Free Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book by HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian Page A

wasn’t the Tellers who probed your grandfather. So, who was it, and why? What does Manitou know that someone would want to rummage around in his brain to find it?”
    â€œIt’s like a puzzle,” ruminated Tara. “Lots of little pieces that don’t fit, until the moment when something suddenly starts to make sense. And I wonder . . .”
    â€œWhat do you wonder?”
    â€œHm, what? Oh, nothing. Let’s start by seeing what Cal has to tell us. We can’t let him rot in jail for a crime he didn’t commit.”
    â€œEr, just to be clear,” hazarded Fabrice. “We’re going to see Cal to talk things over, right?”
    â€œOf course not,” said Tara brightly. “We’re going to help him escape!”

CHAPTER 4
I MPERIAL P RISONS
    â€œW hat?” shouted Fabrice. “Are you kidding?”
    â€œNot at all,” said Tara. “Someone wants Cal in jail. I don’t know if Magister is the one who came up with the scheme, but by freeing Cal we’ll be screwing up the plan.”
    â€œYou know, for once I agree with Fabrice,” said Sparrow. “Springing someone from an Omois prison is impossible. Can’t be done.”
    â€œOh, yeah? Finding and breaking out of the Gray Fortress was impossible too, wasn’t it?” said Tara. “Defeating Magister and destroying the Throne of Silur was just as impossible, but we did it. For that matter, magic is impossible, and this world is impossible.” She shrugged. “I’ve learned not to let that word stop me. In fact, I’m seriously considering eliminating it from my vocabulary.”
    Robin smiled at her. “You’ve got a point, Tara. If helping Cal escape will mess Magister up, facing the empress and her chatrixes and arachnes is worth it.”
    â€œWhat did you say?” yelped Fabrice. “Chatrixes and arachnes? Not again!”
    â€œI’m really sorry,” said Robin, who didn’t look sorry at all. “Didn’t I mention that the prisons are guarded by chatrixes? As for arachnes, I’m not so sure. They may have been replaced since my father was stationed in Omois. I seem to remember they once ate a guard who’d forgotten the answer to the riddle of the day.”
    Fabrice shivered. “I hate spiders!”
    He immediately looked up, scanning the ceiling for them, and he nearly missed the prison’s main protectors. When Fabrice eventually glanced down, what he saw sent him leaping backward in panic. He had almost bumped into a chatrix, a huge hyena-like animal with black fur and a poisonous bite. The beast was licking its chops and seemed to be thinking something like, “Dinner is served!”
    There may not have been any arachnes around, but there were lots of chatrixes, all straining at their leashes at the sight of so many people invading their sanctuary. They were drooling over such appetizing prey and were extremely disappointed when the guards muzzled them to let the visitors pass.
    Cal was in prison, all right. But the problem with most prisons is that they can’t hold spellbinders. So the walls of this one were specially built of spellblock from the Gandis Mountains, which blocks magic spells. In addition, an artifactum that neutralized all magic in its vicinity was mounted on a column above the hallway. Since were-light couldn’t be used, the prison was lit by ordinary electric bulbs, powered by a small generator.
    The artifactum was just a simple statuette, but its outstretched arms hummed with all the magic power it was absorbing. When Tara walked under it, she felt the living stone move in her pocket.
    Power? sang the stone, its voice sounding a bit muffled. I feel it going away. Why go away?
    Don’t worry, Tara answered mentally, though she hadn’t expected the statuette to be strong enough to neutralize the living stone’s power. We won’t stay long. You’ll feel better as soon as