Wizard's Touch.

Amber Kell.

Jaynell's Wolf.

A Wizard's Touch.

Amber Kell.

Dedication:.

To my blog buddies who always give me that little bit of encouragement when I'm feeling down.

Chapter One.

Jaynell Marley looked at the tall lions flanking the doors and let out the breath he'd been holding. Students ran up and down the stairs, rushing off to classes or wherever busy students went. This was where his father wanted him, the last request of a dead man who had given Jay everything, including his very life. Despite not wanting to be here, Jay wouldn't deny his father's wishes.

Nerves firing like ricocheting bullets zapped through his system as he realized soon he would be one of those students. At twenty-four years of age, Jay was older than a lot of the freshmen at the Mayell Wizard Academy, but life had kept him too busy to start formal training until this point.

"Are you lost?"

"Hmmm." Jay pulled himself out of his thoughts to see a girl about his own age standing before him with questioning eyes.

"Are you lost? You look like you're not sure where to go."

"Headmaster's office. I have to go to the headmaster's office," Jay said. Although he had a pretty good idea of where to go, it didn't hurt to have someone show him.

"I'm Lira," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm a second year. Did you transfer?"

"I'm Jaynell. No. I didn't transfer. I'm starting late.

Family illness."

"Oh." Her face reflected pity, but she didn't comment further. In Jay's experience, most people didn't know what to say. "Come with me. I'll take you to Headmaster Vreel. He's really amazing. You'll like him."

Jay hoped it was true. Always nervous about meeting authority figures, he'd spent all of his life with private tutors. This was his first time coming to a place of group education. Granted, the education was done in an exclusive wizarding college, but it was still not the usual one-on-one tutoring he was used to.

Nervously following the friendly girl, Jay climbed the long stairway, momentarily distracted when the lions'

eyes glowed blue.

"Why do they glow?" Jay asked, pointing at the lions.

Lira frowned. "What are you talking about? They don't glow."

Maybe it was just one of those things that only he saw. Wouldn't be the first time.

"I guess I'm imagining things."

Except he knew he wasn't. Lira seemed happy with that explanation and continued to lead him through the marble halls, to a gleaming wooden door.

2.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

With a small smile, Jay opened the door and stepped through. A gnome sat behind a large wooden desk.

Her gray skin gleamed dully beneath the natural sunlight.

He could tell she was a female by the earring in her left ear, indicating a mated female. Males wore them in their right ear.

Jay gave a short bow to the receptionist and said in perfect Gnome, "I have an appointment with your master."

Most people didn't know gnomes only worked for their masters. In order to stay out of their hills, they had to be owned. Free gnomes were only allowed underground because of their rages. Their anger could only be controlled by the one who owned them. It was a high honor to be owned, and oddly, an owned gnome had more status in their tribe than a free one.

The gnome's eyes sparkled when she spotted Jay.

"Greetings. You must be Mr. Marley. Someone has trained you well. You speak Gnome beautifully. I will tell my master that you can skip Gnome linguistics."

One less class to take Jay gave another bow. "Your help is appreciated."

The little creature beamed, flashing her pointed teeth in a frighteningly sharp smile. "You are most 3 *

welcome, gnome friend. Go right in."

Jay smiled and went to the door the gnome pointed to. Not bothering to knock, he opened the door and walked through.

A tall, thin man with long white hair sat behind a silvery metallic desk. He gave Jay a nod as he walked into the room.

"Good afternoon, Master Jay. It is nice to see you.

My secretary told me great things about you."

The gnome must have a telepathic link to her master. Jay realized his entire interaction was probably relayed to the white-haired man as it happened. "That is kind of her."

"Indeed." The wizard pierced Jay with a stare. "She doesn't like very many people so I'm always fascinated when she takes a shine to one."

It wasn't a question so Jay stayed silent. He didn't want to interrupt the dean.

"Now sit and we'll go over your schedule."

Jay perched at the edge of a straight-backed wooden chair, his nerves swirling around his stomach like a tornado.

The wizard shifted some papers around on his desk.

"I see that you've been privately tutored so I don't have any of your talent scores available. You will have to meet with 4 *

the testers to see where you have the greatest talents. You are scheduled to do your talent tests tomorrow at noon.

Today, you can get settled in your room and familiarize yourself with campus."

"The lions out front?"

"Saw that, did you?" The headmaster gave him a companionable smile. "Security system."

"Ah." Jay nodded. He continued nodding until he was sent out of the office with a room number, a map and a test schedule.

Jay gave the gnome a respectful nod on the way out and received another sharp-toothed smile in return. Hiding his shudder, he walked out of the room. Looking down at his map, he headed to where he thought his dorm was.

His room was on the second floor and, from the sound of the music pounding through the door, wasn't empty.

Jay hesitantly knocked on the door.

A tousled blond head peeked out, half-elf if Jay was any sort of judge.

"Hey. You must be the new kid."

"I'm Jay."

5.

"Kevin. Nice to meet you, come on in."

Jay walked through the door and into a large room.

Five beds were spaced out with desks between them.

Three dark-haired men, identical in appearance, stared at him with glowing blue eyes.

"These are the Stewartson triplets. Devin, Dean, and Dan. We just call them all D."

"Guys." Jay scanned them with his magic and imprinted their differences into his mind. He didn't want to get stuck calling them by the wrong names. Names were important and carried power.

"Where's your stuff?" Dean asked, shaking his dark shaggy head at Jay's bare hands.

"Oh. Right here." Jay pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket. Unfolding the paper, he placed it on the only empty bed in the room.

All four of them stared at the picture of the steamer trunk.

"Funny, dude," Kevin said. "But, really, where's your stuff."

"Haven't you ever seen a compression spell?" Jay slid his right index finger across the photo. "Reveal."

A flash of purple lightning crackled in the room, and a full size suitcase appeared on Jay's bed.

"Whoa." Devin stared at the luggage like it might 6 *

bite him. "How did you do that?"

Jay shrugged. "I used magic to compress my luggage until it was paper thin."

"Man, that's way advanced magic. Are you sure you're a freshman?"

"I've had a lot of private tutoring," Jay confessed.

"My father didn't like me to be away from him for too long."

All four sets of eyes stared at him like he'd performed a miracle. "I think you might be ahead of the rest of us," Dan said.

Jay hoped his new roommates weren't going to think he was a showoff. He didn't know what they taught in public schools so there was no way for him to judge a normal level of experience and magical power. His father couldn't stand the separation, not since he'd bound his magic to Jay's, but he didn't think he needed to go into those details.

"How about you put your stuff away and we'll take you out for pizza?" Kevin said with a smile.

Jay didn't really want to have pizza, but he knew the guy was trying to make him feel welcome. "I'd like that.