Baker's Magic (Middle-grade Novels) by Zahler Diane

Author:Zahler, Diane [Zahler, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 9781782024170, Netherlands, 9781782024187, middle grade fiction, 9781496527240, fantasy & magic, 9781496527264, cooking & food, 9781623706425, Capstone Young Readers, family/alternative family, juvenile fiction, pastries
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Published: 2016-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

As soon as the three travelers bid goodbye to Rijkie and stepped out of the boat, a figure appeared at the other end of the long dock. Bee could tell from the green robe that he was a hedge wizard. They walked toward him, and he bowed. He had sharp gray eyes in a friendly, open face, and straw-colored hair peeked from beneath his hood.

“Welcome!” he said. “The masters saw you coming, and they’ve sent me to greet you.”

“The masters?” Bee repeated. “Do you mean the mages?”

“That’s right. They are my masters; I am their servant, Bartholomew.” The hedge wizard tucked his hands into his wide sleeves in the way that hedge wizards did, and bowed again.

“I’m Bee. This is Wil. And this is Princess Anika of Aradyn.”

“At your service, Your Highness,” Bartholomew said, bowing a third time.

Anika put on her regal voice. “We have business with the mages,” she said. “Will they convene with us?”

“Of course they will—though they are not much for business,” Bartholomew replied. “Please, do follow me. I will show you where you will be lodged, and you can have a bite to eat there if you wish, and a rest. Then I will take you to them.”

They followed the hedge wizard off the pier and then up a steep flight of stone stairs that wound around and around the mountainside. Before long, the three of them were panting, though Bartholomew wasn’t at all breathless. The ground was rocky, and between the rocks flowers in strange colors and shapes grew. Even stranger insects buzzed among them. Bee saw a butterfly with what looked almost like a human head flitting among the blossoms. There were flowers with petals the color of the sea, green and deep blue and turquoise. Flowers that were gray with black bordered petals, and others that were different shades of brown, from tan to the color of coffee. They weren’t pretty, exactly, but they were interesting to look at.

“What kind of flowers are these?” Wil asked, fascinated. He reached out to touch one of the brown ones and pulled back sharply. “Ouch!”

“Yes, do be careful, young man. It has spines. One of our mages, Master Kajetan, likes to experiment with plants. I wouldn’t say he is entirely successful, but he entertains himself.”

“And the bugs?” Anika said, peering at an enormous spider that had woven a sparkling pink web. Bee drew back in horror.

“That’s Master Scipio’s project, Your Highness. I don’t really see the point myself, but it keeps him busy.”

They had no breath left for questions as they continued up and up the stairs. Bee felt a little dizzy looking down; they were so far above the sea by now that the rocks below looked like pebbles. At last they reached a tall stone wall with a gate that Bartholomew pushed open.

“No guard?” Bee panted.

“Here?” Bartholomew smiled. “Who would we guard against? Nobody comes here. You are the first visitors we’ve had in … well, I couldn’t even say. A very long time.

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