Free The Wizard's War by Rain Oxford Page B

at the same time. “It’s not affecting his
health?” he asked the woman.
    She hesitated. “It is impossible to tell with alien
substances. There are no current physical effects that I can see. However, you
should come away from the bars.” The doctor stood and returned to the woman’s
side. “Maybe we should come back when he is more awake,” the woman suggested.
    I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but
nothing came out. It took too much energy and I was too tired. Instead, I
closed my eyes and fell back to sleep.
     
    *          *          *
     
    I woke again. This time, I felt like I slept too
long, and also a little bit like the time Ron had dared me to drink a full cup
of coffee. Dad always made his coffee strong and instead of warning me, he
laughed the entire time it took me to choke it down. Mom got onto him about
encouraging Ron to bully me, but the damage was done.
    I opened my eyes and sat up. The doctor and woman
were gone, but I could hear a soft whimpering from somewhere in the room.
Outside the cage, the room looked like a basement. The floor and walls were
stone, there was an overall smell of wet dirt and mold, and there was very little
light. What I could see was three more cages, all with metal bars. They were
flimsier than the one I was in.
    The whimpering stopped just as I noticed a small lump
shaking in the cage directly opposite of me. I pulled myself to my knees and
crept closer to the bars. Feeling an odd sense of heat, I reached out and
touched them. The stone bars were warm.
    I felt like the Iadnah energy shuddered before it
retreated further inside me. For the second time in my life, I was completely
out of control of my energy, and I didn’t like it. While I rarely used my
mortal magic before my Iadnah energy overcame it and the ability evaporated, I
liked having it there, as it was much less volatile than Iadnah magic.
    “Who’s there?” I asked when the whimpering started again.
My voice was scratchy, but at least I was able to speak. The little lump in the
cage sat up and leaned against the bars so I could see her face. It was Sari.
She looked unharmed, but really scared. “Are you hurt?” I asked. She shook her
head. “Do you know why we’re here? Did they say anything to you? How long have
we been here?”
    “I just woke up a few hours ago. No one has been in
here.”
    I retreated to the middle of the cage to get as far
away from the bars and I could. I closed my eyes and focused on my brother. His
presence was absent. I tried releasing my magic to amplify my call, but it
still was not responding to me. “Ron. Answer me if you can hear me.”
    No answer. If I couldn’t use my magic, I couldn’t
call anyone or even summon Ikiru. If only I could get the griffin to my side…
Ikiru and Seimei could find each other from opposite ends of the universe and
they were smart. But I couldn’t call my griffin without my magic.
    Just as I was wallowing in my despair, trying to stir
up even an ounce of my Iadnah magic, the door opened. The doctor and his
assistant entered the room. “You are awake,” the doctor said brightly. I stayed
where I was and watched how close he was willing to come to the bars. The fact
that he stayed by the door, much further from the bars than I could get,
worried me. “I am Kade-mas Togo. How are you feeling?”
    “Alive,” I said. “Was that your intention?”
    He smiled kindly, but I didn’t like the look in his
eyes… or the fact that I was in a cage. “Of course I want you alive. You would have
been dead if I wanted that.”
    “Why have you kidnapped Sari and me?”
    “Oh, the girl was a mistake. My assistant was only
supposed to get you, but your friend got in the way.”
    “Why am I here, then?”
    The doctor came closer and crouched right in front of
the bars. “Do you know where your mother is right now?”
    Oh, shit. Any question involving Mom was
dangerous. “At home, probably doing dishes or… I don’t