Cathuran monk
     
    * * *
     
    Kenward Trell paced the deck. "Wherever bolts aren't holding, I want the joints wound in rope and torqued. Is that clear?"
    "Yes, sir," his crew responded.
    With such a large ship and so many bolts to reinforce, the work took time.
    Eventually Farsy emerged from belowdecks. "Good thinking, sir. The ropes are doing a better job than the bolts were."
    Kenward wasn't certain he liked the word were. "You fixed the bolts, right?"
    Grinning, Farsy held up a leather bucket filled with cracked and bent metal. Kenward swallowed. He'd intended the ropes to be a temporary fix to reinforce the bolts. Now he flew a ship held together with string. His mother and sister would be so proud.
    "The thing is, sir, the ropes provide a sturdy connection but also allow for some flex. The bolts would just break again and damage the beams. This is better."
    It had been Kenward's idea, but he still wasn't so sure. "Repair the bolts anyway," Kenward said. Farsy never stopped grinning, which unnerved the good captain as few things did. "How much rope do we have left?" he asked as an afterthought.
    "Enough to build another ship," Farsy said. "I'll get you a damage and status report, sir."
    Kenward nodded. Farsy frequently managed to stay one step ahead.
    When the Jaga coast came into view, Kenward had second thoughts about everything. This place no longer followed the natural order. For miles, the waters along the coast were fouled.