The Familiars #4: Palace of Dreams by Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson Page A
Authors: Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson
Ads: Link
leave any permanent damage. Aldwyn dropped to the grass feet first, as cats have a tendency to do. Skylar hovered above them.
“More of the Nightfall Battalion will be coming,” Skylar said.
“We should go to Turnbuckle Academy and find our loyals,” Gilbert said. “They’ll be able to help us.”
“No,” Skylar was quick to respond. “We can’t put them at risk. If they appear to be accomplices, they’ll be in as much trouble as we are. Besides, our first priority is saving Queen Loranella.”
“And how exactly do we plan on doing that?” Aldwyn asked.
“There are only a few in Vastia who know how to cure a parasitic poison,” Skylar replied. “But just one is far enough removed from the politics of the palace to be trusted. The Mountain Alchemist in Kailasa.”
“He wasn’t exactly welcoming the last time we went to him for help,” Gilbert croaked.
“He did come through for us, though,” Skylar countered.
“Yeah, after he nearly killed us!” Gilbert exclaimed. “And I seem to remember him telling us never to come back to see him again.”
“I don’t know what other choice we have,” Skylar replied. “If we head south, to the forest surrounding the Smuggler’s Trail, its magic will keep us hidden from anyone who comes looking for us. Then we can continue on to Kailasa.”
Aldwyn turned back and took one last look at the palace. He knew they wouldn’t be able to return until they had cleared their names.
5
GAME OF SLUGGOTS
I n the morning sunlight, sheep grazed peacefully across the plains east of the Smuggler’s Trail. They were of little interest to the spyballs flying above. Which is precisely why Aldwyn, Gilbert, and Skylar had spent the last few hours hidden among them, disguised beneath one of Skylar’s illusions. And although this gave them safe cover, it also slowed them down.
“All they eat is grass?” Gilbert asked. “That’s it. Every meal. Grass!”
“You pretty much just eat bugs,” Aldwyn said.
“But there are so many different varieties. Caterbeetles for the hearty meat lover. The delicate sweetness of a mosquitoette. Or the earthy zest of a dung roach. I could go on.”
“That’s okay,” Aldwyn said.
“When that flock of spyballs soars past, I say we make a break for the edge of the forest,” Skylar said.
They waited until the winged eyeballs completed their flyover and disappeared into a low cloud bank. Once they were gone, Aldwyn—with Skylar and Gilbert sitting atop his back—split off from the herd, eager to slip under the thick brush of leaves and branches.
Inside the woods it was cool and quiet, and it took only a few steps to feel like the fields behind them were miles away. Now safely hidden, Skylar dispelled the illusion.
“If we keep moving in this direction, we should come across the Smuggler’s Trail,” Skylar said.
“We still haven’t talked about what was written on the floor of our dungeon cell,” Aldwyn said as the group continued onward. “What if it was a clue?”
“Spuowbip wjots sby udpjbm uosdwoyt,” Skylar recited from memory.
“How do you do that?” Gilbert asked, impressed even though he had seen Skylar’s perfect recall on display many times before.
“I’m not sure what the words mean,” Skylar continued. “Could be elvish. It also sounds like the ancient tongue of the driftfolk.”
“I don’t think I mentioned it before, but when the words formed, they were written backward, from right to left,” Aldwyn said.
“That’s how the elvish script their sentences,” Skylar said. “Perhaps along the way to Kailasa we can find someone to help us translate it. Or maybe the Alchemist can do it himself.”
As the familiars walked deeper into the forest, Aldwyn could sense that they were not alone. But each time he turned, all he heard was the faint rustling of leaves. He remembered the last time he had traveled here and how this enchanted place hid things right before its visitors’ very eyes.
Skylar
“More of the Nightfall Battalion will be coming,” Skylar said.
“We should go to Turnbuckle Academy and find our loyals,” Gilbert said. “They’ll be able to help us.”
“No,” Skylar was quick to respond. “We can’t put them at risk. If they appear to be accomplices, they’ll be in as much trouble as we are. Besides, our first priority is saving Queen Loranella.”
“And how exactly do we plan on doing that?” Aldwyn asked.
“There are only a few in Vastia who know how to cure a parasitic poison,” Skylar replied. “But just one is far enough removed from the politics of the palace to be trusted. The Mountain Alchemist in Kailasa.”
“He wasn’t exactly welcoming the last time we went to him for help,” Gilbert croaked.
“He did come through for us, though,” Skylar countered.
“Yeah, after he nearly killed us!” Gilbert exclaimed. “And I seem to remember him telling us never to come back to see him again.”
“I don’t know what other choice we have,” Skylar replied. “If we head south, to the forest surrounding the Smuggler’s Trail, its magic will keep us hidden from anyone who comes looking for us. Then we can continue on to Kailasa.”
Aldwyn turned back and took one last look at the palace. He knew they wouldn’t be able to return until they had cleared their names.
5
GAME OF SLUGGOTS
I n the morning sunlight, sheep grazed peacefully across the plains east of the Smuggler’s Trail. They were of little interest to the spyballs flying above. Which is precisely why Aldwyn, Gilbert, and Skylar had spent the last few hours hidden among them, disguised beneath one of Skylar’s illusions. And although this gave them safe cover, it also slowed them down.
“All they eat is grass?” Gilbert asked. “That’s it. Every meal. Grass!”
“You pretty much just eat bugs,” Aldwyn said.
“But there are so many different varieties. Caterbeetles for the hearty meat lover. The delicate sweetness of a mosquitoette. Or the earthy zest of a dung roach. I could go on.”
“That’s okay,” Aldwyn said.
“When that flock of spyballs soars past, I say we make a break for the edge of the forest,” Skylar said.
They waited until the winged eyeballs completed their flyover and disappeared into a low cloud bank. Once they were gone, Aldwyn—with Skylar and Gilbert sitting atop his back—split off from the herd, eager to slip under the thick brush of leaves and branches.
Inside the woods it was cool and quiet, and it took only a few steps to feel like the fields behind them were miles away. Now safely hidden, Skylar dispelled the illusion.
“If we keep moving in this direction, we should come across the Smuggler’s Trail,” Skylar said.
“We still haven’t talked about what was written on the floor of our dungeon cell,” Aldwyn said as the group continued onward. “What if it was a clue?”
“Spuowbip wjots sby udpjbm uosdwoyt,” Skylar recited from memory.
“How do you do that?” Gilbert asked, impressed even though he had seen Skylar’s perfect recall on display many times before.
“I’m not sure what the words mean,” Skylar continued. “Could be elvish. It also sounds like the ancient tongue of the driftfolk.”
“I don’t think I mentioned it before, but when the words formed, they were written backward, from right to left,” Aldwyn said.
“That’s how the elvish script their sentences,” Skylar said. “Perhaps along the way to Kailasa we can find someone to help us translate it. Or maybe the Alchemist can do it himself.”
As the familiars walked deeper into the forest, Aldwyn could sense that they were not alone. But each time he turned, all he heard was the faint rustling of leaves. He remembered the last time he had traveled here and how this enchanted place hid things right before its visitors’ very eyes.
Skylar
Similar Books
