The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Tvrdik, listen to me. My time is very short. I will not be here to join forces with those who are working to save the kingdom. Trust me, I would give a great deal to be able to offer assistance to those good folk, but it is simply not possible. And the stakes are much higher than you could even imagine.”
    “What are you saying?’
    “I promised to tell you where I had been these long years, and why I left you alone.” Xaarus issued a long sigh. “I think it is my turn to tell you a story. I pray you will believe it. When Benjin and Ailianne perished, I was as distraught as you. Perhaps moreso, if that is possible. As their teacher and mentor, I was responsible for them. I had cared for them and had high hopes for them. And how do you think it made me feel to know that I could not even keep them safe from their own folly? Like you, I thought there might be a way to undo what was done – to pluck them back from the edge of disaster. I was desperate to find it. What you did not know was that I had already been studying and experimenting in time travel. My son, on higher planes than ours, there is no such thing as time, as we know it. In theory, one should be able to transcend the bondage of linear time, and then control at what point one might re-enter the time-line. I had been researching the subject for years, and had made some promising breakthroughs on a minor level. But after the tragedy, I became obsessed with the idea that if I could just leap back before the accident, I could use every means at my disposal to prevent it from ever happening, saving Benjin and Ailianne from themselves.
    “I was arrogant enough to believe I was close to success, but I knew there was a limited window within which my powers would be effective. With each passing day, we moved further from the event, and from the possibility of reversing it. If you found me distant and unresponsive in those days, I deeply regret it. In fact, had I been wise enough to pay attention to your needs at the time, things might have happened in a very different way….but, never mind. All is in the hands of a Higher Force anyway, and as you will see, there is a larger plan in play. At any rate, I was consumed with the desire to succeed in my quest – forgot sleep and food, friends, teaching, and recreation. I lost perspective, and in my desperation and haste, I fell prey to the very errors in judgment that had been the undoing of my pupils. I rushed my work forward with neither wisdom nor caution, and then, one night, just a month after Benjin and Ailianne’s disappearance, I attempted the leap.
    “I had made a foolish error in calculations, and somehow, instead of moving a short distance into the past, I found myself catapulted far, far into the future. And, of course, as you might guess, the doorway I had created disintegrated behind me, beyond recall. When I came to my senses, I realized the grave consequences of my pride and rashness. I was trapped in a strange time and place, without my books or my equipment, without friend or sustenance. I thought of those I had left behind without a word of explanation, you foremost among them. And I must tell you, Tvrdik, no man could have condemned himself more harshly or suffered more remorse than I at what I had done. From your perspective, I realized, I had just disappeared. And I was trapped – no way to return or even to get a message to you.”
    Tvrdik had been following the tale with rapt attention and growing amazement. “But, Master,” he breathed, “however did you survive?”
    Xaarus allowed a little crooked smile. “By my wits, boy, much as you have done. Men are still men, even in the future, and I am not without resources. I keep a low profile and support myself in various ways, as I may, and I observe. But you must believe me that almost from my arrival there, all my intention and skill, and every scrap of intellect I could muster has been bent on finding my way back to you to make amends for