The Unwilling Accomplice (Book 5) by Heidi Willard Read Free Book Online Page A

sealed behind the escaping citizens." She indicated a stairway that lay on the left side and at the front of each hall for as the stairs leading from the terraces.
    "Have you ever needed to use these passages?" Percy wondered.
    "Yes, though not in my time," she replied.
    "How long is your time?" Pat diplomatically inquired.
    Telana paused and glanced over her shoulder with a smile on her face. "I am young compared to others, but I have lived for three centuries."
    Ned chuckled at the surprised faces of the younger members of the group. "Have you forgotten that elves are known for their long life?" he teased them.
    Canto scoffed. "What's a life when there's nothing to do?" he mumbled.
    "We have our gardens to keep, and my father has not been idle with his centuries. He has seen much and knows a great deal," she argued.
    They soon reached a landing where stood a strange door. There was no handle or lock, and on either side stood a guard. In their hands were not lances or swords like the other guards, but staffs etched with runes. The guards eyed everyone, even Telana, with suspicion. Telana diverted the steps of the companions so they stood before the guards and she spoke a few words in Elvish. The guards relaxed their tense stance and opened the door by tapping the tips of their staffs against the wood. The door swung open and Telana led her guests into a long hall like the others, but unlike the others there were no doors. It was a straight route to the far end where stood another door and two more guards with staffs.
    "What did you say to them?" Ruth wondered.
    "The secret words to enter my father's collection of rare artifacts. The words are only known to those in the royal family and those who guard the door," Telana explained. "He keeps his most treasured and dangerous items here where they cannot be used for evil." They reached the new door and repeated the process, but with a different set of words.
    The guards opened the door, and instead of a hallway there stretched a wide, cavernous, windowless room with a domed ceiling. At the very end lay a simple locked door. Long carpets covered the floor, and among them stood pedestals and glass cases filled with oddities. There were manacles hewn from an ancient wood, stones etched with runes like the staffs of the guards, and busts that watched the visitors with eyes that moved.
    "You may look at anything you please, but I warn you that nothing should be touched," Telana instructed them.
    The group fanned out and admired the strange collection. Each piece had a plate with the name of the item, but not the use nor history. Fred stopped in front of a pedestal that held an open metal clamp. He could see a faint hint of a magic aura around the object. He stepped closer, and peered at the metal and the runes etched on the inside of the band.
    "Careful there, boy," a voice warned him. Fred spun around to find Ransan standing three feet from him. The elf had a half-grin on his face and his cold eyes glared at the young man. "Edwin wouldn't appreciate your touching that. That is a piece especially dangerous to castors."
    Fred didn't like the unfriendly warning in the elf's voice, and straightened to his full height. "Why is that?" Fred asked him.
    Ransan stepped past Fred to stand on the other side of the pedestal. His eyes brushed over the clamp as he ran a finger across the top of the pedestal around the object. "This was made by a dwarven craftsman at the request of an elf lord who disliked castors. At a command from the person who holds it the clamp will throw itself upon the top of a castor's staff and seal the magic in the wood, preventing the castor from casting any spells." His eyes flickered upward to Fred and he chuckled. "It can only be released by the same person who gave the command, so the castor is at the mercy of the clamp's master."
    The others noticed the new arrival, and Telana walked up to stand before him with a deep frown on her face. "Cousin, what are you doing