Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2) by B.T. Narro (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .txt) 📕

part of an hour answering questions from them about the encounter. When Leon emerged from the great hall, I expected him to break everyone up. Instead, he made me fill him in on the details that I’d already told the others.

It wasn’t easy to describe a fight that I was losing until the end. It forced me to relive the mental and physical toll it took on me, but no one seemed satisfied until I divulged all the gruesome details. Charlie and Eden had come out of the great hall to listen to the second half of the fight. I heard them asking for the beginning details when I was done and walking away to train.

I didn’t want to be alone, and yet I didn’t feel like having company, either. I didn’t know what I needed to feel better, perhaps just time. I would focus on my training for the rest of the day.

I didn’t blame my peers for wanting to know exactly how the fight began, progressed, and ended. They were just curious. These were enemies to all of us, after all. Hearing about the way they used sorcery in combat was beneficial.

I still didn’t know how to counter being suspended in the air. The only thing that came to mind was to suspend my enemy as well, locking the combatant in place until he dropped me. It seemed sound enough. One day I would learn how. But first, ordia.

*****

I didn’t have much contact with anyone else throughout the day. Even during supper, I was pretty focused on finishing quickly and getting back to it.

Before the sun fully set, I did manage to cast one spell of ordia, finally. I was sweating heavily by then, wondering if I was really going to have to take a third bath today.

I was so tired that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stay awake through all of it. The water would be warm. It was heated morning and evening. My eyes wanted to shut just at the thought of soaking in it.

I doubted any of my peers spent as much time thinking about baths as I did.

The spell of ordia was called Identify, a strange spell. It was uncomfortable to have a thought enter my head that I did not put there, but that’s exactly what it felt like when I used it on my callring.

The thought wasn’t translated to language. It was more like a feeling, I realized, as I used it again and again. I could feel that this ring was connected to another ring. The feeling was faint, like a soft gust of wind on my arm. I wouldn’t even notice it unless I was ready for it. Had there been any noise to my environment, a distraction of any kind, it might’ve slipped by. But the rest of my peers had retired to their rooms. Leon did not hold everyone to the long hours of training that he had before.

When I finally called it a day and went to the apartments, I found most of my peers were chatting in the hall. The mood was austere, most of them looking as if they were only there because they didn’t know where else to go. I walked past them and gathered my nightshirt to head down to the bathing quarters.

“Any luck?” Michael asked as I came out of my room. He and Eden were standing outside Eden’s quarters, her door open.

“I can cast Identify now, but I still have to practice it,” I informed him.

“Already?” Eden asked. “That spell took me weeks, and I specialize in ordia.”

“When did you learn it?” I asked.

“Many years ago.”

“That’s probably why,” I said.

The door to Charlie’s room opened. He came out into the hall. “So we’re finally experimenting tomorrow, Jon?”

“We are.”

The mischievous smile he flashed worried me, but then he was the one who appeared worried as I started to walk past him.

“Where are you going? You need lots of rest for our day tomorrow.”

“A quick bath.”

“That’s your third one today! It’s late. Why don’t you sleep? You can’t be that dirty!”

“Charlie, it’s going to be fine.”

He grumbled a bit and then went back to his room.

I finished the short trip down the hall and was about to start down the stairs, but Kataleya coming up and nearly bumping into me made me stop.

She stopped as well, both of us staring at each other.

I was too tired to realize, however, that I was standing in her way as she expected me to move. Of course I should, as the gentleman in this situation. What’s more, I hadn’t noticed Barrett on the turn of the stairs father down, watching.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I stepped out of her way so she could make it up from the last step.

“It’s fine, Jon,” she said with a small smile.

Barrett said, “I’ll be back later, Kataleya. Don’t go anywhere during that time.”

She ignored him, holding my eyes in her gaze for just a short moment, but it felt like a long time before she finally gave a breath, put her head down, and slipped past me.

I figured Barrett was returning later to lock Kataleya in her room. I had heard mutterings about a locksmith changing the way her lock worked so that she couldn’t leave her room during the night.

I had a quick bath, just a cursory cleaning to ensure I slept as well as I could after the ordeal I’d suffered today. When I was headed back up the stairs to my room, I expected everyone to be asleep, but I heard loud arguing.

I was surprised to see everyone clustered in the narrow hall. It was Aliana who was speaking angrily at Kataleya when I arrived.

“You’ve been manipulating all of us since you came here! If you’d just admit it, I’m sure your punishment will be less severe.”

Kataleya looked as if she didn’t want to fight, her head down. “Can I just go to bed, please, Ali?”

“No, you’re going to answer me!” Aliana looked angry enough