The Crystal Runners by Linda McNabb

Author:Linda McNabb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Rick Riordan, magical adventure, fantasy adventure, Wolves of the Beyond, magical fantasy, fantasy for middle grade
Publisher: Southern Star Publishing
Published: 2015-12-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

BLUE CYRSTAL

The building the guard was heading towards was brightly lit. Lights shone from every window and for a brief second it reminded Jaelah of their home under the ground. She wondered if the crystal at home was empty yet. Had their mother re-lit all the rooms and drained the crystal?

She glanced up at the moon as they were dragged through the battered wooden door. The nightstone still seemed to be following them, but she had no time to wonder about it as the door slammed shut behind them.

A large surface dweller sat at an old stained wooden table, drinking and dealing cards to another brown-skinned man. He scowled at the sight of Jaelah and Aydan and then glared at the guard who had brought them there.

“What are you bringing Trogs in for?” he snarled in a voice that slurred the words together. “They’re not worth the bother these days. Just send ’em back underground where they belong.”

“They attacked the prince, Captain,” the guard hurriedly explained in his own defence. “He was bleeding and looked almost dead.”

“The prince has turned up again?” the captain seemed to sober up remarkably quickly and he slammed his silver tankard on the table. He seemed rather pleased at this news. “Good, I can call off all the searches and get back to some real drinking.”

The captain filled his tankard from a large flagon and took a long drink. It was only when he lowered the tankard that he realised Jaelah and Aydan were still in the room. “Put them down in the cells. We’ll figure out what to do with them tomorrow. We’ll see if the prince lives or not.”

The old stone steps led down into a dank, dark room, which smelt of moss and stale air. Jaelah expected the safety of the stone roof above her to make her feel at ease, but it didn’t. The slick mossy stones underfoot made the skin on her feet crawl with revulsion and the sound of drunken laughter from above echoed loudly around the stone dungeon.

The familiar yellow glow of crystal light flooded the room and showed up three empty cells along the back wall. Each one had a scattering of straw on the floor and a stone bed built into the wall. The smell coming from them was something Jaelah didn’t want to try to identify.

“In you go,” the guard said, pointing at the nearest cell. He looked eager to join his fellow guards upstairs.

A familiar-looking door stood open to the side of the cell towards which Jaelah was reluctantly walking. It was a crystal room just like the one they had at their home. This one, however, was silent and dark and Jaelah’s keen eyes could tell that there was no crystal mounted in the stand in the middle of the small round room.

“Look Aydan,” she said, nudging her brother. “How do they keep the rooms lit without the crystal?”

Aydan looked around at the subtle yellow light that filled the room and then back at the empty, dark crystal room.

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