What
would you do if an evil force threatened your home?
Seventeen
year old Rosemary Summers lives with her family in their farmhouse outside the
medieval village of Twyford. Rosemary has no friends. The village children call
her a witch, but she doesn’t know how to work magic. When the shadows of the
Demon King, Kafkad, threaten her family’s farm, she sets out on a quest for the
White Wizard Strange. He was once famous, but now he is almost forgotten. No
one knows if he still lives. On her journey, Kafkad’s minions pursue her
through the wilderness. When she meets the powerful wizard, Rosemary’s life
will change for ever. She must learn to harness her own magic in the battle to
defeat the Demon King.
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Excerpt
The hermit said,
“The Shadow of Kafkad falls on Peliore. What would you do?”
Her eyes
flashed and Rosemary replied, “I would destroy the evil king, Kafkad. Can you
tell me how to do this?”
The hermit’s
eyes gleamed, and then, he closed his eyelids to contemplate her request. Petron
was silent for long moments before answering, “There are means that a powerful
magician might employ to attack such an evil one, but he is well guarded. Alas,
I know of no one with the power to oppose Kafkad, the Demon King.”
Rosemary’s
heart sank, but she persisted, recalling the conversation of the previous
night, “When I was a child I heard stories of a White Wizard called Strange. Is
he still alive and could he help us?”
The hermit glanced
at her in surprise. “Why yes, there was such a wizard, although I have heard nothing
of him for many years now. Let me consult the oracle.” Petron opened the
tattered book and gently turned the fragile pages to find the right place. He
made strange signs over the stone and gazed into it. Once more, he flicked through
the pages of the ancient book. Finally, he sighed, “As far as I can establish,
the man, Wizard Strange, still lives. But, I cannot fix on him, or determine if
he retains his magical powers. Look, here is his castle.”
Rosemary
stared at the crystal. It was traced with greenish lines, and as she
concentrated these lines seemed to flow into an image. She saw a turreted
castle built of weathered gray stone. It stood on a hill in front of a mountain
range. When she attempted to focus on details, the shapes blurred.
The hermit
spoke again, “You will find Wizard Strange in that castle, if indeed, he is
alive. I have maps to guide you on the way there.”
Originally published as The Wizard Strange
Snippet
A harsh voice
spoke, “What do you want of me? Ask or be gone!” It seemed to come from everywhere
in the room.
Recoiling from
the cold voice, Rosemary wondered if the wizard would be of any help. Her
journey would be wasted if he were as bad as the Demon King. She cringed at the
thought that she faced an evil wizard. His words scared her more than had the uncanny
floating head. Rosemary recalled Emilian, the old nursemaid who had loved the
boy Simon Strange. She resolved to discover if this icy wizard had any humanity
left in his heart.
Her voice
trembled. “I have come to beg help, not for myself, but for all the people
enslaved by the Demon King, Kafkad.”
The harsh
voice replied, “Many years have passed since anyone disturbed my studies. Why should I help you?”
Rage swept
through Rosemary, and she exclaimed, “No one visited your castle because you repelled
them with storms and spells of fear. I have traveled from the border of Peliore
on a faint hope. No one else can help the people of Peliore.”
Waxing
incoherent, she sobbed, “Maybe the Shadow will imprison you too. Why is this
room so cold? How can you bear the cold?” Shivering with cold and exhaustion,
she cried, “Are you no longer human that you cannot care?”
In the silence
that followed, the rigid figure of the wizard stirred slightly. “Cold,” his
voice echoed.
It was too
late for Rosemary. Swaying with weariness, she recoiled in alarm at a touch at
her shoulder. Overwrought, she screamed, and backed away from the bodiless
hands reaching for her. She stumbled against a wall and grasped at the smooth
stone of reality.
“Oh, for the
warmth of a fire,” she muttered through clenched teeth.
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