Firedragon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

come
more easily, and the time after that she’d find herself facing the
thing she feared the most: being helpless.
    So instead, she replied the only way she
knew how: with biting sarcasm. “I knew you’d be too scared to
leave.”
    The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’ll miss
you too, Aurie. Maybe someday I’ll figure out a way to join
you.”
    She wanted to say that
she’d miss him fiercely, that she wished more than anything that he
could come with her, that she hated, hated, hated saying goodbye. That he was
the most wonderful friend anyone could ever know. That she was
grateful to him for always being there for her. That she’d do
anything for him, and if he asked her to stay, she probably would,
no matter what the Triumvirate did.
    But when she tried to speak, the words got
jumbled in her mind, and she was suddenly unable to string together
a sentence.
    Connor’s eyes widened. “I almost forgot—I
have a present for you.” He crouched by her bed and pulled out
something he must have hidden there earlier. When he stood again,
he was holding a pair of swords in black sheaths. “Happy
birthday.”
    She cocked her head,
surprised. He’d given her cards and candy for past birthdays—small
things that wouldn’t draw attention—but never anything like weapons.
    He handed the swords to her. “I had a
feeling this would be your last birthday at the Academy, so I
decided to get you something you’d actually want. It’s about time
you had your own pair of blades—and not the generic
government-issued ones.”
    Upon receiving them, Aurelia could tell
immediately that the swords were something special. They were
lighter and better balanced than the standard ones, and when she
pulled one out of its sheath to examine it, she found that the
blade was black instead of the usual silver.
    “ They’re enchanted,”
Connor explained. “They’re still made of silver, but the black
coloring will make them easier to conceal in the dark, and the
magic allows them to cut through just about anything alive. That
means no more getting your blades stuck in monster bones. Also,
when you clang them together and say the magic words, they
glow.”
    A grin crept across her lips. She’d never
heard of any weapon more perfect. Light attracted monsters, and
Aurelia liked to get close to her targets when she fought, since it
allowed her to attack with more strength and accuracy. She usually
had to carry a flashlight to lure monsters when she hunted in the
dark. That—and blades getting stuck in bones—were among her biggest
pet peeves. Only Connor would know her well enough to get her
exactly what she needed.
    “ You put out the lights by
sticking them back in their sheaths,” he went on. “I cast the
enchantment myself, so I’ll vouch for it.”
    The echo of Williams’ words about the Way
Station’s perimeter wasn’t lost on her, and she thought it funny
how much Connor had in common with the old professor. Both were
total nerds who were good at putting their smarts to use. Both were
a lot tougher than they looked. And both were living reminders that
not all Enchanters were bad—just the ones who obeyed the Triumvirs.
The battle wasn’t between the magical and the non-magical; it was
between those who stood for freedom and those who just wanted power
for themselves.
    As she examined the blades, a warm feeling
of gratitude rushed through her. “These’ll come in handy. How do I
activate the abracadabra?”
    “ Clang the blades together
and say, ‘Metal fire.’”
    “ In English ?” Incantations would work in
any language—since it was the intention that mattered, and not the
actual words—but unless you were a foreign citizen, speaking them
in anything other than Latin would get you thrown in
jail.
    “ You’re a rebel now.”
Connor shrugged. “You’ll be breaking greater laws than speaking
magic words in the wrong language, so what does it matter? Besides,
your Latin’s awful,” he added jokingly.
    “