Free The Sorcerer's Quest by Rain Oxford Page A

now.”
    “ Wait until we find out where the Island of Light
is. We may be many days off and I only have enough to cover your hair once .”
    Merlin left and I returned to my room, where there
was a bathtub set up with steaming water. And there was a dead girl in it.
    “I’m sorry, did I come into the wrong room?” I asked,
knowing I hadn’t.
    Kisha laughed. “No. I just wanted to talk to you and
the bath was so inviting.”
    “How did it get here?” I was pretty sure I would have
noticed a bathtub when I left that morning.
    “The housekeeper brought it.”
    “Can you feel the warmth of the water?”
    “No, but I can pretend. Come in.”
    “I don’t think that would be a good idea. I’m going
to the library to read.” She didn’t say anything, but she looked a little sad
and lonely. “How long have you been a ghost?” I asked.
    She looked at the water and shrugged her ghostly
shoulders. “For longer than I can remember. I think this was my home
originally. Vactarus named me Kisha because I couldn’t remember my actual
name.”
    “Do you remember how you died?” I asked. She shook
her head. “Do you ever make it up?” She looked at me. “If you don’t remember
your own life, you can pretend. You could have been a dragon trainer or a wand
maker.”
    She smirked. “Not likely. It’s pretty obvious that I
died young.”
    “That doesn’t mean your life wasn’t exciting.”
    “I guess you’re right.”
    “Maybe you can even have an exciting afterlife. I’ll
try to think of something.”
    She smiled brightly. “I don’t know why you want to be
a sorcerer so much. You are a nicer man than anyone I know.”
    “It’s not that I want to be a sorcerer. I am a sorcerer; I was born in a family of sorcerers. I’m just a failure as one, and
there’s no place in the world for someone who is a failure at being what they
are.”
    “I would rather you be the way you are now than to
change yourself. You haven’t been here that long, but I liked you the first
time you opened your mouth. That’s special. Also, Vac trusts you to get his hat
back. Vac doesn’t trust anyone, and a sorcerer would use that against him. It’s
better to be a failed sorcerer than a failed friend.” With those parting words,
she vanished.
    I considered taking a bath while the water was hot.
After all, the housekeeper worked so hard to heat the water. Instead, I headed
to the library to read up on conjuration. Access to such a grand library was
worth a cold bath any day.
     
    *          *          *
     
    Once again, I woke to a plate of eggs and potatoes. I
barely had time to eat it before Merlin started calling me. With a sigh, I
dressed and gathered my wand and staff. There was a bottle of ink outside my
door, so I slipped it into my bag before heading out to the grassy field.
    Merlin was already waiting. “Where are the rabbits?”
I asked, hesitating when I saw that the statues were missing.
    “ They reverted to normal overnight. Now, put your
wand away, take your staff in both hands, and concentrate on your desire to
defeat Magnus .”
    I did. I will defeat the wizard and become someone
nobody can doubt. I will never have to worry about my mother killing me for
being an embarrassment to the family. I will be allowed to have books and do
magic I want to do instead of curses and poisons. The crystal of the staff
began to glow, but it wasn’t nearly as red as it had been the night before when
I fought the rabbits. I will be free of my mother …
    No. I would just be a more powerful pawn of my
mother’s. She would kill me if I’m not useful to her, but she wouldn’t just let
me go if I became powerful enough to be useful. The energy swirling in the
crystal faded. Defeating Magnus may be the only way to prove myself, but
that’s only the beginning. When I defeat him, I will have to face my mother .
    When I visualized Ilvera Dracre in my mind, the
crystal burned deeper and redder than ever before and