Days of High Adventure Read Online Free

Her nose crinkled up at the stench. “Either that or whatever crush I had on him is gonna die pretty quick.”
    Soon, the pair heard the sharp sound of metal grinding against metal, and then the squeal of hinges. Footsteps approached, shuffling closer and closer as the two felt their heartbeats pick up. They heard muttering, too—a growling, irritated mutter, once again in a language neither of them could understand.
    The oldest-looking of the robed men from their arrival stepped in front of their cell, hunched over and clutching at something in his hands that glittered with yellow light. Up close, they could see now that he wasn’t terribly old or decrepit. He was simply smaller and more haggard than the other two they’d encountered.
    He grunted something at the pair, gesturing for them to stand up with his hands still closed around whatever glowed within. Then he squeezed, barked out a couple of words, and unfolded his hands. They saw gleaming flecks of some yellowish gemstone in his palms. The robed man blew across his hands at them, sending the cloud of sparkling dust into the cell.
    “...tell me it will never work. Of course it will work. My ideas always work.” He looked up at the pair with one eye squinting and the other open wide. “You understand me now, neh?”
    Amanda and Eric both blinked. “I can —yes, I can!” Amanda gasped.
    “And you are not mad?”
    “What?” Eric asked.
    “They said such a spell would drive you both mad. But you’re not mad, are you?”
    “I’m honestly starting to wonder,” Eric answered.
    “No! We’re not crazy,” said Amanda. She reached for the bars. “Please, we don’t know what’s going on, can you help us?”
    “Hhhhah!” the older man said. “You are in the coils of the serpent now. The only help I could offer you would be a quick death, and what would you give me in return? Eh?”
    He reached into a pouch that hung from his belt, fumbling around while muttering too quietly to be understood. From the pouch he drew a crystal, and holding it up to his eye, he gazed at Amanda, then at Eric. His frown didn’t lift, but he nodded with some small measure of satisfaction.
    “I am Yaol,” he said, “apprentice to Bel-Danab, chosen of Set! He conjured you here in a ritual with his other apprentice, Randast. They will see you now. I advise you to be polite. You look like wasted meat to me.”
    Then he left, and they heard the sound of the door opening once more. This time, they heard the heavy footsteps of the guards.
     
    ***
     
    “Across time and space, you called to me,” said Bel-Danab from his throne. It was adorned in lush purple silks, situated upon a small dais at one end of the broad chamber. His staff leaned against the throne within easy reach. A pair of voluptuous women adorned only in jewels lay across the carpeted floor at Bel-Danab’s feet. They looked on haughtily, as if their position put them far above that of the two prisoners standing before their master.
    It was hard to determine his age. He certainly wore his years well. Bel-Danab was a handsome man. His short blond hair swept back from his head, revealing strong features and deep green eyes. It was an appealing face, except for its lack of warmth.
    “Randast and I were in the middle of a deep ritual when your voice came to me. Ordinarily I would not have been diverted in such pursuits, but I heard the call repeatedly. I would know why. Where are you from?”
    “S-Seattle, sir,” Amanda answered, feeling more nervous than ever. This wasn’t just scary; it was embarrassing, too. She wondered if she was blushing. “We’re from Seattle. As for why I called to you, I...I didn’t think you were real. We were only playing a game. Joking.”
    “A game?” Bel-Danab pressed his hands together in front of his face, looking past them contemplatively. “You come from some far-off age. That much is clear from your dress and the manner of your arrival. Your clothes seem made with elaborate