Read The Last of the Sages (Sage Trilogy, Book 1) for Free Online Page B

a ring of vapor from his mouth as the driver nodded in his direction. With barely a wave, the driver snapped the reins and wasted no time in heading back to the village. James didn’t blame him. Being in the presence of the Academy itself had to make anyone uncomfortable and he was doing his absolute best to not think about its intimidating presence.
    He blew another ring of vapor, still in awe over how cold it had gotten. Then he decided to blow another, and for a moment, he mused over what the record for blowing vapor rings was when he suddenly shook his head to get rid of the thought. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, not at a place like this. He had to learn how to focus.
    He looked around, realizing for the first time how still the atmosphere was. There was no welcoming party. No one to greet his arrival. Not even a doorman. Just the eerie feeling that he was being watched. The wind died down as he glanced up at the colossal steel door towering over him.
    He grabbed his satchel and adjusted it over his shoulder until he was comfortable, his thoughts already trailing off. He tried to decide whether to enter the Academy doors looking scared or like he was a force to be reckoned with. After all, first impressions were everything.
    He could probably get some sympathy looking like the scared new kid, but then again, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be made fun of, so that option was out.
    Bad boy it is.
    He lowered his eyes to appear bored and tensed his jaw as if he were constantly angry. Swinging his satchel over his other shoulder, he tilted his head slightly to the left. Pushing the rusted steel door entrance to the side, he stepped through, trying not to snicker at the thought of what he must look like . I’ll just need a chump to be my lackey and I’m good to g o, he thought as he surveyed the empty courtyard beyond the doors, flat and barren with only the slush providing contours in the landscape.
    Enormous pillars extended down to the main Academy building in two parallel straight lines, lampposts hanging from each one, barely lit. Though the yard had no roof over it, it was somehow darker than when he had been outside its doors, creating an effect that screamed out it was haunted.
    Suddenly he was thankful no one was there to greet him. They might catch the fear creeping into his face. 
    At least he thought no one was there…
    He didn’t see the open palm swinging toward his mouth.
    As it struck, he cried out in shock, swinging his satchel in retaliation at the attacker, but he missed horribly. He heard the culprit snicker from the shadows as he grabbed James’s satchel with little effort. James stood there, dumbstruck, and watched as the mysterious attacker used his own possessions against him, swiping his legs from underneath him and forcing him into the wet slush below. The attacker chuckled from underneath his coat as he stepped further into the light.
    “You would have gotten more of a welcome acting like the new kid.”
    The stranger was tall and skinny, but not lanky. Jet black hair flowed from the crown of his head like it had life of its own, constantly covering his left eye as if he were trying to hide something in his retina. The eye that did reveal itself was piercing, intense, and full of life, but not of excitement. It was searching for something, with a passion that advised caution to anyone who stepped in its path. And James had no doubt that this stranger sought to match his wardrobe with his stare. A long, black trench coat draped his body, finely pressed and only accentuating his cold demeanor. On top of all that, with the dark fabrics clothing him, the stranger’s right eye was only further intensified as it was the first thing anyone saw beyond the black… 
    “Who are you?” James demanded cautiously. This was not his father. He couldn’t just say any word that popped into his mind.
    “If I tell you my name, you’ll be obligated to tell me yours, and then I might get