The Bond (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

it immediately, and it is just as sinister as Aeron described. The lethargy it instills in you is incredibly effective at destroying your will to do anything at all, much less fight. Still, prepared, I was able to counter it.”
    “ The nahual was not happy when you did that,” Aeron murmured. “It opened its horrible mouth and hissed. I thought it was going to jump for you, so I tried Safisha’s Flame.”
    “Which, fortunately, it countered almost immediately,” Master Doronal noted.
    Aeron nodded glumly.
    “Why ‘fortunately’?” Sharrah looked at Master Doronal and frowned. “Didn’t you want to kill it?”
    “Oh, absolutely. But I wanted something left of the creature for Millinith to study. I had even instructed Anaya not to use her flame ability. Since I was with them, I felt we could use less destructive measures. However,” he looked at Aeron, “you must use every ability at your disposal to defeat them when it is just you and Anaya.”
    Aeron nodded. “Yes, sir.”
    He thinks we would not? Anaya sounded surprised.
    No, love. He’s just reinforcing the idea.
    Master Doronal turned to the others. “Aeron had yelled at the nahual before casting Safisha’s Flame, and the beast spun to face him after countering the spell. I saw it tense its legs and crouch slightly. It was going to leap at Aeron.”
    “I was a little concerned when it did that.” Aeron twisted his mouth. “Anaya was too, but I told her not to use fire, like you asked.”
    A low rumble came from Anaya’s den.
    The magic master glanced at the doorway leading to the den and smiled. “Indeed. I saw her begin to move forward, look at you, and stop. At any rate, I had already begun casting Francisco’s Barrier and was sure I could complete it well before the creature reached you.”
    “Fortunately, you did,” Aeron said. “I was able to see the invisible barrier from the shimmer it gave off when the nahual hit it.”
    “Yes,” Master Doronal said. “But disturbingly, the nahual took it in stride. In fact, when it hit the barrier, the beast recovered almost instantly, using it as a springboard to then leap back away from you. After a very angry hiss, it ran for me, on all fours. It was very fast, so I took more drastic measures.”
    Aeron looked at Willem. “We buried the disgusting thing after Master Doronal killed it, so nothing would disturb the carcass.” He grimaced. “It will be much easier to study this one’s head, seeing as it is no longer attached to its body.”
    Brows raised, Cheddar looked at Master Doronal. “Remind me never to get on your wrong side, sir.”
    “Neilah’s Constriction.” Millinith’s lips formed a thin line. “One of the more gruesome offensive spells, though effective.”
    “Yes,” Master Doronal said, nodding, “quite effective.” He turned to Aeron. “And one of the spells you have learned. Yet you fell back to using Safisha’s Flame, the same spell you used in your last encounter with a nahual.”
    Aeron’s face got warm. “Spells I don’t use much don’t come to mind in the heat of the moment, I guess.”
    It does not matter. We would have been able to kill the nahual, even if we had been alone.
    Anaya’s confidence did little to lift his spirits. Maybe. But Master Doronal is right. I need to make use of all my abilities, use the best one for the situation, instead of always falling back on a few. I need to be better at this.
    Master Doronal tilted his head slightly. “I suppose that’s a fair point. Accepted and apprentice sorcery lessons are more about theory, but perhaps we should think about practical training for you.” The magic master glanced at Aeron’s throat.
    No, Aeron realized, he’s looking at my collar, at the dragon pin I wear opposite the Magic Craft pin.
    Cheeks feeling even hotter, he just stared at Master Doronal. Aeron had started wearing the gift from Willem as a kind of private badge, almost like a craft pin, before anyone other than his friends even