Eye of the Wizard: A Fantasy Adventure by Daniel Arenson Read Free Book Online

disappeared but his magic; all thoughts, all memories, all notions of himself. He was but a vessel, a funnel for power to flow from the hidden worlds through him, moving to his words, forming and twisting with every tap of his tongue and flick of his fingers. As he conducted that magic, weaving strands into patterns, turning chaos into power, euphoria filled him. It was like choir music or towering paintings, art to elevate the soul but greater. This was what he was born for. This was where he belonged, floating between this world and the infinite ones that pulsed around it. He was magic.
    His power swam around him... and he pointed it down. Spinning his arms, he created a circle of fire before him, drove his consciousness underground, found a pulse of life and pulled it up. Fires blazed and winds roared, and the screams of distant sinners echoed in the chamber. Into Hell itself did Neev reach, and with his strands of magic, he fished out a demon.
    He took a step back, panting, eyes wide, barely believing he had done the feat. Cloaked in flames and smoke, a figure stood before him, head lowered, bat wings wrapped around it like a cocoon. The wings slowly opened, a flower blooming, revealing the most enchanting creature Neev had ever seen. She was a female demon, shaped as a young woman of infinite beauty, of full lips, of dark red skin, her irises rings of fire. Her hair was made of flames, flowing and crackling, and her horns, fangs, and claws glistened. She looked at him, eyes widening, mouth falling open. Her tail hung between her legs. She was beautiful. She was cruel. She was scared.
    Neev shook his hands, casting off the last strands of magic.
    His spell was complete.
    He had done what no apprentice had done before, what only the greatest warlocks could achieve.
    He had summoned a demon.
    Panting, Neev looked up at Dry Bones, expecting the High Warlock to gasp with pride and dub him a warlock on the spot. But instead, Dry Bones only stared, silent, Baumgartner hissing on his shoulders.
    Neev reached up and patted his head.
    His fingers caressed fluffy rabbit ears.
    Damn.
    And then all hell broke loose.
    * * * * *
    Flunked.
    Neev couldn't believe it.
    Flunked out of the Coven!
    Several hours had passed since he summoned the demon, an ancient being who called herself Romy of the Ninth Circle. It was the greatest spell he'd ever cast; he should be a warlock now, a sorcerer of legend. Instead Neev stomped through the forest in his apprentice robes, grumbling and kicking pine cones, the demon following him like a dog on its master's heels.
    Those damn rabbit ears! They still sprouted from his head, and would probably remain for hours.
    Slapping burrs off his cloak, his scarce belongings clanking over his back, Neev looked over his shoulder and scowled. "Will you quit following me?" he demanded.
    Walking several paces behind him, Romy shrugged, her bat wings creaking. When she spoke, her fangs glistened. "Where else would I go?"
    "Go anywhere! Just leave me alone. You got me kicked out of the Coven."
    Romy shook her head, sparks flying from her hair of flame. "I did not. You're the one who grew rabbit ears. I didn't ask for this. Now what will I do? You brought me into this world, so you're my mother. Now care for me."
    Neev blew out his breath in frustration. This was not what he had expected. When he had summoned her that morning, her feral beauty shocked him. Her red body clad in tongues of flame, her hair of fire, her flicking tail—all spoke of temptation, sin, and malice. Who'd have thought she'd act like a newly-hatched duckling, following the first human she saw?
    "I am not your mother," he said with a snort. He hitched his backpack, trying to rearrange the spellbooks inside; one was poking his spine with a hard corner. "I'm a fearsome warlock."
    Leaning on her pitchfork, Romy raised an eyebrow. "Uh... actually, you're not, Mister Bunny Rabbit. You failed your final exam."
    Inside his backpack, the book's corner was