Jonathan Stroud
Author of fantasy books, mainly for children and young adults.
"Take that stupid grin off your face," he said. "You're putting me off."
"Sorry." I adopted a hideous expression of malady and woe.
"That's not much better."
So I departed, leaving behind a pungent smell of brimstone. Just something to remember me by.
The boy did the preliminaries, sealing the circles, erecting the bonds. Now we were all subject to the rules of the summoning. But then he stopped. He did not progress. The woman looked at him furiously. "I've forgotten it," he said.
No attack yet by Archmage. Wish he'd hurry up.
Today summoned painfully to earth by a short fat English magician with a dangerous stammer*.
The temperature of the room dropped fast.
The boy shrugged. "I've forgotten it," was all he said. And then, "I guess I wasn't taught well enough."
Wednesday
Yep, same again. Saw a few nice whirling colours and things. That's it. Easy, this journal lark, isn't it?
The darkness cloaking my mind lifted. Instantly, I was as alert as ever, crystal-sharp in all my perceptions, a coiled spring ready to explode into action. It was time to escape!
Except it wasn't.