Mage Quest - Wizard of Yurt 3 by C. Dale Brittain Read Free Book Online Page B

came forward, looking at us with wide eyes. “What—what is it that you want?”
    King Haimeric greeted him formaly and told him what had happened. I was pleased to note that he did not say that he was king of Yurt; maybe he, like me, was starting to wonder if the castelan had made some nefarious pact with the bandits.
    “And so,” finished the king, *\ve are bringing these bandits to your lord for judgment.” The three bandits, listening, al looked unaccountably amused.
    “You caught these men,” said the constable, “but you aren’t trying to ransom them? You brought them here—you brought them so that the lord of this castle might exercise justice?”
    “That’s what I said,” said the king patiently.
    “But—”
    The leader of the bandits answered for the constable. “But I am lord of this castle.”
    There was a short silence while we al struggled to keep our faces straight. “In that case,” began King Haimeric sternly, “I must warn you, as an aristocrat and a giver of justice, to stop your wicked attacks on the defenseless.”
    It was no use. Dominic took the king firmly by the arm and we al got out the door and staggered down the stairs somehow. Even Joachim was laughing as we tumbled out into the courtyard.
    But as we galoped away from the castle, I couldn’t help glancing back. The castelan s initial reaction had been the same amusement that convulsed us al, but he must also have been horribly shamed to appear before his men a bound captive. For the first time this trip, we may have come across a difficulty we could not simply leave behind.

    Part Two. King Solomon’s

    I
    I awoke al at once and lay perfectly stil, waiting for whatever sound had wakened me to come again.
    Inside the tent, it was pitch black and completely silent. I couldn’t even hear Joachim’s breathing. But then I heard the faintest creak from his side of the tent; he must have heard the sound as wel and was leaning on his elbows, listening.
    It came again, the sharp crack of a broken twig folowed by muffled hushing sounds. Our tents were pitched in a little grove, and someone, or something, was creeping up on us.
    I was out of the tent with a quick scramble and was hit by air so cold I immediately wished I had brought a blanket with me.
    But there wasn’t time to go back. Where was Dominic? It should be his watch. Shivering in my pajamas, I crept toward the edge of the grove, straining to see.
    Hie moon, three days past the ful, hung red and deformed-looking above me. In its pale light I could at last see Dominic, a dim and bulky form. He moved his head as though he too had heard something.
    Before I could speak or move closer, there was a dul thunk as of leather hitting bone, a grunt, then Dominic pitched forward. Behind him stood a smaler figure, arm upraised.
    I yeled, a magicaly amplified yel that shook the trees, and I filed the grove with a great flash of light. The light was gone in two seconds—even the best magic light needs to be attached to something solid.
    But before it faded I had seen four startled and frozen figures, and Dominic’s body facedown on the ground.
    If they remained stil for five seconds, I had them. I threw out coils of magic, shaped with the Hidden Language to make thin air into bindings as strong as cord. My binding spel wrapped around the four, imprisoning them. It was not as thorough as a paralysis spel, but I didn’t have quite enough time for a paralysis spel.
    I tried another flash of light and saw that I had al four. It must be, I realized, no more than a minute since I had scrambled out of the tent. In spite of the cold, I had to wipe my forehead with a pajama sleeve.
    Magic, especialy rapid magic, is hard work
    But what had happened to Dominic? I groped toward him, then saw the rest of our party emerging. Hugo and Ascelin had swords in their hands, but the king, more usefuly, had brought a lantern.
    With the lantern’s light, I found the royal nephew and bent over him. He was