Analindë (The Chronicles of Lóresse) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the board, Lindënolwë . Lindënolwë began to glow softly. Then the copper sheeting shifted so that Lindënolwë was now etched into the soft metal below. Thank the ancestor’s thoughtfulness and planning , her heart eased, and she quickly thought through the rest of the message she wanted to send.
    Simple yet effective, the board was primitive. It was simply a matter of activating and combining colored stones with words to create the right message. She pressed the ruby, which in this case meant War and the blood-red stone began to pulse with light. She pressed the number three and the word Human, and they glowed softly. Words formed below on the copper sheeting.
    Swallowing a lump in her throat, her hand hovered over the number two for a long while before she moved her hand to gently caress the number five and the word Elven. She then pressed the onyx stone, Death . The black stone pulsed with an odd light. She quickly pressed the number one and the cat’s-eye stone, Alive . Then the canary stone, Stay Away, or in her case, Do Not Attempt Rescue . Stones pulsed faintly and words glowed softly; she hoped it was an indication of stealth, not that the board was too weak or old to send the message. By now her message should have appeared on all of the boards across the Realm, the doors to their cupboards thrown open wherever they lay hidden—in closets, kitchens, and grand halls—a faint buzzing sound projected to all who could hear it.
    Analindë searched the board in front of her for a way to warn them about Gildhorn. Frustrated at the lack of choices, she pressed the word Elven again, then the amethyst stone which in this case would signify Betrayal . Finished, she reached for the clear stone at the bottom right and heard faint voices coming from the front of the great house. She quickly pressed the stone to end the message. Numbers, words, and stones flared brightly then began to fade. Moments later the copper sheeting rippled, then shifted to a blank state.
    It was done.
    The Human voices sounded closer, spurring her into action. She carefully slipped back across the room and into the pantry, avoiding shards of glass, and dragged the scout pack off her back. She pulled food off the floor and shelves and piled it onto a counter: dried and fresh fruits, cured meats, cheeses, journey bars, nuts, and a couple of small loaves of honey wheat bread freshly-baked yesterday. Poor Glendariel. Analindë’s face contorted immediately into a grimace of sorrow and a sob welled up. She immediately swallowed it back down, cursing herself silently. She couldn’t cry; they’d hear her.
    She quickly thought through escape routes as she shoved items into her pack. It was pretty straightforward and simple. Escape the valley, then choose. Mirëdell and Mirëtasarë were the closest cities, but each was a two-week journey from Lindënolwë. For the third time in her life Analindë wished that their little valley was not so isolated from the rest of the Realm.
    Mirëdell was one day closer than Mirëtasarë. And Master Therin was at Mirëdell, which were two marks in favor of the school. Either city would work, but the paths were known to her only by map. Her family had never traveled by foot to the school but had always gone by portal. Supposedly one of her ancestors had blazed a trail long ago to the school. The question was, would she be able to find it? More importantly, would it still be there?
    She hesitated, wondering if she should hide and wait for someone to come rescue her? Perhaps the guard would be sent. But she immediately discarded that idea. She’d told them to stay away. And it had been a good decision to push that canary stone on the board. It was a stupid idea to stand idly beside the portal hoping someone authorized and keyed to her home would just happen to activate it.
    If she lingered by the portal not only would the Humans easily find and kill her but anyone else who happened to step through it. Until the High