Free Can't Look Back (War for Dominance Book 1) by Chris Kennedy Page A

coming to a conclusion. “I don’t want them back. Follow them and find out what their plans are. If you get the opportunity, kill them.”
     
     

Chapter 15
     
     
    Ghorza and John made camp as darkness fell. John looked up at the Mountain of Flames rising far above them. The lava inside the volcano’s cone gave the mountain top a soft glow. “Is it safe to camp here?” he asked. “What if the volcano erupts?”
    “It hasn’t erupted in recent memory,” answered Ghorza. “Some say that the gods of fire keep the lava at the same level because they use it to bathe in.”
    “Is that true?”
    Ghorza laughed. “Who is to know?” she said. “The next time I see one, I’ll ask.”
    She started to make the campfire. “This would be easier if Dantes were here,” she said, trying to coax a spark out of her piece of flint. “Even the fire cantrip would be helpful in getting this lit.”
    “Can I try?” asked John. “You told me you’d let me try magic once we made camp. Maybe I can do it.”
    Ghorza tossed the knife and flint onto her pack. “Sure,” she agreed. “I’ve never been good at lighting a campfire. That was always Dantes’ job. I was the cook.” She looked up the mountain where Dantes had been camping but couldn’t see any signs of habitation. “If we find him, don’t let him cook unless you like eating the soles of your sandals. He burns everything.”
    She waved him over to the shallow fire pit she had dug. John walked over and looked down, and he could see a little ball of tinder inside a tepee of kindling. “What do I need to do?” he asked.
    She pointed to a little gap in the kindling that she had been trying to get a spark through to the tinder. “Put your finger right there and say, ‘ Scintilla! ’ That is the fire cantrip, which makes a spark.”
    “I thought you couldn’t do fire magic,” noted John.
    “Just because I can’t do it doesn’t mean that I haven’t heard Dantes say it a hundred times. Are you going to do it, or should I try some more with the flint?”
    “Yes, I’m going to try,” John said, looking at his hands. They were shaking. Badly. He didn’t know which scared him more: finding out that he couldn’t do magic...or finding out that he could. He blew out a large breath and knelt next to the fire pit. Holding out his finger like a wand, he cried, “ Skintilda !” Nothing happened in the fire pit, and Ghorza began laughing.
    “Skintilda!” she said, holding her stomach. “What’s a skintilda? It sounds like some kind of rodent.” She laughed some more, causing John’s face to go red. “What I said was, ‘ Scintilla! ’” she added, once she had calmed herself.
    “Ha, ha, ha,” replied John in annoyance. “Why don’t you do it if you’re so perfect? Oh, yeah, I forgot. You can’t.”
    “No, I can’t,” said Ghorza, sobering, “but I can do several other nasty things to you if you’d like.”
    “No,” said John with a sigh. “Never mind; sorry. Just frustrated. My first chance to do real magic and I mess up the spell word.” He rolled his shoulders several times, relaxing himself. Before Ghorza could comment, he pointed his finger and said, “ Scintilla !” A spark leapt from his finger onto the tinder. It glowed for a moment and then went out. He felt somewhat...emptier in his mind.
    He looked up to find Ghorza staring at him with an open mouth. “By the fifth god,” she said. “You did it.” She shook her head, clearing the disbelief from her face. “You need to blow on it gently once you get the spark on the tinder.”
    John wasn’t listening, though; he was too busy jumping up and down. “I did it! I did it! I can do magic!” He ran over and started shaking Ghorza in his excitement. “You saw it! I can do magic! I’m a mage!”
    The half-orc took hold of John’s hands and worked her way out of his grasp. “Yes, you did magic,” she said, “but it was only a cantrip. That doesn’t mean you’re a mage. The