The Runes of Sorcery by Jane Welch

Author:Jane Welch [Welch, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2023-10-30T17:00:00+00:00

Brid looked disgusted. ‘“From here, think on the door of stone.” It doesn’t mean a thing to me.’

‘“From here.”’ Caspar rubbed at his crooked nose. ‘I think we should go outside and see what we can see from there.’

A trail of blood led down from the rock around the entrance of the cave and Brid looked anxiously about her for fear of attack from the remaining Keepers. But they were already swallowed by the mist.

‘Where will they go?’ Caspar asked, concerned for their plight.

‘Where can they go?’ Brid replied sadly. ‘All we can do to help is find the Egg. If we succeed perhaps their time will come again.’ She dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand. ‘“… the door of stone …”’

The valley was still draped in mist so Brid decided they would have to climb up above it. At last they reached a crag that poked above the veil of mist and from this height they had a clear view over the surrounding plains. To the north-west, Caspar could see the blue-green sea where three ships were slanting in the wind. To the north-east, the sun caught the emerald olivenite towers and glistening copper-green domes of a city. Standing on a rise, it was surrounded on three sides by the quiet waters of an oxbow lake long since abandoned by the main course of the river, which snaked along the border between Glain and Camaalia.

Brid sighed heavily. ‘A door! It’s ridiculous! You’d never see a door from here. We’d better get back to the cave and destroy the shield in case anyone else finds it.’

‘Gold set against rock? It won’t shatter like the cauldron,’ Hal asserted.

‘No, but it should melt. If we collect enough wood to make a bonfire beneath it we might at least soften it enough to smooth over the writing.’

Brid was right but the task of collecting the timber looked like it was going to be a long hard one. They were all relieved when Ceowulf appeared hurriedly following Trog, who launched himself delightedly at Brid.

‘I heard strange echoes booming out from the mountain and was worried for you. It took Trog no time to pick up your scent, so here we are.’ He nodded at the blood in the cave. ‘No trouble I hope?’

Hal shook his head. ‘Nothing we couldn’t handle.’

‘Huh! Don’t be too sure of your skills, young man. It takes many years to train a knight and even then, however great your sword, one day you’ll come across someone with more skill than you.’

Trog delighted in the task of building the bonfire. He dashed in and out of the undergrowth, exuberantly searching for his own branch to carry, showing great excitement every time he found one, and repeatedly scraping Caspar’s shins with the end of his stick. Brid lit the piled branches and fanned the flames.

They retreated from the smoke to the outer cave and waited for the flames to lap at the shield and melt the gold. Brid was brooding so Caspar steered clear of her and slumped down by Hal who was examining his sword.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.