Free Ascendant by Craig Alanson Page A

woods, he should have posted signs. ”
    Koren had his
arms crossed, and had such a look of determination on his young face that
Paedris burst out laughing, and almost rolled off the roof himself.
    “ I don ’ t think it is funny. Sir. ” Koren said indignantly.
    “ Posted signs! Ha ha! ” Paedris said, wiping
tears of laughter away from his eyes, “ The
Duke should have posted signs! Oh, I haven ’ t
laughed like that in a long time. Too long, I think. Thank you, Koren. And you
are quite correct, if Duke Yarron wants to keep people out of his woods, he
should post signs. I shall have to tell him that. ” The wizard ’ s shoulders heaved as he chuckled.
    “ I ’ m not in trouble for
poaching? ”
    “ Trouble? Goodness, no, you ’ re not in any trouble. ” Paedris considered the
tray of pastries that he had balanced on his lap. “ You must be hungry. I
brought these sweets for you, but I find myself to be tempted. Especially by
these, ” he
picked up a fruit tart that was piled high with fresh whipped cream, “ they are my favorite. ” The wizard took a large
bite, and came away with his nose, mustache and beard covered with cream. He
grinned at Koren, and looked so ridiculous that Koren had to laugh, despite his
fear. “ Here,
take a pastry before I spill this off the roof. ”
    Koren reached
out carefully and took the smallest pastry on the tray. It had been so long
since he ’ d
eaten anything sweet, except for berries and wild apples. And the season for
those was gone by. He bit into the cookie slowly, keeping a sharp eye on the
wizard the whole time.
    “ Well, Koren Bladewell, I
think you had better tell me how you came to be living in the wilderness by
yourself. Where are your parents? ”
    Koren bit his
lip while he tried to think of what to say, how much to tell. He couldn ’ t lie to a wizard, from
the stories Koren had heard about wizards, they were great and terrible, and
fond of turning people into toads, or frogs. The truth tumbled out of Koren ’ s mouth, he told the
wizard of Crebb ’ s
Ford, and his family being banished from the village, his parents leaving him,
and how he had made his way south, living in the wilderness, trying to stay
ahead of the winter. “ I ’ m not a bandit, sir,
really I ’ m
not, I was only trying to help that girl. Sir, I know I ’ m a jinx, and I don ’ t want to be a danger to
anyone, don ’ t
want to be any trouble, sir, I promise I won ’ t be any trouble at all, so now that I ’ m better, I ’ ll be on my way? Please,
Sir? ” Without
his pack, he didn ’ t
know how he was going to survive, but it was best he got out of the castle
before the Duke changed his mind. Or before there was an ‘ incident ’ in the castle, and the
wizard realized what a dangerous jinx Koren was. Wizards, Koren was sure, knew
all about jinxes. “ Sir?
Can I go now? I won ’ t
be any trouble, sir, I swear. Please, sir? ”
    It was the
wizard ’ s turn
to stare in surprise. He needed a moment to catch up to Koren, the boy talked
so fast that his words were a jumble. Paedris had never considered the
possibility that this boy would not know about his own magical power! The boy
had been exiled from his village, and abandoned by his parents, because they
thought he was a jinx. Paedris knew the ‘ incidents ’ which caused people to
think Koren was a jinx were actually signs of Koren ’ s inability to control his
magical power, the magical power the boy didn ’ t even know he had! When the wagon was
rolling toward the mill, Koren had willed the wagon to stop , and stop it did, along with everything else around him, including the unfortunate mill ’ s water wheel. Until Koren
learned to control his ability, he would be dangerous.
    Paedris wished
he could tell Koren why he wasn ’ t
a jinx. But he couldn ’ t.
No thirteen year old boy who knew he had immense magical power could resist
using it, and Koren was far too young and untrained to control his immense
power, not