The Wizard's Secret Read Online Free Page A

my way, you can find me at Magnus’s castle, just south of
the creek Hayla found me at.”
    She growled. “You will regret refusing to help us.”
    “I never refused to help you; I refused to clean up
the mess you made by fighting the sorceress you stole from.”
    She lunged at me, and if I wasn’t already riled up, I
would have been terrified. Instead, I raised my wand and a sinister red fire
lit up the tip of it in a threatening manner. Eva’s eyes widened with shock as
she jumped back. “You aren’t a wizard! You’re a sorcerer!”
    I considered correcting her and saying that I was
both, but that was not a concept she would understand. I still didn’t
understand it. Without another word, I turned and walked away. My wand still
glowed until I was sure I wasn’t being followed. Since I had no idea which way
the castle was, I knew it was going to be a long day.
     
    *          *          *
     
    My brothers were devastatingly cruel and slang curses
without considering the consequences, but I knew what they didn’t. We were all
my mother’s pawns, which was why she never wanted us to learn to read. My
father taught me in secret. Although my two oldest brothers were very powerful,
none of us could challenge my mother, and it wasn’t just because of our magic.
    There were different kinds of curses. What she taught
my brothers and me was meant to temporarily incapacitate our enemies, but she
certainly wasn’t teaching any of us to take over the family in the future. The
kind of curses she and other powerful sorcerers could do made my skin crawl.
The most powerful curses I read about were created for other magic people and
creatures; they bonded to the person’s magic itself.
    For example, my mother once cursed a man to build her
a castle. The man was even supposed to make the blocks. My mother was aware of
how much the man was loved by his family and the other people of his village,
so she was unconcerned when they sent for a powerful wizard. Two came to help,
only to refuse when they saw him. They knew what kind of curse had been placed
on the poor man, yet they would only say that it was too dangerous to break it.
    My mother made us watch this all and my brothers
thought it was the greatest thing they’d ever seen. I wished I had enough magic
to break the curse. Unfortunately, the third wizard to visit the cursed man
wasn’t as wise as the previous two. He had the power to break the curse and he
did so, but the curse was rooted in the man’s magic. My mother knew something
the man himself didn’t even know; he had latent wizard powers. Although it
never manifested, magic did make up the essence of his life, and in breaking
the curse, the wizard shredded the man’s hidden magic.
    The curse was broken and the man turned to stone. To
my horror and my mother’s delight, so did every member of his family. His
children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, and everyone else who
shared his blood all turned to stone. My brothers cheered for my mother’s
brilliance. They never realized how much my mother kept from us. She made us
loyal to her out of fear, not love, and we all knew we were expendable to her.
     
    *          *          *
     
    By the time I reached the castle, right as the sun
was setting, I was cold, hungry, and tired. At least the warm sun had dried my
clothes, but my boots were still at the creek and my feet were in bad shape. I
had another pair in my room, though, so I didn’t worry. I went to the front
gate, which opened by itself. The gate knew me, which was great because I
couldn’t sneak back into the castle grounds without setting off Magnus’s wards.
    I proceeded cautiously, opened the front door
quietly, and saw no one standing around the entranceway, so I decided to sneak
to my room. If Magnus wanted me, he would know where to find me.
    I reached the top of the steps and turned to walk
down the hall… only to be blocked by Magnus. The wizard