The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima Read Free Book Online

buildings. Seph braced himself for questions or comments
about the peculiar events in the cove, but none came, so Seph said, “That
was pretty weird. What happened at swimming, I mean.”
    “You never know what's going to happen around
here,” Trevor said, shrugging.
    “What do you mean? Are you saying weird things
have happened before I—before now?”
    “I mean nothing.” Trevor hunched his
shoulders like a turtle retreating into his shell.
    “I ran into this guy in the woods. A student, I
think, kind of stocky, with glasses and an inhaler. Do you know who that
would've been?”
    Trevor looked him in the eyes. “I don't recollect
anyone like that.”
    Seph debated whether to force the issue. He guessed he
could get what he wanted from Trevor. But decided not to push it. It's my first
day, he thought. I can use all the friends I can get.
    Trevor took his role as tour guide seriously, pointing
out features of the campus: the tennis courts, the amphitheater.
    “There's almost a hundred students here, freshmen
through seniors. They come from all over, and a lot of them get scholarships.
There's also a bunch of alumni living here on campus, doing research with Dr.
Leicester.” They passed more dormitory buildings. “All the dorms are
pretty much the same. The alumni have their own dorm, cafeteria, and commons
area.”
    “Why would alumni hang around on campus after
graduation?” Seph asked. “What about college?”
    Trevor looked away, focusing on the path ahead.
“You'd have to ask them.”
    They walked through Gareth Hall, the classroom building,
past empty lecture halls. “School's been going for a couple weeks, so
you're going to have to catch up with your assignments,” Trevor said.
“Let me know if you need help with anything.”
    The art and music building was farther north along the
shoreline. “They make us all take a musical instrument,” Trevor
explained. Seph nodded. Typical. He'd brought along his saxophone.
    Next Trevor led him down to the waterfront and out
onto the dock. “Dr. Leicester's a sailing fanatic. Our sailing team has
held the Atlantic Seaboard Scholastic Cup for three years. Everyone
helps.”
    “Mmmm,” Seph replied, committing himself to
nothing. He couldn't very well tell Trevor he expected to be gone by Christmas,
given the start he'd made at the cove.
    “This is our boathouse.” Trevor pushed open
the door to the small, weather-beaten building Seph had noticed when he
arrived. It was a plain, square wooden structure with a rough planked floor. A
narrow wooden walkway ran along the far side of the room, surrounding the boat
slip. The water sucked and slapped at the pilings underneath. The building
smelled of marine gasoline and what Seph assumed to be fish guts.
    “They keep the motorboat in here most all the
time, and sometimes the sailboats if they need to be fixed. You'll get really
good at slapping on varnish, believe me.”
    That was no problem. Seph was used to hard work. He'd
spent every summer cleaning and changing beds and washing dishes at Genevieve's
bed-and-breakfast.
    “Time to eat,” Trevor announced, and turned
back toward shore.
    The dining hall was on the first floor of the admin,
building, with a full wall of glass overlooking the water. Servers circulated
through the room, clearing tables and refilling water glasses.
    In addition to burgers and pizza, there was
hand-carved roast beef, a fish entree, a sauté of the day, a vegetarian wrap,
grilled sandwich, and a salad bar. Could be worse. Seph had been raised to
appreciate good food, but he wasn't a snob.
    Seph scanned the dining room, but he saw no sign of
the boy with the glasses.
    He and Trevor carried their trays to a large,
rectangular table by the window. A half dozen boys were already seated there.
Conversation died away when Trevor and Seph sat down, but then everyone took
turns introducing themselves. Troy was a small, scholarly-looking black
student, dressed in a white dress shirt and bow