Wizard's Education (Book 2) by James Eggebeen Page A

came running to investigate.
    "Get ready," the Princess whispered to Lorit.
    The guard approached and leaned down to examine his partner, then the Princess. He helped her up, and asked, "What's going on here? What happened to him?"
    "I did." The Princess grabbed the guard by the wrists and shouted, "Now!"
    Lorit dispatched the second guard as quickly as the first. He disliked the violence and would much have preferred magic, but he couldn't see any alternative.
    "Come on." The Princess grabbed Lorit's hand and pulled him down the tunnel. "We're not far from the exit."
    As they shuffled along the tunnel, it grew wetter, and the footing became treacherous. Moss and water mixed beneath their feet, and Lorit had to rely heavily on his staff to keep from slipping.
    Lorit soon heard the sound of rushing water ahead. The tunnel opened beneath the castle wall onto a gravel path that lead straight down to the river. Lorit stepped into the moonlit night and made his way down the slope to the grass below. The castle walls loomed large behind him.
    "We're here," the Princess said. "I've made arrangements for transportation and supplies just ahead."
    She headed for the trees that surrounded them, skipping lightly. Suddenly she came up short and fell.
    "What happened?" Lorit asked.
    "Magic. There's a wall around the castle."
     
    Lorit walked carefully to where the Princess sat on the damp grass. He put his hand out to test the boundary. There was a firm resistance to his hands right in front of him. He reached out with his magic to see what it was. It appeared as a solid brick wall encircling the castle. He tried to push through it, but it didn't budge.
    Lorit reached his senses back to the castle, looking for anything that he could use to strengthen his magic. His reserves were still low, and without Chihon to lend her aid, he found himself falling short.
    He felt the castle walls behind him. Their stone mortared heights stood in stark contrast to the gentle rolling hills covered with trees that extended for leagues in front of the castle. High up on one of the walls, Lorit found a large kettle of boiling oil. It was there for castle defense and was kept hot at all times. Underneath the kettle a small fire burned, the flames licking at the blackened pot.
    He grasped the heat of the oil and directed it at the barrier in front of them. "When it opens, get through as quickly as you can," Lorit told the Princess. She stood and leaned against the invisible wall waiting for him.
    He gently undid the bricks from the magical wall using the energy from the boiling oil. Slowly he was able to make a hole that they could fit through.
    "I'm out," the Princess said breaking his concentration. Lorit rushed through the hole in the wall just as it closed behind him. He could feel a weight lift off him as he exited the imaginary wall. His magic was stronger now that they were outside the defenses of the castle. High up on the wall, the oil had congealed into a solid mass of fat, as cold as the water in the river beside them.
    "Over here," the Princess called out from the woods ahead of him.
    Lorit saw her standing there in the moonlight. He reached out his magic once more and probed the spell that made her appear as Chihon. It was rough but intricate. He examined it closely, looking for a loose thread or weak point.
    He still had reserves left from the oil. If he could find the right spot, he could remove the spell. He probed and prodded until he found it. He pulled at the colored thread that bound her in his mind's eye. She wavered and shimmered, finally transforming into the visage of the Princess.
    "That's better," Lorit said. "At least you look like the Princess again. Now we can go."
    Lorit and the Princess struggled through the underbrush until they came upon a small clearing, where a man waited. It was Edaro, Princess Ukina's personal bodyguard. He stood beside a small camp fire that did little to counter the chill of the night. Behind him, Lorit