The High-Wizard's Hunt - By Ashley Delay Page 0,106

the air, catching it and tossing it again. As his mind wandered, he absently cast spells at the stone in the air to see what it would do. He was able to accurately hit the stone with a heatless fire ball. He could maintain the stone in the air with a stream of water, but it was far less accurate. He could throw the stone out in an arc and then call it back along the same path with just a thought. He also discovered he could manipulate a stream of air to keep the stone hovering before him without using his wand. Osric found the most fascinating ability was making the stone disappear. He held the stone in his hand and activated his ability to become invisible. The stone faded along with him. However, he was able to bring himself back into the visible spectrum without allowing the stone to reappear.

Osric sat forward, intrigued by the possibilities, and slowly reached out and set the stone on the ground. It remained invisible. He grinned widely and touched the stone with his finger to be sure it was actually there. He reached out and grasped another stone, anxious to replicate the experiment. It worked. Soon he had seven stones lined up before him on an apparently barren stretch of grass. He was intrigued by the possibilities presented by making objects invisible.

“Osric! Are you all right?” Bridgett came running over to him with a concerned expression.

“Of course,” he looked up at her with curiosity, “why?”

“Your fingers.” She reached down and took his hand in her own, and confusion replaced the concern.

“What about them?”

“They were missing.” She stared at him in expectation of an explanation. Osric glanced down at his fingers and a broad grin spread across his face. He kissed her hand and pulled his own from her grasp. He reached down and rearranged the stones, while she looked at him like she couldn’t figure out the rules to his game. Osric smiled at her and held up a finger to tell her to wait patiently. He reached into her basket and plucked out a stem of snow blossoms. The delicate white petals smelled like honey. He slowly lowered the flower to the ground before him, and Bridgett gasped in amazement when the flower disappeared. She knelt down, trying to determine how he had done it. Osric reached down, raised the flower back up into sight, and tucked the stem into her flowing hair.

“How did you do that?”

“Well, I did it on accident.” Her eyes twinkled in disbelief. “I was experimenting with my new abilities, testing them on stones to see what I can do. I figured out how to make the stones stay invisible when I reappear.”

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

“However, you discovered this next part,” he touched the tip of her nose, “the invisible stones create a barrier of some sort. I guess the effect is carried over to something that moves behind the stones. That was why you couldn’t see my fingers.” Bridgett shook her head in wonder. Osric gathered the stones up and placed them in her basket with the flowers and herbs. “Come on, Gus is going to love this.”

*

“Why are you grinning like a kid in a wand shop? Do you know how ridiculous you look?” Gus asked loudly as Osric and Bridgett ran toward him, holding hands and looking far too happy for the current circumstances.

“Where is Kenneth? I need everyone here, quickly.”

“How the blazes should I know?”

“Oh Gus, even you will be excited about this. Help me find them.” Bridgett scooped him up and placed him on her shoulder as he cried out in protest. She hurried into the barracks to find Kenneth, Machai, and the others.

“What are you two love birds so excited about?” Bridgett smiled over at the intended insult. Even Gus could not make Bridgett feel bad for loving Osric. She was blissfully happy.

“We have something to show you. Osric was practicing with his gifts and discovered something rather interesting.”

“Oh, did he? Has he figured out how to use his fancy new abilities to respect his elders?”

“Now, Gus, don’t be upset that he figured something out before you. I think even you will be impressed by this one.”

“Bah. We’ll see about that. I can walk you know?”

“Of course you can, but I enjoy the pleasure of your company. Besides, this way we can whisper and no one will hear us.” Bridgett winked at him, and Gus snorted and turned his head away from