The Cradle of Ice by James Rollins
Author:James Rollins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
TWELVE
THE AUGURY OF QAZEN
Of alle the Orakles, I am the wizest. For I will spaek the grettest trueth. One that alle men should hede & accept. That, in the ende, we knoew naught about oure faate.
For that, be joiful.
âKastal au Tellilas, the Blasphemer of Kaant
57
I AM DOOMED never to sleep.
Like two days agoâwhich felt like a lifetime agoâWryth was pulled from his bed far too early. Exhausted and defeated after yesterdayâs battle in the Breath, he found himself again standing within the heart of the Iflelenâs great instrument, facing down the bronze bust while he waited for Shrive Keres to decipher another message from Skerren.
His heart pounded, and his hands were clamped into fists at his waist.
Skerrenâs last message, sent via code from his battle barge, had his forces approaching a storm over the mountains of the Dragoncryst. Skerren had picked up a weak signal from the bronze artifact. With their target located, his barge and its three swyftships had headed off into the storm.
And since then, nothing had been heard from Skerren.
Until two bells ago.
The message had come in slowly, in blinks and long glows, taking a chunk of the morning just to be transmitted. Now came an even longer wait as the lengthy code was laboriously deciphered. It was nearing midday, and Wryth was losing patience.
Wryth glanced over to the crystal sphere of their listening device. The yellow blip marked the location of the bronze artifact. It still hadnât moved, as if lodged in place. The red glow of Skerrenâs fleet had closed upon it, was almost on top of it.
Then his ships had stopped, hovering so tantalizingly close to the target.
What is happening out there?
Keres finally straightened from his crouch over a stained and scribbled parchment. His brow sweated from his concentrated effort to work through Skerrenâs new message. His eyes remained squinted, as if he were still struggling with the code.
âStrangeâ¦â Keres muttered.
Wryth exhaled hard. âIn Äreykâs blasted name, what does it say?â
Keres cringed from the sharp curse.
âOut with it,â Wryth demanded.
Keres nodded. âSkerren reports that heâs reached the western slopes of the Dragoncryst. While crossing over, he lost one of his swyftships in the ice storm. Heâs still not entirely sure what had happened to it.â
Wryth waved away this loss. âIt doesnât matter. What else?â
âDuring his passage across the mountains, Skerren kept getting flickers from his detecting device. He followed it cautiously as the signal came and went. But when he reached the far side of the Dragoncryst, the location became clearerâbut also made no sense.â
âWhat do you mean?â
Keres licked his lips. âThe signal seemed to be coming from deep under the Ice Shield.â
âUnder it?â Wryth stiffened, picturing his bronze treasure buried beyond their reach.
Keres explained. âAfter losing one of his ships, Skerren held back his barge and his remaining two ships. He feared triggering whatever disaster took down the enemy. Especially when they were so close. To investigate further, he dispatched a bevy of small slipfoilsâten of themâto furtively skim down the mountainside and hug the ice.
Download
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.
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry(34014)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt(18183)
Norse Mythology by Gaiman Neil(12844)
Crooked Kingdom: Book 2 (Six of Crows) by Bardugo Leigh(11970)
The Betrayed by Igor Ljubuncic(11633)
The Betrayed by Matthew Dickerson(11435)
Caraval Series, Book 1 by Stephanie Garber(9925)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9308)
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson(9199)
Twilight Siege: A Dark Fantasy Novel (The Fae Games Book 2) by Jill Ramsower(9033)
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon(8624)
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty(8518)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8270)
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire(7669)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng(6858)
Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop(6651)
Storm and Silence by Robert Thier(6499)
This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz(6447)
Shadows Of The Apt [01] - Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky(6419)
