A Crucible of Souls (Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) by Mitchell Hogan Read Free Book Online Page B

then fell back, lacking the strength to stay upright. He shook his head to clear the feeling of dread that remained from the nightmare.
    Even after so many years, time had not faded the memories of that day. Fire and blood. Ten years since he came home to find flames consuming their house. The front door was wide open and through the doorway we could see both his parents and his sister inside, lying on the floor, motionless. Try as he might to reach them, the heat was too much; he couldn’t even get close to the opening. He remembered crying, the smoke, a metallic smell.
    He doubted he’d ever forget that day.
     
    Late afternoon light shone crimson through the window, giving it a strange appearance, as if the light filtered through a pall of smoke. From Caldan’s position on the bed, hands clasped under his head, there wasn’t much to see. He had dwelt in this room for the last ten years. Sparse furnishings and a lack of personal belongings marked the chamber as somewhere he lived but definitely not a home. The only obvious personal memento was a figure of the Wayfarer carved from smoky quartz on the window ledge. He had purchased the carving a while ago on a whim from one of the more expensive purveyors of Dominion figures in the city. It had stood by the window gathering dust and watching him ever since. Though now he had his family’s trinket , safely tucked away in one of his shoes at the bottom of the wardrobe, along with the bone ring. He didn’t want to carry it with him until he could secure it with a chain, as the masters had suggested.
    He closed his eyes and thought of the first day he had arrived at the monastery, too young, shattered by the loss of his family. The place had felt strange, so unlike his life back then. It seemed bizarre that, after becoming accustomed to it, he thought the place stranger and stranger, the people different.
    He trembled as another hot flush ran through his body, followed by a chill, and his arm hairs stood on end. He hadn’t felt well the last few days, and the flushes seemed to be getting worse.
    He stood up suddenly then dropped back onto the bed, overcome with dizziness. His body ached, and his stomach growled. Over the last month he always felt hungry and had to eat every few hours. And, most peculiarly, he wanted to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables and cheese. He wondered if that was a result of stress as well, but with the exercise he had been doing, the extra food looked to have gone into muscle rather than fat. A few of the monks had commented he’d put on more muscle, the blade master included. “ Not too much more, ” he had said with a grin. “ Or else we might have to start training you with a broadsword! ”
    The gathering was tonight, and after the day he’d had he didn’t feel like going anymore, but he had given Jemma his word.
    He rose and stumbled to the wardrobe, opened the door and rummaged through the pile of odds and ends at the bottom, struggling to find what he was looking for. He pulled out a leather pouch containing a drug and herb mixture, a remedy for headaches and body pains.
    Undoing the ties, he licked a finger and dipped it into the pouch. Rubbing the mixture onto his tongue, he grimaced at the bitter taste. A small amount to get him through the night. Too little and he might as well have not bothered, but too much and he would appear befuddled.
    Still feeling unwell, he stood and reached into the wardrobe, pulling out his outfit for the night. He started to choose a somber set of clothes but relented with the shirt, knowing he should at least try to have some fun. He slipped on dark charcoal-gray pants and black leather boots with plain iron buckles. Hesitating for a moment, he pulled on a cream colored shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons. Not normally concerned with his appearance, he nevertheless felt he needed to make a display this evening, if only to show the masters they had not upset him, and for Jemma’s sake.
    With quick