Golden Trillium by Andre Norton

Author:Andre Norton [Norton, Andre]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure
ISBN: 9780553560954
Publisher: Spectra
Published: 1992-12-31T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

ON THE THIRD OF THE WIDE STEPS KADIYA stopped abruptly. From below the water sighed against the landing stone, appearing to ebb and flow with a trace of current they had not noted during the voyage. However, now she caught another sound, faint, hardly more than a vibration, through the stone about her. The girl could not put name to it, yet it brought an inner chill.

Jagun's whisper hissed:

"Skritek!"

To continue to climb was perhaps the act of a fool, but in her hand the amulet glowed with an ever increasing fire. They were certainly drawing close to a very strong core of Power. The Drowners were thought to possess no wisdom, no weapons save their fangs, claws, and some crude spears and clubs. They accomplished their most successful raids mainly by stealth. Yet she and her companions were now well into their home territory, and who knew what forces they could muster here?

It was not Salin's voice but the wisewoman's thought which came now.

"These pay honor—they do not hunt."

The certainty in the Uisgu's statement made Kadiya accept it. But whom did those scaled monsters honor? Some chieftain or First of their own—or that thing which had spread death in its passing?

There was no going back; they could only proceed with all the caution they could summon. At least Jagun's senses were well tuned for just such situations as this.

Resolutely Kadiya started on. Though she expected otherwise, the sounds did not grow any louder. In fact they appeared to fade at times.

In competition to the glow of the amulet, Kadiya became aware of a second source of light on the stairway that increased as she took each step.

The light radiated from the top of that flight, but the beam was broken as if filtered through patterns of small openings.

Kadiya allowed the amulet to fall back against her breast, half covering it with her fingers. The heat within it was more than mere warmth. It now approached a burning point, and she had to will herself fiercely to keep her flesh pressed against it.

That outer light increased suddenly and dramatically as the stairway ended. Across its upper entrance was a barrier—seemingly a screen which had been deeply carved, allowing light to stream through curves and angled apertures.

She had seen something akin to this before! There were passages within the walls of the Citadel of Ruwenda—part of a system of secret and hidden ways. Many of these had been discovered, and in Kadiya's childhood she had dared Haramis or Anigel to follow her into those forgotten ways. Some of them were hidden by portions of wall which were pierced by ornamental fretwork. From without, these appeared to be no more than fanciful decoration, but in truth they furnished light, air, and spying places for those lurking along the hidden ways.

They were faced now by just such a screen. From its other side the light was strong. Kadiya moved to the right to allow the others room on that ledge which topped the stair so that all might share her vantage point.

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.