by Dale Britton
He was almost afraid to try. In Valoria, the magic had been so natural. It had almost become a part of him. He really didn't expect it to work here, and he steeled himself to be disappointed. He concentrated and cast the fire spell.
And it worked. A small ball of flames appeared above his hand. It felt a little different than it had on Valoria. It was smaller, and it was more yellow than red, but he was able to make it dance in the air just like before. There was magic in this world too.
Sarah let out a shout of pure joy. "I knew it would work!"
"That's more than I knew," Ollie admitted. "It feels different, though. There doesn't seem to be as much magic to draw on here."
"I wonder if your charm works here too," Sarah said, pointing at the amulet Father Peter had given him at the start of their quest. Ollie had forgotten about it completely.
"I don't know." He reached down to examine the charm, but when his fingers touched it, he felt a bright flash of pain run up his arm. In his mind, he saw the burning eyes of the demon lord. I leave you my curse. He dropped the charm, gasping. Whatever this curse was, the amulet sure didn't seem to like it.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Ollie wasn't really lying. He felt fine. The pain had disappeared as fast as it had come. As far as he could tell, everything was completely normal. Still, he didn't think he wanted to hold on to the charm anymore. Not until he figured out what was going on, anyway. He lifted the cord of the amulet over his head, being careful not to touch the metal. "Here." He handed the charm to Sarah. "You should hold on to this. Think of it as a souvenir." Sarah accepted it without a word, but she watched Ollie closely.
When they reached Sarah's house she paused outside the front door. "Will you tell me later?"
Ollie looked into Sarah's eyes. She was the most wonderful girl he had ever met, and it had nothing to do with how pretty she was. She was the most caring person he had ever known. It was good to know that whatever he might have to face in the future, she was going to be there too.
"I'll tell you all about it, but not now. I need to think."
"All right, but don't think too much."
"Good advice." He leaned in and kissed her. A curse from a demon lord and a relationship with Sarah. The way he looked at it, he had come out of this way ahead.
Later, as he walked home, Ollie felt something when he put his hands in his pockets to warm them. It was the ancient key Sarah had found inside the tree in Valoria. Ollie stared at the small object for several moments. The map had sent them to find this key, but they had never used it on their quest. Lylor had almost died trying to get to it. Why would the map send them to find something they didn't need? What did the key open? It seemed there was still a piece of the puzzle missing.
Ollie shoved the key back into his pocket. He was too tired for riddles. The stars were shining in the night sky, and he was going to his own home to sleep in a real bed. The demon lord had been beaten and the good guys had all survived. That was enough for now.
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Did you love The Summoning? Then you should read Watching Amy by Dale Britton!
Amy is a sixteen-year-old girl who starts to notice that something strange is happening. People are staring at her. It could be anyone- friends, family, strangers, even animals. They just freeze in place and start watching her, and they don't even seem to notice that they're doing it. And then, when she's caught in an explosion at her father's research lab, things really get nuts. Amy and her friends need to figure out the mystery of what's happening to her before it's too late, because something big is going on. And the more they learn, the more obvious it becomes that it might not just be Amy who's in danger. It might be the entire world!
About the Author
Dale Britton is a high school math and computer science teacher and the father of three incredible girls, and has thus experienced his fair share of drama during the last twenty years. It was only natural that his lifelong love of books and reading would eventually develop into a passion for writing. His literary tastes lean toward the creepy and sensational, though he doesn't mind a bit of romance as well. He currently lives in Arlington, Texas with his beautiful family and his faithful dog and equally faithful chinchilla. His first novel "Watching Amy" was released Summer, 2017.