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

into the trees and roast the critters, but would only burn down the forest. "Just call me Neev."
    She chewed her bottom lip. "Where are we going, Master Neev?"
    He looked ahead at the rocky, winding trail. It ran as far as he could see, birches and pines lining its sides. "We're going to Hermit Island. It's a place where outcasts live. We can find shelter there, and maybe another hermit will share food with us."
    Romy twirled around, arms outstretched. "I like this world. I like you."
    "Well, I don't like you. Thanks to you, I'll never become a warlock, and I'm homeless to boot." He knew it was unfair to blame Romy, but couldn't help it; blaming her felt better than blaming himself.
    "But we're on an adventure!" she said, swinging her pitchfork as she walked. "That makes it all worthwhile."
    Neev froze. Romy kept skipping, but Neev stopped her by raising his hand.
    "Hush!" he said and stared at the ground, eyes narrowed. Romy stood beside him, staring down with him, tapping her chin. Strange tracks covered the trail; they looked like human feet, but moss covered the footprints, raising smoke and stench. Neev clenched his fists, ice shooting down his spine. A monster. He hadn't seen monsters since the night Burrfield had burned, and the anguish rushed back into him.
    "What is—" Romy began, but Neev hushed her with finger to her lips. Something scuttled in the bushes. Neev's rabbit ears twitched. He saw the leaves move and heard snorting and creaking.
    His heart bursting into a gallop, Neev slowly lowered his backpack and muttered the first words of a spell.
    A creature burst from the bushes, a pale figure covered in moss, mushrooms, and snails, clad only in strands of lichen. A moldman , Neev knew. Its maw opened wide, revealing rotting teeth and a lolling white tongue. Screeching, it rushed toward Neev, brandishing claws.
    Romy shrieked in fear, and Neev tossed the fireball he summoned, eyes narrowed. With a crackle, his rabbit ears vanished, and he felt a tail sprout behind him. The fireball crashed into the moldman, knocking it down. It groaned, kicked its feet, then lay still and smoking.
    Neev took shaky breaths, a monkey's tail peeking under the hem of his cloak. God help us, what is a moldman doing here? His heart pounded against his ribs.
    Hair crackling, Romy knelt beside the burned creature. "A moldman!" she said and shuddered. "These creatures are known in the underground. We demons hate them, and they hate us. What's one doing here? They usually sleep in the earth, waking up only to hunt worms." She began to suck her thumb, trembling. Then she noticed Neev's monkey tail and her eyes widened. She removed her thumb, started to giggle, and reached out to grab the tail. Neev pulled it away, glowering.
    He took a few more shaky breaths, trying to hide the tremble in his fingers. This creature was different than those that had invaded Burrfield, but nevertheless, the sight of a monster filled him with memories. The agony of that day, five years ago, flooded him. The day grobblers killed his parents. The day he swore to become a warlock. Neev looked down at the dead moldman and felt nauseous.
    "Warlocks can summon moldmen," he said softly.
    Neev remembered the warlock who had led the grobblers into Burrfield. The man's face had remained hidden in his hood, but Neev had sworn to find him someday. I swore I'd become a warlock powerful enough to kill him.
    But what would happen now? He was banished from the Coven just when he needed all his training. Monsters were returning, and Neev felt like a boy again, helpless to stop them.
    Being out in the forest suddenly seemed very, very frightening.
    Romy slipped her hand into his. Her hand was hot, and Neev squeezed it, more lost and confused than he'd been since Burrfield burned.

Chapter Four
    Twisted Tongue, Straight Arrows

    It was her sixteenth birthday, and tonight Cobweb would be anointed an adult spiderling... or outcast into a life of exile and pain.
    She swam in the