The Dreamer's Curse (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

like ‘I’ll take any helping hand at this point’ because bad help was
no help at all.
    Pierpoint glanced at the grandfather clock tucked in between
two bookshelves and heaved himself to his feet, making the chair squeak again.
“We need to go back down. Our hour is nearly up.”
    She caught up her book with the readings, tucking it into
her pouch at the waist as she followed him out the door and down the winding
stairs. Pierpoint lived and studied at the top of the east tower (people always
wanted to put magicians at the top of towers for some reason), so it took a
considerable hike to get back down to the main level of the castle and to the
courtyard where they had left a horse and parked skimmer. Bel, Aren, Hana,
Decker and his niece Clari were already waiting in the courtyard. They turned
almost in unison as the two magicians arrived.
    Aren took a slight step forward, hand raising to catch their
attention. “Pierpoint, Sevana, I have a better grasp of the situation now.
Sevana, what can we do to help?”
    “I need several things,” she informed him as she passed
through the open doorway and into the sunshine. “First, I want magicians. I can
put locating and shielding charms on everyone in the village so we can find
them easily, but it’ll still take time to run them all down and bring them
back. That’s time I don’t have. I need to focus on the problem at hand and not
be constantly distracted.”
    “So you need magicians to retrieve the villagers,” Bel summed
up.
    “Not just any magicians,” she corrected, lifting a finger.
“Magicians who specialize in retrieval or transportation magic. I imagine that
Pierpoint would know where to find them.”
    Pierpoint nodded in support of this. “Indeed, yes. I can
think of several off the top of my head, in fact.”
    “Call them in,” Aren commanded him. “I want them there as
quickly as possible. I’m declaring this a state of emergency and I want people
to act accordingly.”
    Thank all mercy he saw the direness of the situation and she
didn’t have to beat that into him. For one thing, she didn’t have the time to
spare to beat it into him right now. “Second thing: I’m going to need expert
help. I have never heard of or seen something like this before. But I do know
two people who might know something about it. Aren, give me an unlimited purse
to work with. These two men are good but they’re certainly not cheap.”
    “You have it,” he answered without hesitation. Turning to
his son, he said, “Bel, get me a royal seal for her to use.” As Bel took off in
a sprint back inside, Aren explained, “It’ll work like a purse for you. Just
write me a letter or quick note about whom this person is and what you owe,
press the seal onto the paper, and send it to me. I’ll see it’s paid for.”
    Good enough. “One last thing. I left a note for Kip, but I
didn’t know just how bad this situation was at that point. If he comes to you
with questions, answer them, but do not let him follow me in there. I
have no idea what’s going on in that village and can’t predict what will happen
if a stranger stays there.”
    “Worried about his safety?” Hana asked, tone and expression
sympathetic.
    “I just don’t want this dreamer’s curse affecting him too
and giving me someone else to track down every morning,” Sevana
grouched. “Now. Where’s Bel with that seal?”
    “Here!” he called from behind her. Bel skidded to a stop not
a moment later, not at all winded or flushed, and handed the seal to her.
    It looked impressively genuine with the embossed coat of
arms of the Dragonmanovich family in a ceramic disk that filled her entire
palm. It also had a surprising bit of weight. Sevana dropped it into her waist
pouch and gave him a nod. To Aren she added, “I think I can reach Chastain in a
day, perhaps even by late tonight. I’ll take over finding people once I arrive,
but I don’t want to do that for long. Get those magicians up there as