The Mask Maker Read Online Free PDF Page A

and jeers of the other boys.
    Pat immediately moved his hands upwards in a circular motion until a ball of fire in the shape of a dragon's head appeared. Rather than giving the dragon legs, Pat kept the creature in the shape of a massive snake. He was never good at finishing shapes. As the thing slithered towards me, I countered with a sudden gust of wind that hurled his fireball back towards him. Extinguishing the flame, his hands went up again and I watched as shards of ice began forming where the dragon had been.
    The ice had jagged edges and shone brightly in the sun. He grinned and I returned the smile as my hands shot up. I drew an invisible box in front of myself to form a stone wall in front of me. I made it grow upward and outward and heard the ice shatter against it.
    "Coward!" He yelled at me and I made the wall disappear in a puff of smoke.
    Again, his hands moved to cast another spell and I began to feel strange. It was as if my body was slowly losing all of its weight and I was free like a feather in a rising breeze. I was beginning to rise up, away from the stage. Levitation spells were one of my least favorite in duels because they were a pain to counter. I'd have to try and break Pat's concentration.
    My mind raced as I tried to think of something, anything, that might make him lose focus. My body continued to float upward, now several feet off of the ground and my hands trembled as I frantically tried to cast a spell. Pat's spell work was slow, but if he kept going he'd have me in a spot where I couldn't counter. That and I hated heights.
     My mind kept drifting off to Alexander and how I wanted to win this duel for him. People like Pat were the reason that he always stayed locked away, and I wanted to make Pat pay for it.
    Then I thought of something. If he was going to keep me from touching the ground, then I was going to drag him down into it. What came from the ground that could help me? I thought of a massive slug and it oozing all over Pat, dragging him down until he could no longer spread his hatefulness. Nothing happened. I thought harder, this time about something simpler—an army of slugs that would attack him and pull him under. That was more fitting.
    He was laughing below, showing off for everyone. I thought harder about those plump slugs, their slime propelling them along from underground. I focused on nothing more than just these slugs trying to make it to the stage and to Pat. As I floated at least twenty feet above the ground, they obliged.
    There was a low rumble and then I could hear the stage cracking as a hole began forming underneath Pat. He let out a low scream as a massive amount of slugs began pouring out onto the floor and crawling up his legs. I watched as he would rip a couple off, only to find ten more had taken their place. His concentration lost, I began to slowly lower to the ground, my body feeling as though it was returning to normal.
    When my feet touched the ground, the slugs were already up to his chest and climbing higher. He yelled something that sounded like  surrender and, with a burst of light, everything was back to normal. All of the slugs had disappeared and the stage had been repaired. Pat stood in front of me, rubbing his arms. The slime that had covered him was gone, but he was still trying to swat at invisible slugs on his legs.
    "Are you two happy now?" Perry asked. He seemed agitated.
    "Yes, sir," I said and smiled at Pat.
    "He's just angry because he's in love with the freak," Pat whispered and walked back to join the others.
    "If I were you, Pat, I'd watch what I say. Next time I might not be so nice," I said.
    He looked down at the ground and muttered, "Whatever."
    Perry ran his hands through his hair. "Luk, why don't you get out of here for the day? You don't need to practice for this. Judging by today's little display, you're going to have no problem passing."
    "But … sir." I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to be mad at me.
    "Just go,