Frey by Melissa Wright Read Free Book Online

had never
considered it before but as I thought about it, searching for proof
the documents were wrong, I realized Aunt Fannie had never used
magic for anything but service. It hadn’t seemed unusual to me, it
was just the way it had always been and I could barely do anything
besides light a candle. Was this why council was so quick to accuse
me of practicing dark magic? It was rarely even discussed and never
tolerated. What had Fannie done?
    I kept flipping through the pages and then I
realized something was out of place. It didn't make sense official
documents about Fannie would be among those relating the apparent
extinction of the northern clans. And why had all the documents I’d
found about the tragedy been separated, mixed up, and missing
pages? I tried to sort it out and found there were other council
documents there too.
    I kept reading, quickly
scanning the pages for something of interest. My eyes caught it a
second before my brain; I recognized a name… Chevelle Vattier. I
backed up and read. Shock and disbelief turned to fury before I
could even finish the page. Chevelle Vattier had been a volunteer
watcher. He had volunteered to watch… me?
    Anger flooded through me and
the pages I held burst into flames. The brush around me caught and
burned away as I stood and pushed out of the blazing patch of
briars. They had set a watcher on me. Why? Because Fannie had
practiced dark magic? Were they afraid she’d teach me? I’d
show them dark
magic… I’d learn and go back… how? How could I learn without a
teacher?
    Chevelle… the fire suddenly
died as I thought of the concern he’d shown me in the clearing, the
tender moment we’d shared. Watcher . The flames caught again,
burning with a vengeance through the field. None of it had been
real. He was a watcher, he’d volunteered to watch me, to keep me in
line.
    I’d teach myself, take the risk and learn the
magic without guidance. What did I have to lose? The plan was
formed now, I’d practice until I was strong enough to return to the
village. Wasting no time, I spotted a small toad and concentrated
on it, willing it to turn to a moth. It started to swell like a
tiny green balloon and then burst, spewing entrails that reached
the hem of my dress.
    Ugh .
    It took a while, but the
anger eventually faded enough I realized I’d need a new plan. I
regretted the flames had consumed the documents that had caused all
this to begin with. I should have fully read them first .
     
    I heard a noise across the
clearing. My fire had burned out now but the ashes were plenty
evidence I’d been here. I ducked under the cover of a large spruce
and watched in the direction the noise had come from. Chevelle
walked through the tree line. Grrr ... He was alone.. He kept walking
as he looked my direction; he was surveying the damage from the
fire. I was sure he’d know it was me but he didn’t stop or even
slow. I wondered why he didn’t, was he not looking for
me?
    I knew Chevelle was my
watcher and now I was missing. So where would he be going? I
remembered that before I torched his paperwork I had seen Junnie
noted as his contact. Would he be going to her, to get her help in
finding me? He was my watcher, I’d be his responsibility, and she
was the only one who knew me besides Fannie. He was a good fifty
yards farther as I considered. I started to follow him. How far
should I go? What if he wasn’t going to Junnie? What else do you have to do, sit here and blow up
frogs? Right. I slinked out from the
branches of the spruce and crept low along the trees and brush as I
followed him north.
     

     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Six
    Trails
     
    Chevelle kept a quick pace
and I found myself struggling to keep up. Although he didn’t have
to dodge between rocks and trees, bent over while watching the
ground to keep from breaking twigs and watching ahead to keep from
being spotted. Ugh, when would it ever
end? I cursed the formal dress I’d been
dragging. I considered dumping