Conrad Edison and the Anchored World (Overworld Arcanum Book 2) by John Corwin Read Free Book Online Page B

cousins."
    The apprehension melted away and I nodded. "Yes, we're cousins, Shushiel."
    She wiggled up and down.
    "That makes her happy," the headmaster said.
    Victum lividum, alpha species. A complete failure , said Vic. I flinched, though I should have been accustomed to his random musings.
    Galfandor handed each of us one of the scrolls Shushiel had brought. "Please fill these out and bring them to the exam tomorrow." He looked at me and Ambria. "You two may choose your own last names, but I suggest you make them easy to remember."
    "Edwards," I said immediately.
    Ambria pressed her lips together. "Goodness, what name should I choose?"
    "I think Bossy or Bigmouth would be excellent last names," Max said.
    She swatted him with her scroll. "Bigmouth would suit you wonderfully, Max."
    I unrolled the scroll and looked at the information. "Why do you still use paper when you could use an arctablet?" I asked Galfandor.
    "The university frowns on using technology," he replied. "Now, children, I must attend to other matters. I wish you the best of luck on the exam tomorrow."
    We said goodbye to Shushiel and left the office. Moments later, we became hopelessly lost in the tangle of corridors and stairways of Arcane University.
    "This place is ridiculous." Ambria stared at the three hallways ahead of us and shook her head. "How is anyone supposed to find their way around here?"
    I looked all around the room. "There aren't even any signs."
    Max pointed to my pocket. "Do you have your arcphone?"
    I slid it out of my pants pocket and handed it to Max. The magic phone was one of my prized possessions even though it had belonged to someone I murdered. I justified keeping it by rationalizing that the other person had been trying to kill me first, and I hadn't intentionally killed them. What made me most uncomfortable about it was that the victim had been Ambria's older brother. Even though she'd never known him and didn't hate me for the accident, I couldn't help feeling a bit guilty keeping the phone.
    Max downloaded an app and activated it. Where do you want to go? it asked on the screen.
    "We want to leave this building and go to Colossus Stadium," Max said.
    The phone projected an arrow pointing behind us. Following its directions, we turned and backtracked to a room with eight exits, took a right where we'd originally taken a left, and within a few minutes, ended up near the healer's office and the exit.
    "Hold on," Ambria said, and zoomed in the map. "It says Galfandor's office is almost directly above us."
    "Give us directions to Galfandor's office," Max said.
    A blue line on the map wended its way from one end of the building to the other, making what should have been a short walk, a rather long one.
    "I can't believe that's the only route to his office," I said. "It's as if he doesn't want anyone to visit."
    "Who can blame him?" Max said. "I'm sure he puts up with all sort of nutters."
    "Let's go back to the stadium and retrieve our brooms," Ambria said. "We still have a lot of studying to do."
    My nerves pinched at the thought of the exam tomorrow. "Yes, I guess we should."
    "It's past lunchtime," Max complained. "Can't we eat first?"
    In all the excitement of the morning, I'd overlooked my rumbling stomach. "Is the dining hall open?"
    "One way to find out," he said.
    Thankfully, it was a straight march to the cafeteria. Though the room was nearly empty except for a few professors, a wooden golem dressed in a white uniform with a black apron hung about its waist promptly exited from a swinging door and put covered dishes in front of us. A delicious odor wafted from beneath the silver cover. I lifted the lid and discovered seared ham, an over-easy egg, and several slices of bread.
    I looked uneasily at the food. "Do we have to pay for this?"
    Max shook his head. "I don't think so. Besides, I'm too hungry to ask."
    We devoured everything on our plates. Even Ambria looked nearly as delighted as Max while she ate.
    "Forget magic," Max