Read Online Two Renegade Realms (Realm Walkers Book 2) by Donita K. Paul - Free Book Online

but she had no idea where she’d put it. Where inside of her clothing had she attached that container?
    Bridger stopped abruptly, and Bixby ran into him, finding herself standing on his tail and plastered uncomfortably against his spiny back. Cantor did a better job of coming to a halt. He bumped into Bixby, but it was a gentle bump.
    They peered around the dragon to see Dukmee standing under a light, holding the ward book at chin level and scanning the pages with haste. Bixby realized if she had been the one holding the book and searching for clues, her aura would have been frantic. Dukmee’s remained calm but hurried. Even patterns undulating with precision.
    She often wished the auras came with music. The colored lines fluctuated with a beat. Sometimes she likened it to the pulse of a heartbeat one could feel in a person’s neck or wrist. A quick country dance would match Dukmee’s present aura.
    “What are you looking for?” asked Cantor.
    “A stopgap. Something to slow down or halt the guarding wards.” He bent his nose to the pages again. “I’ve found the right section, but I’m having to translate as I read. And I’m reading while I run. These are not optimal conditions for finding, learning, and applying new skills.”
    Neekoh arrived, having doubled back to find them. “It’s only a little more than a mile. We have to hurry.”
    He took off again without waiting to see if they would join him.
    “Let’s go.” Bridger plunged down the pathway.
    Bixby trotted in front of the two men. None of them panted. But Bixby sniffed.
    “Cold?” asked Dukmee.
    “No, sensing. The air smells damp to me.”
    Dukmee held the book open, reading and running. He glanced up. “Could be an underground river, stream, pond, or spring.”
    Cantor sniffed. “You’re right. Wet. Hopefully this water won’t cause a delay. I think we’re going down, not up. Shouldn’t we be going up to exit the mountain?”
    Bixby stumbled as she looked over her shoulder. She caught her balance and continued but kept her eyes forward. “When Dukmee and I came in, we went around and around and ran into lots of dead ends. Neekoh seems to be headed in one direction. When he makes a turn, we never end up in a cul-de-sac. I don’t think he’s lost. Maybe this path goes down first and then rises.”
    From ahead of them, they could hear Bridger’s heavy tread slow and then stop. The three realm walkers dropped to a fast walk.
    Stepping out of the rock tunnel, Bixby, Cantor, and Dukmee joined Bridger and Neekoh. Everyone stared at the strange sight in front of them. Only Neekoh looked pleased.
    The great, dark emptiness felt gigantic. Bixby assumed the vast cavern stretched upward and outward for great distances. They could not see far, and that added to the illusion of considerable space.
    Lights hung around the walls, but the lights did not push back the measureless darkness. The light globes reflected in thin straight lines across the watery surface. A placid lakeexplained the moist air. Without the sun, moon, or stars, the water looked like a sheet of shiny black cloth.
    “What is this?” asked Cantor.
    “A lake.” Neekoh looked over his shoulder with his mobile eyebrows arched to their highest points. “You have lakes above, don’t you?”
    “Of course.” Cantor’s eyes squinted. “How does this help us escape the mountain?”
    “Well, you’ve noticed the rumbly-grumblies aren’t so ferocious now. We’ve come away from the protected area.”
    Cantor scowled. “Did you know the trapping wards would spring into being after we broke the first ward? Shouldn’t you have warned us?”
    Neekoh looked chagrined. “You see, it has been many years of repeating all the traditions, handed down verbally through the generations. Some of the precise instructions have become untidy. I was trying to remember why the broken ward brought me to the library.”
    Bixby’s soft voice inquired. “Did you remember?”
    The young man turned