Free Wizard Dawning (The Battle Wizard Saga, No. 1) by C. M. Lance

special about your family?"
    With chin propped on her fists, she regarded him solemnly. Her eyes looked down for a moment then rose toward the ceiling before she took a deep shuddering breath. "My Dad and Mom met in college. It was like a storybook, him an All-America football player and her, a cheerleader. He decided not to play pro football and instead went to law school. I showed up in his second year of law school. Mom worked to help put him through." She paused and looked to the side and down. Her lip quivered.
    "Hey I'm sorry. You don't need to talk about it."
    "No, I want to, I need to. I've been holding it inside and it helps to tell someone." She looked up with a smile. "Someone who understands."
    Sig reached out to put his hand on her forearm.
    She placed her hand over his hand for a beat, then picked his up and kissed the fingertips. "Thanks for being there for me. I needed this. What's the word? Catharsis?"
    Sig forgot the meaning of 'catharsis' as a tingle ran through his arm and down his sides.
    She released his hand and he folded it with the other one on top of his geology text. He inhaled deeply and said "So, where are we in the lesson plan?"
    "We have to decide on our lab project," she giggled.
    It sounded like music.
    "I have information on the caves my uncle told me about." She continued. "From what he told me it sounds perfect. Not many people know about them. Stalactites and stalagmites galore, plus an underground lake. It will blow the class away."
    "A lake? The caves must be really big."
    "Uncle said it has a lake. It might be a pond or just a spring. We need to take a look at it before we propose it as a field trip for the class. I need this grade. I don't want to take them somewhere disappointing."
    "Yeah that would not be cool."
    "The stalactites might have all fallen and the lake may just be a dried up puddle."
    Sig shook his head. "Not good."
    "Why don't we go look at it this weekend? If it looks good, we'll propose it for our project. We could even make it a picnic. I've never had an underground picnic," she said with a brilliant smile.
    "How about Saturday afternoon?"
    "Perfect" she said as she jumped to her feet. "I'll bring the food, you bring something to drink."
    "Ok and I'll bring a flashlight and rope."
    She grabbed him around the waist and pulled him close. "Mr. Practical. I like that."
    "It's a date." He sighed when she released him to pick up her books. She felt so soft and warm.
    "Walk you out?" He asked.
    She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "No thanks. I'm out that way," pointing to the back door. "But it's nice of you to offer. She let his hand go, turned, and walked away.
    As she walked out, the setting sun formed a halo around her. He watched until the door shut.

 
    In addition to continually unsuccessful drills on magic spells and incantations, Grampa Thor introduced Sig to texts on magic and exposed him to demon lore as a way of preparing him for foes he may face.
    Sig received a list of magic texts, called Grimoires, which Grampa advised him to acquire and study. He even provided Sig with several from his own library.
    "Grimoires are books containing a mixture of conjurations, spells, potion recipes, natural secrets and ancient wisdom. They were some of the first codifications of knowledge at the dawn of writing." Grampa explained.
    "Not all grimoires contain Black Magic and even those that do, are not entirely evil." He handed the Petit Albert to Sig. "This grimoire contains practical household tips as well as spells to catch fish, charms for healing, and instructions on how to make a Hand of Glory. That's the spell we've tried that is supposed to make you invisible—or at least hard to detect."
    Sig held up the list of grimoires. "What about others on here. Should I concentrate on any in particular?"
    Grampa glanced at it. "The Dragon Rouge , or Red Dragon has invocations for summoning demons. While you won't use them, you should be aware of strictures that can be placed on