The Language of Spells

The Language of Spells — page 1 — For Tom Weyr who introduced me to dragons

The Language of Spells — page 2 — PROLOGUE The Famous and the Ordinary Sometimes even today magic still happens Sadly it no longer comes from cauldrons or fairy godmothers godmothers with wands Or even no matter what you’ve read elsewhere from wizards Instead it is tucked into shadows shadows and corners visible only if you look But you might have found it some years ago on a cold rainy night at a famous hotel bar in the center of an old city in Europe Anyone who cared to pay attention that night would have seen magic coming out of its deep slumber at the exact moment when an old dragon and a young girl met for the first time The dragon was no ordinary dragon although Vienna the old city with the famous hotel bar was full of dragons all claiming to be famous and special The dragon in question question made no such claims Indeed he thought of himself

The Language of Spells — page 3 — as hopelessly ordinary especially when compared to his noisy friends at the bar They never tired of telling their stories about armies castles or kings Our dragon did have a particularly splendid roar but he’d never used it in battle Magic had yet to claim him for its purpose as it had each of his friends He would have been embarrassed if anyone had told him he was destined for great things But in fact it was why he’d been born The girl as it turned out was no ordinary girl either although she would certainly have told you that she was She believed that mirrors don’t lie and her mirror showed a remarkably unremarkable reflection The magic that existed in her world sang only in poetry paintings colors or an excellent slice of almond cake If pressed she’d explain that her father a famous poet and her mother a dead but still famous painter were the special ones in her family She herself although finally eleven was just a girl with no particular talents Magic is funny in that way It chooses those who might not choose themselves In fact one of the many rules governing the world of magic is that if you pay attention attention you will understand how magic has chosen you And why 2

The Language of Spells — page 4

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