The Anvil (17 page)

Alex
walked
in
after
Kiya
had
opened
it
.
Alex
said
hello
to
the
family
then
turned
to
Caleb
and
said
“
I
have
an
offer
for
you
,
Caleb
.
Some
of
the
smiths
that
work
for
the
Riders
and
Guardians
have
heard
of
and
seen
the
shield
you
made
for
Tom
and
are
wondering
if
you
would
like
to
become
an
apprentice
in
that
field
of
work
.
But
the
choice
is
up
to
you
.
What
do
you
say
?”
the
whole
family
except
Tom
looked
surprised
.

Caleb
took
a
moment
then
said
“
I
will
need
to
think
about
it
.
Give
me
a
week
or
two
I
will
sent
my
reply
by
the
Post
.”
Tom
and
Zack
finished
saying
bye
to
Tom
'
s
family
then
the
three
left
.
As
they
walked
Alex
asked
the
two
boys
questions
about
how
their
week
went
.

They
got
to
the
cabin
with
a
hour
or
so
until
lunch
so
the
boys
trained
and
Alex
read
reports
,
John
was
away
on
a
mission
.
That
was
another
good
thing
about
all
of
them
living
together
,
one
of
the
brothers
could
train
both
apprentices
when
the
other
had
a
mission
they
didn
'
t
want
to
bring
their
apprentice
on
.

After
lunch
the
boys
went
back
to
training
.
Tom
,
who
had
almost
mastered
water
magic
,
was
teaching
Zack
some
spells
.
The
sun
was
setting
as
Tom
taught
Zack
the
spell
to
clean
water
instantly
.

Alex
called
the
boys
in
so
they
could
make
and
eat
dinner
.
They
cooked
some
rabbit
Alex
had
killed
earlier
.
After
they
ate
and
were
sitting
around
the
fire
,
Alex
said
“
Tomorrow
you
both
start
your
wilderness
survival
course
.
It
will
be
for
a
month
.
You
will
do
it
atleast
once
a
year
,
each
year
you
will
have
more
challenges
.
So
in
the
morning
you
will
head
into
a
section
of
woods
with
a
tinderbox
,
tin
cooking
utensils
,
a
hatchet
,
your
weapons
and
armor
.
I
have
a
spell
on
the
area
so
I
know
if
you
leave
it
.
You
are
not
allowed
to
interact
with
other
people
.
Zack
,
your
wyvern
,
Dejoni
will
also
come
with
you
.
Tom
tomorrow
I
will
give
you
a
lesson
only
Dragon
Guardians
get
...
you
get
your
wings
.”

Chapter
8

             
They
went
to
sleep
that
night
with
their
minds
racing
.
Tom
'
s
thoughts
focused
on
what
Alex
had
said
about
him
getting
his
wings
.
Zack
was
thinking
about
what
they
would
do
to
survive
for
a
month
.
They
eventually
fell
asleep
nearly
an
hour
later
.
In
the
morning
they
both
woke
up
excited
and
worried
.
John
must
have
gotten
back
in
the
night
because
he
was
sitting
at
the
table
with
Alex
eating
breakfast
.
The
boys
ate
quickly
and
when
they
were
done
John
took
Zack
to
the
Wyvern
stable
and
Alex
took
Tom
to
the
beach
.

When
Tom
and
Alex
got
to
the
beach
Alex
asked
Tom
“
What
is
the
number
one
rule
of
magic
?”
Tom
quickly
replied
“
Do
not
experiment
with
magic
until
you
’
re
a
master
.”
Alex
nodded
his
head
and
said
“
Good
,
now
I
want
you
to
swear
you
will
not
teach
anyone
about
this
,
unless
it
is
your
apprentice
,
and
not
try
to
change
yourself
anymore
then
I
teach
you
to
.”
Tom
answered
“
On
my
honor
I
swear
I
will
not
teach
anyone
,
except
my
own
apprentice
,
about
this
spell
and
not
try
any
more
then
you
teach
me
.”
Then
Alex
taught
him
how
to
get
his
wings
.
All
he
had
to
do
was
think
the
words
of
magic
and
imagine
the
wings
.

Soon
he
was
soaring
above
the
lake
with
Alex
.
Alex
told
him
that
each
Dragon
Guardian
could
only
turn
into
a
dragon
of
one
color
,
while
Alex
was
purple
Tom
was
a
deep
,
jet
black
.
Tom
looked
over
at
the
wyvern
stable
and
saw
John
and
Zack
talking
.
He
soon
forgot
about
it
as
he
flew
through
the
air
.