Rise of Allies (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she did, she would probably sleep through the whole Gathering and miss her Assessment. She shook her head firmly. Later.
    A glorious long nap would be her reward once she had got through her Assessment.
    Already Nixie felt lighter, now that she had reached Merlin Hall, with all the powerful spells protecting its borders.
    The Bugganes would not find her here.
    True, those little meddling gnomes gave her the creeps. But at last, she might actually be safe. The things that hunted her surely could not sneak past the Long Man…
    Could they?
    With a hard swallow, Nixie cast a nervous glance around the perimeter of the pretty bedchamber she had been assigned. Should she bother putting salt across the doorway and the windowsills? she wondered.
    Not that it ever really helped.
    No, she decided. Her little witch-in-training spells were nothing compared to the old, old magic that enveloped Merlin Hall. She told herself to relax. At least to try.
    She was safe here, surely. Besides, the pretty chamber she had been assigned was loads nicer than the musty corner of the gypsy wagon where she usually slept.
    Merlin Hall would protect her.
    Maybe she might even make a friend.
    Well, probably not, she amended. She didn’t dare, actually. She could not tell anyone her secrets. The curse the hag had put on her was real. She had learned that the hard way.
    Anybody who tried to make friends with her was only courting doom.
    At least now, here at Merlin Hall, she could get knowledge that might help her solve her problem. Learn new spells. Find some way she hadn’t tried before to escape the torment that had become her life.
    Feeling a glimmer of hope for the first time in months, Nixie took a deep breath, then took out the uniform and changed into it, grimacing at having to wear white. But once she was dressed in the required garb for her test, she got her best wand out of her black bag.
    Gripping it like a weapon, she headed for the door.
    With one last, longing glance over her shoulder at the lovely bed with its sweet promise of sleep, she steeled herself and stepped out, heading for the maze.
    It was time to go and dazzle the Elders—because, actually, she was pretty good at magic.
    Maybe a little too good.
    Much to her regret.

CHAPTER THREE
    The Proving Ground
     
     
    “T his way, children!” A short while later, Aunt Ramona beckoned them on. The opening of the giant maze yawned before them. As Her Ladyship marched ahead, they had no choice but to follow.
    Jake managed to keep his jittery nerves under control as they joined the crowd of guests streaming into the great, green labyrinth.
    The adults wore finery fit for a Sunday afternoon picnic in the park or a bit of seaside frivolity, the gents in patterned promenade suits and jaunty straw boater hats, the ladies sporting an astonishing collection of wide-brimmed, complicated bonnets.
    With the festival atmosphere enlivening the sunny afternoon, an observer might have thought the well-dressed spectators were hurrying on to watch a polo match or some long-awaited game of cricket.
    A few of the kids, however, including Jake, wore the athletic garb required for the Assessment: a simple uniform of tan boots, loose-fitting ivory trousers (or skirts for the girls) to allow ease of movement, a white shirt, and a brightly colored sash tied around the waist to signify the category of supernatural talents the candidate possessed.
    Several people, seeing his clothes, smiled and wished him luck as they progressed through the labyrinth. Some raised an eyebrow to note the two colored sashes tied around his waist: blue for his gifts as a medium, red for his telekinesis.
    On Henry’s advice, he had twisted them together like a rope before knotting them at his hip. The loose ends fluttered in the breeze like battle pennants as he walked.
    In any case, Jake tried not to feel too irked at all the fun everyone else seemed to be having when, for him and the other candidates, this was all but life or death.