Free The Dragondain by Richard Due Page B

know.”
    “You haven’t seen them practicing it?” she asked.
    “No.”
    “I thought all magic dissipated,” Ren continued.
    “It does,” said Ridley, shaking his head. “I mean, I think it does. I mean, I thought it did. So is the spell over? I mean, it’s still there—right? It hasn’t been dealt with.”
    Ren leaned closer, her auburn hair tumbling in long locks from under a green cap. “Or rendered harmless,” she said, her green eyes flashing. 
    “What if they decide it’s not harmless?” asked Jasper.
    “Then Annora and Bree would lose—here and now,” said Ren.
    “Looks harmless,” offered Ridley.
    “Or it could just be smoldering,” said Ren. “The judges won’t like it if it comes back to life later, after their judgment.”
    “And what if that happens?” asked Jasper.
    “All judgments remain final,” said Ridley and Ren in unison.
    “Maybe that’s it,” hissed Ridley.
    “What?” asked Jasper.
    “What if they’ve trapped it?” asked Ridley.
    “Looks more like they’ve changed it into something else,” said Ren.
    “But if they lose the judgment, they’ll lose, right?” asked Jasper.
    Ren and Ridley began to chuckle. “They don’t care!”
    “So if the judges decide the spell is harmless, and it isn’t—could it be they’re planning to use it later on?” asked Jasper.
    Ridley and Ren exchanged glances. “He’s got a point there,” said Ren.
    “It will all depend on how curious they are,” said Cora, head down, her two darning needles dancing frantically on her lap.
    “What do you mean, Mom?” asked Ridley.
    Cora spoke half under her breath. “Bree has shown them something new. Annora is gambling that they’ll want to see more.” After a moment of furious knitting, Cora asked, “How does Bree look?”
    Jasper, Ridley, and Ren turned to look at Bree.
    “She looks fresh as a daisy,” said Ridley, sounding surprised.
    “And Beck?”
    Three heads swiveled to look at Beck. “He’s sweating up a storm,” said Ren.
    Cora threaded yarn over needle, needle over yarn, her head slowly wagging side to side. “AnNOORra,” said Cora. “What are you up to?”
    Abruptly, the judges signaled the beginning of the next round, and the crowd seemed to exhale all at once.
    Annora stepped around Bree and planted her feet dramatically. With a flourish equal to her sister’s, she formed the peerin before her chest. On the opposite side of the arena, Newlin stepped forward and did the same. He looked nervous. After a few seconds, Annora sprang her hands open and ten yellow bolts bloomed out of her fingertips. The bolts curved out wide, passing remarkably close to where Jasper and Ridley sat, before homing in on Newlin. It happened very quickly, but as the bolts neared Newlin, they appeared to slam into an unseen force, which created a sudden explosion, loud enough that Jasper could feel it deep in his chest and lungs.
    Then the crowd made a sound like booing.
    “What was that?” asked Jasper.
    Ridley looked puzzled. “That was a thunderclap.” Ridley turned to Ren. “Why would she do something so easy?”
    Jasper looked skeptical. “That was easy?”
    “A thunderclap is all show,” explained Ren. “Oh my, look at Newlin. He’s completely shaken.”
    “And Annora is laughing,” said Ridley. “Newlin was expecting something more serious. He over-defended himself.”
    “He remembers last time,” said Ren.
    Jasper shot Ren a quizzical look.
    “The last time they faced each other,” explained Ren, “Annora attacked him outright and tried to erect a blooming siphon to leech off his magic. Nearly impossible to pull off, but she came close. She nearly took the match in the first round.”
    Now it was Beck’s turn. Bree stood at the ready, peerin again held high. This time a black vortex snaked out of Beck’s hands. The people in the crowd reacted, throwing up their hands instinctively. Many of the lunamancers drew up peerins before themselves, either to watch or