The Wilder (The Trouble with Magic Book 1) by B. J. Beach Read Free Book Online

until you feel recovered. There’s little harm done. I’ll go and dress and then start breakfast. Come in when you’re ready.”
    Some twenty minutes later, looking pale and tired, Karryl stumbled to the table and sat for a few moments with his head in his hands. Wordlessly, he pushed aside the plate of sausages and fried potatoes which Symon had placed in front of him, reaching instead for the large mug of tea beside it. His long fingers wrapped around it, he sipped slowly and steadily as he gazed blankly at the opposite wall. Symon chewed sausage and waited.
    His voice trembling with remorse, Karryl eventually spoke. “I’m sorry about the ware.”
    Symon wagged a dismissive hand. “What you might call an occupational hazard. I have another one.” He raised an assertive finger. “At least one good thing has come out of this.”
    Surprised and relieved that Symon had not flown into a rage, Karryl sat a little straighter, but suspicion clouded his glance. “That’s hard to believe.”
    Pulling his breakfast plate in front of him, he poked morosely at a sausage, then began to cut it into pieces. “What would this good thing be, then?”
    Symon’s eyes sparkled. Using his fork for emphasis he leaned forward. “I’ve seen your uncontrolled wild magic in action. A sheer stroke of luck. I was thinking I would have to induce it by some means, but that is no longer necessary.”
    Karryl looked long and hard at the little magician, thoughtfully chewed sausage and swallowed. “Does that mean you know how to cure it?”
    Symon’s eyebrows rose to their limit. “Cure it? We don’t cure it! We use it and train it. You see, wild magic is much like a wild flower. It grows where it will, but if it is nurtured and cared for, in time it grows stronger and can flourish, becoming more attractive and desirable, no longer a ‘weed’ but something far more valuable. Once the wild magic feels the touch of control, over time it becomes increasingly more biddable. With that kind of power, who knows what you will eventually be capable of.”
    “How long will it be before it’s ‘biddable?’”
    Symon’s eyes narrowed as he looked pointedly at Karryl. “That, my lad, depends on the willingness and determination of the practitioner. In other words, it’s up to you.”
    Karryl leaned back in his chair, determination blazing from his dark brown eyes as his mouth twisted in a humourless grin. “Well, Master Symon, I suppose the sooner we start, the sooner I can use this ‘wilder’ thing to my advantage.”
    Symon’s mouth set in a tight line, and his grey eyes studied the boy for a few moments. “There’s no time like the present. In a few minutes we’ll take ourselves outside, and your training can begin. Hopefully, in the very near future we can then establish whether you have any actual aptitude.” He gave an ironic little chuckle. “I have a feeling that neither of us will be disappointed.”
    * * *
    The grey cat jumped down off the window seat and bounded across the room to sit in front of Symon, looking up at him with her large amethyst eyes. The little magician patted his knee and she jumped up into his lap to sit facing Karryl across the table.
    Magician and cat together looked at him long and hard. “I will shortly be telling you exactly what you would be expected to do and learn if, for instance, you were to end up as my indentured apprentice. But first, I’d like you to take a little test.”
    He handed Karryl a small white card. Hesitantly, because he hadn’t seen where it came from, Karryl took the card from Symon’s outstretched hand, looked at it for a moment, then turned it over and looked at the other side.
    Symon tilted his head and raised a questioning eyebrow. “What do you see?”
    Karryl frowned as he studied the card. “A strange letter or a symbol of some sort. It looks a bit like a…a…that’s it, a bird with a long neck. Oh! It can’t be a bird. It’s got four legs. But it looks as if