Read Online sorcery and science 04.5 - masquerade by Ella Summers - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ella Summers
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there in the middle is the Temple of Aurelia.”
“Where do we go from here?” Terra asked, stumbling in her step.
She caught herself before she fell. Even though her body had healed the wound, she wasn’t looking good. Between the loss of blood, the strain of healing herself, and fighting off the Siennans, she was close to her limit. It was a good thing Jason had taken care of that Phantom. She didn’t have the energy left to run any more. She didn’t even have the energy to walk. At least not very far. He had to get her home.
If the Siennans were right and this was a portal loop, then it had to eventually lead back to where they began. Back to Ribbon Falls. From there, Rosewater wasn’t far. He could bring her to the temple, and they would be able to give her something to help her regain her strength.
“We need to find the next portal,” he said, heading down the hill. He kept his pace slow.
“And it’s here?”
“I think so. We’ve been through a couple of them already, so I’m starting to recognize the energy of the loop portals. I feel it somewhere close to Lake Yvonne.”
Jason allowed the resonance of the portal to draw him forward. Then, as they began to walk along the shore of Lake Yvonne, he saw it. A pale glimmer—a fold in air heavy with fog—this portal was less visible to the eye than the others, but it sang with a familiar magic. Jason extended one hand back to Terra and one forward to grasp the edge of the portal. The cool winds of the north bled away, replaced by muggy air and the scorching rays of the setting sun.
They stood in the center of a dirty field. A few steps away was a stone temple, old and neglected, but that was it. No people, no houses, no other buildings of any kind. The temple stood alone on a ground of cracked mud overgrown with wild grasses and flowers. Butterflies danced gracefully on the wind, frolicking about with undisturbed tranquility.
“No one has been here in a very long time,” Terra commented. Her eyes panned over the temple’s walls, which were overgrown with green and brown vines that blossomed red and purple. “Perhaps centuries.”
“This is one of Elitia’s hidden pockets, a remnant of the days before the Shroud was torn,” Jason said, walking toward the temple. He looked up at the block over the front door, a block that had been carved with the symbol of two overlapping circles. “Eclipse. We’re in Eclipse.”
“I thought Eclipse was just a legend,” she said. “And how did we even end up here? In order to even enter into a protected pocket, someone already in on its secret has to lead you in first. That’s how the magic works. But you’ve never been here before, Jason.”
“No, I haven’t. I’m not sure how I was able to bring us here.”
“Perhaps because you’re going to be the next Elite Phantom?” she suggested.
“Perhaps.” It was as good an explanation as any he could come up with. “If I’m even really the next Elite Phantom.”
“The priests think you’ll be.”
“They think a lot of crazy things.”
“That’s true,” Terra agreed. She walked into the field of butterflies, closing her eyes with a content smile. “It’s peaceful here. So quiet.”
Jason stepped up beside her. “Maybe we should stay. No one has lived in Eclipse in centuries. There’s probably not even anyone still alive who can get inside. No one would ever find us here.”
“Even our bickering families?”
“Especially them,” he grumbled.
She took his hand. “You know we can’t stay.”
“How about just for the summer?”
“Come on, Jason.” She smiled at him. “Let’s find the next portal.”
He could feel it nearby, trying to tug him down. He blocked it out, and the sensation died.
“Jason?”
“Let’s first see if we can find anything in the temple to help you.”
The front doors of the temple were thick and wooden, and they didn’t like being opened after several centuries of disuse. They screeched out in
“Where do we go from here?” Terra asked, stumbling in her step.
She caught herself before she fell. Even though her body had healed the wound, she wasn’t looking good. Between the loss of blood, the strain of healing herself, and fighting off the Siennans, she was close to her limit. It was a good thing Jason had taken care of that Phantom. She didn’t have the energy left to run any more. She didn’t even have the energy to walk. At least not very far. He had to get her home.
If the Siennans were right and this was a portal loop, then it had to eventually lead back to where they began. Back to Ribbon Falls. From there, Rosewater wasn’t far. He could bring her to the temple, and they would be able to give her something to help her regain her strength.
“We need to find the next portal,” he said, heading down the hill. He kept his pace slow.
“And it’s here?”
“I think so. We’ve been through a couple of them already, so I’m starting to recognize the energy of the loop portals. I feel it somewhere close to Lake Yvonne.”
Jason allowed the resonance of the portal to draw him forward. Then, as they began to walk along the shore of Lake Yvonne, he saw it. A pale glimmer—a fold in air heavy with fog—this portal was less visible to the eye than the others, but it sang with a familiar magic. Jason extended one hand back to Terra and one forward to grasp the edge of the portal. The cool winds of the north bled away, replaced by muggy air and the scorching rays of the setting sun.
They stood in the center of a dirty field. A few steps away was a stone temple, old and neglected, but that was it. No people, no houses, no other buildings of any kind. The temple stood alone on a ground of cracked mud overgrown with wild grasses and flowers. Butterflies danced gracefully on the wind, frolicking about with undisturbed tranquility.
“No one has been here in a very long time,” Terra commented. Her eyes panned over the temple’s walls, which were overgrown with green and brown vines that blossomed red and purple. “Perhaps centuries.”
“This is one of Elitia’s hidden pockets, a remnant of the days before the Shroud was torn,” Jason said, walking toward the temple. He looked up at the block over the front door, a block that had been carved with the symbol of two overlapping circles. “Eclipse. We’re in Eclipse.”
“I thought Eclipse was just a legend,” she said. “And how did we even end up here? In order to even enter into a protected pocket, someone already in on its secret has to lead you in first. That’s how the magic works. But you’ve never been here before, Jason.”
“No, I haven’t. I’m not sure how I was able to bring us here.”
“Perhaps because you’re going to be the next Elite Phantom?” she suggested.
“Perhaps.” It was as good an explanation as any he could come up with. “If I’m even really the next Elite Phantom.”
“The priests think you’ll be.”
“They think a lot of crazy things.”
“That’s true,” Terra agreed. She walked into the field of butterflies, closing her eyes with a content smile. “It’s peaceful here. So quiet.”
Jason stepped up beside her. “Maybe we should stay. No one has lived in Eclipse in centuries. There’s probably not even anyone still alive who can get inside. No one would ever find us here.”
“Even our bickering families?”
“Especially them,” he grumbled.
She took his hand. “You know we can’t stay.”
“How about just for the summer?”
“Come on, Jason.” She smiled at him. “Let’s find the next portal.”
He could feel it nearby, trying to tug him down. He blocked it out, and the sensation died.
“Jason?”
“Let’s first see if we can find anything in the temple to help you.”
The front doors of the temple were thick and wooden, and they didn’t like being opened after several centuries of disuse. They screeched out in
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