The Crystal Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page B

and childlike. He remained standing several paces away from her, as if frightened that she might lunge at him and he would be forced to duck behind the safety of
    the column again. The glow still emanated from him, and it seemed to the alu that it might have grown just the tiniest bit stronger and steadier.
    She wondered if it truly was just another trick, as Kaanyr suspected, or if the priest had somehow changed as a result of… whatever had happened. Either possibility seemed reasonable to her at that moment. Wisdom dictated that she expect the worst from Zasian, but even so, he might prove useful.
    “Do you want to help me get us out of this mess?” she asked, watching his eyes carefully.
    They never betrayed any sense of treachery as he replied, “Yes. Are you angry with me like your friend is?”
    Aliisza tried to keep her face smooth and emotionless. “Do I have reason to be?” she asked.
    “I don’t know,” Zasian mumbled. He stared down at the stones and ran a toe along one seam. “I don’t remember.”
    “Don’t remember what?”
    “Anything,” the priest admitted. He seemed ashamed. Guilty? Aliisza wondered.
    “I will only be angry with you if you don’t help me,” she said. “We have to find something.”
    “Very well,” Zasian said, and he took a step closer. “What?”
    “Whatever is keeping this place whole,” the alu answered. She turned part of her attention back to the gloomy periphery of the rotunda, though she kept half an eye on the priest, too. She moved toward the spot she had chosen and passed between the columns. Zasian tentatively followed her.
    The alu discovered a pair of doors set into the outer wall of the round chamber, a portal that must have led to an exterior hallway when the rotunda was intact. A lone figure lay
    sprawled within the opening, facedown and unmoving. Even in the near-darkness, Aliisza could see that it was a celestial being, a green-skinned, bald-headed creature half again as tall as she. Its white-feathered wings lay draped across its still form, but she could make out the armor encasing its body. A greatsword rested near the being’s hands.
    Zasian moved up cautiously beside Aliisza and stared down at the creature. “What happened to it?” he asked, his voice filled with awe. “What is it?”
    Aliisza knelt down next to the celestial being. “A planetar,” she said as she ran her hand gingerly along the green skin, checking for signs of life. “A type of angel.” She glanced up at the priest’s face to see his reaction.
    Zasian merely stared at the angel with a wondrous look. “Is it dead?”
    Aliisza’s answer was cut off as the rotunda bucked to the sound of a powerful blast. She pitched sideways, striking the floor hard and sliding a few. feet along its surface. The alu grunted and tried to rise, but a second lurch of the chamber sent her tumbling again.
    “Aliisza!” Kaanyr shouted from the other side. “Help me!”
    She struggled to her hands and knees and looked over at Zasian, who had been sent sprawling too. He peered around with wide eyes. She turned her gaze toward the planetar as she rose to a half-crouch, expecting another jolt. Magic crawled across the angel’s skin and the tremors ceased. The celestial’s wings had shifted with the tremors, and for the first time, she could see the wicked gash that ran along the being’s chest. Blood leaked from the cut, soaking its wing. The planetar’s the one maintaining the bubble, she realized, and he’s dying.
    “Whatever game you’re playing at, we have no more time
    for it,” Aliisza said, looking at Zasian. “We are doomed unless you can keep him alive while I go aid Kaanyr.”
    The man opposite her said nothing, but he stared at her with large, frightened eyes.
    Aliisza wanted to slap him. “You’re the priest, do something!” she yelled, then she turned and sprinted toward Kaanyr.
    The hole had grown considerably wider than Aliisza remembered. Worse, the tip of one of