Free Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) by John Corwin

of sight of the professor. Digging in my pocket, I retrieved my arcphone and turned on the Arcane University map app. "Phone, where is room thirteen in Arcane University?"
    "Please follow these directions," the phone said, and displayed a map of the interior. I followed a blue line on the map further along the hall, through a door, and down several flights of stairs. At least a dozen doors lined the sides of the corridor at the bottom. Though none had numbers on them, the phone seemed to know where to go. I stopped next to the door and opened it. Pitch black waited on the other side.
    I stepped inside and fumbled on the wall for a light switch. The door creaked and slammed shut. Before I could cry out in alarm, a bright light blinded me. I staggered backward and felt cloth against my back. I grabbed at it, but it tore loose and I fell to the floor, the cloth falling over my head.
    When I freed myself, I blinked in confusion. Beeps from heart monitors echoed around me. An old man in a rollaway hospital bed stared blankly at me. The cloth, I realized, was a privacy curtain.
    I climbed to my feet and backed away. "Sorry, sir."
    The old man didn't answer. A thin stream of drool hung from his open mouth. Though his eyes were open, he didn't seem to be conscious. I turned for the door and bumped into a man in a white coat.
    "Ah, there you are," he said. "Follow me."
    The man looked terribly familiar, but I couldn't place him. "Is this part of the test?" I asked.
    He ignored me and continued down a hall, past rooms filled with patients. An eerie sense of déjà vu spread through me. Have I been here before? It wasn't possible, of course. I'd only barely seen parts of the university. The man stopped outside a door and pointed inside. "I'm afraid she doesn't have much time."
    What I saw inside stole the breath from me.
     

Chapter 7
     
    "Mummy?" I rushed to Cora's bedside.
    She tried to lift a frail arm, but the effort was too much. Cancer had stolen her strength and the glow of vitality, leaving behind a shadow of the woman I'd known and loved as my only real mother. "My good boy is growing up." She smiled.
    Tears blurred my vision. I buried my faced in the crook of her neck. "Please don't die, Mummy. Please don't leave me alone."
    "There's nothing more we can do for her," the doctor said.
    She's going to die. I stiffened. Wait, I can use magic now. I can save her! I stood and looked down at the phone. "Phone, is there a spell to cure cancer?"
    The phone displayed a list of results and recited the top one. "A skilled healer is required to counteract serious diseases, including cancer."
    "Where is the nearest healer?" I asked, thinking of the one I'd met in the healing ward.
    The screen garbled and went blank. I tried turning it back on, but it wouldn't respond. I have to find the exit and bring back a healer! Before I could leave, Cora grasped my hand.
    "There's nothing you can do, son," she said in a hoarse whisper. "Death makes us all powerless."
    I pulled out my wand. "No, I refuse to be powerless." Help me heal her, I sent to my parents' soul fragments.
    She is weak and worthless , Della said. Let her die.
    Vic pshawed. Only the strong survive .
    I hate you! I HATE YOU! Tears ran down my face. I wiped them away furiously and tried to come up with something to help Cora. I gripped her hand and kissed it. "Please hold on, Mummy. Give me some time."
    "There is no more time." She smiled. "Sometimes, there is no answer and you have to accept the inevitable." She gripped the necklace she always wore and rubbed her lucky green pebble at the end. Its luck had run out.
    Chest shaking with sobs, I pressed her hand to my heart. "You will never die as long as I'm alive, Mummy. I will always keep you alive here."
    Tears trickled down her cheeks. "I know, sweet boy. Finding you was the best decision I ever made."
    I wiped my eyes. "Finding me?"
    She looked toward the nightstand next to her bed. I saw a picture of us at a carnival. "If you are