The Phoenix Ring (The Thunderheart Chronicles Book 1) by Alexander Brockman Read Free Book Online

day come back to take Sortiledge.
     
                  Aidan looked up from the book, the rest of the section was a detailed account of what he had already read.  Timothy was snoring on top of his bed, with drool hanging out of his mouth.  Aidan closed the book and blew out the candle.
                  He fell asleep dreaming of his mother, surrounded in flames.
                 
                  The next three weeks were a blur for Aidan.  He and Timothy spent most of their time in the library, and the rest of it in the training area.
                  Aidan also found that Timothy was extremely superstitious.  He would throw a pinch of salt over his shoulder every morning, and Aidan even caught him laying coins around his bed at night so that he could "find" them in the morning.
                  Aidan began to realize that magic was far more complex than it looked when a village bard performed it as a show. Timothy, however, seemed to have no problem grasping the idea of magic. 
                  The smaller boy mainly helped Aidan work on his coming evaluation.  "I already have a master that has picked me, so I do not need to worry about it.  You, on the other hand, need to impress.  Every adult wizard and warlock is allowed to have three apprentices.  Master Edwin already has three, but my master only has me, so maybe he will pick you too."
                  The most memorable event of that time occurred two weeks after Aidan arrived.
                  The two boys were going on one of their many walks through the camp when Timothy stopped short.
                  "You haven't seen Marcus Thunderheart's ring yet, have you?" 
                  "No," Aidan replied, looking up from his book. 
                  "Oh, you're going to love this," Timothy said, turning left.
                  The ring was in the center of the camp, on a pedestal with a huge glass bubble covering it.  The Soulrock inside was a pulsating white, and the metal in the ring appeared to be red.  The image of a phoenix was etched faintly across the top.
                  "Nine of the most powerful wizards and one warlock have tried to put this on since Marcus died.  None of them made it.  They finally put it here to end the temptation.  This glass is enchanted not to be broken from the outside, but the inside is fairly fragile.  If someone were to call the ring and it responded strongly enough, it would break the glass."
                  They just stared at the ring for a half hour until the sun started to set. 
                  As they left, Aidan could have sworn the ring tilted a little towards him.
     
                  The week before the evaluation the two boys were sitting in room thirty-seven when Timothy sat up.
                  "I found it!"  he yelled, falling off his bed.
                  "What?" Aidan said, more than a little startled.
                  "I've been looking for a spell that will really blow them away for you, and I have a perfect one.  Actually, this is a curse, but it will work."
                  "Wait, I'm not cursing anybody, that's evil!"  Aidan said, thinking of the way elders would mumble about curses when a child died or milk went sour too early.
                  "No, no, no," Timothy replied.  "Curses and spells are just the opposite of each other.  Spells add magic to an object or person, curses take magic away.  Curses often have negative effects, and so myths have started to spread about them.  Neither are good or bad.
                  "This particular curse is the base of all curses. It just takes away one person's magic.  Normally it's very easy to block, but with enough power the user can take away another sorcerer's magic for a few hours.  If you