Crystal Keepers Read Online Free

The large mount was moving at great speed, and though legs and hooves crashed into Cole, making him flip and slide, the mutant horse got the worst of it, pitching forward violently onto the pavement. The rider went down hard, armor clanging and scraping against the Red Road, and Skye fell upon him savagely.
    In his wolf form, Jace took out the next horse much as Cole had done. Before the rider could rise, Dalton came at him with his horns lowered, goring and trampling him.
    Cole rolled over and crouched for another attack, but the other riders were swerving off the road. Six remained on their mounts, fanning out. Strange tingles sparked across his hide, and Cole realized that changings were being cast against him and failing. As expected, the changing caused by the mask was too potent for other changings to take hold.
    Something lanced into his side, and Cole swiveled to discover a crossbow bolt protruding from his ribs. By the sudden difficulty in his breathing, Cole knew it had punctured a lung. He let out an angry yowl, noticing as he did how easy it was to switch from his human voice to his cougar growl. Skye let out a roar as well, deeper and more rumbling than Cole’s.
    The darkness lifted, revealing that all of the Enforcers had bows or crossbows trained on them and were firing attop speed. An arrow hit Jace in the neck, and two already protruded from Skye. In his eagle shape, Joe soared upward, flying out of range.
    Skye tore off her mask, and immediately stone walls appeared between the horsemen and their targets. Cole knew the stony seemings were intangible, but at least they would make aiming difficult. He dodged to the side and pulled off his mask. His world spun and flipped, and he returned to two legs, but no sooner had he become himself again than he replaced the mask, passing through another whirlwind of sensation to emerge as an uninjured mountain lion.
    Beside him, Jace did likewise. Still in her human form, Skye retreated down the road on foot. “Run!” she called. “Make for the palace.”
    The Enforcers rode forward through the stone walls, and Skye covered their heads with wooden crates. They batted futilely at the illusions. Cole lingered, ready to attack again.
    Mira crouched near Skye, allowing her to climb aboard. Once Skye had mounted, the big ram took off down the road. Cole felt more tingling as additional changings failed to alter him. Their remaining horses turned to stone. Deciding to forgo more attacks and follow Mira, Cole turned on the speed, exhilarating in the stretch and pull of running as a cougar. Jace and Dalton sprinted beside him.
    Skye put on her mask, rolling off Mira to become a bear again. A glance back told Cole that as soon as Skye replaced her mask, the illusionary crates had dissipated. Skye could only maintain seemings while in her human form.
    Once again the Enforcers took up the pursuit. Colepushed to his maximum speed, his paws slipping a little on the smooth pavement. The Enforcers charged after them, gradually losing ground.
    Up ahead, four mounted Enforcers rushed onto the road. Two of them held a flaming net between them, barring the way. Another readied a huge bow, while the fourth leveled a lance at them. But Cole didn’t smell the horses, or the Enforcers, or the fire, though he heard it crackling.
    â€œFakes!” Jace shouted.
    â€œSeemings,” Skye agreed.
    The closer Cole came to the Enforcers, the more certain he became that they had no scent. He and his friends barreled through the insubstantial Enforcers and continued down the road. Dalton laughed, Jace gave a quick howl, and Cole let out a snarling roar.
    A rearward glance showed the Enforcers even farther behind, allowing Cole to wonder where the chase might end. Would they take the Red Road all the way into the Lost Palace? Putting themselves back into Trillian’s power could prove more dangerous than fighting the Enforcers. What if the gates at the end of the road were