Read Online The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown by Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson - Free Book Online Page B

crashing to the floor below.
    “Gilbert,” cried Aldwyn, “what are you doing here?”
    “Phantom lurkers,” said the tree frog, out of breath. “I saw blades of grass moving all around me.” He spat out a mouthful of mud. “Of course, it might have just been the wind. But I wasn’t going to take any chances.”
    “Well, so much for our back-up plan,” said Skylar, although she didn’t really sound annoyed at Gilbert. Aldwyn, too, had to admit that a part of him was glad that the three of them would be exploring the tunnel together.
    The familiars started their descent, and soon the ground turned from hard mud to polished wood, carved and sanded with expert care. Aldwyn realised that they must have entered the base of the dogwood itself, and however great the tree appeared above ground, it was even greater beneath. The tunnel expanded into a large circular room with glyph marks carved into the walls, and paintings of animals not unlike those they had seen hidden in the mountain cave of Kailasa on their previous adventure.
    “I think we’re heading in the right direction,” said Skylar. She pointed her wing towards the image of a sleeping snow leopard – with the rolling curves of its back and a crown atop its head – drawn above the doorway on the far side of the room.
    With all the fantastical beasts living within Vastia, it was curious to Aldwyn that none of the great cats of yore – lions, leopards, or tigers – still roamed inside its borders. Some said they had gone extinct, while others speculated that they had just left, seeking out grander hunting grounds. Aldwyn thought it would be a fine honour to meet one of these storied felines at the end of their quest.
    They crossed the smooth floor of the richly decorated room. Aldwyn was certain that more forgotten animal history was depicted on these walls, but deciphering their meaning would have to wait for another time. He followed Skylar into a dark passageway that opened up before them right underneath the image of the snow leopard. There were fewer lightning bugs down this corridor, just enough for them to make out a wooden staircase at the end of the hall.
    “It smells like the inside of Kalstaff’s sweater closet,” said Gilbert wistfully. “I caught a lot of moths in there.”
    Aldwyn couldn’t suppress a smile – no matter how dangerous the situation, it was impossible for Gilbert not to think about food. At that very moment, he heard a high-pitched whistling sound, and his smile froze on his lips. A dozen arrows had shot out from the far wall and were zipping straight towards the familiars. Just a split second before the steel tips impaled them, Aldwyn stopped the arrows telekinetically in midair. They hung there for a beat before he let them drop to the ground.
    “Thanks,” squealed Gilbert. “I nearly got turned into a shish-kefrog.”
    Aldwyn glanced down at the fallen arrows and noticed what he hadn’t before – that the ground was covered with bones. It was becoming increasingly clear that this was a sacred place and that someone had made very sure that unwelcome visitors would be kept out. A pair of lightning bugs landed on the skull of a nearby skeleton, its ribcage pierced with several arrows. The remains appeared to be those of a young boy. A string of clay charms was still dangling from his bony neck.
    “These are rain charms,” said Skylar.
    Aldwyn got a chill down his back. This was no boy, but the elvin warrior from the story in the Wizard’s Almanac . And if any more proof was needed, there, strapped to his belt, was the crocodile-tooth dagger the Almanac had mentioned.
    “He, too, was searching for the Crown of the Snow Leopard,” said Skylar. “But his quest ended here. And the traps of an ancient temple only get more devious, the deeper you go.”
    “I should have taken my chances with those phantom lurkers,” moaned Gilbert.
    The three tiptoed past the remaining bones. Clearly others beside the elvin warrior