Dusk Falling (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

generous man who told her stories and helped her with her magic studies. Though he possessed no magical powers, Agemeer’s sense of natural balance assisted Aya in centering her own energies, which was vital to her field as mage.
    And Kcrienalpralopar, whose crystal flask hung around the gray Wulf’s neck, they all owed her something for without her Asrai magic, the team would never have been as successful as they were. Perhaps Kcrie was not the most sociable nor the most open-minded and she always came out and said exactly what she thought no matter if her forthcoming nature hurt the feelings of her companions, but she was good at what she did. Rarely if ever did she fail.
    Traveling down a slight ravine, they headed into a wooden area without needing to follow the pattern of the GoldenSphere in the sky to keep in their easterly direction. As the canopy further blocked the sun’s view and evening approached, Serrtin decided it would be best to halt their progress for the night. They would be needing to check with their Asrai guide and she would be waking soon enough.
    Serrtin directed them to a grove of close-knit trees growing in a crescent shape. The trees’ proximity to one another would block much of the night wind, should there be any. Aya slipped from saddle and immediately began unbuckling the cinch. Though not a particularly tall horse, the mare’s shoulder was still much taller than the slight Bren mage. The horse patiently suffered through the indignity of having her saddle dragged off instead of being lifted off. Trinket, as Aya was apt to call the mare, waited only long enough for the tack to be sat aside and the girl had undone the throat latch allowing the bridle and the snobbery bit to slip to the ground before starting to graze. The mare would not wander, tied or not.
    Agemeer and Serrtin were gathering kindling- dry sticks and such- for a fire, leaving the Asrai’s bottle and the team’s mutual pack to sit below the trees. Using the toe of her boot, the young mage cleared a small area of debris in preparation of the fire. Luckily the area was comprised of mostly soil, the thick canopy keeping grass and other plant life from congregating too close to their roots. Trinket was making short work of those that strayed within the tree’s bounds.
    Aya moved the mare’s tack closer to the trunk of one of the more massive trees before sitting down cross-legged in front of it, using the saddle as a backrest. She took up Kcrienalpralopar’s simple container and unstoppered it.
    Agemeer returned, several dry branches held in his mouth. These he lay down in the area Aya had prepared. Serrtin did the same with what she had collected. Most travelers brought with them a tinderbox that they kept in their saddlebags away from possible moisture. But such was unnecessarily when one traveled with a mage.
    With a gesture from her hand, the branches ignited. Not a large blaze but a controlled spark that would burn slowly so as to last long enough to prepare their supper. Most mage’s could do this adequately enough before they even had proper schooling. Controlling the energies size, power and response was the hard part. Too much energy could be dangerous. Too little could be disastrous.
    ~ ~ ~
    Aya looked down the mouth of the bottle in her hands. The water rocked back and forth even though Aya held it perfectly still. The liquid caught the reflected firelight and turned shades no normal water could produce. She laid the bottle at a slight angle in the grasp of Agemeer’s paws as he sat beside her. The Wulf gave her a nod.
    To the side of the fire, Serrtin ran an oiled cloth lovingly over the blade of her sword. After checking it thoroughly for nicks and gouges, she sat it aside. She then turned her attention to the warrant while Aya began pulling their cooking wares out of the large woven sack that habitually hung from Serrtin’s shoulder when traveling due to its heavy weight. Only when they were sure to need the