The Echidna's Scale (Alchemy's Apprentice) by Jeffrey Quyle Read Free Book Online

felt wonderful!”
    They journeyed comfortably on the rest of the trip through darkness and down the steps, until they came to the temple below the island, where the waters of the sea intruded into the underground chamber.
    “This is marvelous!” Porenn clapped her hands in glee upon seeing the temple.
    “Marco, you must carry out your mission,” the voice of the temple spoke in its unseen solemn tones.  “You go with my blessing, and my promise that there will be unexpected help when times are trying.”
    “Who said that?” Glaze asked in astonishment.
    “It is a voice, the spirit of the island,” Marco whispered to the other two.  “It has directed me before.
    “What mission, my lady?” he asked.
    “The Echidna – you must acquire a scale from the Echidna, in order to counter the evil deeds of the prophecy,” the voice told him.  Marco heard Porenn gasp at the mention of the prophecy.  “Take your companions, and journey towards where you first studied alchemy, to learn where the Echidna waits.”
    Half the jets of light in the ceiling expired, and the chamber grew dimmer.
    “What is it talking about?” Glaze asked.
    Marco looked up, waiting for further instruction.  “What about Porenn?  Should she stay on the island?” He asked.  “What is the prophecy?”
    There was silence.  “Am I supposed to leave the island?  Am I being exiled?” Porenn asked in agony, her good spirits from the bath dashed.
    There was no answer.  “Do you know th e prophecy?” Marco turned to her to ask.
    “I do, I know the main parts, but not all the details,” she answered, looking down, her cheeks wet with tears.  More of the jets of gas were extinguished, and the chamber grew dimmer.  “But I don’t want to talk about it right now.  It can wait.  How do we get out of here?” she asked.
    “We go through the water,” Marco told her.
    The water in the temple chamber was warm, and the boys obediently looked away as Porenn handed her clothes to them, then waded through the watery passage behind them, occasionally holding onto Glaze’s shoulder and floating along when the floor of the passage dipped deeper from time to time.
    They emerged through the mist and came into the chillier water of the sea, as they saw sunlight ahead of them, and they stopped just inside the mouth of the cave entrance, looking at gentle waves that broke upon the rocks outside.
    “What do we do now?” Glaze asked.
    “We get ready for a long journey,” Marco answered soberly.  “We can ask the dolphins to carry us.  And we can either wear our clothes and wear them wet, maybe for many days, or we can just leave them behind and get new ones when we arrive.”
    “Arrive where?” Porenn asked.
    “The Lion City,” Marco answered.  “That’s where we have to go.”
    “The Lion City?” the other cried together.  “How long will that take?” Glaze asked.
    Marco lowered his face in the water and called loudly for dolphins, and specifically the ones he knew in the waters around the island.
    “Give me my clothes,” Porenn reached up and grabbed her garments from Glaze’s hand.  “I’m not going naked!”
    With a shrug, Glaze lowered his clothes to the water and let his shirt float on the surface as he pulled his pants on.  Marco did likewise, and was just tightening his pants when dolphin fins appeared among the rocks and approached them.  There was a sudden splashing of water as the dolphins greeted the humans with a flurry of flippers churning the sea’s surface, drawing a shriek from Porenn, who hid behind Glaze for shelter.
    “The royal wedding guest has returned!” Brewe exclaimed.  “We are glad to see you again.  What brings you to the waters of the enchanted place where the waters are interrupted?”
    “I was brought here to be healed,” Marco answered.  “I am better now, and I am under an obligation to go on a long journey to a far place on the land.  Can you assist me?”
    “Just you, or these