A Warlock's Words

by Ben Ezzell

Overview

Jeremy is a bright, 14-year-old who is also a self-taught magician -- a warlock. His only guide to his talent is an old diary detailing someone else's experiments with a similar talent ... and lamenting the fact that there are no words to describe what is being done or how. Initially, Jeremy uses his talent to get even with the school bully. But, later that evening, while Jeremy is in his 'hideout', someone sets fire to Jeremy's home -- which is located in a remote area along the flooding Russian River. Jeremy discovers the fire and sees a burning figure inside, then tries to extinguish the fire using his talents. The fire, however, is too much for him and results in collapse and a fever. When he recovers and finds himself back in his hideout, it's late at night and Jeremy decides to hitch a ride to the truck stop in town. As far as he knows, no-one was in the house. The housekeeper -- who is chronically absentminded -- wasn't there the previous afternoon and Jeremy's father is overseas on a job. From town, he can catch a bus in the morning, returning to Guerneville and find out what has happened. Jeremy hitches a ride with a trucker but falls asleep in the cab. Later, Jeremy awakens, unsure where he is but all too aware that the trucker is intent on molesting him. Jeremy uses his talent to make the trucker's clothes vanish, then -- when that action only enrages the trucker further -- causes a minor heart attack and escapes from the truck with his backpack. As Jeremy is running away, the truck catches fire behind him and he sees -- again -- the same burning figure he saw in the burning house ... and flees even faster. When he finally pauses for breath, Jeremy discovers that he has also attracted the attentions of a ghost -- Danny, who was young, black and a drug addict. Together, boy and ghost head south for Los Angeles where the parent company who employ Jeremy's father are located. When Jeremy and Danny reach LA, they're spotted by Jeanne -- who, unlike Jeremy, can actually see Danny. Jeanne -- 16 -- is a witch whose talent is locating things -- anything. But, like Jeremy, Jeanne is also frustrated because she does not know how to describe what she does. Together the three youngsters -- warlock, witch and ghost -- set out to investigate their talents but, in the process, become involved with drug dealers, federal agents ... and the burning man. Finally, despite setbacks, frustration and very real dangers, the three find solutions with Danny discovering how to help the burning specter and Jeremy and Jeanne create an opportunity to learn the words ... or learn to create the language which they each need while avoiding the immediate hazards inherent in being 'different'. A Warlock's Words is complete in itself but sets the stage for further development as the first volume of a trilogy. The characters are young, from different backgrounds but are held together by friendship as well as their common challenges -- mastering magic and learning who they are ... and who they want to be.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940011829383
Publisher:	Dragon Tree Press
Publication date:	09/30/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	980 KB

About the Author

Ex-Navy Air Crew and electronics expert, Ben returned to college for a ten-year stint collecting multiple majors in Math and Sciences as well as one in Arts and by correspondence, a BS degree in Computer Sciences. During his college career, Ben was an antiquarian book dealer but later began traveling (both throughout the US and abroad) while publishing more than two dozen books on computer programming. Tiring of writing about computers, Ben became a software design engineer and has two patents to his credit. Now retired (medically disabled, DAV), Ben lives in the Pacific North-west, in a temperate rain-forest jungle on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula accompanied by Mary, his lover for a half-century and his companion/nurse and sometimes boss, Keiser, a miniature Schnauzer and Medic Alert Service Dog with a penchant for challenging (and winning against) bears. When not overloaded with other projects – and there always seem to be other projects – Ben enjoys crafting mysteries which have backgrounds and plot divergences not commonly found in the genre but which are all authentic and drawn from a long and varied career in several fields and countries.