Read Online Stones Unbound (The Magestone Chronicles Book 1) by Richard Innes - Free Book Online Page B

torch or candle could match, their light a
cool white, casting shadows without flicker.  It gave the scene an unearthly
quality that ran a chill up Hoyle’s spine.
    As they were prodded across the courtyard, he noticed palace
guards on the high walls, some moving, some motionless.  Turning his head
toward the front of the fortress, he could see why the Emperor did not fear to
show them the way to him.  That was assuming they were being taken to the
Emperor in the first place.  There were so many guards, gates and secrets you
would need to know and bypass just to get this far.  And they hadn’t made it
through the doors ahead. 
    These doors appeared made of iron, banded in some other shimmering
metal Hoyle could not identify.  Each door had mounted to it a sculpture of a different
monstrous face made of the shimmering metal.  Each face had two eyes that
appeared to be ruby-coloured magestones glowing eerily.  The faces were each
set with a fanged grin.  He would not want to meet the creatures they
represented, if in fact they were real.
    Each Rak’soraa moved to one of the faces and placed one
gloved hand inside their mouths.  Hoyle had a suspicion as to what might
happen, but he noticed Brows flinch as the mouths clamped shut on each of the Rak’soraa’
wrists.  He wasn’t close enough to tell, but he was pretty sure the fangs bit
into their wrists.  The ruby eyes flared brightly, and then the doors creaked
and then groaned as they swung open on their hinges.
    Inside, the doors opened to a short hall that ended at
another, less ornate set of doors.  Guarding the room was eight palace guards
in their shiny plate and chain mail, blood red cloaks hanging down their backs,
each wearing a sword and hand crossbow.  They all stood at attention, polearms
raised and eyes wary.  They were huge.  Hoyle was not short, but these guards
dwarfed even Brows by a handspan or two.  The closest one had muscular arms as
thick as Hoyle’s legs.  As the group moved forward, the guards stepped aside,
opening the interior doors.
    Prodded from behind, they were ushered forward, immediately
behind the Rak’soraa.  Hoyle glanced at Brows from the corner of his eye, and
saw the fury there, barely restrained.  He wasn’t sure if the larger man would
try anything stupid, but he could tell that he wanted to.  They were led into a
vast chamber that dwarfed anything Hoyle had ever been in.  Arched stone
columns and ribs soared overhead to meet at the roof at least ten spans high. 
A balcony ran down both sides of the room about a third of the way up.  Large
fireplaces along the walls battled with the sconces throwing light around the
room, but won the battle in removing the chill from the air.  There was no
furniture in the room aside from the throne on the dais at the far end of the
room.  Many doors and doorways entered the room, each guarded by two palace
guards.  Hoyle made a mental note, ten entrances – twenty guards . 
Tapestries of many varied scenes covered the stone walls between the
fireplaces.
    They were led to within three spans of the throne, and then they
were roughly forced to kneel at the same time as the captain ordered “Kneel!”
    “You could have asked first ,” Hoyle muttered under
his breath quietly.  His chains allowed for some movement in this position, but
he kept his hands down near his thighs.
    Brows growled quietly beside him like some barely restrained
hound.
    Suddenly the guards around the pair stiffened to attention. 
Soft footfalls came from one of the balcony doorways, and then were overpowered
by the sound of the hard boots of the guards as they escorted the person along
the balcony and down the stairs to the rear of the room.  Hoyle watched as a
middle-aged man in long flowing jade green robes, trimmed in gold, walked up
the steps to the dais, touched the arm of the throne almost wistfully, and then
stood beside it.  His face was of a darker shade than the normal