Dimwater's Demons by Sam Ferguson Read Free Book Online Page A

the counter and went to the front door. He locked it and then came back to kneel before Eleanor. “This is something your mother was working on for quite some time. Inside this bundle is everything you need for your new life.”
    “My new life?” Eleanor echoed.
    Bagman sighed impatiently. “I don’t have time to explain everything twice. Keep your mouth closed and your ears open, understand?”
    Eleanor nodded.
    “Good.” Horace grabbed one of her hands and set the package into it. “Inside this bundle is everything you need. You will find a nobleman’s family pedigree tied to your name. You will also find your new family history. You must memorize everything in this manual and forget about your life here in the slums. You are no longer Eleanor Hughes from Brighton. You are Miss Linny Ravia, a young noblewoman from Nortwyn Abbey. Can you remember your new name?”
    Eleanor nodded. “Sure, my mum used to call me Linny when I was younger.”
    “Good girl. Now, the first paper you will find is a note to a driver. I have hired a coach to take you to Kuldiga Academy. Your travel charter and your school enrollment papers are all included. Also, in the coach you will find a trunk with clothes, and a wand.”
    “Kuldiga Academy?” Eleanor asked.
    Horace nodded emphatically. “You have magic in your veins, little Eleanor. Your mother did too, but she never was able to develop it. She lacked the funds for that, you see. She’s been working hard on this for years. She wanted to make sure that you would have the chance she never did. Make us proud little Eleanor.”
    “How can I pay for tuition?” Eleanor said. “I can pretend to be anyone I want, but I can’t afford to study there.”
    Horace reached out, set his right hand on her shoulder, and gave her a wink. “Eleanor, if I can forge a new life for you, don’t you think I could arrange to make it look like your education had already been paid in full?”
    Eleanor’s eyes teared up as she realized why her mother had never sold the ivory comb before. It could have bought life-saving medicine, but her mother was bent on saving another life. “I’ll make her proud,” Eleanor said.

Chapter 4
     
     
    Kyra slipped her textbook back into her bag as Cyrus wiped the chalkboard clean. The lesson today had been dry and boring, but Cyrus had insisted upon going through each painful detail of the first recorded encounter with a wraith. Truth be told, it wasn’t much different from her own. A young wizard had been out in the woods, plying his magic to the fish in a stream, when a wraith came upon him and nearly killed him. The main difference from Kyra’s own encounter was that the young wizard’s tutor was near enough by to come running in and save the young man. Kyra had had to rescue herself, though it had rendered her unconscious.
    She must have sighed a bit too loudly, for Cyrus turned back from the chalkboard and raised a snowy brow as he cast his eyes upon her.
    “What did you learn today?” he asked in his raspy voice.
    Kyra shook her head and gave her honest assessment. “Nothing I didn’t already learn for myself out in the woods.”
    Cyrus nodded and stepped around his desk before leaning back upon it. “You see no value in the text we studied today?”
    Kyra shook her head. “Gamel didn’t even fight the wraith that attacked him. He just froze and shouted for help. It was Master Coen who banished the wraith.”
    Cyrus nodded and smiled. “Ah, and so there is nothing for you to learn from his encounter because it wasn’t as exciting as yours, is that it?”
    Kyra sighed.
    The old wizard moved toward her and slowly slipped into the seat next to hers. “Did you find it odd that the wraith suddenly appeared?”
    Kyra shrugged. “No,” she said.
    “So, I suppose you also failed to question why the wraith chose to attack the young wizard, even despite Master Coen’s close proximity.”
    “What difference does it make why it attacked? What matters