There is nothing more important to Dayven then becoming a Guardian for the Lordowner. Every day, he and his cousin wake up before the morning sun rises up and begin their drills and chores. But now is the day of Dayven’s fourteenth birthday, the day he has been dreading all his life. Dayven was going to be tested by the wizards to see if he had the power of magic. It was a test every child his age had to take.
Filled with dread, Dayven enters the wizard’s tower and climbs up the ancient stairs. An older wizard greets him and makes him sit down in a chair by a table covered in wizarding artifacts. All Dayven has to do is watch the magic the wizard performs and choose which bit of magic was real.
Determined to fail the test, Dayven watches the spectacle before him. A crystal hovers over the table and herbs are mixed. The display before him is bizarre and interesting until something makes his face tingle. It is magic. Before he can stop himself, Dayven turns his head and spots the wizard healing a potted plant.
It is too late. Dayven has spotted the real magic being used in the room. His chance to serve the Lordowner as a Guardian is over.
Upset and in denial, Dayven runs from the wizard tower and returns to his room. There has to be a way to escape the dishonor of becoming a wizard and his cousin, Soren, may be able to help him.
Meeting with the Lordowner, Dayven is asked to be a spy. Lord Enar, the Lordowner, feels that the wizards may betray their people in battle. Dayven must pretend to join the wizards and discover their treason first hand.
What comes next is unexpected. Dayven learns, as an apprentice to a wizard named Reddick, that there are two sides to every story. Dayven must make a choice. Will he honor his oath to the Lordowner and tell him how the wizards plan to help the enemy? Or will he choose to right the wrongs that have been done to the land by his own conquering people?
The Wizard Test by Hilari Bell (Eos, Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN-10: 0060599421), author of The Goblin Wood, is a stunning story about growing up and making the right choice. Life can be tough, decisions may be hard to make, but there is beauty all around if one follows his heart and makes the right decisions.
