Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
No, hiding was my only option. I wasn’t ready to become a martyr.
When we walked out of that gate, I had to convince everyone that I was still Adaline Moore, an assessor and non-combatant, who wandered out of the breach by pure luck. Except that I probably looked different, I carried a magic sword, my dog was twenty-five percent larger than when we went in, and I would’ve survived in the breach for at least a week with no supplies, weapons, or combat Talents to protect me. Now that was truly unheard of.
Piece of cake. Right.
I had no idea how to pull that off. And worrying about it was premature. I had plenty of time to think of some kind of plan.
After five minutes of walking, we stopped before a hole in the wall. It was about ten feet across and roughly semicircular, as if cut in the rock. It reminded me of the small cave where Bear and I took shelter to fight off the mauve flowers. The hole looked empty and dark, except for one thing. A complex dial the size of a dessert plate hung in mid-air in the exact center of the opening.
I flexed. The entire entrance fluoresced with bright electric yellow. No touching. A barrier, invisible to my normal vision. Only the dial was free of the glow. It had to be the source of the barrier.
I stared at the dial. Five concentric circles carved out of bone and inlaid with a metal the color of rose gold. Each of the circles was marked with eight smaller round indentations, spaced at even intervals. The top indentation was dark, the second going clockwise was mostly dark with a pale rose gold crescent on the right side, the third was half gold, half dark… Phases of the moon.
Five circles, five moons, eight phases each.
Thousands of combinations.
Something stirred in my mind. A vision flooded me. I saw a hand with slender fingers and brindled skin reach for an identical dial and manipulate the circles with its red claws, selecting the phases. A panorama of a night sky unfolded above me with five moons of different colors in different phases. A holy cosmic combination, part of a twisted faith and a lynchpin of a sacred ritual known only to the initiated.
The vision faded. I had the key now, but not the explanation. Who left the dial barrier here, what was behind it, and most importantly, should I open it?
Was there something dangerous locked in that hole? It could contain treasure, valuable knowledge, or some kind of eldritch horror that would disintegrate us.
I could just keep walking.
I searched my mind for anything else, any other knowledge relating to the barrier or its originator. I found nothing.
This was so frustrating. I knew there was more there, hidden in that glowing gem that somehow lived inside of me, but I just couldn't access it. It showed me glimpses and only when it wanted to.
I stared at the dial. I had to know. If I walked away now, the barrier would eat at me until I doubled back and opened it. It would be a waste of time and effort. And if I walked away, there was no telling if I would ever get the chance to return.
I reached for the dial and turned the top circle. The first moon in waxing gibbous, the second in waning crescent, the third full, the fourth in its third quarter, and the last a dark new moon. The five moon irregular pentagon.
The circles of the dial slid, spinning on their own. The opening flashed with green, and the dial clattered to the ground. The way was open.
The air was stale and stank of old urine mixed with a harsh odor that reminded me of burned plastic.
I walked into the cave side by side with Bear. She sniffed the air currents and bared the edge of her teeth. Yeah. Right there with you.
The cave was empty. I’d hidden the dial in my backpack. I was pretty sure I could reset it, and a portable impenetrable barrier might come in handy.
We reached the far wall. A dead end on the right, a dark passage leading off to the left. We turned left, then right, through a short hallway, and walked into a small room. A light source glowed on the wall, an apple-sized crystal shining with weak yellow light and wavering almost like a torch. It was on its last legs.
Below the light, a creature lay tied to the wall by some sort of metal cord attached to a collar around its neck. It was probably around three and a half to four feet long and sheathed in thick grey fur. A fluffy tail the color of smoke curled around it, hiding most of the animal from view. All I could see were large triangular ears, tipped by tufts of bright red fur like those of a lynx.