Crystal Keepers Read Online Free Page A

Crystal Keepers
Book: Crystal Keepers Read Online Free
Author: Brandon Mull
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closed? That would force a showdown unless they veered off to one side and kept running. Might Trillian send help? What if the help he sent turned into even bigger trouble?
    Settling into a steady sprint, Cole let his worries get swallowed by the joy of running. Something about being a mountain lion made it much easier to tune out fear. He wasn’t fleeing in terror—it felt like a race, and he was confident that he could keep stretching his lead.
    â€œWhy run?” Jace complained, dashing at Cole’s left. “They want a fight. Let’s give it to them.”
    â€œI feel the impulse too,” Dalton said from the other side. “My bull side wants to turn around and plow through them.”
    â€œIt’s not just my wolf side,” Jace replied. “We could take them.”
    â€œThey have pretty good aim with those bows,” Cole said. “They didn’t miss many shots until Skye put up those walls.”
    â€œIt would be harder for them to shoot us if they were dead,” Jace growled. “They’re made of meat. Let’s eat them.”
    Cole didn’t want to admit how tempting that sounded.
    â€œKeep running,” Skye called back from a few paces in front of them. “These Enforcers will give Trillian something to worry about besides capturing us.”
    â€œNobody is going to capture us with these masks on,” Jace said.
    â€œRemember the sky castle rules,” Mira said. “Don’t fight when you can run. Why risk arrows bringing us down if we can get away?”
    â€œShe’s right,” Cole said.
    â€œWhatever,” Jace said. “Is it bad to hope we get cornered?”
    â€œIt’s not healthy,” Cole said, though he also felt the strong urge to fight. What if Skye returned to her normal form and raised some illusions so they could attack out of hiding? The Enforcers would be down before they knew what hit them.
    The conversation ended. They ran onward in silence, the rumble of hoofbeats receding.
    In the moonlit distance the Lost Palace rose into view. The skeletal castle looked like it had barely survived abombing raid, but Cole knew that for anyone who passed the front gate, the charred building became a shimmering wonder of pearl and platinum. Cole had never figured out whether the real version was the scorched ruin or the fairy-tale palace. Maybe they were both seemings.
    â€œRiders,” Mira said.
    Peering ahead along the road, Cole counted at least ten riders approaching, shrunken by the distance. “Another illusion?” he asked.
    â€œThey’re pretty far off,” Skye said. “I think they’re real.”
    â€œRed Guard or more Enforcers?” Dalton asked.
    â€œIt’s hard to recognize color in the moonlight,” Skye replied. “They seem to be coming from Trillian’s prison.”
    Joe came swooping back from the direction of the Lost Palace. “Red Guard!” he called. “Twelve of them.”
    â€œThink they’re here to help?” Dalton asked.
    â€œIf not, it’s their funeral,” Jace said.
    â€œLeave the road when they get near,” Skye said. “If they ride past us, we’ll know they’re after our foes.”
    Cole had heard that the Red Guard were dangerous, though on his previous visit to the Lost Palace he had only seen a few people besides Trillian. But that proved nothing. Other members of the Red Guard could have been out on assignment, or they could have been hiding.
    Running at top speed, Cole watched as the galloping riders rapidly drew closer. Still charging hard, Skye led Cole and the others off the road as the riders came near. With hardly a glance to the side, the riders raced by them, except for a woman who slowed her chestnut stallion to a stop.Coldly beautiful, she gazed down at Cole and his friends as they also came to a standstill.
    Cole recognized her. It was Hina, the woman who had escorted him around the Lost
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