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left of the front door, but the booths were the onlyopportunity Jahl had to meet clients looking for a quick spell. Ifhe could build up a regular set of clients, he would buy a used butmagic-rich stone and be able to have his clients come to his homefor his services. But until then, renting a standing stone andwaiting in the appointed space by the front of the store would haveto do. So far, he’d only managed to earn enough each day to rentanother stone the next morning.

He ran his fingers over the surface of thetop stone, flakes bouncing off as his fingers moved over the chiselmarks. A vague vibration trembled against his hand. Assured it wasnot a good standing stone, Jahl gripped it and lifted with a grunt,turned and heaved it onto a taller stack. His shoulder musclescramped with the effort, and he marveled at its weight and lack ofeven a trace of magic. Tommlar must be hoping to take advantage ofa poor, low-talent wielder. He pivoted on the one foot supportinghis weight and grasped the second stone. At his touch, it gave offa vaporous stink, and he hurried to move it aside so he couldremove his hands from the remains of what must have been darkusage. Wielders that practiced curses and poisoning magic tended torent stones rather than use their own.

Jahl wished yet again for a job worthy enoughto earn him the coin needed to buy his own standing stone.Tommlar’s gruff voice reminded him he should not dally at the backlong. The shop owner would find some reason to berate him, even ifit was just for daydreaming.

Grab the good one and get out before youdraw Tommlar’s attention, he told himself. He dug his fingersunder the edge of his selected stone. Blood’s Bees! How washe going to pull the stone to his chest and rise up on his good legin this cramped space? He turned yet again, grating his rightshoulder and hip against a tall stack of high-end magic stones. Thecontact drew arcs of brilliant color and drifting dust particleslike tiny stars. Jahl looked toward the owner of the mercantile atthe front of the store and was happy to see he was still with acustomer. Tommlar would accuse him of testing the merchandise if hecaught him drawing arcs and magic debris from the expensive stones.He might even think Jahl had been passing magic into the rental hewas touching. That would be a feat for a new wielder!

Jahl shifted his weight to the side and intothe cloud of drifting essence. He felt the tingle against his skinas he soaked it up. With that simple gesture, the response faded,and Tommlar was still too busy to notice. Jahl adjusted hisposition again and rested a moment while he judged the spacebetween stacks that might offer a better stance for him. He stuckhis right leg into the space between the two standing stone columnsand settled his weight on the ball of his left foot. Jahl pulledhis shoulders in and yanked the stone’s far edge up, and then heyanked again and pulled it to his chest. Leaning forward and usinghis crippled leg as a lever, he stood up, holding his breath as hestrained.

Jahl rocked with the effort to remain uprightagainst the tug of the stone in his arms and only one strong leg tostand on. To counterbalance, he leaned back farther than he shouldand tapped a stack behind him. Jahl felt it shift. Tommlar wasstill busy, thankfully, and Jahl closed his eyes and pulled at thestack behind him until he felt it find its balance. His fingerstingled with the strain of drawing the majority of the magic intohis shoulders rather than through his whole body when he stood on astone and felt the power rise up.

He shuffled right, limping in his practiced,graceful-yet-awkward manner out from the stacks. Every step causedhim pain that ran from his twisted heel up through his stiff kneeto a hip that almost creaked with the cramps running up his thighand buttocks. Little puffs of air rushed past his lips, and he heldback his moaning response to the pain. Allowing his body to lean tothe side and resting his shoulder against the store wall, Jahlpaused, hidden between two display racks, to wait out thediscomfort. He stepped out and sighed as he peered ahead to thesun-drenched, open double doors of the mercantile.

The morning sun glaring through the door waseclipsed, and everyone in the store glanced at the entrance. BraggMoln stood in the doorway squinting into the shadows. Jahl stoodstill and felt the blood rising to his cheeks in anticipation ofwhat the man would do. It was hard to accept help at the same timehe was trying to earn the respect a magic wielder needed forcustomers to have confidence. As much as it was a strain to carrythe stone, it forced people to recognize him for what he was. Buthe knew Moln saw the situation differently.

The big man scanned the store before lightinghis gaze on Jahl. “Young Pratter, no helpful clerk about to carrythat for you? I’ll give you a hand.” A couple of customersdeliberately leaned closer to the stock in front of them, suddenlyintensely interested in flatware and curtain material. They snuckglimpses first at Pratter then at Tommlar, anticipating a snideremark that would entertain them.

Jahl clutched tighter at the stone. “No, Igot it. No need to trouble yourself, Master Moln.”

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About theAuthor

L. Darby (Elldee) Gibbs, a long-time fan of sciencefiction and fantasy, has focused her writing on romantic fantasy inmost recent years. She has three fantasy series, the first is acoming of age adventure, currently a four-book series titledStanding Stone.

Gibbs has written a stand-alone series of romanticdragon fantasy titled Solstice Dragon World. The books can be readout of order, though they do on occasion reference events thatoccurred the other books. There are four books in the growingseries.

The most recent romantic