Spell Fade by J. Daniel Layfield Read Free Book Online Page B

whispered into her ear as Dartan headed for the road. He only made it a few meters before Josie pushed against his back with her head and snapped her teeth next to his ear.
    “She nearly bit me!” Dartan exclaimed, rubbing his ear.
    “Now that wasn’t very nice,” Aliet pretended to scold Josie, but the small, wicked laugh ruined the effect. She rubbed Josie’s neck, whispered in her ear again, and then pressed her ear against Josie’s neck. After a moment of silence, Aliet raised her head and spoke to Dartan. “She doesn’t like you.”
    “Yes, well, the feeling is mutual,” he replied, still absently rubbing his ear.
    “No,” she insisted, “I mean it.” Dartan looked up at her serious eyes. “You two have never been friends, but you at least tolerated one another.” He nodded in silent agreement. “Something’s changed though, and she’s very upset with you.”
    “And why do you suppose that is?”
    “I don’t know,” she answered innocently. “Maybe she thinks you’re keeping secrets from her?”
    “Secrets?” he repeated with raised eyebrows. “What kind of secrets?”
    “Just look around you, Dartan. It’s been over a year since our village lost its wizard, so why is it now that both of our farms are suddenly failing? Your mother packed up everything she owns and left you in the care of a wizard. Your mother! A woman we both know who despises wizards. And let’s not forget, it’s not just a wizard, it’s the Great Wizard himself.”
    “We are talking about the horse, right?”
    “Of course.”
    “Well, Josie , I don’t know any more than you do about the crops, or why the wizard has taken a sudden interest in me.” He felt bad about lying to her, but he still wasn’t sure he believed he was responsible for keeping their farms alive this past year. If he had the gift, he still hadn’t felt it. “As for Mother,” he paused to consider, “well, she’s keeping her own secrets. There’s a lot she won’t, or can’t, tell me, but I she and the wizard seem to have some sort of history together.” He paused, thinking again of Mother’s words. “I think he may have even been the one who first put me in her care.”
    “So, he’s come back to claim you?” Dartan shrugged in answer, and she didn’t pursue the question. “Why doesn’t she just stay here?”
    “For what?” He held out his arms, encompassing the fields around them. “You said it yourself, ‘look around you’. There’s nothing here for her.” He dropped his arms. “She’s going to stay with her sister for now. After that, I have no idea what she’ll do.” He grunted, almost a small laugh. “I didn’t even know she had a sister.”
    They walked in silence for a few moments, only the sound of Josie’s hooves between them. After giving her some time to think, Dartan finally said, “So, does any of that make Josie feel better?” Aliet leaned down and laid her head against Josie’s neck again. She left it there much longer than before, and when she raised back up she was still quiet for a moment. Dartan waited.
    “That’ll do,” she said finally, but quickly added, “for now.” She pointed a finger at him, one that felt surprisingly like the one Mother used. “But we had better not find out you’re keeping any more secrets.”
    “Oh, so it’s we now,” Dartan observed.
    “Absolutely. We girls have to stick together.” She gave Josie another rub, and Josie responded with an agreeing whiny. Dartan smiled, in spite of the worry in the back of his mind. He hadn’t mentioned the magic. He knew it was the reason the wizard had come, and yet he couldn’t admit it to her. Should he say something? He glanced back up at her and she looked back with a small smile. It was the first one he had seen from her in three days.
    Maybe it won’t come up, he thought.
    *        *        *
    “You can use magic?!” Aliet stared hard at Dartan, who refused to look up from the ground. “So, you’re