he had never known of before. When were they going to mention that they had tracked down two evil mages hiding out in Venice, Italy? Alex wondered to himself. And why had his mother given up being a warlock herself to work at a bookstore? That was a question for another day.
After a dinner of roast pork and rosemary potatoes, and a dessert of chocolate provided from Alex’s personal stash, he and Nina spread the books out on the dining room table and began in earnest their search for clues about the cave and the voice. Alex’s parents left them to the search alone, both sitting down with forgotten books, reading and reminiscing in the living room. The frost still gripped the ground outside and left the air even chillier than during the day. Alex’s father started a fire in the fireplace and the house soon warmed up considerably. The fire used endless logs that magically remained whole no matter how long they burned. It was similar to the magic used in the endless oil lamps that provided light throughout the house, never needing to be filled, and burning with a smokeless golden light until doused.
His mother had been right about the books containing nothing about the cave or voices being recorded in the history of the valley, but they did provide two clues he was not expecting in other directions. One book, The Illustrated History of the Rune Valley , mentioned a book that his mother did not own. Its title was A History of the War of the Dark Age and Alex did not bother to ask his mother if she had read it. Asking her that would be a hint as to what that title led him to suspect might be up in the cave. And talking about that suspicion aloud was more frightening than thinking about it.
The Dark Age had come at the end of the Great War, The War of the Shadow, that had burned the magic completely out of most of the land, oceans, and seas. It was a war fought between the mages of the world and a being of a dark and powerful nature called the Shadow Wraith. That was all that Alex really knew about the war. Much more than that wasn’t taught in school and Alex had only been able to glean a little more from the books strewn across the thick oak dining table. There was no mention of where this dark being came from and only vague accounts of how it was defeated. Some said it was bound up in the earth, others that it was vanquished utterly and destroyed, and still others said that it had been forced into some other realm of existence altogether. The one thing that all the stories did agree upon was that this dark being, this Shadow Wraith, used Spirit Magic almost exclusively, possessing a person’s soul and controlling them to work other kinds of magic in the Great War.
When he finished reading all he could about the Shadow Wraith, Nina hovering closely over his shoulder, Alex felt the seed of fear in his stomach beginning to grow again, digging roots down deep into his gut. He looked at Nina and saw that she was just as frightened. For him, he realized. She was frightened for him. He whispered for her to say nothing to his parents and she responded by sliding an open book toward him, pointing to a short paragraph.
“ The workings of dark Spirit Magic, of the Dra’Ka’Neff, are known to only a few demented mages who have abandoned the light of sanity and reason. Some have even attempted to contact, resurrect, or return the dreaded Shadow Wraith. I know of only one book that has ever studied Ka’Neff and how to wield Spirit Magic and copies are rare indeed. That book is Radiant Spirit: Ka’Neff Magic Uncovered.”
“The restricted room of the library,” Nina said and Alex smiled at her, feeling his fear dissolve into the inklings of a plan.
“After school tomorrow,” Alex whispered. “Just the two of us.”
Chapter 10: Guild Rules
Alex tossed and turned beneath the down comforter of his bed that night, thoughts tumbling and cascading through his mind like an avalanche of rocks rolling down a mountain.
After a dinner of roast pork and rosemary potatoes, and a dessert of chocolate provided from Alex’s personal stash, he and Nina spread the books out on the dining room table and began in earnest their search for clues about the cave and the voice. Alex’s parents left them to the search alone, both sitting down with forgotten books, reading and reminiscing in the living room. The frost still gripped the ground outside and left the air even chillier than during the day. Alex’s father started a fire in the fireplace and the house soon warmed up considerably. The fire used endless logs that magically remained whole no matter how long they burned. It was similar to the magic used in the endless oil lamps that provided light throughout the house, never needing to be filled, and burning with a smokeless golden light until doused.
His mother had been right about the books containing nothing about the cave or voices being recorded in the history of the valley, but they did provide two clues he was not expecting in other directions. One book, The Illustrated History of the Rune Valley , mentioned a book that his mother did not own. Its title was A History of the War of the Dark Age and Alex did not bother to ask his mother if she had read it. Asking her that would be a hint as to what that title led him to suspect might be up in the cave. And talking about that suspicion aloud was more frightening than thinking about it.
The Dark Age had come at the end of the Great War, The War of the Shadow, that had burned the magic completely out of most of the land, oceans, and seas. It was a war fought between the mages of the world and a being of a dark and powerful nature called the Shadow Wraith. That was all that Alex really knew about the war. Much more than that wasn’t taught in school and Alex had only been able to glean a little more from the books strewn across the thick oak dining table. There was no mention of where this dark being came from and only vague accounts of how it was defeated. Some said it was bound up in the earth, others that it was vanquished utterly and destroyed, and still others said that it had been forced into some other realm of existence altogether. The one thing that all the stories did agree upon was that this dark being, this Shadow Wraith, used Spirit Magic almost exclusively, possessing a person’s soul and controlling them to work other kinds of magic in the Great War.
When he finished reading all he could about the Shadow Wraith, Nina hovering closely over his shoulder, Alex felt the seed of fear in his stomach beginning to grow again, digging roots down deep into his gut. He looked at Nina and saw that she was just as frightened. For him, he realized. She was frightened for him. He whispered for her to say nothing to his parents and she responded by sliding an open book toward him, pointing to a short paragraph.
“ The workings of dark Spirit Magic, of the Dra’Ka’Neff, are known to only a few demented mages who have abandoned the light of sanity and reason. Some have even attempted to contact, resurrect, or return the dreaded Shadow Wraith. I know of only one book that has ever studied Ka’Neff and how to wield Spirit Magic and copies are rare indeed. That book is Radiant Spirit: Ka’Neff Magic Uncovered.”
“The restricted room of the library,” Nina said and Alex smiled at her, feeling his fear dissolve into the inklings of a plan.
“After school tomorrow,” Alex whispered. “Just the two of us.”
Chapter 10: Guild Rules
Alex tossed and turned beneath the down comforter of his bed that night, thoughts tumbling and cascading through his mind like an avalanche of rocks rolling down a mountain.
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