Free Wizard's Education (Book 2) by James Eggebeen Page A

trussed upon the altar and ready for her. Its mouth was tied shut to prevent a flaming expression such as the animal in the market had leveled at her earlier that day.
    Chihon could sense the magical aura around the animal. It had a slight gold glimmer to it. It was actually quite strong, stronger than many of the students, undeniably powerful. She could feel it change tint almost imperceptibly as the animal sensed her movements around the room.
    The priest came in and bowed slightly to her. "Good evening, Mother. Tonight you will learn how to take not only the life force of the animal, but also its magic. This requires a stronger spell and much more concentration, but I'm confident you will master it quickly.
    "To take the magic of the animal you need to feel its life force and how that life force connects to its magic. It draws some of its magic from its home just as we, at times of need, draw magic from the Temple.
    "You must locate the center of its magic and separate that from its life force. Once you have done that, you will wait for the sunlight to strike the statue, and then quickly slit its throat, just as you did with the rabbit.
    "This time, you will draw the magic into your body as you strike. You will feel it separate from the animal as you make the stroke. Grasp the magic and draw it into you quickly, then return for the life force and absorb that as it seeps from the animal.
    "Do you think you can do that?" he asked.
    "I think so." Chihon felt the magic of the animal just as he'd described it. She could visualize herself separating it from the mini dragon, wrapping it up in a ball ready to pluck it from the beast.
    Chihon felt a twisting in her stomach that she could not explain. Something nagged at her about taking magic from a living thing. Vague memories of Lorit battling Vorathorm came to mind. There was something about taking magic that she felt was wrong.
    She struggled to remember what it was that bothered her about this, but she couldn't retrieve the memory. She wished Lorit was here, he would have the proper perspective on this, but she was on her own.
    As she reached out to take the knife, something deep inside her cried out. She tried to ignore it as the sunlight slowly approached the animal she was to sacrifice. When the beam of light touched the statue, she pulled the knife out of its holder and held it against the throat of the mini dragon.

Escape
    Lorit reached out with his magic to examine the lock on the cell. A slight violet glow emanated from it. He felt out the mechanism, expecting to open it easily, but it was fuzzy and indistinct. He could not see it clearly, and he could not open it. He tried every spell he knew, but nothing worked. The King had strong magic placed on the cell, something Lorit had not yet learned how to defeat.
    Without the help of Chihon's magic, Lorit feared he would be stuck in the cell until his fate was decided. He was not optimistic about his future. King Orin was a vindictive and angry monarch.
    Lorit reached out for Zhimosom, but was still unable to contact him. He tried Rotiaqua and was barely able to establish a connection with her. She was still in Zhimosom's study.
    "They're all lost," he said.
    "Who's all lost?"
    "Chihon, Zhimosom, Prince Ghall. They're all lost. The King thinks I had something to do with Prince Ghall's disappearance. He threw me in the dungeon."
    "What do you mean, Chihon is lost? What happened?"
    "We were on our way, but Chihon wasn't Chihon. It was Princess Ukina. Chihon is gone and I can't find her magic."
    Rotiaqua held up her hand. "Slow down, Lorit. Explain what happened."
    Lorit told her how Chihon had grown ill at the banquet and the Princess Ukina had fooled him by looking like Chihon, how the Prince had gone missing and he had been thrown in the dungeon. He hung his head in shame. "I've failed them all."
    Rotiaqua shook her head. "It sounds like someone is trying to keep you and Chihon apart. This is what Zhimosom feared, that you