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

gratefully to the only one who did not look angry. “Yes, a few seconds after the sound of the locks closing. I was sent there to decide if you were friend or foe and to rescue you if you were friends.”
    Bixby smiled. “Thank you for leading us out.”
    Neekoh’s fair complexion turned red. “You’re welcome.”
    Cantor stepped between the girl and the stranger. “The exit?”
    “We go across the lake, through the rough tunnels to the valley, free Chomountain, and leave by the east gate.” He looked at them, obviously befuddled. “Isn’t that what you wanted to do?”
    Dukmee handed the ward book to Bixby. “Put that somewhere safe.” He turned to Neekoh. “Yes, we want to get out of this mountain. We have an important mission.”
    Neekoh grinned and nodded. “To rescue Chomountain.”
    “No, to save the nine planes.”
    A look of dismay flashed across the guardian’s smooth face. “With Chomountain’s aid, your mission will be accomplished readily.”
    Cantor strode forward. “If we have time. We have a limited time to gather the forces to repel the invaders. How do we cross the lake?”
    “In a boat.”
    “What boat?”
    Neekoh put a finger to his chin. He never lost his pleasant expression as he looked back and forth. “Ah!” His eyebrows shot up. He trotted along the shore and came back, dragging an eight-foot skiff.
    Cantor’s low voice came out lower and more growly than ever. “We won’t all fit in that boat.”
    Still cheerful and smiling, Neekoh nodded. “Hadn’t thought of that. But something will turn up. Something we can use, that is. There are things that might show up that are not helpful at all.”
    “Like what?” asked Bridger.
    “Toombalians.”

THE OUTSIDE OF THE OTHER SIDE
    C antor searched his mind. Toombalians did not register.
    Before he could ask, Bridger voiced his question, “What are toombalians?”
    “Mythical creatures,” Dukmee answered.
    The mage crouched by the edge of the lake, dipped his fingers in the black water, and then brought his hand to his nose and sniffed. He looked around at his companions. “Nobody drink this. Keep it away from your eyes.”
    Bridger lumbered over to the edge of the water. “Mythical? That means fiction, right? Not real?”
    “Let me explain.” Dukmee wiped his hand on a handkerchief he fished from his pocket. “Nothing has been written of them since scholars quit recording in the old language. However, in careful anthropologic research, myths often are found to have roots in reality.”
    Bridger sat down with a thump.
    His constant’s confusion drifted into Cantor’s mind and muddled his thinking. Their minds combined, bundling each of their apprehensions into one tangled web of anxiety.
    The shared concern drove Cantor to ask for clarification. “So you’re saying the animals that toombalians are based upon could exist?”
    “That’s right, as far as it goes.” Dukmee continued in his teacher mode. “A myth is a strong element in a culture. A story in itself does not meet the criteria. To acquire the status of myth, the tale must stand as an explanation of happenings the populace cannot rationalize with their limited means of science. Myths then take part in the forming of the culture’s religious beliefs, form of government, and their standards or morals.”
    A spike of annoyance cleared Cantor’s head. Dukmee used an awful lot of words to say something.
    Dukmee continued. “In this case, the mythical toombalians are animals floating in the water like upside down jellyfish. Their tentacles look like plant stalks. These appendages impede the movement of anything on the surface, generally a boat. And they also emit a poison into the air when bumped.”
    Cantor wanted to shake the mage out of his arrogant air and bring him back down to being a friend, not a know-it-all. He drew in a deep breath. He knew Dukmee’s scholar persona could disappear as quickly as it had surfaced. In order to tolerate his more obnoxious