By Michael-Scott Earle
Chapter 1-The O’Baarni
“Just tell me why.” Malek’s voice echoed in my head. He had been repeating the question for hours.
Was it hours or days?
Was it days or weeks?
It may have been months.
I opened my eyes a crack and confirmed that yes, he did stand outside my cell bars and his voice wasn’t an agony induced hallucination. A cup full of light dripped through a hole in the doorway behind him, highlighting the pain and anger in his eyes. The absolute agony.
“You know why.”
“No,” he replied.
“Just execute me and end this.”
I tried and failed to negotiate Iolarathe’s release. I tried to escape. I was now in special chains crafted with spikes that drove through the flesh of my arms and into the bone beneath the muscle. The chains were attached to a ring of steel and then looped back to a chain wrapped around my neck like a noose. Any movement threatened to render me unconscious, even shitting on the tiny bucket Malek left me.
Then again, I really didn’t need to shit, or piss. They had stopped bringing me food after I stopped eating.
“Did she mean so little to you? Did we mean so little to you?”
I closed my eyes. I could not tolerate the ridiculousness of his question. They meant everything to me. But I could never explain it to him. I could never explain Iolarathe. I closed my eyes and imagined I was back in the inn with her, planning to steal the Ovule from Malek.
I should have convinced her to leave Shlara’s Rest. We could have found another Ovule. She was so committed to saving our daughter. Nothing else mattered to her. Not her own life, nor mine.
I thought back to our written communication in our room. I longed to hear her voice, but I feared we would be overheard, so we remained silent, scratching out our desperate plans on paper passed back and forth.
“How did you know we would be in your house?” The timbre of my voice disappointed me. I sounded weak and defeated.
I was defeated.
I did not know where she was. The moment we set our feet in Malek’s courtyard, scores of Thayer and Malek’s elite warriors attacked. At first I was thankful we had not been killed. Now I longed for death.
I opened my eyes. Malek was gone. The light had changed. I must have passed out from the pain. I closed my eyes again and thought of my daughter.
She is wonderful beyond anything our people have ever created.
I wanted her to tell me more, but she shook her head sadly and wrote: “Every second we waste makes it less likely you will ever meet. She is the best of you and me.”
She pointed to the rough map of Malek’s estate and asked me about the guards I had observed when I scouted the perimeter.
I wished I could have known my daughter’s name before Iolarathe and I died.
I was foolish to think Malek would ever give up his search. He was too smart and too driven to just let me wander the world unobserved. He had been waiting and watching until we walked right into his trap.
“Wake the fuck up!” A booted toe slammed into my chest with enough force to break stone. My ribs weren’t quite rock hard, so a few of them broke and instantly knitted together. I’d been so used to the Earth running through my body that I couldn’t even turn off my healing if I wanted.
Hands grabbed me and the chain around my neck slid through the loop on the wall. I opened my eyes.
There were six of them. Thayer’s. The first time they put me in the cell they had only sent three. I killed two of them before a dozen warriors came to their aid and sedated me with a sea of pummeling fists. Now I was restrained with the spiked manacles, and the guards carried long metal poles tipped with sharp hooks, so they could control me from a safe distance.
“Where are we going?” My words tasted like blood.
“Shut the fuck up!” A pole hit me in the head. Then another. I felt the coldness of the stone floor and heard the wet slapping sounds of more pole strikes against my body. I didn’t feel them.
“Get him up,” a voice commanded and the arms grabbed me again.
A cloth sack slid over my head and the beating squad half-dragged me out of my cell and into the hallway beyond my prison. I considered resisting again, but the collar and shackles were still embedded in my skin and bones. There was little I could do against this many guards unarmed.
The trip was short. They lifted me up and slammed me down into a chair. My nose was filled with dried blood but I could still detect weapon oil, leather, and chain armor. The guards secured me to the chair with more chains. I could hear the sounds of many more heartbeats.
I knew their scents before they removed the hood from my head.
“Hello, old friends.” I mustered a smile and realized that a couple of my back teeth were missing. The new ones pushed through my gums already.
“Fuck you!” Gorbanni’s voice cracked. His face was red and his blue eyes looked ready to tear.
I did not know how much time had passed since the last battle, but they had not changed. They had abandoned their armor in favor of looser garments, still in the colors of their armies.
“You may leave,” Malek said to the guards behind me. I watched them exit the thick iron door forty feet away. The metal portal clanged shut and a thick bar slid in to lock it.
“Do you have anything to say to us?” Alexia whispered. Her eyes were blue like Gorbanni’s, but a few shades lighter. She had grown out her blonde hair and now wore it braided down the left side of her neck. They sat behind a massive stone and oak table that looked well worn. Perhaps I wasn’t the first of our kind to face trial in this room.
“As I told Malek, I made a mistake.” I met her stare and she quickly glanced away.
“One hell of a mistake!” Thayer spat.
The chains and metal poles tied me to the steel frame of the chair; it in turn was secured to the rock floor with massive studs of iron. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back slightly. It didn’t matter. Even if I could escape my bonds, there would be no way I could fight through the four of them, break out of the door, and make it to Iolarathe.
“Is it too late to beg forgiveness?” I opened my eyes and knew the answer before any of them spoke.
“Why did you run?” Malek couldn’t hide his frustration, his jaw clenched and his back sat rigid in his own chair.
“You know why.”
“I want you to fucking tell me!” He slammed his fist into the wood of the table and it creaked under the sudden load. His eyes shone with tears and his nostrils flared.
“I made my choice.” I just wanted this to end. My punishment had been too long in coming.
“You chose some Elven woman over her. Over us? Over your own fucking people? We believed in you. We loved you and thought you loved us.” Malek’s voice cracked and it sounded like he wanted to say more but he stopped. I didn’t dare open my eyes. I clenched them tighter and gave another futile wish that this could just be over.
“How did you deceive us, for all that time?” Alexia’s voice was less than a whisper now.
“There were no tricks. He knew the Elven. What was she to you?” Malek questioned.
“If I told you, it would make even less sense.” I sighed and struggled to force my tears back into their ducts.
“She was the daughter of the chieftain in the tribe we belonged to,” Thayer said. “She was known to be ruthless and evil, even among her kind. I never interacted with her. I saw her a few times watching from the hillside while Kaiyer and I trained. I did not even realize she was at the last battle. I did not figure out who she was until we captured her. But I still do not understand.” He grunted and I heard his chair creak.
“Perhaps it doesn’t matter anymore, but I would still like to know why. For her.” Gorbanni’s voice had calmed, but the anger had not left it.
“Can we negotiate?” I had successfully kept the tears at bay and I opened my eyes.
“Fuck no!” Thayer seethed. “But you owe us answers.”
“No.” I felt myself growing angry. “I owe the four of you nothing I haven’t already given. I owe Shlara answers and an apology.” They looked stunned but I didn’t give them a chance to reply. “I swore we would destroy the Elven race. They are all but wiped out now. Our people are free. I trained you, taught you, guided you, loved you, and led you to the victory I promised. You have created a civilization from their ashes. I am proud of what we accomplished, but I want no part of it. I just want the Elven woman, and to be left alone.”
“What kind of madness possesses you?” Malek’s eyes squinted. “These aren’t the words of Kaiyer. They are the words of a man who thinks nothing of his people.”
“I spent most of my life thinking of my people. What more can I do? What more do you want from me? My work is done.”
“You have to pay for your crime,” Gorbanni said. His eyes were sad. I did not know what they had expected, but my answers had not satisfied them.
“What do you have in mind?” I kept my face neutral and tried to keep sarcasm from my voice.
“We will talk and decide. This hurts us more than you know.” Alexia had always been skilled at keeping her emotions in check, but for a moment her facade slipped and my heart almost wept at the pain in her eyes.
“What more is there to discuss?” They looked between each other and some sort of communication passed that I did not understand.
“Why were you in my home?” Malek had not asked me this question during our previous meetings and I wondered if he understood the power and purpose of the Ovule.
“You would kill me if I told you.” I breathed a sigh.
“Trying to finish the job, eh?” Thayer shook his head, disgust clear on his face. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need to be.” I gave Thayer a puzzled look.
“I think we have heard enough,” Gorbanni seethed. “We have all agonized about what happened and when this day would finally come. Let us report on what he said and then be done with him.”
Footsteps approached from down the hallway and the four ex-generals suddenly looked nervous.
“Report?” I almost laughed. “Who do you report to? Don’t tell me that you answer to Recatolusti’catri now?”
“Who?” Malek leaned forward but his eyes flickered between my face and door behind me.
“The dragon that escaped.” I had never debriefed them after the final battle.
“Is that the creature’s name? How do you know?” he asked.
“She spoke to me during the battle. Her words were in my head after I killed her mate and offspring,” I admitted.
“How?” Alexia asked. They all looked past my face and I heard their hearts beat faster. They were scared. Almost terrified. What could frighten these four? Malek opened his mouth as if to say something but then he closed it and sighed.
I studied them for a few seconds while the footsteps grew closer and the bar of the metal slid open. The hinges screeched and my nose was assaulted by the sickly sweet scent of rotting flesh. Whoever walked behind me was the source of the odor and it overpowered everyone in the room. Especially Malek, whose skin was now a light shade of green.
An armored hand rested on my right shoulder and I forced my nose to revert to human senses or I might have fainted. I could not turn my head to see who stood behind me but the fingertips of the armor looked like dripping, swirling wax that had been melted into metal. Another hand squeezed my left shoulder and I felt fear.
Fear like I had not felt since the dragons.
“Who are you?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.
I was an idiot. A fool. How could I have led the greatest army this world had ever known and missed something so critical? My friends' endless pursuit of me now made complete sense.
“Hello, Kaiyer,” Shlara whispered.
Chapter 2-Kaiyer
I screamed as I woke. The terror clung to me. Knowing she had lived somehow increased my anguish and regret. The strong, incredible warrior I had known and loved had not simply died. She had been transformed into a revolting, terrible monster. An angry, grotesque version of her former self, feared by her closest friends. She was not at peace. She was in agony and filled with justifiable rage toward me. It was worse than death.
I was so sure she had died by my Fire. I had seen the fireball scorch her skin, her armor; it had engulfed the beautiful woman in a sticky torch of horror. I heard her death cries. I heard her heart stop. I was haunted by those sounds.
“By the Spirits, man! You just scared the piss out of me!” The voice was familiar but I couldn’t see anything but the melted fists of her green gauntlets clutching at my shoulder.
I lay in a small bed made up of linen sheets covering dried straw. The sheets were wet and stank of my fear. The rest of the room contained a squat dresser, nightstand, and a full bookshelf. Each piece of furniture was crafted of simple oak stained an off-rose color.
“You’ve been unconscious for six days. But you were that way when I found you, so Spirits know what happened to you.” The voice drew my attention back to the doorway of the small, musty room. The man wore a sun-bleached yellow tunic and a pair of cloudy purple breaches. Both were stained with black swirls of ink and hung about him as if they were pinned onto a scarecrow. He had a kind face with sparkling blue eyes and long wisps of gray hair on his chin and head.
“Hello, Janci,” I said to Paug’s grandfather. The sight of the older man put me at ease and I felt my heart slow from a gallop to a canter.
“Good morning, Kaiyer. I am glad to see you alive, although I imagine I will not enjoy the news you bring from the capital.” His face formed a half-smile through the white beard.
“You don’t know?”
“I’ve heard rumors. Some minstrels and travelers have brought words. But their news is always old and the stories are conflicting.”
“Where am I?” I looked down at the bed. I wore a pair of undergarments that I didn’t recognize, but the rest of my body was bare under the sheet.
“You are in my home.” He nodded as if I should have already known the answer.
“I don’t remember getting here. You said I have been unconscious for almost a week?” I smelled salt on the air, and now that I was calmer I heard the sound of the ocean outside of the home.
“Aye. Are you hungry? Might be better to speak over some fish and eggs.”
“Yes, please.” I didn’t feel particularly famished, but I guessed that once I started eating, my appetite would return.
“I’ll grab you a pair of pants and a tunic.” He returned with more ink-stained clothes that may have once been white but were now a shade of bluish gray, probably from washing with said ink stains on the fabric.
Janci left to prepare the meal and I examined my body before donning the garments. Besides the scars I already knew of, I didn’t appear to have any injuries. My legs still seemed to have strength in them; I walked out of the room and into the main living area.
It looked as I would have guessed: a small but accessible kitchen sat behind a long stone counter; a large, white-bricked oven took up one entire wall and warmed the room and the food Janci was preparing. In another corner, a long rickety table was surrounded with mismatched chairs facing a huge sheet of black slate still bearing some faint remnants of information scrawled with chalk. Paug had told me that he and his grandfather helped instruct the local children.
Then there were the books.
Save for the black slate area next to the table, the rest of the walls were covered with shelves laden with books of all sizes, shapes, colors, and ages. To me the arrangement looked haphazard, but I knew a man like Janci would have some method of organization, however illogical.
“I found you on the beach a few miles north of the lighthouse.” He had four gutted fish splayed open on a wood cutting board. They were coated with salt, dill, and slices of lemon. He threw a generous glob of golden butter into a hot pan and it popped and sizzled as it quickly melted into oily translucence. He began to crack some brown eggs into a bowl as he continued, “You were lying naked on the shore like a piece of flotsam. Paug told me you disappeared and everyone thought you were dead. So I was rather surprised to find you.”
“How did you get me back here?” I sat at the counter across from him and put my elbows on the table. I dreaded telling him about Paug, the cowardly part of me wanted to prolong it by staying away from the subject of Nia, but I knew the longer I waited the more difficult the conversation would become. I suspected Janci was avoiding the obvious question for the same reason. As long as it remained unspoken, he could protect that small warm hope he had for his grandson.
“I lashed half a dozen pieces of driftwood together, rolled you onto it, and then dragged you. I’m not a young man, but you don’t weigh much. I walk for a few hours every morning before the rest of the village wakes. Paug made me pick up the habit. I suspected it was so he could make himself extra breakfast, but I ended up enjoying the activity. One shouldn’t spend too much time alone with his books. Tea?” I nodded and he pinched leaves into a mug. Then he poured water from a steaming kettle into it before placing it down on the counter.
“Isn’t your home fairly far from the capital?”
“Aye. About two weeks’ journey by horse.” He set to whisking the eggs.
“How did I make it to the beach?” I tried to remember riding here from the castle but recalled nothing. The process frustrated me, so I took a sip of tea. It was bright and grassy, with a refreshing acidic tang that helped wake me up.
“Nia was attacked one night. The princess was kidnapped and then the soldiers said you were killed,” he said the words over his back as he poured the whipped eggs into the pan. “Obviously, the account of your death was greatly exaggerated.” He turned his head and winked at me.
“Yes. I chased after one of the Elvens. The people you called the Ancients.”
“I recall you mentioning that you thought of them as Elvens.” Janci nodded and began to slice up the fish.
“It was an ambush, I fought many through the city streets. I managed to defeat them but I saw several kidnap Jessmei. I chased after them and freed her before they made it too far north. Then a storm came and we holed up in a cave. Eventually, we found our way to a farming village and heard word that Nia had been attacked and taken by the Elvens. Rumors were that Jessmei’s family was dead.” Paug’s grandfather nodded and squeezed the lemon slices onto the fish before putting them in the pan with the eggs.
“I left Jessmei in the village and then I traveled back to the castle to see what had transpired.” I found my memory returning as the story unfolded.
“The capital had been invaded and the Elvens controlled it. In the city I met Greykin and he suspected that what was left of the royal family was imprisoned in the castle. I joined him and we used the catacombs and sewers under the city to reach the underside of the dungeons."
“The catacombs? There are tales of that place. Apparently it is incredibly vast and inhabited by horrible creatures. Some of my books say that there was once a city there and that Castle Nia was built on top of it.” Janci had forgotten about the eggs during my story and he quickly turned back to flip them.
“There were creatures there. Greykin called them wurms.”
“Wurms!” The old man gasped. “What did they look like?”
“Ugly, smelly snakes. Bigger than three horses in a line. They had beaks like birds that opened with three hinges. Many of Greykin’s men died.”
“That is unfortunate. After breakfast I will have to write the account in more specifics and perhaps make a few drawings, with your help. There are no scientific records of wurms, only fables and myths.” He produced a plate and put the large fish omelet in front of me. “I already ate breakfast. As I recall, you can eat plenty.”
“Yes.” I took the first scalding bite and allowed it to cool in my mouth before I swallowed. “This is delicious. Thank you.”
“You are more than welcome. Please continue with your account.” He began to scrub the counter and knives with a bar of soap and bristle brush. The question of Paug still lingered, unasked and unanswered, but I saw it in Janci’s eyes each time I paused in my story. I wondered if he already knew somehow. Jessmei would have believed this, that Paug’s Spirit could somehow communicate with the old man. I had always been dismissive of religion, but as more of my past unfolded, I was starting to believe that nearly anything was possible.
“I was separated from the rest of the men and made it to the castle. I found Greykin and the duke working in the servants’ quarters. Beltor believed that Nadea lived and seemed convinced that Nanos knew where she was. The prince was under constant guard but had been allowed freedom to move through the castle. We tried to communicate with him, but he was discovered.”
“What of Paug?” he finally asked. I could see the anguish plain in his eyes now. He had waited patiently as I recounted all the other details of the siege and rescue.
I had done this many times. We had lost countless men and women during our struggle for freedom, and while our kind never married, a dead soldier’s parents and offspring were always notified. Eventually, my generals took over this task within their own armies.
“He fell protecting Nadea.” I hoped that the truth of his grandson’s final, heroic act would bring the old man some solace in the face of such horror. He could truly be proud of his grandson. It was easy for someone like me to seem courageous. I was strong, I was trained, I had spent decades fighting and killing. I had powers beyond any opponent this world or any other had been able to conjure to test me. Yet even I knew the chill grip of fear and the self-preserving instinct to run when faced with impossible odds. And I remembered how terrifying it was to be human and weak.
Paug had displayed true bravery. He had no combat experience, no fitness, no idea what to do, what to expect, or even how to wield a weapon. He had no reason to think he would be victorious. But he still did what was right. He still acted to defend his friend, and he should always be remembered as a great hero.
I wanted to convey this to Janci, but the pain in his eyes and the pain in my heart when I thought of my young friend caught in my throat and I was rendered mute for a moment while I collected myself.
“Oh,” Janci nodded and looked away to the dishes.
“During the attack, the king, Nanos, Greykin, Nadea, and Paug fled to the Safe Room. The king and Nanos were separated from the rest. Greykin stayed behind to fend off some Loshers. When Nadea and Paug made it to the room, the king was dead by Nanos’s hand.”
“What?” Janci’s tears painted his face.
“Nanos was working with the empress of the Elvens. He killed his father before they reached the room. Paug took up the king’s sword to defend Nadea, and Nanos murdered him.”
Janci nodded and blinked away tears. He looked to his dishes but they were already clean and neatly stacked.
I walked past the counter and wrapped my arms around the old man before the first sobs could rock his frame. At first, he resisted my embrace, but I didn’t let go and he relented, pushing his face into my shoulder and unleashing his tears as any grieving parent would. I cried as well and we stood in the kitchen until the sun came through the small windows of the wall and the gulls outside indicated that it was midday.
“We were heading home,” he said much later, after I had helped him make lunch and we had taken it down to the rocks of the beach to watch the waves roll in. It was the first time he had spoken since I told him of Paug. “It was apparent to all that Nia would fall and Nadea had released him from service. I could tell he wanted to be back there. He wanted to help his friends.” He sighed heavily and looked down again at his food. It was more fish with peppers and cucumber from a garden on the south side of his small cottage. “It was dangerous. I wanted to force him to come home. I wanted to yell at him. He was all I had left in this world. My poor boy.”
I nodded but said nothing.
“A boy has to grow up sometime though. Even if he had known he would die, he would have still gone back. He wanted to be a hero. Like you.” The old man’s words slammed into my heart like a punch from Thayer, though he didn’t say it with any sort of malice.
“I am no hero,” I said and I stood and stretched. I turned back to the old man and his face was open in expectation of more. “I have done unspeakable things. I am the same man Nadea and Paug read about and hoped for, but the things I have done are not heroic.”
“I doubt that, Kaiyer. I do wish to hear of it though. Will you tell me?”
I nodded and then I did. I told him of my father and brother. Of the mother I never knew. I told him of Iolarathe and how we were lovers. I told him how she killed them. I told him of the training under the Elvens and escaping with Thayer along with the rest of our enslaved and newly powered kin. I told him of the endless years running from the Elvens and finally meeting Entas. How he helped train us and form our army. I spoke of stoic Alexia, and how Thayer and I found her being raped by Elven men. Then we talked of proud and honest Gorbanni, and of passionate Malek.
And Shlara.
I spoke to him of all the battles I remembered. How we failed and triumphed and built the army. I said that I loved both Shlara and Iolarathe and knew it to be true; yet the Elven woman never left my thoughts or dreams, so I could never commit to Shlara.
I related the final battle and all its fantastic detail. I explained how I killed the dragons. Janci was fascinated, and again mentioned how he must record the information on the dragons and wurms for the knowledge of future generations. I told him how I fell from the dragon’s talon, found Iolarathe and made love to her again. How Shlara found us and how I ended up killing the woman I should have loved to save the one I did, how I fled like a coward and spent many years in pursuit of the Elven, being pursued by my kin. I told him of the Radicle, the Ovules, and that we had a child.
I spoke of rescuing Iolarathe from Shlara’s Rest and then our capture after we tried to steal the Ovule. Then I recounted my last memory and my horror that Shlara was still alive.
By the time I concluded my long personal history, we had returned to his home and the night bled into morning as we finished a dusty bottle of brandy and a salted haunch of pork, both of which Janci told me he had been saving for a special occasion.
“Do you believe that your generals thought you were coming back to kill Shlara?” Janci asked.
“That is a possibility. Thayer’s question about finishing the job made little sense at the time, but it could be that was what they thought. If she was staying in Malek’s home and they didn’t know I was looking for the Ovule, I can see why they made that assumption.” I churned the idea over in my head a bit more and found it likely. “I didn’t want to tell them of Iolarathe, or my daughter. I didn’t want to give them anything to use over me. I am guessing that strategy ultimately failed though.”
“We haven’t spoken about the circumstances that led you to the shores of our village.” Janci rubbed his eyes and I guessed the old man was using all of his might to stay awake.
“We can talk more about it after some rest.” I began to stand.
“No, please.” He grabbed my hands and gently pulled me back to the table. “I may look physically tired, but my brain has never been more excited and full of energy. I won’t be able to sleep, even if I lie down.” We smiled at each other and I sat again.
“I think I left off with Nanos. He agreed to meet us in the castle’s dungeon. He said he would tell us of Nadea. I was suspicious of him even then, I never liked the little bastard,” I paused as Janci smirked and nodded in agreement. “But I just thought he was a prick. Not a traitor. I never would have imagined one of our own kind being allied with Elvens. It was a trap. The duke, Greykin, and I were captured.”
“Shit.”
“The Elven general in charge of the conquest of Nia was named Alatorict. He asked me questions I did not understand about my clan. He said that they had Nadea in the castle and if I agreed to stay and meet with his empress in a few weeks, he wouldn’t kill her. I negotiated with him further and he threw in the release of Beltor, Greykin, and the queen. I was a prisoner in my room, but there were interesting conversations to be had.”
“Interesting?” Janci asked.
“Alatorict spoke of treaties and asked why and how I had come to this world. I did not understand what he meant, but I tried to act as if I did to get more information from him. My memories were still sparse. He told me that the man named Kaiyer was known as ‘the Destroyer’ and had died five thousand years ago. One of Alatorict’s commanders was responsible for guarding me. I was able to get more information from her in exchange for sex, and an agreement that I would insist she be present when I met with their empress.
“I later learned that they never had Nadea in custody. She had escaped a week prior.”
Janci managed a sigh and chuckle. “I imagined you would have dealt with the situation differently had you known.”
“Perhaps. I did wish to meet their empress, preferably armed with a weapon. I did not understand why they did not simply kill me, but they needed me for information, and they are bound by the terms of their treaties with the O’Baarni to avoid killing our kind. They did not believe I was the real Kaiyer. They feared I was sent by a group intent on preventing their colonization of this planet. They plan to destroy the Radicles and prevent the migration of any more O’Baarni. And though they claim otherwise, I believe their ultimate goal is to enslave the humans here as they had in the past.”
“Horrible. How did you escape?”
“I dreamed of the final battle, of killing the dragons, of Iolarathe and Shlara. I awoke to find my room, and an entire wing of the castle, destroyed. I could hear Nadea, or sense her somehow. I knew she was in the castle and I knew she was injured. I found her, with Nanos, in the Safe Room. Nadea was bleeding out on the floor beside her cousin. I knew he had betrayed us, but I did not yet know he had killed his father or Paug, nor stabbed Nadea. I left him and took Nadea with me out of the castle. She was going to die, so I used my magic to turn her into an O’Baarni.”
“Did it work?” Paug’s grandfather gasped.
“Yes.” I wanted to explain more, that Nadea was not human, that she was the empress’s daughter. But it was not my secret, and it did not seem right for Janci to know before Nadea.
“But she was in a coma for many weeks. I found Runir in the castle and he took me to their army. They had been hiding in Fisherman’s Gorge and raiding the Losher forces. When she awoke, we put our stories together and I realized the depth of Nanos’s betrayal. We argued briefly about what to do next. I wanted to travel north to find Jessmei, Beltor, Greykin, and the queen. Nadea asked me to stay with her army. I had won the argument, but before I could leave, Alatorict's commander raided our camp with a significant force of Elven warriors.”
“The woman who was your lover?” Janci asked.
“Yes. She demanded that I return to the castle or she would kill everyone in our army. I complied and returned with her. On the way back I experienced more memories and apparently I fainted. When I awoke I was in a tent outside the city walls.” As I spoke I felt more memories of Isslata and Vernine returning.
“I finally met with the empress and her generals. She possessed a type of magic I had never experienced, some scent she used to control and manipulate the way others felt about her. I was instantly attracted to her and wanted to please and obey. I suspect this magic helped her rise to power and accomplish all she has. She is extremely persuasive. However, I was able to tone down my sense of smell and regain control. The conversation was similar to those I’d had with Alatorict. She wanted my help locating the Radicle where Nadea found me. She threatened to assassinate Nadea if I did not cooperate.”
“What did you do?”
“I delayed as long as I dared. I wondered if the empress would keep her word. But I had little choice. If I did not tell her, I knew she would kill me. If I did tell her, there was a chance she would have me taken there. It would have given me a chance to escape.” The statement was a lie. I knew that Nadea was Telaxthe’s daughter, and I had intended to use that information as leverage.
“Before I could make my decision, a group of my kin arrived.” Janci’s eyes grew wide. “Do you recall Iarin?”
“Yes. The lanky fellow that escorted my grandson and the duchess?”
“He was an O’Baarni. At some point in the past, a number of them split off from Thayer’s clan. I am unsure of the politics involved, but this new clan has members that scout unoccupied worlds for resources. There is some sort of reward amongst the clans for anyone that brings in a ‘Pretender,’ someone who uses my name. Apparently a few have impersonated me over the years. The Elven and O’Baarni believed I was another imposter.”
“Did you suspect Iarin was one of your people?” Janci asked.
“No. Not really.” I thought back to all the time I spent with the woodsman. “But I always felt comfortable around him. We did have a kind of connection. When I found out, I was not surprised.
“The group of O’Baarni was led by the patriarch of this newly formed clan. His name was Kannath and the empress owed him some favors. He told me that he had captured Jessmei and Beltor. He said he wanted me to return with him through the Radicle to stand trial.”
“Trial? For doing what? Trying to save us from these Elvens?” Janci’s voice sounded gruff from staying up all night.
“For being named Kaiyer. It is a crime now amongst my people to have that name. I actually tried to convince him that I was in fact Kaiyer, but he didn’t believe me.”
“The irony. If they want anyone even named after you to die, they would probably be extremely interested in capturing the real you.” Janci smirked.
“I have a suspicion that someone, either the clan leaders or someone close to the top of their leadership knows that I am not dead. Why else would they want to find anyone named Kaiyer? From what Kannath told me during our travels, the reward for returning a Pretender is great. Enough for him to leave his duties leading his clan and personally retrieve me.”
“So you went with them?”
“Yes. The empress was in a bind. She didn’t have the information she needed from me and so could not let me return with Kannath. The Elvens have tried to get a world of their own for many years. Each of her predecessors thought they had secured one through trade or treaty with the O’Baarni. Eventually, my people would go back on their word and end up occupying the world and either forcing the Elvens to leave or making life difficult for them. The empress believed that if I left alive, I would tell the clan leaders how she sacked Nia and was responsible for many human deaths. I think the clans believed this world to be uninhabited by humans, or at least a civilized population.”
“If the clans knew that there were humans here, do you think they would come to our aid?” Janci asked.
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “That is what she fears and why she was so desperate to destroy the Radicles. I understood her dilemma enough to make a deal with her.” I left out the part where she attempted to have Yillomar kill me in combat. “If she killed these O’Baarni, I would tell her where my Radicle was located.” I lied again. I had agreed to tell her about her daughter, but Janci didn’t need to know about that now.
“Kannath and his warriors escorted me northward, through Nia, while the empress’s scouts tracked us. When I got to the campsite I found Jessmei and Beltor in good health. Iarin was with them. Then the empress’s assassins did their work. I didn’t want Iarin to die, but they killed him. Which is unfortunate because he was my friend, but also because he knew of the Radicle that Kannath used to get here.”
“I’m somewhat surprised that you had Elvens kill off Kannath and his warriors,” Janci said with concern.
“My goal is to remove the Elvens from this world. If Kannath brought me back to his leaders, he believed I would be immediately tried and executed. Jessmei and Beltor appealed to him for help, and he made it clear that apprehending me was his priority, and there was nothing valuable enough on this planet to encourage his people to come to your aid. Even if they could be convinced, it would take some time. In the meantime, the empress could have discovered the Radicles and destroyed them. Then your land would be hers without question. I’ve lived in a world where Elvens rule, my friend. It is not a good place.”
“I understand. So you returned with the Elvens to the empress?”
“This is where my memories grow less clear.” I closed my eyes and tried to recall the last few days. “I woke up in the campsite. The Elvens were gone, Beltor and Jessmei were gone. They must have knocked me unconscious, or left me for dead. The empress’s sister was in charge of this mission, and she did not care for me.”
“Didn’t the empress want to know where your Radicle is?” Janci asked.
“Her sister wasn’t privy to our deal. I made my way back to Nia and found that Nadea had surrendered her army. They were camped outside of the walls. I met with General Maerc and he said that they were turned away at Brilla. There was nowhere else for the army to go and Nadea had been offered attractive terms for surrender.”
“Do you know the terms?”
“The empress would allow Nadea and Beltor to maintain seats on the Council and manage the eastern part of the country.”
“Do you believe her?”
“Perhaps she will keep her word for a few years. Maybe even for as long as Nadea lives. Eventually though, the Elvens will want slaves. They want to be masters of their world. No peace can last.” Janci nodded at my words and I continued, “I entered the castle through the sewers again with Knight Captain Danor. Do you know him?”
“I’ve heard the name before. He is a great hero in the Nia army. About half a dozen years ago the country was plagued by an organized group of bandits. He led the force that wiped them out.”
“Ahh. I didn’t know of his past deeds. I knew he was trustworthy, and a courageous warrior.”
I took a sip of water from a pitcher Janci set on the table earlier and tried to remember more.
“I’m sorry my friend, I know we entered the castle. I remember talking to Nadea. I remember that she didn’t want to leave, but I convinced her. I recall the reunion she had with her father . . .” My voice trailed off into a whisper. Why couldn’t I remember?
“Did you escape from the castle?”
“I was looking for Jessmei. I think I found her.” There was a pounding in my head like my brain was knocking hard on the inside of my skull.
“It has been a long day, night, and morning, Kaiyer. Perhaps a few hours of rest will clear up your mind. If your last memory is of the Castle Nia, there has to be more story worth telling.”
“You are right.” I rubbed my eyes a bit and cleared fog from them. Sleep did sound wonderful. “I’ll probably remember more after some rest.”
“Do you want breakfast before you go? Sun will be up in a couple of hours.”
“No that is fine. I am hungry, but I can eat when I wake up. I’ll see you later in the day. Thank you for listening.”
“Thank you for telling me of your life, Kaiyer. I wish that Paug—” The old man stopped himself and sighed. “Well. No use wishing for things that can’t be. My grandson would have liked to hear what you told me today. Get to bed!” he ordered and pointed to the room that once belonged to my young friend.
The sheets felt cool and I almost didn’t have the energy to take off my clothes before passing out. I tried to remember more of the castle before the dreams took me, but it was no use. As if on a river, my mind slipped from the story I had just told Janci to a dream of fighting hordes of my enemies. In the dream, my screaming death armor felt like it was part of my body.
Chapter 3 -Iolarathe
“Our tribal lands lay over the next hill.” The male escort had told me his name a few times, but I had not bothered to remember it.
I made no response to his statement and he cleared his throat before the sour scent of fear escaped his body. Even in the cool breeze rolling over these grassy hills I could smell him.
“Do you wish to rest here for lunch, or should we carry on?” Gerleita was the other escort from my father’s tribe of Laxile. She also wore the scent of sour fear, but it was less offensive than the stench of her male counterpart.
“How long until we reach the estate?” Corlintha asked for me.
“Six more hours. Which is why I asked if Iolarathe would prefer to rest.” Gerleita smelled of sharp cabbage now. Bitter and pungent.
“We will break here.” I turned to Corlintha and nodded. She blinked her purple eyes and bowed slightly before turning her horse around to face the rest of the caravan. With a click of her tongue the beast cantered down the small slope toward the many covered wagons. She would alert them to my plans and oversee my lunch preparation.
“May we eat with you?” Gerleita asked. Her heart beat quicker and the sour stench grew hotter in the midday heat. I was surprised at her boldness and considered the consequences of acceptance. My father had sent his top traders to escort me and my servants from my mother’s lands. Despite traveling together for the last month, I had done nothing to build a relationship with them. My mother would be displeased, but her opinion hardly mattered anymore.
“Yes, but sit downwind of me. For the love of the Dead Gods you both reek like you expect me to kill you any second.” The woman’s emerald eyes opened along with her mouth.
“We are sorry, Mistress. We don’t wish to offend you—” the male said.
“Silence. I don’t want to hear your bullshit now. You may join me for lunch, but do not speak unless I address you.” They both bowed deeply off the side of their horses and the sour scent increased.
I dismounted my own steed and handed the stallion’s reins to Gerleita. He was a spirited warhorse that disliked anyone’s presence but mine. He must have sensed my displeasure because he didn’t balk at the woman’s touch when she tied him to the nearby juniper.
Twenty humans set up my pavilion downwind, so that I would not experience their stench. They would just handle the framework and the canvas top of the structure. Then my personal servants would place the furniture, rugs, tables, and deliver my meal.
Corlintha approached me from the direction of the caravans and offered me one of her rare smiles.
“You, Gerleita, and the male escort . . .”
“Chirtlan,” she reminded me.
“Will join me for lunch. Unless you have other plans?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I need to see to one of the wagons. The wheels have cracked and it might not make it the rest of the way.” She couldn’t hide her smirk and the scent of apricots drifted to my nose.
“Don’t leave me alone with them.” I tried my best not to sound frustrated since I knew she was joking with me.
“It would be unthinkable for me to deny the Singleborn.” She chuckled a bit. “Soon you will be on your own though.”
“Don’t remind me. Ugh. They approach. Their fear is rotten like month old fruit.”
“Maybe if you were nice to them they would smell better?” Corlintha suggested.
“Not my nature.”
“You are nice to me.” Corlintha shook her head with a sigh.
“You are mistaken. You just fuck up less than my other attendants.” I crossed my arms and smirked at the purple-eyed woman. Her hair was the color of weathered silver wood and she kept it cut short.
“You are a liar and will miss me when I return home.” She smiled in full now and I enjoyed the apricot scent of her humor.
“See that is where you are the one mistaken.” I laughed a little and winked at her. “You are staying here with me until my brother and sister come to visit.” The escorts approached and stood north of me. Corlintha held off her response with a bite to her lip and then turned to them.
“Your servants have prepared the pavilion,” the male whose name I had forgotten again said.
I nodded at him and walked toward the tent. Inside were a scattering of leather chairs, plush carpets, and dark wood tables laden with food. Lavender and pine incense burned to smoke from various places under the tent and my nose could finally ignore the fear that permeated my escorts.
I sat in the prominent chair and raised one of the empty crystal glasses for my servants to fill. It looked as if they had decided on mead for this afternoon’s treat and the honey spice aroma along with the incense almost made it feel like home. I swirled the golden liquid in the glass for bit to mellow the taste and then took a small taste.
“Thank you for sharing this meal with us,” Gerleita said while she placed a few thin cuts of boar meat and cheese from a nearby table on her plate. I nodded at her and took another sip of the mead. The warmth ran through me and I held back a shudder of pleasure.
The breeze picked up and carried the scent of grass, juniper, and water to my nose. I inhaled deeply and the first positive thought about my relocation came to mind: at least my father’s lands were beautiful. I could appreciate the desert, with its howling salt winds, jasmine forests, and fresh springs. But the hay meadows and forests of the western lands were filled with much more interesting scents and sights. I was actually looking somewhat forward to riding through the endless pastures and exploring the various glens scattered through them.
Of course, I would never admit such desires.
“When was the last time you spoke to your father?” the male asked after Corlintha set a plate of food in my hands.
“A decade or so ago. He came to visit me on my twentieth.” The mustard was made with ground chunks of seeds and agreed marvelously with the cuts of dried and salted roast beef. I guessed that the cooks were using the last of our best food since our final destination was near. I nibbled on a ripe green fig after the bite of meat and mustard and then washed it all down with more of the mead.
“He must be thrilled to see you,” Gerleita said. She favored the orange melon over the cuts of meat. It was a typical habit of those less attuned to the Elements, but I fought back my sneer.
“I care not for his feelings.” Their scents intensified with an overcooked vegetable stench. Fucking shit, they were so sensitive.
“I am just a pawn in their political games. He hopes to breed me with another tribe’s champion in exchange for whatever frivolous bauble he thinks will help him gain power. My mother has been trying to do the same for the last twenty years. I am tired of it."
“Don’t you have to obey your chieftain’s wishes?” the male asked. His curiosity made me think of pumpkins. Rotten pumpkins.
“I am the Singleborn.” I laughed at them and finished the remainder of my mead with a quick swallow. I held up my glass and a servant filled it immediately. “As soon as either one of them presents me with a suitor that is worthy, I might become aroused. Until then . . .” I looked across the ocean of waving green grass. I never paid much attention to the physical characteristics of my surroundings, since there were so many scents to occupy me, but this place was beautiful. “I will attempt to amuse myself here for the next twenty years. What is there to do for fun in your backwater tribe?”
“We are hardly backwater,” the male said. Perhaps he was insulted by my statement but I never cared to understand tonal changes in someone’s voice when their body gave off perfect scents that told the truth about their emotion. That was, if I didn’t have bundles of incense burning. “We have hundreds of miles of rich riding plain, game hunting, archery, and sword games. You will find plenty to do.”
“I am already bored.” I sighed. Mother’s territory lay in the central hub of the spice trade. It was a nexus of art, sex, and political espionage. The most interesting thing to do here in my father’s land was get breakfast.
“I will be happy to show you around the area once you have made yourself comfortable,” he said.
“Of course you would.” I almost laughed at him but remembered that I would probably need allies there. I hadn’t yet met a male that didn’t start sweating out mating pheromones as soon as they stood within a hundred yards of me. This peon was no different than the others.
An interruption in the flow of grass distracted me from my meal. There was a slight break in the emerald waves, like a fish popping a head above water. I slid my tongue out to see if I could capture a new scent but the motion was downwind of me and the incense too potent. Then I spotted another quick movement a few feet to the side of the first. It too vanished before I laid eyes on it.
I still comprehended what was about to happen.
“Fuck,” I muttered and gathered the World to me. It came quickly, like an eager lover, and my body filled with its power. I released part of it as a windstorm that flew out of my tent like a hunting falcon. The magic threw aside the flying arrows these assassins shot toward my pavilion as if they were thrown flowers.
Confusion erupted in my tent as servants screamed and took cover from the attack. I used another blast of magic to throw a bolt of Fire at one of the standing assassins. It was orange, angry, and when it collided with his body the flame turned to red and feasted on his flesh and bones like a hungry vulture. Blood turned into vapor and it almost seemed as if the archer was blessed with my hair color for half a second.
“Get down!” Corlintha moved between me and the other archers, eight of them I counted, with her broad blade drawn. She was a skilled warrior but there wasn’t much a sword could do against a well shot arrow. Two pierced her chest below her breasts and exited out her back with a surprising swiftness.
“Ahh shit.” I fumbled with her slumping body, lowering it to the ground while I looked up at the combat situation.
Four of my servants were dead, stuck full of arrows like macabre cacti. The rest lay on the floor of the tent and stunk up the place with their fear. Gerleita and her male counterpart had upturned the banquet table and crouched behind its thick wood. Unfortunately, neither of them had brought a bow, so I doubted the cover would be a long term solution. Sure enough, a few of the archers had begun to flank the pavilion from upwind. They circled both to the east and west, crawling low in the grass so I couldn’t get more than a quick glimpse of them through the ocean of green.
Unlike an arrow, my magic didn’t need to be exact.
I pulled more of the World to me. Willing it to fill and then empty my blood and bones as soon as possible. One assassin exploded into vermillion flames, a second did at a wave of my hands, and finally a third managed to scream when she saw the flaming projectile dart toward her. Her cry cut off with a puff of blood, steam, and agony.
More had circled around and rushed the tent from the slope on the south side. I guessed their number now to be eight if they didn’t have any sacking the caravan. Two of them popped up from the grass and ran at me with clubs raised. Their choice of weapons indicated that they were going to attempt to subdue and capture me.
Their idiocy brought a smile to my face.
My boot hooked under Corlintha’s sword and the blade sprang into my hand in time to cut the closest attacker in half. The second slowed his sprint toward me but the movement only allowed me to ready myself for his charge. His weapon came in high, aiming for the shoulder of my sword arm, but it was sloppy and slow. I flicked the attack to his outside and brought Corlintha’s sword up to sever his arm off at the elbow. Then I sliced sideways to cleave his head in two at his mouth.
I would have liked to carve his body up a bit more but there were other attackers I needed to address. Gerleita and the male were still crouching behind the table, completely useless. Well, perhaps not entirely useless. They both had arrows coming out of their shoulders. At least they served as distractions.
The remaining six attackers had split into a group of four and two; they circled the table with arrows notched. I pulled more of the World into me and tried to fight back a grunt of pain. Being a Singleborn meant I had exponentially more magic than anyone else of my kind. But I was beginning to test the limits of what I could do without any recuperation. I was thankful none of the attackers were inclined to pull power from the World since combating one at the moment would have exhausted me even further.
The group of four launched their salvo of arrows. Their targets were my escorts but a quick blast of Air scattered the missiles wide enough to sink into the table and the surrounding ground. Almost instantly afterward my vision began to yellow and I smelled copper. Fuck. I should have let them die instead of wasting energy.
I ignored the group of two on my left and sprinted toward the group of four circling to the right of the table. Just in case the pair of archers decided that they really didn’t need me alive I threw some Air behind me to distract any potential arrows. I did hear a dual twang of bow strings but no arrows ripped through me.
The four saw me approach and pulled short swords from their belts. I was outside of the smoke of incense from my pavilion and their scent confirmed the fear that their eyes also betrayed. They had expected this to go much smoother than it was. I took a brief comfort from their mood and didn’t bother with a feint for my first broad swing.
The woman tried to block and I was too fast or she was too stupid to get her weapon up in time. Either way my blade cut through her thin leather armor, chest, and spine to separate her torso from the rest of her lower body. The next attacker jumped to my unguarded left and aimed a kick at my stomach. My foot placement was parallel to his and weighted too much on the front. I couldn’t parry the attack but I did manage to flick the blade back after he struck me and slice off everything below his kneecap. He fell with a startled scream and I hardly felt the kick to the stomach.
I had to retreat a few steps when the remaining two attackers pressed toward me in unison, pairing their strikes with nervous energy. I parried the first dozen of their swings until I got my footing again. Then I dove forward when they both accidently swung horizontally and had to halt their attack so they wouldn’t hit each other.
By the Dead Gods these country bumpkins were terrible.
I cut the arm off of the one to my right and drew a smile along this throat with the tip of the blade. While he gurgled I stepped past the last assassin and drove my knee into his groin. He screamed in pain and I smashed the pommel of Corlintha’s sword into the back of his skull.
“Drop your weapon.” The other two archers had closed the distance from the pavilion and now stood twenty feet from me. They had their arrows drawn and aimed at my chest. I glanced over their shoulders to my tent and saw that my escorts and slaves were dead. At least they had bought me a bit of killing time.
“What if I say no?” I licked my lips and realized I was covered in blood. I reached up with my left hand and wiped at part of my mouth and then licked the tips of my fingers. It tasted a little more metallic than I guessed. Iron, copper, too much salt.
“Then we will put you down,” one of the archers said. Their eyes flickered up over my shoulder and I looked back over to the caravan. There were another dozen of these assassins murdering the rest of my guards and servants.
“If you drop your weapons I will let you live.” I sighed with annoyance.
“We have arrows pointed at your chest bitch. We give the commands,” one said.
“Do you know who I am?” I almost laughed. This was beyond ridiculous.
“Of course, that is why we are here. Drop your sword.”
I debated my options. I might be able to kill these two but I’d probably black out from the magic use. Then I’d be captured by the rest of their gang. If I went with them I was certain of what would happen. They wanted me for breeding and would have their strongest males take turns with me until I begot them scores of children. Perhaps my father’s tribe would rescue me, or perhaps I would escape, either way my fate wouldn’t be entirely under my own control.
Eventually I was going to have to breed. There was no way around it. My powers were too vast to not gift to our race’s evolution. I did want a choice in the matter though. I didn’t choose to be a Singleborn but I would decide everything else in my life.
Even when I would die.
I pulled the World into me again. My stomach began to cramp, but I ignored the pain. The problem my kidnappers had was that they couldn’t really attack me. If an arrow penetrated my womb I would become infertile and useless to them. They would have preferred me dead if not in their custody but I doubt their orders were that detailed. They were probably told to capture me unharmed at all costs.
“Die.” I choked out the word as flame erupted from both of their skulls like torches. They didn’t even scream, or move, they just did as I instructed before their ash filled husks fell over onto the green plains. It was extremely hard to use Fire without a path from the creator to the intended target. It was much harder to do it twice at the same time.
I felt the grass caress my face and I startled awake. Every muscle in my body ached and I wanted to retch. I knew my horse was tied up to a tree about fifty yards from the pavilion. If I could get to the animal I might be able to make an escape to my father’s estate. I inhaled and smelled the stallion to my southwest. Now I was thankful that the grass was tall since it concealed my own crawl toward my steed.
Shouts rang from the south of me. They had noticed the fire burst and were rushing from the covered wagons to the spot I had last been seen. I gritted my teeth, fought against the pain that ripped through my body, and tried to crawl faster through the grasslands. I wondered if the layers of blood and grass on me would cover my actual scent or if they would easily find me once they reached the burnt out husks. My senses were more acute than my kin but they could still use their noses to track game.
“Shhh.” I tried to sooth my horse when I got to the animal’s feet. It didn’t seem to mind my presence. If anything, the beast seemed highly amused by my predicament. I reached up to the ties by the juniper tree and loosened the knot. There were a few other horses in the campsite that these assassins could use, but my steed was the fastest of the bunch.
They only consequence I didn’t like about my plan was that I would leave several of my attackers alive. It was a poor precedent to set in my new lands. First impressions were important and I guessed that this tribe was either a supposed ally or enemy of my father’s.
I really needed to murder all of them.
“Run fast you fucker.” I had only trained this horse for a few years but he knew that when I said those words he better move or receive a severe beating from my riding crop. He didn’t care that I wasn’t on his saddle, fear and memories overtook the animal and I almost couldn’t roll out of his path when he sprinted northward like his tail was on fire.
“She is escaping!” Several voices shouted out from the east and south.
“Get the horses from the wagons!” A woman’s voice screamed. Commotion sounded as the group ran back to the caravan and mounted their steeds. My horse was long gone by the time I counted nine other riders chase after him.
“Fools.” I lay on the grass and sighed. My problems weren’t over but at least I had a few minutes to breathe.
There probably weren’t any more kidnappers lurking about, but if there were I didn’t want to risk another confrontation without a weapon, preferably a bow, in my hand. I began the long crawl back to the caravan. By the time I made it I had recovered from using my magic enough to stand and search through the weapons without gasping in pain.
I found a long bow and a quiver of arrows a servant had used for hunting. The pull was a bit light, but I was stronger than most. I saddled one of the remaining horses, checked to see if anyone by the caravans was still alive, and then rode up toward the pavilion.
Corlintha’s sword lay next to the bodies of the two kidnappers I had immolated. I leaned out of the saddle, picked it up, and then continued the rest of the short journey to the tent. I confirmed that Corlintha was dead before I pulled her sword belt off of her body and buckled it across my waist. She had been my private guard for the last eight years and I hadn’t expected her to meet her end out here in the wilderness. It was slightly ironic since the silver-haired woman had been more excited about making this trip to my father’s lands than I.
Everyone else in the pavilion was dead as well. There were a few plates of food and assorted bottles of mead that lay untouched by the attack. I grabbed one of the jugs and took a long drink from it. Then I looked down at Corlintha’s body and took another drink. Did the mead taste better because I was still alive? Did it taste better because I was about to kill more? Perhaps it wasn’t important.
I mounted the horse and tested the draw of the bow while atop. The weapon was meant to be used while on foot but I could make it work while on horseback. Then I pointed the steed to the north and kicked it forward. Perhaps I should have covered my head, so that I would be harder to spot from a distance. But no, I wanted them to see me coming.
At least I wasn’t bored anymore.
Chapter 4-The O’Baarni
“Surprised to see me?” An armored hand wrapped across my throat and sharp claws dug into the sides of my neck. She stepped around to the front of my chair, obscuring the view of my tribunal. The dragons that had once been painstakingly etched into her green armor in beautiful detail were now distorted, gruesome shapes that twisted across the dull, melted surface.
“Yes!” I gasped out and her grip tightened around my throat. She lifted me up a few inches and my arms strained against the chains tied to the chair.
“Good!” she hissed. She reeked of both cooked and rotting flesh. The stench was strong enough to make my eyes water and my stomach turn. Half a million questions flooded my brain, and for a few seconds I could not make sense of anything except terror.
Absolute terror.
“Our friends did not think to inform me of your capture,” she sneered as she looked over her shoulder at the four other generals. I was high enough off the ground now to see their expressions. They looked almost as scared as I was.
“Shlara, we—” Malek began.
“Shut the fuck up!” she cut him off. “I’ll deal with your failures later.”
Her helmet had been modified to cover the lower half of her face. Her green eyes were still visible, but the skin surrounding them was burned and scarred like my left hand. Her irises seemed to glow with insanity.
“You thought I was dead. You thought that our business was finished, didn’t you Kaiyer?” Her grip tightened around my throat and the scent of my blood mixed with the rotting stench of her flesh.
I tried to answer but she was crushing my windpipe and I could only gasp. I thought she might relax her hold to allow me to speak, but instead she tightened her grip and my vision swam.
“Answer me, you fucking asshole!” She had always been strong, but I would have never believed she would have the strength to pick me up one-handed and pull me against the chains like this.
“You are choking him,” Alexia muttered from behind Shlara.
“So what if I am?” Shlara let me go and the chair fell back onto the stone floor with a jarring smash. I breathed deeply and fought against a gasp of pain.
“If you want him to answer you then—”
“Shut up!” Shlara screamed and Air punched through the room. My chair flew over backward and I had to pull my neck forward to prevent my skull from being crushed on the floor. Malek, Thayer, Alexia, and Gorbanni hung flattened against the far wall as if invisible hands held them up. Panic was plain on their faces.
“Why do you think you can question me?” Shlara pressed her face to Alexia’s. She must have leapt over the table in the half-second I was falling back in the chair.
“I’m sorry,” Alexia whispered. She had always been fair, but she looked almost white now.
“Sorry for?”
“Questioning you,” the blonde woman stammered and turned her head away from Shlara as much as she could. Alexia was not afraid of anything. Man, woman, Elven, I doubted she had even blinked as the dragons descended in the final battle. I had counted on her thousands of times to be the unemotional tester of my strategies.
I felt the Air leave the room and the four warriors slid down from the wall. Shlara then turned her insane eyes on me and slithered over to my chair. Her armored hand stroked my cheek tenderly and her breath came out in painful spurts.
“Do you know what this feels like? Being roasted alive like a pig? The itching, the burning, the stench of my own body? Can you guess, Kaiyer?” I closed my eyes and fought back tears. I had heard her scream and watched her die.
“I would like you to imagine the pain of this Fire. It burned straight through my flesh, to my bones, so hot they turned to ash. I tried to heal through it, but my mind was too focused on the pain of your betrayal. That pain was much worse. Everything you have ever told me was a lie. I believed in you, in your promises, in the future you sold to me. I planned my life around the deception you worked so hard to make me believe. I gave up every other chance I had for happiness for the hope that you would finally do what you promised.” Her claws continued to stroke my face. They were like alligator talons that could shred my skin to tatters with a quick flick of her wrist.
“You told me that we would be together after the war. You promised me children and a life. You promised to love me forever.” Her hand lifted my chin and I opened my eyes to meet her stare. She didn’t blink. She screamed so loud that I felt my ear drums seize and sputter. My hair was long enough for her to grab and she yanked my head back. “Why would you choose that Elven over me? You hated them. Your whole life was about hating them!” Her voice cracked between painful wheezes. “You meant to kill me, didn’t you? You were not fleeing; you were chasing her.”
She let go of my hair and turned to walk away toward the table. The four generals had not bothered to sit. There was an absolute change in the room. Before, my five friends were partners, and while Shlara had been the most capable, their opinions all carried equal weight. Now Shlara controlled the group. I saw her power in the fear each of my friends tried to hide when the burnt woman faced them.
“I told you he would come if we caught the bitch.” She made a hacking sound, like she was clearing phlegm from her throat. It sounded as if her throat was grinding pebbles together. The four nodded enthusiastically. She paced in front of the table and tapped an armored finger on the plate that hid her mouth. The gesture was so familiar, my mind spun through countless memories of her. My heart beat erratically and I shivered with cold sweat.
“Who decided not to inform me that he was here?” She pointed a finger back at me while her eyes remained on my generals, searching them for weakness.
The four stood silent for a few moments. Then Malek raised his hand slightly, like a child that knew he was about to be disciplined. Thayer and Gorbanni looked relieved that Malek had made the small movement.
“Of course, there are no coincidences are there my sweet Malek? You were always coming between Kaiyer and me. Why should that change now?”
“I just—” Suddenly Malek was pinned against the wall with Shlara’s sword sticking out of the right side of his chest. He gasped and blood dribbled from his open lips. I hadn’t even seen her draw the weapon, or move to impale him.
“I’ve found that when a person says ‘I just,’ something incredibly stupid is about to come out of their mouth.” He coughed up another mouthful of blood and reached his hand to the hilt of her blade.
“Leave that there. Think of it as your reward for insolence. You always wanted to put your sword into me, but now I’ve put mine into you. Isn’t that funny?” She laughed, a maniacal twisted sonata that made my stomach churn. Malek nodded slightly and moved his hand down away from the weapon. Thayer, Alexia, and Gorbanni looked at him in pity but they seemed too terrified of Shlara to make any sort of move to help their friend.
“I said: 'Isn’t that funny?' Why aren’t you laughing?” Shlara turned her helmet to regard the other three. They promptly forced smiles to their faces and small laughs out of their throats.
She turned her gaze back to me and I repressed a shudder of nausea. How in the fuck had this happened?
“Now.” Her clawed gloves stroked my face again. I tried not to cringe, but she didn’t seem to notice me shy away from her talons. Or she did not care. “What to do with you?”
She turned my head around in her hands to inspect my face. The terror hadn’t faded, even as the seconds ticked by, and I realized that I would have fought a dozen dragons again rather than remain trapped here with her.
“Torture? It would be fitting of course. Execution? Probably a given.” She bent down so that her eyes were even with mine. I could smell more of her rancid breath now and I was thankful I hadn’t eaten in a long time.
“The problem is that I am still so in love with you, Kaiyer.” Her voice softened slightly and I saw the faintest flash of humanity in her eyes before they hardened again. “Nothing I could do to you would repay the betrayal you have inflicted on me. Instead, I will just take what I’ve always wanted from you.” She stood up and laughed again.
“I may not be able to bear children. I have to peel this armor off in bloody pieces just to shit and piss. Without it, the pain is even more intense. The friction from even a breeze sears my skin with agony. I am relieved to put my armor back on. But the pain never leaves me. I do not need to eat or drink anymore. The Elements keep me alive now. Isn’t it wonderful?”
She turned to the silent generals and glowered at them. Each squirmed uncomfortably and looked away, like a cowed dog.
“This is how they are now, Kaiyer.” She turned back to me and took the few steps between us. She sat down on my lap sideways and flung her armored right arm over my shoulders. Her claws dug into my right bicep and she snuggled against my torso. “They don’t argue anymore, they just do as I tell them, like good little pets. Sometimes I miss our debates around the map table. But I do prefer it this way. I had to hold their hands through everything in the war."
“That isn’t true.” Anger spat the words out of my mouth and I temporarily forgot my dire situation.
“Kaiyer! There is some life in you yet. But your opinion hardly matters. If my previous statement applies to anyone, it would be you. I managed the entire army in the end, didn’t I? Oh sure, we had your name and presence, but everyone pretty much did as I said. Even you.” She tapped her finger on my nose playfully during the last sentence. Then she held her hand out behind her.
“Malek! I am tired of listening to you wheeze. Give me back my sword.” He nodded and reached up feebly to grasp the blade's hilt. He tugged once, twice, and a third time but the weapon didn’t budge from the wall. His eyes met mine and I could see the pain and suffering in them. Thayer stood a few feet from the long-haired man and we exchanged glances. I nodded to him and he moved toward Malek and raised his hand.
“Wait!” Shlara hissed violently. “Did I say you could help him?”
“No,” Thayer responded. The big man suddenly looked half his size.
“Pull the sword out, you useless piece of shit.” Shlara stood up from my lap and addressed Malek with enough venom to melt granite. “You were always so fucking weak. Always complaining about why you couldn’t have all the pretty little things you wanted. Always so jealous of Thayer’s might, Alexia’s cunning, Gorbanni’s bravery, and Kaiyer’s charisma. You never did anything useful unless one of us listened to your ridiculous complaints, patted you on the head, and told you that you were a good little boy. Pull the fucking sword out and hand it to me. Now!”
Malek seemed to recover a bit of his strength and gritted his teeth. His hands reached up to the pommel and he pulled, yanked, gasped, and finally broke the weapon free of the wall. Then he slid it out of his chest and coughed a pint of blood out onto the table. I had been impaled by weapons many times, and while we healed very quickly, the pain was still there and our minds believed such an injury was fatal.
He collapsed on the table with a wet sigh. Then the only sound in the room was his labored breathing and the dripping of the blood that flowed from his chest wound onto the tile. Then he stood up and walked toward Shlara, finally handing her sword back to her, hilt first. She took the weapon, wiped his blood off of its blade with the clean sleeves of his garment, and sheathed it.
“That is a good boy,” she said with mock warmth as she patted him on the head. I expected my spirited friend to lash out at her, attack her, scream at her, something. He would never have tolerated this treatment from anyone, not even her. Instead he sighed, almost gratefully at her touch, and returned to his spot at the table.
What the fuck was going on? Shlara was intimidating, monstrous even, and clearly strong. But there was no way she could stand against the combined might of Gorbanni, Alexia, Thayer, and Malek. I did not understand why they were allowing this.
“What were we talking about before Malek rudely interrupted us with his breathing?” She tapped her mouth guard again a few times. “Ahhh yes! You see Kaiyer, everything is perfect now. The Elvens are gone, you are mine, and the future is going to be just how I dreamed it would be. Isn’t it wonderful?” Her words might have carried a smile, but the thought of her grinning through her burnt and tattered lips behind the helmet made my stomach lurch with pity.
Her claws were suddenly at my throat again, lifting me and the chair up against the chains. I hadn’t even seen her move. It was impossible. The O’Baarni moved exponentially quicker than Elvens, who were much faster than normal humans. But I had never witnessed such speed.
“I asked: ‘Isn’t it wonderful, Kaiyer?’” she hissed with disappointment.
“Yes!” I wanted to say no. I wanted to scream it and break the chains from my hands, pull out her sword, and end the misery I had caused her. But my mouth made the sounds before any of that could happen.
“Good. I am so glad you agree with me. It took me much longer to convince our friends here of my way of thinking.” She giggled and another chill ran down my spine.
“There is just one problem, my love.” Shlara circled around the chair behind me and traced the fingers of her clawed gauntlet over my shoulders and arms. “You see. Someone is going to have to pay for your crime.” She giggled again and it turned into a fit of insane laughter. “It can’t be you, of course. I need every bit of you whole. But someone is going to have to pay. Someone is going to have to burn.” She lifted my face again to meet her eyes.
“No.”
“Oh yes, Kaiyer. You see my love, there are things worse than death. We will experience all of them. Together.”
“Put him back in his cell.”
The sound of her laughter filled my mind again. I was drowning in the madness that had claimed the woman I once loved.
Chapter 5-Kaiyer
I awoke thrashing as I remembered the guards hauling me back to my cell. I opened my eyes and my breathing and heartrate calmed slowly as I realized I was in Paug’s bed. I untangled myself from the linens that had threaded themselves around my arms and legs like chains. They were soaked in cold, reeking sweat.
It was close to midnight. I found my clothes and walked out into the kitchen area of Janci’s home. Enough starlight leaked through the doors and windows to illuminate the room. My stomach grumbled a bit and I debated making some eggs, but then decided to walk out onto the beach.
The air was cool and the rhythmic whoosh of the waves calmed me. I walked to the shore and sat on a smooth rock at the foot of the lighthouse. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes, focusing on the sound of the water being endlessly pulled back to the land by the moons. The sound was both soothing and troubling. A roiling lull, full of yearning and failure.
Shlara.
I had spent hours reliving my mistake, agonizing over the pain I had caused, the life I had stolen. I thought I had forgiven myself for her death, but could I ever forgive myself for the monstrous life I had left her with?
Endless, excruciating pain. Agony and rage that had driven her insane. She had become stronger than all of us, evoking fear and revulsion from those who loved her. She was a monster. She should have hated me, she should have murdered me. Yet somehow she still loved me. I had never been worthy of her love, even before.
I sighed and stood, undressing, I waded out into the ocean until the cold water churned around my waist. I leaned back, floating on the surface of the waves, letting my mind and body drift with the water.
I thought of Paug and his eager smile. He had believed I was the hero he imagined. He knew nothing of what I really was. His hero had not saved him.
Nadea had also believed in me, and I had not yet failed her. I had saved Jessmei. I had been the hero they needed. Was that enough to atone for what I had done to Shlara?
I smiled when I thought of Jessmei. Our time together, holed up in the cave had been wonderful; each time we made love was more enjoyable than the one before. I missed talking to her. She was warm and supportive. I could easily spend the rest of my life with her, raising a family, working to provide for her, for our children.
Did I love her?
As much as I loved Nadea.
As much as I loved Shlara.
And Iolarathe.
I laughed out loud and let the waves take me under in their cool embrace. I had found four wonderful women to love in my life. It was a blessing and not a curse. I was the curse. I was the reason for the pain. These women had done nothing but love me. All of this time I had blamed Iolarathe, but I was the one who hurt Shlara. I was the one who used her devotion and twisted her love into the sick obsession that drove her insane.
I had lied to her. I had lied to all of them, and to myself. I had claimed a nobler purpose, an unselfish desire to free the human race, but Iolarathe was right. It had always been about revenge for what she had done to me and my family. I loved her too much to punish her, so instead I punished everyone else. I was not so different from Shlara.
I surfaced and took a grateful breath. The water pulled me back down into its cold embrace, so far down that the darkness became complete. Pain exploded over my body, but it wasn’t from the lack of air in my lungs. I reached to my chest and felt the long shaft of an arrow, next to it were three others. Another went through my neck, one through my arm, and one in my thigh.
I grabbed for the one at my neck and stifled a gasp. I had been hit from behind and the arrowhead was tangled up in my esophagus. The shaft broke in half and I pulled each end out carefully so as not to damage any more tissue. Then I yanked the other projectiles out of my thigh, arm, and chest. Three remained stuck in my ribs like barbs. I had to wiggle my body in the water to get them to angle past the bones and push them out through my back.
I could easily hold my breath for ten minutes, but eventually I would need air. I had to figure out how to get to the surface soon. A current pulled me and I swam with it and kicked a booted foot against the water.
I gasped and screamed into the night as I broke the surface. The starlight lit the undulating sand of the shore and it looked like white silk sheets. I kicked my bare feet and swam to the shoreline in a few strokes. I shook off whatever spare drops of water I could and then donned my clothes before I sprinted to the house.
“Janci!” I shouted as I ran into the main room. I heard the old man startle awake with a surprised yelp and I flung his door open.
“I remembered!” He was wearing a white nightgown with a floppy cap. For half a second he looked terrified but then he smiled when he recognized me.
I should have waited a few hours until he had awoken with the light but I knew I had to leave as soon as possible. “I remembered how I got to your home.”
“I dragged you from the ocean.”
“No. Well, yes. I mean that I remember how I got to the ocean.” I shook my head.
“Good! Let me make some tea and you can tell me.” He sprung out of the bed with the energy of a child.
“I don’t have much time.”
“Everyone has time for tea, Kaiyer.” He lit the end of a wax stick with an oil lamp and used the tool to set more candles ablaze. Then he kneeled down at the hearth fire and gathered kindling.
“Let me help.” I gently pushed him behind me and set the stacked wood instantly on fire with a small focus of Air and Earth.
“Amazing! I have never witnessed you using your magic in this way.” His eyes stared at the fire in wonder and then glanced back to my outstretched hand.
“The tea,” I reminded him. “I’ll explain the magic to you later."
“Ahh yes.” He put on the kettle and gestured to the chairs.
“Shlara was alive,” I began.
“Huh?” He looked confused.
“I did not really kill her. She lived through the fire, but she was badly burnt and could not heal. The pain drove her insane.” I sighed and sat down. I closed my eyes and saw her fingers again, talons of flesh melded to metal, twisting possessively into my shoulder.
Janci looked at me expectantly.
“I was at Castle Nia. I went there to save Nadea and Jessmei. They had both been captured. I was discovered and I fought through the halls. I think . . .” The memory that had been so clear as I floated in the ocean started to dissipate like foam on the surface of the breaking waves. “I was wearing my armor. I carried my shield and my mace. I don’t understand how. But I know Jessmei was with me, and Nadea, Greykin, Beltor . . . they escaped. I followed them but I was struck by too many arrows and fell in the catacombs.”
“With the wurms?” he whispered in fear and fascination.
“Aye. I dove into the underground river. It swept me toward the ocean. Then you found me.”
“Where did they go?” Janci took the kettle from the fire and poured the steaming water into a pot full of herbs.
“To Nadea’s keep. The Losher army has retreated.”
“I have been there once. It would be difficult to siege, but so was Nia and they breached the walls easily. These Elvens are stronger than us and possess magic.” He spoke with a defeated acceptance and scholarly indifference. The facts were grim but he was not involved. His passion for the fate of Nia had ended with Paug. Out here in his secluded home, Janci’s life would likely proceed similarly, whether Elvens or humans ruled the planet. But the fate of this world still mattered to me. It mattered to Jessmei and Nadea and their children.
“I can change people. Make soldiers as powerful as I am. I remember how. I have already changed Nadea.” He stopped and looked at me, fascination once again stoked. “It is risky, and it will take time, but it is the only hope for the future of your country. The empress will destroy all of the Radicles, then she can enslave all of the humans on this planet with no interference.”
“You’ll have to travel straight through the center of the country to reach the keep in less than five or six weeks. The empress will be looking for you. They’re likely already tracking down the remnants of the army.”
“That is why I need to leave immediately.” I tilted my head back and drank the cup of tea in one burning gulp.
Chapter 6-Iolarathe
“They are from the Ubarwa Tribe.” My father shook his head and sniffed the air. He crouched next to a body. I had transported the assassins’ corpses back to his estate on horseback. “You killed them all?” He looked to me with a raised eyebrow. The bodies had begun to reek, so I had moved upwind of them, but the breeze was light and I could taste their death mingling with the honey scent of his pride.
“Did they know I was coming?” I crossed my arms and then tried to hide a bored yawn.
“Obviously,” he scoffed.
“Oh, pardon me, Father. Perhaps a better question would be: Why the fuck did they know I was coming and why didn’t you fucking think about sending more guards to escort me here?” I could not keep the fury from my voice but I did keep it from my scent. My father had six elders who helped him manage his tribe. Only four of them had come to welcome me and they stared at my hunting trophies with the lemon scent of their surprise plain in the air. I saw and smelled their indignation at my insolent rant toward their leader.
“Girl, need I remind you of your place here?” He straightened up to his full height, almost a head taller than I stood, and walked the few steps that separated us to attempt to intimidate me up close.
“Please don’t embarrass yourself in front of your elders.” I fought back a giggle with the hand I had just used to cover my yawn. “As you are clearly incapable of keeping secrets, you don’t want Ubarwa to find out I am more powerful than you.” I mustered my most innocent-looking and phony smile. The elders watched us, the scent of their fascination clear in the air.
“Your mother was right about you. You lack any sort of—” He clenched his teeth and fists, too angered to continue. He knew I was right. His scent reeked of burned, peppery meat.
“I am quite tired and irritated by this rude reception. Instead of: ‘Hello, Iolarathe, how was your journey?’ or even, “Welcome, daughter, might I get you some refreshment? You must be tired from defending your life against a tribe of assassins!’ The first words out of your mouth are questioning and criticizing my need to drag their decomposing corpses through your estate. If you are going to question my motives, at least do so over food and drink. Is that not the appropriate custom? Or are you so far removed from civilization out here in the countryside that you have forgotten all basic etiquette?”
My words visibly jarred him, as if I had actually struck him across the face. My father was known as a mighty warrior and was well-respected here, but it was apparent he approached all problems head first and had no concept of finesse or strategy.
“Yes. I suppose you should rest and then we can speak more over dinner.” He nodded and I could smell the air and grass that blew across the estate grounds.
“Good decision. Where should I keep my horse?”
“I have a private stable and blacksmith five hundred yards down that trail at the bottom of the hill.” He pointed behind me to the east. “I will have a servant take your mount so you can get accustomed to your room. We have every modern convenience ‘out here in the countryside,’ and you will be able to enjoy a warm bath and change into a new gown before we dine.”
“That sounds pleasant; it’s almost as if you were grateful to have me here.”
“We are pleased that you decided to spend the next decade with us. I have a few potential mates selected for you to meet in the upcoming months. Of course, I will be rescinding Ubarwa’s suitor invitation.” He nodded to himself and the honey smell of his pride returned.
“No. Let them come. I will enjoy watching them squirm for my affection. I’ll take my own horse to the stable and then return. Please have your servants ready for me.” I turned my horse toward the stable and didn’t wait for his reply. Children were supposed to obey their parents, but I was the Singleborn and would have to walk the line between obedience and independence.
My stallion had not rested any during the last few days and I felt his agony in every step. I had little patience for his complaints though. He was lucky that I had found him again on the grasslands after leading away my pursuers. If left to his own fortune, the stupid creature would have been attacked and eaten by a carrion beast, drake, or bearstalker.
The stables and blacksmith were as unimaginatively crafted as I anticipated and consisted of a simple wood structure with a thatched roof and a crisscross of stout, roughly-hewn support beams. It did smell better than I expected. Every stable I had entered had the same familiar reek of horse shit, rot and stale water. My father’s servants must have meticulously cared for this building and its horses.
“Here is my steed.” I dismounted and handed the reins to a human boy. “Rub him down carefully and give him a sponge bath. He needs three quarters green grass and the rest dried hay. Do not feed him oats!” The boy had bright emerald green eyes, opened wide in familiar awe, soon to be fear, I thought before continuing, “If you give him one single oat, I will tie a noose around your neck, hang you from that rafter, and let him kick you as you suffocate.” He nodded furiously and I inhaled the satisfying scent of his fear.
“Are you the only one here?” There were more than a dozen stalls, but I sensed no other humans. I could not imagine this one idiotic creature was capable of maintaining the stables on his own.
“Na na na no, Mistress,” he stuttered and pointed over his shoulder to the other open door of the stable. “My younger brother is shoveling the manure.”
“Fine. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. No oats!” He nodded again and crouched low in a painful-looking bow.
I missed the scent of wood, hay, and horses as soon as I left the stables, though it was pleasant to walk after being in the saddle for so long. A bath, a large meal, and a fermented beverage would be the perfect way to relax after the long journey and unexpected attack.
The manor house was larger than I expected, but crafted in the country style of rough log timbers and river rock just as I had envisioned. I supposed it had a rugged beauty, but I preferred the clean, sweeping desert towers and vibrantly painted adobe dwellings of my mother’s land that managed to blend artistry with stylized, efficient functionality. The massive structure before me lacked grace and it looked as if the builders had haphazardly stacked a pile of logs and stones simply to keep out the elements, with absolutely zero regard for aesthetics.
“Welcome, Mistress. We have prepared a bath for you.” The woman was dressed in the clothes of a servant, but her jewelry indicated a higher rank, I guessed she was the house manager or perhaps my father’s mistress. Perhaps both. Her eyes shone as deep as blue sapphires, her otherwise black hair reflected the same jewel tones as it caught the light. Behind her stood four humans, normally the scent of their race repulsed me, particularly in such close quarters, but I could smell nothing but the smooth sweetness of vanilla spiked with cinnamon. I followed the group up a stout staircase and back into the west wing of the home.
“Your father had this space prepared for your stay with us. This is the foyer.” She gestured to the wide entryway, it held a long couch, a bar, and a table with seating for six. The furniture was crafted in some sort of dark wood. I could not discern the type of tree under the scent of the lemon oil and beeswax with which it was polished. The walls were decorated with uninspired but adequately done paintings of horses in various stages of movement.
“I doubt my father personally prepared this room.” I traced my fingertips across the table.
“He delegated the task to me actually, Mistress.” She laughed slightly. “I am glad that you like it.”
“I didn’t say I liked it.” I set my eyes on her and waited for the woman to squirm.
“But you do of course. You are a woman of taste and this represents your interests and style. I know much about you already.” Her scent betrayed very little fear beneath her boldness.
“We’ll see,” I said without emotion. I walked through the door into the next room and tried to stifle a gasp, lest this haughty servant know that she had impressed me.
My eyes fixated on the bed. It was massive. It could have held my horse had I been inclined toward such deviant sexual activities. The sheets and covers were beautifully crafted in satin so smooth and fine it looked like silvery liquid pooled on the bed. Four dark wood posts ascended from each corner to support a mesh canopy, which I assumed, rather bitterly, was not there for decoration, but necessary for keeping away the bugs that must swarm this miserable wilderness in the summer. Each post was decorated with finely carved horses mounted by female archers. The artwork here was far superior to the paintings in the foyer and my fingers ran over each delicate and perfectly carved form on the nearest post. The artist had captured the beauty of the horse in movement, accurately depicting each curve of muscle and turn of bone while simultaneously wrapping the image artfully around the natural shape and curve of the wooden post.
There were a few green wool couches gathered around a low meeting table crafted in the same style as the bed. In the back of the room, large wrought iron doors framed stained glass window panes. The afternoon light slanted through at the perfect angle, throwing a beautiful floral pattern of blue, green, and yellow across the floor of the room.
“Your private balcony waits through those doors. Would you care to take a look?” I didn’t bother to reply since I was already opening the beautiful doors and stepping out onto the veranda.
“That is quite a view,” I accidently said under my breath. The house was built on the apex of a hill which allowed me to see for miles. Carefully planted orchards of fruit trees, rows of vegetables, and patches of herbs spread down across the landscape. I spotted a few creeks that dipped between the hills and seemed to meet up with a more powerful river that cut across the land like an artist’s thick brushstroke. Space that wasn’t devoted to food production was set aside for timber forests and grazing for livestock.
I had always found the desert enchanting, but it was a fascination with death. The desert was harsh and unforgiving, mercilessly killing any that came into her folds unprepared or unaware. Her beauty was harsh and forlorn. This land was lush and motherly, of life and creation.
“Your father and the elders wish to dine with you tonight, but if you would prefer your breakfast out here tomorrow morning, that can be arranged.” The woman gestured to the side and I saw the furniture on the balcony. The wind picked up and brought the scent of rosemary, basil, and ripe figs from beneath us.
“I will bathe before dinner.” I turned to her and concealed my approval.
“Yes, of course. Your private bathroom is off of your bedroom.” The four human slaves moved out of our way gracefully and followed us into the bathroom.
This room was also much more splendid than I would have guessed. The floor was silky smooth white marble which matched the sink, toilet and a huge, deep bathtub. The room was perhaps twenty by forty feet, and the tub consumed almost a quarter of that space. Six people could comfortably bathe in its waters. One could almost swim.
“Water is delivered via pipes from a boiler in the basement. It takes about an hour to fill the tub and requires a significant quantity of wood to adequately heat the water. It is best to inform a slave of your intention to bathe so that they can alert the humans that feed fire to the boiler.”
I ran my hands through the steaming waters. It was the perfect temperature. On a shelf nearby various bottles of oils and herbs would allow me to scent the water to my liking.
“I will keep that in mind.” I examined the toilet and noticed that it also had a tank above the seat and pipes leading down to the floor. The plumbing looked relatively new and I wondered if they had updated the home in anticipation of my arrival. My mother’s estate was plumbed fully, but it was a technology that was not yet common.
“We can undress you if you would prefer,” the woman said with a gentle smile, and I detected a slight scent of eagerness. The humans moved toward me.
“I will handle that myself.” I waved them off and smirked at the girls’ obvious looks of disappointment. I did find it barbaric to have humans attending to the needs of the house. They should have been kept outside where their foul odor would be less offensive.
“I will be speaking to my father tonight about personal Elven attendants.” I found a stool carved in pine and decorated with a delicate floral pattern and sat on it to remove my boots.
“You are dismissed,” the blue-haired woman said to the humans and they bowed to both of us before leaving.
“You smell fine, but I would prefer that the humans do not touch me or my garments.” I removed one boot and looked at the woman again. Perhaps I would not mind her removing my clothes. She was beautiful.
“Very well. Do you require an attendant for your bath?” she asked and I wondered if she caught my appraising look. Her scent had no trace of musk to it.
“Not today. You may lay out my dinner attire.” I finished taking off my boots and removed my silk socks. Then I began to unbutton my leather tunic.
“I’ve chosen a silver gown to match your eyes. Our warriors are riding out to the location you gave your father. They should be able to retrieve more of your clothes and personal possessions. It is amazing you survived that attack. Did you really kill twelve Ubarwa warriors?”
“Fourteen.” I finished taking off my clothes and got into the bath. The water felt fantastic and I reached for the scented oils.
“Amazing. Legends speak of Singleborn power, but I never thought I would meet one. Were you afraid?”
“No. I’ve killed plenty of Elvens and far too many humans and horses to count.” One of the oils smelled of lavender and another of pine needles. I poured a small amount of each into the tub and watched them swirl around in the hot water. They were powerful and the bath immediately began to smell soothing.
“Your fierce reputation has evoked some fear in the tribe. Of course, we are thankful that you are here with us safely.” She bowed with a slight smile.
“I would hope so.” I turned my attention back to the woman. “What is your name?”
“Relyara, Mistress. Thank you for asking.” She bowed again.
“Are you fucking my father?”
“What? No! Of course not.” She looked shocked that I asked the question, but I smelled her fear. It was unclear if the scent came because she feared I would not believe her lie or because she feared I would not believe the truth. I would need a few days to accustom myself to her scent and its normal variations before I could decide. The strong aroma of the bath oil was further confusing my conclusions.
“The Ubarwa knew I was coming. They knew the route and how many guards I had. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you, Relyara?” I found a small brick of creamy soap and washed the tender parts of my feet.
“I am sorry, Mistress. I am just a servant in your father’s house. You need not question my loyalty to your family. And in any case, I am not privy to such information to begin with. It is unfortunate that you were attacked, but I am happy that you are alive now.” The scent of fear was still there, mixed slightly with the peppery hot scent of anger and indignation. The words sounded rehearsed, but that could have been my own paranoia. If Relyara was fucking my father, then she would have reason to want me dead. My father had many offspring, but I was his eldest and the Singleborn. I had rights to his land and title. Relyara would be wise to fear for her place, or any children she might conceive with him.
“A servant as capable as yourself must have an ear for gossip. No matter, though. When I determine who betrayed my father I will rip their body apart with my fingernails. Anything you could do to expedite the discovery of this traitor would earn my gratitude and appreciation.” I smiled warmly at her. Her scent filled the bathroom with bitterness and she met my eyes boldly.
“I will do my best to serve you in all aspects, Mistress.”
“I will continue my bath alone. Please prepare my dress and return when it is time for dinner."
“Yes, Mistress.”
She fled to the other room and I heard the sound of doors being opened and the gentle swish of silk garments being moved. I suspected it was one of my father’s elders who had betrayed my travel information to the Ubarwa, but it would be useful for Relyara to fear and respect me, I could earn true loyalty in time. I heard her leave the room and I sighed in relief and leaned back into the water.
If there was anything I loved as much as riding horses, it was taking hot baths.
A pounding on the door reverberated in my ears and rippled the water of my bath. I had fallen asleep. The water was still hot, so I could not have been unconscious for long.
My door opened and I heard footsteps make their way toward the bathroom. The scent of the oils prevented me from identifying who entered the room with certainty, though the rhythm and weight of the footsteps made me guess it was my father.
“I’m in here!” I yelled. He came in, glowering down at me.
“You should be dressed by now.” He crossed his arms over the chest of his green velvet robe.
“Relyara said she would return when it was time to prepare.”
“What if she was late? You would disrespect our time?” He smelled angry, but there was a hint of something else. The bathwater was only somewhat opaque and he could see my naked body from his standing position. He must have realized that I smelled his arousal and he looked away toward the bedroom.
“That is such an interesting word.” I found a wood comb on the ledge of the tub and ran it through my long, wet hair.
“Time?”
“No. Disrespect. I have found that those who use the word the most are often the least deserving of it.”
“What are you trying to say girl?” He turned to me with obvious fury in his eyes and scent.
“I am not implying anything negative about you, Father. Perhaps your elders have used that word often. You should keep a careful eye on them.” I knew that his father was an elder, and had assumed role of Chieftain of the Laxile Tribe after an orchestrated uprising. They were supposed to help manage the various bloodlines and families of the tribe, but they would gladly betray the leader if it put them on a course of mastery.
“I will consider your words. But for the next few months, I need you to be polite to them and ensure them that you are supporting my decisions and looking to create opportunities for our clan’s advancement.”
“With my womb?” I snorted.
“This is the attitude your mother warned me about. She said you would be useless to me just as you were useless to her.”
“Those are harsh words. And I’m sure she meant all the venom in them.” I almost laughed. Cobras were less cunning and deadly than the woman. She would have tied me to a table; legs spread, and invited every male within one hundred miles to inseminate me so she could breed the next generation of strength for her clan. But I was stronger than her and she knew this. The best way to combat a cobra was to cut off its head.
“You are cunning. You got that from her. I will admit that my strengths lie in other places. This does not have to be an antagonistic relationship. Your offspring shall give us great leverage over the other clans, but I would also appreciate your perspective with the other elders and tribe leaders.”
“Hand me the towel.” I gestured to them and he got up to retrieve one. I stood up naked from the water and watched his hungry eyes appraise my body. His arousal musk poured into the room and I fought back a smile. “I will consider your words.” I ran the towel down my breasts, stomach, hips, and then I parted my legs to dry between them. “I am going to need instructors. Apparently, we are good at hunting?”
“Yes.” The word escaped his mouth in a slow drone and I could see the sweat pouring off of his brow. The sick fuck.
“Good. I will require some private instruction from the best in the tribe. Archery, riding, tracking, perhaps various weapons, the usual martial arts. I am sure your elders will identify them for me during dinner tonight and then you can summon them. I will want to assess their abilities myself, of course.”
“Very well.” He choked out the words. Inbreeding had been against our race’s laws since the time of the Dead Gods, but I had no doubt that if I bent over the bathtub he would have fucked me right then. I found the idea repulsive, but his scent gave me all the information I needed about how to leverage our relationship to my advantage.
Men were so easy to manipulate. Women had their desires as well, but our bodies and minds were not beholden to them. My father would allow me to delay mating, clinging to the fucked up shred of hope that I would allow him to do the deed himself.
“I will change now. How soon until dinner?” I dropped the towel in the bathroom and walked into my room naked so he could see my backside. The silver dress was laid out on the white bedsheets. The latest style in the desert tribes leaned toward a mass of ribbons and wide petticoats. This gown was a sleeker design, simpler in its flow with only minimal, thin straps to hold it on to my body.
“Quarter of an hour. Should I meet you there?” It was so clear he wanted to remain and watch me dress, but I had all the information I needed from him and if he leered at me much longer, my own scent would betray my disgust and interfere with my ability to control the old man.
“Yes. I will meet you there. If you see Relyara in the hall, send her."
“Very well.” He smelled like disappointment: mulched rotting vegetables.
A knock sounded at the door and he moved down the foyer to answer it. As soon as it opened the vanilla breeze blew into my bedroom.
“She is getting dressed,” he said to Relyara.
“I will assist.” I heard her footsteps enter and his leave. By the time she made it to the other room I was attempting to get my arms through the straps.
“Tell me of the elders.”
“What would you like to know?”
“I believe I met two earlier today. Zaarmo and Dluuzit? I forced myself to remember their names.
“There are three more: Vuma, Oimon, and Gnella.” Relyara finished tying the back of the dress. It fit perfectly, perhaps a bit on the tight side, but that was how I liked my dresses. Then none would underestimate the amount of physical violence I was capable of inflicting upon those who displeased me.
“Which is the cleverest? Zaarmo and Dluuzit seemed dumber than humans.”
“I am not familiar enough with them to—”
“Don’t be coy. I’m sure you have an opinion.” I turned to look in the mirror. My hair was still wet but since I had combed it out, the red strands would not curl too much.
“Vuma is the smartest, Mistress. Also Gnella. They disagree on much though. Each elder save for Gnella has descendants they will wish to breed with you.”
“Yes, yes, yes. There is a waiting line for my loins. I will deal with that in time. Who has the most support with the people in the tribe?”
“Your father, of course.” She smiled and tilted her head. I didn’t mistake her scent though.
“This is unfortunate, Relyara. I thought we were going to get along better.” I shook my head and sighed slightly.
“I am prepared to serve your needs Mis—” I squeezed her throat with my left hand and silenced her. With a casual flip of my arm, shoulder, and hip, I tossed the woman against the mirrored wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces and she screamed in pain as the tiny shards scratched and cut her delicate skin.
“Let me make it clear for you, fool.” I grabbed her blue-black hair at the skull and smashed the side of her face against what was remaining of the tattered mirror. “When I ask you a question, you answer immediately, with all the knowledge in your little brain and no attempt at cleverness to waste my time. Do you understand, pet?”
She blubbered something fearfully and I pulled her face away from the glass shards.
“I am sorry, Mistress! Please forgive me,” was what I thought she said. It looked like part of the woman’s tongue had been cut off and blood flew from her mouth quicker than the words did.
“Good. Now we are starting to understand each other. You no longer serve my father. You serve me.” She moaned and bloody tears streamed down her face. “If you decide to try being more cunning than I am, I’ll cut your body into pieces and feed the parts to the dogs. I’ll start with your legs and arms so you can watch them feast upon you. Wake the fuck up!” I shook her head and smashed it into the wall again as she looked like she was going to faint from the pain. Blood was all over my hands, arms, and the front of the beautiful silver dress. “As I am sure you are aware, I do not make empty threats.”
“Yes, Mistress. I will serve you faithfully.”
“Excellent.” I dropped her body back into the glass and stepped clear of the mess. “When I come back you and I will spend the night discussing everything you know about this tribe. I need to know who is loyal to you, and where you get your information. We’ll do it over some wine and dessert, so have it prepared.” She nodded and forced herself to stand in the puddle of broken glass. Her face and clothes were covered in blood. I hoped that she would heal quickly, she had been quite beautiful, and I would have preferred her tongue intact. I almost felt remorse for what I had done to the woman.
But fear without the occasional use of force was just simple anxiety.
“Where is the dining hall?”
“It is on the ground floor under this room. West wing. I will take you.”
“No. Clean this mess up, replace the mirror, prepare dessert, and wait for me to return. I can find it on my own.”
“Yes, Mistress. But Mistress, you are covered in my blood.” I inhaled the scent of rosemary through the blood and her fear.
“Oh well.” I walked back through the foyer and out into the hallway. There was a small group of human slaves who bowed before me. They reeked of shit, piss, and other related scents of fear and inferiority that made me cover my nose briefly before I passed them. Fucking humans.
“You are late, Iolarathe. What happened to your dress?” my father said when I entered the dining hall. There were sixteen other finely dressed men and women sitting around the long table. They did a poor job of concealing their shock.
“I had to discipline one of your servants on my way here.” The table was rectangular in shape, with eight seats on each side and one at each head. My father occupied the seat farthest from the door and a male elder, Vuma, I guessed, sat at the other head.
“You are in my seat,” I said to the man.
“Excuse me?” There were too many scents in the room mixing with the food for me to pick out his, but his facial expression was as expected.
“You are sitting in my chair. Move!” I commanded.
“No, girl. This is my seat,” he scoffed and glared at me.
“Do you see the blood on my dress? Any additional red will only improve it at this point.”
“Are you threatening me?” He forced a laugh and then turned to my father. “This brat needs some manners beaten into her.”
I pulled on the World and then flung out Air. I wanted to roast him alive, but the suddenness of his body flying from the seat and smacking into the stone wall of the hall thirty feet from the table was satisfying in its own way. There was a screech of swords being drawn from the various armed individuals in the room, but I only counted four weapons. The fact that they didn’t attack me immediately made me think they would never have the audacity to do it.
“As I was saying.” I picked up the plush leather chair and sat it right side up at the table. I slid into it and crossed my legs under the dress. “This is my seat.” The broken man against the wall moaned in pain but did not move. Nor did anyone else in the room.
“Father.” His face was as white as the sheets on my bed and his mouth hung open. He looked like he was turning back into rock. “Why don’t you introduce me to your elders and their descendants? Start with the one who thought this seat was more important than his life.” I gestured to Vuma and smiled at my audience.
Chapter 7-The O’Baarni
The islands floated across endless heavens. From my perch on the edge of the cliff I could see a vast sea of blue sky, white clouds, and tiny pinpricks of emerald green islands dotting the horizon like dark stars. I held my breath and turned the island around again. In the center of the island was a small cluster of tropical trees, grass spread over the ground like splattered paint, and not much else.
I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to remember how I got here. I could not even remember my name. Suddenly I knew I was Kaiyer, and with that recollection everything else followed, I remembered every other important event in my life up until I was captured by my former friends. Shlara was alive.
“Maybe you are dead?” a man said behind me. It was a voice I would have recognized anywhere and anytime. I turned around to face the old man and he appeared as I always remembered: short, skinny, with long wispy white hair and a goofy monkey grin on his face.
“Entas?” His name left my mouth in a whisper of surprise.
“Hello, Kaiyer.” He smiled wide and took a few steps toward me. He held his thin bamboo cane in his right hand and his shuffle was as I remembered.
“You are dead.” The words came out of my mouth before I had a chance to consider them.
“Oh sure, but you are missing the obvious question.” He made his usual chuckle.
“Am I dead?” My stomach dropped.
“Are you?” He smiled and squinted at me. He was close enough now to touch, but I didn’t dare.
“I don’t feel dead.” I realized how stupid the words sounded as soon as they left my mouth. How would I know how it felt to be dead?
“If you are dead, don’t you think you would remember how you died?” He bobbed his head like an owl. Perhaps this was a dream. But when I dreamed I normally woke up when I realized it was a dream.
“I don’t remember dying.” I remembered being dragged back to my cell after the horrifying meeting with Shlara. I remembered pacing the dank cell for hours.
“Ahh. Then you must not be dead. Although, you do have a bit of a problem with your memory.”
“I do?”
“Of course. I’ve spent thousands of lifetimes trying to figure out why. Best guess I have is that it is some sort of coping mechanism. It has made my job quite difficult.” He snickered again.
“Entas. I have no idea what you are talking about. I never understood your riddles. Is this a dream?” He opened his eyes and for a moment anger flashed across his face. I had never seen the expression. My second father had always been in a humorous mood.
“I suppose you could call this a dream. This is where they are made. But everything is made here. Life, death . . . it is an intersection of sorts. You could look upon it all,” he winked at me and grinned, “if you had the right perch, that is.”
“How did I get here?”
“Same way you get anywhere. You decide that you want to go and then you act upon those desires. I have a better question for you: Why did you decide to come here?”
“Why do you always turn this around on me? Just give me a straight answer!” He didn’t look angry anymore, but I was.
“Ah, my friend.” He shook his head. His long white hair danced around his shoulders. “I have tried that. Thousands of times. It only led to destruction. This time, I explained nothing, and still you’ve come so far. I have decided that next time I won’t even introduce myself. I’ll just watch from a distance.”
“Now I know I’m not dead. You just gave me a headache.” I rubbed my eyes at the bridge of my nose and tried to make sense of his words.
“Recall what I said about this place. Really think about it. Then tell me why you are here.”
“I don’t know!” I screamed at him. My head was pounding.
“You didn’t even think about it. You just replied. Damn it! Think. I can’t do everything for you.” He sat down cross-legged on the dirt in front of me and set his cane over his legs. “Start by putting what I said into your own words.”
“You said this is where dreams, life, and death are created. You said it is a crossroads and you could see everything from the right position.” The words came out slowly and my head continued to throb.
“Good. So if I believe that, and you believe that, then why are you here?”
“Fuck my head hurts.” I was used to pain, but this felt like my brain was twice the size of my skull and beating on the insides.
“Another defense your body has. Answer the question.”
“I . . . I . . .” I just wanted to lie down and die. I couldn’t think of a way to escape my cell, I couldn’t save Iolarathe, I couldn’t fix Shlara or repair the relationships I had damaged with my generals.
“I wanted to change.”
“What did you want to change?” he raised an eyebrow.
“The past. I’ve made so many mistakes.”
“Ahh!” He jumped up suddenly and did a little dance with his bamboo cane. “This is wonderful! You almost did it!”
“Almost did what?” I didn’t know if it was his silly dance or the glee on his face that was driving my headache but I almost felt normal.
“Figured out why you are here. So close! I will try not to get too excited, but I’ve been waiting much too long to reach this point with you. Keep talking.”
“My brain must tie the concept of change with you. That is why I am dreaming of you right now.”
He sighed and I realized that was not the answer he wanted. “You can’t change the past. Especially if you are dead.”
“I thought you said I wasn’t dead.”
“I said no such thing. I asked if you remembered dying. Do you?”
“No. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Nothing means anything until you give it meaning.” He chuckled maniacally and leaned back on the dirt.
“Fuck Entas. So I am dead?” The headache had returned full force.
“If you were dead, but woke up not dead, what would you think that meant?” He smiled slightly and hooted like an owl.
“Death is permanent. Everyone dies.”
“Perhaps you aren’t everyone? But we aren’t making any more progress. You should wake up and think about it some more. I’ll be here when you need me.”
His words echoed in my head a hundred times, a thousand more, and then I woke up on the cold stone floor of my cell.
Chapter 8-Kaiyer
But it was not the cold stone floor of my cell. I woke up in a tree two hundred feet off the forest floor. My first few seconds of consciousness left me scrambling madly for something physical to touch or smell to ground myself in this time. If I had not secured myself to the branch before falling asleep I would have spun off the limb in confusion and made a Kaiyer puddle on the distant dirt beneath my perch.
Did I dream of Entas, or did I remember a time I had dreamed of him? The question, along with the cryptic ones he had posed in the dream, occupied my mind for the few minutes it took to untie myself from the tree. I determined that there were no Elven scouts nearby before scrambling spider-like down the trunk of the massive evergreen.
It was midsummer, and the forest that separated Nia’s southern border from Brilla hugged the edge of the canyon like a green blanket. I knew I was a few days’ journey from Nadea’s keep, but I was unsure of my exact location. I doubted there would be Elven scouts in these unexplored woods, but since the empress had not recovered my body, she would be searching for me.
Prior to ascending the tree the night before, I had heard the sound of a small creek a hundred yards to my east. I walked toward it now and eventually passed through the thick forest canopy and into a glade the water had carved. The flow was not strong, but it was quick enough to keep the stream fresh. The creek and a bed of lime-colored moss flanked by blackberry bushes convinced me to break my fast here before continuing my journey.
I opened the cloth traveling satchel that Janci provided and pulled out the last of the smoked fish, hard cheese, and carrots. I did not feel hungry, but I had only eaten a tiny amount in the last two weeks of travel and I was close enough to the keep to justify consuming the rest of my provisions.
The bag also contained some herbs, salt, pepper, and a flagon of water that I promptly drained and refilled in the creek. Then I set about eating the small meal while I considered Entas.
The old man had always been a mystery. Aside from a few sklads who somehow traveled nomadically and undetected by the Elvens, all of the humans of my time were enslaved. Except Entas. Not only had he spent his long life living freely, he possessed the power of the Elements and a mastery of them that could have only come from decades of patient practice. I had asked him about his life, what he had done prior to saving Thayer and me from our Elven pursuers, but he had evaded my questions and turned them around to ask me for details about my own life. I still wondered who changed him, who taught him, how he had managed to live freely in the mountains.
He was indirect in his instruction, posing riddles or using cryptic, unfamiliar phrases to teach me of our magic, war strategy, and leadership tactics for our army.
There were plenty of times he frustrated me immensely, but when I carefully thought through his words, I always found the answer and realized how brilliant his seemingly crazy technique really was.
Maybe that would happen with the questions he posed in this dream.
As I considered his words and their deeper meaning it soon became apparent that I would not find the answers now. I was too distracted by my current situation and the traveling yet ahead of me. The answers would come, as they always did, when my mind was clear and unburdened by other obligations.
I finished my meal and gathered a few handfuls of berries for dessert. They were more tart than sweet, but the juice refreshed my palate and further prodded memories of Jessmei to the surface of my consciousness. She would have appreciated this picnic and would have delighted even more in the process of picking and eating the fruit. My heart ached at the memory of her and I wondered again what had transpired the night I had infiltrated the castle to rescue her and Nadea.
I recalled going to Nadea’s room with Danor, Runir, and Beltor. I knew that I had intended to tell Nadea about her mother, but then . . . my memory faltered and broke pace with the familiar headache. It was the same pain I felt in the dream with Entas. Why did I have these pains? My healing abilities should have prevented them. Any physical discomfort was only temporary until my magic fixed the injury, yet there were giant holes in my memory that caused immense pain when I tried to recall them.
Was my mind trying to protect me? Were the memories so horrible that something deep within my consciousness was punishing me for wanting to relive them? When Nadea and Paug had first awoken me, I remembered little more than my name. Now my memories were nearly complete, as far as I knew. I recalled an entire lifetime of struggle against the Elvens, the camaraderie I had developed with my generals, the internal war with my feelings for Iolarathe and Shlara. I remembered saving and then betraying my people on the same battlefield. I remembered the aftermath of those choices. Surely there could be nothing more devastating to protect me from than what I had already remembered. Perhaps I just needed more time, and the missing parts of my past would be made clear.
I filled up my water bottle again from the creek and then splashed some on my face. The memory of twisting through the underground river beneath Nia flashed through my mind and I remembered that there were more secrets beneath the castle than the river. The ruins of the strange buildings and a Radicle were entombed beneath the great fortress. If the Elvens had chased me into the catacombs, they could have taken possession of the temple as well as the Ovule I left there. Maybe I escaped under the dungeons without their notice? Perhaps they had followed me down there and the hives of deadly wurms had destroyed them.
I stood from the brook and continued my journey eastward, first on deer trails and then on roads that were only wide enough for two people to walk abreast. I was tempted to run but instead just jogged. The terrain was rocky and steep in some points, and while there was some cover from various oak and cedar trees, I wanted to keep my senses sharp for possible Elvens. Even my jogging speed was faster than a horse trot and I could do it all day without tiring.
I saw little evidence of human presence on these trails. Even after I had traveled until the sun was past its peak I did not see or smell anyone else in the countless valleys, ridges, and canyons I crossed. The feeling almost reminded me of the years I had spent alone tracking Iolarathe through the wilderness of my native world. Back then I was avoiding my own people, now I would have appreciated a break for conversation and companionship, no matter how brief. I feared no one on this planet.
There is nothing more dangerous than me within a few thousand miles.
The jagged points of the Teeth were a constant companion. They were visible from the towers of Nia’s castle, but I had not realized how huge they were. Even after weeks of travel they had only grown marginally larger, yet they dominated the skyline. I made it to the top of the next tall valley and let out a slow whistle of appreciation.
The east side of the country lay before me. It spread like an endless green bowl of glass cracked by fine blue rivers and tiny blemishes of stone. The sun hung about three quarters through the sky and shone from the perfect spot in the west to highlight the endless miles of unspoiled land. To my right I saw the foothills of the Teeth: emerald mounds of soft grass punctuated with what looked like grains of sand from this distance, but they were actually massive boulders.
The mountains rose sharply, an impossibly steep wall cutting through the foothills like abrupt monoliths that emerged from the depths of a green ocean. Though I stood thirty or forty miles away, I still had to crane my neck to look up at their sharp peaks.
“Where is the keep?” I said aloud, partially to hear a voice and partially because the answer wasn’t clear even after studying the mountain range for several minutes. The solitude was creeping into my brain, bones, and muscles.
I spotted a break in the grasslands that flowed horizontally across the basin. It was either a river or a road, and I decided that heading down into the valley would be the only way to find out.
The grade was steep, but I was skilled at sliding down such embankments and soon sprinted down the slope and into the valley. I had not seen any Elvens, humans, or herd animals from my perch atop the ridge, but the grass was tall enough to conceal many things in its depths.
I found the road I had seen from above; it was wide enough to easily hold four wagons abreast. Deep gravel covered the surface, and while I saw plenty of tracks laid in it, I couldn’t guess in which direction it was flowing or how long the tracks had been there.
I understood that Nadea’s keep was positioned on the rocky slopes of the Teeth. I imagined that there would probably be a settlement in or around the fortress, so the road must flow toward it. I jogged eastward on the gravel path in the direction of the foothills and hoped that I would be able to make it to the keep before nightfall.
From down here it was evident that there were many farms, ranches and other settlements branching from this main road. There were plenty of grazing cattle, but no humans attended the herds.
I took that as a bad sign.
I reached the first foothill and sprinted up and over it, crossing a few more miles of hills until the path forked north and south. The northern route was wider and looked more traveled, so I took that direction. After another mile I crested the final hill and saw a village situated at the base of the mountains. From the village a road led up through the mountains to Nadea’s keep.
Nia’s capital city spread out from the massive castle like a spider’s web. I had expected this eastern fortress to have a similar design, but the keep looked more like an upturned hand emerging from the rocky cliffs, its tower fingers running parallel to the sharp, rocky edges of the Teeth, opened as if to catch the moon.
The fortress was enormous, built of the same dark gray basalt as the mountains. With my enhanced vision I saw that the main road twisted sharply to the east after the last building in the town. The road was barred by a massive stone barricade. The path cut deeply into the stone, and I noticed small pinprick holes dotting the canyon walls above and to the east of the barricade to allow archers to defend the fortress. An army might take position in hidden corridors cut into the mountain and prevent any attacking horde from relative safety.
The wind began to pick up, a dry throaty howl that galloped through the giant emerald canyon, jumped the foothills, and caught in the pass of the mountains. The sound was a deep lonely pitch and echoed off the Teeth and bounced westward another mile.
The city below me was deserted.
Fifty large horned oxen meandered through the streets absently, munching from flower beds and fenced gardens. Chickens perched on thatched roofs and fluttered and pecked around the feet of the larger animals, scratching and searching for bugs. There were no humans. The streets and buildings were silent and still. The homes were in good repair, but not recently used. There were no lingering scents of life, no cooking fires or garbage, not even the sign or smell of a chamber pot or wash water lately emptied in the street. I wanted to believe Nadea’s army was safely entrenched up in the keep. They could not defend this city from an Elven invasion, so they could have chosen to hole up in the fortress, it was certainly large enough to accommodate the remains of Nia’s army. I hoped it was true as I made my way through the empty streets and began the steep ascent to the castle, but I knew it was unlikely. An army of that size would need food, and the chickens and cattle would have been rounded up for slaughter, or at least tended carefully for their milk and eggs. They would have set a sentry to report movement in the city. Clearly, no one was here now, but had my friends come and gone, or never made it?
The wind picked up as I traveled higher, resonating like a song. I wondered if the seasons changed the angle and speed of the winds and gave the canyon a new tune to howl with each passing month. I thought of Nadea as a child, the haunting melody of the wind must have been comforting and familiar to her, the sound of home.
The condition of the road improved dramatically as I reached the end of the city and moved up toward the slopes. These stones were evenly cut but still abrasive enough to grant herd animals and wagon wheels purchase on the incline. For a second I wished that the road was still loose gravel so I might have checked for signs of someone passing.
At the top of the switchbacks squatted the gate of the fortress. It was composed of three twenty-foot high barriers constructed of iron as thick as my torso. Each portcullis was operated by massive pull chains that stretched almost one hundred feet up to the gatehouse. The mechanism for raising and lowering each gate was bigger than an oxcart and probably required four people to man.
All three of the gates were closed.
This gave me a brief sense of hope. I still did not see any sentries, but perhaps the army went inside the keep and then closed the doors behind them. Someone had to have been here to shut the gates. I looked around for a way to bypass the barriers and decided that my best avenue would be through the gate house. I quickly scurried up the first massive iron cage door, jumped up to the chain that controlled its movement, and passed hand-over-hand underneath its length until I entered the gate house.
The room was smaller than I expected, but the gears were as I imagined: giant nests of cogs, wheels, spokes, levers, and springs with functions that I didn’t even bother to puzzle out. I thought of Paug and knew that if my young friend were here he would have been excited to study the device and discover exactly how it worked. He and Malek were very similar in that fashion and the comparison made me consider the other attributes they shared. I risked a slow sigh of regret and sadness for the words I had not been able to speak to either of them.
There were arrow slits on both sides of the stone gate house and I looked toward the inner courtyard. I didn’t see any movement or hear any noise besides the wind, so I opened the heavy door and descended a staircase to the courtyard.
The sun was setting quickly, what little red light made its way past the towers and mountains was stretched so thin that it did little to illuminate the entirety of the castle. My vision was good even in darkness and I took a few moments to analyze the layout of the fortress, its towers, walls and various structures. I had little experience with defensible fortresses. The wars I fought were in the open wilderness, or attacks on their roughly defended estates. None of the Elven homes or structures were close to the size and greatness of the stone fortresses of Nia. The most impressive Elven estate would have been an average sized house in Nia or Brilla. Either humans had naturally advanced in their understanding of architecture and engineering in the thousands of years I had slept, or the humans of this planet had always possessed greater skill than the Elvens on my home world.
I had spent enough time in Castle Nia to guess where the main living areas should be. I crept toward the nearest one but kept my senses alert for any noise other than the wind. The path curved like a snake through various untended gardens, rock sculptures, and training grounds, across stairs and over ledges. From every angle there were beautiful views of the green valley below, or the sheer, dramatic walls of the Teeth. As the sun continued its death, the rocky slopes were awash with a golden sparkle. I looked upon the splendor through Nadea’s eyes as I thought of the way she had described her love for her home.
Finally, I made it to the largest of the stone structures and opened the iron wrapped pine door. I had guessed correctly, this was the main hall of the keep. Unfortunately, I had also guessed correctly about the inhabitants of the outpost. There was no one there, not even rats or other pests that tended to overtake such places when the humans left. It was still and cool inside. The air had not been stirred in some time.
I walked through the keep’s innards for a quarter of an hour to be sure I had missed no traces of recent occupation. It was empty now, but it had been looted. Where tapestries and paintings had hung, the walls were bare, with the faintest outline of soot-stained stone indicating the shape and scope of the former décor. Chandeliers lay smashed on the floor, their skeletons picked clean of any valuable crystal or scrap metal. There were no candelabras or urns, no weapons or shields, no crests or banners. The kitchen was free of all traces of food or scents of cooking, which explained the lack of vermin. I came upon what had clearly been an impressive library and my heart broke for my friend as I saw what had been done. The shelves were emptied, what books remained were piled on the floor, torn, water damaged, in disarray.
By the time I circled back to the main doorway the light from the glass windows above had turned a dark purple. I sat at the foot of the tower’s staircase and pondered my next steps. Nadea’s army never made it to the keep. There were no signs of struggle here, no blood or bodies. The hordes had arrived unimpeded, taken what they wanted, and left with their bounty.
The plan had been ridiculous. How could we have expected them to escape the Elvens? The empress’s army was large and powerful and they were nothing but a few weak humans. I ground my teeth together in frustration. My hubris had overcome my judgment again. I may have been a great general, but I was only one man now, one man alone here against tens of thousands of powerful Elvens. Elvens with magic and skill that rivaled their O’Baarni contemporaries. I could change Nadea’s soldiers, but it would take years for them to learn enough to be a formidable force against the Elvens. And none of this could even begin until I found Nadea, Jessmei and whatever else was left of Nia’s royal family and army.
Perhaps I should have worked with Nadea and Jessmei to negotiate a truce. That would have bought us some time to prepare. Maybe the relationship between Nadea and the empress could have developed into something peaceful.
Telaxthe was shocked that I knew of her daughter, but quickly regained her normal cool composure.
“You are assuming I care about such a creature,” she had said.
“It is your own child. I doubt your species would have survived for all these generations if you cared nothing for your own offspring. All creatures do. It is inborn and instinctive.”
“Your perceptions of our race continue to bewilder me, Kaiyer.” She reached for the glass of wine she had sipped before Kannath’s arrival had interrupted our dinner. She gulped the rest of the glass down before continuing. “We breed for power and status, to make the next generation stronger. Did you know that humans and Elvens could have offspring?”
“I suspected such.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrow rose slightly. “Was this from your research into the Destroyer’s history?”
“So there is a way for our races to create children?” I ignored her question.
“Under certain conditions, an O’Baarni and Elven may procreate.”
“What conditions?” I thought of Iolarathe and the daughter I had never met.
“You are running out of time for our private audience. Are you sure you want to spend it discussing this process? Perhaps you wish to make a child with me?” She smiled and leaned her head to the side. Her dark bronze hair fell in that direction and exposed the spot where her neck met her white embroidered robe. I recalled the way her scent had worked its strange magic on my emotions and caused me to lust for her. The feeling returned and I exhaled.
“Your daughter is alive. I am guessing you didn’t believe her to be. If you really don’t care about her location, then I suppose we have little more to speak of. Kannath will take me away and you’ll get this world all to yourself.” I stood up to leave but she grabbed my left forearm.
“Sit.” She tugged slightly and I returned to my position next to her. My arms were still covered with Yillomar’s blood and she wiped her hand on a napkin once she released her grip. “What do you want?”
“Prevent Kannath from taking me.”
“That is a dangerous proposition. Once the clans find out that you are here and that I interfered with Kannath’s mission, they will descend upon this world with an angry fervor. They will capture you anyway, and in the process, my kind might be destroyed entirely for having aided you, not to mention the humans you hold such affection for. So the answer is no.”
“What if I told you the location of the Radicle I came from?”
“That mitigates some of our risk.” She licked her lips and then smiled. “But I imagine my daughter is on this world somewhere. It might take me several years to find her, but I will. I have an army at my disposal.”
“What if she isn’t on this world? You intend to destroy the Radicles. I am offering her location and the location of two Radicles.”
“Two?” Her emotions did not show plainly, but I guessed I touched on information that she wanted.
“But I am not done with my requests. Prevent Kannath from taking me back. I will return with Jessmei, you will surrender your forces to her and we will negotiate some new territory for your people to inhabit.”
“You overestimate her importance to me again.” She shook her head and sighed. “She is nothing but a tool for me, a weapon with powerful potential. But you have already guessed at my intent for the Radicles. Once they have been destroyed I do not need her.”
“Very well. It seems we cannot come to terms.” I tried to hold my face firm and control my heart rate. The empress was better at this than I. I imagined that she spent countless hours negotiating with her own people as well as the O’Baarni clan leaders. All I had was that brief second when I surprised her with knowledge of her daughter, that small flicker of emotion in her eyes and the assumption that parents must love their children, or at least, want the chance to love them and have the sentiment returned.
I stood up again and walked toward the exit of the tent. My back was to the empress, but I doubted she would strike me down with so much at stake.
“Kaiyer.” Her voice finally sounded behind me when I was halfway up the stairs. I turned and saw her amber eyes flash. We stared at each other for a few seconds before she spoke again.
“Kannath and his warriors have to die. It will buy us more time before the clans find out.” I nodded at her words and pondered the morality of colluding with the empress of the Elven people to kill my own kind so that I could save a world of humans.
“You will tell me of my daughter immediately upon your return,” she continued.
“After your army has surrendered to Jessmei.”
“You think disarming and surrendering will stop my conquest? We have magic. We hardly need swords. You are just one man.”
“Earlier you said you never go back on your promises, but then you said you might have to make an adjustment to that statement to kill Nadea. Are you saying you will betray our agreement as soon as I tell you of your daughter?”
“No.” She clenched her jaw. “But this puts me in a predicament. I’ve promised my own people freedom. This is now our world and I intend to lead my people to safety.”
“So you are deciding between your people and your daughter. That is unfortunate.” I forced myself not to smile. One wrong word and I could destroy the progress made so far.
“I will surrender. Then you tell me of my daughter and the Radicles. You will keep your word and negotiate with Jessmei on our behalf for our own territory.”
“Agreed.” I sighed and felt hundreds of pounds of pressure lift from my shoulders.
“My sister will shadow you to where Kannath’s men are holding the princess. Indicate when you want to attack and she will make her move.”
The wind’s howl echoed through the courtyard of the keep and startled me into the present. The sun had set and I was now sitting in absolute darkness at the foot of the staircase. If Telaxthe had captured Nadea she would have discovered that she was her daughter. That leverage might be gone, but there was something else I could use. It would depend upon whether the empress cared for her daughter or simply wished to use Nadea as a weapon.
The rest of my quest could wait until morning. I would have to forge my way west directly toward Nia’s capital to see if there was any trace of Nadea’s army. I could leave now, in the stillness of this dark night. But the idea of descending from the mountain keep and then crossing the endless valley did not appeal to me at the moment. There were enough pieces of broken furniture and leftover bedding for me to make a comfortable camp for the night. I had nothing to eat, but fasting was easy for one night, and there was plenty of food awaiting me in the village at the base of the mountain.
“Kaiyer,” a voice called out to me, echoing across the hallways and up through the vastness of the tower that spiraled above me. The hair on the back of my neck stood and I shot to my feet. Silence fell and I tried to determine if the voice was real or imagined. Then I heard it call my name again.
The voice was carried on the wind from the courtyard outside of the keep. It was a woman’s timbre, familiar, but unclear. I moved to the door of the tower and opened it cautiously before stepping out into the starlit night.
I saw no one on the ledge of the wall and detected no movement outside. I listened for heartbeats or breathing, but the wind was masking any subtle noise and preventing me from using my sense of smell. The voice rang out a third time, calling my name from deeper in the courtyard. I headed toward it, regretting my lack of a weapon.
My eyes were drawn to a glowing object on a bench in the middle of the garden. It was not there when I first came through the courtyard, but there was no mistaking the Ovule now. It pulsed yellow, its network of spider webs glowing with an alien energy beneath the etched surface of the globe.
There was no movement in the courtyard.
I approached the glowing sphere, picked it up and marveled as the glow grew brighter. The web network seemed to move in response to my touch.
“That is yours,” the woman’s voice said from behind me. I turned around and braced for an attack, but none came. Instead, she stepped out of the shadow of the small tower and walked through the courtyard.
“How did you find me?”
“Your companions told us of your plan,” Vernine said. She adjusted the dark gray cloak she wore and then crossed her arms.
“So you captured them?”
“Of course. They almost made it to the keep. We spent many days looking for you in the castle, but you had disappeared. Once we caught up with Nia’s army and interrogated them we knew that we would eventually find you here."
“You have been waiting for me?”
“Yes.” Her lack of emotion wasn’t surprising to me now, though I did recall the passion she so unabashedly displayed when I had fucked her and Isslata for hours.
“What do you intend now?” I set down the sphere so that my hands were free.
“You’ve lost, Kaiyer. My empress has asked me to come here to present you with her parting gift. Take the Ovule, go to the Radicle in the Teeth Mountains, and leave this world. You belong with your own kin and deserve the fate they have in store for you.” In the strange yellow light from the Ovule, Vernine’s pale, ashen skin and placid face made her look like a corpse.
“Where is this Radicle?” I didn’t really care about the answer but it was the easiest question I could come up with while my brain scrambled for a plan.
“We don’t know yet. I’m sure you will find it after a few weeks of searching. Take the Ovule.”
“Did you come alone?”
“No.” She gestured behind me and I turned my head slightly. On the distant wall I perceived the movement of a few dozen shapes. They were about two hundred yards away from me, so I doubted they would be able to hit me with arrows if I ran.
“I am surprised that you didn’t bring Isslata.”
“You are trying to make me angry,” she seethed the words. “The empress has been very generous and you choose to mock Isslata’s death.”
“Isslata is dead?” The news struck me in the stomach like one of Thayer’s kicks. I did not believe I had any feelings for the woman, but the clench of my gut told me otherwise.
Vernine opened her mouth to reply, but no words came. She tilted her head slightly and examined me for a few seconds.
“By your hand,” she finally said.
“I don’t remember—” My voice caught in my throat as a tidal wave of images crashed into my head and drove me dizzy.
I remembered the halls of the castle, my friends leaving through a hidden passage in the wall. Isslata stopped me in the hallway and demanded my surrender.
Then the battle unfolded in my mind.
Her guards had been skilled, quick, and deadly. One by one I killed them while giving up some ground and moving deeper into the castle. Finally, the golden Elven and I were the only ones left. She might have actually killed me. Her attacks were a clever mix of wild strikes, elegant sweeps, and precise stabs. By then my weapons had been reduced to notched saw blades, and one shattered when she blocked it with her decoratively-etched sword. Neither of us expected the weapon to snap, but I was quicker to react and slammed the remaining part of the blade into her chest.
“May the Dead Gods damn you, O’Baarni! We could have had so much together,” she whispered into my ear with a blood-soaked voice as I laid her gently on the ground.
“I am sorry,” I remembered saying to her. I meant it. Then I closed her eyelids, grabbed replacement swords from the guards I had killed, and moved to find Jessmei.
The princess was in the kitchen. We went out into the courtyard, right into the empress’s trap.
Then my memories stopped making sense.
“I’m having problems remembering,” I said to Vernine while my brain struggled to understand the rest of my memory. I wore my skull-emblazoned armor. The images of Elvens blurred with images of my fellow O’Baarni and then morphed into images of other beings I did not recognize who wore armor I had never seen.
“She was important to our people, more so than you can probably imagine. Take the Ovule and leave this world, Kaiyer.”
“No!” I spat out. My skull started to hurt again, the ache that I was all too familiar with.
“Don’t be a fool. I have more than thirty warriors here.” My head swam with more recollections. It almost felt like there were two sets of concurrent memories in my mind. Then there were three. The pain in my head was unbearable. My vision grew dark. I was either going to faint or smash my skull against the rock of the courtyard to end the agony. I searched for something in my past to stabilize the waves of pain and confusion, to give me shelter amidst the torment of death I had inflicted, loves I had betrayed, people I had destroyed.
Then I found it. Something to ground and focus my life around.
The anguish disappeared, replaced with hope.
“Take me back to the empress. I want something else from her.”
“No.” Vernine crossed her arms. In the starlight I saw her glance over to the warriors she had stationed on the wall. I heard a set of boots move in our direction, but it didn’t concern me now.
“Then we don’t have much else to discuss. I reject her offer. I will not be leaving this world.”
“Then you will die here.” Vernine’s hand moved to her sword hilt. The pewter-haired Elven’s voice reminded me of Isslata’s before her guards battled me. The tone convinced me that she would allow me to change my mind. She wanted me to change it. She did not want to kill me, neither had Isslata.
“You couldn’t kill me at the castle. What makes you think you can kill me here?”
“Because now we realize you are the Destroyer, and we know how to defeat you,” the newcomer’s words called out from the direction of the wall. I recognized the voice and felt a chill move down my spine. “Come and dance with me, Kaiyer. My sword hungers for your neck again. This time you will not return from the dead.” The moons’ light caught on Fehalda’s white hair and pale skin. In her dark black armor, she looked like a ghost.
Bowstrings twanged in unison and I jumped back, twisting in the air and praying that none of the arrows found their mark. I landed next to a stone bench which provided me cover from the archers but was exposed to the advancing sprint of Fehalda and Vernine. I took another gamble and leapt over the bench, dashing toward the switchback that led from the keep to the city at the foot of the mountains. Another set of bowstrings twanged and dozens of arrows bounced around me like missed rain drops.
I rounded the corner of one tower and skidded to a halt. I was safe from the arrows here, but a new problem presented itself. The gates to the fortress were still locked of course, but the gate house exit I planned on using to escape was now guarded by the shadows of dozens of Elven archers. Nadea's keep had become the perfect prison and I had stumbled into it like a fool.
The archers at the gate were ready for me and this time a few arrows did find their marks.
Chapter 9-Iolarathe
“Enter,” I shouted after the knock sounded on the door of my suite. Relyara walked in and smiled before bowing briefly. As usual, her elaborate dress was impeccably clean and her hair was styled perfectly.
“Your half-brother has arrived, Mistress. Do you wish to receive him here?”
“Yes, that will be fine. Have food brought.”
“Your suitors and maidens are also downstairs in the lobby. Do you wish for them to join you both for breakfast?”
“No. They can wait for my morning ride to begin.” My half-sibling would carry news from my mother’s land and communication from my contacts there. I had no desire to introduce him before I received this information.
“Very well. I will bring him up.” I turned back to my mirror and gestured to one of my half dozen servants to finish my hair. They knew that I would dismiss them once my brother arrived, so they quickly finished and cleaned up the tools they had used to dress and groom me. I heard the door to my suite open and then Relyara’s hushed instructions. Footsteps sounded across the floor of my foyer and I turned to see my brother when he walked into my bedroom.
“Sister! It is quite good to see you again!” Grednil’s scent was just as I recalled: burnt tobacco, layered with dust and horseshit from his long journey here. He looked the same, with his long onyx hair and light amber eyes. His features were the opposite of my sister Nyarathe, but they were both attractive.
“I reciprocate the emotions, Brother.” I linked fingers with him briefly and we nodded to each other. He wore the red and muted yellow colors of my mother’s tribe, but the leather garments were dusty from the weeks of travel he endured to reach my father’s lands. “Please sit with me in my receiving room. Breakfast will be brought and you can tell me what passes for news in the Jientalist lands.” Grednil and I were never close. In fact, I thought him to be only a few steps above the most idiotic of my mother’s people. But he was loyal to Nyarathe, and my sister was the only individual I felt that I could trust.
“Ahhh, Sister. It pains me to think you only care for the news I bring and not for my personal feelings.” He laughed and took a seat at the table. I sat across from him and my servants poured glasses of water.
“I did offer you breakfast; most of the time when someone has information I want I just torture them until they give it to me.” I smiled at him and glanced over his shoulder as Relyara and three other servants brought in large silver trays.
“This is true. Should I take this to mean that you’ve learned some manners while you’ve been living out in the country?” He laughed again and I smiled to keep myself from crushing my crystal glass of water into his face. Grednil teased to show affection and he was too stupid to realize I didn’t care for it. I hated it.
Relyara set her tray down between us and made hand gestures to the other servants that instructed their placement of their trays. Once the platters were placed the lids were pulled to present an ample breakfast of eggs, ham, beef, yogurt, sweet cakes, and orange fruit. There was enough food to feed a dozen people. I guessed that Relyara must have been trying to impress my half-brother with the display.
“They feed you well here, Sister. I haven’t seen a meal like this since you left. Perhaps the Western Tribes aren’t as barbaric as I assumed.” The six servants stationed in my room and the three that accompanied Relyara converged on the table. Their hands moved with a fluid efficiency and poured each of us tea, coffee, juice, and buttered a few of the sweet rolls within seconds. Grednil’s eyes opened wide at the presentation of their silent skills and let out a slow whistle when they had finished putting the meal on our plates.
“Impressive. No human slaves?”
“No. I cannot stand the scent of them. We have some in the stables next to the house but I avoid the other places in the estate where they work.” I turned to Relyara and nodded to her. The woman made another gesture with her hands and my servants glided out the door. After they had left, she sat in a leather chair in the corner of the room and picked up some embroidering while she listened to our conversation.
My brother and I ate in silence for a few minutes. His appetite confirmed the report about his journey here.
“How were your travels? Uneventful?” I asked to see if he still lied with the same predictable pattern. His caravan had been attacked the first week of their travels by the Trealk Tribe and they had lost a quarter of their warriors.
“We had a small issue outside of the Jientalist lands, nothing that I couldn’t handle.” I nodded and confirmed the brief scent of his half-truth. I would need to determine why my mother sent him. I already had some theories.
“Do you bring any written word?” I pushed back my plate and drank from the cup of buttered coffee.
“Of course I do, dear Sister. I would have hoped that you would be interested in the latest spoken word I bring as well.” He sighed heavily and reached into his coat pocket, producing a bundle of letters wrapped in cream-colored silk cording. He tossed the stack to me casually.
“I am interested in that as well. What is the news?” He probably couldn’t smell my own lie. At one time I cared about the various political skirmishes of my mother’s people. I would have planned with Nyarathe and we would have extorted or positioned ourselves to gain favors. Now I only partially listened to his endless drivel. Fortunately, Grednil loved the sound of his own voice and didn’t seem to notice my lack of attention. The real information would be contained in the letters that rested in my lap; I just needed a few hours tonight to sort through them.
“Mistress, I am sorry to interrupt.” Relyara approached the table from behind me. She must have realized I desired a break.
“My Mistress has companions waiting for her below. Perhaps you wish to freshen up from your travels and then join them for their daily activities?”
“Companions? Does my sister have another entourage of suitors?” Grednil raised an eyebrow at me and his scent switched from a bitter hop annoyance to honeysuckle in a flash.
“Of course. That is my purpose here. I also have a following of adoring females that might be interested in meeting my half-brother.” I smiled at him.
“Well then, I guess I should bathe and then meet them. Are you still riding?”
“No. I’ve been busy with other projects here.” I tried to hide the longing from my voice and scent but I probably failed. The last two years since my arrival had been quite tiresome. I had thought that my father’s elders would be easy to manipulate, but they had all proven more difficult than expected. There had been several assassination attempts that I had to investigate. One or more of the elders wished me dead, and while I had some guesses as to who they were, it was too early to make a move.
It didn’t help that I was constantly being berated by my father and the elders to breed as soon as possible with the dozens of suitors that had arrived to lay claim to my reproductive system. I longed to ride again, but I feared once I felt the freedom that being atop a horse gave me I would continue past the gates and never return.
Just as I forced most of the suitors to leave.
“And what of your art? Are you still painting? I recall you had moved to charcoal works before you left. Sister still has the drawing you did of her hanging in her room.”
“No. No painting. I have been focusing instead on the martial arts. Sword and polearm training, as well as archery.”
“I can’t imagine that these people have anything to teach you.” He stood up from the table and cleaned his mouth with a cloth napkin.
“It is a way to pass the time.” I shrugged my shoulders. I had been pleasantly surprised by the trainers my father employed. My martial skills had always been excellent, but the fear of assassination had added an extra sense of urgency to my training that had never been present when I lived in my mother’s lands. Riding and painting had been replaced by the unfortunately necessary task of perfecting the art of fighting for my life.
“Where shall I room? I can freshen up in the next quarter of an hour if you will wait for me?”
“Relyara will take you there. I will wait.” I nodded to the beautiful woman, but she was already directing him out of my suite with her subtle, elegant gestures.
When he left I sorted through the stack of letters. Most of them were garbage: notes from previous suitors or others who adored me. There might be small political insights to gain from reading them, but I doubted it would be worth my time. I pulled out the letters from my mother and sister. I opened my mother’s first.
Daughter,
I am not surprised by your last letter. You have brought this upon yourself with your brash and irrational resistance to our customs. We have spoken of this so often I tired of hearing the same words come from my mouth, knowing they would be ignored. Now I tire of writing them. I still do not understand your resistance. Had you performed your duty to our tribe and race you would not have been exiled to your father’s lands.
I expect a letter informing me of your pregnancy, until then do not waste my time with useless communication.
- Jientalist
“Fuck her!” The paper burst into flames in my hand instantly. I crushed the black page into my fist and the pain of the fire scorching my palm distracted me from the numbness in my chest. Of course she wouldn’t care about the attempts on my life. She was rid of me, and since I had not chosen to breed with a member of her tribe my value to her had ended. If I died she would be relieved of the burden and the shame of it would be on my father’s family instead of her own.
The scent of my own skin burning focused my mind here and I threw the remnants of the letter to the floor in a spray of black ash.
I opened Nyarathe’s letter and read the delicate script. Her handwriting was much like mine. I wondered if this was because we grew up with the same instructors, or because of some genetic similarity. The words were misplaced, misspelled, and tangled like the scents of three different kitchens mingling. Most wouldn’t be able to understand what she wrote beyond the few words of love and encouragement the correspondence contained.
It was code of course, a language only the two of us shared so that we could communicate in secret. Reading it came easy to me and after many years of practice I no longer required a separate piece of parchment to translate.
Iolarathe,
Mother is furious that your father hasn’t made any progress with you. As you know, she made a commitment to the Fretil Tribe that either you or your offspring would mate with one of them in exchange for the Thorial ore trade agreement. Your father committed your first set of offspring to her but he hasn’t delivered on his promise.
As foolish as it seems to be making these negotiations over reproductive organs neither party has any control over, the end result is that our mother and your father are in debt to these tribes, and your delays are adding stress to their trade agreements. There is little love between your parents, but I know they have been communicating with each other since you arrived there. Soon they will find a way to force a suitor upon you. If you make a choice, you will have at least that amount of control over your fate.
If you were dead, they might be released from their contracts. Perhaps these attempts on your life aren’t coming from the elders?
Grednil made a fool of himself, the story is much too frustrating to tell, but you should know that he didn’t just decide to visit you of his own will. I imagine he’ll be asking you to stay for a while. You can trust him not to murder you, but he will be advancing mother’s agenda and push for you to find a suitor.
I miss you, sister. Life here is quite uninteresting without you spinning everyone around in a tizzy. I understand your feelings about breeding, but I want you to come home. Please, just pick the strongest male there, let him inseminate you, and be done with it. Your pride and stubbornness could cost you your life and me my only sister.
-Nyarathe
I read through the words two more times to ensure I captured whatever subtext my sister may have wanted to communicate. Then I burned this letter as I had my mother’s, but without the anger. I could never get angry at Nyarathe, though we often disagreed.
Everyone around me seemed to believe this problem was easy to solve. Pick a male, fuck him, and create some genetically superior offspring to strengthen the tribes. My mother would gain power, my father would gain power, and after producing three pairs of offspring, I would be left in peace.
My sister did not understand my hesitation. I had tried to explain it to her, but she was more than eager and willing to breed and perhaps a bit envious that I had so many eligible males vying for the chance to do so with me.
They were all weak, stupid, and driven by their basest animal desires. They were obsessed with mating. All their pursuits and interests, everything they did or said was just meant to impress the vapid females who were incapable of forming their own opinions or ideas. Their pathetic courting attempts disgusted me. Everything about them disgusted me and the idea of mating with any one of them made me feel physically ill. They reeked, their musky, sour, dirty scent made my nose curl and my appetite wane. Most Elvens had a repulsive scent, nowhere near as awful as a human, but still abrasive to my senses. My family’s smell was tolerable, but I had made all my female lovers bathe before we indulged in each other’s bodies. The odor of some slobbering, overeager male would be impossible to wash away or ignore.
The thought of having two creatures growing in my womb also brought bile up to my mouth. I imagined them squirming inside of me, kicking, punching, and pushing on my organs for nearly two years until they ripped their way out of me in a shower of blood and screams.
The females I had spoken to assured me that the experience, though painful, was enjoyable because of the special bond they developed with their offspring. This would make it even more unpleasant, as any children I produced would not be mine to raise, but immediately be given to whatever tribe my mother and father had promised them to.
Relyara’s knock sounded a second before she opened the door. My brother had changed into dust free clothes and followed. While he trailed behind her I saw his eyes wander to the beautiful woman’s pert ass. The scent of his arousal drifted toward me, but Relyara either didn’t notice it or didn’t care to acknowledge his lust. Probably the latter.
“Please introduce me to your entourage, Sister. It has been a time since I have met new females and I long for fresh conversation.” He emphasized the last word and licked his lips at Relyara, but the woman pretended not to notice again and I didn’t smell any sort of arousal from her.
“It is possible they have already departed since I started my morning later than normal,” I said.
“I’ve already checked, Mistress. A few have left to pursue other entertainment, but most are still downstairs in the garden.” Relyara smiled pleasantly at me and I caught the scent of honeysuckles from her.
“Fine. Let us go to the garden, Brother.” I rose from my chair and walked down out of my room with Grednil. The journey to the front of the manor took us a few minutes and he commented on the construction of the house and the skills of the servants. I recalled being just as surprised by the manor and its inhabitants when I first moved here, so I could not judge his reactions as idiotic.
Finally, we opened the double stained glass doors to the garden and were met by my suitors and female entourage. Five of the six usual males and four females were there as always to spend their day following me around rather than pursuing their own interests. I assumed the females hoped to mate with whatever male castoffs I did not choose. Their fawning was embarrassingly insincere and irritated me almost more than the males panting after me. I knew they held no affection for me, and possibly would prefer that I was dead, yet they acted as if we were close friends and they adored everything I did and agreed with everything I said. This left me in the awkward position of having to pretend that I was stupid enough to believe they cared about me, or having to confront their duplicitousness. I chose to do a little of both, testing and pushing them as far as I could by doing things I knew upset them and seeing how much they would tolerate simply to win my favor.
Nine of them lounged on stone benches arranged in a circle in the garden. Their light, flirty voices mixed with the drone of the bees, hummingbirds, and the trickling creek that fed a nearby pond. They all seemed to notice my entrance at once and rushed to be the first to greet me, creating a chaotic avalanche of sound and a stifling mix of scents.
“We heard that your half-brother arrived earlier this morning. Is this the famous Grednil?” Ripthe took a step toward my brother and bowed deeply. “Your sister has told us many great stories of your skill. I am Ripthe, son of Elder Vuma.”
“Pleasure.” Grednil nodded to the talkative Elven. Vuma had changed his behavior since I threw him against the wall a few years ago with my magic. I still believed he was trying to assassinate me, but he now spoke to me with respect. Ripthe might have been interesting if he could shut his mouth for more than thirty seconds, though I doubted that he knew how to use his tongue for anything other than babbling.
The group moved toward my brother and exchanged introductions.
I am Bur’tilon, son of Elder Zaarmo.” He was muscular, large, and always smelled of sandalwood oil. Bur’tilon was the best warrior of the males, but much like his father, he was not very smart. We often sparred together during my weapon training sessions, but his skill had not improved at a pace that I found acceptable.
“Alwor. Son of Elder Yuitra of the Ubarwa Tribe.” My next suitor introduced himself. He smelled similar to the attackers from Ubarwa who had tried to either kill or kidnap me two years ago on my journey here. Alwor’s skin was a ruddy red and his hair colored a darker shade of the same crimson. He was also a talented warrior and while he wasn’t as strong as Bur’tilon, he was skilled at magic as well. He spoke cleverly and would have been my first selection for a mate if he didn’t remind me of his treacherous kin.
“I’m Fusik of the Leitive tribe.” The silver-haired, cedar-scented man nodded to my brother. The Leitive tribes were accomplished horse breeders and ranchers. They did not hold as much territory as the Ubarwa or my father, but their cattle, goat, sheep, and horse stock were prized. Fusik was the son of Leitive’s chieftain and had offered to gift me with a few of his steeds, but I had declined.
“Alatald, son of Chieftain Proticule. It is a pleasure to meet you, Grednil.” He bowed slightly and my brother returned the movement. Proticule was the smallest of the four tribes within a hundred miles of Laxile and they would have the most to benefit from a relationship with my father’s tribe. Alatald was soft-spoken and polite. I had not spent much time alone with him in the last few months as he was not assertive enough to push for my attention.
My brother turned to the females of the group and they introduced themselves in the same manner.
“Daranyet, daughter of Ubarwa.” The woman had hair the color of emeralds and eyes of bright blue sapphires. She was the daughter of Ubarwa’s chieftain and outranked Alwor. She was a clever manipulator and delighted in driving the males to conflict. She had never said anything to oppose me, so I found her games amusing. Still, she was Ubarwa and I trusted her less than Alwor. The male’s desires were apparent. Why a female from the tribe would spend her time ingratiating herself with me was suspect. My brother returned the woman’s bow and licked his lips to see if he could get a taste of her scented arousal. I couldn’t smell anything from any of the women or men in the group, so I doubted he could either.
“I am Ilttaia, daughter of Proticule.” She was the first to make physical contact, raising her delicate hand so that my brother would grasp it carefully. The movement could have been seen as awkward save that Alatald’s sister moved with an uncanny grace. Like her brother, the woman was soft-spoken and had not been more than an observer during the months she had been with us. I was somewhat surprised she made her introduction so early. Perhaps she was very taken with my half-brother?
“Hello, Grednil. I am Contania, daughter of Elder Oimon. You are quite attractive and I am looking forward to spending time with you.” My brother broke eye contact with Ilttaia and faced Contania. The woman smelled of fresh lemons. The scent matched her yellow hair, which was almost white with sun bleach. I enjoyed Contania’s presence the most of all the females because of her delicious sense of humor, directness, and whimsical attitude. I had not enjoyed her enough to take her to bed yet since I still found myself unable to trust any of the elders or their offspring.
“I am Yerryne. Daughter of Elder Gnella.” The last of my females greeted my brother. All the women were beautiful, but Yerryne was as pleasing to the senses as Relyara. She smelled of strawberries and a musky scent that perhaps only I noticed. Her hair was a long cascade of gray-blue waves and her skin was creamy fresh milk. Her eyes were onyx and their black depths couldn’t hide her cleverness. Relyara had told me that before I came, Yerryne had been the prize maiden of the tribe and had dozens of suitors every year. My father and Gnella had almost decided on a mate for her before I arrived and changed their plans. Of all the women in this group, Yerryne would have the most to gain from my death.
“We are missing Vertarus this morning. He heard you would be late and he said he had a few other tasks to look after.” Ripthe informed me. I shrugged my shoulders. My last suitor was the son of Elder Dluuzit. He was involved in a secret project with the elders and only spent a few days every week with me. I had not bothered to ask him about his activities while our group was together and we never spent any time alone. I did have to admit that I found the man somewhat intriguing. Everyone in my life fell over themselves to garner my attention but Vertarus hardly seemed interested in breeding with me.
“Enough about Vertarus. He thinks work is more important than we are. I am quite pleased to have the Singleborn’s brother here. Tell me, Grednil, what does Jientalist do for entertainment?” Daranyet asked my brother with a tilt of her head.
“Gossip mostly, also games of combat, riding, art, music, hunting, and dancing as well.” He smiled and I could tell my brother was trying to hide the scent of his arousal around the new women.
“The Singleborn has been loath to talk about your mother’s lands or tribal activities. Perhaps you can educate us on what her wicked hobbies were?” Contania asked with a lilting laugh.
“Don’t be rude, Contania. I’m sure that Grednil doesn’t want to spend his time talking about his sister.” Yerryne said with a bright laugh that matched the yellow-haired woman’s. The two were childhood friends, and while their verbal barbs seemed pointed, their scents conveyed that they held affection for each other.
“My sister did say that she has been unable to devote any time to her two favorite activities. I believe she fears boring you with her hobbies.” Grednil smirked and glanced sideways at me while the men and women gave a collective gasp of shock. Perhaps it was a bad idea to allow him to interact with my entourage.
“But we would all be more than happy to indulge the Singleborn in whatever activity she finds amusing!” Ripthe was the first to comment and the others quickly agreed. Although I was the subject of their conversation, they were gathered around Grednil and none seemed to care whether or not I was actually present. I longed to leave the sycophants to my brother who seemed to actually be enjoying their attention. I could easily slip away, escape to the stables and finally ride one of the beautiful steeds I had seen my father’s servants training. The land here was ideal for riding, the horse’s hooves would tear through the lush grasslands, releasing the sweet heady aroma of freshly shorn grass and rich, churned earth.
“We thought she only enjoyed the martial arts and terrorizing the slaves. Do tell us what else she loves to occupy herself with?” Daranyet peered over toward me from the midst of the group and gave me an insincere smile before she turned back to my brother.
“In the Jientalist lands, Iolarathe was known to be exceptionally skilled with weapons, especially polearms. Perhaps you all have not seen her wield her magic yet, but she is as strong as you might believe. Above all, she is an exceptional rider, and it tore my heart to pieces when I learned this morning that she has spent so little time atop a horse since coming here. At home she would spend at least half of each day riding.”
The small crowd gasped and turned to face me with mixed expressions scented of cucumbers and squash.
“Why didn’t you tell us about this, Iolarathe? I would have loved to ride with you. My tribe is known for our equestrian skills. This is a hobby we can both share.” Fusik’s face was twisted in excitement and shock, but it was difficult to pull his scent from the group’s mixture.
“I also enjoy horseback riding and would find great pleasure in accompanying you on your daily excursions!” Alwor interjected. The rest of the congregation agreed with his statement and began to talk amongst themselves, bragging about how skilled each was with a horse.
“The chieftain’s private stables are just a short walk from here. We should all go for a ride.” Ripthe made the suggestion and they turned to gauge my approval.
“That is a fine idea, my new friend. Please lead the way,” Grednil said before I could decline, and the group began to migrate down the grassy hillside toward the stable house. I considered resisting. I wanted to ride, but I did not want to ride with them. The temptation to mount a horse and simply gallop away from them was already difficult to resist, atop a horse it would be nearly impossible. The men would distract me from enjoying myself by fighting for my approval and trying to show how skilled they were at riding, forcing me to indulge their egos and pretend I cared when I could ride better than any of them without question. Instead of tempting me it sounded exhausting and torturous.
The walk was five minutes and Grednil spoke the entire time about the various clothing, dance, and musical styles popular in our mother’s lands. He enjoyed having a captive audience, and since he was not competition to breed with me, the other males of the group showed immediate affection toward him. Perhaps they also believed that he would make a recommendation for the male he befriended. Perhaps they believed I cared at all what Grednil thought.
“How long has it been since you have ridden?” Ilttaia had fallen back from the others to walk beside me. Walking was too simple a term. The woman had a grace that made her almost float across the uneven ground.
“Not since I arrived here,” I matched her whisper.
“Does your brother speak the truth, then?” She raised a glossy black eyebrow. Her hair was the color of polished onyx.
“Yes. I have been busy with other tasks.” I shrugged my shoulders. Perhaps I should have told her to keep the questions to herself, but I had already been through a few sets of suitors and females. My father was growing anxious that I wasn’t making any progress on building relationships with the other tribes.
“I have heard rumors of these other tasks you have been busy with.” She glanced back to the rest of the group and dropped her voice a few decibels, though it appeared we were being ignored. “Is it true you had to fend off multiple assassins last month?”
“I don’t wish to speak of it.”
“Very well. You and I do not spend much time together. My goals are obviously different than my brother’s, so if you want someone to confide in, please consider me an ally.”
“How benevolent and unselfish of you to offer, I’m sure you have nothing to gain.” I almost laughed. Her scent became woodsy and I wondered if she was actually being sincere.
“Everyone wants something, Singleborn. I understand your hesitancy to trust me, I’m sure you have experienced much manipulation and duplicity from those posing as friends in the past. And yes, my brother and I are here because our elders want us to breed with someone of importance and facilitate advantageous treaties between our tribes. So of course I want your favor for my own ends. But I do not have any reason to wish you harm, and unlike my brother I’m not here for your womb. Will you consider moving me to a room adjacent to yours?” she finished brazenly as she looked at me with calm confidence.
“That is quite a bold request.” My suitors, maidens, and their collective staff were housed in a different wing of the mansion than my own. There were empty rooms surrounding my suite and I could show favor by moving certain people closer to me, but I had not chosen to do so. I enjoyed my solitude.
“I am feeling bold today.” She turned to glance at my brother and I caught a slight hint of her musky arousal, but it was quickly concealed. “I believe no one else has asked you for your favor yet. Our tribe has little to offer when compared to our competition, but I can offer loyalty. Perhaps that will be useful to you in these dangerous times?”
“I will consider your request.” The arrival of my half-brother had probably pushed the timetable up a bit on the courting process. I wondered if my father and mother had planned this.
“Thank you.” She smiled at me as we arrived at the stables.
The familiar scent of wood, hay, leather, and horses greeted my nose when I stepped through the double doors, bringing with it thousands of pleasant memories of galloping unencumbered through the desert on the back of my favorite stallion. I smiled and felt grateful that my brother had engineered this activity. I really had missed riding.
Another smell entered my nose and I had to stop to inhale and appreciate it fully. It was a smoked scent of lavender, fresh pine and other herbs mixed with a musky complexity. I tried to determine the source of the wondrous fragrance. It seemed to be everywhere within the stables.
“Your father allowed me to keep a few of my steeds here. Perhaps you would like to ride one?” Fusik gestured to the end of the stables where three magnificent stallions towered in their stalls. I doubted that the scent came from his horses. It had a hint of the World to it, so it must have been another Elven who happened to frequent my stables.
“Today I will ride my own horse.” I breathed deeply again and tried to ignore the hunger growing in my loins. Was this a male’s scent? I had never experienced anything like it and I struggled to fight against my arousal. None of the other females in my group seemed distracted or smelled aroused. I wondered if it was so faint only I was picking it up with my acute senses. It must have been the lingering scent of an Elven who was no longer here. As much as I wanted to ride, I was consumed by a need to find the Elven who produced this scent.
I approached my stallion. His coat was gleaming and clean. I had not seen the animal in two years, but his deep black eyes seemed to recognize me and he stomped his front feet in anticipation. A ride would get me away from this fragrance and free my mind. I was finding it difficult to think of anything but the scent the longer we tarried in the stables.
“Human. We will all need horses,” Fusik commanded over my shoulder. “Are you the only slave here?”
“Yes, Master. I work alone in the stables. I will saddle them for you,” the human answered.
It felt as if someone had thrown ice water on me. I could not think. My body felt as if I could no longer take in air. I grabbed onto the door of my horse’s stable and felt my nails sink into the hardwood as if it was made of soft cheese.
“Are you alright, Iolarathe?” Alwor moved next to me. He smelled of nutmeg and mint concern.
“I am fine.” The seizure passed but my arousal doubled. I turned away from my horse to face the entourage. They must have been able to smell my musk. “It will take too long to wait on the human. Saddle your own horses.” I walked over and grabbed my trusted saddle and blanket from the racks while my heart relaxed. They probably heard it beat frantically, but none of them commented. These idiotic males must have each attributed my arousal smell to themselves. I was embarrassed to have any of them think they had caused this reaction, but I could not conceal it. I needed to breathe fresh air soon.
There was a scurry of movement and voices as the group decided on which horses each would ride. I set my saddle upon the stall door and attached the bit and bridle to my stallion’s face. Then I entered the surprisingly clean stall and put the blanket and saddle on my steed. The tasks helped fight the effects the scent was having on my body. I tried to focus on the smell of the hay, the oiled leather of the saddle, the horse, but nothing could overpower the other scent.
My entourage was still busy sorting out which horses to ride. I gritted my teeth and led my stallion out through the back end of the stable and into the large riding pen. As soon as I cleared the inside of the stables I breathed deeply of the outside air. It smelled of fresh grass and damp dirt.
Almost immediately my body calmed. I hadn’t realized the full extent the alien fragrance had on me. My nipples were hard and pressed up against the wool of my padded blouse. Even my vaginal entrance was wet and the movement of the saddle against my riding pants stimulated the lips. My body ached for release. I stopped my horse from moving and inhaled half a hundred deep breaths until my body returned to a normal state.
“Forget how to ride, Sister?” Grednil rode one of Fusik’s stallions. I hadn’t even heard him approach.
“No. Just waiting for you to join me.” I managed a smile and hoped my scent was not so obvious now out in the open air.
“Oh.” He gave me a puzzled look. Perhaps he sensed my lie. I had never shown him any sisterly affection or warmth.
“Did you smell something out of place in the stables?” I nodded back to the wood structure. Alwor, Daranyet, Bur’tilon, and Contania were on horseback slowly walking toward us, but probably still out of earshot.
“What do you mean?”
“There was a smoky scent that I have not tasted before,” I whispered. Perhaps it was foolish of me to speak to him about the smell. I narrowed my eyes at him to indicate that I was not joking.
“Your nose is more sensitive than mine, Sister. Maybe there is a small leak into the stables from the back of the blacksmith forge. They share a wall, no?” I nodded at his sensible explanation. The forge would explain the smoke, but not the sweet lavender and that indiscernible yet intoxicating mix of herbal fragrances. I started to feel the effects of the scent again as I thought of it and blew air out of my nostrils like my horse to stop the sensation.
My stallion kicked the ground again and I decided to indulge both of us with a canter. He launched from the standstill and seemed to fly across the diameter of the acre pen like a falcon. The rest of my entourage followed suit and we spent the next few hours exercising our horses.
It was no surprise that Fusik was the superior rider of the group. He had masterful control of his steed and some of the jumping movements he could perform with the animal actually impressed me. The siblings from Proticule were also excellent riders, and while they were not as skilled as I, they were much better than the rest of my entourage. The worst rider was Yerryne. It was painfully obvious that the beautiful woman had spent little time on a horse. Her face and scent betrayed her embarrassment. The males of my group quickly found her lack of skill enticing and they all took turns riding next to her and offering advice.
The memory of the scent in the stables continued to bother me. It lingered on my nose, or perhaps only in my mind during the entire time we rode. Normally I would have enjoyed riding all day, but I grew weary of the scent and obsessing over its source. I was frustrated with the effects it was having upon me. I was not accustomed to losing control of my own body and urges, and that loss of power irritated me more than my unfulfilled desire. Without alerting my companions, I rode my stallion out of the pen and into the stable, dismounting before I entered the barn doors.
“Where is the stable master?” The scent returned full force and I staggered against its onslaught. I handed the reins to the human that greeted me inside when I asked my question.
“I do not know, Mistress. She hasn’t been in today.” The human was male, with dark thick hair and strange-looking green eyes. They almost looked like the bright eyes of one of my people. I inhaled deeply again and felt my arousal scream through my body.
“When was she last here?” My father’s stable master and I had only spoken a few words to each other in the last year.
“Last week, Mistress.”
Most humans were terrified of me, and perhaps they had good reason to be. I detested their race and had insisted my father remove them from the mansion. He had allowed a few to serve in the other wings, but I did not allow any near me or my things. I had killed a few during the first year of my stay when they passed me in the hall and caused me to retch with their nasty scent. Of course, dead humans tended to smell worse than live ones, but I had made my point to my father and there were no longer any humans allowed to work inside the house.
This human was not scared. He did not have the horrible human stench about him either. Perhaps my senses were overwhelmed by the mysterious musky fragrance and it was overpowering the reek of the stable boy. The smoky richness tickled the back of my throat and my salivary glands stung and watered with hunger. I licked my lips again.
“Has any other of my kind been in the stables today?” I had to find out who had left this scent. The human was still holding the reins of my horse.
“No, Mistress. You are the first I’ve seen today, or since last week when the stable master came.” It was hard to tell his age. All humans looked so strange to me. He was probably half of my forty winters, maybe a bit younger. I realized I was staring at him and he seemed to realize it as well, then I tasted a small hint of sour fear escape from him.
I suddenly understood what was causing the scent. It was this human.
“Hoo. Iolarathe!” a voice called from behind me. The sound felt like a slap and I almost flinched. I looked over my shoulder and saw Bur’tilon dismounting ten feet from me. I hadn’t heard the animal approach. “Are you leaving?” The large man moved his horse next to mine.
“Yes. I am tired of riding.” I nodded to the human and he gently tugged on the reins of my horse. The animal followed him to the pen.
“Would you join me for lunch? Perhaps we can train our martial skills afterward?” I watched the human open the stallion’s pen and lead it inside the stall. Within moments he had removed the saddle, bridle, bit, and closed the pen door. Then he moved to do the same to Bur’tilon’s steed. His hands moved efficiently across the horse’s flank. I wondered what it would feel like for his rough fingers to touch my skin, to run down my stomach and into my entrance, probing and massaging me. I wondered what it would feel like to taste his mouth on mine. Would it be as delicious as his scent?
“Iolarathe?”
“What?” I snarled at Bur’tilon. Damn the Dead Gods I needed to fuck. Every part of my body felt aroused. I thought about demanding that the muscular dimwit let me ride him right now, but as soon as the idea sparked it was gone. The human stood twenty feet from me and the rest of my entourage was only a few hundred yards away. The large Elven must have smelled my arousal. He was standing close enough to me.
“Would you like to—”
“No. I am leaving.” I tried not to run out the door of the stables, but I only half succeeded. I had to get out of there. I needed to be free of the human’s scent and the presence of these suitors. I needed to clear my mind.
Once I made it halfway up the shallow hill to the mansion I risked a look back at the stables. I didn’t see Bur’tilon or the rest of my entourage. My legs slowed their walk and I considered returning to the stables. Maybe they had all left and I could smell the human again. I could order him to do whatever I wanted. The fragrance still lingered in my nostrils and I took a deep breath again.
I had to kill him.
Humans should not smell that way. He was an abomination. I didn’t have my sword on my hip, or even a dagger, but my nails were sharp enough to cut through his neck. Would his blood taste as good as he smelled?
I forced my legs to move away from the stables and I crested the hill toward the mansion. I was still painfully aroused, blood pulsed between my legs and I ached with longing. I needed release soon or I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything important.
I almost screamed for Relyara as soon as I walked in through the front door. Her scent lingered near the stairwell and I followed it to the kitchen.
“Come with me!” I grabbed her arm and almost yanked her off the ground.
“What is wrong, Mistress?” She had been talking to servants in the kitchen about my dinner arrangements. Almost immediately I tasted her fear in the air like a bitter cheese. I turned to look at the beautiful woman and she understood what I wanted.
Once in my room I slammed the door shut and Relyara locked the dead bolts.
“Do you wish for me to bathe first?” she asked, since that was our usual routine. I didn’t have time for that and I silenced her mouth with my own.
Then we were kissing, licking, and sucking on each other’s tongues. Her arousal musk wrapped around me like a blanket. I pulled off her blue dress with practiced ease and she helped me quickly undo the leather knots of my pants and the ties to my satin blouse.
“The bed. Now!” I commanded. The walk was short and I took off the remainder of my undergarments on the way there and lay back against the pillows.
“Yes, Mistress. What do you want me to do?” She crawled onto the bed toward me with her ass in the air.
“Lick me.” I opened my legs and pointed to my entrance. I was still wet from the scent in the stables, my lips were swollen and throbbing. Relyara’s hungry eyes only further aided my arousal.
She smiled and then moved her face down to my spread legs. We were frequent lovers, and she knew exactly what to do. This time felt different though. I had never been this aroused. Every small turn of her wet tongue across my opening or into the passage was more exquisite than anything I had ever felt. The sensation flared out and up from the lips of my entrance to my hips and then wrapped around my stomach.
It didn’t take long for my pelvis to rock upward against her mouth. Sex was almost like giving up control to someone else. My hips and legs were at the mercy of her lips, tongue, and the slender fingers that slid into me.
“Oh I needed this,” I muttered softly into my hand between moans. Relyara gasped appreciatively while she licked my wetness.
I thought about the human in the stables. Perhaps he had been lurking in the back of my mind since I realized he was the source of the wonderful scent. I wondered what it would feel like for his tongue to touch me as Relyara’s did right now. I imagined his hands sliding over my legs, hips, stomach, and nipples. My fingers reached down and grabbed a fist full of Relyara’s silky blue-black locks. Would his hair feel the same in my grip? No. His was thicker, a bit lighter in shade, with some brown in the black instead of blue. Her tongue started to dart against my entrance quicker and my body responded. I was no longer in control. It felt so good to not be in control of something for once.
Humans were disgusting. Like pigs that could walk upright but still enjoyed wallowing in their own mud and filth. Yet, this one seemed different. Why did he smell so wonderful? I inhaled again and could still feel the smoky scent of pine and lavender in my nose. I looked down in between my legs and instead of Relyara I imagined him licking me with abandon. Then he would sit up and slide his massive animal penis into my entrance.
I let out a gasp and felt the first climax wave hit me. Relyara wasn’t as strong as I was so I had to be careful not to twist her head off with my legs. My body went numb and I heard a deep scream echo in the room while I twitched with pleasure. She continued to lick and prod with her finger in me. The climaxes continued and crashed through me like boulders, each one faster and larger than the last.
Finally I gasped in submission and rolled away from her. My entrance clenched a few times in relief and I thought again about the human entering me.
Relyara moved up the bed and wrapped her arms around my waist. Her lips kissed the nape of my neck through my hair and she murmured something soft in my ear. I sighed again. My body was relaxed and my arousal felt satisfied.
“I was expecting this later tonight,” she whispered. Relyara was always giving and never asked for anything in return, which was especially good now because I didn’t feel like indulging her at the moment.
“I was aroused.”
“I could tell. What was attractive enough to do such a thing to the Singleborn?” The question was innocent, but I wondered what assumptions she made. She must have been hopeful that I was finally feeling attraction toward one of my suitors. Relyara was not pressuring me in the way my family was, but she was concerned for my safety and knew breeding would give me some protection from the attempts on my life.
“We went to the stables. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding. Cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. I don’t wish to see anyone else.”
“Very well.” She slid out of bed and ran her hands through hair that looked like dark ocean water. “You should go horseback riding every day.” She smiled and I caught a slight peach scent from her.
“I think I will.” She nodded and moved into the foyer of my suite. I heard her pick up her clothes and begin to put them back on her slender body. I rolled over to lay flat on my bed and enjoyed the complete relaxation that spread through my muscles. The incident with the human’s scent was just an oddity. I doubted that the fragrance would be there tomorrow morning when I went riding. Perhaps I really did need to choose a mate. My body was urging me to breed.
I closed my eyes and tried not to think of the human. But when I attempted to remove his face from my memory I thought about others of his kind and then circled back to him.
“Relyara!” I called into the room before she could leave.
“Yes, Mistress?”
“Vertarus is involved in some workings with my father and the other elders. I normally wouldn’t care about the foolish games of idiots, but something made me think of it just now.”
“I have not heard anything.”
“Find out all you can without raising suspicion.”
“Yes, Mistress.” She turned to go.
“Oh, and Relyara.”
“Yes, Mistress?” She turned to me.
“After dinner tonight, you will be my dessert.”
Chapter 10-The O’Baarni
“Leave us.” Alexia’s voice echoed down the hallway and leaked under the door of my cell. I raised my head from where it rested against the stone floor and tested my arms against the manacles that bound my wrists to the wall. They held, as they had a thousand times before when I tried to rip them free.
I didn’t hear her footsteps, but her stealth could not keep the key from ratcheting in the lock or the door scraping along its metal hinges as it opened. My friend looked the same as she had yesterday. She wore a formfitting outfit of suede pants and a pale blue satin blouse. The shirt was a few shades lighter than her blue eyes. Her now long blonde hair was braided down one side of her pretty face and fell in front of her chest.
She closed the door behind her and regarded me for a few moments in silence. Alexia had always been guarded with her feelings and I was still unable to gauge any emotion from her face.
Finally, I grew tired of her stare and I opened my mouth to ask her what she wanted.
“If you exit this cell and make a sharp right, there is a stairway,” she cut me off with a soft whisper. “Two flights down is another hallway lined with cells. At the end of the hallway there is a sewage chute. The maintenance staff accidently left it pried off.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I kept my voice the same whisper as hers.
“The sewage chute is only a few feet in diameter, and will be slick with slime left over from flooding, but it feeds into a waste cavern beneath the city. If you exit northward, it will feed into the river. On the shore of the river you’ll see a rotted log with a red scarf around one of the limbs. Enter the forest there and you’ll find two horses and equipment to travel.”
“How will I get out of the manacles?” I nodded to my wrists. My heart was galloping like a racing colt’s.
“If you were to ride those horses for three months bearing southeast, you would come to the War Ocean.” I nodded. The body of water had once been named the Black Ocean, but the Elvens and my people were not skilled at sailing, or versed in methods to navigate by water. It was said that there was land on the other side of the vast ocean, but the legends could have been false; there were many human communities that we saved on the coast that had never seen any sort of vessel on the water. We called it the War Ocean as it marked the end of the world we fought for.
“There is a city there named Grenagall. Do you remember it?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“For the past three years, they have been crafting a vessel that can sail the ocean waters. The ship will be ready for you when you arrive.”
“Exile?” I asked. Perhaps my heart sank a bit.
“Would you prefer Shlara’s treatment?” She raised an eyebrow.
“What of the Elven woman?” I hesitated to ask. Alexia stared at me for a few moments and then sighed.
“What if I were to meet you at Grenagall?”
“What do you mean?”
“We would be on the ship together. The thought of sailing across the unknown waters does cause me some fear, but I would risk it to be with you.” Her face broke, revealing a vulnerability I had never seen from the woman. Shlara had often told me that Alexia had feelings for me, but I never gave much weight to the words.
“I have questions.” I strained my ears and didn’t hear anyone walking down the hallway toward us. Of course, I had not heard Alexia either.
“There is not much time.”
“Do you love me?” I asked the obvious question.
“I did long ago.” She smiled slightly and her hands moved up to rub across her braid. “I thought you knew. You always seemed to know what everyone around you was thinking and feeling. But you did not return my admiration, so I kept it to myself. I have more pride than some.”
“You say long ago?”
“I was angry with you for a long time, Kaiyer. Perhaps I will come to love you again. I will need to escape these lands. Shlara will know I aided you.” Our eyes met and I sighed.
“I loved Shlara. I love this Elven woman. I have loved you like I imagine a brother loves a sister, but I can’t return the feelings you have for me.” I knew my words would disappoint her, but I had caused too many problems by hiding my feelings.
“I know. Perhaps your feelings can change as I predict mine will.” She crossed her arms. “Do you want my help?”
“I love her,” I said without hesitation. “I cannot leave her.”
“Then you will watch her die and then be tortured by Shlara. Or you can live, with me.”
My mind scrambled. Perhaps there was a way I could convince Alexia to assist me in rescuing Iolarathe. It was unlikely, but I would not give up Iolarathe.
“If the Elven woman truly loves you, she would want you to accept my offer.”
“I need time.”
“There is no time, Kaiyer! You must leave now.”
“Can you help me free her?” I should have thought of a more eloquent way to beg.
“No. I am unable to free her.” She shook her head and a hint of anger entered her voice.
“I doubt that.”
“Fine. I don’t want to. You no longer command me, Kaiyer. This is a gift I give to you and it means I’ll be betraying my friends as well. If you—” her voice cut off suddenly as footsteps sounded down the hallway.
Several sets of footsteps.
“Oh my. Am I interrupting something?” Shlara said once she yanked the door to my cell open. Alexia crossed her arms and stood to the side so that the burned woman could enter. Now that the door was opened, I could smell the stench of her burnt flesh. Behind Shlara stood Malek, along with six guards.
“Well?” Shlara shifted her gaze back and forth between the blonde woman and I. Her green eyes never blinked in the torchlight and their dilated pupils enhanced my perception of her madness.
Alexia shrugged and crossed her shoulders. I was surprised that she was able to maintain her usual calm exterior. Malek looked between me and Alexia, it was clear from his expression he understood exactly what was happening. So did Shlara.
“Well then. I am glad I arrived before you two decided to do something stupid.” She giggled a bit and then it turned into a hysterical laugh that made her bend over in the melted armor while she clutched her stomach. While she cackled my body broke out into a cold sweat and my heart began to race. Fuck me, I should have escaped when I had the chance.
“I’ll deal with you later.” Shlara’s laugh ended suddenly as she seethed the words to Alexia, then spun around to the guards. Malek took a nearly imperceptible step backward when Shlara turned to him, his fear clear in the reflexive movement and his startled facial expression.
“Bring him to the courtyard.” She gestured to me and then walked out of the cell, confident they would obey. The guards rushed into the room after she exited and wrestled me into new manacles and shackles. I fought against them, as I had the other times they had tried to move me, but I was no match for six of my empowered kin. I was forced to my feet and dragged behind Shlara, Malek, and Alexia out of the dungeon.
The courtyard had changed since I rescued Iolarathe. The stables and feed house had been torn down. In their place, a wooden set of seats were arranged around the inner walls, similar to the kind the Elvens built for their musical or theatrical performances. I remembered the ruined city Iolarathe had taken me to, there had been a similar amphitheater there, constructed of stone.
This theater was quickly filling with humans.
The seats were already half-full, and a stream of bodies was snaking its way into the courtyard. I estimated they could cram ten thousand people into the makeshift stadium. In the center, where a stage should have been, a steel cross was driven into the ground, surrounded by cords of firewood.
Malek motioned to the guards and they dragged me toward the cross and set me down in the sand. Shlara was not here. Malek, Alexia, and the guards flanked me. And thousands of O’Baarni and humans surrounded us. I could not even fathom escape.
Alexia noticed me looking around and shot me a quick glare. The look communicated her frustration in an instant. I also sensed her fear. Not only was I trapped here, so was she. I had ruined both of our chances for freedom from Shlara. With or without me, she could have escaped in the confusion of trackers attempting to find me, but now that Shlara knew she had tried to aid me, Alexia was in danger.
I closed my eyes and sighed against the ocean’s roar of the gathering crowd. I could not waste my time worrying about what Shlara would do to my generals after I was dead. Gorbanni and Thayer were seated prominently in the front row, opposite the pyre. Their expressions were dark. This was necessary, but they would not enjoy it.
Malek glanced nervously over his shoulder toward the dungeon. I turned my head to see if he was looking at Shlara, but the moment I shifted my neck one of the guards slammed his fist into the side of my face. The blow was as strong and shocking as if a horse had kicked me in the skull. My ears rang and I tasted blood in my mouth.
“Face the fucking front!” he growled.
“Fuck you!” I spat blood and a molar out onto the sand.
“Stop!” Alexia’s command froze the guard with his fist pulled back. He nodded at her and then returned to a relaxed stance.
The crowd continued to fill the stands until every space was occupied and the courtyard writhed with shouting, squirming, hate-filled bodies. More spectators filed into the tops of the walls. There were more O’Baarni and humans beyond the walls, pressing and complaining, wanting to come in, eager to watch the just suffering.
Malek looked over his shoulder and nodded, and then he walked into the middle of the theater. He raised his arms and his creamy white sleeves fell down to reveal his muscular arms. For a second I felt a small flash of pride in my old friend that he was still maintaining his strength.
“Humans and O’Baarni.” Malek’s words were aided by magic from the Air and they boomed loudly in my ears. The dull roar of the crowd instantly dimmed and the thousands in the audience turned their attention to the man.
“For most of us, the war against our Elven oppressors has ended. We have been able to create a new life and enjoy freedoms our ancestors never knew.” He paused and an enormous tidal wave of cheers erupted from the crowd. He waited half a dozen seconds before indicating with his arms that he wished to continue.
“But while most of us have been free of the struggle against the Elvens, some of us have continued the fight, seeking out the last remnants of our enemies and eradicating them like the vermin that they are.” The crowd cheered again and I felt the air leave my lungs in a sigh. Malek’s speech sounded like one I would have made.
“After searching for years, we have finally apprehended the last living leader of the Elven people. She was responsible for unleashing three horrible dragons upon our warriors. She was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of our kin. This Elven’s bloodthirst and hatred of our kind is unmatched even among her evil race. The crimes she has committed against our people, against our beloved Shlara, are shocking in both number and brutality. She is without remorse, and beyond redemption.”
He paused with his fist clenched and the silence that permeated the courtyard was almost as deafening as the roar that preceded it.
“Your leaders have captured this embodiment of evil, and now she will face the punishment she has earned. With her death, the lives of your kin, the brave men and women who fought and died for your freedom, the warriors she murdered, shall be avenged!”
He took a deep breath and screamed out the last words. They shattered my eardrums like the crash of a heavy weapon against my helmet.
“Do you wish to see her punished?” The crowd screamed in agreement and thousands of fists rose into the sky. Their cries seemed to pull the air out of the courtyard, or maybe it was just the thought of Iolarathe’s upcoming execution that made my head spin with despair.
Malek turned and walked back to where Alexia and the guards held me. Our eyes made contact and he made a quick glance back toward the tunnels where Shlara was hidden. During all my travels, the humans I had spoken with said that Shlara was dead. My friends must have propagated that lie, and I understood why. A beautiful martyr was a much more compelling figure to rally behind than the insane monster Shlara had become.
“Stand him up,” Malek instructed my guards and they hefted me upward to stand next to my old friend. We faced the metal cross and a massive sounding drum began to thud a slow marching rhythm. The crowd hushed again and the gathered audience turned their collective sight to the mouth of the dungeons.
My stomach churned with nausea and defeat. After countless years of wandering in search of Iolarathe, both our lives would now end only a week after finally being reunited. I pulled against my manacles again but they were crafted with the same kind of gray-black metal as my generals’ armor.
Eight O’Baarni soldiers walked into the clearing in the center of the barracks. They wore Shlara’s dragon army armor and carried spears and shields. Two of the armored warriors held chains that were attached to their prisoner. My stomach churned when I saw her bound and escorted by the armored humans.
Her fiery hair flowed wildly down past her waist like an untamed waterfall of blood. The sun reflected off the waves and the glow of her hair in the light made her alabaster skin look even more alien and beautiful. She was garbed in a light brown prisoner tunic and pants. The clothes were baggy and rough, but they could do little to conceal her natural beauty. She held her head up, her eyes downcast. Her face was immobile, refusing to grant her captors the satisfaction of knowing she was afraid.
Her procession stopped thirty feet in front of the metal cross that jutted out of the wood pile. The guards turned in unison and saluted the gathered audience. Then they faced Malek.
A murmur began in the crowd and reached a feverish pitch in the ten seconds it took for Malek to give the signal. I pulled against my metal bindings again but even if I could somehow free myself there was nothing I could do to save the woman I loved. I had finally been defeated. She turned to me and looked into my eyes, and again I saw the remorse and sadness I had glimpsed from her only once, when she had explained why she had killed my father and brother. I tried to convey my love, my regret, tried to communicate that I would somehow make this right and save our daughter, but there was not enough time.
“I’m sorry, Kaiyer,” Malek said softly before he nodded to the warriors.
Iolarathe didn’t struggle when they lifted her up to the cross.
Chapter 11-Kaiyer
I gasped and screamed. I thrashed against the manacles that bound my hands and they faded to nothing.
My eyes were closed, so I opened them while my mind did its usual juggling act between remembering the details of my dream and grounding myself back in the present. For a few seconds I struggled to open my eyelids, and then I realized that they were in fact open. The blackness surrounding me was deeper than a moonless night and even my enhanced vision could not see anything.
I was in the tunnels under Nadea’s keep. I recalled the events clearly leading up to my wounded descent into the black depths.
“Kaiyer,” a voice drifted from somewhere in the caves. It could have been Vernine’s voice, or maybe Fehalda’s. It did not matter. They would find me if I did not move.
I felt around the ground of the cave and found one of the three arrow shafts I had yanked out of my torso before blacking out. The bladed heads smelled of my blood and the powerful poison Fehalda’s archers were so fond of using. My body was no longer numb and I wondered how long I had been unconscious.
The Earth pulsed, pushed, and ran through my body constantly. But I pulled just a bit more and used some Wind to create a small flame in my hand. The walls of the cave were smoothed, perhaps by water, and a good twenty feet in diameter. At my feet were the other two arrows and the dried pool of my own blood.
I recalled falling into the caves and I realized that one of the reasons that the Elvens may not have found me yet was the sheer wall five feet behind me. I increased the flame in my hand a small amount and guessed that I must have dropped sixty feet to the ground. Perhaps I bled more once I landed or when I ripped the arrows out of my flesh. Climbing back up was not an option. They would come for me from that direction.
I needed to press onward, down into the caves, and hope that there would be another way to get out of the tunnels and to the surface.
But then what? I had run from the archers but not killed any of them. They would track me if I attempted to escape. They would follow me across this world until I was dead. I would need to rid myself of them in a way that would buy me time to return to Nia.
I took the arrows and moved away from the wall and down into the depths of the caves. The rock was ancient and crumbling. These tunnels must have been used by Nia’s troops for defense, but it looked as if they had been undisturbed for decades, the ground and walls were thick with settled dust and cobwebs, the air stale and long untouched by human breath.
I continued my slight descent. Every few minutes I heard a distant shout echoing behind me like a piece of lost wind. I could not tell if my pursuers were gaining ground on me, but assumed they were. The tunnels here were smooth. I saw nowhere I could hide and ambush the Elvens, nowhere to trap them.
Fortunately, I had my magic. I had my own source of light. I could survive down here for days, continuing to evade them. Eventually, they would find me. If I could get Vernine alone, I could reason with her. I could convince her to take me to the empress again and negotiate some arrangement with her. But Fehalda would not be convinced. She wanted me dead.
I thought of Isslata and sighed with remorse. I had easily chosen Nadea and my friends over my Elven lover, but I regretted the choice. I wished now that I had taken more time before acting, or agreed to work with the empress. If I had been less belligerent, perhaps I could have negotiated better terms and avoided killing Isslata. Nadea and Jessmei were now prisoners, all of my effort so far had done nothing more than cost lives.
If I had feelings for Isslata, I also had some for Vernine. I wondered if the pewter-haired woman relished the idea of hunting me down and avenging Isslata, or if she, like me, regretted our friend’s death and felt conflicted about killing me.
“Kaiyer,” the voice echoed down the tunnels again but it was still hard to gauge the distance I had on my pursuers. The voice was close.
The tunnel opened into a wide oval that forked in two directions. One continued downward at a steep slope; the other angled upward. I studied each path as I tried to decide which to take. If I went up, it might lead back to the surface, or at the very least, lead me closer to an exit. It might grow too steep, however, forcing me to come back here and lose distance on my pursuers. The same could be said of the lower route. It might dead end or take me so deep into the bowels of the planet that I would never find my way back to the surface. I thought of the wurms beneath Nia’s castle. What other foul creatures lurked in the depths of these mountains?
I chose to go up. I tucked the three arrows into my belt and moved to the wall. Once there my fingers sought hand holds in the smooth rock. There weren’t many, but my hand strength was enough to make do with very little. Once I reached the top tunnel I looked back over my shoulder and listened. I didn’t see any light behind me or any echoes of movement, but that meant nothing.
The tunnel was steeper than I thought, I was not yet forced onto my hands and knees, but the angle was so sharp, if the floor had been even the slightest bit wet, I would have slid down the entire length like an oiled seal across ice. It wound like a corkscrew upward in a wide circle. After twenty minutes of hiking, the angle increased and I was finally forced to extinguish the light in my palm so I could use my hand to crawl.
Now I was in absolute darkness, so thick and complete it felt like I was under water.
The tunnel continued upward and I began to lose track of how long I ascended in blackness. I wasn’t used to being without my sight. It felt as if hours passed, and then days. I started to believe I had dreamed my life and in actuality my entire existence was crawling forever in darkness. There was nothing but the sound of my heart beating in panic and the stench of my fear.
A noise sounded against the walls. A slow, soft scrape. It echoed around me, making it impossible to tell if it came from in front of me or behind me. I could not tell what it was, but the sound sent sharp chills of terror through my body.
“Fuck this,” I whispered under my breath. My muscles trembled and I fought against panic. I wanted to turn around, but the Elvens were waiting in that direction. Or was I heading right toward them? The noise sounded again, a few quick scrapes and a metallic tap. It echoed clear and close, but whatever created the noise was moving away.
I took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. I was Kaiyer. I led hundreds of thousands of humans to freedom against the Elven race. I had ripped the life from dragons and lived through thousands of years and returned from death. I was without equal in combat and would dispatch any foe: human, Elven, or monster that tried to prevent me from helping my friends.
I would destroy anything that kept me from finding out about my daughter.
I crawled forward and strained my ears to hear and my nose to smell. I just needed to get out of this hole and back to Nia. Telaxthe mentioned that she studied the Destroyer. She knew of Iolarathe. There must have been some writings left that indicated how a half-breed child could be created. After all, Nadea was one.
Iolarathe visited her sister in Deadflats with my daughter. I was sure of it. Perhaps Nyarathe wrote of the encounter. I still needed to figure out how to get the information from Telaxthe and how to handle the surrender of Nia. But I would figure that out in the process of researching my daughter. If I could not negotiate with the empress, I would rip the knowledge from her dying body.
I heard the noise again, ahead of me. I saw a bit of light sliding down the smooth walls. The glow was tinged with blue, as if I had been fleeing the Elvens for the entire night and into the next day. The light grew brighter as I continued and I heard the distant sound of flowing water.
I heard more scrapes and clicks. They were closer now; I was only a few hundred yards from the exit of the corkscrew tunnel. I pulled an arrow out of my belt and carried it in my mouth while I crawled quietly around the last curve of the tunnel and into the light.
Something burned ahead, the smoky char mixed with the scent of rotting meat. What waited for me was not a group of Elvens, but the den of some creature. A shadow flicked across the dim light source.
I jumped out of the tunnel, dropped five feet, and rolled across a bed of smooth river pebbles sideways to prevent the arrows in my belt from snapping. Once I sprang to my feet I inhaled and was assaulted by the stench of rotting meat, shit, and sulfur.
I stood in a large cavern, laced with jagged toothy stalactites and stalagmites that made me feel like I was inside a giant predatory fish's maw. A tiny creek wound its way through the pebbles and rock columns in the dim blue light.
I listened for the click and scrape, but the creatures must have fled with my arrival. I heard no movement save the sound of the trickling water at my feet and the torrent of a nearby waterfall. But the stench was all around me. One side of the cavern was bathed in a blue glow, the other shadowed in darkness. I moved toward the light.
The light grew only slightly brighter as I approached its source. The tiny stream widened, but I found stepping stones and remained dry. The water smelled fresh and clean, but the putrid stench of rot grew stronger as I moved toward the light.
Finally, I saw the source of the blue glow.
“Fuck me.” The words escaped my mouth before I could even think them. They were made of fear, wonder, and awe.
It was a dragon.
A giant, still statue, roughly the same size as the beasts I recalled from our final battle with the Elvens. A hundred feet at the shoulder, stone wings spread across its back, merging with the rock of the cavern. The effigy’s massive claws clenched ferociously at the floor of the cave, churning up the stone as if it was made of soft clay.
The neck bent down from massive shoulders in an aggressive and coiled twist. The giant, tooth-encrusted maw opened in a silent scream, and the waterfall emerged from its mouth, cascading down thirty feet, forming a pool of water in which the creature stood. I glanced under the legs and saw that the tail merged into the cavern wall behind the creation.
Each scale was etched in stone and polished to the same mirror-like shine I remembered from the dragons I had slain. The statue’s eyes were nests of thousands of sapphires, each easily the size of my chest. Their sickly blue radiance illuminated the cavern like the Wisps of the ruined city I visited with Iolarathe.
At the foot of the statue, raised on a circular platform above the pond of water were a pair of bronze braziers, burning the same blue light. I could smell their flames and their smoke, but I could not see what fueled the fires.
An altar squatted between the braziers. Upon the dais sat a mass of rotting flesh, bones, and bloody organs. The stench radiated from the carcass, the blue glow furthered the sensation of fear that the scent and sight of the corpse and dragon evoked. I felt the same fear now as I had when I first saw the trio of dragons descend from the sky and incinerate thousands of my warriors in a flash of Fire and magic.
Despite my fear, a dark curiosity drew me to the altar. There were no bugs or maggots on the rotting flesh, and the body did not appear human or Elven, the rib bones were too thick and long.
I sensed movement from my side and turned my head, my body instinctively twisting away from the danger. Something wet flew by my face, and forty years of combat training took a hold of my body. I threw the arrow in my hand back at the source of the noise while I pushed myself backward off of the dais.
A high-pitched scream reverberated off of the walls of the cavern. I sprung to my feet as other screams echoed through the chamber. The creature my arrow had found moved from around the stalagmite and I got a good look at it.
It was the size of a small pony, maybe four feet at the shoulder, and resembled some unnatural amalgam of a lizard and a spider. The scales on its dark green body were dry, and the creature’s powerful-looking mouth was wider than its shoulders but shorter than made sense. That was where the resemblance to a lizard ended.
The monster had three sets of sinewy legs. The limbs were scaled like a reptile, but grew from its torso at awkward, arachnoid angles. Each of the legs ended in a cluster of grasping claws. Where a long lizard tail should have been, a bloated abdomen arched above the animal’s back like a scorpion.
My arrow had taken the creature in the side of its face, but it must have missed the brain, as the lizard-spider did not flee or falter, but glared at me with malevolence. A sick-looking liquid oozed from its abdomen, and the creature flexed the bloated sac, shooting a stream of the slime across the cavern toward me.
It smelled toxic, a noxious mix of acid and decay. I ducked behind one of the limestone columns and then ran. I heard clicking, scraping sounds closing in on me from all sides. They moved rapidly, and I dodged back behind more rock, the splatter of liquid narrowly missing me as I ducked for cover.
With the second of my three arrows in hand, I attacked the monster I had already injured with my first arrow, slamming the arrow into the creature’s head closer to its mouth. It jerked back with a scream and a frantic spasm. The shaft snapped and I dodged the animal’s arms as it tried to slash at me. I quickly surveyed the rest of the cavern. Five more lizard-spiders approached on the ground, three more clung to the limestone spikes.
Fuck.
I found a break in the monster ranks and sprinted toward it. If I had a weapon, preferably a spear, I might have stood a chance fighting the creatures. The single arrow wouldn’t do much against their numbers, and the thought of battling the toxic beasts with my bare hands was less appealing than running.
Splats of liquid dashed against the rocky columns and stone pebbles scattered behind me as I ran and twisted through stalactites. There was more movement on the ceiling, to my sides, and I heard thrashing and running behind me. I skidded to a stop around the side of the dragon and changed course to run away from a thick clump of thirty of the creatures. They were everywhere now, a swarm of bees that occupied every space of their hive.
I switched direction again and circled back in front of the statue and attempted to make for the hole where I had entered this cavern. I predicted that I could slide down the tunnel faster than the monsters and escape them. I might encounter the group of Elvens who were pursuing me, but perhaps the creatures would attack them instead of me.
The beasts seemed to anticipate my plan, and when I got close to the tunnel, dozens of the monsters emerged from the opening like angry wasps. I skidded to a halt again, jumped away from three that tried to bite me, and then ran atop two to escape into the only open spot I could find in the blue glow.
There were hundreds of the creatures now, swarming me in a tidal wave of green anger and ferocity. They chased me through the twisted teeth of the cavern. The ground was thick with them, I had to wade my way through their gnashing teeth toward the dragon statue. One of them jumped at my face and I managed to duck and roll away before he ripped into me. Another lunged for my legs and I kicked it away before its teeth connected with my shin.
I made it to the foot of the dais beneath the statue and turned my back to the pool of water and slab of stinking meat. There were too many of the beasts to count. They clung to every surface of the cavern and their hungry screams echoed through the cave.
I was going to die here, torn into pieces by thousands of teeth. I would be ripped into scraps of meat by their many claws. They would fight amongst themselves just to get a lick of my blood or a tiny scrap of my carcass. The feeling should have terrified me or driven me to despair.
Instead I was just angry.
For a second the creatures held off at the bottom of the small flight of steps leading to the altar. Maybe they were afraid of the statue, or perhaps they sensed my anger. The break in their chase gave me a chance to pull more Earth and release it.
“Die you ugly fuckers!” I screamed with the blast of Fire I unleashed. It was the same purple and green color of the magic that had burned Shlara, and this giant sphere of hate acted in much the same way. It slammed into the front rank of lizard creatures in a ball of sticky flame. Ten of them transitioned from living beings to charred skeletons in an instant. Then the sticky fire splashed and spread through the ranks of the lizards. Even small drops of the watery flame quickly ignited the monsters as if they were made of paper. Some of the creatures had time to scream; others turned and ran from the fire. This only spread the fire as contact with another one of the beasts consumed the new body in flames.
I pulled the Earth again and released a second ball of death. Then another. The creatures seemed to possess intelligence that was beyond that of a mere lizard or arachnid. At first they tried to flee from the flame, but then a small group formed to my left and attempted to charge up the stairs. I annihilated this group, but in concentrating my Fire on the attacking horde, other clusters of the creatures were left alive to take up the charge. They acted as an army and seemed to have an almost human ability to launch a coordinated attack. Smaller groups of three or four lizards charged the dais. My vision was clouding and I felt the faint sensation that came from releasing too much magic.
I had thrown maybe a dozen fireballs into the ocean of beasts. It was already much more power than any of my kin could normally harness, but there were still thousands more of the monsters and my attacks still hadn’t broken their desire to kill me. They surged toward me again in a tidal wave of scales, teeth, arms, and claws. Some were burnt by the writhing corpses of their brethren, but one of every three passed through the flames. They would bring me down with their endless numbers.
A single creature emerged from the fire and jumped up the stairs toward me. I caught the large creature’s maw and punched its skull into liquid. My hand broke against the bones there, but I hit it again with my broken fist and its head caved in like a rotten pumpkin. Another monster made a lunge, but I managed to use the corpse of the lizard in my grasp to fill the new attacker’s jaws.
Claws ripped down my thigh and I spun away from two other creatures. Now that they had the smell of my blood, dozens more plunged through the smoking, dying bodies of their kin to charge me on the dais. I kicked two aside and moved up to the pile of meat on the altar. There were just too many. I was too tired. A half-burned beast launched itself into the air and smashed into me. I fell back against the massive leg of the dragon statue. The stone held me upright, but even with my arms pressed against the creature’s throat, its snapping jaws inched closer to my face. The creature’s steaming breath reeked of acid, vomit and decay.
I was running out of strength.
A scream reverberated through the cavern and my brain. It was so loud, it took every ounce of what little willpower I had left not to let go of the lizard to cover my ears and protect them from the sound. The horrid face of the creature contorted in unmistakable pain. I took advantage of the momentary distraction and slid out to the side, smashing the monster’s head against the stone of the dragon’s leg.
The scream sounded again, louder now. I covered my ears, but it did not dampen the sound. I fell to the ground and felt my own mouth open. I felt the air rushing from my lungs, but I could not hear myself scream.
Dozens of the lizard-spiders lay beside me, contorted in the same agony. Their hunger was forgotten as was my desire to move or even escape. I just wanted the pain in my ears to stop. It was so excruciating that I wished one of the monsters would just kill me now and put an end to the agony.
“Leave.”
The single word filled my head. It sounded as if several voices of different timbres were speaking at once. Most seemed angry.
The scream echoed again, but it was a short trumpet blare as opposed to a long, draining screech. The dozens of monsters on the dais with me jolted to attention and fled down the stairs like a retreating tide of sea water. They didn’t even bother to nip, claw, or look at me.
I struggled to my feet against the vertigo that bounced in my skull. The largest gash on the side of my thigh itched and bled profusely, but I sensed no poison in the wound. It was just the feeling of my healing working to put my skin and muscles back in their correct places.
I wiped my bloody hands on my bloody shirt. The monsters had cut me many more times than I realized and blood seeped from hundreds of shallow wounds. I looked around to see who had driven off the lizard-spiders, but I was alone in the shadows of the cavern.
“Eons have passed and at last you are here.”
The voices were not spoken, they simply sounded in my head, like my own thoughts.
“But I have long since left, Master.” I realized the language was not one I had ever heard before.
Yet I understood it.
My brain connected countless memories of my many lifetimes and I felt my head spin again. I felt to my knees and looked up into the eyes of the dragon.
The voices came from the sculpture.
Chapter 12-Iolarathe
“Which dress do you prefer?” Relyara asked. She held up a black sweeping affair, another of my servants held a burgundy frilly one, and a third showcased a sleek, silver garment that looked like something I would need to wear without undergarments.
“The black. It matches my mood.” My voice came out as a growl and Relyara nodded. The other servants paused in their various grooming tasks and scurried to update the jewelry and ribbon decorations in my red hair to work better with the dress. I could smell the rotten fear that my words caused them and I noticed that a few of their hands trembled when they picked up brushes. I considered reassuring them that I was not particularly mad at them, but then I thought better of it. A healthy dose of terror would keep them alert to my needs.
I forced myself to relax on the plush stool. The outcome of tonight’s dinner meeting with my father and his elders was difficult to predict, and I hated surprises. Relyara’s network of eyes and ears in the tribe had given me interesting information on the project they had tasked Vertarus with managing. I speculated that the purpose of this dinner was either to ask me to get involved or to beg me not to interfere.
The servants finished the elaborate braiding of my hair and busied themselves with removing my silk dressing gown and putting on the black dress. While their hands worked over my body I let my thoughts wander from the upcoming dinner to more pleasant thoughts.
Kaiyer.
I almost said his name aloud just to feel it across my tongue again. Instead, I kept the sound in my mind. Even there it almost made me shiver with desire. The faint scent of my own arousal filled my nose deliciously. If the servants smelled me, they didn’t say anything or pause.
I recalled the feeling of his fingers along the arches of my feet when he washed them this morning. It was so delightfully erotic to have such contact with him. Perhaps after the dinner tonight I would make my way to the stables and teach him how to do more than wash my feet. My imagination frolicked with the idea and I actually did shiver when I imagined his rough hands caressing my naked body and his tongue licking my entrance.
The servants finished lacing up the back of the dress and I examined the end result. These tailors always surprised me. Their styling wasn’t up to date with the current trends in the desert tribes, but my father’s workers were not afraid to experiment. The black dress was bare on my right arm and shoulder and only covered the top half of the breast there. On the right side, a tight fitting sleeve extended to the back of my hand. The rest of my chest was covered on that side, but the stomach was left bare. The black material was a shiny satin and the fabric contrasted nicely with my white skin where it was exposed.
“You look ravishing, Mistress.” Relyara’s arousal was easy to smell. It mixed with the scent of my own and the combined aroma made me think of our lovemaking. “You will make an impression on the elders.”
“I always do.” I smirked and she waved the servants into the other room.
“What is your plan?” she whispered once we could hear the women begin to play their stringed instruments in my foyer.
“I don’t have one.”
“That is unlike you.” She motioned for me to sit and raise a leg so that she could place a shoe on my foot.
“Perhaps it is more appropriate to say I have many plans, depending upon how the conversation goes.” I followed her directions and felt the wetness of my warm entrance when I lifted my leg. Relyara’s lips shifted into an understanding grin and she tossed her blue-black hair over one shoulder. “It is unfortunate that you have to be downstairs so soon. It seems that you enjoy this dress as much as I.”
“It will serve its purpose during the dinner.” I returned her smile and tried to control my arousal. Relyara would wonder where I was if I visited Kaiyer at night. I would have to find something to task her with, or be satisfied with continuing my post-riding conversations with Kaiyer. These were easy to arrange with less suspicion. After riding, the members of my entourage took some time to bathe before our midday meal, no one noticed where I was then.
“It will.” She finished putting on the other shoe and I stood up from the stool. The thought of the upcoming verbal battle with my father and elders helped curb my arousal. As long as I kept thoughts of the human from my mind, I would be able to focus on the task at hand.
“Do you wish for me to walk with you?”
“No.” I took a last look in the mirror. I had better uses for my time than admiring myself, but the occasional appraisal was useful. Did Kaiyer find me attractive? I had never wondered if humans had the same feelings of disgust for my race as we did for theirs. I had never cared.
I left my suite and walked to the dining hall.
I rarely made dinner plans with my suitors or maidens. We spent almost the entire day together and I had little desire to extend those hours into the night. That was where my brother came to my aid. I had to admit that while I thought him only a few steps above a fool, he was proving very useful in keeping them occupied. He had even been able to dig up interesting gossip about each member of the group. I had already guessed at each of their motivations for courting or positioning themselves around me, but Grednil managed to ferret out various alliances transpiring between the two sexes.
He was probably entertaining them right now. I informed him yesterday that I had a dinner planned with the elders tonight and it would be of great assistance if he distracted them for a few hours. He lapped up the responsibility like a puppy and said he would take care of them so they would not bother me.
The elders awaited me in the dining hall. The mood smelled tense, and there was no conversation or laughter. The atmosphere seemed to brighten once the servants opened the doors and announced me.
“Dearest daughter, you look beautiful tonight.” My father entwined his fingers with mine briefly in greeting. He was wearing a thick coat of pleasing lavender oils that prevented me from smelling his actual scent. I quickly greeted the other elders and took my seat at the other side of the long table from my father.
I sat closest to Gnella. She was the youngest and the only female. Of the group, she was my favorite. She motioned for a servant to pour me a glass of wine. Oimon also sat near me. While I didn’t like the man as much as Gnella, we often spoke of Contania’s various antics. She was his only daughter, and while he had five other sons, I had rejected the one who tried to court me early on, his personality was grating.
The servants laid out the first course while I engaged Oimon and Gnella with small talk of my courting process. We kept the conversation light around the servants as it was an unspoken rule to keep the elder’s conversations private. I paid little attention to the food, less to the wine, and almost none to the questions coming out of Gnella and Oimon’s mouths. Instead my thoughts drifted back to the stables. I managed to keep Kaiyer in the background of my mind however, and thought about how wonderful it would be to saddle a horse and leave this place forever.
I would take Kaiyer with me.
“Iolarathe.” My father’s voice cut through the murmur of the dinner gathering. I jolted to the present and realized that the servants had left the hall. Anger rose in my chest and I struggled to contain the emotion. I needed to pay attention and not dream about something that would never happen.
“Thank you for attending this dinner with us.” The other elders nodded in agreement. Whether they agreed with his sentiment or not, they would unite for a common cause for the good of the tribe. I smiled back at him and tried not to laugh. Most members of the tribes, even descendants of the chieftain, would not be received in such a manner by the tribal elders. It was because I was the Singleborn.
“I am always happy to spend time with my family.” I raised a glass and the other elders followed my example before drinking. It was somewhat of a bold move and my father’s slight glare made it clear he wasn’t pleased about me making the first toast of the dinner. This was traditionally the chieftain’s role.
“We have many things we wish to speak with you about, Daughter,” he continued after everyone had sipped their wine. “Can you update us on the progress of your courtship? You have had the same set of suitors and maidens for almost six months now.” They turned to regard me from their seats.
“Progress is being made, Father.”
“Oh? Have you selected a suitor for breeding?” He raised an eyebrow and I inhaled to get the scent of the room.
“I am closer. It will be a male in this group,” I said with as much authority as I dared.
“Why has the selection process taken so long?” Dluuzit asked.
“I don’t care to answer your question, Elder Dluuzit. However, if it will facilitate the progression of this conversation, I will explain to you that as I am only able to produce a limited number of offspring, I take the decision very seriously and wish to take due time to ensure I am creating the strongest possible children for our tribe.”
“Have you narrowed the selection down any? Is there a particular male that you are intrigued with?” my father asked. Dluuzit, Vuma, and Zaarmo leaned forward to hear my response.
“Perhaps,” I said with a smile. “They all have their charms and strengths. I need more time to make my selection. I may choose a different male from this group for each of my births. That would mean I would remain in your care for the next dozen years.” The idea made my stomach churn, but it would be an answer that delighted them.
“This news pleases us greatly. We had our doubts about your tenure with us after the attempts on your life,” Gnella said with a sly smile. Her question helped further my guess that one of the elders, or even my father was responsible for the assassins. The woman was crafty and she had hinted to me before that she knew who orchestrated the attacks and would be willing to tell me who it was in exchange for favors.
“I disposed of the assassins. I’ll eventually find out who tasked them and exterminate that individual as well.” The meal was roasted boar and I cut a small piece and ate it. If I was eating alone I might have enjoyed the food, but in this company, it tasted bland.
“We have been investigating the attempts. The matter is difficult since none of your attackers were left alive.” Vuma’s voice had a hard edge to it and I didn’t need to smell him to know what he was hinting.
“Forgive me for defending myself, Elder. Next time I’ll just let them kill me. Or would that fall too easily into the workings of your plans?”
“Are you implying that I am behind the assassination attempts?” Outrage filled his sharp face.
I smiled and speared another bite of the meat. None of the other elders were eating either. The air smelled of tension as they watched me, probably afraid I would fling Vuma across the room again. Perhaps he meant to provoke me with his comments.
“My apologies, Elder Vuma. I meant no disrespect to you. Of course you are not behind the attempts to assassinate me.” I forced a smile to my face. I imagined my nails sliding into his eye sockets and the sensation of his skull shaking in my hands while he went through death twitches.
“Oh.” He was caught off guard, they all were. He struggled to find his next words and I took pleasure in the change in my tactics. “There is no harm, Singleborn. Let us speak of something else.” He nodded and the rest of the elders relaxed. My father returned to his meal and the others followed his example.
The second course was cleared and then the third course was laid out. My father indicated again that he wished to speak and we turned our attention to him.
“There is another important matter we wish to discuss with you. In many ways it is actually more critical to our tribe than the subject of your offspring.” I gave a slight nod. I guessed that my father already knew that I had found out about his side project.
“Before we speak of that; there was an earlier question, about your suitors, that you did not answer. You said that you would choose one from the current group, but you also indicated that you did not know whom you would breed with first.”
“That is correct,” I replied
“This complicates the matter of our next subject. We are allowing several members of competing tribes to live with us, and to have access to our most prized possession.” I felt my stomach harden when I realized he was referring to me as a possession. Of course I wasn’t considered a real Elven. I was just a tool, a way for them to gain more power, as my children would be.
“Our neighbors are warlike and jealous of the resources of our tribe. They will do anything to take what is ours, by force if necessary. We have already seen what they are capable of in their attacks on you. You have only been with us for a few years, but your arrival did not create this mistrust. We have been battling the Ubarwa, Leitive, and Proticule since the time of our great grandparents. Perhaps even longer.”
The rest of the elders nodded and he continued.
“Protocol demands that we host their descendants here for your courtship. Protocol also indicates that this should be a time of peace between our four tribes. But the attempts on your life and the cattle raids that occurred in the last six months have made us question the sincerity of our neighboring tribes. They smile to our faces and then stab us in the back for just a few cattle.”
The elders nodded again at his words. I knew of the raids on our cattle. They had resulted in a handful of Elven deaths. When I heard the news I guessed that Ubarwa was behind it. The more I studied the matter and spoke with Relyara, I considered that it may have been Proticule, since they had the most to gain from the attacks. My gentle inquiries with Alwor, Daranyet, Alatald, and Ilttaia had not gleaned me any information. The set of suitors and their matching female maidens were probably kept from the inner workings of their tribes while they were here.
But I knew they were all reporting what they observed.
“Do you wish me to dismiss them? It would probably increase tension between us.” I shrugged.
“No. I’d prefer for you to select a suitor so we have one less challenge.”
“As I said before, I am still considering. What does all this have to do with why you want to speak with me tonight?” I pulled the topic away from my selection and back to the real matter at hand.
“What do you know about humans?” He leaned into his chair and sipped on his wine glass. For a second, a shock of fear went through me. He must have found out about Kaiyer. I quickly dismissed the idea and hoped that my scent had not revealed my fear. I had been careful in my dealings with the human so far and not even Relyara suspected anything.
“Dumb, smelly, and practically useless. At least cattle give us beef for food and milk for cheese.” I smirked. I had once believed those words. Maybe I still did for all of them besides Kaiyer. He was the exception.
“The humans do possess a rudimentary intelligence. They can be trained. I never had a problem with them in the house until you arrived and took offense to them.” He smiled and chuckled a bit in his chair.
“I do have high standards,” I said and the elders laughed in agreement. I wondered, as I always did, at their motivations. Were they laughing because they feared me, or because they wished me to favor them and choose their offspring for mating? I knew it was not because they actually cared for me or found my comments amusing. The reek of deceit was thick in this room.
“We’ve had a few skirmishes with our neighbors in the last two decades. In these battles, many Elven lives were lost. Lives of our children and descendants sacrificed to defend what is rightfully ours. Your arrival has granted a short reprieve to the violence, but it is no secret that Ubarwa wants what is ours and the other tribes would be glad for scraps of our carcass,” my father continued.
“Aren’t we larger than Ubarwa? What do we have to fear from them?” I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear them give their reasons.
“We own more cattle, and more farmland. They have more mines and a higher population. They are gold rich right now, and rumor is that they are training soldiers. They have also acquired some mercenaries, and been in lengthy negotiations with Leitive. Perhaps nothing will come of this, but we feel it is best to be prepared.” The elders nodded in agreement.
“What if I choose Alwor for my mate?” I asked.
“That might befuddle their plans a bit. The intention of your breeding would be to form an alliance with another tribe, but one of your first offspring is already promised to your mother’s family. If we gave Ubarwa the other, it could be seen as a sign of weakness, as if we were giving away our bloodline just to appease them. If you were to breed with Alwor for a second time, this could create a lengthy truce.”
“Or, it would mean they need nothing more from us except for our land,” Gnella astutely pointed out from her seat next to me.
“Your current delay in choosing a mate creates opportunities as well as frustrations for us. No one will act until you decide,” Vuma said. It was an angle I had not considered before this meeting. I had guessed that whoever was organizing attempts on my life was doing so to thwart the breeding process. Either out of jealousy for my father’s power, or because they realized their tribe would not benefit from my offspring. Vuma’s words made my mind scatter with possibilities. Anyone who wanted war between our tribes would want me dead as soon as possible to expedite the process.
Or they might want me to choose a mate from my own tribe to erode any possibility of a truce.
“It sounds like you wish me to delay in choosing.”
“For now, yes. But this strategy cannot leave this room. We have to appear from all outside gossip to be angry at how long your decision is taking. All of my communication to your mother and our current dialogue has been to that effect.” I noticed that the servants were no longer in the room and had not been present since my father began to speak.
“But keeping your suitors around creates complications the chieftain already hinted at. Earlier, your father asked your opinion about humans,” Dluuzit said. His words were careful and calculated. I had once thought him a fool, but his actions over the last few years gave me reason to believe that he was the smartest of the elders. “You answered truthfully, and your honesty reveals what most of our kind believes of the slave race. They are weak, dumb, and have very little use beyond simple work in houses and the fields.” The elders nodded at his words and the old Elven continued, “But they are loyal to their masters; they are terrified of punishment. Nonetheless, it is our duty to the Dead Gods to ensure that they are put to good use. What if they could serve as our defenders?”
“I don’t see how. They are weak and slow. Most of them cannot even balance on their hands.” They were getting close to telling me what was actually happening in the training fields and I was going to continue to feign ignorance of their plans. They didn’t need to know I had eyes and ears everywhere in our land.
“What if their strength could be enhanced? What if they could be trained to fight even better than our own kind?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t believe it.”
“We have found a way,” my father said.
“How?”
“Magic,” Dluuzit replied. “Ancient magic, that dates back to the time when the Dead Gods lived. We are able to infuse it into humans, and they were able to perform incredible feats of strength and speed. In some cases they are as strong as we are.”
“I have never heard of such a thing. Where did you find such magic?” I knew they were experimenting on humans and giving them combat training, but Relyara had not learned of the magic from her network of observers.
“There are several ruins in our lands. They were once proud cities and villages that our ancestors inhabited in the time of the Gods. When they were betrayed by the humans, the cities were destroyed. Most are overgrown with foliage and have little to offer us. One however, a few hours ride to the south, had an underground complex filled with ancient texts and devices.” I nodded at his words and immediately wanted to visit the place. I had never been interested in the lore of our people, but the idea of exploring a ruined city and finding unseen treasures sounded like an interesting break from entertaining my suitors.
“The language of our ancestors does not translate well into our current spoken word, but I have been able to glean enough understanding of the process to begin my experiments. It has occupied most of my time for the last five years. The experiments finally produced results a few months ago and we have begun training some of our new human stock,” Dluuzit continued.
“Training an army takes space. It will be hard to keep it a secret for long,” I said.
“Exactly.” My father nodded. “We would like your help in ensuring that none of your suitors or maidens finds out about our endeavor.”
“What about the legends?” I smirked before taking a long drink from my wine glass.
“What of them?” Dluuzit asked.
“Humans killed the Gods and then were punished. We are the enforcers of their slavery. It is why we have access to the World,” I replied.
“That is one story. Perhaps it is true, perhaps it is not.” Dluuzit shrugged his shoulders. I could sense a shift in the room and smell the scent of bad citrus from Gnella. She was worried.
“Do you deny the existence of the Dead Gods?” I almost laughed. I never imagined I would be discussing religion with any of my father’s elders. I could not do much more debating on the subject. The Gods had never interested me, whether they had lived or not, the undisputed fact was that they were now dead, and held no power over me.
“I fail to see how these humans and the Dead Gods are connected. Our new slaves are strong, fast, difficult to kill, and loyal beyond what you might believe. They are the ultimate weapon, and if we continue on this path, our tribe can realize power and prestige beyond what our ancestors even dreamed.” Dluuzit’s voice grew passionate and the room filled with the scent of honey.
“You are really too stupid to see the connection? When humans had the powers of the World, they killed the Gods. We were tasked with overseeing them to prevent this from happening again. Giving them this power is a direct violation of the wishes of the Gods, dead or not. The other tribes will intervene if they discover what you are doing. And they may be correct to do so.” I set the wine glass down and laced my fingers together on the table. “This may actually provoke all the neighboring tribes to form an alliance to attack us. You may even bring the wrath of all the Elven people onto our tribe for playing with the power the Gods entrusted to our race.” The honey scent quickly went rancid.
“Daughter,” the chieftain said, and the attention in the room shifted to him. “The rewards we will reap vastly outweigh the risks you speak of. As long as you can keep your friends away from the training grounds, we will have enough of a head start to solidify our power.”
“I would like some time to consider your words. Perhaps dessert should be served while I think?”
“Very well,” my father said. He got up from his seat and left the room through the doors to the kitchen. Zaarmo turned to speak to me but I raised my finger to cut off his words and leaned back in my chair.
There was a risk to this endeavor. I knew that well enough. The question really was one of how much that risk could impact my own life. If another tribe did find out about these humans, the Laxile tribe would be massacred. I was certain of this. However, I doubted that I would be included in such a genocide. I was the only Singleborn alive and I could pretend to be ignorant of their experiments. A war council of tribal leaders would be happy to look the other way to preserve my life.
On the other hand, if this experiment went as my father and Dluuzit predicted, the Laxile tribe would enjoy a healthy dose of power. While we were the strongest tribe within a few days' horse ride, there were many other tribes more powerful than my father’s family.
Humans bred plentifully and quickly. If they were as strong and loyal as Dluuzit believed, we could easily create a fighting army of several hundred thousand in a few decades. We would be unstoppable, even if the other tribes later copied our strategy, our head start would give us a tremendous advantage that they might never be able to match.
The door to the dining hall opened and a stream of servants entered to clear plates and lay out dessert. Smoky chocolate drifted to my nose and I took my attention from my mental scenarios and paid heed to the cake laid out on my plate. It was a masterpiece covered with sharp-smelling mint and ripe raspberries.
After the servants cleared the room we began to enjoy the cake. I let several minutes pass and did not indulge any of the elders with a look or scent that might confirm my decision.
“I have considered what you have told me,” I finally said. They looked up from their desserts eagerly.
“I will agree to your plans and support your efforts by delaying my selection of a mate. I will also do what I can to keep my suitors and maidens from the fields you are using to conduct this work. I cannot be everywhere at once, so you will have to do some of your own guard work to prevent them or their staff from wandering astray.”
“We can deal with that.” My father nodded. He smiled broadly and the scent of the room took on the honey aroma again.
“I have a few conditions though,” I said to cut off the pleasant smell.
“They are?”
“Private, for you and I to discuss alone. Now that your elders have finished their dessert, perhaps they can leave us to work out the details?” I glanced at the older Elvens. A few, like Vuma and Dluuzit, looked annoyed that I wished to speak with my father alone. The others smelled grateful to be done with the conversation. All rose from the table and bowed slightly to us before leaving.
Once they were gone, I got out of my chair and sat next to my father. I doubted that the elders would eavesdrop, but I kept my voice to a whisper.
“If this experiment goes as planned, Laxile will become the most powerful tribe in existence. Your legacy will last forever,” I began.
“I am glad you see the potential.” He nodded, and I could smell the vanilla of the pleasure my words caused.
“If this happens, I want you to remove the mandate for me to breed.”
“That will be impossible. Our entire race wants you to create offspring.” He frowned.
“What the entire race wants will no longer dictate our actions if we have this army of humans,” I finished for him.
My father leaned back in his chair and seemed to ponder my request.
“Do you prefer women, then?”
“No. I have not found an appropriate male. Perhaps I will one day.”
“You told us that you would select from the current suitors.” He smirked
“I have few other options at this point. I could not find one worthy in my mother’s lands. Now I am encountering the same here. I would prefer to have more time to decide. Will you agree?”
“There is tremendous pressure for you to create offspring. We will have a force strong enough to combat our neighbors in say, five years, but having an army large enough to battle distant tribes might take three times as long.”
“You will have to move faster. We can continue this dance for the next five years, then I will announce that I do not intend to breed in the near future.”
“Fine. What other conditions do you have?” he asked.
“The stables at the south hill of the mansion. I want them.” I crossed my arms and licked my lips to taste his scent.
“I don’t understand your request. You can use them anytime. You have been riding every single morning for the last two months.” His scent confirmed the confusion on his face.
“Yes, but I only want my horses stabled there. I intend to start a breeding program. I don’t want anyone to bother me when I am in the stables. Tell the elders to move their horses and your stable master to begin reporting to me.”
“Breeding horses? Didn’t you just kill the one that Leitive gifted to you?” He smirked and his scent changed to a bitter citrus peel.
“Fusik challenged me to tame the beast. It threw me, so I punished it.” I shrugged. “It did get me thinking about this hobby, and I want the stable to myself.” Kaiyer had seen the massive stallion throw me from its back and I lost my temper.
“That is a simple request. We can build another smithy and stable easily enough and move the human slaves there. Will you need more Elven servants to care for the horses?”
“No. Keep the humans there.” He raised an eyebrow. “If we are betting on this new army I should make attempts to get used to their foulness. Besides, I’ve already trained them to work with my horses.”
“What of the smith? He is very skilled and the house uses his services frequently.”
“Have work requests submitted to me. If he has time, I will approve them.” I had not thought of the smith’s duties.
“Very well. I will inform the elders and staff tonight. What else?”
“I do not care to know any more of these experiments or the training you are conducting on the humans. I do not want to be involved in any meetings or updates that Dluuzit and Vertarus give you. Keep me away from it.”
“Why? You indicated that you agreed with this.” His scent changed to burnt sage.
“The less I know of the details, the easier it will be for me to keep it from the people you want me to hide it from. I don’t need any more knowledge of your experiments.” He nodded, and I guessed that he never considered that, if the situation was discovered, I could use my ignorance for protection.
“I can agree to that as well.” He laughed. “The news will no doubt crush poor Vertarus. He was counting on showing them off to you one day.”
“Males around me should be used to disappointment by now.” I smirked and my father laughed louder.
“Those words come from your mouth, but they sound like a script written by your mother.”
“That is all. I will retire now. Goodnight, Father.” I tried to hide my anger at his comparison to my mother.
“Goodnight, Daughter.” He nodded as I stood and I felt him watching me walk out of the dining hall.
Instead of walking back to my suite, I decided to head to the garden. The moon was still low in the sky, and while the night was brisk and breezy, the temperature was not unpleasant. I sat on the stone benches amongst the mellow smelling apple orchard and listened to the soft music drifting from the house. My entourage was gathered in my half-brother’s room and their laughter punctured the music like a second song.
It was a shame to let this dress go to waste. I supposed that the garment had already served its purpose. The elders and my father saw me in it. I wondered what Kaiyer would think of it. He had only seen me in riding pants and traveling blouses. I debated walking down to the stables. I wanted to teach him how to lick and fuck me and this dress would work perfectly. I thought of his rough hands sliding over the smooth dress and my even smoother skin. Shivers over took my body and my entrance clenched around empty wetness. Even fantasizing about him brought me close to climax, it was so deliciously wanton.
I sighed and fought to control the arousal in my body. Unfortunately, a journey to the stables at this hour would be too dangerous. If I was seen walking down the hill, there would be questions I could not easily explain away. No one would believe that I would want to go riding at this hour, but I did have some time before anyone would wonder where I was. I wavered for a moment between the two paths and I decided on the safer choice, rose from the bench and walked back toward the manor. Relyara would be eager to hear details of the meeting and she would help take the edge off of my arousal. Her tongue would do until I had my way with Kaiyer.
Chapter 13-The O’Baarni
“Why dragons?”
“Why not?” Shlara shrugged her shoulders and leaned back against the trunk of the redwood tree we lunched beneath.
“You don’t do anything without a reason.” I laughed and took another bite of roast boar. We had caught the animal a few hours ago and cooked it slowly above a smoking stack of cedar bark. It needed a bit more salt, but otherwise tasted rich and flavorful.
“You never care to hear of the Elven’s mythos.” We had a small pot of pine needle tea brewing near the fire and she refilled her pewter cup.
“You picked dragons because of the Elvens?”
“Elvens apparently hate the creatures. My tribe used to brand humans with a mark that looked like a dragon whenever one tried to escape. Then they tortured and killed them.”
I nodded at her words and let her pour me another cup of the tea. The cook site and sheltering grove of trees perched high on a cliff face that overlooked the ocean. Currents were mild, and the waves made a soothing murmur as they caressed the rocky face of the shore. The sun would set in a few hours and we hoped to catch the last light of the day when it danced across the water.
“When I escaped with my people I went to sleep every night worried that we would be caught. Perhaps that is another reason I picked the dragon image. The Elven legends say they were cunning and once led vast armies against their Gods.”
“Stories told to frighten slaves.” I shook my head.
“Maybe. But I won’t rule out their existence just because I haven’t seen one.” She smiled and stretched her arms up against the trees. Her new leather and chain armor squeaked when it rubbed against itself. Within a few months it would be broken in and make little noise.
“I think each of us has chosen a fitting totem.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Malek values teamwork, so a wolf, who hunts in packs, works for him. Alexia is like a snake because she is sleek and silent and often goes unnoticed until she strikes. Gorbanni and Thayer’s symbols are the most fitting.” We both laughed at their similarities to a ram and bear.
“Even your emblem is appropriate. You are bringing death to our enemies,” she said to me. I nodded and leaned back on the moss-covered rock near the fire. Silence sat between us for a few minutes as we both studied the sea.
“Thank you for joining me today,” I said to her.
“Of course! You know I would do anything for you. Especially if it means we have some time alone.” I nodded and turned back to the ocean to hide my smile. Today marked the anniversary of her promotion last year to commander. Since that time she had made too many improvements in the army for me to count.
“A ship.” I pointed out into the water where the vessel skimmed across the surface of the dark waves. It was three, maybe four miles away, so I could only make out a few oars.
“I don’t see one. Where are you looking?”
“Directly west. Where the clouds meet.”
“Point to it again?” She crouched on the boulder next to me with her cheek pressed up against mine. Her skin smelled of leather oil, pine needles, and cedar. The closeness to her made my heart beat quicker, but I tried to ignore it while I pointed out to the horizon.
“Green sail and orange hull. Looks like there are people at the oars and on the deck.” I had only seen a few small boats in my life. Elvens didn’t care much for sailing and left most of the ocean uncharted.
“I don’t see a boat. Seems odd that Elvens would be that far out.” She leaned forward next to me and shielded her eyes from the setting of the sun. Then she moved her face closer to my arm. “My eyes aren’t as good as yours.” She sat back next to me with a shrug. Her indifference surprised me, she must have been interested in discussing why I asked her to join me here.
I continued to study the boat. Behind me I heard Shlara sip her tea and cut herself more boar meat. The vessel crested a final wave and disappeared over the horizon. The sun was low in the sky and the water reflected its orange light.
“Are we spending the night out here?” Shlara asked.
“I was thinking about it.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks reddened against the twilight and she glanced back to the fire nervously. It reminded me of the time she first came to my tent to introduce herself a year and a half ago.
“I spend time with all of my commanders. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with you much outside of our daily tasks. This will give us a chance for us to become better friends.”
“I would like that.” She smiled and pulled her hair back from one side of her head to expose her neck to me. Her hands stayed on the long dark brown locks and absently stroked them.
“Me too. Thayer and I have known each other for what feels like an eternity. We escaped our tribe together. I have known Alexia almost as long. Shortly after Thayer and I formed the army with Entas, we were scouting and found her being attacked by Elvens.”
“I’ve never heard about that from her. She is quiet about her past. I asked your other commanders about you, but they didn’t tell me much. I put the pieces together. They were raping her?” I nodded, grateful she had changed the subject quickly back to Alexia. My other commanders did not tell her much about me because they knew little about my life as a slave. Even Thayer and I had not known each other until we were forced together in the Elven army. I never spoke of my family or Iolarathe. “That happened in our tribe often, fortunately, my family was placed in the fields working the farm and I had very little interaction with the main estate.”
“Farming is physically demanding. It must have been difficult.” Shlara had joined our army after leading a few hundred of her people across the wilderness in search of us. They were all starving and would have only lasted a few more weeks had she not found us when she did. As thin as she had been, she did not have the hardened look of someone who had borne hundreds of hours of hard labor outdoors.
“I was more involved with the animals of the tribe. We would use pigs, goats, and sheep to prepare the land for planting. It helps reduce human labor and increase food production.”
Thayer and I used to handle the logistics of food production for the army. Alexia took over and, along with Gorbanni, had managed to feed the army for many years. Shlara’s methods had helped us immensely and we almost never needed to worry about feeding the army now.
“Of course,” she continued, “it makes it harder when we are always on the move. If we could stay in one place for a few years, we could feed an army twenty times our size.”
“You and Alexia will have to figure out a way. I plan on the army being one hundred times larger than it is now. But we must keep moving. It protects us from discovery and helps us stage more successful attacks.”
“I can just see it,” she laughed. “It will be a logistical nightmare. You might as well promote me now to General of the Latrines.”
“I like that title,” I laughed with her. “Instead of dragons on your armor we'll etch mushrooms and your reports will carry rakes and shovels instead of spears.”
“Ugh!” she moaned. “Our helmets will come with perfumed scarves to wrap around our noses and the boots will be more like galoshes.”
“It will be hard to recruit people, but easy to train them,” I said and our laughter echoed into the night.
“Speaking of shit and latrines,” she wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, “I’ve designed a new outhouse. It should help us turn the waste into compost quicker. I left the designs back at the camp, but I can tell you about it now if you wish.”
“Sure,” I agreed and we spent the next hour going over her idea. It seemed promising, so I gave her permission to borrow carpenters and build a few outhouses.
“Despite the amount of time we devoted to discussing shit, this has been a fun night,” she said at last when the conversation had slowly turned to discussing the lay of the night sky. “I was nervous when you asked me to come with you.”
I grunted and sipped my tea. Spiced wine would have gone better with the boar and I wished I had brought some. Then again, Entas swore pine needle tea was the source all of his power.
“Tomorrow morning, we’ll head back. We’ll try to do this every couple of months. I have a strong friendship with the rest of my commanders and I want the same with you.”
“Is a friendship all you want from me?” Her voice was soft. Not a whisper, but not much more.
“That and dedication. The same traits you and I discussed when you first came to the camp.” I looked past the fire to her and saw her green eyes aglow with the orange light. Her heart was beating quickly.
“I am grateful to be your commander and serve in the army. I had my doubts about being promoted, especially after the thrashing you gave my team last year.”
“You are cocky.”
“So are you,” she replied back with a smile.
“You have proven yourself to me, Shlara. Continue to do so and your desire to be my best general will be fulfilled.” I looked away from her eyes and back into the fire.
“What if I have other desires?” Her voice was husky. I knew what she hinted at; Shlara had not outright admitted her feelings for me, but had done more than hint at them several times. It was part of the reason I had hesitated to spend time alone with her. I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. Entas had disagreed and my mentor had encouraged me to treat her as I did my other commanders.
“Everything will come to us after the Elvens are destroyed,” I said plainly. I did not meet her gaze.
“I expected that answer,” she sighed. “Unless there is something else you wish to do tonight, we should get some sleep. The sooner I help you destroy the Elvens, the better.” She lay her bedroll down between mine and the fire. For a second, I debated telling her to move it a bit farther away, perhaps to the other side of the campfire, but then I decided against it.
“Agreed.” I curled up on the mat next to her and listened to the ocean’s lullaby for a few minutes before sleep took me into darkness.
Chapter 14-Kaiyer
The sound of the ocean woke me from my slumber. I rolled toward the campfire and sighed. I doubted Shlara would mind if I took a few extra minutes of sleep before we broke our fast and journeyed back to the army. Despite the full night’s rest, I was exhausted. My bedroll felt like a solid piece of marble.
“Your habits remain as I recall.”
The voices echoed in my head. I jumped to my feet and realized that I was not on the cliff overlook camping with Shlara. Instead, I lay at the feet of the dragon statue on the dais. What I had thought was the campfire was the eerie blue light of the braziers. The sound of the ocean from my dream was the flow of water that crashed into the pool from the dragon statue’s mouth.
There was no movement from the stone dragon, or any sound from the rest of the caravan where I suspected the thousands of lizard-spider creatures waited for me. I turned up to the eyes of the statue and pondered whether the voice had actually come from it.
“How long have I been asleep?” I asked cautiously. My words hung in the air and then were lost in the sound of the falling water.
“How do I explain time to you? You have been asleep for eternity.”
They were whispers in my head, each voice spoke at a different tempo, creating a disorienting echo. My brain started to hurt.
“What are you?”
“You recall so little. It is disappointing, but foreseen. Name me now and I will carry that title until you forget me again.”
“I don’t understand.” The voices felt as if they came from the statue, but I didn’t really hear them. They just slammed into my brain like a punch from the back of my head.
“You do not want to understand. Maybe you wish not to.”
“Mulakanna’teall.” The word escaped my mouth as I exhaled.
“Yesssssss!” the voices hissed and purred with pleasure. “You have not forgotten your servant.”
“How are you my servant? How do I know your name?” There was still no movement from the statue, but I expected it to come alive at any second and attempt to destroy me.
“I followed your instructions. None of your enemies have come before you. Not the O’Baarni, their servants, or my traitorous siblings.”
“Why would the O’Baarni come here before me? Who are their servants?”
“You asked me to guard this world from them. Then half an eternity passed. I wondered if you forgot about your servant. Anger came. Anger left. Fear came. Silence came. My bones returned to this world. Only my dreams are here. They know more than I did.”
“What do your dreams know?” Nothing these voices said made any sense to me and I wondered why I had even bothered to ask it another question.
“They know why you never relieved me of my task. They know why you have finally come to this world. The reconciliation is close at hand.”
“Reconciliation?” Pain shot through my head again.
“Mistakes will be accounted for. The beings will be set free or damned.”
“Whose mistakes? Beings? I don’t understand.”
“She knows you are in this form. Now she sends her minions after you. They will take the Ovule to her and all will be lost.”
“They don’t want to take the Ovule from me. They offered me one to leave this world.” Vernine had tried to give me the leather backpack which contained the Ovule.
“You struggle to forget, while my dream fades. I wish I could tell you more, but once I am gone, the creatures will return for your flesh and then she will be victorious. Leave this place. Protect the Ovule.”
“How do I leave?”
“You created life with Water. My dream fades now. Farewell, Master. Remember me as your greatest servant, for I was the last of my kind,” the voices whispered in my ear, as soft as Jessmei when we lay in the cave those many months ago.
The blue light faded from the sapphire gems in the statue’s eyes. Their intensity was mirrored by the magical torches that sat upon the dais. Their light also began to fade and along with it, the distant rasps of the lizard creatures rose.
Fuck.
The light extinguished suddenly, and I was plunged into absolute blackness. The screams of the creatures echoed through the cavern like trumpets. I could hear the ocean sound of their claws scraping off the walls as they ran toward me. The noise blended with the roar of the waterfall flowing from the effigy’s mouth.
The sound of the pool made me consider what Mulakanna’teall said of water. It must be draining somewhere, or it would have overflowed.
The approaching monsters made my heart race in my chest. If this did not work, I would die. Fuck, even if the pool did have a drain, there was no telling if I could hold my breath long enough to make it to wherever it ended. I had escaped the Elvens before using the dark river beneath Castle Nia. I could hold my breath for upwards of ten minutes, but there was no surer way to kill an O’Baarni or Elven than drowning. Lack of air cut off the functioning of our brain rendering us unable to heal. This was why both our races feared the ocean.
The lizard-spiders grew closer. I could not stay here. The water was a dangerous choice, but it still gave me a chance. I took a few deep breaths, then dove into the pool at the dragon’s feet.
The water was cold. For a precious second I froze in shock and almost lost the air in my lungs. I pushed through and swam toward the bottom of the pool. There was a strong current and I felt some of the stress of my choice leave my mind. I found the tunnel at the bottom of the pool. I couldn’t see anything through the darkness, but the current was strong and I let it carry me downward in its embrace.
I could hear nothing but the sound of my heart hammering in my chest and the pulling swish of the water. I reached out my hands and felt the sides of a smooth tunnel. It was probably four feet in diameter, wide enough for me not to worry about getting caught and trapped.
I counted.
The water grew colder. My blood felt like ice. I remembered sitting under the waters of the river while I waited for Jessmei’s three Elven captors to ford it. These waters were even colder. Numbness filled me everywhere and I pulled more Earth into my body in an effort to warm myself with magic.
Sixty.
Where would this flow of water leave the mountains? I guessed it would be at the mouth of the river that fed the bottom of the valley. If Vernine’s warriors were still at the keep, I could avoid them and make my way back to the castle. Then I remembered what the dragon said to me. I needed to get the Ovule from Vernine. I needed to keep it from the empress.
One hundred and twenty.
There were other Ovules. I had left one beneath the castle in Nia. There was the one Kannath had used to bring his warriors to this world. The empress must have some as well since she had traveled here through the Radicle with her entire army. Why did the dragon want me to keep one Ovule?
One hundred and eighty.
Nadea must have also had an Ovule. The thought struck me suddenly. She brought me through a Radicle. Or was I already on this world, frozen in sleep? Paug said I was sleeping when he saw me and he spoke words to awake me. I should have asked him what those words had been. Nadea had taught him the words. She told him what to do.
Two hundred and forty.
How did Nadea know where I was? How did she know to awaken me, or how to do it? If she had not used an Ovule, did she wield some other sort of magic? My brain spun and then I realized that I actually was spinning in the current. I was caught in a riptide. My foot found a wall and I pushed off of it, praying to whatever luck I had that I would launch myself in the direction that would take me out of this endless, icy hell.
Three hundred.
Maybe there were other objects named Ovules the dragon spoke of? What did the name mean? It had something to do with plants . . . seeds, flowers . . . Shlara had spoken to Alexia once about a garden. They had used the word.
Three hundred and sixty.
My heart was throbbing and I felt the uncomfortable tightness in my chest that indicated I would need to breathe soon. The current wasn’t moving fast enough, so I took a few hesitant kicks with my legs to speed along my travel.
What if the Ovule was a person? The thought struck me suddenly from the darkness and made my mind recoil as if I had actually been punched.
Four hundred and twenty.
How did I know the dragon’s name? It came to my mouth unbidden, but as soon as I spoke it, I knew it was correct. There was something about the creature that felt familiar. It was the way it spoke to me. It felt like I had conversed with it before. But that was impossible. The feeling in my stomach when I said its name was the same feeling I had when I guessed that the Ovule was actually a person. I knew I was right, but I did not know why.
Four hundred and eighty.
I slammed into a wall and almost lost the saved air in my lungs. I had been holding out my hands in the direction the water pushed me, but I wasn’t prepared for the speed at which I hit the smooth surface. I skipped across the rock with a grunt of surprise and then bounced into the flow again. If I drowned down here, I wouldn’t even know it. Everything was already black.
Five hundred and forty.
If the Ovule was a person, who would it be? The dragon said that she was sending minions after me. He said they would take the Ovule and all would be lost. I must protect the Ovule, but who was the Ovule? Who was the dragon afraid of?
Six hundred.
I was missing something. I could feel that I was close to understanding what the dragon wanted. His words did not make any sense, but if the Ovule was a person then Mulakanna’teall inferred that I knew her.
Her.
Nadea.
Six hundred and sixty.
If any person could be an Ovule, it would be the duchess. Other than my daughter, she was the only Elven-human hybrid known to exist. The signs were there. She was able to retrieve me from the Radicle without an Ovule because she was the Ovule. Perhaps the Ovules were named after those people who could operate the Radicles without the aid of the magical orbs. I had not understood it completely, but I had sensed Nadea’s power when I changed her into an O’Baarni.
Seven hundred and twenty.
But who did I need to protect Nadea from? If Vernine was being honest with me, Telaxthe had already captured Nadea. Mulakanna’teall said that she knew I was in this form. What did he mean? Who was she?
Seven hundred and eighty.
My lungs were screaming. Demanding to breathe. Every heartbeat was agony. The current continued to push me, faster than before, but there was still no hint of light, no sign of air. Just fast moving water in the darkness of my mind.
Eight hundred and forty.
Fuck I was tired. Exhausted. My body hurt beyond compare. I wanted to breathe.
Please let me breathe.
Nadea. Jessmei. Shlara. Malek. Alexia. Thayer. Gorbanni. Greykin. Beltor. Danor. Entas.
Paug.
Iolarathe.
Please let me breathe. The darkness is too much. The pain is too great.
Nine hundred.
Chapter 15-Iolarathe
“How was your ride?” Relyara handed me a cup of steaming tea as soon as I walked into my suite.
“Glorious!” I sighed. It had been only half an hour or so since I left Kaiyer back in the stables and the smoky scent of him still lingered on me. I took a sip of the tea. While it was warm and delicious, I wanted to celebrate with something more. “I desire a bottle of wine.”
“Yes, Mistress. I will fetch one.”
“First have a bath started. Then the wine,” I said after a second thought. She nodded, and I sat at the small table in the foyer of my suite sipping the tea and thinking of Kaiyer’s facial expressions and joy during his first ride. My lover had a natural talent for riding. Had he been born an Elven, he may have had the necessary years to master the discipline. Though he was young for their species and still had plenty of time left to master whatever skill he might choose, humans were not allowed to choose.
And they certainly weren’t allowed to ride horses.
“The water is ready, Mistress.” Relyara’s husky voice interrupted my thoughts. One of my servants entered from the hallway with a bottle of wine on a platter spread with cut apples and cheese. Relyara was very thoughtful.
I set aside my tea and moved into the steaming tub. The hot water was a fitting end to a session of riding, exploring ancient ruins, and lovemaking.
“You seem lost in thought.”
“As lost as any Singleborn could be.” I thought about asking her to leave, but then I reconsidered. I already missed Kaiyer and didn’t want to be alone.
“Pour yourself a glass and share the meal with me.” I pointed at the platter. There wasn’t a second glass, but Relyara found one quickly and then did as I asked.
“What made it glorious?” she asked.
“Humm?”
“The ride. You said it was glorious.”
“I rode out to the ruins to the southwest.”
“That is a dangerous place to go. Especially alone.” Her scent changed to lemons.
“There was a carrion beast lurking around, but it knew better than to come near me.” I smiled slightly and took a bite of apple and cheese.
“Now you are speaking complete foolishness. Next you will tell me there were Wisps dancing through the ruins and you frolicked amongst them.” She shook her head and her dark blue-black hair rippled beautifully.
I was about to reply, but a knock sounded at the distant door of my foyer. Relyara excused herself and moved to answer it. I closed my eyes again and leaned back enough in the tub to soak most of my hair. I imagined the water was Kaiyer’s fingers running against my scalp. Then I thought of his hands rubbing over the rest of my wet body. I realized I was holding my breath and I let it out in a long sigh.
It had only been a few hours since we fucked, yet I wanted him again. Would I ever grow bored with the human? I wondered if I was only attracted to him because of the danger our couplings presented, but then dismissed the idea. It was his scent that first attracted me to him and his other attributes only increased my desire to be around him.
My left hand slid down my stomach and between my legs. Thoughts of him were arousing me to distraction and my fingers gently caressed the soft, sensitive, nub of flesh at the top of my entrance. His penis was long and thick. Even when I was dripping wet we almost couldn’t fit him into my tunnel.
“Mistress.” Relyara was standing next to the tub. Her scent was bitter with concern.
“What?”
“One of my servants overheard Ripthe conversing with Alwor a few moments ago. Vuma’s son said that he witnessed you returning from a ride with a human.”
Coldness filled my stomach instantly and the chill fought against the warmth of the bathwater, numbing my skin. I always paid careful attention to ensure that there were no witnesses to my excursions and tonight had been no different.
“What else was said?” I realized that there was a servant standing behind the dark-haired woman. Relyara gestured to the girl and she stepped forward.
“They seemed drunken, Mistress.” The servant’s red eyes were wide and her rotting fear scent overpowered the lavender oils of my bath.
“Give me your opinion only when I ask for it. Tell me exactly what was said.” I tried to keep my temper in check. My nails dug into the porcelain of the tub.
“Y-y-yes, Mistress.” She bowed with her stutter. “Ripthe returned to his guest room a quarter of an hour ago with Alwor. They both carried bottles of wine and were angry. Ripthe was speaking of . . .” she glanced at Relyara and then back to me. “’A bitch that was manipulating them while she fucked disgusting humans.’ Alwor asked for more detail and Ripthe said that he saw you return from a late night ride with the human that worked in the stables.”
“What did Alwor say to that?” I tried to force my body to calm.
“Alwor said he couldn’t believe it, but then Ripthe began to speak of why you haven’t chosen a suitor yet for breeding. He said that you must be some sort of abomination that preferred to fuck animals instead of Elven men. Then he said he was going to talk to his father and the chieftain about your sickening behavior. Alwor said he should be cautious and that he could not believe you would be with a human until he witnessed it himself.”
“They seemed to realize I was in the room at that point, and they yelled at me to leave. I came here immediately.”
“Did they see you walk in this direction?” I asked.
“No. I closed the door behind me.”
“Go fetch my half-brother. Tell him I require his presence immediately.”
“Yes, Mistress.” She seemed relieved by the dismissal and bowed low before running out of the bathroom.
“Is this true?” Relyara crossed her arms and her scent betrayed her shock. I got out of the tub and began to dry off my slick body.
“Do you think it is true?” I glared at her and motioned for her to retrieve my bathrobe.
“I want to say no.” She handed me the robe and I quickly donned it.
“So you do believe that I am fucking humans?”
“I will believe what you tell me, Mistress.” She bit her lip and I could smell her fear now. Like rotten vegetables.
“I won’t beat you. You are the only friend I have in this place. The only person I can trust.” I turned to face her and laid my hands on her shoulders. “Do you think I would fuck a human?”
“No, Mistress. I wouldn’t believe it. But you have been acting distant for the last six months. You have been spending more time alone at the stables and you have not made love with me as often as you used to. I simply assumed you had another lover you preferred and were meeting them at the stables.”
“Did you have a spy follow me?” She looked shocked at my question, but her scent bloomed with bitter fear and terror, a reeking compost pile.
“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper. She knew better than to lie now. I should have guessed that Relyara already knew of Kaiyer. She had her nose in everything transpiring within the tribe. That was why she was so useful to me.
“So?” I drew my tongue across my lips.
“I am sorry, Mistress. I did it to protect you. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
“You know of the human then.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Four months.” I nodded and motioned for her to follow me out through the bathroom, my bedroom, and into the foyer. Relyara could have betrayed me, but she had not. I trusted her before, but now her loyalty was proven.
“Sit.” I pointed at the plush leather chair next to mine.
“Who else knows?” I asked.
“The spy was one of my best servants. After he told me, I had him killed and his body fed to the pigs. He was not missed.” I nodded. Relyara ran the servants of the mansion as well as personally attending me.
“What do you advise?” I exhaled and looked at the beautiful woman. She was not often caught off guard, but I could tell that she was not expecting me to ask her this. She probably believed I would kill her.
“If the other tribes or elders find out that you were with a human, it will be a horrible loss of power for you and your father. He will be forced to choose a mate for you immediately, and whoever mates with you will request that the human be tortured and killed.”
“Ridiculous. Males fuck human females all the time. None of those women are killed.” I felt anger and frustration fill my stomach. Fuck. I should have been more careful.
“You are the Singleborn. You are supposed to be breeding and have been spinning stories to keep from mating. If it is because of this human, then he will be removed. His life means nothing.”
“So what should I do?”
“Pick a suitor right now. Make the announcement immediately.”
“I can’t.” I sighed and gripped the arms of the chair. Deciding tonight would hurt my father’s venture with the human army. He needed another few years. Nor was that what I wanted. The thought of mating with any of the available males made me ill. “What are my other options?”
“Deny it.” She leaned forward and sudden passion entered her voice. “Ripthe did not see you fuck the human. He has no proof. He said he saw you riding with a human, but it was dark, and he was drinking. Tell your brother to lie and say he was out with you. Or tell another one of your suitors to lie and then move his room closer to yours. It is past time you showed favor to one of the males anyway.”
A loud knock sounded on my door and Relyara rose to answer it. My brother entered the foyer.
“Sit.” I pointed at the chair next to me and across from where Relyara sat. “Who are you fucking?”
“Excuse me?” He tilted his head.
“You stink of sex. Didn’t I ask you to tell me who you would be mating with?”
“Daranyet.”
“Fuck.” I looked at Relyara and she grimaced as well. Daranyet was of Alwor’s family and she would not lie to him.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier.” Grednil waived his hands apologetically.
“Were you with her all night?” Relyara demanded.
“Sister, why does your servant address me in this manner?” His voice rose and he looked at me.
“Answer her fucking question! We are dealing with a difficult problem now that I need you to help me with,” I seethed at him. He looked shocked and his scent changed to fear.
“Yes. I was with her all night. What happened?”
“Ripthe believes I am consorting with a human. He has convinced Alwor as well.”
“Why would he think that?” He looked confused.
“I’ve been teaching the human stable boy to ride our horses at night.” The partial truth came to my lips easily and would not cloud my scent. “Ripthe was spying on me and observed us together. He is convinced that I am fucking the human.”
“Why would you teach a human to ride?”
“I wanted a better skilled stable hand.”
“So have one of our kind in the stable.”
“That is a good suggestion Brother. I should have consulted with you earlier about my stable management.” I wanted to strangle him.
“Ahh Sister.” He laughed slightly and sat forward. “I know you sometimes think me a fool, but I have been around horses enough to know Elvens are just better than humans at these tasks. I can help you pick someone. Actually, you probably need two for a stable the size of yours.”
“Perhaps after this situation is handled, I will welcome your help with that.” I turned to Relyara and almost laughed as she struggled to keep her face impassive. My half-brother really was an idiot.
“I can help with your suitors.” He stood up suddenly and stretched.
“How?” Relyara asked.
“I’ll go talk to them. Tell them that you were training a human in secret and that will be that.”
Relyara and I exchanged looks and she shrugged with her eyebrows raised.
“I believe they are in Ripthe’s room,” she said to him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. Let’s talk again over breakfast.” He sighed and swaggered toward the exit of my suite. Relyara and I looked at each other and she hinted at half a smile.
This just might work.
Grednil opened the door to the hallway and let out a surprised yelp.
“Get out of my way, boy!” my father growled and stepped into the hallway. Grednil quickly moved to the side and the chieftain stomped past him. My father’s face was red with frustration and his hands clenched at his side. I could smell his anger like burnt metal.
“What are you playing at girl?” He spat the question.
“What do you—”
“Get out!” He turned to Relyara and Grednil with a scream of thunder. They scurried away from his hot voice and exited the room quickly. Once the door slammed shut he turned back and pointed his finger at me.
“Are you trying to ruin everything this tribe is working for? Are you a fucking idiot? A human? By the Dead Gods girl, I thought you were smarter than this.”
“Father, I can—”
“Shut the fuck up!” he screamed again and seemed to vibrate with his vocal chords. His massive fist slammed into the small table I used for breakfast and the wood shattered into hundreds of splinters. I pulled the World to me and stood up from my chair. Killing him would be a worse mistake than fucking Kaiyer, but I wouldn’t let the man attack me without consequence.
“Fix this tomorrow. Kill this human you are dallying with and focus on the task at hand. You better make it convincing, or I’ll line up all of your suitors and let them have turns inseminating you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” My teeth clenched so hard that my jaw ached. I could just kill him now. The World was coursing through my body. One flick of concentration and he would burst into flame. I could leave this place tonight. I could live on my own. If anyone came after me, I would destroy them.
“Try me, Iolarathe.” He stepped closer and our noses made contact. His eyes burned like silver suns. He was bigger than I was, but I knew I was much stronger. His breath came out in puffs of steam and filled my nostrils with the scent of his mouth. There was no fear there. Just anger.
“I’m sick of your games. Kill the slave tomorrow morning or you’ll see what I am like when I am really angry. Your insolence has almost cost me everything.”
Kill him. Kill the fucker. You want to be free.
The voice in my head was my own and repeated the desires of my heart.
“Fine,” I spat.
He inhaled to taste my scent, nodded slowly and turned to walk out of my room without another word. When the door opened I saw a small assembly of guards out in the hallway that had responded to the shouting. Relyara was holding them back from the door and the group parted to let my father pass.
I sat down on the chair again and looked at the destroyed table. It had once been beautiful, but was quite far beyond repair now. Why hadn’t I killed him?
For the same reason I never left my mother’s estate and set out on my own.
“Will you do it?” Relyara was at my side and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Yes.”
“It is for the best. Your suitors will believe your words if they accompany the action.”
“I know.” Why was there coldness in my stomach? It was just a human. Yes, Kaiyer was different than all the others, but he was still just an animal. I would forget about him soon enough and occupy myself with other things.
“Tell my suitors and brother to join me for breakfast tomorrow. Do not invite the maidens. I’ll kill him after we eat.”
“Very well, Mistress.”
“Get me a new table. Nicer than this one was. I will retire for the rest of the morning.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Her voice followed me into my room.
My robe was only slightly damp from the aftermath of the bath. I slid out of it, tossed it across the carved back of my dressing chair, and then dove between the satin sheets of my massive bed. I heard Relyara issuing curt orders to various servants, but the specifics didn’t bother to enter my mind.
My mother would probably find out about this ordeal with Kaiyer. Perhaps my father wouldn’t tell her, but I had no doubt that she had spies in this tribe already. What would my sister think? In many ways she was like my mother, made up entirely of logic and hard facts. However, unlike my mother, Nyarathe understood passion and emotions. She would no doubt shrug her shoulders and tell me that I should have been more careful.
I would have to kill Kaiyer myself.
There was no other way. I had to eliminate all possible doubt in the minds of my suitors. It would be simple and believable. I was already known as a violent killer. That would extinguish all the rumors. I felt a disturbing mixture of regret and fear that made me feel sick.
I couldn’t believe that Ripthe would even come to the correct conclusion without seeing us in the act of fucking. It also seemed out of character that he would speak to Alwor. Ripthe was garrulous, but Ubarwa was the closest neighboring tribe and enemy. They had denied sending warriors to kidnap me when I first arrived here, but we all guessed that they had made a power play that flew against any peaceful co-existence. I could not believe that Ripthe was dumb enough to bring his suspicions to Alwor. Yet he had.
I guess one cannot predict idiocy.
Kaiyer and I would pay the price for my indiscretions and Ripthe’s yammering mouth. If only Ripthe had come to me first, then I could have killed him and put the matter to rest. Now that my father knew, it was too late for that.
Kaiyer. Kaiyer. Kaiyer.
I said his name over in my mind while I recalled his scent and the image of his shy smile. I did not want to kill him. I could not. I had at first been so physically attracted to his scent that I spent time with him out of simple curiosity and lust. But now I cared for the man. He saw me differently than every other human or Elven I had ever interacted with. Of course he feared me, he was too intelligent not to, but I could also sense that he enjoyed my presence as much as I enjoyed his. If he was dead, I would have nothing to bring me joy and peace.
There was nothing for me here but breeding with one of the slobbering morons and waiting around while their spawn ruined me. How could I care for children born of such a cold political alliance? And if I did love them, how could I let them go and move on with my life without them? I wanted no part of this. I could not hurt Kaiyer. There had to be some solution to this problem I had not considered yet. Escape came to mind again, the world was large, and while Elvens inhabited most of it, there would be pockets where we could live alone together.
Until he died, old and broken. Humans only lived for half a century, my kind for at least five. Would my father hunt for me? No doubt he would, he would be forced to by the other tribes. But I was stronger than all of them. I could protect both of us and fend off any Elven who came for me.
“Mistress,” Relyara’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“What?”
“Your suitors will be here in an hour. Do you wish to bathe beforehand?”
“It is morning?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
I sighed and pulled my head from under my pillow. Relyara was correct, unwanted morning light pierced my curtains. Had I even slept at all?
“I will bathe.” She nodded at my words and then commanded my other female servants, who prepared my tub and morning ritual.
I paid little attention to the process of my bath or the following effort my servants put into clothing me. My mind was only focused on Kaiyer. Too soon I was made ready for breakfast and walked into the foyer.
“Your suitors will arrive shortly.” Relyara pulled my chair out and I sat upon the plush leather pad. “Do you approve of the new table?”
“Yes,” I answered automatically. I did not give a single fuck about the table.
A knock sounded at my door and Relyara floated across the hallway toward the entrance to my suite. My suitors and Grednil were gathered there and the beautiful woman ushered them in while thanking them for coming.
I said nothing to the men while they took their seats. They normally talked amongst themselves, made jokes, or said other idiotic things in an effort to gain my favor or belittle their competitors. They must have understood the mood, none of them spoke.
My servants poured drinks of juice, sparkling wine, and water. Then they set about placing piles of smoked fish, breads, cheeses, and eggs on my new table and onto my guests’ plates.
The men ate slowly, each glancing around at each other, most of their eyes moved to my half-brother. Ripthe and Alwor must have suspected why I wanted to break my fast with them, their scents betrayed their terror. The other males smelled puzzled, but none had the gumption to ask me why they had been summoned here. No doubt they wanted Grednil or Ripthe to begin the conversation, as they always did.
“Thank you for inviting us for breakfast, Singleborn,” Alatald finally said toward the tail end of the meal. He was the most soft-spoken of the group.
“Yes. Thank you for asking us to attend this morning,” Fusik said, his eyes darted around the table nervously, sensing that something was dreadfully wrong.
I had only taken a few bites of the food. It tasted like dirt in my mouth and it took most of my willpower and a long gulp of the sparkling wine to force down each bite. I set down my glass and looked to the group. Finally, I cleared my throat and set my eyes on Vuma’s son.
“Ripthe. Is there something you wish to discuss with me?” His eyes opened wide and his bitter scent grew by magnitudes.
“No, Singleborn,” he said slowly. It was obvious that he was beyond uncomfortable. Alwor’s reddish skin lightened to a pale shade of pink and he breathed slow careful breaths in and out.
“What is going on?” Bur’tilon asked after I stared down Ripthe.
“Do you wish to talk to my suitors about something?” I asked Vuma’s son.
“No, Singleborn.” A small bead of sweat left his brow and dribbled down his temple.
“But you have already told Alwor, as well as your father and the chieftain. Are you sure you do not wish to discuss this particular topic now? It concerns everyone here.” My nails dug into the maple of the table and left talon scratches on it. I wanted to rip the skin off of his face. My brother sat up in his chair after a glance from me
“I would like to hear this.” Bur’tilon and Vuma grew up together and the large man was probably upset that his friend had not bothered to inform him of this news.
“I would like to apologize to the Singleborn,” Ripthe began.
“Stop,” I interrupted him with a raised finger. “All of you, get your swords and meet me down at the front of the house.”
I had a selection of blades displayed in my foyer. I grabbed my least preferred one, an overly ornate weapon made heavy by an abundance of garish gems in the hilt that a previous suitor had given me, and left my suite. I would always associate this sword with Kaiyer’s death and I did not want to taint any of my favorite weapons with the memory. I felt physically ill and it took all my concentration to keep moving forward with the plan. I wanted to kill all of these idiots rather than Kaiyer. The men followed behind me into the hallway and they each dashed in different directions down the halls to retrieve their own swords.
I walked slowly through the mansion, and by the time the servants attending to the main lobby opened the front door for me my suitors had joined my procession.
“Where are we going?” Alwor’s scent carried a trace of rotten fruit to my nose.
“Where do you think?”
“Iolarathe. This is my fault. I made a mistake. I was drunk last night. I am sorry.” Ripthe walked beside me and tried to get my attention as we descended the grassy slope of the hill toward the stables.
My chest hurt.
It was just a human. I’d killed plenty before and never given it a second thought. Kaiyer was different, but it did not matter. This had to be done.
“Behind us.” Alatald was the most observant. I turned my head and saw my father, Vuma, Zaarmo, and Dluuzit walking a few hundred yards behind us. He probably wanted to ensure that I handled this matter correctly.
I stopped halfway up the hill from the stables; from here I could smell the horses, hay, and the smoke from the smithy. It mixed with my memories and almost tasted like Kaiyer. I would never speak with him again. Never touch him again. His smile would be lost to me and I would only have his scent to remember him. The memory of it too would fade and I would have nothing.
“Ripthe.” I turned to the male. He smelled of confusion and fear. “Why don’t you and Alwor get this human you have been speaking about?” I waved toward the stable to clear up any misconception Vuma’s son might have.
“Yes, Singleborn,” they said in unison. Their voices shook and their scent stank of rotten fruit. It was bad enough so that the rest of the males must have noticed. They dashed down the rest of the hill and moved into the darkness of the stable.
I’m sorry Kaiyer. I should have figured out another plan. I should have left last night and taken him away with me. My hands trembled and I fought to calm the pounding of my heart and the scent of fear and regret that my suitors must have noticed. There still had to be a way. I could kill them all. I could still escape. I would have to leave everything behind, but we could be together.
“I am still confused.” Fusik bit his lip and glanced back between me and his companions. Before I replied, Alwor and Ripthe emerged from the door of the stable dragging a human between their strong arms.
It was not my lover.
This human looked similar to Kaiyer, dark hair, green eyes, and the strong, broad human bone structure of his face. He struggled as they dragged him before me, and once the human was brought a few feet away the differences became more apparent. He was more muscular than Kaiyer, and while they shared many of the same facial features, there were slight differences in the structure of his face. The smell was completely different as well. This human’s scent was nothing like Kaiyer’s. It was familiar though, I recalled it from three years ago when I first came to my father’s home and stabled my horse.
This was Kaiyer’s brother.
It still struck me as odd how similar in appearance human siblings were to each other. Our kind were born with opposing traits to make families strong and diverse. It seemed like a more logical way to breed since all the varying spectrums of both the mother and father were passed on to their young. Humans were a mesh of everything their parents carried with almost no difference between each set of offspring.
This was Kaiyer’s brother. I repeated in my mind.
How fortunate. The Dead Gods must have decided to bless me with this opportunity to save my lover. I could not help but smile when the man was laid at my feet. My suitors would not be able to tell the difference between the two humans. I could kill this one and Kaiyer would live.
I glanced back toward the stables and noticed movement at the door of the smithy.
Don’t show yourself Kaiyer.
“Even when their death is inevitable, they still struggle, it is the trait that makes them so useful to us,” I said to my brother and the remaining suitors. They laughed nervously but said nothing else.
Kaiyer’s brother was muscular for a human, with a thick neck, veiny arms, and hands that were almost twice the size of mine. But all the extra flesh on their bodies did not grant them much strength. Even the weakest of my kind would be stronger than this man.
“My friends here seem to think that we are fucking. The idea disgusts me, but they are too proud to fathom any other reason why I have not yet mated with them.”
“I would rather fuck a horse in his dirty asshole than bed you, monster!” His sudden words of hate shocked me and I felt sick and angry all at once. The words combined with the green in his eyes almost made me feel like it was Kaiyer cursing me. I wondered if he felt the same way. Did he enjoy our time together as much as I did, or was he acting out of fear? Perhaps he hated me and was revolted by making love to me. I gathered my emotions and hoped the human had not seen the hurt in my eyes and taken satisfaction in thinking he had insulted me.
“I did not say you could speak!” My fist struck him across the face and I heard something in his jaw break. I didn’t want to kill this man, but it was the only way to save Kaiyer. He would be angry at me for slaying his brother, but I would make it up to him later. I would explain what happened. He would understand.
“Ahh. So fragile.” I stroked the side of his broken face and then my hand found his thick neck. I would have never been able to kill Kaiyer myself, which was why I wanted my suitors to bring their swords. I would have made them finish the job. But it would send a firm message to all of those gathered if I did it myself. At least his brother’s death would not be meaningless.
He gasped when my grip tightened around his throat. His arms and chest flexed forward and back in an effort to free himself. I hoped Kaiyer wasn’t watching me strangle his brother.
Just stay inside Kaiyer. I’m so sorry. It had to be this way.
A scream flew across the hillside. It almost sounded like the cry of a carrion beast, but louder. I directed my attention away from the blue face of Kaiyer’s brother to the man running from the doorway of the smithy toward us. He had a hammer raised in his hand and the thick leather vest of a smith across his wide chest. He too had dark hair and eyes that matched Kaiyer’s.
“Kill him.” The words escaped my mouth before I could think of an alternative. Bur’tilon, Fusik, and Grednil unsheathed their swords in a single movement and stepped between me and the charging human. I opened my mouth to scream for them to stop, but no words came out. They could stop Kaiyer’s father without killing him. They could disarm him and let him live. I just needed to instruct them.
But the words did not leave my throat. It would cast a shadow on the proceedings here if I showed an attacking human mercy. It was a crime for any human to attack one of us, even if we were killing their loved ones. I could only watch as the three men easily carved Kaiyer’s father into pieces with their swords.
The smell of blood, shit, and bile filled the air. I turned my attention back to the man in my grip. His face was bluish white and the scent of his feces confirmed that I had strangled the life from him. The last action his body had performed was releasing his bowels. I let go of the corpse and it fell to the grassy hillside.
Sobs drew my attention away from the corpse of the human. I turned to look and saw Kaiyer crouched over the body of his slain father. Blood covered his hands and chest. He tried to cradle his father’s head, but the blood made it slip from his grasp.
Damn it Kaiyer. I needed you to stay away!
I wanted to pull him to me. I wanted to explain. Our eyes made contact and I felt myself float in the green depths. His scent overpowered the taste of blood and death in my mouth. He was in pain now and I wanted more than anything to comfort him. Eventually I would make him understand that this was the only choice that I had so we could be together. I tried to communicate all of this while he looked at me, but all I saw in his eyes was hate.
I had to act to protect him now. If my suitors realized Kaiyer was there I might need to kill him. But if I could distract them and pull my group away without speaking about him he could live.
“Next time you think I am copulating with a human slave, I’ll do the same to you. Do you understand?” Ripthe’s eyes grew wide and the stink of his fear combined with urine that spread across his pants. What a fucking coward. I wanted to gut the useless fuck right now.
"A human stable boy? I have every male within two hundred miles courting me. Are you a fucking idiot?" My fist clenched my own sword hilt and the sharp gems dug into the palm of my hand.
"I'm sorry, I thought I saw you with the human." Ripthe’s voice cracked and the other men glanced at the ground nervously. I snorted at his response and debated killing him again. Of course, that would anger my father and his elders.
"Hurmpf. I am already bored with this. Let's go do something else." I looked away from Kaiyer and his dead family and walked up the slope back toward the manor. The men followed me.
"What about this human, Iolarathe?" Bur’tilon asked.
Damn.
I turned around to see the large male resting the flat side of his sword on Kaiyer’s shoulder. With just a quick motion he could remove my lover’s head from his shoulders. The other suitors had already begun walking up the hill. They no doubt wanted to be away from the stench of the bodies and the memory of the murders.
Kaiyer’s green eyes were wet with tears. He had spoken often of his brother and father. Humans were frail physically and emotionally. I doubted I would have shed a tear if someone killed my father and brother. Definitely not my mother, I would love to kill that bitch myself. Nyarathe was perhaps the only family member I cared for, but I would worry more about revenge if she was murdered.
Though I could not understand his feelings, I did want to comfort my lover. My heart beat oddly in my chest and the ridiculousness of this situation caused my teeth to grind together. Would I get away with allowing him to live? No. Not in the stables. I’d be around him too much and I would end up putting his life in jeopardy again. This was my fault. All of it. I should have resisted his scent; I should have stayed away from him. Now his family was dead and he would have to follow.
I did want my father’s plan to work. It was the only way I could have my freedom in this world. The only way I could choose my own destiny. Once we were powerful enough, I would not need to be a possession of the tribes that demanded my womb. The thought of the human army sprang into my mind and an alternative fate for Kaiyer collided with my other goal.
"He looks strong for a human. Take him to the barracks. They can use him in that ridiculous hobby army of my father's." My voice was a whisper and I believed that only Bur’tilon and Kaiyer could hear me.
I did not know how much Bur’tilon knew of the human army, but as Zaarmo’s son, he must have already had some inkling of what was going on there.
The big Elven nodded at my order and I turned away from Kaiyer before I could see my lover’s reaction. I had purposely kept my distance from the proceedings of the human army, so I knew little of what would be in store for Kaiyer. I did know that he would be safer there than in my company. Perhaps the training or a battle would kill him, but it was a probability rather than an absolute.
I’m sorry Kaiyer.
I walked up the hill and tried to control the scent of my emotions, the wind picked up slightly and I felt it whip my long hair around over my shoulder. It scattered my grief across the grasslands. The memory of the human would fade in time. I was foolish to make love to him. I would accept this failure, learn from it, and not make the same mistake again.
“That was ghastly.” My father shook his head and glared at me once I reached the top of the hill. The other males were already walking toward the mansion. Perhaps they would be too afraid to spend any more time with me today and I could just sit in a bath.
“You wanted it to be convincing.” I tried not to spat the words at him.
“I appreciate your commitment to this tribe.” His words came across as an apology and caught me off guard.
“I don’t forget my promises. I trust you won’t either.”
“Of course not.” I nodded to him and tasted the scent of avocados on his words.
“Where is Bur’tilon taking that human?” He turned his eyes down the hill.
“To your barracks. Every extra human will help us achieve our goals.”
“Excellent. Dluuzit always needs more humans. Apparently, they keep dying during the process of infusing our magic into their bodies.”
“Is the process complicated? How many survive?” I tried to keep my voice and scent calm to maintain the façade of my indifference.
“Only one in every six or so survive the change. Of those, only one in three keeps his sanity. They have a difficult time tolerating the pain.”
“I see.” My vision swam and my stomach knotted. I struggled to keep my scent in check. Thankfully, I was standing downwind of my father.
“Vertarus has been working tirelessly to improve the process. You said previously that you did not wish to know any of the details, but perhaps you should spend some time with him. He has not been able to court you appropriately because of this work. I would consider it a favor to me.” He smiled and gestured back toward the manor.
“I will arrange a dinner with him. I will need a new smith and stable crew. Elven this time, I seem to have poor luck with humans.”
“Anything for my daughter the Singleborn.” He smiled widely while he opened the front door for me.
Chapter 16-The O’Baarni
Darkness and light.
Darkness and light.
Darkness and light.
A sliver of the latter came through the tent and cut through the former. I moved my hand through it and watched the waves part at my command. I marveled at the detail of the skin on my knuckles, the flakes of dust in the air, and the scent of grass that accompanied the illumination from outside my prison. The light was wonderful and soothing. Like her skin.
The screams of the other humans were made in the darkness. They cried against the pain, yelled for help, and beat futilely on the bars that held their bodies down, crouched and trapped. At first I wanted to help them, to free them from their confinements and comfort them somehow. I knew their pain. I felt it in my own body. I had endured this pain and their screams for weeks now.
They were so loud. Each cry sounded as if it originated right next to my ear, piercing my ear drum and shattering my brain with reverberating waves of pain. My own heart thundered in my chest. The movements of the other prisoners created a collage of sound that resembled the wind ripping through thousands of blades of grass, magnified thousands of times.
My hands were bruised from clawing at the bars. As blue as Leotol’s face after she strangled him. My fingers were bloody from scratching against the wood floor of my cage. Red like her hair. Red like my father’s blood. I had done my best to please her. I loved her so much.
When the night descended outside my cell, when the darkness was absolute, I spent the long hours examining the bars of my cage. Each piece of metal felt different, pitted and dented in its own individual pattern. I taught myself to identify each bar by its unique feel against the tips of my blood-crusted fingers. This little game kept my mind off of the overwhelming scents and sounds that surrounded me. It distracted me from the burning fire-itch that spread through my body. It kept me from going insane.
The manacles were gone now. They had chained me, forced me face down onto a table, and then it was all just pain and agony. It burned through my spine and brain like molten iron straight from the forge was being jammed into each vertebra.
Now everything was raw, terrible, and loud. Color and light seared my eyes, too vivid to comprehend. The taste in my mouth and the smells in my nose were overpowering, my senses too acute and overwhelmed with new sensations.
I didn’t know how much time had passed. The scorching pain had moved throughout my entire body, over every inch of my skin as if it had been burned. I could do little more than crouch in my cage or lie in a fetal position. The Elvens did not let me out to shit or piss. My legs were covered in filth and the scent of it filled my nose with each breath. This was the least offensive smell. I was surrounded by the excrement and fear of all the other humans trapped with me. Their bodies reeked, their skin thick with their own waste, their blood, vomit, and rage. Those who died were not promptly removed and the reek of decay overpowered all the others.
Hundreds of cages surrounded me.
Each one imprisoned a screaming human covered in shit.
I wanted to scream with them, to drown their agony with my own. But if I started screaming, I would never stop.
It was the path to madness.
They were all screaming.
The Elvens walked between our cages in the darkness. They asked the humans questions. Most could not answer. They growled. They bashed their heads against the bars, screeching like crazed animals. They gnashed their teeth wildly at their captors. They were swiftly killed.
Soon they would come for me. They would ask me why I imagined I was worthy of her. They would torture me. The thought of further agony cascaded through the darkness of my thoughts and made me want to bang my head on the bars like the other humans. Maybe I could kill myself somehow before they came for me. End my suffering now.
There was too much of everything. Too much insanity.
I could not die like this. I owed my father and brother that much. I owed them vengeance. I would survive. The Elvens had taken a live human out with them once. If someone else had survived, I could. I could pretend I was more than the animal they believed me to be. They would release me from this cage and I would have revenge. I would kill them all.
Especially her.
The thought of her name brought her face to my mind and I had to grab the bars to keep from crying. I felt her kiss my face and lips; I smelled her blood-red hair as it wrapped around me. I heard her voice whisper in my ear.
I remembered her strangling my brother. I heard her command them to kill my father.
Why didn’t she kill me?
My legs started to cramp and I moved from my crouched position on my right side. I forgot about the corner of my cell where I had been defecating and accidently sunk my left foot into the mess. A fresh scent of shit hit my nose. I grunted in surprise and then moved my foot to the other corner. Anger filled my stomach again and I worked for a few minutes to release it. I was already covered in shit, a little more wouldn’t matter. I couldn’t lose my mind now.
Water.
I was so thirsty. I should have tried to drink my piss, but that opportunity had passed. My throat felt like it was nothing but one crusted scab. A cup of water would help me think. It would cool me. I wanted it. I needed it almost as much as I needed to wrap my arms around Iolarathe and make love to her one last time. I shook my head in frustration. I wanted to strangle her. I wanted revenge.
I could never kill her. Elvens were so strong, and she was the strongest among them. They all feared her. I did not know how to fight. I had never killed anyone. All I knew how to do was care for horses and pleasure her.
Water. I needed water. My thirst burned dark red and scratched over my entire body. I burned with fever but there was not enough water left to make sweat. I was nothing but dust and pain.
The flap of the tent opened like a lightning strike and half of the tortured humans began to scream louder. It was a crescendo of agony and the brief increase of light allowed me to see that I wasn’t in a mere tent, but a large pavilion that stretched hundreds of yards in each direction. The flap closed and the screams grew louder at the depressing absence of light.
Three Elvens walked through the rows of cages. They moved to my left and I heard them head deep into the darkness of the tent before the cries of my fellow prisoners drowned out the sound of their thunderous footfalls.
Maybe they would walk by my cage and I could ask them for some water. Or some food. Or maybe a bath. I laughed at the last thought. The only request they would grant would be my death. I would welcome an end to this pain.
Minutes passed. Hours passed. The Elvens grew closer. The screams of the humans grew louder wherever they went. The noise slammed into my ears and rang in my head like I had my ear pressed against my father’s anvil. They continued through the tent, but there was too much noise for me to comprehend what they said.
They approached my cage. I would try to reach out my hand to get their attention and beg for water. That was all I wanted.
“Subject B, five, six, seven. Has been in confinement for,” the voice paused above me and the male Elven leaned over my cage. He held a lantern in his hand and there was a brief flash of light while he read something scrawled on the top of my cage. “Thirty seven days.” The light burned my eyes and I had to cover part of my face and clench my teeth together to keep from moaning.
“That can’t be correct,” another voice said.
“That is the date here.”
“Are you both fucking idiots? I want them checked every twenty days. Do you understand? Twenty fucking days. By the Dead Gods, we are losing them quick enough as it is. I can’t afford for you two to forget about one and leave it to die here.”
The other Elvens apologized and I smelled the fear in their voices, tasted it in their bodies, and saw it in the dim glow of the lamp. I tried to get my mouth to form the words for water but nothing came out.
“You buffoons are making my job difficult. If you weren’t my cousins I’d kill you right now.” The voice stopped and the other two shuffled their feet anxiously.
I was so tired; trying to talk was taking too much energy. Damn it. I needed water. My throat burned like white coals. Thousands of daggers were stuck in my spine. My ear drums wanted to bleed. My eyes struggled to stay open. If I closed them now they might stay that way forever. This might be my last chance to make the request.
“Alright.” The Elven in charge sighed, “Don’t let this happen again. You might as well kill this one, the insanity has no doubt claimed it by now. We can use the cage for the next subject. Start making your rounds every day. Inspect the date on every cage.”
I heard the sword draw from a sheath. It sounded like a song, beautiful, short, pure, and full of the promise of release. I realized that my eyes had actually closed and I somehow managed to pry them open and look up at my executioner. The back of the blade caught the sliver of light from the crack in the tent flap and bounced it off of the walls like a mirror.
“Water.” The words suddenly emerged from my mouth. They echoed around in my own skull.
“Wait. Did it just speak?” The figure in the middle held out his hand to stop the swordsman to his left.
“I don’t know. I can’t hear anything over this racket,” the other one said.
“You dumb fuck. Your job is to ask them questions and listen to their responses.” The center figure stepped toward my cage and bent down slightly. His sharp Elven face was pale and vicious.
“Human. Did you speak?”
“Water. Please.” I pointed to my mouth and hoped that the light from the lantern allowed him to see my movements. The words were agony. The movement was torture. It would be painful to drink, even if they did give me water.
“Praise the Dead Gods. Looks like this one is stable,” he said over his shoulder. He directed his next words back to me: “What is your name, human?” I cringed and tried to form my mouth around the sound of my own name. I had been practicing the pronunciation for water and for a second I didn’t remember the name my father had given me.
“Kaiyer.”
“Good human. You’ve passed the transition phase with your mind intact. Now you will be able to serve us in ways you never thought possible. You should feel honored.” He stood up and turned to the two that escorted him. “Pull him out of there and take him to the cleaning stall.”
“But he is covered with shit. I’ll go get some humans to do it.”
“You are going to be covered in blood in a second. Do as I order!” The leader put his hand on the hilt of his short sword and the other two moved quickly to unlock my cage. The sound of the metal scraping against its parts made my brain cringe and I resisted the urge to push my hands into my ears and scream.
Hands grabbed me by the armpits and dragged me out of the cage. I tried to move my feet, but only my left one seemed to work. Even then, the toes only flexed a little and skipped across the dry dirt of the pavilion floor. The sudden shift from the bare, shit-covered metal cage to sandy dirt left my brain spinning. I was overloaded with too many new sensations of movement and touch and I had to fight back the desire to vomit.
The rest of the humans sensed a disturbance in the mood of the tent. Another crescendo of insane screams rose from the packed cages and beat into my ears like the slam of cymbals. It followed us from my cage toward the tent flap. I was dragged into the blinding white light of day.
To my next life.
Chapter 17-Kaiyer
I gasped and spit. Water filled my mouth, nose, and throat like an iron fist clamping my sinuses. Liquid came up out of my face as violently as I could vomit and then my stomach seized a few times more to clear any lurking water from my gut. Once I finished retching, I fell back against the cold rocks and closed my eyes again.
I was alive. For a few dozen seconds I enjoyed the sensation of my breath leaving my nose and my chest pushing against the ground when I inhaled. My body shivered with the chill of the water soaking the clothes Janci had given me.
The shiver was pleasurable. Now that I had emerged alive on the other side, it reminded me that fear was almost always worse than reality. It was a close call. I must have passed out right as the tunnel emerged in the river. As much as I had prepared myself for the various trials of life and death, luck had always played an important part in my fate.
I pushed my hands against the sand and got to my feet. I was on the bank of a river at the base of the Teeth Mountains. Midmorning light crested the eastern peaks, but I was still in their shadow. The line of sun was a few hundred yards to my west and illuminated the emerald grass and the sapphire twisting river of the valley. The sight and smell of the surrounding wilderness struck me and I took a few moments to appreciate its beauty.
Malek would have laughed. I smiled at the thought of my friend. I was not the same man I had been in my past. I could not quantify the ways I had changed, but in my heart I knew it was true. My purpose had changed.
The Ovule.
I mouthed the word silently and stretched my body to generate some warmth in my joints. I needed to get back to the castle. Then I needed to speak with Nadea about how she brought me through the Radicle without an Ovule. I also needed to speak to the empress about the research she had done on my history and see if she knew anything about my daughter.
None of which would be easy. Telaxthe wanted me dead, or at least banished from the planet. I might be able to infiltrate the castle yet again and reach Nadea. Then there was just the small matter of saving the humans of this world from the Elvens who had taken control of Nia. I had to build another army, infuse them with the Elements, and train them. The thought of repeating that process made my stomach churn slightly.
I did not want to kill anyone.
Yet it seemed to be my greatest purpose and talent.
If I had not betrayed Shlara and run after Iolarathe, what would I have done after conquering the Elvens? I wanted to believe that I would have fulfilled my promise to Shlara and built a family and a life with her. I could have helped found our new civilization, organized the government, led the newly freed human race to peace and prosperity with my friends at my side.
But I had never wanted peace. I wanted nothing but revenge, death, and Iolarathe. The Destroyer wanted to break the world that had given him so much pain. The Betrayer cared nothing about fixing it again.
I turned my back to the mountains and walked westward along the shore of the river. After a few steps I was in the sun and the warm rays heated the damp clothes that clung to my skin. The sounds of the river, wind, and birds chirping nearby somehow made me feel more alone. I had no place in this world.
Protect the Ovule.
Mulakanna’teall’s voices cast themselves through my mind again. I would find out my place and purpose in this life once I reached Nadea. It was a few weeks’ journey back to the castle. I could devise a plan for the empress before I reached the gates.
The river wound around the south side of the abandoned town at the foot of the mountains. My Elven pursuers might still be searching for me, but the river was flanked by steep grassy slopes, likely designed as flood banks to protect the town from overflow in the rainy season. They were tall enough to conceal me from any warriors in the upper reaches of the keep. I hoped they were still deep in the caverns beneath the fortress, following my cold trail.
I halted suddenly and dove against the riverbank. Something was wrong. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and my heart began to race in time with the Earth pumping through my veins. I took a careful breath and forced my ears to identify the source of my alarm.
I heard nothing.
The animals were silent.
I heard a scream in the distance to the north. Multiple screams followed in response and a chill shook me that the sun could not warm. It was the cry of the lizard-spider monsters.
“Fuck.” I sprinted up the sloped bank to the first house and leapt on top of the thatched roof. From this heightened vantage point I could see clearly across the small town to the switchback that led up to the massive keep.
“Fucking shit!” I groaned under my breath. Hundreds of the creatures poured down the mountain. Their twisted limbs tore at the cobblestones of the street and their sickly greenish brown scales reflected the light of the morning sun like the river behind me.
At the base of the torrent of lizards, a thin wall of Elven warriors carried shields and spears, poised to block the onslaught of the monsters. There were fewer than thirty. Three of the creatures managed to rip into the middle of the shield wall and devour one of the warriors before his companions could slay a single beast. Fehalda and Vernine were engaged in the fray, but the Elvens would shortly be overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures. The Elvens held a lower position, and they had to give precious ground to the horde to keep formation. Even if the Elvens did manage to hold the beasts off for the next ten minutes, they would soon be pushed back to the base of the switchbacks. There the monsters would be able to attack them from all directions.
The creatures must have been released from whatever magic compelled them to remain deep in the bowels of the mountain with the passing of the dragon. There were thousands of them living in the caves, and they would inflict unknown horror on the ill-prepared population of this world if they continued to spread on the surface. They were large, deadly, and smart. Two of the foul beasts climbed down the side of the road and clung to the bricks there. Then they moved laterally across the wall in an attempt to attack the Elvens from beneath. Vernine and Fehalda saw their movements, and they screamed orders to their warriors. When the lizards attacked, the Elvens were prepared and hacked off their heads before they could claim any more victims.
It was already too late. Dozens of lizard-spiders left the road, breaking away from the primary herd and flanking the Elven warriors. I could not hear her, but saw Fehalda pause briefly to shout orders from the back ranks. I could see the despair on the features of her alabaster face as she lost all hope of defeating the monsters. She knew they were outnumbered.
I pulled more Earth into my body. It filled my blood, my heart, my lungs, and my brain until I felt as though I would burst. I unleashed it as I had thousands of times before, a burning effigy of my hate. It was a globe of Fire, twisted with purple and green. It sprung toward the distant targets on the switchbacks. When it reached the battle, the beasts erupted into a sticky, fiery mass of chaos that shocked both creature and Elven alike.
I followed up with another ball of molten flame that smashed into the back ranks of the torrent of monsters. They frantically churned around the burning goop that coated them and others tried to scurry away in all possible directions like ants whose hill had been attacked.
My first two blasts had burned nearly half of the creatures. Another quarter roasted alive on the steep slopes of the mountain. I was careful to launch the attack to the middle and back of the pack to prevent damage to the Elven forces. But my caution had left about fifty of the monsters alive and untouched by the fire. They attacked Fehalda and Vernine’s warriors from all angles and easily broke their shield line. There was no way I could aid them now.
It would take me five minutes to reach the battle. I doubted the Elvens could last that long. I chanced a glance up the distant hill and saw that half of the Elven warriors were down, the lizard beasts ripped into their thrashing bodies. I could not make out individual screams, but the moans and cries of pain from the dying of both species floated toward me on the wind.
I was halfway there. My heart screamed in my chest and the Earth coursed through my muscles. I had to be faster. This was not an easy run. This was my body trying to destroy itself by way of my limbs kicking free of my torso. This was my vision blurring and my abdominal muscles squeezing the bile from my organs.
Stop fucking whining. Run, you fucking asshole!
My head swam and I felt my legs start to cramp, but I had somehow made it to the base of the switchbacks. It looked like my speed may not have helped. Two sets of switchbacks above me, the Elvens had been cut down to only four: Vernine, Fehalda, and two others. The group stood with their backs to each other and swung their long swords in a fruitless attempt to keep the last twenty creatures at bay.
I jumped up and grabbed onto the wall above me. Then I braced my legs against the rough brick and leapt again to make it to the turn of the first switchback. One of the creatures was climbing up the next wall to flank the Elvens from below. I grabbed it by the neck and ripped it free before I heaved it over my head. The weight of the monster surprised me. I knew they were heavy from our previous battle, but I didn’t quite appreciate their mass until I lifted one. With a grunt I tossed it over the edge of the small cliff, with hope the fall would smash the creature flat.
The smell of the burning monsters reached my nose as I jumped up to the last switchback. It combined with screaming of slow dying monsters and the small battle above me to create a horrific landscape against the backdrop of the fortress. Before I reached the Elvens I wondered if these steep roads had ever seen a battle quite like this.
The Elvens had managed to kill a few of the last lizard creatures, but when I sprang to my feet I saw that only the empress’s sister and my lover were still standing. Vernine’s right leg was bleeding from a massive bite above the knee, while Fehalda’s right arm, shoulder, and chest were smoking from what I guessed was a spray of the disgusting creature’s acidic tail projectile.
Several of the creatures feasted on the dead bodies of Elven warriors. They may have been intelligent animals, but hunger was clearly their primary motivation as they paid me no attention when I approached.
I kicked up a sword from the ground and rushed past them to attack the ring of monsters that made ready to pounce on the women. My first strike beheaded two of the creatures and then I slammed my shoulder into the next in line. The unexpected movement threw the creature’s jump wide and it missed mauling Vernine by a few feet and tumbled off the cliff.
The sword was too light in my hand, but I used its speed to split another lizard creature in two where I guessed its spine protected the stomach. There were a dozen of them intent on killing the last two Elvens, but with my previous attack the creatures realized I was in their midst and half turned to face me. Rage and hunger was clear in the monster’s intelligent eyes.
Fehalda and Vernine used my interruption to dash a few feet away from the creatures and move farther down the switchback. It meant that their backs were no longer to the edge, but now I was separated from them by a dozen hungry monsters and they exposed themselves to any creature that might still be alive and above them.
One of the lizard-spiders gathered up its massive legs and made a jump toward my neck. I spun to the side and lashed out with the blade. The edge caught the creature square in the mouth and split its wide face in half. My dodge carried me close to the small group of monsters feasting on the body of two of the fallen Elvens. I risked three strikes with my sword where I guessed their brains hid in their skulls before turning back at the beasts that were intent on eating me.
Two of the remaining five had their oozing tails pointed toward me and I dove out of the way of a stream of sickly smelling acid. I rolled across the blood-soaked cobblestones and then leapt up, over a creature that was attempting to bite my legs, and then slashed down on the back of the lizard I landed upon. The monster screamed and tried to maul me, but I twisted the blade around and felt it sever the thick spinal column and the creature’s rear end went limp.
Two monsters shot toward my right side, their teeth-lined maws open. I pulled my leg up away from their bites and a satisfying snap of their jaws assured me that I was lucky to still have my leg. I swung my sword down into the head of the closest one, but the blade was dull and dripping with too much gore. It dug into the side of the creature’s skull and it screamed in distress, yanking backward and tearing the hilt of the weapon from my slippery grasp.
There was another Elven body behind me and I rolled back on the ground to avoid a stream of toxic acid. I kicked my legs up and floated to my feet as I grabbed the discarded blade next to the Elven corpse.
There were four monsters left concerned with me, one was swinging its head back and forth frantically in an attempt to dislodge the stuck sword. Past the group I saw that Vernine and Fehalda had limped down to the bottom of the next switchback, but they were still pursued by the other seven beasts. Vernine looked like she could barely walk and Fehalda’s sword dragged against the ground while she tried to pull the other woman with her left arm.
I turned and sprinted back toward the entrance of the keep. It only took me a few dozen steps to reach the next group of monsters feasting upon fallen Elvens. Some of them had already cleaned the flesh from the carcasses and were lolling around in a bewildered state of overfed stupor.
The lizard-spiders barely acknowledged me as I ran into their midst and kicked a fallen sword up from the ground with my running foot. I snatched the blade from the air with my right hand and then sprinted the last few steps up the slope toward the burning mass of monsters.
Then I threw myself off of the ledge.
Fehalda and Vernine stood forty feet below me. The white-haired woman leaned against the wall of the switchbacks and held up her sword with an outstretched left arm. Vernine stood in front of her and swung her own weapon with two hands. One creature dashed at the legs of the pewter woman but she managed to cut it down with a swing. She couldn’t reposition herself on her wounded leg and another monster jumped on top of her.
I raised the swords, reversed the grip in my hands so the blades pointed downward, and braced myself for the impact of the fall. This was a fucking terrible idea, but the two Elven women were short on time.
One spider-legged lizard bore the brunt of my blow. The creature’s spine shattered into a hundred pieces like a dropped crystal glass. Blood exploded out of its mouth and eyes like an overripe fruit. The beasts were packed so closely on the road that my blades easily found homes in different skulls on each side of me.
I quickly ripped the right weapon free, stood, and flung the blade toward the creature Vernine wrestled. She had dropped her sword and was using both hands in a valiant attempt to keep the dripping maw from devouring her face while one of its overly clawed arms tore open her chest.
My right hand was not my dominant one, and I was not very skilled at throwing long swords, but the lizard target was only fifteen feet away and my aim held for that distance. The blade spun horizontally for a full rotation before sinking into the monster’s neck right where the spine connected to the skull.
I knew the attack was coming from behind me, but I didn’t have time to throw the sword and then dodge. I did manage to roll slightly to my left, and one of the lizard-spider asshole fuckers only ripped my skin open with a deep claw cut. I held back the scream and harnessed my anger by killing the first creature in front of me when I came out of the bloody roll.
Three of the seven remained here. I glanced up while I moved myself between the lizards and the Elven warriors. I did not see any above us.
The one that had clawed my back raised his tail and pointed it at me, but I dashed toward the creature and sliced off the appendage cleanly, eliciting a howl of pain and rage from the monster. I jumped onto the haunches of another and drove my blade into the top of its skull. The muscles on my back screamed every time I moved, but my injury was not critical and I could already feel the wound beginning to knit back together.
The uninjured monster surprised me by feinting a chomp at my right leg and then really going for my left. If he would have been a hair faster the move might have been successful, but I pulled my other leg back and sliced his wide skull from his shoulders with a downward chop.
The last fucker must have realized his fate. He actually tried to scurry away with the hacked off tail spilling sticky blood across the cobblestones up the switchback. I caught up to him easily and ended his retreat with a quick thrust to his brain.
I continued up the mountain and found the four remaining monsters devouring one of their dead brethren. One still had the sword stuck in his skull. The weapon scraped against his companions while he grunted and tore into the flesh of the corpse.
They were too consumed with their feast to notice or care that I approached. A few quick sword thrusts ended their miserable existence and I sighed in relief.
I turned back and met the Elven women. Vernine had pushed the lizard monster off of her, but had not been able to get to her feet. She moved up onto her elbows and licked her lips when she saw me approaching. Blood soaked the front of her armor and a pool spread beneath her prone body.
Fehalda sat against a wall. Her breaths came out in painful gasps and tears poured down her beautiful white face. I walked toward her and she struggled to raise her sword in defense.
“Fine, O’Baarni. You won. Again. Kill me and be done with it.” Her lips curled into a sneer, but it was obvious she was experiencing an unbearable amount of pain.
“I’m not going to kill you, Fehalda. Can you walk?”
“No.” She coughed and her body shook with agony. “This is eating my flesh. If you aren’t going to kill me in victory, do it out of pity.” She grimaced again and tears flowed with renewed vigor.
I turned to Vernine and realized she had not moved either.
“Can you stand?” I asked Vernine.
“No.” She gasped in pain and her pale skin whitened with the words so that her skin tone almost matched Fehalda’s.
“Where is the Ovule?”
“I dropped it up in the courtyard.” She raised her head slightly.
“Lie back down.” I moved over to her and she complied with my order. The armor on her chest was in tatters. I knew Elvens could heal much faster than humans, but they weren’t as immune to wounds as O’Baarni.
I carefully unbuckled the latches on the front of her armor and pulled it off. Blood spurted from the wound. I could make out the white bones of her ribs poking through her skin. I’m sure the situation was similar beneath the leather armor that protected her thigh. She was losing blood quickly.
“Your facial expression is telling, O’Baarni,” Vernine said in her usual emotionless tone.
“How is your pain tolerance?” I looked into her ruby eyes and smiled.
“The pain can’t get much worse.” She glanced over at Fehalda. “Or maybe it can.”
She had a dagger sheathed at her side and I used it to cut off the rest of her armor at the buckles and ties. The process took me half a minute, but I was all too conscious of the ragged breaths of agony coming from Fehalda.
“I’m going to sit you up.” I leaned away and removed my tunic. Her red eyes flashed to my chest and she managed a pained smile.
“Why are you doing this?” I moved to her side and wedged an arm under her back. I slowly raised her until she was sitting. I tried to make it as painless as possible, but a slow whine escaped her lips.
My tunic was one of Janci’s, and although it was ink stained, it was densely woven. I wrapped it around Vernine’s chest under her breasts and tied the sleeves tightly across her back. The tension made her cry out, but there was no way around it. I didn’t want her organs to fall out of her body while I carried her.
“We tried to kill you,” she muttered. I grabbed a few of the leather straps from her armor and used the cords to bind the bottom part of the tunic around her waist. I imagined this hurt her, but she managed to keep from screaming.
“Could you hold onto me if I carried you on my back?” If she could, it would make my plan easier.
“No. I am tired. Kaiyer.” The words came out between gasps and blood dribbled out of her mouth. The liquid was the same color as her eyes. Fuck. My ties must have punctured a lung.
I reached down to her belt and pulled it free of her pants. It was too short for my plan, but I moved over to Fehalda and saw that she had a similar weapon harness.
“What are your intentions?” Fehalda wheezed and coughed between each word.
“I am trying to save both your lives.” I pulled the belt free and walked back over to Vernine while I laced the two together.
“Impossible.” She gasped and coughed again. It was wet and full of the rattle that preceded death. I was suddenly very glad that I escaped without any of the acid touching me.
“This is going to hurt again.” I slid under Vernine’s left arm and hauled her upright. She grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood while I carried her to the wall that Fehalda rested against. I leaned the pewter-haired woman on the stone and then wrapped the belts around her hips. I stood in front of her with my back pressed lightly to her bleeding chest and fastened the ends of the belt around my own waist. I reached over my back and grabbed her arms, pulling them over my shoulders so she rode me piggyback.
“I’m tired, Kaiyer,” she whispered in my ear.
“No you aren’t. Keep talking to me.” I squatted next to Fehalda and slid my left arm under her legs while I cradled her back with my right so the acid on her chest would not touch my bare skin. I stood and took a second to get used to their weight before I started down the switchbacks.
“Why?” Vernine asked again in my ear.
“He wants to see us suffer.” Fehalda’s voice quivered and her body shook with a fever.
“If I just wanted to watch you die, I wouldn’t be going through this.” Vernine’s blood was slick on my bare back and I worried that she might slide off of her perch. At the bottom of the next section of the road I saw the monster I had thrown off earlier. It had landed on its skull and died instantly.
“I killed you.” Fehalda’s voice was a whimper. “I cut your head from your body. You died.”
“You didn’t do a good job then. Here I am.”
“No. I did a perfect job. You won’t die.” She shivered again and it lasted for much longer than before.
“He is Kaiyer,” Vernine whispered again. “I didn’t want to follow you here.” She coughed and blood slid down the side of my face and landed on Fehalda’s stomach. I was trying to step carefully, but I imagined it was agonizing to have her injured chest pushed against my back.
“What do you mean?”
“You are Kaiyer. The Destroyer. The signs were there, but I never believed it possible.” They both gasped when I accidently set my foot down wrong on a cobblestone and the jolt ran through the three of us.
“I don’t know how it worked. The humans woke me. I did not remember my past. I just knew my name was Kaiyer. The memories have returned slowly.”
Vernine moaned and I felt the tension in her arms relax.
“Wake up!” I yelled and they both startled with a gasp. Fehalda had closed her eyes as well. Her body was a furnace in my arms. The acid would claim her in the next few minutes, but I couldn’t walk any faster without jarring them.
“You can’t save us.” Fehalda’s black eyes stared into mine. “You are wasting time. My sister wants you to leave this world. Find the Ovule and do so. She won’t know that you fought on our behalf. She won’t know that you tried to help us. Just end our pain Kaiyer.”
“No.”
“Fuck you.” She coughed again and wheezed a rattle. The smell of the putrid acid and her melting flesh suddenly overpowered the scent of Vernine’s blood.
“You just need to stay awake for five more minutes.” We were walking through the town now. I passed a few carts that I might be able to use to carry the Elven women, but I reasoned that my destination was close enough that switching to a cart now would probably cost me more time and be bumpier than walking.
“Five minutes? The castle is weeks away. I can’t stay awake much longer,” she hissed through the pain.
“Wake up, Vernine!” I commanded. Her arms tightened around my shoulders a bit and she grunted.
“Why did you kill Isslata?” the pewter-haired woman whispered.
“I didn’t want to.” I sighed.
“She loved you,” Vernine gasped.
“I know.”
“It is part of the reason my sister needs you to leave. You killed Isslata and destroyed the hope of our people.” Fehalda’s voice was softer than a whisper and her black eyes were closed.
“I don’t want to kill your kind anymore. There has been enough death in my life. I want to come to terms with Telaxthe.” Fehalda didn’t respond and I shook her slightly. She gasped in pain and her jaw clenched with frustration.
“You don’t understand what Isslata was to us. My sister will not forgive you so easily.” The white-haired woman glared at me but I couldn’t tell if her expression was angry or just pained.
Vernine began to cough again and more blood spilled across my shoulders and onto Fehalda.
“Stay awake you two. I am not done with you yet.”
“I always imagined I would die in battle. Not in the Destroyer’s arms. And no one will know of this irony.” Fehalda’s teeth chattered as she spoke.
“We are almost there, stay awake. Hey! Stay awake!” I shouted and Fehalda’s eyes opened a crack. Vernine’s arms were still tight around my neck, but she had stopped coughing or moving. The house was a hundred yards down the road. I was almost there.
“Where are you taking us?” Vernine’s voice was hardly recognizable. I heard the liquid in her lungs when she spoke.
“We are here.” I passed the house and did my best to slide down the grassy slope beyond it in a controlled manner. I looked down into Fehalda’s eyes but they were closed.
The river received us with cold arms. I carried both of the women with me into its deep icy depths. The current was strong. More powerful than Earth, angrier than Fire, and more substantial than Air. I pulled the Water into me and wondered if these forgotten Gods the Elvens worshiped even cared that I was saving two of their people.
I hoped I wasn’t too late.
Chapter 18-Iolarathe
“Another beautiful work, Iolarathe.” Relyara stood behind me on my balcony and looked at the painting over my shoulder.
“Thank you.” I sighed inside and set down my oil brushes. I thought the piece was a failure, but didn’t feel like arguing with my servant. Her opinion mattered little, and no matter what garbage I produced she would praise it effusively.
“How do you imagine such wondrous landscapes?”
I shrugged my shoulders and turned to face the beautiful woman. She wore her usual light-blue gown and seemed to float above the stone of my veranda. I had lost track of the day, but the position of the sun and heat on my back indicated that it was probably lunch time.
“Your guests will be arriving in half of an hour. Do you wish to freshen up?” she asked cheerfully.
“I suppose I must.” I stood from my painting stool and gave one last look at the canvas before leaving the scent of my oil paints behind on the balcony. In truth, I was nervous about my plans for today, but I needed to keep Relyara from discovering what I was up to for a bit longer. There would be an opportunity to include her in the scheme, but now was not the time.
The bath was already filled, so I shed my clothes and stepped into the hot, bubbly water. It was scented with the tang of apricots and rose petals. I had not realized my shoulders were tense until the heat and fragrance of the bath relaxed my muscles.
“Will you throw this one away?” Relyara held up my left hand and gently scrubbed away the paint that had somehow found its way to my fingers. Another servant did the same with my right hand.
“Probably.”
“It is so beautiful. At least gift it to someone.” She shook her head with displeasure.
“I am aiming for perfection.” I felt tired suddenly and wanted to cancel my lunch plans, but I could not. Relyara had already told me that I was walking a razor’s edge with my suitors and maidens. I used to spend hours with them every day, but now only saw them in passing once or twice a week, when I was forced.
It had been that way since Kaiyer was taken from me.
It had been almost a year. I still could not keep him out of my thoughts, though I knew he had most likely perished during the intense training Vertarus pushed on the human soldiers. I knew Kaiyer had survived the process of the change, I saw him sparring in the fields one day as I rode my horse across a nearby hill. That was four months ago. I wanted to look for him again and watch him train, but my entourage expected me to picnic with them. I could not risk them riding out to the fields to find me.
I would know for sure in the next few days if my lover was still alive.
“What?” Relyara had spoken to me, but I wasn’t paying attention.
“I asked which dress you preferred. Cream or silver?” She nodded over to the dresser where the two day gowns hung.
“Cream.” I don’t even think I looked.
“Perhaps after lunch you will want to ride?” She smiled at me and her eyes twinkled.
“I will paint.”
“Painting makes you moody, Mistress. You never ride anymore.”
“Very well. I will do so after lunch.”
I wanted to go to the training fields now. I could ride down the slope and catch a hint of his scent. I inhaled and almost expected to taste his smoky fragrance again, but instead just smelled the disappointing bathwater.
If I rode there and he was not training, it would almost be worse, knowing he was dead. As long as I avoided the area I could hold onto the hope that he lived.
I had a plan. I had to be patient and stay with it. Relyara’s spies were always right. He was alive. I just needed a few more weeks of patience and we could be together.
Relyara gestured for me to exit the bath and I followed her instructions. The other servants towel dried my slick body before they began to comb and treat my hair. Their administrations were hard to pay attention to through the fog of my mind, but I was shortly dressed in the cream day gown and sitting at the table in my dining area.
“Mistress.” Relyara sat next to me on one of the leather padded chairs and placed her hand on mine. “You need to focus on your suitors. You have ignored them for too long. My servants indicate that they are unsettled and consider returning to their homes.”
“That is why we are having this lunch.” I sighed and thought about jumping off my balcony, running to the stables, saddling one of the stallions there, and riding until the creature died. Anything to get away from here.
She opened her mouth to reply but a distant knock on the suite door interrupted her words. The woman gracefully floated to her feet and then seemed to dance across the wood floor to receive my first visitor. I admired her body as she moved and thought about the last time we had made love. Was it a week ago? Two weeks? No. Months had passed.
“Mistress, Vertarus has arrived.” Relyara introduced Elder Dluuzit’s son with a graceful bow and sweep of her hand.
“Welcome, Vertarus. Please join me at the table.” I gestured to the spot across from me and my suitor moved to sit.
“Thank you, Iolarathe.” He smelled of cedar and juniper berries. He was muscular and stocky, smaller in stature than Bur’tilon, but we had sparred together and I judged him to be just as capable in combat as his cousin.
Relyara poured the man some water, cherry juice, and then a glass of sparkling white wine. My suitor raised his wine in toast and I followed his movement. The liquid was a refreshing change from the warm bath.
“Am I early?” He motioned to the other chairs in my dining area.
“Of course, I wanted to spend some time alone with you.” I sat back slightly in my chair and breathed the scent of his sudden arousal. At one time I would have taken pleasure in my ability to control these idiotic men. I no longer cared for their desires.
“I am pleased that the Singleborn wishes to spend her time with me.” He took another sip of the wine and I could tell he struggled to curb his arousal by shifting his sitting position.
“How is the army progressing?” I asked with a slight smile.
“Well. Not as quickly as we want. More humans are surviving the changing process, but most of them are too dumb to survive the training. The animals keep killing each other.” He shook his head and nodded to Relyara when she placed a small appetizer of cheese and pears on the table between us.
“How many are changed and ready for battle?” I picked up a pear and occupied my hands and eyes with the process of cutting the fruit.
“I have a bit fewer than one hundred and forty changed. Only sixty I consider ready for combat. Another thirty have some fighting skills but lack discipline. The rest are split between the newly changed and those that I will need to exterminate if they do not improve in the next two months.” He took a sip of the cherry juice and puckered his lips at its sourness.
“When did this experiment begin? Two years ago?” I knew the answer but wanted to lead him down a particular path in our conversation.
“Yes. We have improved the process greatly. I wish I had more than sixty to show for my efforts, but I am predicting we will quadruple that number in the next twelve months.” He was skilled at controlling his emotions and I did not smell the tin scent of disappointment I expected from him.
“Tell me more about their training.” I cut a wedge of cheese and took a bite paired with the fruit.
“I’ve got them divided up into squads of twenty. Each group trains together, eats together, sleeps together, and is supervised by one of my handpicked commanders. My commanders and I review their progress and plan nightly.”
I nodded at his description and then drank more of the cherry juice. I doubted his commanders knew much of anything about battle, but I decided it would be wise to keep this to myself. I needed him as a friend for now and questioning his judgment would not help me reach that end.
“It seems you have developed a sound strategy.” I forced a smile to my lips and gave a passing thought to how my personality had changed in the last four years. At one time I would have called him an idiot and belittled his progress. If he protested, I would have broken his body or killed him. Now I realized I needed allies that believed I liked them more than a group of idiots who were terrified of me.
“If it would please you, I would enjoy giving you a tour.” I caught the pleasant scent of flowers on him.
“I would enjoy that.” I leaned away in my chair and stretched my arms up against the back of my chair to give him a better view of my torso. The gown was somewhat tight against my breasts and stomach. My nose confirmed the change in his scent immediately. “I am so bored. It feels as though I have walked or ridden every square foot of this place. A tour of your training grounds might entertain me for an afternoon.”
“We have been discussing the idea of taking a few squads out into the wilderness for extended training. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us?” I tried to hide my smile at the influx of his eager scent. I was sure the man imagined all sorts of improbable possibilities that involved us sharing a tent together each night. “We would bring plenty of guards, so you would not need to worry about your safety.”
“I am not worried about humans.”
“No, of course you aren’t. But these are not mere humans. They have unfettered strength and speed. If not for their training, they would be as dangerous as tear wolves. Perhaps not as smart though.” He leaned back in his chair and laughed.
“I do like the idea of taking your humans out for training. I imagine it would be much like herding cattle. When I was younger I would assist in those expeditions across the desert highlands of my mother’s lands.”
“Yes. It will probably be quite similar to your memories.” He smiled and his scent confirmed his excitement.
“The idea of all these other guards around does disappoint me though.” I leaned forward a bit and he matched my movement. “It doesn’t seem as intimate. Do you agree?” One of my fingers found the rim of the wine glass and traced the curve of its edge.
“I do agree with the Singleborn.” His mouth was practically watering at my inference. “I believe that I can select one of the tamer squads for our trip. We won’t need any guards then.”
“Sounds wonderful. Perhaps you can give me a tour this afternoon. I don’t wish to be close to the animals, but I can look upon them from afar. If I like the performance of one of these squads, perhaps just you and I can take them out for a week.” I caught a slight scent of sour anxiousness beside me and I ventured a glance at Relyara, who scowled at me in obvious disapproval.
“Excellent idea, Iolarathe. I would enjoy that immensely.” His musky scent of arousal had filled the room and his eyes were slightly glazed. His little brain was already imagining fucking me every night during this excursion. The fragrance was so potent that I realized that the suitors arriving in the next few minutes would probably smell it.
“We cannot tell the others about this. We must continue to keep your project a secret from the other tribes; I wouldn’t want them to become jealous.” Vertarus nodded and licked his lips.
“I seem to have expressed my desires a little too plainly. I apologize for my scent.” He frowned and took another drink of the cherry juice.
“No apology is necessary. If I didn’t enjoy your scent, you would not have continued to be my suitor.” I motioned to Relyara and she moved behind me and opened the windows of the dining room. The balcony doors in my bedroom were also open and the draft blew through my suite. The scent began to dissipate.
“Thank you for understanding. It is difficult for your suitors to be in your presence for extended periods of time.” He smiled and his scent shifted to a taste of broccoli.
A knock sounded at my door and Relyara moved to answer it. I heard the voices out in the hallway and wasn’t surprised when the entirety of my entourage entered with a flutter of laughter and mixed scents.
Vertarus and I rose from our seats to greet my guests. We each exchanged words and brief contact with our fingers before Relyara instructed them to sit down at my dining table. My other servants flitted around the seats and within moments each guest was nibbling on various fruits and cheeses, and drinking wine.
“Thank you for inviting us to lunch with you, dear sister.” Grednil raised his wine glass and the other men and women toasted with a voice of agreement.
“Thank you, Grednil, and thank you all for coming to lunch with me. I’ve been absent from most of our activities for the last few months, so please think of this as my attempt at an apology.” I forced a smile to my lips as I met each of their eyes. Fortunately, they nodded at my insincere words and smiled back.
“You must have been quite bored without our company. What have you been working on?” Daranyet raised a green eyebrow over a sapphire eye. Her stomach was swollen with Grednil’s offspring. The woman was clever and I had done my best to keep my distance since Grednil had mated with her. Her question revealed what Relyara had told me: she believed her pregnancy entitled her to an elevated status in my father’s house. She was mistaken.
“Nothing useful, I am afraid.”
“Oh I doubt it. Surely the Singleborn is always occupied by something fascinating and important. Of course, if you don’t wish to tell us, I understand.” She leaned forward a little and tilted her head with a wide smile. I caught a few scents of bitter citrus fear mix with the taste of their bathed bodies. Vertarus must have feared she was aware of the human army, but Grednil knew nothing of the experiment with the humans. My half-brother was probably worried that I would gut his mate for pushing a topic he knew I did not wish to speak of. I picked up my glass of bubbling wine and made eye contact with the pregnant woman while I drank from the glass. An awkward silence descended on the party and Daranyet looked down at her stomach.
“I’ve been painting,” I said simply. They gasped and opened their mouths to ask me a flutter of idiotic questions about my hobby. Finally, Contania’s voice pushed through the rabble.
“Do you have any pieces you could show us?” The woman’s yellow-gold hair swirled around her shoulders like the branches of a willow tree. During the last few months, Elder Oimon’s daughter and Ilttaia of Proticule had sent me many requests to spend time with them. While I did enjoy the presence of the two women the most out of my four maidens, I had refused their invitations.
“No. I am not happy with any of them yet.” I set down my glass of wine and tried not to glide my fingers across the smooth surface of the table. My entourage had little else to do at our estate but train, relax, and gossip. I should have known this topic would come into our conversation.
“My Mistress just finished a piece out on the veranda, if you all would care to see it,” Relyara said from behind me and I whirled around to glare at the beautiful woman. She caught my eyes and smiled mischievously. “She was contemplating destroying it, but I believe it should be presented as a gift to one of her loyal companions,” the blue-eyed woman finished with a small bow and a gesture to the opened balcony doors.
Vertarus, Fusik, Alwor, Bur’tilon, Alatald, and Ripthe shot to their feet and made their way eagerly to the veranda door. Ilttaia, Contania, and Yerryne followed the males. Grednil and Daranyet left the table for the veranda at the end of the group. The green-haired woman was having a bit of difficulty walking with her usual grace and I realized that her pregnancy might be ending sooner than I expected. Normal gestation was twenty months, and I only found out about my half-brother and Daranyet the night before I sent Kaiyer to the training fields. The math didn’t add up correctly, unless she was still eight months off from the birth. They must have been fucking long before I knew. It angered and disappointed me that both Relyara and I had missed this.
“This painting is wonderful, Iolarathe!” Alatald’s voice carried back into my room from the veranda. I sighed and rose from my chair. Relyara smiled at me pleasantly and she only nodded when I returned a glare. I absolutely loathed showing my work before it was completed, even then I was not often satisfied enough to display my works. Relyara knew this, and though she found all I produced to be of the highest caliber, I saw flaws in every painting that embarrassed me. She thought my entourage’s compliments would assure me of my painting’s quality, but instead they enraged me. Their opinions mattered little to me, and were not as important as my own, even if I could trust any of the simpering sycophants to give me a fair and honest critique.
“Where did you see a scene like this?” Fusik asked. The men gathered in a half-circle ten paces away from the easel.
I looked at the painting and stifled a gasp. I suddenly understood what the piece was missing.
“Are these landscapes common in the Eastern Deserts?” Vertarus’s voice was filled with awe.
“No, my friend.” Grednil laughed from his belly and then shook his head. “There are no floating islands in our homeland.”
“It is a wondrous image. Notice the waterfalls that come from the islands. There is such detail in the water. It practically looks like it is moving.” Ilttaia was shy and almost never spoke in front of the group, but the others nodded and voiced their agreement.
“Why would you wish to destroy such a fine work of art?” Daranyet challenged me again with a question.
“It is not perfect,” I answered her quickly and focused my attention on the painting. I only needed a few more minutes alone with my oils and it would be perfect. My heart suddenly ached and my head started to spin as if I had forgotten to breathe for the last few minutes.
I would paint Kaiyer in it, standing on top one of the islands and staring off into the endless sky. He would be small and hard to recognize, but I would know it was him. He would complete the beautiful world.
“I will gladly take this imperfect masterpiece from you, Singleborn.” Ripthe laughed and made a playful motion to snatch the canvas. The others mirrored his laugh but then seemed to notice that I didn’t find any humor in his gesture and my suitors suddenly became quiet.
“I have not decided to give it to anyone. I was considering sending it to my half-sister, but perhaps I could reward one of you with it.” My lips curled into a forced smile. It wouldn’t matter much who had the painting. In a few short weeks I would leave and never return.
“Perhaps a game?” Yerryne asked. I smiled back at the beautiful gray-haired woman and stared into her onyx eyes. Like Ilttaia, the daughter of Elder Gnella rarely spoke. But while Ilttaia seemed harmless and often tried to establish a relationship with me, Yerryne never did more than study me with her cold, calculating eyes. Daranyet made small moves to attempt to challenge me often, but Yerryne was like the stalking panther. I knew I would one day feel her teeth.
“Perhaps you have a recommendation?” I asked the woman. Every part of her body was perfectly crafted, even her musky scent was delicious to inhale. I had hoped that my question would have caught her unprepared, but she confirmed my belief that she had awaited an opportunity like this and had a plan in mind.
“Carrion beast hunting. At night, of course. Whoever brings back the corpse of a beast first gets the painting.” Her lips spread slightly into a smile.
The gathered men and women stared at Yerryne with obvious shock while the bitter stench of fear filled the room.
Carrion beasts were deadly creatures. They stood half as high as a horse, had razor-sharp claws on each of their four powerful legs, and had a nest of poison-tipped quills at the end of their tails that the creatures could launch with targeted precision at prey up to eighty feet away. The real danger was their intelligence.
Fortunately, the animals seemed to hate each other, and never hunted in packs. They were also extremely lazy and preferred to steal the dead prey of other animals rather than hunting for live food. They were shy and would often scream at large animals that entered their territory, but almost never make any attack. When threatened, however, they were deadly. Their velvety camouflaged fur, teeth, and claws were highly prized amongst the tribes. Hunting groups of half a dozen Elvens would often pursue the creatures to gain fame and favor. Most of the larger parties would return successful, some came back with a few members missing by the beast’s teeth, but occasionally, an entire group of hunters would disappear.
“That sounds,” Ripthe glanced around the veranda and licked his lips to tell if anyone else mirrored his fear, “dangerous.”
“Nonsense. Rumor is that the Singleborn hunted the creatures alone quite often in her native lands. Is that correct?” Yerryne raised a gray eyebrow and her black eyes cast a red reflection back at me.
“I have hunted a few.” I gritted my teeth. At one time, the thought of my suitors being torn to bits by a carrion beast would have been intriguing. Now I had too much at stake to risk the displeasure of my father or the other tribes.
“Grednil has told me of your exploits. He said you hunted dozens of the creatures. Unless those stories are exaggerated?” She smiled beautifully and I thought about kicking her in her pretty throat. The woman was of this tribe. What could she gain by having my suitors kill themselves tonight?
“My sister has killed many of the beasts while hunting solo,” Grednil said quickly, his scent burned a rotting spinach stench. “But she is the Singleborn and suited to such things.”
“Are her suitors not of an equal caliber? She has turned away so many in an effort to find the best males. Surely any one of you could easily handle a carrion beast. I am not nearly as skilled as most of you, but the challenge excites me. I already have a hunting ground in mind.”
“Perhaps it would be better to go in teams of two or three and then use another challenge between the victors to find the final winner?” Fusik turned to me and I could see the other men and women nod gratefully at his suggestion.
“Perhaps something additional should be added to the prize? It seems that some might need extra incentive.” Yerryne’s smile grew and she twisted a finger around a long lock of hair while she licked her lips to taste the atmosphere of the room. It tasted of fear.
“What did you have in mind?” Daranyet asked, and I wondered if the two women had planned this exchange.
“We can all agree that the Singleborn is beautiful, appealing to both of our sexes, yet she has refused to take a lover. She should indulge the winner of this contest with the painting and a night with her.”
“Absolutely not!” I spat out before I had a chance to think.
“Why not? Are you ovulating now?” she inquired bluntly.
I thought about lying but her scent and steadfast gaze led me to believe that she must have known the answer before she asked it. Relyara moved to my side and I guessed that my servant believed that there was a spy in my staff.
“No I am not. I begin in two months.”
“Then there is no risk of pregnancy, in case a male wins this contest. It is doubtful though. I love the painting and have desired you for some time now. I have already picked a hunting spot and I know I will win.” Her words were hungry and the scent of peach arousal emanated from the bodies of the gathered males and females.
“That is an ample enough reward for me. Let us begin tonight.” Bur’tilon was standing next to me and the big man’s scent almost overpowered me.
“I have no fear of the creatures. Tonight I will slay one for the Singleborn.” Vertarus laughed easily and the other members of my entourage agreed. Except for my half-brother, he stepped into the middle of the semi-circle around my painting and held up his arms to stop the excited conversation.
“The painting should be enough reward for the victor of our contest.” He nodded at me and I felt my stomach clench.
I had always thought of Grednil as a fool, a useful tool to be manipulated because of his loyalty to me, but feelings of affection never entered my mind when I thought of the man. His words made me realize how wrong I had been about my half-brother. He always did his best to protect me, even though he probably sensed that I cared little for him. Loyalty was perhaps more important than any other quality, and in the past I had judged my poor brother too harshly.
“Nonsense.” Yerryne’s words cut off Grednil’s next phrase. “If anything, the Singleborn needs a night of pleasure. She has been so aloof for many months. We owe her the enjoyment just as much as she owes it to us.”
“The gift of my bed for the night is not appropriate.” I should have prepared for this moment with Yerryne, but I had never imagined she would approach from this angle.
“Then perhaps you should just dismiss us all! We have waited patiently for over three years. Then you avoid us all for months. Are we wasting our time?” She crossed her arms and the hint of cinnamon touched her scent, indicating the sincerity of her outrage.
Silence hung in the air after her words and the small crowd turned to face me. I breathed in to inhale their mixture of lust, anticipation, fear, and anger. I needed to continue this charade with the suitors until the army was ready. Yerryne’s strategy eluded me. She was Elder Gnella’s daughter and must have realized that sprinting toward the resolution of my courtship would only put the entire tribe in danger.
Unless this was a play directed by Gnella.
I thought briefly about the older woman and wondered at her motivation. She had always been kind to me on the surface and hinted that I could trust her. From what I observed, she spent a great deal of effort making sure she was not involved in any of the power plays that seemed to hamper the other elders. Relyara had no spies watching the woman since we never thought her a threat.
I would have to worry about that possibility at a later time. Yerryne’s challenge seemed straightforward, and she probably was not expecting me to agree. What would be the harm in accepting the proposal? Perhaps one of my suitors would die, but that often happened in arrangements such as this. We would send our apologies to the tribe and then ask them for a replacement. Even if one of Laxile’s perished at the claws of a carrion beast, it would not be overwhelmingly tragic. I would blame the situation on Yerryne and could turn her game back in my favor.
The worst possible outcome of this was that I would have to fuck one of these morons. I would not be impregnated, so it would not end my courtship with the other suitors. I would prefer a female to win, and if it was Yerryne, that would make things more interesting. The woman was gorgeous, but I did not trust or particularly like her. That would add spice to the sex.
“You are right Yerryne.” The woman’s cold black eyes seemed surprised at my words. “I have been away from the group far too long, and I would enjoy some comfort in my bed. Tonight I have plans, and you mentioned earlier that you already have a hunting spot chosen. That seems an unfair advantage over the others. Let us schedule the hunt for two weeks from tonight. That will give everyone time to prepare.” Yerryne’s scent soured slightly when she realized I had used her own words to delay her game.
“My brother will not participate, and I also believe we should leave Daranyet out of the game because of her condition.”
“I will participate, Singleborn.” Her blue eyes sparked with anger. “Ubarwa females never decline a challenge. I am a skilled hunter and my condition will not slow me.”
“Very well then. My brother will judge the event.” I turned to him and nodded. “He’ll spend the next few days thinking of the rules and will inspect the corpse, if one is brought down.” The gathered men and women nodded. Relyara motioned to me from behind the group.
“Lunch has been laid out inside. Let us dine together.” I pointed back into my suite and the gathered Elvens moved inward. Vertarus was the last to leave the veranda and I clasped his shoulder and brought my mouth to his ear.
“I still wish to see your humans. Let us do so after lunch and plan a trip before this little game in two weeks,” I whispered softly enough to keep the others from hearing.
“Of course!” he nodded eagerly and whispered back before we walked inside.
If Kaiyer was alive I wouldn’t have to worry about this ridiculous challenge. Vertarus and I would take Kaiyer’s group with us into the wilderness, then I could escape with my love and we would be together forever.
Chapter 19-The O’Baarni
I skidded to a stop against a boulder grasped like a prize in the roots of a massive red pine tree. My breath steamed out of my mouth and I did my best to control the agonized sound of air leaving my body. I did not hear my pursuers, but I only had a few moments before they would follow me down the waterfall that had led me here and swim ashore to track me.
My hand reached down to my chest and gave a light tug on the arrow that pierced my ribcage. The bolt shredded my left lung, but if it had been half an inch north or west it would have ripped through my heart and ended what was left of my terrible existence. I had been lucky. Alexia was the best archer to ever grace our army and I could have been the only quarry she had never slain with a single arrow.
I grimaced at the memory of the massive and powerful beings. I would have preferred to battle a dozen of those omnipotent flying lizards instead of the group that currently hunted me. I would have stood a better chance of living through the ordeal.
I was not sure I wanted to live.
Tears began to sting my eyes when I thought of Iolarathe. I yanked with all my strength and ripped the arrow out of my chest. The tip of the missile was barbed and it took most of my lung and slit the side of my heart on its way out.
I leaned against the tree and tried not to scream. They could probably smell my blood from a mile away, but a shout would help them find me even faster. My vision swam and the pain wanted me to vomit, or pass out, or just fucking die already.
Sudden strength flooded back into me as if I was fully rested. I started to question whether the Elements were a gift or a curse. I had been using them for so long now the healing came easier than breathing, but I was not sure I wanted to heal anymore.
I moved before I felt the magic rush toward me. I leapt up and spun backward to grab the edge of the boulder. A massive bolt of Fire erupted below me and flung me away from my temporary perch as if I was a fly swatted from the back of a horse by its tail whip.
I tumbled across the forest floor and smashed my arm, knee, and face against rocks before I had enough sense to roll to my feet and start running. The path before me was clear, but my battle-ready mind knew better and I dove to my right to avoid another powerful wave of red Fire that burned the trees to ash.
Damn it, Malek!
The burst of magic helped me locate him, so I sprinted in the opposite direction through the thick forest. There was no trail here, and the branches ripped across my face and body like the lashes of a whip. I felt my old friend’s magic chase me again and I managed to dive behind another large redwood to save myself. A cascade of heat wrapped around me. It choked off all the air and singed the hair that had grown long on my face and head. The tree ripped, splintered, groaned, and tumbled to the ground.
I did not stay to watch the giant fall. I could fight, die or flee. I could never defeat all of them, and as defeated as I felt, I could not give up and break my promise to Iolarathe. I had to find our daughter. I knew precisely where Malek was now so I kept as many trees as I could between us as I ran.
A shadow flickered through the forest and I twisted my body to avoid a volley of arrows. They came at me in a triangle pattern, and while I could dodge the first few, the last would take me in the chest and end my flight. I attempted to snatch the arrow from the air before it hit me. This would have been a simple feat had the arrows been launched by an Elven or an unchanged human, but our bows pulled hundreds of pounds of weight and sent arrows at speeds that punched ripples into the air with their speed.
My hand grasped along the shaft of the closest arrow while I twisted my wrist, arm, and shoulder in an effort to deflect the momentum of the bolt. The thin wood burned across my palm and tore the skin of my fingers as I continued to run, but the arrow stayed in my palm. I almost risked a smile.
Alexia had now missed her target four times. Perhaps this situation wasn’t as dire as I thought.
I didn’t see the woman ahead of me, but the arrows had obviously come from her. I guessed that I was half a mile ahead of Malek, so I cut my run to the left and attempted to put some trees between myself and Alexia.
My guess was wrong and she stepped around one of the pine trees in front of me with bow drawn and half a dozen arrows notched between the fingers of her right hand. She was close, less than a hundred yards away, and I knew she could slice a fly in half with an arrow at this range. I threw the arrow in my hand at her and dove behind another tree. Arrows ripped through the air and sent dirt, rocks and pine needles spewing into the sky.
I was lucky again, but it wouldn't last forever. I didn’t want to kill my friends, but it was now becoming painfully obvious that I could not simply flee from them. It was many hundreds of miles to the ocean and there was no way my ex-generals would let me go.
There was no way I could escape them without fighting back.
I pulled the Earth to me and ducked out from behind the tree and flung the Fire toward Alexia. The purple and green ball of molten magma grew as it traveled through the air, igniting every speck of dried tinder within thirty feet of the missile’s path. The tree she hid behind erupted into blue flame that quickly spread to its neighbors like a virus.
I ran away from the burning forest. It was not the direction I needed to go, but Alexia would not be able to follow me through the fire, and Malek would not suspect I had taken this path. I could circle back later.
If I lived that long.
I reached a sharp ravine and jumped down the walls before reaching the shallow river that ran through the canyon. The water ran north, and my gray-haired friend was somewhere on the higher ground to the south of me, so I followed the river. If my pursuers did not realize I was here, it was possible that the water would disguise my scent and the sound of my footfalls would not reach the tops of the cliffs. If they did find me here, I would be easy to trap.
The river was old, it bent and twisted through the gorge in an unpredictable tangle thick with rocks and fallen trees. The walls of the canyon were a hundred yards apart. Though I was doing my best to run silently, my bare feet slapped against the water and made enough sound to bounce and echo through the gorge. I hoped the labyrinthine twists of the river would throw off my pursuers, but I knew better. These were my generals, the best warriors that had ever lived.
Booted footsteps clomped around the next corner and I guessed whose they were before I rounded the bend. I had no weapon, or armor, or anything to defend myself with other than my terrible magic.
“Why?” Gorbanni’s face was ashen and his eyes heavy with grief. I pushed his question aside with a grunt and sprinted the short distance between us.
Gorbanni was probably the weakest of my generals in melee combat, but his skill was nothing to consider lightly. His favored weapon was a heavy single-edged long sword that resembled more of a curved cleaver than the straight, pointed blades my other generals preferred. It was a perfect weapon when on horseback, but would be slow and clumsy on foot.
Or so I hoped.
He drew the heavy blade with a speed and fluidity that came from countless hours of dedicated use and sliced it horizontally at my chest when I dashed toward him. The quick attack looked effortless and would have killed most opponents. But I expected the move and used my momentum combined with the slickness of the river rock to slide on my knees at the very last fraction of a second.
I felt the blade part the air an inch above my hair while I skidded painfully toward him. Surprise registered in his blue eyes, but then I sprang to my feet after his swing had passed and thrust the top side of my head into his face. I had enough momentum to break his skull, but our bones were harder than those of a normal human. Only his nose shattered with a wet splat.
My right arm checked his coiled elbow so that he couldn’t bring his sword back to cut me and then I slammed my fist into the blond man’s neck with enough strength to crush his throat into dust. He gasped and struggled against my right arm, but I had already wrapped my fingers over his and twisted them back against his palm. Four of his fingers broke before his grip loosened on his blade enough for me to pry it out of his hands.
The lack of air forced him to his knees and I kicked his chest with enough power to break half of his ribs and send him skipping across the edge of the gentle river. He tumbled through the water and I chased his body until it stopped and I could assess his condition.
If this fight had taken place on horseback, our positions would have been reversed. Gorbanni was an incredibly skilled cavalry man and I only defeated him because of the circumstances within the gorge. I doubted the man could have gotten a horse down these steep walls or through the thick forest.
His face was covered in blood from the broken nose and his breath came out in forced and labored gasps. The crushed windpipe would not kill him, but it would prevent him from chasing me for the next quarter of an hour. He looked up at me from the ground with his blue eyes and I could see the hate, fear, and despair in them.
I stepped on his forearm and raised my sword to finish him. There would be no recovery from a beheading and it would mean one less hunter to follow me to the ends of the world. Our eyes met and he attempted to wheeze out a word.
“I’m sorry, my friend.” He struggled against my arm and probably tried to force as much Earth through his body as possible to heal himself. He should have been able to blast me with Fire, but he was only able to harness that particular type of magic when he had complete focus and control.
I brought his blade down and then halted the edge half an inch from his nose with an abrupt movement. He gasped and his body stopped twisting under me.
“I love you too much to kill you, Gorbanni. I am sorry for all the things I have done. You have to let me go. Everything has been taken from me now. I won’t give her the satisfaction of killing me. Go live your life.” His eyes opened wide and he tried to choke something out through his broken windpipe. I didn’t wait to hear what it was. I had already spent enough time not killing the blond horseman and I was sure that Alexia, Thayer, and Malek were close. I had to run. I had to escape.
I left Gorbanni at the side of the river and continued my sprint north. At least I had a blade now so that if I ran into Thayer I would be able to defend myself for a few minutes against the sword master. While the idea of fighting any of my ex-generals caused me fear, none other than Shlara could defeat me in one-on-one combat. Thayer would be a tough opponent though and I wouldn’t be able to handle him in the same manner as Gorbanni. He would be cunning and would no doubt do his best to delay me until Alexia and Malek caught up to our position.
Thayer also knew what I would do when pursued through the woods, he was with me when we eluded the Elvens. He would guess which direction I would take and could calculate the speed of my flight, where I would hide, he would anticipate everything I would do and how I would think. If even Gorbanni was smart enough to cut me off in the gorge, Thayer would be several steps ahead already and had probably set up the perfect ambush with Alexia and Malek.
The canyon wound to the east, the side of the cliff crumbled into a rough staircase of boulders only sixty feet high. I could bound up the slope without losing too much speed and escape into the dense cover of the forest once again. Then I could cut back and head to the ocean as I had planned.
Or was this Thayer’s trap? Would I find him positioned behind the outcropping of trees, ready to strike me down once I crested the ridge? If I stopped I could listen and smell for signs of him, but I did not have time for that. Malek and Alexia were probably gaining ground on me already.
I was often risk averse, yet some of my most glorious victories had come from the times I ignored caution and reason and just did what I could to survive. Thayer knew I was desperate. He would expect me to take this route as an easy way out of the gorge. I decided instead to continue running. Seconds after I passed the escape route I heard heavy booted feet smash into the river bed beside me. As I suspected, he had been lying in wait at the tree line.
I was faster than my bulky friend and the many years of solo travel through the wilderness had only increased my ability to run through the forest. Thayer couldn’t keep up with me and within a few minutes the sounds of his heavy footfalls faded. I still needed to escape the canyon. I saw no way out besides climbing, but that would give Thayer ample time to catch and kill me. The flow of the shallow river had trickled down to a narrow stream. If the canyon ended before I found a safe way out, I would be cornered by the three of them.
I saw another spot on the cliff that I could easily ascend and decided to stop and face Thayer. I might not be able to defeat the big swordsman before Malek and Alexia arrived, but there was a chance, and I could always continue running. I jumped up the rocky canyon wall and then turned when I heard him approach.
He stopped some sixty feet away and drew a pair of thick, long swords from his belt. None of them were wearing their decorative animal armor. Though we could move easily in the massive suits of tempered gray steel, I would have tired them out by now had they been encumbered by the extra weight.
Instead my old friend wore light armor of fitted leather with metal plates in key locations over his heart and around his neck. I doubted the armor would do much to keep my blade from cutting him, but it was better than attacking me while naked. If it took me a fraction of a second longer to pierce his flesh, he could possibly avoid damage altogether.
“Make this easy on us both.” Thayer stood far enough away from me to allow himself time to dodge a magical attack.
“I don’t intend to die today.” I kicked a rock at my feet and it flew in his direction. I was surprised at my aim, but he flicked one of his blades through the air casually and knocked the projectile aside.
I was wasting time.
Thayer’s eyes flickered and I twisted myself sideways in desperation. Alexia had sneaked behind me and one of her twin short blades ripped across the side of my ribs where my heart had been a hair of a second ago. I lashed at her with my sword, but her blade was already in the way and my attack was snuffed before I put any power behind it.
Alexia was unbelievably fast, even for one of our kind, and the only way I could ever best her during a sparring match was by keeping distance between us. This was not possible here, and I struggled to block her quick stabs with Gorbanni’s cumbersome sword and my empty right hand. Alexia’s blades were quickly drenched in my blood and I knew my attempt to flee my old life was about to come to an end.
Thayer sprang up to join our fight. He swung his blades as he leapt and I risked a block with Gorbanni’s sword. The clash of our weapons echoed through the valley and the force pushed me back across the surface of the boulder. Thayer and Alexia tried to rip my flesh open with synchronized attacks while I fended them off with a desperate combination of parries and footwork.
Sometimes fighting multiple opponents was easier than battling a lone assailant. Unless the warriors were trained to fight in a coordinated unit, their attacks would often interrupt each other and their positioning would allow opportunities for strikes that a single opponent could easily defend. I had been challenged by pairs and groups many times in my past and always emerged victorious.
But this was Alexia and Thayer.
They had trained together for decades, and each of their strikes was as perfectly coordinated and lethal as if it came from a four-armed warrior. My only advantage was that I had trained with them as well and could anticipate most of their movements. I could not fend them off forever. One of every six attacks they made slipped past my defense. The rock was now slick with my blood.
I dove back off the boulder and flipped over before colliding with the rocky edge of the riverbank. Thayer was behind me in an instant, but Alexia threw three small daggers down at me. Two sunk into my right thigh before I could sprint away. I gritted my teeth against the pain and pivoted to dodge another pair of horizontal slashes from Thayer.
My leg was suddenly numb. Alexia’s daggers were coated with the same poison she favored on her arrowheads. If I had half a minute to recover I could have ripped out the blades and healed, but my magic was already struggling with the countless wounds across my body. Thayer knew. He timed his sword strikes to keep my right hand from yanking the blades from my flesh.
Alexia paced around Thayer and I like a puma readying for the kill. I tried to keep both of my ex-generals in front of me, but my mobility was hampered by her poison, and Thayer suddenly doubled the speed of his attacks to hold my attention. The chill from my leg spread up to my hips and stomach. I had been close to death so many times, but I always found some way to save myself.
There would be no escape this time.
I didn’t hear Alexia, but I sensed her attack and turned to face her. Thayer anticipated my movement and his sword cut off my left arm at the elbow; sending the remainder of my limb and Gorbanni’s heavy sword skipping across the rocky river like a dancing marionette. Alexia’s short blade pierced my chest below the heart and I felt the air explode from my lungs in a wet gasp. Her ice-blue eyes stared into mine, but they were filled with hatred instead of their usual kindness. I swung my right arm across to punch her in the face, but her second sword ripped into my bicep and I grunted the remaining air out of my dying body.
Then the battle was over.
I struggled to raise my head but my muscles would not move. I felt numb everywhere and even though the Earth screamed through my body like an angry hawk, there was too much blood pouring out of me to keep me conscious. If they pulled the blade out of my chest I could heal in a few minutes, but they would not. This could only end one way.
“I’ve asked this before, but I’ll ask one last time. If you ever loved me, loved us, you’ll explain why you did such horrible things. Why did you betray us?” Malek’s voice filled my ears and I found that I had just enough strength to raise my head and look at him.
“I loved her.”
I was surprised at how light my body felt. If Thayer wasn’t holding me down I would probably float away into the sky. The idea sounded wonderful. I wanted to be free to jump through the clouds.
Malek shook his head and sighed. I saw the muscles of his jaw clench when he pulled his sword from the weapon’s sheath. The movement was quick, or maybe my mind was just so tired that I couldn’t follow their attacks anymore. The surest way to kill one of our kind, or an Elven, was to separate the head from the body.
Malek’s aim was true.
"You'll stay dead this time, Kaiyer."
Chapter 20-Kaiyer
I startled awake with a scream and fought to keep my breath in my lungs. I felt my head split in two and fall away from my body, onto the rocky ground of the river shore, while Malek’s angry face glared at me from above the horizon. His sword was covered in my blood and dripped into the water that snaked through the gorge like an angry worm.
But I was alive.
How was that possible?
“What is wrong?” Fehalda stood with her blade drawn across the campfire. Vernine crouched in a battle stance with her own weapon poised to defend. Both women were naked and the red flames reflected off of their athletic bodies with a slick sheen.
“Bad dream.” I gasped and forced air down my throat with a savage gulp. My head still felt as if it was split down the middle by Malek’s sword.
“You screamed loud enough to wake the Dead Gods.” Vernine frowned slightly and I couldn’t tell if the pewter-haired woman was joking or not. Her red eyes reflected the firelight like angry lava.
“Perhaps it was a bad nightmare then?” I sighed and tossed aside my own blanket. The night was hot but the sweat that covered my body felt like ice and smelled of terror.
“Where are you going?” Fehalda asked when I stood and took a few steps away from the campsite and into the darkness of the night.
“To piss and then rinse off in the river. If you want, you can handle my penis and wash my back,” I said over my shoulder at the white Elven.
“Pfft,” she huffed, and I heard both of their swords return to their sheaths with a single sound.
After I relieved myself in a thick grouping of rosemary, I pulled off my sweaty undergarments and walked the sixty yards to the bank of the river. We had followed it west for the last week, toward Nia. It was the same river I had emerged into after escaping the dragon’s lair. Closer to the capital, it was known as the Stone River.
The shores of the river were lined in slick rocks. I waded into the quick moving water. Though the air was hot and dry, the water was still quite frigid. I doubted most would be able to stand more than a few moments in its icy clutches. I dunked my head under the surface and let the black current numb my body and memories until my breath couldn’t be held anymore.
It was not a nightmare.
The realization brought the chill to my heart and stomach. My friends really did chase me down like a rabid beast and murder me. I could remember the pain of their weapons and I saw their faces so clearly. They meant to kill me. My friends hated me for some reason, and it was not because of what I did to Shlara. I must have done something else to incur such wrath. Something that prompted them to chase me themselves instead of sending soldiers after me as they had in the past.
My head ached when I tried to remember. What more could I have done? What could have been worse than what I did to Shlara? They had tied Iolarathe to a stake and began to burn her. I was bound and powerless. I could not stop them. I could only watch the woman I loved die at the hands of my friends.
“Kaiyer.” I thought it was Iolarathe’s voice for a moment, I was so absorbed in the memory of her beautiful face twisting in agony as she burned. I turned and saw Fehalda at the river’s muddy shore. “You’ve been standing in the river for an hour.”
“Neither you nor Vernine has come to wash my back.” I gave a short laugh and walked to the shore.
“It is your watch.” She glanced at my naked body when I emerged from the water, but I imagined she was more interested in the numerous scars that decorated my skin than the sexual gratification I could grant her. She had made it clear on more than one occasion during our week of travel that she would butcher me if I even considered touching her.
“Fine. Go to sleep,” I said as we walked back to the camp.
She glared at me and then walked to her bedroll without another word.
“Do you wish to speak of your nightmare?” Vernine asked from her bedroll. Her red eyes regarded me seriously.
“No.” I sat down on a rock next to the fire and stared into the parts of the flame that matched her eyes.
“I can only imagine your plans for our return, but I doubt the empress will understand if you choose to be so terse with her.”
“I will deal with her when we meet.”
“That is exactly the kind of language that makes me question your intent. That and your long and legendary history of decimating our people,” she replied.
“What do you recommend?” I turned away from the fire and glared at her. Vernine rarely revealed any emotion, and she made no indication now that she understood she was irritating me.
“We will return to Nia with you. General Fehalda will beseech her sister to meet with you again, since you saved both of our lives. The empress will ask us what you wish to speak of, and we will not have an answer. You are the Destroyer, the scourge of our people, the Betrayer of your own. She will never agree to meet with you. She will likely unleash her army upon you again.”
“You’ve already told me all of this.”
“If you will explain to us what you want, what you will offer, and why the empress should trust you, we will have a better chance of success in negotiating with my sister on your behalf,” Fehalda said from her bedroll. Unlike Vernine, Fehalda’s voice and face clearly conveyed her exasperation.
“I wish to keep it private between the two of us.”
“We will both be in the room. We will find out then,” Vernine sighed.
“I will only speak to her alone.”
“You are so fucking stubborn!” Fehalda swore. Our eyes met across the fire and I could not mistake the malice there. “I owe you for saving our lives, but if not for you, our lives never would have been in danger. I will not allow my sister to spend any time alone with you. I do not trust you. If you want our help, if you really want to speak with her, you will tell us exactly what you want so that we may prepare her.”
“We want to help you,” Vernine said. “Give us what we need to set up this meeting.” Fehalda nodded at the gray woman’s words.
We had argued about my plan almost every hour as we traveled to the capital. I felt my resolve crumbling under their constant assault. If I told them, the empress might give her answer directly to the women and refuse to speak to me. This would put a bend in my plan, but I would still be in the castle and could devise a new course then.
“Fine. I will tell you.” Even Vernine looked shocked, but they quickly regained their composure before I continued. “I have holes in my memories. I don’t remember everything, and the memories do not return chronologically. I have slowly been able to piece together the different parts of my past, but when I first awoke, I did not even know my name. Telaxthe studied the Destroyer. I want her help understanding the missing pieces of my other life.”
They didn’t speak for a few seconds but I saw them glance sideways at each other. The firelight reflected off of their eyes and I realized that other than Vernine’s eyes, both of them were colorless shades of black, white, and gray.
“What would you offer in return for her assistance?” Vernine leaned forward in her bedding and the fabric fell away from her shoulders to expose most of her chest and breasts. Our travel so far had been uneventful, but the movement made my body recall the many nights I spent licking every inch of her white skin and fucking her while Isslata watched or participated.
“What do you think she would want?”
“So, you don’t even know what you would offer?” Fehalda let out an exasperated sigh.
“I have some ideas, but if you both are sincere about wanting to help, then tell me what she wants. You know her better.”
“She wants you gone from this world! That was the whole reason Vernine and I came after you at Nia’s East Keep.”
“I am not leaving this world.” I met her black eyes. “What else?”
“You could show us which Radicle you came from,” Vernine offered.
“Perhaps.” I wondered if Nadea had already told the empress everything. Maybe Vernine and Fehalda didn’t even know that Nadea was Telaxthe’s daughter. They must have left the castle immediately after the duchess’s capture.
“That is not enough. She wants him gone. By way of the Radicle, or death,” Fehalda said flatly.
“Because she fears me?” I asked.
Both women closed their mouths and glanced at each other. Like two sides of a mirror, they licked their lips slightly and then each ran a hand through her hair. My army had a silent hand language and I wondered if the empress’s army had a similar mode of communication.
“How did you get your armor?” Vernine asked suddenly.
“Armor?” I felt my body chill despite the heat in the air.
“Yes. The Destroyer’s armor. Your armor. It emerged from your body as if your skin was merely covering it the entire time.”
“And the Destroyer’s mace and shield were in your hands. I would not have believed it if I had not seen your transformation with my own eyes.” Fehalda sat up in her bedroll, but made a more conscious effort to cover her body than Vernine.
“I don’t remember.” My head was starting to hurt again and my stomach felt queasy. I recalled bits and pieces of that night after I found Jessmei, but they didn’t make much sense.
“Four hundred and thirty-two of our warriors died that night trying to protect our empress. Yet we bring you back to her now. Perhaps she will think us traitors; at the very least she will punish us for failing in our mission to banish you from this world.” The white woman shook her head and her pale long hair danced with various shades of orange, reflecting the firelight.
“So why are you bringing me back to her?”
“How do you not remember wearing your armor?” Fehalda seethed.
“It makes my head hurt to think of it. A headache like something is splitting my skull open,” I admitted.
“It must be your conscience forcing atonement for the horrors you have inflicted on hundreds of thousands of people.” She clenched her teeth and then looked away from me and into the fire.
I sighed and settled back down in my blankets. We would have another discussion tomorrow while we traveled, then at night, then the next day, all the way until we reached Nia again. Fehalda was probably correct: Telaxthe would not want to be anywhere near me. I did not understand how my armor had returned to me. It must have been some magic beyond my comprehension. Stranger things had happened. I was still alive now, five thousand years after being beheaded by my friend.
“I grew up happy.” My mouth formed the words as I looked up to the stars and twin moons. I didn’t recognize them, but I knew now why they were so alien to me. “I never met my mother. My father would not speak of her. She was killed by our Elven masters because she made a mistake.” I heard the women turn in their bedrolls but I didn’t look at them.
“My father, brother, and I ran the blacksmith and stables for the chieftain’s house. There were other stables on the estate, but ours were the only ones she ever visited. I was terrified of her at first. Everyone feared her, every human, every Elven. She delighted in their terror and they fawned over her like idiotic butterflies. I worked all night making sure that the stables were spotless and the horses were groomed to perfection. She killed humans almost daily and I once saw her rip the limbs from a horse that had managed to throw her from its back. She was a terrible force of nature that was as beautiful as she was deadly.
“I probably loved her before she even noticed me. I loathed your kind, but I had been lucky and escaped any real beatings or lashings. When she did notice me, I feared she would torture me at length before she murdered me. The thought of my brother and father missing me was almost more painful than the thought of actually dying at her hands.” I looked over at the women and saw them studying me with eyes that reflected the campfire like metal.
“When we became lovers, it was wonderful. I had never known such intimacy could exist. I had never felt anything more incredible than her body. She taught me to please her, and I was more than eager to do so. We kept our affair hidden. I don’t know how long we were together, but I wanted it to last forever.”
I saw Iolarathe’s face again in my memories and recalled the first time we had made love. I heard her moans of pleasure and the feeling of her beautiful body wrapped around my own.
“What happened?” Fehalda asked, and I realized it had been half a minute since I spoke.
“One of her suitors found out about us. My brother was helping me shoe a stallion. I was in the smithy getting a tool for him. The group of them came upon our building and yanked my brother out. She strangled him while I watched from the doorway. My father ran out to save him, but her suitors stabbed him.
“I ran to their dead bodies, I thought she would kill me, and I wanted her to. The tribe was experimenting on humans. They were using magic to change them into something more powerful. She sent me there. They infused us with the Elements and locked us in cages for weeks in the dark, in our own filth. Most died. The few who lived were trained as warriors. I thought of her all the time, but I only wanted revenge. I had loved her with every fiber of my existence and she killed my family. I hated myself almost as much as I hated her.
“Eventually, my friend and I orchestrated an escape. We freed others, and we fled. We lived in the shadows of the world and tried to scrape out an existence, but Laxile continued to pursue us. We made it to the other side of the world, and they gave up the chase. We built an army. A monster of humans whose sole purpose was to destroy their enslavers. My story was only unique because I loved the Elven who had betrayed me. All of my warriors had lost loved ones. All of us had been tortured, raped, humiliated. All of us had lived like animals at the hands of your people.
“It was easy enough to harness their pain and rage into something productive. It was easy to motivate them with the promise of freedom. I believed I wanted to be free of Elven enslavement, but I just wanted to be free of her. I wanted revenge and I was willing to destroy everything to have it. She knew this. She told me when we met before the final battle. Before the dragons descended, she asked for my surrender. She told me she still loved me and she begged for forgiveness. She offered a truce.”
“You refused,” Fehalda grunted. “I know this story. Every single Elven is taught how that battle ended.”
“Of course I refused. I could not surrender after we had driven them to the brink of extinction. I could not surrender after promising thousands of my people a life of freedom. I could not surrender when the blood of countless humans had been spilled through generations by your people. I could not surrender when we were so close to victory.
“Then the dragons came. My army killed two of them and the last one flew into the sky in an attempt to flee. I hung onto her talon but was thrown off. When I awoke, my lover had found me.” I did not want them to know the details of how I had defeated the dragons.
“We made love again. My memories are still filled with holes, but I believe that it was the last time. I forgave her and she forgave me. We planned to flee into the wilderness to spend the rest of our lives together. Perhaps it was a foolish dream.” I recalled the last union of our bodies and wondered again at the child we had created. This was what I needed Telaxthe’s help with, but I had to tread carefully.
“Shlara discovered us. She loved me, and I loved her, as much as I was capable. I had made a promise to end the Elvens and build a new life with her. But when she saw the choice I had made, she flew into a rage. I know the pain I caused her. I betrayed her. I betrayed all of our people. She must have felt the same way I did when Iolarathe killed my family.”
“Your story is a lie, a falsehood from a deranged fool. There is no part of your tale that is true other than the Destroyer not accepting her offer of truce before that last battle. Iolarathe never even fought directly against Shlara.” Fehalda was shaking slightly and her face looked pained. Maybe part of her actually believed me.
“You want to know what I will speak to your sister about. This is my story. You might not believe that Shlara attacked her, or that Iolarathe and I were lovers, or any of this, but my memories are almost complete, and I know their truth. I tried to stop Shlara from attacking. Iolarathe was skilled in combat, but Shlara was much stronger. She was our most skilled warrior. Just as Shlara was about to make a fatal strike against Iolarathe, I intervened. I acted without thinking and my magic killed Shlara.
“Iolarathe escaped and I waited to face Malek when he rode to rescue us. I do not know what happened then, I only remember searching for Iolarathe for a dozen or more years while my own people hunted me. Eventually we were both captured. I recall little after that.
“Then I was awoken by the people on this world. They wanted someone to save them from the ‘Ancients’ conquering their planet. If I had awoken fully aware of my past, perhaps I could have approached the situation differently, but your empress also admitted making mistakes when she first came here.”
“I do not believe that Iolarathe and you were lovers. It is impossible!” Fehalda seethed with more hate than I had ever heard in her voice. “She sacrificed her offspring for one chance to save our people. She was the only leader who ever had success against your army. She was your enemy and you were hers. She never would have loved you.”
“Sacrificed her offspring?” I asked. I thought my heart had mended, but I suddenly felt jealous that she had mated with one of her own kind and made other children. It was foolish and I quickly pushed the emotions away.
“I will not speak of it. Perhaps my sister will wish to tell you. If she even cares to speak to you. Your story was quite compelling, but I sense it was also full of other lies and half-truths. You’ll say whatever you think will get you close to my sister so you can murder her.” Fehalda sighed and lay back down in her bedroll. “I will honor my promise to you and ask her to see you, but I am against it and will tell her so. It does not matter what I say. She will still kill you. My sister cares about all of her kin you have murdered, but Isslata was not a mere soldier. She was a gift from our Dead Gods and a sign that we would be victorious against your people. She will not forgive you for Isslata’s death.”
“I accept that. I cared for Isslata and did not wish to harm her.”
“But you did,” Vernine said softly. “Now she is dead and our entire race will mourn for a lifetime.”
I did not know what to say to either of them. I closed my eyes and wished the conversation could end. Sharing my story had not convinced them of my sincerity or changed their opinions of me. Perhaps they could sense what I wanted better than I could. Killing Telaxthe would fix almost everything. My entire life was death and violence. What was one more life?
But I was weary of the bloodshed. I could not undo the destruction I had wrought, but I wanted my future free of it. I thought of Jessmei’s dream of running a farm and building a family together and it warmed my heart and made me long to hold her close to me again. I thought of Nadea’s wonderful description of living in the keep and overseeing the eastern part of Nia. The idea of spending my days with her, my nights engaged in debate and discussion with her and her father filled me with peace.
“Our kind has been killing each other for much longer than I have been alive. I can apologize for the death I have caused, but it began before me and continued after. I never wanted to become this Destroyer. I would have been happy to stay in the stables with my father, brother, and Iolarathe. Our people have been battling since the dawn of time,” I said.
“No. Your people have chosen to forget the truth of our past. We once lived together in peace. But you are right that the violence and death existed before you,” Vernine responded. “In the distant past, perhaps tens of thousands of years before your war with us, humans and our people coexisted and served our shared Gods.”
“I do not believe your legends.”
“And yet they are true whether you believe them or not. Elvens served humans. We had a closer connection to the Gods. We were created to serve you. The ancient humans called themselves the O’Baarni, and they had exponentially more power than your warriors. They challenged the Gods and we all paid the price for their hubris. Our ways were lost. Our Gods were killed. The O’Baarni were cast down from their role as masters and our people were forced to take over to protect our worlds.” Fehalda said the words without her usual venom. She looked distracted and licked her lips repeatedly while she spoke.
“So that is how you justify the enslavement of an entire people?”
“Oppression is always justified by the oppressors. The O’Baarni enslaved the Elvens because the Gods created us for that purpose. Farmers enslave their livestock because they believe themselves superior and deserving. Your people currently subjugate ours because of the past. The same cycle is repeated, only the roles change.” Fehalda’s voice lowered to an angry hiss and she turned north as she finished speaking.
“Do you smell that?” she asked Vernine.
“Yes. Human. Familiar,” the pewter-haired woman whispered. I inhaled through my own nose and caught the scent of a distant human or two, but the breeze was blowing from the southeast and the river muted most of the surrounding sounds. I didn’t think that the three of us had anything to fear, but Fehalda’s sudden caution caused me to worry.
Vernine clicked her tongue against her lips to get my attention and she tossed me the pair of swords I had salvaged during the battle with the lizard-spiders. The women had been uncomfortable with me carrying the weapons, so I had turned them over to ease their fears. Holding the blades in my hands instantly calmed me and I almost smiled at the irony of the three of us readying weapons to fight against an unknown intruder.
“Hooo!” a voice cried out from the other side of the water. It sounded friendly and I was tempted to return the call, but Fehalda answered instead.
“Identify yourself,” she called out into the darkness. I could see a lighter silhouette against the darker background of the river bank.
“We saw your campfire. Might we trouble you for directions?” I noticed half a dozen other figures emerge and wade into the river. Fehalda drew one of her swords and Vernine followed. I debated drawing my own blades but realized the effort was futile. Three of us versus even thirty humans would have been an easy victory, but these were not humans.
They were O’Baarni.
There were actually fourteen shapes in the water. They easily swam across the river and emerged on our side with little more than a whisper of sound.
“Hello, Fehalda. It has been many years.” Their leader was a woman. She was tall and sinewy, with chiseled muscles underneath tawny skin that dripped smooth with the water. Her hair was a light brown with a bit of curl that was bound up over her head in a series of intricate ties laced with glass beads. Her facial features were sharp and hawk-like.
She was beautiful, she carried an air of danger and ferocity about her that was enticing. Her eyes were an odd shade of light-blue and that along with the familiar bear tattoo on her exposed shoulder helped me guess her identity.
Her arrival could not possibly lead to a good outcome for Telaxthe or myself.
“Greetings, Turnia.” The empress’s sister glanced at the other O’Baarni warriors. She sheathed her sword. “It has been many years. Why have you come to this world? Have you spoken to the empress yet?” I was surprised at Fehalda’s sudden pleasantness.
“I have come for my brother. He journeyed here at the request of one of my kinsmen, but has not returned.” Turnia stopped talking and fixed her eyes on the two Elven women. Silence seemed to echo through our tiny campground with only the crackling of our small fire and the dripping of the O’Baarni warriors to accompany the tension.
“Well?” Turnia said when the silence was the thickest.
“Well?” Fehalda crossed her arms over her chest. She may have intended the motion to convey confidence, but it only seemed to emphasize that all three of us were clothed only in our undergarments and the fourteen O’Baarni wore decorated leather and chain armor.
“Have you seen Kannath?” Turnia may have been annoyed, but much like her late brother, she was adept at keeping her emotions in check.
“There is a castle to the west if you follow this river about sixty miles. Our armies are camped outside of the wall. She will receive you if you journey there.” Fehalda tapped her fingers on the alabaster skin of her right bicep.
“Where is your army?” Turnia glanced around the camp site but didn’t seem to notice me standing to the side. Her other warriors were ignoring me as well, though I carried the sheathed swords in my hand.
“They are back at the castle,” Fehalda answered and I almost winced, the reply had been a bit hasty.
“You are one of Telaxthe’s Elites?” Turnia turned her head to Vernine and a lock of hair fell over one of her blue eyes. The powerful woman didn’t move to brush it away.
“Yes. I am Vernine.”
“I may have heard the name before.”
“I am not one to pursue notoriety.” Vernine licked her lips with the tip of her tongue and glanced at the weapons the warriors carried. A few had axes, the rest had curved heavy swords, all of them had short bows.
“Perhaps that is wise for one of your kind.” Turnia chuckled slightly and the dark husky sound was alluring and intimidating at the same time. I could easily understand how this woman came to lead her own clan.
“So the empress’s most capable general, who also happens to be her sister, and one of her elite warriors are out in the wilderness together sixty miles from the closest army.” Turnia may have intended the sentence to be a question, but she stated it as the fact that it was. I guessed where the woman would be going next with her line of questioning, but it was probably too late for me to run.
“Yes. We are heading back. My sister asked us to scout this country’s eastern territory.”
“That is convenient for us then. We will accompany you. But first, I have one last question.” Turnia looked at me and her warriors mirrored her gaze. She raised her hands slowly and pointed a long finger at me from across the fire.
“Who is this?” The woman finally smiled and her teeth shone a reflective white against the firelight.
Chapter 21-Iolarathe
“I carry terrible news.” Ripthe’s face was ashen and he stank of rotten tomatoes mixed with shit. The handsome man’s clothes were ripped, burnt, and crusted with a mixture of salt and mud. It had been almost two months since I had seen my former suitor and he looked worse for wear. The armor practically hung about him as if it was made for someone two sizes larger.
“Speak.” I sighed and gestured absently with my hand. He tugged on his dark copper hair and then glanced to his father Vuma. Ripthe must have sensed the change in the air since he left our tribal lands. My father’s audience hall was missing its luxurious table and leather chairs; in their place were oak workstations, sturdy stools, and endless maps of the known territory of our world. Only one of the plush chairs remained. I sat in it while the elders and my father stood.
“We lost the main group of humans in the Ridge Forest but caught the trail of the two men we believe to be their leaders. We chased them north for four weeks and cornered them at the foothills before the Yutarl Mountains. Then we were ambushed and everyone was killed.” The elders around me screamed with a mixture of disappointment, fear, and disbelief. Their stench almost made me gag and their idiotic babble forced me to bite my lip.
“Shut the fuck up!” I shouted at them while I clenched the sides of my chair. The armrest crumbled to fragments in my fist and they quieted as if I had just crushed their collective throats.
“Who ambushed you?” I kept my voice calm. I doubted that Ripthe’s group of hunters had actually tracked Kaiyer, but it was possible. I hated to think that the fourth attempt to capture him and his escaped kin had also failed.
“It was a man. A human. He came down from the foothills and wielded impossible magic.” Ripthe quivered in his place. The man was beyond exhausted. I had never traveled to the Yutarl Mountains, but they were in the far distant North. If he made it back here in only four weeks, he probably had not slept.
“A single human killed your entire squad of thirty hunters?”
“Yes.” He bowed his head.
Anger continued to fill my chest and stomach. It had been mistake after fucking mistake with this human army. I scratched my nails across the armrest of my chair and contemplated my next decision. What I really wanted to do was put my face in my hands and scream.
Why?
Why had Kaiyer escaped the day before Vertarus and I were going to take his squad out into the field?
Why had it been next to impossible for our hunters to capture them?
Why did Kaiyer continue to elude me? I should have found a way to speak to him. He had no way of knowing that I wanted us to escape together. He only knew that we were hunting him.
I suddenly regretted killing Vertarus. After his third botched attempt to capture his escaped humans and fix the state of our tribe, I had lost my patience in a sudden burst of finality that left his head parted from his neck. The man had tried his best I assumed, but the results would not protect this tribe or my fate. If he had been alive now I might have asked him if we had any chance of capturing our lost and magically empowered humans.
I could guess his answer.
“What of Contania?” Elder Gnella’s daughter led half of the group of trackers, while Ripthe commanded the other.
“Dead, but not by the newcomer’s magic. One of the two men we were chasing threw an axe that found her head.” Ripthe bowed his head again in defeat while Gnella let out a soft cry of grief. The other elders quickly joined her in voicing their sorrows.
I sighed and put my hand to my face. Contania had beaten out my other suitors and returned with the bloody carcass of the carrion beast. It was the beginning of a sexually pleasant endeavor that had dulled the ache I felt from Kaiyer’s loss.
“Get some rest now my son. We will discuss this more tomorrow,” Vuma said and Ripthe nodded.
“No.” I held a finger up and the gathered elders stopped their keening. Ripthe halted his retreat and raised an eyebrow at me.
I could carry some of the blame for losing Kaiyer. If I had been more careful with our trysts, Ripthe would not have seen me and started the rumor that eventually forced me to kill Kaiyer’s family. Still, I put most of the blame on Ripthe. I had always wanted an excuse to kill him. Kaiyer was gone, and I had no reason left to keep him alive.
“This is an unacceptable failure.” I rose and felt the elders slide away from me a bit. Their fear tasted sweeter than Ripthe’s.
“No. Please.” Vuma was once haughty enough to argue with me, but in the last few months he witnessed what my displeasure wrought enough times to respect my power.
“You have other descendants, Vuma.” My sword slid out of its sheath with a silky whisper. Ripthe’s eyes widened and I think he actually tried to move away, but he was much too slow and tired. The point of my blade pierced his skull right in the center of his nose and came out the other end. His body crumpled into a pile in the middle of the room.
This improved my mood.
“Now there are no loose ends.” I turned to the elders and my father. The scent of their fear mixed with the scent of Ripthe’s corpse on the ground behind me.
“The humans have escaped. Our experiment has failed. It is time to move on.” I walked toward Vuma and the elder made a small step to shy away from me.
“We can hope that these humans will simply fall victim to the wilderness and there will never be another scent of them. What do you think of that possibility, Vuma?” He walked into my broken chair and stumbled over it.
“Yes, they will probably perish in the wilderness, as you have said.” His body reeked of rotten cabbage.
“No, you idiot.” I smacked him in the forehead with the palm of my hand like I was scolding a horse. “These humans could raise another army as in our legends. They will come after us for the generations of slavery we have inflicted upon their people. We will be butchered like cattle.” Their old faces crinkled in concern. “The most probable outcome lies somewhere between those two extremes. Likely they will raise a small army and be destroyed by another Elven tribe. If a human is captured alive, they may tell of our involvement. There will be an investigation, and we will be forced to go to war with our own kind instead of these humans.”
“So how should we proceed?” my father asked. The stress of this missing human army wore on him like a hundred years and he looked as weathered as the elders who advised him. I knew this was the possibility he feared the most.
“Every Elven or human who had any direct dealings with this army is either dead by human hand or my own.” I turned to regard Ripthe’s discarded body and wished I had done it sooner. “If there is an investigation, the other tribes cannot prove anything. Preparing for an eventual attack would be just as obvious as admitting guilt. We should continue operating our family lands as if nothing has changed.” They nodded at my words and calmed their scents.
“If nothing has changed, then you will be required to choose a mate. Preferably from another neighboring tribe so we can strengthen those relationships and have an ally in case of this investigation.” Vuma practically spat the words.
“Yes, I realize that I will now have limited options for a mate thanks to all of your failures.” I glared at the group and they seemed to cower in fear. They should have been afraid of me; in the last few months I’d disposed of most of the human garbage that had not escaped with Kaiyer.
“When will you choose?” my father asked.
“I will announce it tomorrow.” It had been difficult to keep the women and men from the other tribes in the dark and they were even angrier with my disappearance over the last several months.
“Very good.” My father nodded and the other elders seemed more than relieved. This was what they wanted: safety and success through my loins. I fought the urge to unleash the World’s magic into the room and roast every one of them to cinders.
“I will retire to my suite now. Let us make the announcement tomorrow at dinner. Do not disturb me before then.” I turned and walked out of the meeting room and did my best to control the scent of my anger. The servants in the manor let me know that I did a poor job of it; they fled from my footsteps like scared roaches.
“What happened?” Relyara opened the door to my suite and ushered me inside.
“Ripthe and Contania are dead, as are their hunters. The humans have escaped for good and there will be no further attempts at apprehending them.” I walked to the back of the foyer and began to sort through the rack of weapons I had displayed there. I had already secreted away most of my hunting equipment and camping supplies.
“What will become of us?”
“Nothing. It is doubtful that the other tribes will find out Laxile ever performed these experiments. The only Elvens alive who know anything of it are my father, his elders, you, and me.” I selected two additional swords from the rack that my sister had gifted to me many years ago and walked with them into my bedroom.
“What of your brother?”
“He knew we were doing something in the fields, but never dug into the matter. You will give him this note after I leave. Then you will journey to my mother’s lands and give this other one to my sister. Perhaps he will join you on your trip.” I pulled three sealed letters from my dresser drawer and handed them to the beautiful woman.
“I am not going with you?” Relyara’s voice cracked and I tasted the sour lemon of her disappointment in the air between us.
“No, lover. I need you to deliver that letter. My sister will require your efforts and she will be kinder to you than I have ever been.” I wrapped the blades in a blanket and then began to shift through the drawers of my dresser for undergarments.
“I’ve packed our belongings already.” Relyara pointed to four large leather packs that sat in the corner of the room. “This third letter is for me?” She held up the white envelope with her name written upon the front.
“Yes. They will ask you where I went. You will say that I disappeared in the night and only left you that single letter. They will read it and believe I am traveling north.” I walked over to the leather bags and picked the first one up from the wood floor.
“But you won’t be going north?” Relyara raised an eyebrow.
“Another reason I wish you to visit my sister is because we communicate through a complex code. I’ve told her where I am planning on being in that letter, but she is the only one who can decipher it.” I caught the scent of burnt flowers from her body. It mixed with the lemon scent in an unusual way.
“I won’t ever see you again, will I?” The smell of her sadness filled the room and her tears made her beautiful features glisten.
“I do not know what my future holds, but I will not be a slave to our race. I’m not a human. Don’t I deserve my freedom?”
“No one is free, Iolarathe. We are all slaves to the ones we love and the ones we hate.” She wiped her blue eyes and moved to retrieve two of the bags from the floor.
“Goodbye, Relyara.”
“Goodbye, Iolarathe.” Our fingers intertwined and I couldn’t help but remember the countless hours we had spent as lovers. Relyara was smart, cunning, beautiful, and loyal. I was surprised at how sad I felt about leaving her.
“I am sorry.” The words came without thinking. “I was cruel to you when we first met and I am being cruel to you now. You have always been there for me and I appreciate that more than I ever told you. If I felt it was safe for you to come with me, you would.”
She seemed shocked at my words and her scent quickly changed to one of ripe peaches.
“Thank you, Mistress. I shall pray to the Dead Gods that your sister will treat me well and that I will one day see you again.”
I grabbed the packs and slung them over my shoulders. Then I took one last stroll through the suite that I had called home for the past six years before exiting to the patio.
I dropped from my veranda silently and slipped down the hillside like a liquid shadow. I had already prepared most of my gear and it lay hidden in the stables. Once I was in the hayloft I uncovered the packs and supplies from the spot where Kaiyer and I had made love. His scent still lingered there. The memory of him never really left my mind and I wondered if I would ever be free of the love I felt for the human. Even now my desires seemed to flood my senses with the thoughts of our time together.
I would never see him again.
I felt the bitterness of guilt as I realized that Relyara must have been experiencing the same hollow hopelessness about losing me. I wished I had never encountered the human. We would both be better off. He would still be happily working in the stables, I would have chosen a mate by now and been carrying a pair of powerful children who would be the hope of their generation. My parents would be pleased. The elders would be confident in the strength of their tribe. Everyone would be at peace. Instead, I had created chaos and death in my selfish pursuit of my own desires.
Yet if I were somehow again at the crossroads, knowing what I now knew about the consequences of our relationship, I still would have chosen the path to him.
I loaded up the mules and saddled one of my favorite horses. It was a stout animal that could ride for days without rest. Exactly the one my trackers would expect me to take. The idea of trackers finding me was almost laughable. The best had already been killed by Kaiyer’s companions. None of those left alive would have the skill to find me.
I rode out of the stables with my pack animals in tow. The green moon was just a sliver, but it threw enough light for me to navigate to the outskirts of the fields and into the forested grove that ran alongside the river. The scents of the grass, trees, and moist gentle wind brought up rather fond memories. I had expected the stay here to be a horrible experience, though still preferable to living with my mother. I had not expected to enjoy the presence of my suitors and handmaidens. I had not expected to make a true friend of a servant. I had most definitely not expected to become a human’s lover.
Even a Singleborn could not predict the future.
“Ho. Ho,” the voice called to me from the bank of the river, the same place from which Kaiyer and his humans had fled. Leaving by boat seemed beyond the skill of a normal human, and I wondered if Kaiyer had orchestrated the plan.
“Hello, human.” The man was tall, a twisted willow tree. He smelled of pine needles, mint, and lemons.
“Greetings, Mistress.” He bowed low at the waist and his light hair touched the smooth stones of the river bank. “If it pleases you, you may call me Warc.”
“I care not for your name, bard. I only care for your methods.” I looked at the swiftly flowing water and felt anger burn in my stomach. “Where is this boat you promised me?”
“It is concealed in the foliage over yonder.” He raised a stick arm to point to my right and bobbed his skeleton head with a cooing sound. The traveling minstrel was odd, even for a human. Relyara alerted me to his unauthorized presence a few years ago. Once upon a time I would have just killed such a parasite, but I knew that I might one day need to escape. I made a deal with him to allow him to continue his travels through our lands unmolested in return for news and assistance in the event I would need to leave without a trace.
“Excellent. Prepare the vessel for me.” I dismounted and began to take my bags off of the pack mules.
“Yes, Mistress.” I heard him scurry around behind a group of branches and then he tugged a sleek-looking canoe out of the thicket. For the next five minutes, the gangly human helped me move half of the supplies from the mules to the canoe. Each bag made the small row boat sink deeper into the river and I wondered if the vessel would be safe out in the ocean.
“Is that everything, Mistress?” he asked once he placed the last bag.
“Yes. Now review your instructions.” This part of my plan was outside my realm of control and I felt uneasy leaving it to the human.
“I am to take this horse and these mules south for four hundred miles, to the Kilour Lands. There I will sell them, keep the profit, and disappear into their slave workforce for a few months.” He stood at attention and repeated the words with his fist over his heart as if he was saluting.
“Good.”
“You have packed enough supplies for me?” He opened one of the packs to find the duplicate camping equipment. His idiotic question made me want to smack his loose-looking head until it flew from his shoulders.
“Yes. You should leave immediately. I’ve already laid tracks heading in all directions, but they might only follow those for a week until the ruse is discovered. Then they will come after you.”
“Ohhh. Your concern warms my heart. You are actually quite nicer than he is.”
“What are you speaking of human?” I reminded myself that I needed the sklad alive to throw the trackers off of my tail.
“Oh nothing, Mistress, speaking to myself is all. Sometimes I wonder if we really understand this world of ours and the lives we come into contact with. For example, let us assume that you could kill the person you hated the most, but that choice would also kill the one you loved the most. Would you want that?”
I got into the boat and found the oars. “You should go now.”
“I have to push you off.” He moved to the boat’s stern and gave a weak push while grunting. “But if you could kill the person you hate the most, would you?”
“I don’t care for this conversation and am becoming annoyed with you.”
“Ahh! So maybe I would be the person you hated!” He hooted with pleasure and gave another push on the boat that created absolutely no movement. “But then your love would die. I don’t think it would be worth it.”
“My love is lost to me anyway. Move out of the way.” I got out of the boat and took the skinny human’s place at the stern. The boat moved easily with my strength and gently slid back into the water.
“But is he dead? Would you wish him dead?”
“No. Of course not. I love him. Why are you asking these questions?” I waded knee-deep into the water and jumped into the canoe with little fuss.
“I figured as much, like I said earlier, you are a nice Elven. What if the person you loved was also the person you hated? What would you do then?” He bobbled his head sideways like a bug was trying to fly into his ear.
Before he could react, I grabbed onto his thin neck and pulled him out of the water. I held his dangling body in the air while he gasped in surprise.
“I would get into my boat and leave this place. If a pesky human started asking me ridiculous questions instead of following my instructions, I would gut him and let the fish feast on his innards.” I lowered the shaking man back into the water and slowly let go of his throat. “Fortunately, you are about to leave on your travels, which makes me happy and prevents me from even thinking about disemboweling anyone.”
“Yes, Mistress. Of course, I was just leaving. Great talking to you! Glad to be of help!” He skipped quickly through the water and jumped on the back of my horse. He gave a quick wave and then kicked the animal forward into a trot that led him southward through the grove of pine trees.
The river was already taking the canoe downstream, so I couldn’t be sure that the bard followed my orders. Even if the man failed it would still be difficult for anyone to find me. The letter I left Relyara would throw them off, the tracks I laid in all directions would confuse them, and then the real set of prints that the bard’s new steeds would lay would waste more of their time. They could search the coast in all directions but they would find no trace of me to follow.
My life was my own now. There was no one to answer to but the Dead Gods and my memories. I was free of everything but the longing for Kaiyer.
That would never go away.
Chapter 22-The O’Baarni
The cold stone held my arms, shoulders, and head like a lover’s embrace. I swam through my incomplete dreams and woke delirious with fever. The Earth roared through my blood immediately and the discomfort disappeared from my weary body.
I sat up and took account of my surroundings. I lay upon a granite pedestal in an empty cavern. A single brazier cast a dull glow from the foot of my bed, but its weak light filled the space. The distant corners sucked the light away, leaving an empty void around me.
I wore a simple robe of thin white canvas, a shroud like Entas had worn at his funeral. Where were my friends? I could not even hear the sounds of the army nearby.
Slowly, I remembered Iolarathe’s execution. I heard her screams. I remembered my anger. My hate. What my friends had done.
I remembered what I did after my love had been burned in front of me.
I remembered the feeling of Malek’s sword against my skull and reached up to feel my head where the blade had struck. There was no wound there, I must have healed already. My kind could heal from almost any injury, as long as it didn’t separate the brain from the spine or totally obliterate the heart.
Malek’s blow should have killed me.
I swung my hips over the side of my pedestal and found my legs strong beneath me. Now that I was more aware, I could feel the flow of a breeze coming from behind me. I walked in that direction and came upon a tunnel that led me away from the empty room.
“Did you see his body?” The question drifted down the tunnel.
“Naw. It was covered in a sheet. Bloody as all fuck. They ripped him into pieces.” A second voice replied. I slowed my walk and crept closer to them.
“Served the bastard right. How many died last week? Four thousand?”
“I don’t think there is a count yet.”
“I heard that number from one of Malek’s commanders.”
“It might be close then.” The voice sighed. “I met him once.”
“Kaiyer?”
“Yes.”
“Shit. When?”
“A long time ago. Feels like a lifetime ago, because it was. I got to the final round of the Games, but was bested by Jutea. Afterward, he told me I fought well and if I focused more on my footwork, I’d win the next Game.”
“Damn. I didn’t know you were that old. Why are you pulling guard duty instead of leading a unit?”
“I never much liked the thought of leading. Too much shit to worry about.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“Nope. Not until the Dragon Battle. Saw him kill both dragons himself and chase the third one. No wonder it took Thayer, Alexia, Gorbanni, and Malek to finally kill him. He was one tough asshole.”
“What do you think about the rumors?”
“Which ones?”
“They say he’s still alive. They couldn’t kill him and just told everyone he was dead to ease their fears.”
“The body they brought in looked rather dead to me.”
“But you didn’t see his face?”
“No. That is true.”
I had crept to the end of the tunnel and saw the two men sitting at a table under the bright light of four torches. Past them was a set of rough stairs that led up to a thick oak door. I guessed I was deep in the same dungeons beneath Shlara’s Rest.
The door opened and a third soldier entered. All three of them wore Thayer’s uniform and bore the stout muscle structure and stance of his warriors.
“Tyil, I’m relieving you.”
“Good. The air down here is depressing.” The one who told the story about me stood and nodded down to the other guard. “Chat with you later.”
“Thanks, old timer.” Tyil walked up the stairs. I did recall speaking with the man some forty or more years ago. He was a talented warrior and I was glad he was leaving his watch.
“Any news from the camp?”
“Burrno said Thayer wanted twenty guards in here.” The woman laughed.
“What? That is crazy. To guard a dead body? They worried someone might steal the corpse?”
“Who knows?” The woman took off her sword belt and hung it from a hook on the wall next to the other guard’s weapon. “Burrno said that was the order, but he also said he wasn’t going to follow it. Probably because he knows it is stupid to waste that many guards on a corpse. Let someone take his body. Who the fuck cares? I hope they desecrate it.”
“Yeah. Fuck him.” The man laughed.
“Apparently they are all in a big meeting. Been there for the last few hours.”
“Who?”
“The generals.”
“All of them? Shit. Probably patting themselves on the back for taking him down.”
“The Betrayer name is really going to stick now.” The woman chuckled.
Every second I remained down here was another second closer to Thayer realizing that there were not twenty guards posted. Malek’s sword had not taken my life, and I did not want to waste whatever luck I had by waiting for them to return and finish the job.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. If these two guards believed that I was alive, this would be impossible, but fortunately they were lax in their duties. Still, they would hear me approaching and make it to their weapons much faster than I could.
Unless I made a sprint for the blades.
It was reckless, but I didn’t have my own weapons or armor. I forced my blood to slow, and my heart to pause before I made the quick dash to the two sword belts.
The woman saw me first and let out a gasp of horror. I already had my hands on her weapon and it cleared the sheath before the male guard turned. The blade sliced his skull in half at the midline and then I took a step forward against the rim of the table and drove the point of the weapon through the woman’s face.
I stepped clear of the gore that spouted from their corpses and returned to the rack to don the other weapon belt. Once both belts were secure, I opened the door to the corridor. On the other side was another tunnel, roughly cut by unskilled hands, which carried the scent of fire and wind. I listened for any signs of life and then sneaked down the rest of the tunnel and into the open air at the end of the cave.
The mouth exited the side of a cliff face fifty feet above the bottom of a canyon. I recognized the place and knew that I was five miles north of Shlara’s Rest. Near the riverbed below were hundreds of tents organized just as they would have been when I ran the army. I was even able to find the wolf, snake, ram, and bear emblems of my old generals on many of the tents.
There were no guards on the ledge, but there were plenty of soldiers milling about the camp below. Any second, a sentry could look up and spot me. I tried to act as nonchalant as possible and strolled down the path to the bottom of the canyon. I assumed I had succeeded when no one raised an alarm.
Soldiers were posted on the perimeter of the camp, but the path led me past their lines and into the northwest corner of the canyon where Thayer’s army was stationed. I braced for an attack at the first warrior I passed, but he ignored me. Soldiers were returning to their tents after bathing. Some walked the grounds naked, most wore robes similar to mine and carried swords. Only my long hair and beard made me look different from everyone else, so my presence raised no suspicion.
A group of men departed a nearby tent and turned south toward the river. They each wore a fresh robe or held clean towels. I casually moved off of the main pathway toward their tent and listened for heartbeats. I didn’t hear any so I entered the tent and rummaged through the chests where fresh garments would be kept.
In short order I was wearing a stolen uniform and walking again through the camps with a backpack loaded with looted traveling equipment. I was still somewhat out of place amongst Thayer’s army; the men in his group never had long hair and only a few wore a beard. Even the women devoted to the Bear mostly kept their hair cut short. My body was not as muscular as it had once been. The cut of my muscles and veins were easy to see through my skin, but it was obvious that I wasn’t enjoying an abundant amount of food and didn’t carry the stocky build of Thayer’s infantry.
The memories of my past droned through my head like the hundreds of conversations in the camp. The sights, smells, and activities took me back to the simpler time when my friends and I had no concerns outside of killing Elvens. My chest felt heavy and I found myself sighing when I considered what I had lost with my choice.
I paused and stepped off the path to consider my next move. I had to get as far away from here as I could before my friends realized I had awoken. I could just walk out, but this would leave them with clues as to my location. Soldiers seldom left camp alone. I would be questioned and remembered. Standing out in the open like this was already exposing me to discovery. In the time I had waited here, fifty soldiers had passed me. Eventually, I would be recognized.
A wagon rolled past, a single soldier steered a set of two massive horses. The cart was uncovered and the bed was empty save for a few small chests labeled as camping gear and outpost supplies. The soldier wore Thayer’s brown colors and I decided to take another risk.
“Where you heading?” I grabbed onto the side of the wagon seat as it passed and pulled myself up onto the bench next to the driver.
“Back to Shlara’s Rest.” He nodded at me and then turned back to the task of steering the horses.
“What is your shipping doc?”
“Five eighty-six.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Ahh, you are my ride.” Every shipment was tracked with a numbered grouping that could be tallied and ordered later. I hoped that he would buy my lie.
“I was supposed to meet you guys on the road.”
“I got back early. Got a quick fuck and a wash. Figured I could just catch a ride with you instead of running back. Don’t tell my unit though, they’ll be jealous.” I smiled and gave him a wink. The man looked a dozen years older than me, but our magic easily disguised someone’s true age. We were made practically immortal as soon as the magic changed us.
“Your secret is safe with me, kid.” He laughed and then leaned back in the seat. “To tell you the truth, I was more than happy to take this job. The air here is too tense and I’d rather not be stationed at the rebuilding. Traveling between gives me some time to enjoy the wilderness.”
“I can understand that. Why do you think the air is too tense in camp?” Now that the man mentioned it, I did sense something uneasy about the warriors who walked by the cart as we drove to the outskirts of the camp.
“You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what?”
“The generals killed Kaiyer and entombed his body in the ruins of the cave they found up above the cliffs. They are going to make an announcement tonight. There is another rumor going around that Shlara’s spirit has been seen walking through the tunnels.”
“I had not heard that. Sounds like a good time to get out of camp. Shlara’s Rest should be more pleasant.” I tried to put as much concern in my voice as I could.
“Ha. Hardly my friend. When was the last time you were there?”
“Been a few weeks.”
“Yeah? Well, they still haven’t put out many of the fires, so half the rubble of the city is still burning. Crews are working night and day to put them out, but the flames just won’t be extinguished. Throw water on them and they turn into steam, then rekindle five minutes later. Like I said, I am glad I am not rebuilding there. Kaiyer cursed the place for sure.”
I wanted to ask him how Kaiyer cursed the city but I stopped myself. The memories tugged at my brain and I knew that speaking more of it would unleash the emotions I had felt when they killed Iolarathe. I had to focus on escape.
The wagon wound away from the last parts of the campground and began to follow the river eastward. My companion and I didn’t speak for a few hours and instead enjoyed the sounds, smells, and sights of the dark canyon night. Finally firelight shone up in the distance and he spoke.
“Here are your friends,” he said and I nodded at the words.
“Thanks for the ride, friend, and thanks for keeping my secret. I’m going to sneak around through the back so they won’t know I was gone,” I whispered to him and slipped out of the wagon seat. He grunted a sound of acceptance and I moved to the outskirts of the camp before circling around to the other side. My path allowed me to avoid the light from the campfires and put me downwind of them. I doubted any guards were looking for me, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.
The wagon rolled up to a long cabin and simply constructed watch tower. The structure was old and I guessed it had been crafted twenty or thirty years ago during the war to guard the entrance to the canyon. It could have even been built by Elvens, but I did not care to inspect it closely to find out.
“Ho!” the wagon driver greeted the gathering of Thayer’s warriors. Some sat around the campfire and others came out of the long house. No guards were posted at the perimeter of the camp, so I easily circumnavigated the ordeal and began my eastward run out of their earshot. If my luck held, the wagon driver wouldn’t mention I rode with him.
My generals could still hunt me. But they would have nowhere to start. I would reach my destination and complete my quest before they ever found me.
Iolarathe’s wish and the thought of the beautiful woman made my heart seize. I had to return to Shlara’s Rest, find the magical orb she told me about, and then journey to the shrine our daughter had used.
Then we would be together.
Chapter 23-Kaiyer
I awoke to the sound of footsteps echoing down the long, dark corridor of the dungeon below Nia. It was no coincidence that being down here had triggered a memory of fleeing another dark underground prison. My dreams for the past two days were full of nothing but darkness and impossible, inescapable situations.
The steps grew closer. There were eight of them. I went over what I would say in my mind quickly before I moved to the bars of my cell and leaned against the cold steel. If I wanted to, I could have ripped them from their anchors in the thick stone walls and left. But I did not want to escape. I needed information that only Telaxthe could provide, and I would stay here until she gave it to me, or tried to kill me.
I had had little contact with Vernine or Fehalda since we returned to the castle. Vernine delivered my meal the first night, but told me nothing other than that the empress was meeting with Turnia. The clan leader and her warriors had accompanied us the rest of the way back to Nia. Fehalda had quickly crafted a lie about me, explaining that I was a guide hired to help them hunt a group of dangerous lizard creatures in the East. She explained that several of her warriors had died in the hunt and I was accompanying them back to the castle to obtain my payment.
I suspected that Turnia did not believe the story, though she did not question Fehalda’s explanation. To keep up the ruse, we traveled at human speed for the rest of our journey back to Nia. We expected the O’Baarni to grow impatient and leave us behind, but Turnia seemed happy to provide a large escort. As we traveled, she would drop back to walk next to me and ask various questions about the countryside, fauna, and human population. Thanks to the education Paug provided me, I was able to answer most of her questions, but her blue eyes bore into me as I spoke; she was a hunting bird studying its quarry.
I was confident that Telaxthe would also keep the truth from Turnia to protect herself from the wrath of the O’Baarni. She would probably explain that Kannath had departed months prior with the Pretender in tow, and feign ignorance of his current whereabouts.
“My sister said you wished to speak with me.” Telaxthe was flanked by her generals as well as Vernine and another pewter-colored guard that pointed a large crossbow at me with an unwavering grip. Each Elven general wore decorative robes the color of their armies and had weapons belted to their sides. The empress wore an elaborate tied silk ordeal that was embroidered with thousands of suns and moons against a leafy backdrop of green.
“Yes. I wanted to speak to you alone.”
“That is not acceptable.” Alatorict almost spat the sentence and the torchlight highlighted the hate in his eyes. He had always been strangely friendly to me in our past conversations.
“These words are better suited for you alone.” I ignored him and looked at Telaxthe. I was again struck by how similar she looked to Nadea and I wondered how the duchess, princess, and the rest of my friends were doing.
“Fehalda and Vernine have communicated your wishes,” Telaxthe said calmly. “This will be your only opportunity to speak with me.” I had prepared a request in anticipation of this.
“I had a daughter with one of your kind.”
“I do not know anything of your daughter.” She shook her head, but the other generals seemed surprised at my words, especially Dissonti, whose green eyes opened wide.
“Oh but you do, you know all about how to make a child between an Elven and one of—”
“Stop!” Her command cut me off, but she didn’t seem flustered by my words. “What is such knowledge worth to you?”
“I have a few other requests.” I smiled at the small victory. I hoped that her generals were unaware of Nadea, and she confirmed that she wished to keep this a secret.
“I want free roam of the castle and countryside, to come and go as I please without fear of attack.”
“I find it ironic that you would fear attack from us,” Jayita scoffed. Telaxthe licked her lips slightly.
“What else?”
“You’ve extended terms to the rulers of Nia. I too am a citizen of this country and a knight of Nia. I would like to make the same agreement of peace.” Alatorict clenched his fists tightly and the muscles on his jaw tensed into balls of fury.
“Anything else?” Telaxthe asked calmly.
“No.”
“What will I acquire in return?”
“I will share the location of the Radicle I came through.”
“I will already have that. What else?”
“I can give you more information about my past. The truth and the details the historians may have left out or never known.”
“This is tempting, however, my motivation for researching the Destroyer was to mimic his techniques to better manage and train my army and secure this world for our settlement. Now that I have done so, I doubt there is anything more I need to know about your past. Do you have anything else to offer?”
“What do you want?”
“I asked you to tell me what you were offering.” She shook her head and sighed. The movement reminded me of Nadea.
“Yes. But there is something only I can give you, or you would not have bothered coming down here to speak to me.”
“This conversation is finished, O’Baarni.” She turned and began to walk away. Her movement was unexpected and my heart fluttered in my chest.
“Wait!” I called after her and tried not to sigh when she stopped and took a few steps back to stand before me.
“You said you made a mistake when you came to this world and led with force, but in the end you conquered these people through violence and cunning. I am just one man and I can’t stand against your army. I want to know that my friends are safe and happy. I want to know of my daughter, and I want to live peacefully, just as you want for your people. I did not remember much when I awoke, but I did remember hating your kind. I want that to end. I just want peace between us.”
The empress stared at me without emotion. The strain and tension in the air was palpable. If I spoke again, she would doubt my sincerity.
I was done fighting. I was done hating. If Nadea and Jessmei were unhappy here, I would take them away from this place, but I would not kill Telaxthe or attack her people. I just did not care about exterminating them anymore. That Kaiyer had died with Iolarathe.
All I cared about was my daughter and the chance that she too had somehow survived these thousands of years. The possibility had crept into my mind deep in the darkness of Nadea’s keep when I recalled following Iolarathe’s trail and encountering the old Elven steward of the Radicle.
I had lived in the void of the Radicle, suspended in a stasis that kept me alive far longer than any O’Baarni or Elven could normally live. It was possible that she had as well. If I could find her, perform the same ritual that Nadea used to awaken me, I could save her. That dream shone so pure and bright in my heart that every other goal paled in comparison. I did not want to kill anymore, but if there was a chance I could meet the daughter Iolarathe and I had created, I would battle endless waves of foes and death, be they Elven, O’Baarni or human. Nothing mattered more than her.
“There will never be peace between us, Kaiyer. Perhaps I could forgive your past, but you have recently inflicted atrocities against my people. Hundreds died when you used magic to create your armor again.” She paused and a flicker of sadness crossed her face. “And you took Isslata from us.”
“Yes I have killed your people. You have killed mine. Is an Elven life worth more than a human life?” The words came quickly to my lips. There was no way I could defend my actions, only try to make her see how similar we both were. “There have been casualties on both sides. I want peace now.”
“When it is convenient for you!” she yelled and her generals clenched their jaws tightly. Even Vernine seemed startled by Telaxthe’s outburst. “Now that you can no longer take what you want through murder, you come to me on your knees begging for peace and favors.”
“Just as you did when you realized you could not get your daughter through murder! Now that you have her, you would deny me the same?” The generals and guards gave questioning glances to their empress, but she ignored them and glared at me.
“I paid for that information by killing one of our only O’Baarni allies, and now his sister is here sniffing around. You never even delivered on that promise. I found her on my own!”
“I intended to tell you, but then . . .” My eyes darted to Fehalda and I recalled being paralyzed by her gaze as we stood on the shores of the pond. I remembered her drawing her sword, just as Malek had.
“Why did you leave me there?” I asked Fehalda. My head started to pound in pain.
The white-haired woman seemed surprised at my question and glanced between her sister and the other generals.
“You don’t remember?” She crossed her arms and licked her lips.
“No.” I reached up to my temples and rubbed them carefully.
“Stop!” a voice said from outside of the bars.
“What?” My vision was starting to darken and I felt the Earth pulse through my veins angrily.
“By the Dead Gods, please stop! Tell him of his daughter. Telaxthe, please!” the voice screamed and I heard the sound of swords being drawn.
“I will tell you, Kaiyer!” Telaxthe’s shout cut through the thump of my beating heart and the ache in my head. I gasped like I had been holding my breath and I felt the pressure in my skull begin to fade quickly.
I looked up from my shaking hands and saw that the Elvens had their swords drawn and were standing against the wall of the far corridor. Yillomar had positioned his large frame in front of Dissonti and the other Elvens formed a barricade between my cell and the empress. The Elven with jade hair shook like Jessmei had when she almost died from hypothermia, and her matching green eyes were impossibly wide. The emerald gems were filled with terror and I seemed to be the focus of her fear.
“What did I say?” I looked back and forth between Telaxthe and Dissonti.
“I will tell you what I know, everything we’ve gathered of your past. Then you will leave with Turnia. You will depart this world and never return. Those are my terms.” The empress was a shrewd negotiator, yet I could see she struggled to keep her calm against Dissonti’s outburst.
“I will not leave this world.”
“Those are my terms, Destroyer. You can kill me now if you wish, but then you will never learn of your daughter.”
“How could I kill you? I am in this cell without a weapon and you have all your generals surrounding you with their swords drawn. I said I wanted peace between us.” Telaxthe was taking a huge risk allowing me to leave with Turnia. I could tell the O’Baarni clan leader what had really happened to her brother and bring the wrath of the clans to this world.
“He doesn’t know. Oh no. The Dead Gods have cursed us. He doesn’t even know!” Dissonti babbled between sobs.
“I’m sorry, Telaxthe.” I raised my open hands and shook my head. “I don’t know what I did to upset her.”
Telaxthe closed her eyes and I saw a tear streak down her face. “Our ancestors, Iolarathe’s people, never guessed who you really were. They thought you were just a human who knew our magic. Iolarathe and her half-sister suspected the truth.”
“Nyarathe? What truth about me?”
“You are an O’Baarni.” She spoke the words with a tone of finality and dread.
“Yes. That is what we called ourselves.” I shook my head again and tried to figure out how to get the conversation back to my daughter.
“No. Your army called itself that, but it is an old word for an ancient race of powerful humans.”
“Yes that is why we called ourselves by that name. To honor our past.”
“Maybe so. Did you think of the name?”
“Yes. I believe I did.”
“This ancient race may have looked like humans, but they were as far from your race as the people from this world are from us. They were monsters. They wielded magic equal to that of the Gods who created them. We were made to serve them and we lived with them in much the same way that humans lived with Elvens in Iolarathe’s time.”
“How could I be one of them? I was born a slave. I was just a stable boy. The Elvens imbued me with magic.”
They looked amongst themselves for a few seconds and then Telaxthe spoke.
“Our elders foretold that the return of an O’Baarni would signal the end of our existence. They said that a single harbinger would revive the dragons and the resulting battle would destroy us all.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration and tried to keep from ripping the cell bars out of their mounts. I wanted to point out that she really had not answered my question, but I knew enough about myself to know that I could not speak right now without sounding angry. There was a small cot in the cell and I stepped back and sat on the edge of the straw mattress.
I had done something to terrify Dissonti. I thought back to the previous meetings with Telaxthe and her generals. There was something strange about the green-haired woman that I noticed then. The other generals turned to look at her whenever I spoke. I remembered her odd replies to my statements, as if she was able to tell if I was speaking the truth.
I searched my memories for some sign that what she said was true and something stuck out with a glaring brightness. I dismissed the memory at first, but my brain would not put the recollection away.
“Even if I was one of these beings, I do not intend to revive any dragons or destroy anything more. I would not even know how. As I said before, I just want to learn of my daughter and see my friends. I want to know that they are safe.”
“Do you agree to my terms?” Telaxthe asked. I looked up from the floor of my cell and frowned. Telaxthe stood on the other side of my cell with only Fehalda and Vernine. The rest of her generals were gone.
I rose and walked toward the bars of my cell. Telaxthe stood a good ten feet away at the far side of the hallway, but she appeared unafraid of me. Telaxthe’s outfit was different from a few minutes ago. Instead of the stars and moons on a bed of leaves, it was a light green robe with gold vines embroidered across the silk. I had lost time somewhere between our conversations. Had my memories pulled me that far away from reality?
“How many days have passed since we last spoke?” My throat was dry and parched.
“We spoke yesterday morning. It is almost evening now.” The three Elven women glanced briefly between each other but didn’t seem surprised by my question. “Do you agree to my terms?”
“I want to see Nadea and Jessmei.”
“No. I’ll tell you what I know of your daughter and then you will leave with Turnia. Those are the terms.” Her eyes narrowed slightly and I sensed Fehalda and Vernine tense their bodies.
“What have you told Turnia?”
“That is none of your concern at the moment.” She shook her head and her bronze hair reflected the torchlight like a mirror.
“You haven’t told her anything. If you had, she would be down here right now, hauling me away.”
“You can make whatever assumptions you want, Kaiyer. I am offering you information about your daughter and in exchange you will leave this world with Turnia. Do you accept?”
“I made other requests.”
“But you can only give me this. You have nothing else to offer. Perhaps if circumstances were different I would feel some undercurrent of benevolence. As it stands, you’ve killed a Singleborn and hundreds of my kin. Your actions cannot be forgiven.”
“What is a Singleborn?” I focused on the unknown term and tried to puzzle out my next argument against her logic.
“I am surprised you don’t know.” She licked her lips slowly and then continued, “Our kind normally bear twins. Perhaps once every few generations, a single child is born. They are destined for greatness and often gifted with exceptional powers. Isslata was one, and when you murdered her, my people felt a loss beyond what I could ever make you comprehend.”
I nodded and recalled the many nights of lovemaking with the fierce Elven woman and the conversations we had together. Isslata seemed to have strange political clout that extended beyond the influence of Alatorict, who was her commanding general. Perhaps her station amongst the Elven people allowed most of my earlier freedom in the fortress.
“I would accept your terms now if you included a visit with Jessmei and Nadea.” I let go of the bars and let my hands hang outside of the cell. “Tell me everything you know of my daughter and allow me to see my friends. Then I will leave with Turnia. I will confirm whatever lie you told her about Kannath. That may save your people future interference from the clans.”
Telaxthe studied my face for a few seconds and then gave one last lick of her lips before she nodded.
“I will agree to that. I have plans for dinner, but I will arrange for Jessmei and Nadea to see you. Afterward, I will instruct you on the story you will tell Turnia about Kannath before you depart. Once you leave through the Radicle, you will never return to this world.”
My heart was heavy with the idea of agreeing to this. What if my friends were suffering under the empress’s rule? Could I live without Nadea and Jessmei? The thought made me realize how much I loved the two beautiful women. Chances were that my daughter was long dead and the information that Telaxthe gave me would not lead me to anything more than a pile of unanswered questions. Would I give up my life here for even more pain?
“I’m assuming this will all take place after you tell me of my daughter?”
“I am not a fool, Kaiyer. As soon as I give you that information, my usefulness to you will end and you will attack us as you did before. No, you are far too powerful for me to trust your promises.” She scoffed with a smirk. “I will journey with Turnia to the Radicle. Before you leave, I will tell you what I know. Then I can watch them drag you onto the dais and send you to whatever hell they have in store for you.”
“Fine. I agree,” I said at last. My chest hurt and felt relief at the same time. At least I would be able to say my farewells to Nadea and Jessmei. At least I could tell them I was sorry that I failed to protect their kingdom.
“Excellent.” Telaxthe’s face broke into a smile that reminded me too much of Nadea. Fehalda and Vernine also grinned and I could feel the tension on the air lift like fog being blown away by a spring breeze.
“Expect the princess and duchess to come to you tonight. I will speak with you in the morning before we depart so we may align our stories.” She moved to leave and then stopped herself. The empress turned to face me again and spoke.
“Did you know that Iolarathe was a Singleborn?”
“No. I had not heard the term before you explained it to me today.” My memories spun and I tried to recall any mention of Iolarathe’s status during my time in the stables when we were lovers.
“Interesting. It adds even more irony to the legend and confirms my suspicions of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Two Singleborns chose to mate with you; amongst others.” She turned slightly to her side to where Fehalda and Vernine stood. “Perhaps it is just coincidence? I am glad I will not find out more. Watching you leave shall bring me the same joy I experienced when I finally won this world for my people.” She turned and walked away without another word. Both Vernine and Fehalda gave me a short glance before they followed their empress into the lighter parts of the dungeon.
Then I was alone to wait for Nadea and Jessmei.
Chapter 24-Iolarathe
The gentle light of dawn caressed my face and awoke me from the pleasant slumber of the night. I opened my eyes and stretched against the cradle of my hammock before swinging out of the elevated bed and standing. There was a deep chill in the air and my feet cringed against the wood floor of my cottage.
There was an iron stove a few steps away in the kitchen and shortly I had a fire in its belly to warm water for tea. I prepared the rest of my breakfast just as easily, with a few eggs from the hens I kept and some thick strips of salted bacon from the hog I butchered at the start of the winter. The air had carried the smell of spring for the last few weeks, and while I welcomed the warmth, the long list of tasks the season brought was exhausting to even consider.
I slid my hot breakfast off of the iron skillet and onto a dish and sipped the pine lemon tea. I was surprised that my rooster had not woken me. He normally cried out as the sun crested the sky, but I had not heard a peep out of him during the time I cooked my breakfast. I feared foxes might have gotten into my chicken coop and killed the birds, but I waited until I finished eating before putting on clothes and investigating.
The morning sun was out in full glory and I stretched against its heat when I stepped out of my stone cottage. I let out a breath of steamy air and surveyed the glade I had chosen to inhabit for the last ten years.
My home sat on the crest of a gentle hill that backed into a grove of pine and maple trees. At the bottom of a grassy slope on the south side was the small river that ran smooth and straight for half a mile in either direction. On the north, east, and west sides of my glade were the steep rocky slopes of the Intirli Mountains. The river eventually led to a small lake that in turn mixed with a fjord before passing into the sea.
My land was part of the Tearnoll Peninsula that lay hundreds of miles west of my father’s estate. The area was of little strategic consequence, and was thought to be too challenging to explore because of the mountains, so it was uninhabited except for a tiny tribe of Elven people that called themselves the Kinntri. They knew little about me as I only came to their village once a year to trade for various supplies or livestock. The journey to their homes would come with the spring and I already had the list of goods I needed thought out and written.
I inhaled deeply of the glade air and savored the taste of the dew-blessed grass, the ice-capped mountains, and the pine trees scattered within the mile. The morning breeze also carried the scent of my garden, orchards, chickens, goats, pigs, and the dozen small cattle I bred for sustenance. I knew each one by scent and the single breath of air confirmed that my rooster was still alive, though he had not given his morning call.
Then I realized why he had not sung.
I dove back into my cottage and slid across the wooden floor of the single room. It had taken me a month to build the place by hand after half a year of gathering, cutting, and treating the various rocks, timber, and thatch that made up its bones. I knew every square inch of the cottage, but it had been too long since I had handled my swords and my fingers were clumsy when I tried to pry up the panel that hid my weapons.
How did they find me?
It felt like a year had passed but it was probably only three seconds that elapsed before the closest sword in the pile was removed from the oil cloth and secured in my hand. I debated locking the door, or trying to make an escape, but their scent was too familiar in my nose now and I cursed myself for allowing my paranoia to fade with the passing years. I knew they would come for me eventually and I also knew they would bring the only person who could track me.
“You had best come out, Sister.” Her voice rang like a lark’s across the back of my cottage and through the thick stone of the walls. “There is no use hiding. We’ve been here for two hours.”
I crouched low and contemplated my options. I guessed there were only four or five with her. Perhaps she would send them in to take me first and I could deal with them and then confront Nyarathe alone. Maybe I could convince her to leave me or even live here with me in peace. She may have been forced to come find me by the tribes.
“You are embarrassing yourself now. I’m not here for the reasons you think I am, so just come out.” My sister almost never let emotion into her voice, but I sensed her frustration. I reached down past the floorboard and grabbed the scabbard to my sword. Then I wrapped the sword belt around my waist with my free hand, sheathed the blade, and sighed before walking out again.
There were six of them, including my beloved sister and Relyara. I felt a strange mix of anger and excitement upon seeing my sister and lover again for the first time in so many years. I knew the two women loved me and probably had been coerced into chasing after me, but it still seemed a betrayal that they had helped lead the others to me. The entire group looked worn and haggard. I guessed that the passage through the mountains was not easy on them, and I almost felt a tiny portion of remorse for taking such pains to live in such a distant location.
“By the Dead Gods it is good to see you again, Iolarathe!” My sister took a few steps toward me. I raised my hand and shook my head.
“No love for me?” She tilted her head and her usual stoic expression cracked with a frown of sadness.
“No. I . . .” My mouth struggled to form words and I realized I had not spoken to another person in longer than I could remember. I had some interaction with Elvens every year when I visited Kinntri, but I almost never spoke when I delivered my list and paid for the wares. I had even stopped talking to my own livestock years ago and the thought of forming words outside of my head suddenly made me feel inept and frantic.
“We traveled countless miles, endless days to see you, Mistress.” Relyara stood next to my sister and I didn’t doubt the woman’s statement. They both appeared much as I remembered: Relyara with her bright blue eyes and hair a few shades darker; my half-sister’s skin tone was the same shade as mine, but her hair lacked any pigment and her eyes were black like the darkest of onyx. She looked like she was carved out of ice and her demeanor sometimes matched the frigid element.
I wasn’t sure how many years had passed since I had seen either one of them. The sight and scent of Nyarathe made my heart beat faster and it hurt to realize how much I missed my sibling. She smelled of oranges and limes, she was as happy to see me as I was to see her.
“How did you find me?” The words came to my mouth as if I was chewing on almonds while I spoke. The sound of my voice was strange, as if someone else spoke. I wondered if this was just a dream and I would wake up alone in my hammock in a few minutes, the dream slowly dissipating from my memory as I went about my morning chores.
“It was not easy. You sent me on a wild hunt. Perhaps it is a tale best told over a meal. Would you honor us with some food? Our provisions have run short, and while game in this little valley of yours looks plentiful, the passage over the mountains was quite a hardship.” She smiled and I felt my nerves relax slightly.
“Yes. I already cooked breakfast, but I have half of last winter’s pig salted and stored. If you can take that wood and prepare a fire, I’ll ready it for roasting.” These two sentences were somewhat easier to speak, but I had to search for each word and I tasted the air for their responses to ensure they meant me no harm. The four other Elvens with Relyara and Nyarathe were split between male and female. They wore the uniform of my mother’s lands, but they were careful to avoid eye contact with me.
“We were already out here when you began cooking, Sister.” Nyarathe nodded and crossed her arms. “I am surprised you didn’t notice.” She was always quick to point out flaws, but I normally found more wrong with her than she with me. A thought flew into my head like a hummingbird and I wondered if she was that way because I had always been so critical of her.
“They will prepare the fire if you show me to the pig, Mistress. I can take care of the food preparation.” Relyara floated between us and then gestured toward my cottage. I nodded and took a few steps backward before finding the doorway and stepping inside.
“How long have you lived here?” Relyara whispered once she entered my dwelling. My sister voiced instructions to her escorts and they began to build a cooking fire.
“I forget. Once upon a time I tracked the passage of days, but after I came to this place I stopped.” I opened the door to the cellar. Relyara descended and let out a small gasp. The space was roughly three times the size of my cottage and half-filled with cured meats, jars of pickled vegetables, and bottles of cider. It smelled pleasantly of cedar, salt, and the molasses I used to preserve my food.
“How did you make all this?” She reached up and carefully brushed her hands across a large jar of pickled beets and cauliflower. Her stomach growled and I wondered how difficult the trek across the mountain pass had really been.
“I am effective with my time. There is much to do every day and I milk every second from the sun.” I took down the shank of pig I intended to serve and nodded over to the far corner of the cellar. “Take that jar of pickled vegetables and a few bottles of cider and mead from that corner; the ones farthest away are the best.” I took a jar of pickled cucumbers and then climbed the small set of stairs. Once Relyara followed me out I shut the small trap door and we exited the cottage.
“Cook this.” I handed the salted pork to one of the warriors preparing the fire. She nodded and began to skewer it with the spit they must have packed in their travel gear.
“Pass these around.” I gave the jar of pickled cucumbers to another guard and then motioned for Relyara to hand me the bottled drinks. I uncorked each one and carefully inhaled their first fumes. Their scents were sweet, spiced, and held no hint of contamination. I took the first sip out of each bottle before passing the mead back to Relyara and the cider to my sister.
“This has to be the finest bottle of cider I have ever enjoyed.” My sister almost trembled with pleasure at the second sip and then took two more deep swigs of the brew before the scent of desire from the other warriors forced her to pass the jug along. “How did you craft such divine liquid?”
“I’ve learned during my travels.” I pointed to one of the men and the stack of firewood behind him. He quickly made me a seat and I perched behind Relyara. She had taken position over the cooking fire and spun the hunk of meat lazily on the spit.
“I imagine you have. Your letter led me on quite a chase.” The smile that the cider brought to her face faded instantly and I smelled the bitter vegetable rot scent of fear from the gathered men and women.
“That was my plan.” I spoke slowly and the words continued to feel alien against my lips. I already guessed what my sister wanted. The only question in my mind was determining if she would use force to take it from me.
“That is what I told them. They didn’t believe me though, and they sent trackers to find you in the desert. They searched for a few years, but no one found you. Then they asked me to look. I declined of course, but the pressure they put on our mother was fierce and I was forced to relent.” The bottle of mead made its way to her and she placed her perfect lips to the jug before taking a long drink.
“This is also excellent. Of course you excel at everything you attempt.” She shook her head at her own words and I tasted another scent of bitterness in the air.
“I searched for five years and found no trace of you. Not in the desert, not in your father’s lands. Relyara joined me, but despite her intimate knowledge of your last few years together, we had little success. It is fortunate that I enjoyed the process of searching, because it has consumed my life for years.”
Nyarathe was one of the few living people that I felt any love for, but I had no idea what had changed in the many years I had been removed from Elven civilization. Something about this meeting was strange, and while I could not place what it was, I trusted my instincts. They had saved me countless times.
“Let us eat and then we can speak more of why the six of us journeyed all the way here to find you.” She nodded to Relyara and began to slice pieces of meat and serve them to the other Elvens. I declined the food but took ample sips from the bottles when they reached me. The travelers were famished and in a few minutes they had devoured most of the pork and the pickled vegetables. My stores were plentiful enough that I could afford to serve them dozens of times over, but I waited to offer more food until my sister made her intentions clear.
“Thank you for the food, Mistress.” Relyara leaned back on her seat with a satisfied sigh. The others nodded their agreement, but no one else spoke for a few minutes. I realized I was behind on my chores and stood up and walked past the group to my chicken coop.
The birds cawed at my entrance and gathered around my feet while I spread the pine seeds, ground fish, and celery leaves that made up their meal. Then I found the twenty concealed eggs and cleaned up the various spots of feces with my birch broom. Later today I would journey down to the river where I had established a duck coop. I preferred their eggs to those from the chickens, but I learned many years ago how important it was to diversify a homestead’s food sources.
“I see it, but still cannot believe it.” My sister shook her head when I exited the cage with my apron full of eggs.
“The eggs?”
“No. Your domestication. This is more unexpected than anything else I could have envisioned you doing.”
“This lifestyle suits me. I enjoy the solitude and there is always work to occupy me.” I walked back to my cottage and deposited the eggs. I had more than enough for myself, it was fortunate for my guests that they had arrived this week. Three weeks ago we were still in the chill grip of winter and my hens had not been laying much.
“May we speak now?” Nyarathe stood in my doorway, Relyara behind her.
“I have too many chores to do.”
“Your chores don’t matter anymore.”
“I know why you are here.”
She crossed her arms and I tasted the anger in my cottage. “We will help you with your chores and then we will talk.”
“I need someone to milk and feed the goats, and then I need my pigs fed. I have fishing nets down at the river that need to be inspected. Eggs must be retrieved from the duck coop. I have a garden and orchard behind the cottage, but I will take care of that if you can manage the rest.”
“You have quite an operation here.” She smiled. I nodded but didn’t return her smile on my way out the door.
Nyarathe gave orders to her warriors and a few of them asked me detailed questions about the tasks she assigned. I did my usual survey of the vegetable garden. The chores would normally have lasted until midday, but with their help everything was completed in a few short hours. To celebrate the short work day, we smoked four salmon my nets had caught, fried twenty eggs, and opened a few more bottles of mead.
“Will you speak with me now?” My sister asked after the meal had been cleared.
“You came all the way out here. I suppose I should.”
There was something strange about the warriors who accompanied Nyarathe and Relyara. They wore my mother’s colors, but spoke very little. They did not carry any strange scents, still I sensed something was wrong.
“I was speaking earlier in the morning about my search for you.”
“I recall,” I said simply. “Perhaps you and Relyara should speak with me in private?”
“No. My warriors are briefed on the situation,” Nyarathe said quickly, and I knew for certain that the guards were here to ensure that I returned with them. Their earlier apprehension was a dark foreboding they must have been working hard to suppress.
“As I explained earlier, I spent many years searching for you. Finally, I gave up, assuming you dead or hidden so well that there would be no chance of finding you.”
“Yet here you are.”
“Do you realize how many years have passed since you left?”
“It took me eight years of wandering to find this little valley and build my cottage. I’ve been here a few years. I have not kept accurate track of the passage of time. I am happy here, Nyarathe. I’ve found a peace that I didn’t think could exist for me. I don’t have to worry about mating, or politics, or petty scuffling between the tribes. I take care of my home and myself and feel fulfilled.” I sighed when I said the words. It was partially true. I thought of Kaiyer, my sister, Relyara, Grednil, my father, and even my mother. Mostly, I thought of Kaiyer and longed to see him again.
“It has been twenty-two years.”
“Then I have enjoyed my solitude more than I previously believed.” I smiled at her and then took a drink from my bottle of mead.
“Do you know what is happening in the world?” She was angry and I tasted the bitter pepper of her displeasure.
“No, I don’t care to involve myself in it. I am content, despite how angry that seems to make you.”
“Our world is in ruins, Iolarathe. Our race faces extinction.” Her face was grave and the scent of anger faded. She paused to see my reaction, but I only raised an eyebrow. My sister was not dramatic or prone to hyperbole.
“The humans have formed an army and attacked us. Their intention is to wipe us from the world,” she continued.
“So, destroy them. I don’t see how this justifies you coming here to disturb me.”
“These are not mere humans, Iolarathe. They wield our magic with more power and skill than our best warriors. They heal quickly and are nearly impossible to kill. They call themselves the O’Baarni.” I felt a chill descend my spine and I fought against the fear.
“Was that not the old name for the humans that killed the Dead Gods?” I asked. History had never interested me, but I had heard our legends. Every Elven knew the story. My head started to ache as if my brain was swelling.
“Yes. But these humans are not the same. They can be killed, and our warriors are not compelled to serve them.”
“Then kill them. Even if they are powerful, we are Elvens and should be able to handle the animals.”
“Your words are familiar, Sister. I said the same when I returned from my initial quest in search of you. Countless chieftains have said them. The tribes felt no need to organize. We could not cooperate and unite against this threat as no one took it seriously. At first, they were nothing but a nuisance, attacking small tribes, interfering with trade, picking off caravans and travelers. With their success, they grew bolder. Their numbers grew. Larger tribes were attacked and fell, their humans joined the army. Four years ago, Mother finally began to appreciate that they were a threat and made a hasty alliance with the Bornit, Houiuru, Operwti, Juquiti, and Cornitl tribes.”
“That sounds more far-fetched than a human army.” I snorted and shook my head. My mother would sooner eat a plate of her own feces than consider spending any time with the chieftains Nyarathe had listed.
“I wished you could have seen it. The irony would have impressed you. But there was hope that we could defeat the humans, so the other tribes joined our mother. Soon we had an army of two hundred thousand warriors. But there were struggles internally; we had too much posturing amongst the tribes and not enough training or strategy. Mother couldn’t organize them properly and the other tribal leaders were more interested in glory than uniting for success.” The men and women sitting around the campfire nodded solemnly at my sister’s words, but none glanced at me. Even Relyara stared intently into the fire.
“So she sent you here to seek my help organizing this army? You can tell her to fuck herself.” I exhaled sharply. It was just like the woman to send Nyarathe to beg for cooperation from me. I tried to release my anger, but it coiled in my stomach and I knew that the gathered men and women at the fire could smell my emotion. I thought the years of isolation had cured my frustration, but they had not.
“No, Iolarathe. Mother is dead. The entire army was destroyed by these humans. Their tribal lands were raided and their inhabitants butchered like animals. In the last year, millions of our people have died. The air of the North burns brown with the smoke of corpses and cities. Refugees have fled to the West. Your father and the last remaining Elven tribes are desperate. That is why we are here.”
Her words struck me like a slap across the face. My mother was far too clever and bitter for death. She had survived countless assassination attempts and outmaneuvered hundreds of attacks from other tribes and elders seeking to claim her land. How could humans have killed her? How could they have killed millions of my people?
My sister never lied, especially to me. I licked my lips and tasted the sadness in the air. It mixed with the smoke of the cooking fire into a strange, burnt despair. I could not imagine what the stench of the horror she described tasted like.
“The last chieftains have argued about our defense strategy. They finally acknowledge the threat the humans pose. They do not wish to repeat the mistakes of our mother, yet they cannot agree on a general. And each day that passes brings the O’Baarni closer to devouring what remains of our world.”
“They want me to lead the army?”
“Yes. There is no one better suited than you. You are the most powerful of our kind, have studied battle strategies, you know combat, and the chieftains all agree to follow your orders. You are our last hope, Iolarathe.”
I looked into the fire and digested her words. It had been so long since I considered the needs of my people. I had never cared for politics or the traditions of our tribes. Their way was to force me to fuck men I did not love so that I could create children to be sold and traded like animals.
But it was not their choice. My family, my suitors, they were all just part of a system put into place thousands of years before we were born. They were as helpless to change the system as I had been and did not deserve to be left to die at the hands of humans.
I stood up and walked to the rear of the cottage where my garden lay. In the raised beds the first of the season’s bounty was beginning to come in, fresh tender shoots of green fought their way through the rich earth. Soon the trees would bloom with flowers and fruit would come into season. I had raised each tree and carefully maintained and nurtured them. What would happen to this place if I left? The wild would take back the orchard, weeds would fill the garden, vines would rip apart the stone of the cottage, and the thatch on the roof would rot and fall away.
I wandered down to the river and sat on the grassy slope of the shore. I had a well a few dozen feet from my cottage, but felt it was wise to have another source of fresh water and fish nearby. Combined with the other herd animals, chickens, and ducks I maintained, I could support myself or even a small tribe of my own.
“This is the opportunity to do what you always wanted.” I had not heard Nyarathe’s approach. “You can change things for yourself and our people. Your rule will be absolute. You will be an empress with an army to obey your every command and fulfill your every desire.”
“This is what I want. I am the ruler here. This land fulfills all my desires.”
“So you will leave us to die? How long do you think you will be safe here? They won’t rest until every one of our kind is gone.” Her anger returned and filled the air.
“They will not seek me out here. Stay with me. We can start a new tribe. I can provide for you all.”
“Iolarathe, you are wrong. You will never be safe here. They will search for you forever.”
“The humans don’t even know about me.”
“They do know about you. How do you think they came into existence?” She stood angrily and moved to block my view of the river.
“How should I know? I don’t care for the humans or their ways.”
“You lie to your own sister. Relyara and I have spent too many years together. If you really wanted to keep your secret safe, you should not have sent her to me.” Her black eyes burned with malice and the anger of her scent mixed with the bitterness of rotten fear.
“I don’t see what my past has to do with this army.” I wanted to ask her to tell me what she knew but assumed Relyara had told her of Kaiyer.
“Who do you think leads this army? Do you think it is just a coincidence that Laxile has not yet been attacked?”
I stared at her and the world seemed to collapse into my vision. For a second it was if my heartbeat and the air hung still. Scents became tasteless and my head spun and my skull ached.
“No. That isn’t possible.”
“It is. The man that leads these O’Baarni is named Kaiyer. Our spies know little of his past but there are rumors that he used to be a slave to Laxile. Relyara told me of your history with this human, she told me how you killed his family. Millions of our people have died by this man’s army and he won’t stop until he kills every last one of us.” Her voice had been rising in volume and anger until it reached a screech. “You caused this. They are all dead because of you and you just want to hide? No. I won’t let you. There is only one person who can defeat this monster and it has to be the woman who made him. So get the fuck off the ground, get your weapons, and do what the Dead Gods intended for you. Protect your fucking people or die trying.” She seemed to vibrate in place and I didn’t know if it was because of her actual anger or because the news of Kaiyer made my vision spin. I still thought of him every day, but I never expected him to come seeking revenge.
How could I have known that he would become so dangerous?
“I get the feeling you’ll run me through if I say no.” Her hand clenched along the handle of her blade. I had left my own back by the fire. I couldn’t even fathom fighting against her and I briefly wondered if she actually had the resolve to attack me.
“No. I’ll order one of the other warriors to take you by force.”
I sighed and stood up. My legs shook, but I didn’t think my sister noticed. I looked over the valley again and then back to her. Her scent betrayed her fear that I would say no. She did not want to stand against me, but she really believed she needed me. They all needed me.
“I’ll prepare my things. We can leave tomorrow morning.” She smelled surprised, then she cried and threw her arms around my shoulders in an embrace I did not expect.
Chapter 25-The O’Baarni
“They made a mistake. This punishment does not fit the crime.” Gorbanni crossed his arms and glared at me. I knew him well enough to understand the posture.
“I cannot fucking believe you!” I growled through clenched teeth at the blond man.
“Why? They are my top lieutenants and we don’t have a rule against—”
“Stop. Fucking stop talking right now.” I put my face in my hands and rubbed my temples. Then I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t want to be dealing with bullshit like this now. There were a million and a half tasks I needed to perform before the sun set and I guessed there was only an hour left of its precious light.
“Kaiyer, I’ll suspend them, I’ll demote them, whatever you want to do besides that. It isn’t going to help anyone and it will destroy the morale of my unit.”
“The morale is already destroyed because you let this shit go on.” I didn’t look up from my hands.
“I didn’t know it was happening. I swear on the lives of all of my warriors.”
“Then you haven’t been paying attention and I am even angrier with you, Gorbanni. You are supposed to know what kind of activities your team is engaged in while in combat. Either you aren’t spending enough time with your warriors, or you are incompetent.” I looked up from my hands and our eyes met. I could see the anger and hurt in his, but I didn’t fucking care.
“You are taking this too seriously.” The blond man turned to Thayer. “This isn’t a big deal.”
“It is, Brother. We don’t do these things.” Thayer shook his head and ran a big hand over his bare scalp and scarred face.
“Fine. I’ll tell them that it was wrong and then suspend them from their duties.”
“No. The point is that they should have known not to do it in the first place.”
“How would they know? We kill them. All of them, without mercy. We kill their children, we kill their elders. We kill prisoners, the wounded; we accept no surrender. How is what they did any worse than killing them all?”
I heard footsteps approach my tent and knew it was Malek before he opened the flap.
“What did they do?” the handsome man said when he stepped into my tent. The chest plate of his pieced-together armor had a giant puncture in the shoulder that ripped down to the center like a cat’s scratch. The day’s battle had been fierce and Malek’s forces had been forced to enter the main fray to support Alexia’s team.
Thayer and I turned to Gorbanni and the blond man shook his head with a clenched jaw. The four of us stood in silence for almost a minute until he finally looked at his feet and sighed in defeat.
“Six of my men were raping Elven women.”
“Ah. I see.” Malek exhaled and looked around my tent. “Fuck, I could really sit down now. Why don’t you have chairs in your tent? And I could drink a flagon of wine. Or three.” He grunted and lowered himself down to the wooden planks of my floor. The movement sounded creaks and groans from his armor and I tasted the scent of blood from injuries that had already healed.
“Kaiyer wants them executed,” Gorbanni said with obvious disgust. ”My men do not deserve this punishment. They didn’t know we had rules against rape.”
“Why would you think we did not have rules against rape?” I asked. My heart beat in my ears and I did my best to fight against my anger and disappointment. Gorbanni was a talented commander, steadfast, loyal, disciplined, and I trusted him to run a chunk of our small army alongside Thayer and Alexia. He had done a wonderful job and even helped Malek get accustomed to his new role at our planning table.
It had been four or five years since Alexia and I saved him from slavery and I felt as if he was my brother. I was starting to question my assessment of him.
“Go get Alexia and return.” I realized what the man was missing.
“Very well.” He seemed pleased with my suggestion. “She will agree with me.” Thayer snorted and Gorbanni’s sudden strike of confidence faded from his face just as quickly as it came.
“What? She is merciless with them. She enjoys their suffering more than the four of us put together.”
“Just get her. And bring wine for Malek.” I sighed and felt my anger fade.
“Wait, not just for me. We will all need some wine for this.”
“Fine. Should I get Entas?” the horseman asked.
“No. I was just at his tent and he said he was busy.” Malek bent his neck sideways to glance at me. “He said he wants to see you after supper though.” I nodded and then watched Gorbanni leave the tent.
Malek waited a few minutes to ensure he was out of earshot before speaking.
“You really want to execute them?”
“Yes.”
“I’m surprised this has not happened yet.” Malek leaned back with a creak of leather until he was flat on the wood flooring of my tent.
“Why are you surprised?” Thayer walked over to the other side of the tent and lay down next to Malek on the floor with an exhausted sigh. All of us were covered with dried mud and Elven blood.
“It happens in war. Our men want to do to the Elven women what has been done to countless human women. We have watched our mothers, sisters, daughters, and lovers raped by Elven men. As Gorbanni said, we want to spread fear through their population. We only take a few prisoners and exterminate the rest, including their pregnant women, their children, and even their babies. Isn’t that more horrible than rape?”
“It is wrong.”
“I hate them and want our freedom at any cost, but I can understand Gorbanni’s argument.” Malek sighed and turned his head to look at me. “I don’t envy your role in this.” Thayer snorted a laugh and stretched on the ground. They both lay silent until Gorbanni’s footsteps approached.
“I brought her,” he said when he opened the flap. Both Gorbanni and Alexia were blond with blue eyes, but that was the end of their similarities. Alexia’s eyes were a cold snowy ice while Gorbanni’s were a warmer ocean water. Her hair was a light shade of sun-bleached platinum and his was darker, with shades of red and brown at the roots. Gorbanni was my tallest general and had a massive reach with his muscular arms, while Alexia was small and lithe. Her features were delicate, sharp, and beautiful, like a bird of prey.
“Heh. Couldn’t hear ya walking, Sister.” Thayer cracked open his eyes and then both he and Malek inched up from the floor and sat up with jerky movements that reflected their exhaustion.
“What do you need?” She looked at me without a smile. Her armor was unmarked from the battle but that was usually the case. She was fastidious with organization and cleanliness and often didn’t rest for many days after a battle.
“Gorbanni and I have a disagreement,” I began. The pretty woman raised an eyebrow at the horseman and he lifted a hand politely to interrupt me.
“Kaiyer wishes to execute six of my men.”
“For?” Her mouth hardened and silence hung uncomfortably in the air. She already knew what had transpired and was making her friend voice the crime.
“They raped Elven women. We had no rules against the—” She raised her hand suddenly and Gorbanni’s words cut off like he had been choked.
“Are you asking my opinion because I am a woman, a victim, or a human?” She looked at him with a hard stare that could have crumbled rock.
“You forgot commander.” I smiled at her and her shoulders relaxed slightly. “You have a unique perspective. Please tell us your thoughts. I am prepared to be persuaded from my opinion.”
“I am a human first and a woman second.” She took a deep breath and ran her left hand through her short hair. “But I would be lying if I didn’t think about the Elvens that raped me every time I kill one of them. Each battle we win I think of as one step closer to freedom and one step closer to my sisters being safe from their vile assaults. I care not what happens to the Elvens, and I have killed too many to count.” Gorbanni nodded and opened his mouth to speak but she continued, “With that said, we should aim to deal them their fate as quickly as possible. I do not condone rape of their women. I doubt they have the same emotions that we possess, but we are better than that. Are we not fighting for a world where the strong do not prey upon the weak?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call their women weak, Sister,” Thayer grunted.
“No. But Gorbanni’s men were stronger. They overpowered a woman and forced themselves upon her. I shudder to think of how similar the situation was to my own rape.”
Alexia never spoke in detail of her assault. Thayer and I stumbled upon the attack while we were scouting the tribe’s trade route and farming lands. The Elvens that were in the process of raping the beautiful woman were dealt with quickly and without mercy.
“We will make it part of our laws. I will tell all of my warriors and it will never happen again. We do not need to execute them.” Gorbanni attempted to speak the words with conviction, but the last sentence sounded like a question. He was leaving this decision up to Alexia.
We all were.
“The offending men need to seek forgiveness from the women in your unit. Our army has valued equality between our sexes and I have never felt unsafe around any of the human men in our ranks. But allowing them to rape women, even Elven women, sets a dangerous precedent and destroys the trust and equality we have built here. If we allow them to view Elven women as things they can use for their own pleasure, it will not be long before they begin to view their fellow female soldiers in the same way.”
“They will apologize. It will not happen again.” Gorbanni rose to his feet easily and dashed from the pavilion without another word. Alexia waited until our sensitive ears heard his steps blend into the crowd of the camp before speaking.
“May I speak alone with Kaiyer?” she asked Malek and Thayer. They nodded quickly and followed Gorbanni’s path out of the tent and down into the camp.
“I wish you had not gotten me involved,” she said the words with no anger.
“I was not able to convince him,” I said.
“I understand your reasoning, but it doesn’t change my wishes.”
“How could I have done it better?”
“I don’t know. But that is what you do; you figure shit out that we can’t.” She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. It made her short hair bob to one side of her slender neck.
“Fair enough. I’ll get better.” I smiled at her and she mirrored the expression.
“I’ve got more work to do. We all having dinner tonight?”
“Yes. Today was a good day. You figure out the losses?” I asked.
“Fifteen for me. Gorbanni lost two dozen, Thayer twenty-eight, and Malek lost twelve. The Elvens were wiped out. Six hundred or so. A few dozen escaped into the forest, but my warriors are tracking them. They should be exterminated by the end of the night.”
“Thank you for the update.” She nodded and silently slid out of my tent. Later tonight she would have an exact list of names for me to review. I hated losing soldiers, but it was unavoidable. We could not rid this world of the Elvens without bloodshed on both sides. We were close to a thousand strong, but only one third of that number was trained thoroughly enough for combat. The rest would not be ready for many more months.
“Didn’t Malek ask you to come see me?” I spun around and stopped myself from sending a dagger flying out of my hand at the last second.
“You scared the shit out of me.” I let out a breath and glared at Entas. The old man was sprawled out on my cot like a snake. “How did you get in here?”
“You were lost in thought and I walked right past you.”
“I doubt that happened.”
“There are infinite possibilities in the universe. One day you might even take a ride on a dragon and change the world forever.” He bobbed his balding head and made a cooing sound like a dove.
“What do you need?” Usually I tried to ignore the old man’s ramblings. Half of the time he made little sense and the other half he spoke in riddles that only made sense a few days later.
“There is a group of humans running from Elvens. They are about two hundred miles south and a few dozen miles to the west. You should send Malek and another one of your commanders to intercept them and bring them into our camp.”
“How do you know this?” For once my teacher was being direct and it was puzzling to me.
“The same way I knew that you and Thayer were at the foothills of my mountain.” He smiled a goofy grin. “You were both really loud and it woke me up.”
“Fine. I’ll send a group.”
“Malek. Send Malek and his entire unit.”
“Okay, anyone else you prefer?”
“Nope, but send another commander and their unit just in case Malek runs into some of our pointy eared friends. Tell him to camp at the merging of the Elard and Corlard Rivers. The Elard runs north and south and is fresh water. The Corlard runs east and west and is salty.”
“I am familiar with the area.” There weren’t any Elven tribes within fifty miles of the rivers, but the terrain was wide open and we deemed it unsuitable for a camp because of the lack of cover.
“That is all I need.” His face scrunched. “Let me know when they return.”
“You haven’t been interested in recruiting in a few years. Is there anything special about this group?”
“You’ll have to tell me!” He giggled like a little boy and then rolled back on the bed. He did that when the answer to one of his questions should have been obvious.
“Alright. I’m going to go tell Malek. I’ll tell Gorbanni to go with him.”
“Is that because you are angry with the man?” He stopped his laughing abruptly and his face hardened.
“Yes.” I realized that I could never twist the truth with the strange old man, so I had stopped trying long ago.
“Good. Go tell them then.” He waved his hand and I took three steps out of the tent before I realized that he had dismissed me from my own tent. Part of me wanted to walk back in and ask him how he managed to command me so easily, but I would have been given more riddles instead of an answer. I just shook my head, laughed, and continued on my way to speak to Malek.
Chapter 26-Kaiyer
The footsteps rolled down the empty hallway of the dungeon like thunder across a desert basin. They awoke me from the memory of the conversation with Entas and I felt the usual disorientation that accompanied the transition from one of my recollections to the present. I thought of my old teacher for a few more seconds and wondered about the last mission he asked Malek to lead. I knew exactly who my handsome friend would find during the quest and this made me wonder about my teacher’s knowledge of the future.
The steps neared and I swung my body out of the cot and onto my feet. I knew who they belonged to and I did not try to keep the smile from my face as they approached.
“Nadea,” I greeted the beautiful woman when she stepped in front of the bars of my jail cell.
“Hello, Kaiyer.” She wore an emerald dress of thick velvet that hugged her arms, chest, and stomach before it billowed out from her waist. Her dark brown hair was held up by a series of complicated knots bound together by delicate pearl and amethyst hairpins. Across the smooth skin of her neck a tight band of white metal held matching purple gems and pearls.
Escorting the duchess were two Elven guards wearing the empress’s green armor. The male carried a small loaded crossbow in his hand and the female rested her hand on a short spear with a wicked-looking tip. They both had the same pewter hair and red eyes as Vernine. I wondered again if the soldiers that reported directly to the empress were born that way or if there was some process that changed them.
“It is good to see you again,” I said to Nadea and I reached out of the bars of my cell toward her. I stopped short when she didn’t return the gesture and take my hands.
“It is good to see you as well.” She smiled halfway, but her heart began to beat a bit faster.
“May we speak alone?” I asked the guards that stood behind her.
“No,” the female answered.
“The empress said this was the only way we could speak to each other.” Nadea quickly explained. “Just pretend they aren’t there. That is what I do,” she seethed the last sentence, but the guards ignored her words.
Our eyes met and neither one of us spoke for a few moments. I studied the torch reflection in her dark eyes and wondered what could have been between us if I had succeeded in stopping the empress. It hurt my heart to know that I had failed my friends.
“I am sorry,” I said at last.
“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest. My own hands hung outside of the bars but she didn’t acknowledge them.
“You awoke me with hopes that I would stop the empress and her armies. I failed you and your kingdom. Thousands of humans have died because of me. Paug is dead.” The pain from the loss of my friend would always lurk in my chest.
“Is that all you are apologizing for?” Anger came across in her voice and her heart began to beat faster.
“Is there something else I should apologize for? Am I missing something?”
“Yes. You are.”
“I should have been more upfront about your mother. I wanted you to see your father first and I didn’t want to distract you before we escaped the castle and you saw Beltor.”
“No. Damn it, Kaiyer.” She shook her head and then covered her face with her left hand. “Do you love me?” She tore her hand away from her face and looked at me. Her eyes reflected the light from the torches but the tears had not descended to her cheek yet.
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“You are a good liar. As always, I want to believe you. Maybe that is my fault.” She shook her head and frowned.
“Why do you think I am lying to you? I know how I feel.”
“You don’t love me, because you fucked Jessmei!” she growled through clenched teeth.
“I am not allowed to love you and others at the same time? My love for you must be exclusive?”
“So you love Jessmei?”
“Yes,” I said again.
She shook her head and sighed. “I told you how I feel about this. I explained that I never wanted to be a notch on your bed post and that I wanted more from you. Remember when we spoke in your tent before Isslata took you as a hostage? I told you of my dreams and I thought,” she shook her head again and sniffed before continuing, “I thought that you were interested in that. But you just say whatever you need to get what you want.”
I opened my mouth to argue but stopped. She was right. But I knew that I did love both women. I had blamed the state of war that I lived with for my beliefs on love and fidelity and how they differed so greatly from Nadea and Jessmei’s ideas on marriage, but I knew what it meant to love one person over all others. Though most of my soldiers had multiple relationships and avoided commitment because death was unpredictable, I had never lived that way. I had spent my entire life loving only one woman. I could never commit to Shlara because of her. I killed Shlara because of her. I killed thousands because of her.
“I am sorry.” I meant the words sincerely and our eyes made contact again.
“Do you love her?” she whispered the question again after a few moments, as if she didn’t want it to be true.
“As much as I love you.”
“Damn you, Kaiyer. You can’t say that.” She shook her head and her brown eyes reflected the light of the torches like tiny beautiful mirrors.
“It is the truth.” My heart thumped painfully in my chest. I had hurt her tremendously. I could not fix this.
“It is your truth, but it isn’t mine. Why didn’t you tell me at the camp?” she asked. I had no answer. “What if I were to ask you to choose? Would you commit to either one of us?”
“It doesn’t matter. I am leaving this world and cannot return.”
“Telaxthe hinted at that.” Nadea frowned. “We do not speak often. We have dinner every few nights but the conversations are guarded. I get the feeling she doesn’t want to tell me things while you are still alive. Your decision to leave also angers me.”
“I apologized for—”
“No. Stop,” she interrupted me with a wave of her hand. “I judge based on actions, not words. You say you love me, but you make love to someone else. Someone close to me. You say you love me, but you leave when I need you. You say you love me, but you are giving me up so easily. I hate the way you have made me feel. And I cannot just change how I feel because you say you are sorry. Your words are meaningless.”
“I am not giving up.”
“But you are leaving. There is something more important to you than I am.”
“Yes there is.”
“I don’t want that kind of love.”
“I have a daughter,” I said after a few seconds of consideration.
“I recall you telling me of her when we last spoke. Are you bringing that up now to excuse your actions?” She was livid.
“No.” I sighed. “My daughter is like you.”
“Oh.” She made the connection.
“I don’t know anything about her, but Telaxthe has knowledge of Iolarathe and studied my history extensively. She said she can tell me more about my daughter if I cooperate with her. It is the last piece of my past that I have not been able to remember. And it is the most important part. I need to know more about her or I can never put my past to rest.”
Silence hung between us for almost half a minute. Finally, Nadea nodded and reached for my hand. Our fingers wrapped around each other and I thought again of what would never be between the two of us.
“I understand.”
“She will hand me over to Turnia soon. Turnia will take me to the Radicle with the empress. Before I leave, Telaxthe will tell me what she knows of my daughter.”
“What will happen once you journey through the Radicle?” Nadea asked.
“I will be brought before the leaders of the O’Baarni and have to explain myself.”
“Will they kill you?” she whispered.
“Kannath seemed to think so, but I doubt that will happen. I’m sure they can be reasoned with.” I forced a smile to my face and hoped she did not sense my true feelings. There would be no reasoning. There would be bloodshed.
“So I will never see you again?”
“Do you want to see me again?”
“Of course, Kaiyer.” She shook her head with a slight smile and her dark hair waved in the torchlight. “You are still my friend. Jessmei will be devastated by this news. The empress wants her to speak with you after I do. We were both told you would be leaving this world by your own choice.” Her voice trailed off and her fingers tightened around mine.
“How are your people now that Telaxthe is ruling?”
“It is better than I expected. She held the agreement she submitted to Jessmei’s father. She participates in the Council and advises Jessmei. They spend most of their time together, actually. I’m a bit jealous because she is my mother, but the other part of me hates her. I suppose I should be grateful that no one else has died and we are given the illusion of power.” She leaned closer to the bars so that she could whisper in my ear, but I was sure that her Elven escorts still heard what she said.
“Jessmei is happy?”
“She will be crowned queen after Nanos is executed next week.”
“Oh.” I was surprised.
“For the murder of the king, Paug, and the betrayal of the Kingdom of Nia. It is ironic that the empress is assisting in the Council’s decision to execute him.” Nadea smiled faintly. “They decided on a hanging instead of a beheading. I would be lying if I said I was not looking forward to watching him dangle. Everything might be different now if he had not betrayed us.” I nodded at her words but the thought of Nanos’s execution did not bring me any pleasure. His death wouldn’t bring back the king or Paug.
“How is Beltor?”
“He’s taken the lead advisor role of the Council, though Telaxthe is spending more time actually advising Jessmei. There is a mountain of work to do on castle repairs and trade guild support. Many of our craftsmen fled the city during the invasion, so he is more than busy. I help him where I can, but part of me feels he is so involved as a way of coping with the loss of his brother and the kingdom. I don’t want to be sucked in just yet.”
“Greykin?”
“He is never less than twenty feet from Jessmei. Even when she speaks privately with the empress.”
“Has Greykin told you what they speak of?”
“He cannot remember. He says they start talking of magic and then the next thing he recalls is walking out of the suite with Jessmei. Jessmei did tell me that Telaxthe is teaching her how to operate a Radicle. You should ask her when she comes here. She may be more forthcoming with you.” She smirked rather bitterly at that thought.
“Danor? Runir? Maerc?” I asked.
“Helping my father,” she answered plainly.
I could think of a thousand other things to say to her, but none of it felt like enough.
“Are you happy?” It was a stupid question, but I wanted the answer almost as much as I wanted to know about my daughter.
“I have much to be grateful for. I am alive. My people are safe. I do not know how long this peace will last, but as long as Jessmei and I have some leverage over the empress, Nia will be safe. My heart hurts. It will never be the same as before I met you.” She looked down and shook her head, then smiled as she looked up at me. “I do not regret it. I listened to the dreams, and they led me to you.”
“Dreams?”
“Dreams?” She echoed my question and her head tilted in confusion.
“You said that the dreams took you to me. What does that mean?”
“I have no idea what you—” Suddenly, a wind howled through the hallway like a flood of water. The two guards struggled against the gust and yelled with surprise while the torches flickered dangerously.
“She is coming for you, Kaiyer. She knows you live! Find our daughter. Protect her or everything you love will be destroyed by her malice. Go to the Radicle and bring her back!” Nadea’s face pressed against the bars of my cell, but her eyes glowed a strange silver light in the darkness. She spoke in the old language of my memories.
“Iolarathe.”
I never thought I would hear her voice again and the fine hairs all over my body stood up in goosebumps and my blood froze with fear. As abruptly as the wind began it stopped and the torches flickered back to light.
“By the Dead Gods, what was that?” the male Elven guard asked from behind Nadea. My friend looked at me with horror on her face and then glanced over her shoulder.
“Go check the top of the dungeon. We may be under attack!” The guards nodded at her command and sprinted to my left down the hallway. Their boot steps rang off the stone walls and then I heard a door open and slam shut.
“That has never happened before. It was her. She took control of my voice.” Nadea covered her face with her hands. “I want her to stop. Can you make her stop? I was going to tell you at the camp, but Isslata arrived before I had the chance. I have dreams of a beautiful woman. Her hair is red like fire, her skin paler than fresh snow. She told me where to find you. That was how I knew. She still comes to me in my dreams. I did what she asked, but she still haunts me.”
“How long have you had these dreams?” I would not have believed it if I had not just seen it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears.
“Since I was a child. I never spoke to anyone about her. At first, I would just see her in my dreams and the memories would fade when I awoke. A few years before I found you, the messages became more urgent and they almost felt sinister. She was frustrated with me.”
“She told you how to find my Radicle?”
“Yes. She gave me the words to say to bring you back. They were in a language I did not understand, but they contained your name. I lied to my father and the king. I told them that I found documents that alluded to finding the O’Baarni, but I needed someone to translate them.”
“That was why you needed Paug.” I filled in the rest of the story.
“Yes. Now he is dead.” Her voice cracked.
“That isn’t your fault. It is Nanos’s and he will be held accountable next week.”
“Aye.” She nodded and sighed again. “I remember the words. I don’t understand them; I don’t believe Paug even understood them, but your Iolarathe comes to me in my dreams and now she speaks through me. Who is she talking about? Someone knows you are alive and wants your daughter?”
“Shlara? But she could not still be alive.”
“You are.”
I nodded and felt my stomach drop.
“Could your daughter still be alive?” Nadea asked.
“I remember tracking Iolarathe to a Radicle, tended to by an old Elven man. He said two women had been there just before I arrived, and the younger one had my eye color. She went through the Radicle, but the older woman did not follow. Many years later, just before Iolarathe was killed, I finally found her. She was on a quest to find one of the globes that powers the Radicles. She needed one to save our daughter.”
“The Ovule?” Nadea asked.
“Yes.”
“Jessmei mentioned them. Telaxthe is teaching her how to use them.” She pursed her lips in thought and then nodded to herself. “If your daughter is alive, could you use the words Iolarathe taught me to bring her back?”
“I would also need her name, and an Ovule. I know the world she was sent to, but she may have moved from there.” I thought through the process and felt a pang of hopelessness.
“I didn’t need an Ovule. I just said the words and you faded into focus like I was awaking from a dream. You were still asleep on the dais, so I called Paug into the cave and asked him to repeat the words a few more times with me until you awoke. Is it possible you don’t need the Ovule either?” A flicker of excitement lit her brown eyes. This was a puzzle Nadea would love to solve, probably as much as I would.
“It is possible. But the other variables are still a problem.”
She nodded. The massive doors to the dungeon opened and we heard footsteps approaching. Nadea’s guards were returning with others.
“I can try to dream of her tonight. I’ll ask her.”
“Even if there was a miracle, and you were able to speak with her across the afterlife, I am leaving tomorrow morning.”
“So you are just going to give up?” She snorted and shook her head. The footsteps grew closer. I recognized Fehalda’s scent. “That does not sound like you.”
“If she is alive, I have to see her. I will not give up.” A lump formed in my throat and I fought to keep it out of my stomach. I wondered what the child would look like, and the desire to meet her forced out the shadows of despair that my exile had recently created. “If you can’t get to me before I leave tomorrow, please document whatever you learn from your dreams. I will return.” The approaching guards were close enough to hear us, so I was careful to watch my words. Nadea nodded and her face cracked slightly with a smirk.
“You are done.” Fehalda walked in front of the group of fifteen guards.
“I am done when I say I am done, Auntie.” Nadea chuckled at the last word and Fehalda gritted her teeth.
“Then say you are done now so I don’t have to drag you out of here by the hair.”
I thought Nadea would continue to argue with Fehalda and the brief flicker of surprise that crested the white woman’s face made me believe that she had assumed the same.
“I will not speak to Jessmei. Perhaps we will see each other again one day.” She licked her lips and sighed. For a second her beautiful face was hard to read and I wondered if she really believed that I would return. I wondered if she wanted me to.
“I will always be grateful to have met you. Thank you for bringing me back to life.” I pulled her hand through the bar of my cell and kissed her wrist gently. The movement made her exhale sharply and she turned from me without another word.
Then she walked out of the dungeon without looking back.
A few of Fehalda’s guards followed Nadea out, but the remainder stayed with the white-haired woman. After the footsteps faded and the door to the dungeon closed she faced me and the fury on her face was plain.
“What the fuck did you do?” She almost spat through the cell doors.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be coy with me, O’Baarni. The wind? The noises? Are you planning something with the duchess?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“I will celebrate the moment you fade through the Radicle with Turnia.”
“I might actually miss you. Are you going to be escorting your sister on our journey to the Radicle?” The question seemed to catch the general off guard and she licked her lips carefully before answering.
“Perhaps. It has not been decided yet. What is also under deliberation is your visit with the princess. After hearing of your little trick with the duchess, my sister is unsure she should trust you with the future queen.”
“She agreed to let me see Jessmei.” I exhaled and tried to keep my arms from ripping the bars out of the cell walls.
“You said you would behave and cooperate.”
“Am I not? I don’t know what happened in the dungeon. Perhaps your sister should ask her daughter.” I pushed myself away from the bars and stepped back to my cot.
“I’ll return.” She waited a few moments for me to reply but I covered my eyes with the nook of my arm. I did not know what I would do if Telaxthe prevented me from seeing Jessmei. I had no leverage. A few impossibly foolish scenarios sprinted through my head as the footsteps of Fehalda and her soldiers echoed down the hallway and faded into silence. Then I was alone in the dim light of the dungeon torches and the silence of the bare, cold stone.
“Kaiyer?” Jessmei’s voice was timid. I must have fallen asleep, because I had not heard her walk into the dungeon. I spun out of the cot and struggled to embrace her through the bars of my cell.
“I was supposed to have an escort, but Nadea told me that they might not let me come, so she distracted them while I sneaked away. We probably only have a few minutes before they search down here.”
“I am so grateful I can see you once more. I told Nadea I was sorry and I want to apologize to you as well.” She was wearing a light-blue gown that reflected some of the torchlight in a hue that I doubted normal human eyes could see. Flowers and hummingbirds danced across the fabric and I guessed that Telaxthe’s private tailor had crafted the gown for Jessmei. Her face bore none of the ambivalence of Nadea’s. She was not bitter or angry with me, she was only sad.
“Why are you leaving? Telaxthe said you are returning to your own world. Is this not your world?” Her hair was bound down her back in a series of complicated braids tied off with snow-white pearls. Her cheeks were accented with red dye and the same shade was painted onto her full lips. For a moment I didn’t want to answer her, I only wanted to study her beautiful face so I would be able to remember everything about her.
“I have a daughter. I never knew her and the empress has agreed to tell me more if I will leave this world.”
“Oh. I see.” She pursed her lips and a faint hint of disappointment crossed her features. “This was with the woman in your memories?”
“Yes.”
“Wouldn’t your daughter be long dead by now? Perhaps I am speaking selfishly, but I don’t understand why you would leave us just for a shred of information about her.” Her words came out smoothly, but I sensed the undertone of bitterness and jealousy.
“There is a chance that she could still be alive. At least, Nadea has given me that hope.”
“How?” Her ice-blue eyes narrowed.
“I was kept in some sort of stasis in the Radicle that kept me alive through millennia. Nadea awoke me from it, and there is a chance I could do the same for my daughter.”
“Nadea just told you this?” She crossed her slender arms over her breasts.
“Yes.”
“But you made the decision to leave before you spoke with her?”
“Yes, but—”
“I love you, Kaiyer,” she interrupted me. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to spend every night in your arms and make beautiful children with you. But I also love my kingdom. I have a duty to protect my people from any threat and ensure prosperity for them. I am willing to sacrifice my happiness for my friends and family. Are you not willing to do the same?”
“Are you asking me to choose you over my daughter?” Jessmei’s eyes were cold and hard. What had happened to her in the last few months?
“No. You already made that choice before you had any hope she might live. I want you to understand how much I love you, how much you hurt me, and that I am giving you the chance to change your mind. Stay here. I will speak to the empress. She needs me, she will agree to my request. With you at my side, our kingdom will be strong. I will no longer fear vipers beneath my bed. I will give you more children so that you will forget about a daughter you never knew, a daughter who has long since passed away.”
Her voice was smooth and controlled. She had rehearsed this speech. The naïve princess I had known was gone, replaced by a powerful queen.
“This will put you in danger. Kannath’s sister is here to find out what happened to her brother. They will take me back to stand before their Council, so that I may be judged and punished. If I remain here, the clans will soon follow Turnia and the O’Baarni will punish you for harboring a Pretender.”
“I know that Turnia is in the castle. I can work this out with the empress. They have not yet spoken; the story can be spun to our advantage.” She paused and looked to her right down the dark hallway of the dungeon as if to make sure no one could overhear our conversation.
“We are alone,” I confirmed.
“I will tell Turnia that Fehalda killed Kannath, and that you are not a Pretender. The wrath of your people will be brought down upon the Elvens. We will solve two problems at once: the empress will be wiped from this world, and Turnia will leave you alone. You could stay.” I was surprised at the ruthlessness of her plan and the ease with which she spoke of betraying Telaxthe.
“They are taking me tomorrow. How will you get Turnia alone before then? What if she does not believe you? If Telaxthe finds out, she will kill you.” I thought through the plan as I spoke and could not shake the overwhelming sense of dread at allowing the princess to take such a great risk.
Then I realized I was foolish to think it was up to me to let her do anything.
“If the first part of your plan succeeds and the O’Baarni remove the Elvens from your world, you may be exchanging one master for another. I suspect that humans are not treated much better than Elvens by the O’Baarni.”
“But the O’Baarni were once humans. Surely, they will treat us fairly?” I could tell that she was considering my words carefully.
“Has the empress treated you fairly?”
“Yes. Better than I expected. But I have something she needs.” Jessmei flashed white teeth against the torch light.
“What?”
“The magic of the ancient O’Baarni. Not your people. There was an even older race that, according to Telaxthe, knew powerful magic and could use the Radicle without any external power source. She said that I am one of their descendants and she has been working with me daily to help me master these powers.”
I remembered the tower that Malek investigated and the small stone that projected an image of a woman who spoke in a strange language only I had understood. The familiar pain started to grow at my temples and I took a deep breath to force more air into my blood.
“It has to do with the Radicle. She said there is one beneath the castle, but I have not seen it yet.” She closed her blue eyes and her soft smile disappeared. “I can feel an energy in the ground. She calls it ‘the World’ and it hums through my body. She said I will be ready to use it soon, as your people do, and then I will be able to control the Radicles as one controls a horse.”
I had dozens of other questions but I doubted Jessmei knew the answers. Her voice had assumed a trance-like quality.
“She wants me to close off the Radicles once her people have finished coming through.”
“I figured she would want to destroy them.” I nodded.
“But if I close them, she still has the option of using them in the future. So you can see why she needs me.” Jessmei smiled. “She does not know the location of all of the Radicles on this planet, but she said once I work with one, I will be able to find the others. I could convince her to let you stay and still give you the information you need about your daughter, if you prefer that plan to telling Turnia the truth of Kannath.”
“No, that could also be dangerous.” A door opened in the distant hallway and boot steps began to echo down the hard walls of the dungeon.
“I am capable of handling any danger.” The sounds of the approaching Elvens were loud enough for her to hear and she dropped her voice to a whisper. “Don’t try to protect me. I’ve presented two options that would allow us to be together. If you love me, you will choose one of them.”
“I don’t want to put you in danger.” I felt my stomach knot at the sound of the approaching Elvens.
“So that is your decision.” The pain was reflected plainly in her icy blue eyes. She stepped away from the bars of my cell just as the group of Elvens turned the corner to our hallway.
“I suspected you might be here.” Telaxthe’s voice rang through the hallway like a songbird’s gentle coo.
“I was speaking with Kaiyer.” Jessmei continued to stare into my eyes. The pain that was there before was replaced by a cold anger. I couldn’t bear to look at her anymore so I turned to the empress and gave a slight nod in greeting. She was wearing another elaborate robe of embroidered stars and flowers. Her bronze hair was bound up off of her neck with braids, roses, and ribbons. She was a delicate contrast to her white sister who wore the plain dark leather armor of her army, with no other decorations adorning her body.
“A queen should not be here alone.” Telaxthe’s voice was sweeter than honey and she placed a careful hand on Jessmei’s shoulder.
“I am not the queen yet.” Jessmei turned to the empress and smiled cheerfully. “Kaiyer and I have concluded our conversation. Will you give me an escort back to my suite?”
“Yes, of course.” If Telaxthe was surprised by Jessmei’s response, she did not let it show. She nodded to Fehalda.
“I will take you back to your rooms,” the general said to Jessmei.
The princess looked at me again and I felt the pain in my chest flow up to my throat and try to strangle me. I would never be able to live with myself if Jessmei was killed trying to protect me. Nadea’s plan was less risky, as long as she could get me the information before I departed tomorrow. Even if she could not and I was forced through the Radicle to face the Council, there was a chance I could come back. This would not endanger Jessmei as long as she continued to cooperate with the empress.
“Wait!” I choked out past the lump in my throat. My mind spun out of control for a second. If Jessmei closed the Radicles after I left, I could never return.
“Yes?” Jess raised a blonde eyebrow and I saw hope in her eyes.
“I would like to see our glade again someday. It was the only place on this planet where I found true peace. I knew you would be safe there, even if I was not with you.” I stared into the princess’s eyes and saw them soften briefly. I hoped she would understand that I did not want her to put herself in danger, and that I meant to return. She narrowed her eyes viciously and I felt a chill spin down my spine as her pale blue eyes suddenly looked as ruthless and cold as Iolarathe’s.
“But I was not safe there, Kaiyer. You cannot protect me.” She turned and started to walk away.
“Wait!” My plea did not stop her. Fehalda glanced back at me over her shoulder, but I could not read the expression on her alien face. I let out a careful breath and tried to gather my wits into some sort of plan. There was nothing I could say that would change the princess’s mind. My only option would be to return as quickly as possible and hope that I made it before Jessmei closed the Radicles.
“Leave us.” The empress nodded to her guards and they turned to accompany Fehalda and the rest of the Elvens escorting Jessmei. Telaxthe waited until the sounds of their footsteps were muffled by the thick door that marked the passage of Jessmei out of the dungeon and out of my life.
“What did you discuss with the princess?”
“My trip with Turnia. She was not pleased that I was leaving and asked me to find another way to stay.”
“Oh?” The empress tilted her head and her hair fell away from her ear the way Nadea’s often did.
“You need not worry. She is angry because I refused her. I want you to tell me of my daughter, I will honor our agreement.” I forced a smile to my lips and hoped that the empress did not suspect that Jessmei had considered betraying her.
“Let us speak of Kannath now. I want to ensure that we both have the same story.” The smile faded from her face while she spoke and I wondered again if she had any other powers of manipulation besides her intoxicating scent.
“I have told Turnia that you were already on this world when we arrived in Nia. You didn’t remember anything of your past and you claimed to be Kaiyer. You fought with some of my soldiers and eventually surrendered after we took the capital. Then Kannath arrived and said he would take you to the O’Baarni Council. I agreed and you left with him.”
“This is very close to the truth,” I interrupted her.
“Exactly. Then there is less chance of you making a mistake. May I continue, or do you have any other obvious commentary?”
“No. Please resume.” I matched her sarcastic tone and gave a slight bow between the bars of the cell.
“You left with Kannath and his warriors. They did not believe you were dangerous, but I knew better and asked my sister and Vernine to follow them to ensure that you left this world. I also wanted to know the location of the Radicle Kannath used. You attacked Kannath the first night and murdered him and his warriors. Vernine and Fehalda attempted to stop you, but you overpowered and almost killed them before Fehalda told you that I would retaliate against your friends here if you did not return with them peacefully. My plan was to then contact the O’Baarni Council to send a proper escort to retrieve you.”
“She will not believe that I killed Kannath and his warriors. Wasn’t he supposed to be an accomplished fighter?” In a way, I was responsible for Kannath’s death. Though the empress had given the order, it was in order to get more information from me about her daughter.
“Both you and I will confirm the story. She has nothing else to believe.”
"She'll ask why Fehalda and Vernine did not tell her the truth when we met by the river. Turnia brought enough warriors for a proper escort."
“She may. I will tell her that Fehalda decided to keep your identity hidden because she knew Turnia would immediately attempt to take you back, and you might escape.” Telaxthe’s answer came so quickly I knew she had already considered all of the different directions her story might lead Turnia.
“Fine.” I sighed and ran my hands through my thick hair. It was shoulder length again and I wanted to shave my scalp almost as much as I wanted to beat all of my problems to death with my fists.
“So, you agree to this story?” Her lips twisted into a slight smile and her eyes gleamed.
“When will you tell me of my daughter?”
“Just before they take you through the Radicle.”
“What if Turnia refuses to let me speak with you at that time?”
“I have a dozen pounds of Mastkur.” Her smile split her face and reminded me of Nadea again.
I nodded at her words and remembered the euphoric feeling that the cooked ribs had on my mind and body. “You feel confident that she will agree?”
“It depends on our conversations and the relationship I can build with her during our travels. The meat is there as a last offer. You might want to consider answering her questions without your usual rudeness.”
“I will try.”
“You can be charming if you so desire. I am prepared to use the last of my Mastkur to ensure I hold up my end of the bargain.” She shook her head slowly and I couldn’t help but inhale a taste of her scent.
“Don’t try your bullshit magic on me, Telaxthe. I will be cordial to Turnia if it will help, but expect nothing more. You could just tell me what I want to know now and you wouldn’t have to put your precious Mastkur on the line.”
“But then I would have to trust you, Kaiyer, and I do not.” She laughed and it sounded like chimes ringing in the wind.
“But I am supposed to trust you?”
“The difference, O’Baarni, is that you don’t have a choice.” She seemed to flow sideways and began to walk down the dark hallways of the dungeon toward the exit.
“Get some rest,” she called over her shoulder. “We will leave early tomorrow and I’m sure you will want everything to proceed as planned.” Her footsteps were almost silent, but her voice drifted back in a soft hum. The melody was familiar, but I could not remember its origin. By the time the far door opened and closed with the empress’s passing, I was already lying on the lonely cot in my cell.
But my mind would not rest.
Chapter 27-Iolarathe
“They’ve crossed the mountain range and descended into Sun Valley.” Her hand touched the armor on my shoulder to get my attention, but I continued to study the corpse of the man at my feet.
“How many did we lose?” I felt tired. Beyond tired. My mind and body were weary with the ache and insanity that came from not sleeping for over three weeks.
“His entire brigade was destroyed.” Nyarathe’s voice was emotionless.
“Fuck. No survivors?”
“A few dozen escaped when the tide turned.”
“Damn it, Bur’tilon.” There was a thick rope of roses tied across the large man’s armored chest. The vines of the decoration were elegantly woven together and the red petals almost matched the hue of the blood caked on his body. I had given him the memento last week when I awarded him command over his battalion.
“How many of these humans did he slay?” I forced the words out of my mouth and tried to bottle up the frustration in my stomach. If Nyarathe’s report was correct, he had managed to pinch Kaiyer’s forces at the top of this peak in an ambush that seemed too brilliant for my old suitor.
“We haven’t finished the exact count yet, but my estimation is around a thousand.” I nodded and the frustration leaked out of me with a deep sigh. I just wanted to sleep. This should have been an easy victory, they outnumbered the humans three to one, and had the advantage of surprise.
“So where did he go wrong?” I stood and glanced at the alien-looking tower around which the battle had occurred. These ancient ruins were uncommon, but not unusual.
“That is where I’ll need your help.” Nyarathe gestured down the slope of the mountainside toward the various bends that edged off the cliff some thousand yards away. “He had them flanked from these sides.” She pointed an armored finger down the lines of the cliff. “The humans took heavy casualties. Follow me.” She walked away from the grayish green tower toward the cliff sides and the rough trail where most of the battle took place. “The tide seemed to turn here.” She pointed to the waist-high pile of Elven bodies. There were no flies or crows feasting on the remains of my kin because of the elevation.
The stench of death, shit, and blood was still present. I turned away from the stench and tried to inhale a breath of clean mountain air but still tasted the battle in my mouth. I found myself looking at the tower again from the bottom of the slope and my brain pieced together the events of the battle.
“Something was in the tower.” I pointed up to where we stood minutes ago. “I want it searched thoroughly.” My sister barked an order to one of her commanders. There were already search parties investigating the structure, but they would need a direct order from her to take the job seriously.
“Look at the trails of the bodies.” I walked back up toward the tower where Bur’tilon fell. From the angle below it was almost comically easy to make out the path of my dead warriors leading to the pile of bodies from the main battle below the tower. “Something came out of the tower, slayed Bur’tilon’s guards, and then came down here.” I pointed to the bodies behind us. “Then the battle turned.” I held my hair aside and bent down to examine a few bodies littered at my feet.
“Look here.” I pointed at two corpses. “Blunt trauma. Here and here.”
“Kaiyer?” Nyarathe asked. A group of warriors approached and I looked up to see my brother leading them.
“Their army split as the pass was too tight for the entire force. The smaller group went across the ridge and Bur’tilon guessed that Kaiyer would be here and risked an attack.” Grednil nodded to the woman standing next to him. Her armor was battered and smeared with blood and mud.
“Bur’tilon did not want to wait for your forces to catch up, Singleborn. Our scouts said you were two days behind us and he feared he would lose his opportunity to capture Kaiyer or one of his generals.” I forgot the woman’s name, but I recalled meeting her five or six years ago when I first began to retrain what was left of our race’s army.
“Then what happened?” Nyarathe asked.
“We had them, General. They were pushed back from three sides. Bur’tilon skirted the north with a small force to take the tower. One of our scouts said that Kaiyer and two of his generals were inside with a light guard. Then Kaiyer came out.” Her voice cracked. “They rallied. I was thrown from the cliff. When I awoke, the humans had already left.”
“It is surprising that they scavenged none of our weapons or armor. They did not even recover their dead.”
“They knew how close our main force was and knew it was unwise to tarry,” Grednil said and I nodded at his words. At least they were somewhat intimidated by the idea of facing the full force of our army.
“Agreed.” I stood up from examining the corpses and felt my head spin. If I was this tired, the rest of my soldiers must have been much worse. Bur’tilon’s message had been urgent: he was confident that we could strike a decisive blow against the humans if we made it to this range of mountains before they did. We had struggled to march across the continent to meet him.
But we were too late.
“We will rest on the peaks tonight. Tomorrow we’ll descend the other side and camp again. We need a few days to recover from our travels.”
“What about the humans?” the woman who spoke earlier asked. Her scent mixed with the stench of her armor and made her presence very unpleasant.
“If I were Kaiyer, I would either keep running or set up an ambush at the pass through which the other half of his army escaped. Since we took this mountain pass, my guess is that he will go with option one.” I turned to Grednil and Nyarathe. “Let’s meet in my tent in a few hours. Tell me what you find in that tower.”
“Yes, Singleborn,” they repeated in unison and the crowd of soldiers dispersed.
I took my time walking around the scene of the battle and rehearsing what must have happened in my mind’s eye. I didn’t begrudge Bur’tilon the risky attack, but I was dismayed that he was not successful. The man who called himself Kaiyer was the lynchpin of the entire human army. If he could be captured alive then their plans to destroy my race would be thwarted.
The human was a military genius and had outfoxed all of the generals that came before me. Even with superior numbers, the closest we had ever come to capturing him was Bur’tilon’s desperate attempt.
Kaiyer was also rumored to be invincible in combat. While our last skirmishes never played out with either of us entering the field of battle, the results on the cold icy ground around me were confirmation enough of his abilities. Bur’tilon had trained for countless hours at my father’s tribal lands when he was my suitor. He was powerful then, and another two dozen years of war had only sharpened his skills. His loss would hamper my plans and deal a punishing blow to my people’s morale.
I approached my tent and thought through my next few moves. I would have to break this news to the elders. They would not be pleased, but I had already spun the words in my head in a way that would ease their concerns. It was devastating to lose an entire battalion, but in our attempt, we had come very close to ending the war. We had almost apprehended Kaiyer and a few of his generals. This was something they had not even dreamed possible before I took control of the armies.
“What news, Iolarathe?” Relyara sat on a pile of sheepskin rugs that made up my bed during the winter months. In her lap was the master log book that detailed the intricacies of our supply chain and inventories. Her dark, blue-black hair spread across the white of the sheepskin like tentacles.
“What I expected transpired. We’ll pass over the mountains tomorrow and rest for a few days.”
“Won’t that give the humans a chance to escape us?”
“There will be other opportunities. I learned something from this battle that I need to utilize.”
“Oh? About Kaiyer?” She set down the book with a graceful movement.
“I still don’t know if it is my Kaiyer.” I shook my head at her and sighed.
“So you say, but I know you too well to believe the lies you tell yourself.” She leaned back slightly and let out a soft laugh. “It could be no one else. You believe the same or you would have demanded his corpse and not his capture.”
“No.” I shook my head and tried not to let her entice me into an argument. “We don’t need a martyr. These fucking humans think they are doing themselves a favor by killing us. They don’t realize that the Gods gave us this duty to perform. No matter who this Kaiyer is, I want him kneeling at my feet so his entire race knows their place.”
“So what did you learn?” She changed the subject but her lingering smirk made me think that my words had not convinced her.
“Kaiyer will show himself in combat if the circumstances are staged correctly. I need to find a way to split up his generals so that he will be forced to take on a direct role in battle.”
“We’ve split their army up before.” She nodded and ran her tongue across her lips to taste the air.
“I will need your help researching the terrain. We have them on the run now but they took some losses. The humans will want to retreat and lick their wounds. Kaiyer is much too conservative to face us directly for another few years. But if there is an easy target, it might entice some of his other generals to stray from the main forces.”
“I have a few ideas already. Can you guess at their eventual destination?” Relyara rose and moved over to the massive chest of drawers on one side of my pavilion. Inside the thick wooden shelves were countless maps painstakingly put together by each of the Elven tribes dedicated to self-preservation. While Relyara searched through the scrolls I occupied the warm spot she had left on the bed. I thought about letting my exhaustion take my mind away, but then I tasted my sister’s scent on the air and heard her familiar boot steps approach.
“We found something in the tower. You better come see it.” Nyarathe was well guarded with her emotions so the unusual flowery scent of excitement on her body drew my curiosity. “No. You need to see it,” she said before I could ask her for more details.
I stood up from the skin and nodded to Relyara before leaving my warm tent for the icy mountainside. The trek back to the tower only took us another ten minutes, but my sister didn’t speak the entire way and the weight of my exhaustion kept me from voicing my curiosity.
“They were searching every floor. There are piles of ancient wood furnishings in the upper levels, but the first floor is bare,” she said once we walked into the strange circular base of the tower.
“What was this building used for?” I doubted my sister knew the answers. Some of our kind studied the Ancients, but most of their lore had been lost thousands of years ago.
“I believe it was an outpost. There was probably another structure made of inferior material a few hundred yards to the east. There is a flat spot on the ground that could be the remains of a foundation.”
“What am I looking at?” I moved over to where there were a dozen warriors against the far wall.
“I am surprised they didn’t find this doorway. It was concealed at the joint here.” Nyarathe pointed to the small dark passageway. The door was crafted in the same gray stone as the rest of the structure. “We found it because of the scent. The air there was stale and tasted colder.”
“What is beneath it?” I was already sliding through the group of warriors and walking down the steps. My sister didn’t answer; instead she just followed me down the tight spiral staircase until we reached the floor below.
This level looked similar to the one above: bare empty space in a circular shape. As Nyarathe claimed, the air did taste dead and lifeless. I quickly saw the reason for the odor. On the far corner of the room was a pile of petrified wood and a skeleton in a gray state of decay.
“I didn’t want to examine the corpse without you here.” We walked over to the pile of bones and the dust smell grew stronger.
“Kaiyer wasn’t down here?”
“No. They did not discover the door. I believe this place has been undisturbed since the time of the Gods.” Her ordinarily monotonous voice had an edge of excitement to it. My sister had always been interested in our ancient lore and I referred to her whenever we stumbled across one of the ruins.
The corpse was little more than a shadow of a skeleton. It appeared to have been wearing a robe, but the material had decayed and meshed into the bones and there was no way to discern what color the garment had been.
“Do you think this was a desk? Or a bed? Why was this the only furnishing in the room?”
“We know almost nothing of the Ancient race. Just that they were once human in appearance, we served them, and they challenged the Gods.” I grunted at her familiar words and began to pick through the scraps of petrified wood. It was as if everything in the room had been piled in one spot and then the corpse was placed on top of it. Maybe someone meant to burn the body but never got around to it.
“What are these?” I pulled three fist-sized stones from the middle of the garbage pile one at a time and set them on the empty floor next to me.
“I’ve never seen such artifacts in the other ruins.” She held on up in her hand and spun it around. “Looks like a simple stone, but I can feel some engravings on the surface.” It was almost perfectly dark, but I took the artifact from her and channeled a small amount of the World through my body to create a flicker of fire in my hand.
Suddenly, the small rock erupted with a rainbow of colors and the sound of wind. The reaction to my touch was so instantaneous that I found my grip tighten around the artifact instead of tossing it away as anyone with half a brain would have. An image floated above the stone. It was suspended in midair and I was reminded of the time Kaiyer and I made love at the ruins near my father’s lands. The Wisps that observed our passion had hovered around us in the same manner.
“There is a nest on the Curagnoth Mountains. Eastern range beneath the third mountain. We’ve been scouting the area for the last two weeks and found the entrance to the cavern.” A human’s face and torso floated half a foot above my fist where I held the smooth rock. It was somewhat transparent and misty, like a reflection in a waterfall. Next to his head floated an image that looked like a map.
“They are getting bolder. Who do you suspect it is?” A human woman’s face, head, and upper chest faded in by the man. They each stared off into the distance and it seemed like they spoke to each other, but were not making eye contact. The woman wore a silver helm with small wings decorating the sides. Beneath her helm, her straw-colored hair fell in a series of braids tied together with embroidered, gold-trimmed purple ribbons. Her eyes were cold and pewter gray like storm clouds. I could almost feel the woman’s power through the magical device.
“Recatolusti’catri. I suspect she has a mate,” the male said. It was difficult for me to tell the age of humans, but he appeared older than Kaiyer. Unlike the female, he wore no armor, but his clothing was the same purple.
“Kill her. Kill her mate. Move on this immediately. I can’t risk having a dragon so near our staging points.” The woman’s mouth formed a hard line and I felt my body begin to tremble. My stomach was tied in knots and I felt lightheaded. Was this device sucking my life force away?
“It will be done,” the man said, and the images faded with the same abruptness with which they had been unleashed.
“Incredible.” Nyarathe’s voice came out in a whisper of disbelief. “We might be the first Elvens to hear the Ancient’s language in thousands of years. How did you make that happen?”
“I wanted a light to see the etching.” I thought about pulling the World again but my body was still shaking. “What do you mean by the Ancient language?”
“Did you hear them speak? It sounded much more intricate than our language. I think I understood a few words. I wonder how they made the images appear. These rocks must have some sort of power to them.”
“You didn’t understand what they said?” My heart was beginning to calm.
“Did you?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. They spoke our language. I am sure of it.”
“No, Sister. Are you sure you understood what they said?” Nyarathe’s careful tone did not imply she did not believe me, but her words carried an edge of concern.
“Yes. Maybe I can make it speak again.” I regretted the words as soon as I voiced them but I didn’t want my sister to think I was incapable of understanding our own language, nor did I want her to know how weak I felt.
As soon as I touched the World and began to create fire the device sprang to color and life again. The same image of the two humans along with the map floated above the device. I translated what they said to Nyarathe as they spoke.
“That map is familiar,” she said after I made the images appear once again so she could commit the conversation to memory. “Yes, look here.” She pointed at the curve of the mountain range.
“It is this range,” I said.
“Do you think these other two stones might have images and voices as well?” She picked up the next rock and exchanged it with mine.
“Perhaps.” I didn’t care to see what secrets lived inside of these devices. What mattered was that we stopped these humans from destroying our people, not figuring out what may have happened thousands of years ago.
“How do you understand the words?”
“I am a Singleborn.” I smiled at her and she snorted with annoyance.
I pulled on more of the World and the colors and sounds erupted again. It was the same man and woman, but the exchange was different.
“She destroyed the original unit. I sent five more, but I fear they encountered the same fate,” the male said. His face looked drawn and thinner than it had in the first floating image.
“This is your top priority. Take care of her personally. Send your entire command.” I could not smell anything through the device, but I didn’t need that sense to understand the anger in the woman’s voice.
“My entire command? Can you send assistance?” His voice became faint and the image began to blur.
“Are you there?” the woman asked. She repeated the words but the sound of screams and thunder pulsed from the stone as an answer. The woman asked the question two more times and then the device faded to black. I told my sister what they said and she nodded.
“Use the last one.” Nyarathe gave it to me and I repeated the process that activated the device.
“I confirmed that it is Recatolusti’catri and she has a mate, Golaritva’nrit?” the male asked.
“Why aren’t they dead yet?” the woman demanded. Her eyes did not look at his and I wondered if each of them communicated into a different stone from a great distance apart.
“She spoke to me and said that she cared not for her purpose and wanted to help us reach Lenaan. Her assistance could be useful.” The male spoke rapidly but the words were still easy for me to understand.
“The reason you are stationed in that outpost is because of your incompetence. Your ridiculous logic confirms that I made a good decision. Now I wish I had sent someone more useful to your location. Kill the dragons or I will end you and replace you with less of an idiot.”
“Yes, General.” The human was obviously terrified of the woman and he pushed his hand outward in a salute. Then the image faded and I related their words to my sister.
“This came second, then that was last.” I pointed at the stone in my hand and then the one we had just viewed.
“I bet you and this human woman would get along.” Nyarathe smiled. I nodded but didn’t want to tell her what my nerves told me: the woman terrified me in a way I had never felt before. I had never been scared by anything and I wondered if this was how Kaiyer and his humans felt around my people.
“Something happened at the end of the third conversation,” I said.
“Maybe this dragon attacked the base?” She shrugged and began to search through the pile of wood. “Why don’t you go back to your tent and rest? If I find more of these orbs we can view them together.”
“I am fine to stay.”
“No, Sister. You haven’t rested in weeks. You are so tired you are shaking. To bed with you!”
I thought about arguing, but the weight of the exhaustion combined with the subsiding terror the images brought me felt impossible to bear anymore. I walked up the stairs to the base floor and told the sergeant there to attend to my sister.
As I returned to my tent, I thought of the images of the humans and the words they had spoken. The name of the dragons bounced around in my head until my skull ached. Those strange humans were attempting to reach Lenaan.
According to our lore, Lenaan was the name of the land where the Gods lived and created all life. Why would a dragon want to help the humans? The Gods created the dragons to help fight the humans. I tried to give up on the questions as my headache increased in agony, but they would not subside until I returned to my pavilion and let Relyara massage my body to sleep.
Chapter 28-The O’Baarni
I drifted through the air with my limbs outstretched, coasting like the white raptors that swooped and squawked around me. My will powered my ascent, but I could only climb for a moment before the call of gravity pulled me down onto another island.
I bounced between the islands with careless tumbles. I chased the birds. I dove into crystal clear pools of water. I flew after the brightly painted ships that floated in the distance, like fish through the deep.
I could never catch them.
I heard a shout, yet I was the only one here. The voice called again. I looked all around but confirmed I was alone. Then the shout sounded to my right, from an island five miles in the distance. I just wanted to be alone. I wanted them to stop calling me.
The figure approached. It was a man, small in stature, mostly bald. He beckoned to me and I angled my fall to land next to him.
“Hello Kaiyer!” The few straggles of hair left on his head fell down in thin white strips like spider webs. Though I stood a few feet from the old man he made an exaggerated wave with both arms as if a great distance separated us.
“Hello,” I said to him.
“I’ve missed you old friend. Can you smile for me?” he asked and his wrinkled face split into a grin.
“Do I know you?” I found my lips mirroring his movement with a smile.
“Yes!” He clapped his hands enthusiastically and skipped around. He acted more like a child than an old man.
“I don’t remember.” The old man did seem familiar, but I would have remembered someone so odd.
“Can you try? Do you recall my name?” He bobbed his head sideways as if he was dancing to music that I could not hear. I searched my memories and found the name that fit the old man.
“Entas?” I asked.
“Yes!” He screamed with delight and performed a series of cartwheels and summersaults. I felt my smile grow. The small man’s joy seemed sincere and was more than infectious.
“You got it quick that time! Yesterday was a battle.” He sprung to his feet and then clapped his hands together fiercely.
“Yesterday?”
“Yes, we spoke yesterday, and the day before that. We speak all the time. Do you remember?” His smile dropped from his face and his eyes flashed. I tried to remember speaking to the man yesterday, but I didn’t even recall the sun rising that morning. It always seemed to be daytime here on the islands. I only then realized how strange that was.
“Whoa. Careful. Don’t hurt yourself. If you overthink this place, it has a way of ensuring that you lose more than your memories.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and the touch was familiar.
“I do know you. But I can’t remember how. We are friends?” I asked.
“Of course! Best of friends!” He smiled again and jumped from foot to foot. “You have another friend here also. Do you want to see her?”
“I don’t know.” I didn’t recall having any friends, but I knew that this strange old man was close to me. Then I realized I had already forgotten his name and I struggled to remember. Entas?
“We can just play for a bit, and then I’ll ask you again,” he replied.
“Play?”
“Of course! Try to catch me!” He sprung into the air with a gleeful yelp and shot away. I watched him for a few seconds and then smiled.
“Come on, Kaiyer!” he called and I gave chase.
The old man was quick and I was unable to land a hand on him after numerous attempts. On my tenth try he got cocky and spun to face me while he bounded away. When I still couldn’t get him he stuck his tongue out at me. I felt a bit of frustration that he continued to escape, but then he accidently jumped into a lake of water that sat bowled in one of the islands.
“Akkk! I can’t swim! Save me!” He frantically waved his arms about and spat water out in a stream of croaking burps.
“It isn’t that deep.” I grabbed him by the shoulders and stood him upright. The water came up to his chin, but only reached my navel.
“You are correct, but when something is unfamiliar, it seems more daunting than it is.”
“That makes sense.”
“So do you want to see your friend? She is nice. I promise.”
“Do you think I should meet her?” I frowned and tried to remember the man’s name. He had just told me a few hours ago but I could not recall it. Something about him seemed familiar.
“Yes! You two have been friends for a long time. Longer than you and I have been friends in actuality.” The strange man seemed happy with my question but I suddenly wanted to jump away and float again through the clouds between the islands.
“Hey Kaiyer! Pay attention.” He tapped me in the center of the chest where my ribs met.
“Sorry. Where are we going?” It no longer bothered me that I couldn’t remember the old man’s name. He would probably remind me again. I felt like I should have remembered though. Were there other things I had forgotten?
“To see your friend!” He jumped away and I followed. The motion felt familiar and I recalled that we had been playing a game earlier where I tried to catch him. Or did we? I could only remember chasing the birds and the distant ships.
“She is only a few more jumps away!” He spun backward in the air when he called out to me. I scanned the islands ahead and wondered what my friend looked like or what her name was.
Then I saw her.
She was like a beacon of red fire and I wondered how I had not noticed her before. The islands were soft swirls of bright green, rich brown, and pale blue, floating lazily through a cerulean sky. The red of her hair made all the other colors dull in comparison. My vision filled with the sight of her and nothing else mattered.
“Iolarathe!” She was still a few miles away and I doubted that she heard my scream, but she raised her arm and waved at me. She smiled.
“How did you both get here?” I grabbed Entas when he jumped past me.
“We’ve always been here. So have you. Do you remember now?”
“No. What are you talking about?” I felt my stomach clench when I recalled the last time I spoke to the man. “Wait. Entas, you are dead. Is this a dream?”
“Do you think it is a dream?” He pointed at the Elven woman a few islands away. “If it is, then you should try not to wake up.” My stomach clenched again and I felt the air escape my lungs.
Then I started to fall.
“No!” I heard her scream. She was so close now, only a few hundred yards away, but I missed my landing and fell. I looked down to angle my body to the next island below me but my stomach seized again. There were no islands beneath me. Just endless blue sky and fluffy ivory clouds that I passed through effortlessly.
“No! Kaiyer!” she screamed above me. I was falling and I couldn’t breathe.
Then Iolarathe was gone.
Chapter 29-Kaiyer
“Kick him again.” Light blinded me and a flicker of shadows yanked me from my memory of Iolarathe and Entas. There was movement in front of me and the sucking sound of something moving through the air quickly.
I was lying on my side and couldn’t move away. I pulled my arms down to my chest and managed to partially block the boot kick to my ribs. My ribs and stomach ached.
“Wake up, fucker!” My jaw clenched and I caught the next boot that was aimed at my groin. I didn’t know the exact number of my attackers, but I knew one thing for certain: Someone would pay for disturbing my dream.
I was on my feet instantly, still holding the boot. Its owner was a man who reminded me of Iarin, tall and lean with chiseled good looks. He wore deer-leather pants and a shirt with the front opened to expose a wiry chest covered in bear tattoos and muscles.
Another man stood next to him. He was larger across and shorter in stature, with a shaved head, and similar tattoos scattered across his face. They both carried long, curved daggers on their belts and neither wore anything resembling armor.
The tall one seemed surprised that I was able to rise so quickly. I still cradled his boot in my hands and I realized that my arms were shackled together with thick steel manacles and a heavy chain. I yanked the man toward me by the leg, let my arms slide inside to his knee, and then yanked the chain while I spun away. The limb made a sharp cracking sound as it broke sideways at the knee and then there was a tearing shriek when his shin separated from the rest of his leg.
I smashed the clasped chain into the stout man’s nose with a satisfying crack of cartilage, teeth, and jawbone. His head snapped back and I took the opportunity to free the knife from his belt with a quick twist of the leather tie.
The tall man to my side began to scream with horror, but the screech only lasted half a second. Then I cleaved the long blade through his neck and separated his head from his shoulders. Before his body began to fall backward through the open flap of the tent I pivoted back to the man whose face I had just broken and drove the curved point of the dagger toward his eye socket.
Except my prey was somewhat skilled, and though he probably could not see, he was shrewd enough to close the small distance between us with a tackle. It was a clumsy attempt, but my grip was wet with blood and the weapon slipped from my hand when he hit me. I wrapped my chains around his neck while we fell together. I landed on my back and locked my legs around his torso to keep his hips under control. His arms were free, but instead of immediately trying to get a hand between the tightening chains and his neck, he wasted precious seconds trying to punch me in the face.
Perhaps his effort would have been effective against a less-experienced opponent, but I controlled his hips with my legs and his head with the chain around his neck. Each of his attacks was easily diverted by a combination of pushes, pulls, and a tightening of the choking chain. I felt his body begin to lose strength. He would faint in the next few seconds.
Shouts sounded outside and countless bodies poured into the tent. I made a last effort to pop the man’s head off of his neck, but strong hands grabbed the chains, my arms, and began to wrestle me away from my prey. I fought against them, but two warriors grabbed onto each of my arms, three latched onto each of my legs, and a giant of a man hammered my nose and face until I was forced to block his attacks to prevent my skull from shattering.
The man I had almost killed was pulled free, but the movement allowed one of my arms to untangle for a fraction of a second. I had little leverage with eight bodies on top of me, but my free hand closed around someone’s neck and I began to squeeze the life from their throat.
“Kaiyer!” a voice shouted above the screams of the warriors attacking me. I heard my name again and looked over through the throng of people and saw a woman standing backlit against the morning sun pouring into the tent. She had skin a few shades lighter than gray, pewter hair that fell loose down her shoulders like molten metal, and eyes that blazed a ruby red.
Vernine.
My memories came back in a flood of hits more powerful than the fists that pounded into my stomach. I remembered what I was doing in this tent and who these people were. The realization did not quell my anger, but instead of continuing to fight I relaxed my arms and legs.
“Stop!” I shouted over the mass of bodies wrestling me. “I surrender. I won’t fight!” A few more punches landed in my stomach and ribs and I grunted through the pain.
“He is surrendering!” Vernine echoed my words.
“Stop!” another voice commanded and everyone obeyed. My face was swollen and I turned my head to spit a mouthful of blood onto the straw mat they had given me for bedding.
“Get off of him,” the woman ordered again. I recognized Turnia's voice and the throng of bodies slowly disengaged from me, except for the massive man who had been pummeling me in the face. He still had his knee on my chest and his right arm raised to punch me again.
“He killed Bunitar and would have done the same to Goolirt had we not intervened.” There was a tense silence in the small tent.
“He also killed my brother. It is not our job to judge and punish. Leave that to the Council.” Turnia stood at the entrance to the tent next to Vernine. The man nodded at her words and rose from my chest.
I rolled over onto my knees, coughed out another mouthful of blood and then stood as slowly as I could. A bunch of ribs were broken, half of my teeth were loose, and my left shoulder was dislocated. By the time I was fully standing everything was healed, except for the shoulder, but I yanked on the chain with my right hand and ripped the socket back into place with a painful pop.
Almost every space in my tent was filled with O’Baarni. They stood around me and the look on their combined faces made it apparent that they all wished Turnia would allow them to continue to beat me.
“You’ve killed another of my brothers, Pretender.” I couldn’t see her face through the gathered warriors.
“I was having a nightmare and they kicked me awake. My instincts took over and I forgot I was in your care.” I wanted to tell her to go fuck herself with a curved sword, but my usual attitude would only decrease the likelihood that the clan leader of Two Bears would allow me to speak with the empress before they took me through the Radicle.
“Liar!” the stout man I had almost choked sputtered from the ground a few feet from me. I guessed his name was Goolirt from what the massive man had said a few seconds ago.
“Olarin, Perna, Jinicar, Goolirt, and the Elven Vernine, stay here. Everyone else, leave now.” After she spoke the command Turnia’s warriors moved out of the tent. When the last one had left, Turnia stepped a few feet into the tent. Vernine stayed behind at the entrance and quickly signed some form of communication to someone in the campsite.
“What was the order you gave them?” Turnia turned her attention to the large man. I guessed this was Olarin.
“To bring the Pretender to you,” he said. His voice wasn’t as dark as Kannath’s, but this man was a few inches taller and broader.
“What happened when you entered this tent?” Turnia turned to Goolirt. The other two warriors who remained were women and the group focused their attention on the man struggling to push air through his smashed throat.
“We came inside.” His voice came out with a painful wheeze. “He attacked us.”
“You didn’t kick him?” She raised an eyebrow, just as the empress would have to question something she did not believe to be factual.
“No, Turnia.”
“I want the three of you to personally deal with the Pretender.” She turned to the two women and Olarin. I guessed that these were her generals. “Do not delegate the task to idiots.” She sighed and then turned back to Goolirt. “You’ve put me in a troubling position, fool. If we were on one of our own planets, I would just exile you. However, I can’t let you roam free on the Elven’s new world.”
“I have not lied, Turnia,” he sputtered the words.
“You lie again. Kill him.” The two women who flanked Turnia pulled out curved daggers and were on the man in a flash. He let out a wet scream as his throat was slit by one. Then the other drove her blade into his skull at the temple and the screech ended abruptly. Now there were two corpses in the tent. Blood turned the hard clay floor into red mud.
Turnia stared at Olarin while the other man was murdered. Something passed between them and I guessed that she was more than outraged that his report had lied to her a second time. The big man clenched his muscular jaw in frustration, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes.
Once the women had finished their work, Turnia turned to face me with anger in the ice-blue depths of her sharp eyes.
“Follow me,” she commanded. The tall woman exited the tent with Vernine and I moved to follow her into the bright sunlight of the morning.
The camp was a week’s journey southeast of Nia’s capital. We had not yet reached Brilla, but we were only a few days from its border. We moved slowly, I was not sure if this was because Turnia feared my escape, or because she had too many warriors to manage.
The camp was divided into two parts; Turnia’s clan was bunched up around my tent, and the Elvens were positioned a few hundred yards away in a neat grouping around Telaxthe’s elaborate pavilion. The line between the two races was rather cleanly drawn, but Vernine and a few other pewter-haired guards seemed to be able to move freely between the camps without creating any animosity.
“Move!” The women who had killed Goolirt walked behind me and one pushed roughly on my back. I had been occupied with studying the layout of the camp and I shuffled forward to maintain my balance. Vernine and Turnia must have heard but neither turned to acknowledge the order.
Turnia’s tent was fifty yards from Telaxthe’s and significantly smaller. I thought we were heading to the clan leader’s tent but she signaled to a few of her attendants and they began to tear it down. Then she made her way toward the empress’s pavilion.
Every time we stopped for the night Telaxthe’s workers re-dug the base foundation of the pavilion, lay down the elegant wood floor, and then raised the massive tent. The process took twenty workers over an hour to complete and seemed like a colossal waste of time, but the Elvens were passionate about the task. I often saw the pewter-haired guards contest each other for the right to be part of each night’s chore. Thousands of years and a lack of slaves had not changed the Elven predilection for comfort and luxury.
“Welcome, Turnia.” The empress rose from her plush silken pillow and exchanged a gentle finger touch with the hawk-featured woman. “Thank you for joining us for brunch.”
“Thank you for the invitation.” Turnia glanced over her shoulder at me. “I brought the Pretender. I have questions to ask him and wanted you to be present.”
“As you wish.” The empress smiled easily and gave me a slight nod. She wore a light, moss-colored gown with yellow embroidery of snakes and lizards. Her hair was braided down the left side of her head and the tail fell across her chest. Dissonti was seated on a pillow next to her, and her strange emerald eyes blinked when I looked at her. Instead of Fehalda’s army as an escort, the empress had brought the jade woman and a few hundred of her brown-armored warriors, and Vernine’s command of gray guards.
“Perhaps Dissonti may be of assistance?” There were a few extra pillows arranged in a circle in the center of the tent and Turnia selected one close to Telaxthe.
“What do you mean?” the empress asked.
“The woman is skilled at discerning the truth. It is a talent I like to think I possess, but I don’t believe there is any magic in what I do.” Turnia smiled and gestured for her two warrior women to sit next to her. “I’m just good at smelling bullshit when it seeps out of foolish mouths.” Turnia’s smile broadened and it was clear the muscles involved were unused to exercise.
“That is another trait we have in common.” Telaxthe matched the tall woman’s smile but the empress’s looked much more natural and pleasant. “I would prefer for your captive to sit.” She gestured to me and Turnia nodded in agreement.
“What food will we eat for brunch?” Turnia’s sandy blonde hair was long and even braided behind her back it brushed the floor when she sat down.
“A selection of seasonal vegetables, fresh boar meat, eggs, and fruits,” a servant said when the empress waved to him. I recognized him as the Elven who had served me dinner when I first dined with Telaxthe and her generals.
“That sounds appealing. The Pretender will not be eating.”
“Very well.” Telaxthe nodded to the servant and he moved silently behind the curtain the separated the back part of the tent from where we sat.
I didn’t mind skipping the meal. They had fed me very little in the last week, just a small bowl of porridge once a day. I was losing weight rapidly, but I was used to hunger, and if starving meant that Turnia would be more likely to let me speak to the empress before she pushed me through the Radicle, I could endure the discomfort.
A group of Elven servants quickly emerged from behind the curtain and placed small bowls of fruit and cups of tea in front of the empress, Dissonti, Turnia, and the two O’Baarni women. Vernine took her usual spot standing behind the empress, but she avoided eye contact with me. The women began to eat their food and there was no conversation for a few minutes.
“Pretender.” Turnia addressed me as she set down her bowl of fruit. “What clan are you from?”
“I am not from any clan, Turnia,” I said.
“How did you reach this world?”
“I believe that my friends imprisoned me in a Radicle, but my memories are unclear. Then the humans of this world awoke me.”
“Who are your friends?” Her blue eyes narrowed.
“Shlara, Malek, Alexia, Gorbanni, and Thayer.” The three O’Baarni women snorted in unison and shook their heads.
“Why did they imprison you?” Turnia’s lips turned up into a slight smile that suited her angular face. The woman was beautiful.
“I murdered Shlara.” As soon as the words left my mouth I felt my throat close off and tighten. There was a brief silence while the women studied me.
“Do you realize it is a crime to pretend to be the Betrayer?” Turnia asked.
“I didn’t when I first awoke. I probably would have used a different name had I known.” I smiled at her but she didn’t seem to find any humor in my words.
“What was your birth name? What world were you born on?”
“My birth name was Kaiyer. My father’s name was Kai. I was a slave in the Laxile tribe. I don’t know what world I was born on, and I didn’t even realize there were other possible worlds to visit using these Radicles until recently. My home had a single green moon.”
The woman’s pale blue eyes stared into mine while silence draped over the room. I returned her gaze and prepared for her next question. Finally the servants laid out the next course of the meal and cleared the plates. This gave Turnia a reason to divert her eyes to the new dish: a small bowl of rice topped with soft fried eggs. The yolks were a bright, glossy orange, and so big they must have been from a bird larger than a chicken. The women began eating and I was thankful my stomach did not growl when the scent of butter reached my nose.
“Pretender. Do you understand what will happen to you once we return to the Clan Council?” Turnia asked after she had taken a few bites.
“Kannath explained that there will be some sort of trial and that I will be executed.”
“Torture will precede your execution. Torture that will leave you grateful when it comes time for your life to be taken,” she said plainly, without malice. If she was angry at me for killing her brother, she did not show her feelings.
Perhaps she didn’t believe the empress’s story.
I suddenly wondered if Turnia was outplaying Telaxthe. So far the questions I was being asked could have been done in private. The empress did not need to be in the room and neither did Dissonti. Turnia had not looked at the empress while she questioned me, but one of her generals was carefully watching Telaxthe and Dissonti.
“I understand.” I couldn’t think of what else to say, but I realized she was leading the conversation somewhere.
“I doubt that you understand given the calmness that you exhibit. Alexia’s clan handles the proceedings and they are considered to be quite horrific.”
“I understand,” I repeated. Turnia nodded and then picked her bowl back up to savor a few more bites. I watched her eat and wondered what it would have been like to work with her back when I was battling the Elvens.
“This was delicious.” Turnia set the bowl down after she had finished. “My compliments to your staff. If the other courses are as wonderful as the last, I fear I’ll never want to return to my own world.”
“Thank you for your praise, Turnia,” the empress said pleasantly. Even Vernine smiled at the compliment.
“What is your plan, Pretender?” The sharp-featured woman turned back to me.
“Plan?”
“Yes. Your strategy for your current situation.” She took a sip of the beverage a servant set in front of her.
“I am unsure I understand your question, Turnia. I plan to return with you and meet this Council.” I started to guess where she was heading with the conversation and I realized too late that I might not be able to escape the predicament without lying.
“How will you explain yourself to them?”
“I will tell them I am actually Kaiyer, I did betray the woman that I loved, and I have served many lifetimes of imprisonment for my crimes.” One of the tall women seated next to Turnia seemed surprised at my statement, but her leader made no change to her expression.
The servants had laid out a small bowl of mint leaves that smelled of balsamic vinegar and oils. The women all followed Turnia’s lead and waited until she speared a mouthful of the leaves with her fork before eating.
“Telaxthe, is there enough food for Kaiyer to eat?” Turnia asked after she had finished her first bite.
“Yes,” the empress answered after the male servant nodded to her.
“I have changed my mind and want him to eat with us.” The women sitting next to Turnia did a poor job of hiding their surprise, but they made no noticeable objection to their leader’s request. Telaxthe nodded to the servant and he quickly returned with a bowl of mint salad and a glass of dry wine. I knew once I started eating my stomach would demand more food, but now that I had the bowl in my hand it was impossible to resist.
“I would like to help you.” Turnia watched me eat the salad. At the first taste of the mint leaves my stomach growled angrily and I guessed the noise was loud enough for the guards outside to hear.
“What do you mean?” I asked after I finished chewing my third bite. The mint was sharp and the balsamic vinegar surprisingly mild. It paired well with the oil that the chef had drizzled on top.
“I am required to take you back to the Council. You will be tortured and executed. These are realities I cannot change. However, there are still many weeks of travel involved before we reach them. I can provide you comforts during that time.”
“What do you mean by comforts?” I tried to calm my heart while my mind raced. This conversation was going in the direction I feared.
“Comfortable sleeping arrangements, better food, perhaps you would enjoy some conversation or companionship. These luxuries would be easy enough to provide to you while we travel. I might even be able to speak to the Council on your behalf. Perhaps if I tell them of your cooperation, they will skip the torture.” Turnia smiled and I realized that she was also very charming. Her words came across with the perfect timbre and inflection. I believed that she was actually being sincere with her offer.
“I would appreciate that. Thank you.” She wanted me to ask her what she expected in return, but I did not take the bait. Instead, I focused on my salad and then drank the rest of the wine.
“It would have to be worth my efforts, of course. Nothing is given for free.”
“I have nothing to offer you.” I wished the next course would arrive so I could delay answering under the pretense of eating. I also wished it would arrive because I was famished.
“All I want from you is your honesty.”
“I am being honest, Turnia.”
“So far.” She nodded and turned to Dissonti. “Do you agree?”
“Yes, Turnia. Kaiyer has spoken what he believes to be the truth.” The green-haired woman nodded slowly and then turned her jade eyes to me.
“Good!” Turnia’s smile brightened and I knew the trouble would soon begin. “Then I will continue to ask my questions, and you will answer truthfully.” A group of servants distributed a plate of sausages accompanied by pickled green vegetables. A new drink was poured: a sort of orange and lemon juice mixed with yogurt and chilled to a pleasant temperature. Turnia took a forkful of the meat, scooped up the vegetables, and then devoured the ample bite. The woman’s eyes did not leave mine while she ate and I guessed that she was about to ask the question I dreaded.
“Who killed my brother?”
“I did.” I had the words ready on my lips and they came out as easily as I had rehearsed.
“No.” She shook her head and the smile faded from her pretty mouth. “You did not. But perhaps you believe that you did.”
“Why don’t you believe that this man killed your brother?” Telaxthe asked from her pillows. The empress looked calm and comfortable but her amber eyes flashed and I wondered how worried she was by Turnia’s questions.
“He believes that he did, but that explanation does not make sense. Kannath is one of the most powerful warriors in my clan, perhaps in all of the clans. He came to this world with six of his closest friends. Each of them was a master of combat and absolutely fearless and undefeatable in battle. And yet, you expect me to believe that a single, scrawny man killed all seven of them and Fehalda’s entire unit?” She shook her head and chuckled.
“Yet that is what happened, Turnia,” Telaxthe interjected calmly. “He does not look it, but he is powerful. Incredibly so.”
“Let us say I would believe that claim, and this man is strong enough to destroy half a dozen of my best.” Turnia smirked. Her attention turned back from the empress to me. “If you killed Kannath to avoid being taken back to face the Council, why are you now accepting your fate so calmly?”
“The empress offered to give me something in exchange for going with you peacefully. Otherwise, I would not be leaving this world.”
“What did she offer you?” Turnia set down her fork and fixed me with a stare.
“Information about my daughter.” I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know if the empress wanted me to divulge this fact, but I could not think of another way to answer. The lie I shared with Telaxthe was composed of mostly truths and we had not discussed this particular pivot point.
“How does the empress know of your daughter?” She glanced between the two of us with a raised eyebrow.
“It is no secret that I have extensively studied the history and lore of the Destroyer. He had a single offspring that we know about.” The empress took a bite of her meal after she was finished speaking.
Turnia sighed and shook her head. Then she took a few bites of food and seemed to be considering what to say next. I continued my meal and wondered if the worst of the questions had been asked. I decided to preempt the next question and hope that I could gain some control over the conversation.
“I regret killing Kannath and your clan folk. I regret that I killed that man in my tent this morning. I’ve killed thousands of Elvens, and after I murdered Shlara, I did the same to many of my own kind. I never had a chance to meet my daughter and it is my last wish to know more about her.”
“You believe that the empress will actually tell you the truth about your daughter?” Turnia asked.
“Yes. She has kept her word to me before, even after I have gone against her wishes and killed her people.” I hoped Turnia believed me.
“So this is why you were willingly returning to the empress after murdering my brother?”
I nodded. “And you intend to tell him what you know?” Turnia asked the empress.
“Yes. I am willing to do almost anything to remove this man from my world.” Telaxthe turned to me and her beautiful face communicated the sincerity of her words.
The servants cleared the plates and then distributed another bowl of fruit accompanied by dark chocolates and coffee. I guessed that this was the last course, and my stomach was telling me I could have eaten two dozen more plates of the sausages and still would have felt hungry.
“I have a proposition for you, Kaiyer.” Turnia took a sip of the coffee.
“I am listening,” I said cautiously.
“Would you like the empress to tell you of your daughter now?” She smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“That is unwise, Turnia. This man is dangerous, and once he has what he wants, he will escape. He will kill more of our people.” Telaxthe was normally calm, but I could hear the edge of desperation in her voice.
“But you were fine telling him right before he left your world? So he would be my problem?” Turnia’s tone darkened.
“He won’t be able to escape you once he is on your world, Turnia.”
“I will have the same number of warriors escorting him when we reach our home planet. We are safer here as I have your assistance.” She turned back to me. “Do you want to know now?”
“What if I refuse to tell him?” The mood in the pavilion changed instantly with the empress’s question. Though she asked calmly, I could sense the tension building between the Elvens and Turnia’s warrior women.
“Do you forget who aided you with the clans? Do you forget who persuaded them to grant you your own world? This very world?” Turnia’s voice became a growl of outrage. “Do you even realize the danger you and your people are in right now, Elven? You’ve been playing war here while the clans decide how to enslave you. The price of Ovules has increased and it will only be a matter of time before they come for your heads.” Turnia rose to her feet like a panther. “Of course, you probably do know this. You aren’t as stupid as you seem. That was why you killed my brother, despite everything he did for your kind. You knew that if he came back with a Pretender it would be an open invitation for the clans to decide this world was unfit for you. Then you would be right back where you started.” Turnia’s mouth turned into a venomous grin.
“I have not forgotten the assistance you and your brother gave me. That is why you have not been killed for speaking to me in such a manner!” Telaxthe hissed the words through a tense jaw. Vernine and Dissonti had both laid their hands on the blades at their hips and Turnia’s women gripped their own curved swords. The four servants who had delivered the meals had emerged from their work station and flanked Telaxthe protectively.
“Answer my earlier question, Pretender. Do you want her to tell you of your daughter right now?” Turnia broke eye contact with the empress to look at me.
“Perhaps.” I glanced back and forth between the two factions. If they came to blows would there be a chance for me to escape? I realized that if Turnia killed Telaxthe I might lose my only chance to learn of my daughter. Nadea would also lose the chance to get to know her birth mother. “It would depend on what you want from me in return.”
“Our agreement was that I would tell him just before you took him through the Radicle,” Telaxthe scratched out a low growl and I realized it was the first time I had ever heard anger in her voice.
“Call your guards,” Turnia said to the empress. Telaxthe tilted her head slightly and her eyes narrowed.
“Call your fucking guards, bitch!” Turnia shouted and slammed her hands together.
“Guards!” Telaxthe yelled. I expected dozens of warriors to rush down the stairs in a tidal wave of malice.
Instead there was silence from outside the pavilion.
“What do you think has been going on while we broke our fast in this tent Telaxthe?” She took a step toward the empress and Vernine took a step forward to flank her leader. No one had drawn a weapon yet but I could almost taste the blood in the air and hear the crash of combat.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Did you think you could fool me? Would I believe that a single man could kill my brother and half a dozen of his warriors?”
“That is what happen—”
“With hundreds of arrows!” Turnia screamed and Telaxthe’s jaw closed with an audible snap. “I saw the bodies. Your assassins were lazy, empress, and now you will pay for your betrayal.”
Vernine drew her sword with a blur of speed and a scream of air. Dissonti and Turnia’s guards also drew their weapons. The Elven servants produced small swords that must have been hidden inside the sleeves of their tunics.
“The empress will tell you what she knows of your daughter. Then you will tell me exactly what happened to my brother. Every. Single. Detail.” Turnia had not drawn her own weapon but it didn’t really matter. I could hear no conversation or activity outside the tent. The O’Baarni had either captured or murdered the entirety of Telaxthe’s small guard while we ate.
“If you confirm that the empress did have a hand in Kannath’s death, I will delight in ripping the life from her body.” She smiled again and slowly sank back down to her pillow. “Since there is no love lost between the two of you, perhaps you would enjoy watching me execute her?”
“This is absurd, Turnia!” Telaxthe seethed.
“Ahh. Ahh.” Turnia raised a finger and shook her head. “Arguing with me now will only enrage me further. Cooperating with my request is in your best interest, Telaxthe. Perhaps I could find it in my heart to let your Dissonti live? She is important to your people, is she not?” Telaxthe bit her lip and made a slight nod.
“Good girl,” Turnia said. “Now put away your weapons, Elvens. The battle began when my brother came to this world. And you have lost.”
“Put them away,” Telaxthe whispered as she bowed her head. Vernine, Dissonti, and the servants exchanged looks but did not move. “Now!” Telaxthe commanded again and they finally followed her order.
“That just leaves you.” Turnia glanced back to me and the mocking smile she had given the empress faded from her mouth. “She will tell you of your daughter. Then you will tell me of Kannath. Do you agree?”
“It doesn’t sound like I have a choice.” I forced a smile to my lips and fought through my conflicting emotions. Telaxthe would die today, as would Vernine, and possibly Dissonti. Telaxthe’s death would make ridding this world of Elvens easier. Fehalda would take control of the armies, but they would never be as strong. The empress was possibly the only Elven who could instruct Jessmei in using her magic to close the Radicles, giving me a chance to return if I could escape the Council.
I did not want the leader of the Elven people to die. She was Nadea’s mother, and though they did not yet have a relationship, I would not want Nadea to lose the opportunity. I also felt a grudging respect for Telaxthe. She overcame numerous obstacles to freed her people from a situation akin to slavery.
Just as I once had.
“There are always choices, Kaiyer,” Turnia answered.
I nodded at her words and glanced to Telaxthe. Her head was bowed and I was unable to see her face, but her body told me everything I needed to know: She had lost and she knew her people would soon feel the grip of the O’Baarni on their necks again. Vernine’s red eyes met mine and she bit her lip slightly. It was just enough to convey her terror. Dissonti stared at the wall of the tent, as if she were observing the conflict from a great distance.
“Don’t look at the empress, Pretender. Look at me. What is your choice?”
I took a deep breath and gave Turnia my answer.
Chapter 30-Iolarathe
“The humans are assembling their army. We outnumber them by more than three to one.” Nyarathe pointed at the map of the wetlands with her finger and continued to brief my three other generals. “The Singleborn’s strategy has worked. They are cornered between the ocean and the flood plains. We also have the higher ground.”
“We will crush them today. Finally.” Grednil’s smile spread across his face slowly. Ilttaia and Fusik mirrored his pleasure and opened their mouths to speak.
“We cannot underestimate them.” I held up my hand to silence my generals. “Gorbanni’s cavalry is skilled but does not frighten us. Shlara’s troops do. The human woman is crafty and Kaiyer might also have a trick or two up his sleeve.” They nodded at my words and the smiles dropped from their faces. I wished that I could have split Kaiyer’s army in another way so that he was separated from Shlara, but he had chosen to send Malek, Alexia, and Thayer after my feinting forces north.
Relyara entered the pavilion and walked over to me. She gave me a note from my surveying commander and then sat down in the corner of the tent to observe our plans.
“Kaiyer is taking to the field. It appears that he will lead the charge as I planned.” I read the letter and felt a sensation of pleasure course through me.
“My pikes will be ready, Iolarathe.” Ilttaia growled and her scent changed to one of smoked peppers. I smiled at her and recalled the delicate, soft-spoken maiden that had once been part of my entourage. She had become a fearsome warrior and I trusted her almost as much as my sister.
“I want him alive.”
“Yes, Mistress. My soldiers have their orders.” She nodded, and the fire came to her eyes.
“They will try to flank us here.” I pointed to the west side of the map. “Brother, hold this area. Shlara will try to force her way in here. You will stop her.”
“I will. The human bitch will not pass through my warriors.” He nodded.
“Fusik, I am going to hold your cavalry back. Once Kaiyer is brought down I expect them to break. Then you will cut them as they flee like a scythe through grain.”
“I would prefer to be attacking, but I understand your strategy, Iolarathe.” The horseman nodded and I knew that he spoke the truth without even tasting his scent. Fusik and my sister had become close in the last few months and I imagined she would be pregnant as soon as the war ended.
“Sister. You will be stationed here.” I pointed at the back of the ranks behind Ilttaia’s ground troops. “Support the front lines with your soldiers’ magic and arrows. If any begin to weaken, you will be called into the melee.”
“Yes, Iolarathe.”
“You are all dismissed. Remember: I need Kaiyer alive. Then this entire war will be over.” The four of them nodded and disappeared from my tent with their usual speed.
“Do you really think this will be over if you capture him?” Relyara asked from her seat behind me.
“Yes. He is pivotal to their strategies and morale.” I looked over the map again and refused to glance back at her.
“And why the insistence on capturing him alive? Would it not be simpler and more effective to kill him?” I could smell the lemon on her body. In the past, I would have beaten her for questioning me with such blatant disrespect. Now I knew my lover was just jealous. I needed her support as much as I needed to believe I would one day be with Kaiyer again.
“That would simply make him a martyr. Shlara would take up his mantle, and probably be equally effective. If we take him alive, they will attempt a rescue. I will drag him all over this world, stretch their supply lines, ferret out their hidden camps, and destroy every last one of them.” The words tasted wonderful in my mouth, but I knew the truth as well as Relyara did: The real victory would be having Kaiyer with me again. When the war ended I would have everything I wanted.
All I wanted was him.
A horn blasted outside and was echoed by six others that formed a beautiful chord of triumph, signaling that my army was ready to attack. This time it was a ruse crafted to make the humans think that they only had a few minutes before we charged. We were going to force them to come up the hill to us so that we had higher and more stable ground.
“Let us go watch my victory.” A stack of command flags lay upon the planning table and I grabbed them before I left. Each small banner would tell the couriers of my army if there was any change in plan so that they could communicate it to the generals.
I hoped I wouldn’t need to use them today.
The air outside my tent smelled of horses, oil, and fear. I had come to love the scent of it. Fear alone smelled unpleasant, but if the army was not afraid, it meant I was not taking enough risks. If I was not taking enough risks, the humans would shortly figure out my strategy and end my term as ruler of the Elven people.
Fear was good.
“Their armor always terrifies me.” Relyara pointed at the line of distant cavalry. Each of the humans on horseback wore gray armor with ram-shaped helmets, shoulder plates, and etchings. While normally the sight of a ram wasn’t intimidating, these rams seemed to be screaming in agony, or hunger, or both.
“Is that Kaiyer?” she asked. A lone figure rode a massive black warhorse in front of the battle line.
“Yes,” I answered and fought against the flurry of emotions the sight of him elicited in my body. The figure was terrible to behold. Gruesome armor encased his body, it was decorated in screaming, horrified skulls that perfectly conveyed the fear and death this man had inflicted upon my people. Two misshapen horns jutted unevenly out of the twisted, skull-shaped helmet. A long red cloak trailed behind him and I could taste the fear as it spread through the ranks of my massive army. He was a nightmare.
The legend of Kaiyer’s prowess had already infected my people by the time I took over the army. He was rumored to be unbeatable in combat, said to possess magic and skill beyond any human or Elven. It had been many years since the leader of the humans had even shown himself in battle, and I doubted the veracity of his mythological power.
Bur’tilon’s death had left me questioning my skepticism. He should have won the battle on the mountain pass. Bur’tilon had made the mistake of acting before the rest of my army had joined him, but he had Kaiyer with Alexia and Malek’s armies in close combat. He had them outnumbered and flanked from all directions. It should have been an easy victory.
But the hundreds of Elven corpses told otherwise.
“It seems he is speaking to them.” Relyara’s voice pulled me from the memories of the strange building on top of the mountains and the smooth stone artifacts Nyarathe and I had found that spoke of the dragons.
“He is probably telling them that the end is near.”
I led Relyara to a raised platform behind my ranks where I could survey the battle. Twenty of my personal guard formed a tight ring around us. My beautiful assistant did not spend much time in combat, but I insisted she wear full armor in case the humans ever broke through the guards and we were forced to defend ourselves.
“Hard to believe this will finally be over,” she said once we reached the platform. It rose only ten feet off the ground but was situated on a hilltop that gave us an unobstructed view of the entire battlefield and twenty miles in each direction. I was an easy target here, but Malek’s mages were not in the battle today, and Shlara had none skilled enough to launch an attack this far.
“We will still have to hunt down Alexia, Thayer, and Malek.” I sighed and took a long inhale of the battle scent. The war had pivoted only a little when I took over the army. The humans had grown too powerful and swelled in size. They were still outnumbered by the combined forces of the Elven armies, but we had not won a battle in many years.
The improvements had been minimal at first. I focused on martial training and retreat tactics. The former leaders and elders had not approved of my strategies because they still viewed the humans as rebellious but incompetent slaves; animals to be put down, not skilled warriors to be feared.
At first I could do little more than attack their supply lines. Kaiyer took notice and would divert part of his army to protect the lines, allowing us to attack somewhere else. My efforts did little damage overall, but we were killing his warriors and increasing the confidence of my own.
Gorbanni and Thayer were my ideal targets. Their armies were strong in open combat but lacked any finesse or strategy. I easily scored victories against their forces and tested my army against Alexia and Malek. Malek was easier to outwit than Alexia and a few attacks against him were victorious.
Shlara was brilliant and problematic. The woman anticipated my plans and was always a few steps ahead of me. Strategies that worked on the other generals had almost laughably pathetic results against her forces. I began to understand the power structure of Kaiyer’s army. Today I would finally crush her beneath my boot and take Kaiyer. Even if I lost half of my army, the other human generals would not be able to stand against us without their leader or his genius general.
Thinking of Shlara made my jaw clench. The humans we captured spoke of her beauty, intelligence, and unparalleled combat prowess. Some said she and Kaiyer were lovers, others said they were not. The thought of the human fucking my lover brought the scent of blood to my nose and clouded my vision with rage. Of course he would have found another to share his bed after so many years without me, as I had with Relyara. But though the woman was affectionate, intelligent, and trustworthy, both of us understood her place. I still loved Kaiyer.
I wondered if Shlara knew that Kaiyer felt the same about me. I wondered if he still did.
Kaiyer had to understand that I had no choice in killing his brother. I needed to tell him, explain what had happened. I had never meant to cause him pain, but was forced to by the ridiculous politics of my tribe. Things had changed. I was the leader of the entire Elven race. We could be together now, no one could stop me.
The army of humans below screamed a terrible shout that rolled off the ocean and up the hill toward us. The dark figure on the black horse raised his arm and then his army lifted their flags in a colorful response. Gorbanni rode to him. The two men had a short conversation before a dozen cavalry flanked the pair. Kaiyer lowered a wicked-looking lance of screaming skulls.
Then the group charged up the hill toward us.
“They took the bait,” Relyara muttered under her breath. “By the Dead Gods he is fast!” The terrible armor and giant black steed had outpaced the rest of the cavalry by at least three horse lengths. I stared in astonishment as the lead quickly increased every second. By the time Kaiyer was halfway across the empty space of the battle meridian he was ten lengths ahead of his escort.
“What is he doing?” Relyara asked in surprise and fear.
“He is giving us the battle.” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing either but there was no other explanation. As soon as Kaiyer hit our lines he would be swarmed and captured. His guard would never be able to defend him in time.
Yet his horse just seemed to run faster.
Arrows and magic slammed into the ground between the lead figure and the first line of cavalry. My troops were trying to hit Kaiyer, but his speed made him a difficult target. He was three quarters to our front row of pikes within a few more seconds and I realized that any command that I would give to my generals to target the other lines would be too late to do any real damage. Was he intending to distract us? Did Kaiyer know that he would be too tempting a target and that my warriors would want the glory of taking him down before he reached my lines?
My guesses mattered little. Ilttaia’s front line of pike warriors were given the signal to raise their long spears. The weapons were anchored into the ground and dozens of the lances pointed at the massive black warhorse and its skull-armored rider. It didn’t matter how strong Kaiyer was in combat. Riding full speed into a wall of pikes would incapacitate him.
If it didn’t kill the man.
There was an explosion. A crash of thunder so strong that it rang a hundred times louder than the human war cry. Every Elven winced at the sound and I almost expected the ground to sway. For a few seconds it was hard to comprehend what had happened at the impact of Kaiyer’s charge. Dozens of Ilttaia’s warriors were dead. Some were covered in blood, others trampled by the giant black horse, and three were impaled together on the length of Kaiyer’s skull-etched lance.
He was almost halfway through Ilttaia’s foot soldier ranks but still three hundred yards down the slope from my position. He dropped his lance and then pulled out the mace that he was rumored to wield with incredible power. He made one downward swing with his left hand and three Elven heads exploded into a mist of blood and brain.
“Shit,” Relyara and I said at the same time. The entirety of Ilttaia’s forces seemed to converge on the lone human and his horse. The animal was almost as fearsome as its rider. Every time Kaiyer attacked with his mace and blocked with his shield the creature either kicked, stomped, or spun into the mob of my warriors. After only a few more seconds the leader of the humans had killed four more of my warriors and his mount had tallied just as many.
Ilttaia’s warriors had recovered from the surprise of having their target in the depths of their ranks and they began a more coordinated attack. The mob of warriors backed away from the spinning horse and a few of the Elvens with shorter spears made dual attacks at the man and horse. His shield was always in the way, or the horse skipped to the side of each attack.
Then the rest of the humans collided into the ranks of pike warriors.
The troops had been so distracted by Kaiyer’s penetration into their lines that they seemed unaware of the oncoming charge from the rest of the army. Dozens of humans and scores of horses were impaled on the grounded pikes, but more cavalry than was acceptable made it past the first two lines. Death sounded all around, filling the air with anguish and the scent of blood.
One of Ilttaia’s warriors grabbed Kaiyer’s armored leg and was rewarded with a strike to the skull. He was unbelievably fast. His arm blurred when he attacked like a hummingbird's wing. The only indication I had that he struck anything was the death and explosion of blood that emanated from the body of his victim. The horse spun again and its armored hindquarters brushed aside some spear strikes aimed at his master.
“This is impossible!” Relyara gasped from my side. I could only nod and fight the lump forming in my throat and the cold pit of anguish that grew in my stomach. Kaiyer must have killed twenty or more of my soldiers in little more than a minute and he showed no signs of tiring. Gorbanni was trying to beat a path through the throng of my other warriors but I doubted the man would actually succeed.
One of Ilttaia’s commanders, Kilotrra, managed to jump on the back of Kaiyer’s horse and wrestled with the human’s shield. Other Elven warriors seized the opportunity and moved closer to thrust their spears into him. He tipped over precariously with Kilotrra’s efforts and a cheer of jubilation swelled up from the surrounding Elvens.
Then Kilotrra was thrown from the back of the horse. She still clutched the skull shield, but Kaiyer had slipped out of it to keep from being taken off his mount. The angry steed stomped and galloped purposely to its side and the brave woman was crushed beneath the monster’s hooves.
Kaiyer was shieldless now, but it did not seem to matter. He was able to make larger sweeping strikes with his mace and quickly smashed three warriors that had attempted to impale him with their spears when Kilotrra had seized his shield. The horse spun again and I noticed that many of the spear strikes had pierced the creature’s armor and its night-black hair was dripping with dark red blood. The animal wasn’t magical and would eventually fall. When it did, Kaiyer would not have the height advantage and my soldiers would have an easier time capturing him.
A spear warrior made a quick stab at Kaiyer from his flank and the human dodged out of the way at the last fraction of a second. Then his armored hand came up and grabbed onto the lance. The horse spun sideways and the leader of the human army ripped the weapon out of the hands of my warrior. A split second later, the spear spun around in Kaiyer’s hand and my lover was able to jab, stick, and thrust the spear into the surrounding crowd to keep the tide back.
Then Gorbanni and a few of his guards made it to Kaiyer.
“Fuck,” I sighed. Capturing the man would take an exponentially greater number of lives than I had planned. I glanced over to the side position and saw that the line tasked with holding Shlara’s troops was intact. At least one part of this battle was going as planned.
“He can’t keep this up forever.” Relyara seemed to read my mind. “His horse is halfway dead. See how it moves?” I returned my attention to Kaiyer and saw that the horse lashed out with its massive back legs again and killed two of my soldiers with precise blows to their skulls.
“Yes. The creature appears incapacitated.” I sighed and continued to watch Kaiyer, his horse, Gorbanni, and their guards push through the lines of Ilttaia’s troops.
The longer I watched Kaiyer in battle the larger the knot of ice in my stomach grew. The man seemed to somehow see in all directions. He would lean over his saddle to smash one of my kin with his mace and then almost turned to smoke dodging spear thrusts aimed at his armor. The combined efforts of my entire army must have amounted to hundreds, perhaps over a thousand attacks aimed at his body; other than the loss of his shield, they had accomplished nothing. I realized that I had made a massive mistake and completely underestimated his power. He was not a man anymore. He was not my lover. He was something else. He was a force of nature, like a tornado or an earthquake whose only purpose was the destruction of my race.
I had created this monster and I would never be able to stop him. My people would die at his hand and humans would again rule this world, despite what the Gods wanted.
Finally, Kaiyer’s terrible horse staggered and pitched sideways.
I felt the scream of victory escape my throat and the sound was repeated by every one of my kin who had seen the beast collapse. It was a symphony of joy and the song seemed to invigorate my exhausted troops.
It had been Ilttaia who felled the horse with a massive cut to its chest. She was one of the few warriors in my army that felt comfortable wielding a two-handed sword. It wasn’t a very practical weapon in traditional pike lines, but my general normally stayed midfield, and if the battle ever reached her position, she used the long weapon to kill the humans effectively.
Kaiyer jumped off his horse mid-fall and the long red cloak he wore seemed to spread out over the sky as a sea of blood. He aimed his spear and then dove like a black-feathered eagle.
Right into Ilttaia.
“No!” Relyara screamed beside me. Kaiyer’s spear ripped through the chest of my general’s armor and came out the other side into the ground of the battlefield. Without pause he grabbed her massive sword with his right hand, twisted sideways, and cleaved two other warriors in half with the long blade. Blood, organs, and bone sprayed through the air and almost seemed to become a part of his red cloak.
I heard cracking below me and I realized that my hands had snapped the thick wooden railing of my command platform. I took a deep breath and forced calm through my body and mind. Ilttaia was dead. She was not only one of my more intelligent generals, she was also a friend and talented warrior.
A cheer from below ripped me away from the sadness of my loss and I looked from the wood railing to see that one of Gorbanni’s guards had fallen off of his horse and was about to be executed by Juilytian. The large warrior had been Ilttaia’s lover and I imagined my sadness was more than matched by his fury. He raised his polished sword over his head and was about to bring it down to end the human’s life.
Kaiyer was suddenly in front of Juilytian and he ripped Ilttaia’s sword across her own lover’s neck, lopping off his head before he could land the killing blow on the fallen human. Then he threw the two-handed sword to his side like a spear, it traveled almost forty feet and pierced the back of another of my warriors who was poised to take Gorbanni off of his horse.
“How is this even possible?” Relyara’s voice shook with terror and I could smell the bitter vegetable scent of fear radiating from her. “He wasn’t even standing next to Juilytian. He was almost fifty feet away. How did he cover that distance so quickly? Does he possess magic we don’t know of?”
I could only shake my head in response. Kaiyer had pulled the spear out of his guard’s side and fended off half a dozen of Ilttaia’s warriors. They were frantic now, desperate to avenge their leader, and I knew that Kaiyer would soon fall. Sure enough, Gorbanni and his last guard were taken off of their horses and a cheer went up amongst the remaining forces of Ilttaia’s troops. Kaiyer would not be able to defend himself and two others at the same time. I looked back at the front lines and saw that the rest of the human ram cavalry was still tied up with the first row of Elven pike warriors. It would be five more minutes until they made it to their commander and by then he would be dead and Kaiyer captured.
Then I saw the flank.
Shlara’s forces pulled away and seemed to retreat. I guessed it was a feint and I raised my command flag for my brother’s troops to hold position. If we fell out of place now or gave chase to Shlara’s dragon-armored warriors, we would risk her moving to outmaneuver that shoulder and piercing our ranks.
“She is pushing down the middle,” Relyara stated the obvious. For a few precious seconds I shook my head at the foolishness of the woman. Gorbanni’s troops were already there and the melee was extremely tight. Suddenly, Gorbanni’s cavalry disengaged and pulled back from the front line of pikes. The horses sprinted to the side and Shlara’s dragon-armored warriors pulled out their long bows.
“Fuck.” I wanted to scream as thousands of arrows ripped into my shieldless pike rows. Gorbanni’s cavalry never meant to penetrate the main force. They had just been a distraction so that I would set up my lines incorrectly.
I debated my options for troop rotation and came up with no answer. It would take too long for Grednil’s warriors to pivot around and face Shlara. I could pull Fusik’s cavalry in to plow over Shlara’s troops, but I guessed the human bitch had considered that play; Gorbanni’s remaining horses had fallen back and shifted toward the side there. If Fusik left Nyarathe’s army unprotected, they could be destroyed by the humans.
I did a quick count of Ilttaia’s troops. Despite the destruction that Kaiyer had personally wrought, only a fourth of the ground forces were dead. The skull-armored man continued to murder my kin from behind the ranks. How soon would he be captured? Two more minutes? Five more? Every second he was standing drained strength from the morale of my ground forces and gave Shlara a chance to penetrate the ranks and guard him.
“Sound the retreat!” The words tasted horrible in my mouth. I raised the flag and the couriers quickly mirrored it with their own. Horns blared from each segment of my army and my soldiers began their careful move backward.
Shlara’s forces pushed harder once they heard our signal and I saw the bitch push forward to join Kaiyer’s side. For a brief second I toyed with the idea of using magic to attack her from my position on top of the command platform. My magic would be easy to see coming and I had no doubt that she would evade the attack. It would accomplish nothing but revealing my position to Kaiyer and his general.
“Let us fly.” I jumped off of the platform and landed on my horse. My guards were ready, and as soon as Relyara joined me on her own steed we kicked them into a sprint.
Neither of us spoke for the next fifteen minutes. My mind mulled over what I had done wrong and what I could improve upon in the next battle. Unfortunately, I doubted that I would ever have an opportunity like this again. We had Kaiyer alone, in the thick of my army, and we still could not capture him.
A dark idea poured into my head. It was surely an act of desperation and I was not even sure if it was possible. But things were desperate. I could not beat Kaiyer. He was too powerful and his forces too capable. My people were on the verge of extinction and we probably only had a handful of battles left in us before the end.
I was to blame for all of this.
I had sparked Kaiyer’s hatred and quest for revenge when I killed his family. I stayed behind when search parties looked for him and the other escaped slaves. I ran and hid for years while he built up his people and destroyed mine. I could have remained with my tribe, leading their army and crushing the humans when they were still small in number and inexperienced in battle. If I had done what the tribes requested and mated when they wanted me to, I could have produced powerful offspring by now who would be helping me win this war. I could have been the hope for our race I was born to be.
“What are you going to do, Iolarathe?” Relyara finally voiced the question. The battlefield was many miles behind us now and the guards led me to the army’s fallback location.
“I am going to speak with the dragons,” I said.
Chapter 31-The O’Baarni
“I don’t know how it works. My sister studied these devices, but I never cared to. Now I wish I had paid attention when she wanted to explain them to me.” Her fingers formed beautiful lines on the parchment with the quill pen.
“It only allowed her to go through?” I wrote back. Footsteps sounded down the hall past the room Iolarathe and I shared. We paused our movements and then resumed when the steps continued down the hallway and into another room.
“The Ovule only had enough power for one use. I convinced her to go without me,” she wrote. We had been planning the infiltration of Malek’s estate for the entirety of the night, and while I had asked the beautiful Elven woman for more details about my daughter, she declined to explain until we had completed our plans.
“These Radicles lead to other worlds? Are they just like this one?” I hated that she refused to speak, but I understood her caution. I didn’t know if any of my generals were hunting for us, but if they were, there would be searches at all the inns of the city.
“They all have land, forests, oceans, and can support life. The Gods made them for us,” she wrote.
“If our daughter is on one of these other worlds, will she be able to survive?” My hands shook when I wrote the words. I wanted to know everything about the girl, but I knew that too many focused questions about our child would just make Iolarathe frustrated and switch the topic back to getting the Ovule from Malek’s home.
“She is more than capable of taking care of herself,” she wrote, but frowned slightly. “That isn’t the issue. She isn’t on the world yet. She is stuck in between.”
“How?”
“She went into the Radicle alone with the guardian. The old fucker heard us arguing and she managed to convince him that this was the safest way.” She ran her nails down the edge of the table and it made a painful screech. She stopped as soon as the wood cried out and sighed softly.
“How is this safer?”
“The guardian told me how to pull her into the other world, but I need this Ovule. She didn’t want to go on without me and I couldn’t keep her on this world.”
“Because of me?” Ice formed in my stomach. Was Iolarathe worried that I would kill our own child like I had her kin?
She shook her head and a small shadow of a smile spread across her lips. “I thought you were dead all these years, Kaiyer.” Iolarathe’s smile grew from the shadow and my chest filled with warmth. “She told me you weren’t dead, but I never believed her.”
“Why did she have to leave this world? What is her name?” I had asked the last question before, but she would not answer.
“There are creatures on this world far more dangerous than your people. I will explain once we have the Ovule.” She finished writing and I shook my head with a soft sigh. I needed to sleep, but the electrifying closeness of Iolarathe had every part of my body dancing with joy.
“You are tired,” she wrote on the parchment.
“Now is not the time to rest. Once we are on the Sea Dog and a few hundred miles out on the ocean, I will relax,” I scribbled.
“I am confident in our plan. As long as your people aren’t expecting us to risk stealing the globe from Malek’s estate, we should be safe.” I nodded in agreement.
My joints creaked when I stood and I realized we had been sitting at the table for far too long. It was a half an hour after I normally took my meal. If I waited any longer, we risked the innkeeper Tuirp coming up here to check on me. I gestured to my mouth and raised an eyebrow. She nodded, and I quietly opened the door to the room and slid into the hallway. I hated to leave her. I felt it like a physical ache.
“Late to bed means late to rise eh, Neas?” Tuirp greeted me when I entered the common room of the inn. A few other patrons were finishing up their meal, but most of the tables were empty.
“Wise words, friend. I did have that late night, if you recall.” I smiled at the man, while in my head I wondered if I would need to kill him now that he had remembered the alias I had given him earlier.
I was probably just being paranoid.
“Most have gone to work. You heading to the smithy? Which one did you say you worked at?” He pointed to a giant pot of eggs and I nodded. His questions confirmed my paranoia and I began to think through the most discrete ways to end his life.
“Two servings please. I am feeling under the weather and want to spend the day in my room.”
“No problem, son. Should I send a runner to your master to let him know?”
“No need, Tuirp. He gave me the next few days off to explore the city before I begin my full-time apprenticeship.” I had prepared the lies many weeks beforehand so they came easily to my lips.
“I thought you were one of the O’Baarni,” the gray-haired man said when he handed me a tray. There was a giant serving of eggs, several biscuits, today’s stew, and even two small oranges. “But I hear those folk don’t get sick.”
“Why did you think I was one of them?” I took the food and forced a smile to my lips.
“I’ve seen enough of them in here to tell them apart. It is in the eyes.” He winked at me and stroked his neatly trimmed gray beard. “You look young, but your eyes made me think you were older.” He shrugged and went back to cleaning some of the dishes in a barrel. “No matter though. I try to treat all my customers the same, even if they can’t destroy the place with a flex of their arms!” He laughed and I forced myself to chuckle with him.
“Sorry to disappoint you, friend. If I was one of them it would make the smithy work a lot easier. Have a good morning. I might not come down for lunch or dinner. Please don’t worry about cleaning my room.”
“Feel better, lad.” He nodded, and I walked back up the stairs to my door with the tray of food.
“Thank you,” Iolarathe wrote after I set the food on the table in front of her.
“Eat it all. You need your strength and I can always get more.” She nodded and devoured the rest while I listened at the door. My room was on the fourth floor near the stairs and there were only two other guests staying on the same level. I heard snores coming from one room, and no sound from the other.
“I don’t know how you can stand the smell of me. I can’t recall the last time I bathed and the dungeon was unkind.” I read her note after she finished clearing the plate.
“I am just happy you are here with me.” I wrote back and was rewarded when her red lips smiled.
“Does this place have a bathroom?”
“There is a bathing room down at the end of the hall. Next door are the toilets.” I wrote the sentences out and then came up with an idea that I thought would work. “I think I can get us there without raising suspicion. Wait here.” She nodded, and I took the empty plate and walked down the three flights of stairs and back to the common room.
“Looks like you enjoyed the breakfast.” The gray-haired innkeeper grinned and took my empty dishes.
“I have to be honest with you about something, Tuirp,” I said slowly. I bit my lip nervously.
“Oh?” His brow furrowed and he sighed.
“Yeah. As I said earlier, the master gave me these next two days off to see the town. I’m not really sick. I came back with a woman last night.”
“Ahh!” His face split into a grin. “That is nothing to worry about, lad.” He nodded his head and smirked. “Although I am surprised I didn’t see her last night.” He tilted his head slightly.
“She is well beyond what I ever thought I could court. If you can recall our earlier conversation about who you thought I was.” I winked at him and his eyes grew wide.
“I told her I was staying here and had just gotten the job.” I brought my voice to an almost silent whisper. Tuirp looked shocked. “She served under Alexia, so I am not surprised you didn’t see or hear her last night.”
“Can she hear us down here?” His eyes were as wide as the dish in his hands.
“I don’t think so, but maybe.” I shrugged.
“My place does have a good reputation,” he stuttered and his face almost matched his hair.
“I wanted to see if I could arrange a private bath with her.” I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small silver disk about the size of the nail on my thumb.
“No need for that, son.” He shook his head nervously when I tried to hand him my money. “You are celebrating quite an accomplishment. I’ll have Selinta and Geya prepare a hot bath in the room and let you know when it is ready. Consider it a gift because you’ve been such a nice guest. You also remind me of myself at your age.” He winked at me when he finished talking and the color returned to his face.
“Thank you, Tuirp. You’ve made my stay very enjoyable.” I hoped I would not have to kill him.
“Can I get you anything else to eat? How about some wine? I want to make sure I stay on good terms with them.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” I pulled out the silver tab again, but he shook his head and loaded another tray up with eggs, bread, fruit, and a jug of wine. Then he yelled back into the kitchen for the servant girls to prepare the bath on the fourth floor and get me when it was ready.
I made the short climb back upstairs and into the room. Iolarathe’s silver eyes widened when I presented the extra food and the jug of wine. She set into the second meal and I listened for the sounds of the serving girls hauling buckets of water up the stairs. Within a few minutes, they were at the task of filling the bathtub at the far end of the hall.
“I am full. Please eat the rest.” She smiled and nudged the plate toward the side of my table. It was three-quarters full, but I wasn’t particularly hungry. Still, tonight would be busy with the mission into Malek’s estate and there was no telling when I would eat again.
“I hear the humans carrying buckets.” She wrote on the journal page after I took a few bites of salty eggs and washed it down with a mouthful of dry wine.
“The innkeeper and I came to an understanding. We will have a private bath.”
“We?” She raised a red copper eyebrow after she wrote the question.
“Unless you would prefer to bathe alone?” I suddenly felt like the boy in the stables again and my cheeks began to burn.
“No. I want to spend every possible second of the rest of my life with you and our daughter,” she scrawled the words hastily. After I read the note our eyes met and she licked her full lips.
I felt desire course through my body. I reminded myself that I was no longer a slave boy waiting for her orders and I reached out my hand and ran it through the crimson hair at the back of her scalp. She gasped softly when my fingers made contact with her skin and then moaned when I pulled her lips to my mouth.
Her lips and tongue felt just as I remembered. They tasted sweet and felt so soft on my mouth that I battled between wanting to slowly savor them and needing to devour her. She bit my lower lip and I was reminded of how dangerous my lover was. Before her teeth sank deep enough to draw blood, she reduced the pressure and I felt her tongue caressing the inside of my mouth again.
Our lips parted and we each gasped. Then she slid into my lap and set my mind spinning with another assault of her lips. Her fingers roamed my chest and neck while our tongues danced. My hands grabbed onto her hips and she began to rock against my lap.
Footsteps moved toward the door so we stopped kissing and parted quietly. Iolarathe slid to a corner of the room that was not visible from the doorway and I had my hand on the doorknob as soon as the girl knocked.
“Your bath is ready, sir.” The girl was probably Tuirp’s granddaughter.
“Thank you. I will be there shortly.”
“We left extra buckets of water and soap, and the door to the latrine is unlocked.” She smiled at me.
“Thanks. I’ll let you know if I need anything else.” I handed her the silver piece I had tried to give Tuirp and her eyes grew large.
“Thank you, sir!” She bowed at the waist and then fled down the stairs.
Once I heard the girl reach the bottom floor I listened for any other activity. The snores of the only other occupant of this floor continued and the rest of the inn seemed to be empty save for the innkeeper and his two girls.
I beckoned to Iolarathe and we walked silently to the bathing room. I heard no other disturbance, but I made a final glance down the hallway before shutting and locking the door.
The room was twenty feet square with four long wooden bathtubs arranged in a row. Two of the tubs were filled with steaming hot water and there was a neat stack of towels, robes, soaps, bottles, and brushes laid atop stools placed nearby. The floor of the room was a polished red wood and it sloped toward each of the four corners where brass drains were located. There were two large windows in the room but thin white cotton curtains were drawn over them so that only soft light filtered through.
Iolarathe silently walked around the bathtubs and then gestured to the only other door in the room. It was opened a crack and she peered inside. Her mouth formed the word for toilet and then she closed the door after she entered.
I moved the thin curtain away from the side of the window and peered out at an angle. It was still mid-morning, perhaps a hair closer to lunch time, and the street traffic moved normally through the avenues. There did not seem to be any discernible change to the pace of the inhabitants below. Rumors were that my old friends were not currently in the city, but there still should have been guards scouring the streets. They had planned on executing her this morning, and by now the O’Baarni must have noticed that I’d taken Iolarathe from her cell and put a corpse in her place.
Even if every guard in the city were searching, there were hundreds of places to hide. I could keep us undiscovered until tonight. I still expected to see soldiers in the street. Had my generals grown so complacent that their commanders did not take their prisoners seriously? Whatever the reason, we just had to get the Ovule tonight and be on the deck of the Sea Dog by morning.
I took off my clothes, folded them, and set them on an empty spot on one of the wooden benches. Then I climbed into the bathtub. The water was extremely hot, but my body quickly grew used to the pain. I felt my muscles begin to relax and the sensation climbed up my spine and temples. My mind calmed along with my body and my eyes dared to close. I forgot all about the lack of soldiers in the streets or the execution that was supposed to be taking place this morning.
Iolarathe came into the room and moved next to my bathtub. I felt my heart begin to hammer into my chest when she reached down and slipped off her dirt and blood-covered garments in one easy movement. Her body was beautiful. Even the grime from her stay in the dungeon could not hide the smoothness of her alabaster skin, the tone of her muscles, and her perfectly proportioned body. Her hair was longer than I remembered. It dripped past her waist like the fiery tail of a comet and I wanted to rub my hands over every inch of her.
She raised a pointed foot and stepped into the bathtub with me. The movement gave me the opportunity to see the wondrous play of muscles in her legs and stomach. She was spread before me for a brief second before her other leg joined her in the water and she slid down into the bubbly depths. The tub was small and probably only meant for one person, so she perched on my shins. Her movement caused half a bucket of water to flow over the top of the tub but it slid across the smooth wood floor and spiraled down the drain pipes.
Iolarathe lay back against the edge of the wood tub. Her knees stuck out of the water but her skin was almost the same color as the bubbles and it blended with the suds. I felt the bottoms of her feet rest on the top of my thighs so I moved my hands from their resting place at the edge of the basin and began to rub the joints of her toes. She closed her eyes and purred at my touch. For a flash of a second we were back in the stables and she was commanding me to take off her boots and wash her feet.
My hands continued to roam her feet and legs, rubbing her muscles until they relaxed against my fingers. Her body felt as tense as mine and I wondered if she was nervous about our quest tonight.
Her silver eyes were half-open and she smiled when she caught me looking at her. The beautiful Elven leaned forward and took a bar of soap from the table. She dipped it into the water, lathered it between her fingers, and then rubbed the suds over my chest, shoulders, and armpits. The suds smelled of lemongrass and oatmeal.
The feel of her hands dancing over my skin was delightful and I couldn’t keep a soft moan from escaping my lips. She scooted closer to me and I crossed my legs under her so that she could wrap her own long legs around my hips.
“If you can’t even control your moans while I rub soap on your chest, you are really going to have a problem when I make love to you.” Her sensual voice was just the faintest of whispers in my ear and her teeth scraped against the lobe after she spoke the words. My heart skipped a beat at the sound of her admission and my stiff penis throbbed against her stomach. She smiled slyly before reaching her left hand into the water between us. I felt her fingers brush against the tip of my member, rub down the shaft, and then push it against her. For a second I thought she would raise her hips and slide me inside of her entrance, but then she squeezed along the base before releasing it with a sigh.
She pushed herself backward to the far side of the tub and gestured with a finger for me to stand. I must have given her an exasperated look because she smirked at me and then waved her finger again. I untied my legs from hers and stood up out of the bathwater. The soapy bubbles cascaded down my body and into the tub. My erection was a few feet from Iolarathe’s mouth and there was no mistaking the hunger in her silver eyes. She ran her tongue over her lips seductively.
She grabbed the bar of soap again and lathered her hands. Then she set it back down and rested her fingers on my erection. I gasped at her touch and I fought to keep from moaning at her caress. The soap made her grip slippery and her slow rub across my erection, around my testicles, and between my thighs caused my legs to tremble with desire.
She lathered more soap and then rubbed down the rest of my legs, shins, and the front of my stomach. Each stroke of her fingers across my skin made my head spin and my breath catch in my throat. I never dreamed that Iolarathe would touch me in this way. We had made love so many times, but the adoration in her face and the complete focus she was giving to my pleasure was new and made my heart race.
“Do you remember when you would wash my feet?” I understood her mouth make the movements more than I actually heard the almost silent whisper.
“Yes.”
She smiled and then motioned for me to turn around. I followed her orders and heard her apply soap to a bristle brush. It lightly scratched my back as she cleaned, and while the sensation wasn’t as pleasant as when she used her fingers I still enjoyed the feel of it scraping against my skin.
“Sit back down and I’ll wash your feet.” I complied with her request and sat in the tub, raising my right foot above the water. She grasped it by the heel and worked her soapy fingers between my toes and along the ridge of my arches. It was agonizingly pleasurable and I understood why Iolarathe had made me rub her feet those many years ago.
A few minutes of the cleansing massage passed and she indicated that she wanted my other foot. I complied and she repeated her administrations while I tried to stifle my moans of pleasure. It felt almost as good as sex, but I was eager for it to end so that I could begin my work on her delicious body.
“Lie back and close your eyes,” she commanded and I was too relaxed and aroused to resist, or even guess at what she had planned for me next. I did as she instructed and heard her open some of the jars arranged on the table by the tub. She made a few sniffing noises and then I felt her fingertips brush my face. First she rubbed the base of my throat gingerly, and then she moved to my jawline and the knots that had formed there from weeks of stress.
Soon she was rubbing my cheeks, temples, and forehead. The scent that filled my nose and the ease with which her fingers slipped across my skin led me to guess she had soap all over her fingers, so I didn’t dare open my eyes. Finally, I felt her body lean over the tub and grab one of the full buckets of water. A trickle of the fresh liquid poured over my face and I was washed clean.
“Keep them closed,” she whispered a second before her mouth made contact with my lips. Iolarathe was straddling me again and my hips unconsciously bucked underneath her in a quest to find her velvety passage. She bit my lip and I let out a gasp before I kissed her passionately.
She pulled away from my lips abruptly and I moaned with sorrow. Then I felt her shift on top of me when she reached for another item on the table. I could smell the lavender on the air and she rubbed some oil in my thick hair and used her nails to scratch my scalp. Her lips found mine again and we explored each other’s tongues with a building hot urgency that made the water start to feel cool.
My hair was relatively short, but there was enough for her to grab, which she did as she broke off our kiss and then moved her mouth to my jawline. There she licked, nibbled, and sucked on my exposed throat until I couldn’t hold back a moan of longing for her.
“Keep your eyes shut.” Her voice was warm honey gently poured over my tongue. It made the hairs on my body stand up with exhilaration every time she risked a whisper to me.
I felt her move to pick up the bucket again and she slowly poured a stream of water over my hair, rubbed my scalp, and then repeated both steps. I heard her set the pail down again and then she administered half a dozen slow kisses around my mouth and neck. Each touch of her lips had me twisting my head in an effort to meet her tongue and when I was finally rewarded with her lips I almost screamed with desire. Every part of my body ached for her and I felt as if I would burst.
“Now it is my turn.” She broke the kiss again and I opened my eyes. She stood from the bath and the soapy water slid down her slick marble body effortlessly. My mouth watered when I gazed upon her wet form and my head began to spin. I felt as if I wanted to wash, rub, lick, suck, and fuck her all at the same time. And never stop until the day that I died.
I grabbed for the bar and lathered it between my hands. Then I reached out to touch Iolarathe’s hips with my fingers. She let out a small sigh of pleasure when our skin made contact and I began to rub the soap over the outside of her thighs. Then down to her knees and finally on the inside of her legs.
The dirt, dried blood, and grime covering her easily came off and more smooth white skin was exposed. After a few minutes of careful scrubbing Iolarathe’s legs and feet were clean. Then I looked at the parts of her body I had left unattended.
When I made my way back to the lips of her entrance I slowly ran a soapy finger along the edges. She let out a gasp of shock and I looked to her face to see her expression. Her eyes were opened with pleasure and she bit her lower lip. I slid my slick finger against her entrance again and then did a few slow rubs of my thumb over the pink nub that was slightly above the tunnel. Her legs started to shake and I teased my finger a quarter of its length into her before I pulled it out and grabbed more soap. The movement made her hiss and I smiled at her while I lathered my hands again.
Her stomach was next. I rubbed across her taut abdominal muscles and her hands couldn’t resist the urge to run along my own arms while I cleaned her. I was reaching upward at a slightly awkward angle so I stood up as well so that I could have access to her breasts.
Her nipples were erect pink pieces of candy and they seemed to get harder when I passed my soapy hands over them. She groaned and her eyes closed when I started to massage the perfectly-shaped orbs. Her right hand found the shaft of my penis and began to stroke and squeeze it in time with the tempo of my fingers on her breasts.
I probably spent more time rubbing each breast than I had spent on the rest of her body, but her gasps of pleasure made me believe that she didn’t mind the attention or the fact that we still stood. My penis felt unbelievably hard and big in her hands but I knew that I couldn’t let her continue to stroke me much longer or I would orgasm.
I added more soap to my palms and washed her arm pits, shoulders, and hands. She stopped stroking me as I worked and I almost couldn’t handle the look of lust on her face. I gently touched her shoulders and turned her around so that she was standing with her back to me.
She bent her lithe body forward slightly and her rounded butt pushed my aching member against her. We both echoed a moan and she rotated her hips back into me so that the base of my shaft rubbed against her wet entrance. All I needed to do was bend my knees, angle my erection forward a bit, and then stand. My right hand found her hip bone and my left reached down around her to confirm that her entrance was ready for me. As soon as my fingers reached her opening Iolarathe let out a gasp of pleasure and simultaneously pushed herself down toward my fingers and into the base of my penis.
I rubbed against her opening and then slipped a single finger into her. She was far wetter than I had imagined and I knew there would be very little effort required for my member to travel its full length into her entrance. Yet we were still somewhat dirty, covered in soap, and I wanted to finish the first part of the bath before I set my mind upon making love to her. So I slid my finger out of her while she groaned in frustration and reached for the glass bottle of soap that was labeled for hair.
Her long red mane took a lot of shampoo to lather, but I soon had most of the task finished and was rubbing her scalp. Iolarathe hummed with pleasure and continued to push her ass back into my erection. Her soapy hair made our bodies slick, so her backward thrusts and twists were agonizingly wonderful. I was tempted with each soft moan she made to just bend over slightly and slide into her. The desire was maddening and I could tell from her deep labored breathing that she wanted me to take her right now.
I reached down to one of the full buckets and rinsed her hair. Once it was clean of the soap I helped her step out of the bath and then poured more of the clean water over her, washing away the last of the dirt and soap bubbles. I exited the wood tub and she did the same for me.
We didn’t speak to each other; we did not need to. Her eyes were wild with lust and my desire was clear. She reached for the tub with the fresh water in it and leaned over against the smooth polished wood. Her back was pointed toward me; I could easily see the pink lips guarding her entrance. She looked over her left shoulder and the movement sent some of her wet hair dangling into the bath.
I wanted nothing more than to make a single deep thrust into her, to crush her body to me, and to impale her on my shaft while she screamed with pleasure. But I knew that even though she was dripping wet, I was still too large for that. Instead I rubbed my tip against her welcoming lips and felt the tremors of her shaking body travel between us through the single intimate point of contact.
Her silver eyes looked half-insane. Her hips squirmed a bit and she tried to push into me so that I would be forced to enter, but I pulled back slightly.
“I love you,” I said softly.
“I love you. Please make love to me again, Kaiyer.” I couldn’t tease her anymore. I wanted her as much as she wanted me. I pushed forward and the head of my erection entered past her lips. I continued halfway into her tunnel before I pulled out a bit and proceeded slower. Her velvet walls squeezed my penis as firmly as the grip of her hand, but eventually I was buried fully in her and we both let out a moan of pleasure. Or maybe it was a sigh of relief that we were together once again.
Iolarathe’s body was quivering and every breath out of her mouth was a whimper of pleasure. By the time I had pulled out most of my length and then slid back into her, the quivers had become full convulsions. Her tunnel clamped around my penis and she fought through a deliciously long orgasm. I grabbed onto her hips and forced myself as deep as I could while she ripped gashes into the side of the tub with her nails, swung her wet hair forward, and tried to keep from screaming.
“Yessss!” Iolarathe hissed out in a long squeal of pleasure. At the moment I didn’t care if any O’Baarni in the inn were spying on us.
“Oh. Oh. Oh!” she cried out again. She stood abruptly and pushed herself back against me. My hands left her hips to find a nipple and the nub of her entrance to caress. I realized that Iolarathe was probably trying to escape the pleasure, but I was too strong for her and she couldn’t pry herself from my arms. She twisted and convulsed when I rubbed the new spots and her orgasm seemed to have an additional climax to it.
“Mmmuuuahh. Ahhhh. Errrrrr!” she moaned a series of long releases and then finally seemed to relax. I stopped rubbing and just embraced her. The feeling of Iolarathe’s skin and hair against the full front of my body while I was still deep inside of her was close to euphoria. I could have held her like this for hours.
The best part was that I knew there was more to come.
“I forgot how good you are!” Iolarathe gasped between ragged breaths that shook her shoulders. I released her and she leaned over the wooden tub.
Her entrance felt even damper than it had when I first entered her, so I withdrew again and then slowly thrust back into her passage. My hands again returned to her hips and I repeated the motion at the same pace until she began to moan again. She looked over her shoulder at me and her eyes told me how much she was enjoying it.
I increased the pace of my thrusting and pulled on her hips to get an angle that would ensure that I slid against the back side of her wet velvety walls. Her body was gorgeous bent over before me and I could feel the heat of her entrance begin to build after only a few more minutes of me deeply penetrating her.
“Ummmm,” she whined and her legs started to quake. I took my hands away from her hips and moved the right to cup her breast and pinch the nipple there. My left hand rubbed up and down her back. Then I grabbed onto her hair and pulled her so that her body bent backward like a bow against my deep thrusts into her entrance.
Iolarathe exploded into another orgasm as soon as I pulled her fiery hair. I had to let go of my grip on her mane after a few seconds of her thrashing; I was nervous that I would rip some of it out because she was convulsing so wildly. She drove back against me but there was little more room for me to penetrate her any deeper. Then she pushed her face into the clean water of the tub she leaned over and I could hear the diluted sound of her screaming with pleasure. This climax didn’t last as long as her first one, but it was just as violent and I was glad I was no longer the delicate human that I once had been. Even though my lover had not done anything to harm me, her pleasure was so raw and uninhibited that I guessed she might hit me with a stray limb. If I wasn’t constantly under the power of the Earth such an accident could kill me.
“I need you to fill me!” she gasped after she had pulled her face from the water and her tremors had subsided. She looked over her shoulder at me again and licked her lips. Her words filled me with a heated purpose and I slid my hands down her wet back and clutched at her slender hips again.
There was no gentleness in my thrusts now. I pushed into her as fast, deep, and hard as I could. She clung to the side of the full bathtub and I had to slow down my tempo after the wooden vessel began to buck from our combined strength. Her entrance was so incredibly tight around my shaft, so wonderfully wet, and her body felt like it fit against my skin perfectly.
I couldn’t tell how long I thrust myself into her body but I felt the familiar sense of buildup begin in my lower stomach. She must have sensed it too, because she reached up her left hand off the edge of the tub and used it to stifle a scream of pleasure.
“Can you . . .” I gasped and ran my nails over her pristinely smooth back. Iolarathe turned her head into my face. Her silver eyes were glowing wildly and she bit down on the side of her hand to keep from screaming. A small stream of her blood was dripping down the side of her arm from where her teeth met her white skin. She nodded urgently and the agreement from the beautiful Elven woman was enough to send me over the edge.
I pushed a last time into her entrance, as deep as I felt I could go without hurting her, and felt my body release. My seed poured out of me in a mixture of icy pain and fire. She screamed against her hand and bucked against me like an untamed horse. My orgasm didn’t seem to stop. I felt myself contract over and over, filling her womb. Finally, I was able to relax and we leaned against each other and the side of the wooden tub.
“Amazing,” she muttered breathily with exhaustion and pleasure. We spent a few more minutes catching our breath and she spoke again. “You filled me with so much,” she laughed slightly, “and you are still so hard inside of me. Could you go again?” I nodded and she bit her bloody lip.
“Ah,” she sighed. “Tempting. But we should finish this bath, the water is almost cold and we have probably risked more than enough noise.” She shifted her body and my wet penis slipped out of her. She drifted back to the toilet room and returned shortly.
She slid into the water with me and we lay there for a few minutes. Her head against my chest and my arms around her shoulders. My erection was still standing proudly and even though my body was humming from the pleasure of our lovemaking; I knew that I could fuck her for the rest of the next week and not feel tired. Her hands did find my shaft and she played with it for a few minutes before kissing me passionately again.
“I need fresh clothes. Something dark for tonight,” she whispered in my ear after my mind stopped spinning from the kiss.
“I can go buy something.”
“I’ll wear the robe back to our room. Pick up the new clothes and return quickly. There are still a handful of hours before sunset and I wish to enjoy them with you in our room.” She smiled at me and one of her hands gently stroked my face while the other one attended to the tip of my penis.
“If things go poorly tonight, this may be our last chance to love each other.”
I nodded at her words but thought better than to reassure her. The plan was sound and the only way we would fail was if one of my friends guessed I was in the city and would go after this magical device with Iolarathe. That was unlikely.
Soon we would be free of this place and reunited with our daughter. Then our lives would truly begin.
Chapter 32-Kaiyer
“Pretender!” Turnia’s voice smacked me from my memory violently and I jumped in surprise.
“What did you ask?” I squirmed back into my seat on the pillow and tried to hide my erection. The memory of making love to Iolarathe was wonderful, but it had come at a very awkward moment and I couldn’t quite place what had happened in the last few minutes. The empress, Dissonti, and Vernine stared at me with wide-eyed shock. I didn’t know how long the recollection had captivated me or if I had spoken or moaned, but based on their faces, I feared I had revealed exactly what I had dreamed of.
Turnia’s blue eyes glared at me for a few moments before she spoke.
“I asked what conditions you had. Then you sat there and stared at the floor.”
“My mind wandered. I apologize.”
“I am eager to bring this to a close, Pretender. Tell me what you want and then give me your testimony.” She seemed to relax a bit, but her two guards still eyed me skeptically.
My mind raced and I struggled to remember what I had intended to ask. The memories meshed with the feeling of bathing with Iolarathe, but once I recalled the earlier part of the memory with my lover, I felt more confident about my plan, though it was still incredibly risky.
“You said that I will be given comforts and pleasure for the remainder of our journey?”
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“What does that include?”
“A larger tent, new clothes, as much food as you want, and regular baths. I could even allow the removal of your shackles,” the hawk-featured woman said.
“How about companionship every night?”
“I could arrange a nightly massage, but I won’t force any of my people to fuck you, Pretender.” She shook her head.
“I am not inferring that one of your women fucks me.”
“Then?” Her word hung in the air for a few seconds before I saw the realization dawn on her face.
“You said you would torture and execute her if I confirmed your suspicions,” I said.
“Yes. That is my intention.” She nodded slowly and I couldn’t read her expression.
“Give her to me for the duration of our trip. After I am executed you can do what you will with her.”
“No.” Telaxthe realized that we were speaking about her and seethed the word. “I would rather die.” The empress wasn’t begging or demanding, but her eyes were molten fire and glared at me with the heat of a dozen suns.
“If only everyone could choose their fate, Telaxthe. I know my brother would have preferred to die in a nobler way.” Turnia turned back to me and our eyes met for a few seconds.
“I wonder at your motivation,” she said at last.
“I am attracted to their kind. I find her beautiful even though she hates me. The knowledge that she finds me disgusting will add some spice to our fucking.” The words were distasteful in my mouth, but they needed to be said to convince Turnia. Part of it was true. I did find Telaxthe beautiful and she did hate me, but I would not force a woman into sex.
“I doubt I will be able to let you possess her after I deliver you to the Council. So I will only commit to keeping her alive until then.”
“But you can ask them?”
“Yes. But I doubt they will want to give you any of the comforts I have promised. I will ask.” She shook her head slowly. “I do not know if you are ill in the mind or diabolical in your heart. I do know that you are not the real Kaiyer by any stretch of the imagination. The Betrayer loathed the Elvens and would have had nothing to do with their women.”
I shrugged my shoulders and turned to the empress. She stared straight ahead into the blank canvas of the tent and did not make eye contact with me. Vernine’s ruby eyes met mine and I wondered if she guessed at my intentions.
“What of Dissonti, Vernine, and the empress’s servants? Will they be free to go as you promised?” I wanted to ensure Vernine would live through this ordeal.
“I said Dissonti could leave safely if Telaxthe cooperated.” Turnia turned to the empress and the Elven woman gave a slight nod but didn’t adjust her gaze. “If Vernine and these servants had no part in my brother’s murder, then they may leave as well. We can determine that after the empress gives you the information you want and you tell me of my brother. Is there anything else?”
“Yes. The empress has some Mastkur.” As soon as the words left my mouth the three O’Baarni women leaned slightly.
“She does?” Turnia raised a dark blonde eyebrow and regarded Telaxthe. Her cool demeanor seemed to crack for a half a second.
“A few pounds. I would like to enjoy it with you on the night before we leave this world.”
“I will gladly agree to that,” she said to me without looking in my direction. “Where do you keep the Mastkur, bitch?” Turnia asked Telaxthe. The empress turned to one of her servants and nodded. The man rushed out through the rear curtain and I assumed he would produce the intoxicating meat shortly.
“What else?” Turnia looked back at me.
“That is all.” I shrugged again and forced my face to make a dumb smile.
“Fine.” She turned to the empress. “Tell this Pretender what he thinks he needs to know. If you try to withhold anything, I’ll have Dissonti butchered in front of you.” The jade-haired woman aimed her emerald eyes at Turnia and bit her lower lip with frustration. She didn’t seem afraid, just annoyed.
“I will comply if it means any of my kin can be spared,” Telaxthe said. The male servant came from the back of the tent carrying a large cedar chest. He walked to his empress, but she indicated with a nod of her head to place the treasure before Turnia.
“This is illegal for you to possess, Telaxthe.” Turnia shook her head when the Elven set down the chest. “Open it,” she commanded and the man did so with great reverence.
I couldn’t see because of the angle of the lid, but I did smell the euphoric meat drift through the air. The two women next to Turnia had mirrored expressions of awe and desire plain on their pretty faces. Their leader remained composed, but I guessed from the widening of her pupils that she desired the flesh as much as her companions.
“Perhaps I owe you a few favors, Pretender. It is possible that I would have never discovered this bounty without you.” She made a small smile, closed the chest, and then turned slightly to the empress. “Begin now.”
Telaxthe exhaled and then faced me.
“Nyarathe’s journals are the main source of this information since Iolarathe left no written record.” She addressed Turnia, “The O’Baarni were never interested in documenting any of their past, so most of what happened following our war was lost.”
“Our sklads tell the tales of the Betrayer, and they are common knowledge now.” I was surprised Turnia even bothered to defend herself against Telaxthe.
“Five thousand years can corrupt stories, but that is another argument.” The empress turned her eyes back to me. I was surprised at the control she had over her emotions, but Telaxthe had not risen to lead the Elven people by displaying her feelings openly. Still, death loomed over her shoulder, and I was sure she felt great despair in spite of her apparent composure.
“In these journals, Nyarathe documented most of the war efforts and the various strategies her sister employed.” The empress paused for a moment and then glanced back to Dissonti before continuing.
“Nyarathe escaped after the Destroyer’s armies defeated the dragons. She led a few hundred refugees away from the battle and to the deserts of Green Solo. Eventually she settled there and occupied herself with saving our race from the humans. Iolarathe also survived and found her sister ten or twelve years after the war.”
“You don’t know the exact date?” I asked. The detail probably didn’t matter in the long run but I thought it odd that Telaxthe’s records were not dated correctly.
“No. I don’t have all of her journals, unfortunately. Many have been lost throughout the years or been rewritten by our elders.”
“Sounds like your written history is not much better than our spoken word,” Turnia mocked.
“Our kind has endured thousands of years of oppression from your people. You’ve hunted our skulls, denied us freedoms, and burned thousands of our temples. We would still have the documents if not for your kind,” the empress said the words softly and Turnia’s mocking smile faded.
“Hunted skulls?” The term sounded odd to me. I could understand killing Elvens, but why make sport of their bones?
The group of Elvens and O’Baarni turned to me with a combined look of puzzlement. Even the Elven servants gazed upon me as if I was asking them what color the blue sky was. The empress tilted her head and her bronze hair fell down to one side of her neck like a waterfall.
“The O’Baarni use our skulls to make Ovules,” she stated, as if explaining a basic fact of life to a child.
“Why?” Her explanation didn’t make sense to me.
“That is how they are created.” Dissonti’s emerald eyes bored into mine with a strange intensity.
“That is the only way?” I recalled a memory of molten heat covering my head and endless screams. It made my skin crawl and my heart began to race.
“Yes. It is the only way. And Ovules are the only objects that power the Radicles,” Dissonti said. “You did not know this?”
“No.” I sighed and shook my head. “Why did you ever think that your people could be free?” I asked Telaxthe. “The O’Baarni live too long. They need access to other worlds or they will destroy each other with overpopulation.”
“Is it so foolish to want freedom for your people? Even if the odds against you are unmeasurable?” Her amber eyes narrowed. “You know the answer.”
“It is not our purpose to destroy the Elvens, Pretender. My brother and I were the loudest voices that demanded they be allowed to have this world. They earned it from victory at the Games,” Turnia said. “That is why I am so outraged by Telaxthe’s betrayal!” the O’Baarni leader seethed and the tension in the already electric air seemed to come close to a boil.
“I can understand your anger.” I had to calm down the situation. At least until the empress told me what I needed to know. “My father and brother were murdered while I watched.”
“Then you are a coward. You should have defended them.” Her blue eyes cracked for a second, maybe only a part of a second, and I could see the terrible pain behind them.
“I was only a human. I wanted to die with them but their murderer thought torture was a better punishment. I finally escaped and then set out on the path of revenge.” Turnia recovered from her emotions by the time I finished speaking and she turned her attention back to the empress. Then the sharp-featured woman motioned with a twisting finger that she wished the Elven to continue.
“Accompanying Iolarathe was a child. The writings describe her as fiercely intelligent and curious. The girl was a half-breed,” Telaxthe said.
“Human and Elven?” Turnia asked. The anger was gone from her voice and she seemed genuinely curious.
“So the journals say.”
“Then your writings are wrong,” the tall O’Baarni woman said. “I’ve been alive for seventy-two years and never heard of such a thing. Our kind cannot make children with yours.”
“Nyarathe’s writings indicate that she believed as you did. Her sister claimed that the child was Kaiyer’s. The girl confirmed the story.”
“The Betrayer was captured after the war. Even if he had a child, it wouldn’t have been with one of your whores. The man was only interested in taking Shlara from Malek,” Turnia stated factually. I wanted to scream at her to shut her fucking mouth but held back my rage. There was nothing good that could come from me telling the woman any sort of truth.
“Is there more?” I asked. I kept my voice at a whisper.
“Nyarathe wrote that they only stayed with her for a single night. Iolarathe believed that she was being followed by warriors from Shlara or Alexia’s army. The child asked her mother to sketch her father’s face. The writing in the journals confirmed that there were apparent similarities between the human man’s face and the child that Iolarathe claimed was her daughter.”
“Was the child named in the writings?” My heart leaped into my chest and the edges of my vision began to cloud.
“No.” She shook her head and the breath left my body with a cold rush of defeat. I didn’t know what I expected, but I wished there had been at least a name. Maybe even a better description of the girl. Something, anything that could have given me hope that I would know her better.
But even this small scrap was worth my trouble. I remembered being in Nyarathe’s home and the canvas that her daughters had knocked over when they fled. I wish I would have known that my lover created the drawing for our daughter to view.
Why had the girl not taken it with her?
“Is there anything else?” My voice cracked and I blinked away tears. Fuck. I didn’t want any weakness to show in front of these women, but my emotions were a flooding river in my chest.
“They left the next morning. Iolarathe refused to tell her sister their destination. She was convinced that it would put them all at risk.”
I recalled my earlier memory. Iolarathe had told me that our daughter went through the Radicle and was waiting for her mother on the other side. This information from Telaxthe did not give any hints I could use to help confirm her location or even if the girl was still alive.
“There is one more part you might find interesting. A few days after Iolarathe left, her spies reported that a single traveler had entered the tavern in the settlement.”
“Deadflats,” I said. Telaxthe nodded at the name I gave for the small salt city, not revealing any surprise that I remembered it. She knew who I was.
“There were O’Baarni stationed in this town. Nyarathe always thought their presence strange and she documented the dates she saw them replaced with fresh troops. They were posted at the city for some reason, but didn’t seem to be investigating any Elven presence there. In fact, Nyarathe suspected that the O’Baarni actually knew she was operating in Deadflats, but didn’t care. They made a point to speak to every stranger that ever entered the city. On this particular night, a few days after her sister visited, Nyarathe had the epiphany that Kaiyer was still alive and was being hunted by his army. Sure enough, this new arrival was the Destroyer and the O’Baarni in the city attempted to capture him.”
“Lies. He was caught immediately after he killed Shlara. The man was dead.” One of Turnia’s women spoke suddenly and her leader silenced her with a cutting glare.
“Nyarathe saved Kaiyer from being captured and then brought him back to her home. She wrote that she couldn’t kill the father of the child she had met, though the man deserved to die a hundred thousand torturous deaths.” Telaxthe’s eyes narrowed at me and I knew that she agreed with her ancestor.
I nodded and tried to fight against the agony in my stomach. I asked myself why Nyarathe hadn’t told me of my daughter but the answer was obvious. The woman hated me. I recalled the time I spent in her home and the feeling of my hand around her throat. I had almost killed my lover’s sister. It was odd to think that if I had squeezed just a little harder for a few more seconds then Telaxthe would not be sitting here right now.
But if there was no Telaxthe, there would have been no Nadea. The duchess would not have awoken me. I would not be sitting here right now hearing the story of how close I came to finding the woman that I loved and the child she had created with me. In some ways their invasion of this world was my fault. Then I recalled that Nyarathe already had two girl children. I didn’t know if the empress and Fehalda were descended from them or another child of Iolarathe’s sister.
“It sounds like your tale has come to an end, Telaxthe,” Turnia said. She turned her head to me and spoke with her usual calmness. “I can’t imagine you are satisfied with this information.”
“Any knowledge can be priceless when the topic is most important,” I said. “She led me to believe that there was more, but perhaps I was a fool to think so.”
“You are most certainly a fool. No one claims to be the Betrayer unless they wish to die.”
“Is there anything more you can tell me?” I asked Telaxthe again. My friends believed that Spirits of their dead family and lovers protected them, so I said a silent prayer to them.
“No,” Telaxthe said flatly and I knew she spoke the truth. “Will you release my people now?” she asked Turnia. The two women stared at each other for a silent half-minute before the O’Baarni clan leader answered.
“How will I ensure that you cooperate as the Pretender’s concubine?”
Telaxthe’s jaw clenched and she inhaled slowly. I could hear her heart pounding in her chest, but for a quarter of a minute she didn’t say anything. Finally, she smiled slightly and spoke.
“You have not heard this man’s conviction of me yet. You told me that you would let Dissonti leave. Please show mercy on my people and I will gladly fulfill whatever you ask of me.”
“You are right, Telaxthe. I have not heard the Pretender’s story.” She turned to me. “What do you think? Should I let Dissonti leave or should we keep her around so that the empress bitch has incentive to wet your dick enthusiastically?”
Perhaps Turnia suspected that I requested the Elven woman’s presence for something other than sexual needs. Maybe she thought that I had a desire to escape or prevent the empress from being put to death.
“I do not care.” I shrugged my shoulders and let out an easy breath. “I am also at your mercy. As I only have a few more weeks of life before I am delivered to your Council, if she doesn’t satisfy me, I’ll just tell you I am done and you can begin the torture. She is proud and said earlier that she would prefer death over my bed, but I am a good lover. Once she feels my member between her legs, she will prefer me fucking her to torture.” Turnia nodded at my words but the empress, Vernine, and even the aloof Dissonti glared at me.
“Fine. I will make a decision after you speak of my brother, Pretender.”
“Perhaps it is best to start at the beginning.” I had already planned what I would say to the group, so the words came easily.
“A group of humans awoke me from a long slumber. I was in a Radicle. My memory was lost and I did not recall my name.” I had debated telling Turnia of the writing Malek left for me on the stone bed, but I decided it would just anger her.
“These humans knew nothing of the sklad legends. Their world was being invaded by monsters that called themselves Ancients, and they had writings of someone named the O’Baarni that had once defeated them.”
“Idiots.” One of Turnia’s women shook her head.
“Telaxthe used the name to inspire fear in the native people of this world. She hoped that this would cause less conflict, but the humans resisted her conquests, so a short war broke out. The people that woke me thought I could save them from the Elvens and they took me back to their castle. One of the men in the group was named Iarin.”
“Yes,” Turnia said. I expected her to say more, but when she didn’t I reasoned that she knew the tall man’s side of my story and I would have to adjust what I was going to say slightly.
“Some of my memories were beginning to return and I recalled my past. I knew my name was Kaiyer and I had memories of leading an army against the Elvens. While I was in the castle, a group of them attacked, kidnapped the king’s daughter, and I followed them. While I was away from the city, one of Telaxthe’s generals conquered it. When I returned, I attempted to rescue my human friends, but I was also captured by Alatorict and ended up meeting the empress as a prisoner.
“Telaxthe, like you, assumed I was a Pretender and just wanted me to leave this world, since it was illegal for her to kill me.” Turnia nodded. Her eyes were set upon me with a ferocity that made me wonder if she believed me.
“Then Kannath came.” I took a breath and shrugged my shoulders with a smile. “My goal was to escape my imprisonment so I could save the humans of this world from the rule of the invading Elvens. When Kannath came he also accused me of being a Pretender and insisted on taking me back with him to face trial and execution. I promised to give Telaxthe some information if she helped me escape Kannath.”
“What was this information?” Turnia interrupted me.
“The empress wanted to know the location of the Radicle I came through.” Turnia stared at me intently and I knew she didn’t believe me.
“She wants to destroy them,” I explained before Turnia could question me. The O’Baarni woman turned her bright blue eyes to Telaxthe.
“You fucking bitch. Destroy the Radicles? Are you insane? Did you think that would actually work?” I turned my head to look at the empress, but her face might as well have been carved out of marble. Her expression didn’t change and her eyes stared into the empty space between Turnia and me. Vernine’s red eyes blazed with intensity. I wondered if the woman would be willing to leave her empress’s side.
“Kannath was just performing his duty and I told Telaxthe that she had to kill him. She resisted, but I didn’t see any other way I could free myself since I knew I could never beat him in combat. We agreed that once I returned I would tell her of the Radicle and she would tell me of my daughter.” I knew Turnia would believe this; it was easier to buy an impossible lie that protected your beliefs than a disillusioning truth.
“So who killed my brother and his warriors?” Turnia asked.
“Fehalda and her troops. They followed Kannath and me to a campsite. You saw what happened.” Silence hung in the air. Turnia nodded and her head bowed for a few seconds.
“Did you have any part in this?” The O’Baarni woman raised her head and looked at Vernine.
“No. She was not one of Fehalda’s assassins,” I said, perhaps a bit too quickly.
“No, Turnia. I was at the castle by my empress’s side,” Vernine said. Her voice was monotonous and I realized that the pewter-haired woman had already accepted that she would die today.
“Did you know of this plan?”
“No, Turnia,” Vernine said after a slight hesitation.
“How about you?” Turnia looked to Dissonti.
“I know of things past, present, and future.” Dissonti’s eyes seemed to dance like green waves.
“Don’t speak in riddles, bitch. I am deciding your fate,” Turnia growled. I saw Vernine’s grip on her sword tighten.
“When the Destroyer spoke the words I saw the conversation unfold in my memory. At the time I was sitting on a bench many hundreds of yards away speaking to your brother about Kaiyer’s combat abilities.”
Turnia looked puzzled for a few seconds before she spoke. “This doesn’t explain how I came across you, Fehalda, and Vernine walking back to the human’s castle.” Her eyes focused on me again.
“After Kannath was killed, Fehalda and I had an argument. We fought and she beat me into unconsciousness. When I awoke she had left.”
“What did you argue about?”
“She asked what her sister and I spoke of. I told her to go fuck herself with the sharp end of her sword.” I shrugged. “Then I woke up next to the dead bodies of Kannath and his warriors. I ran back to the castle and assumed that the empress had betrayed me. My human friends were prisoners now since Telaxthe controlled the castle. I freed them but we were separated. Our plan was to meet at the Eastern Mountains, but when I reached the destination Vernine and Fehalda were already there. Fehalda said that the empress would keep her word and tell me of my daughter and she would kill my friends if I did not return. So I returned.”
Turnia nodded and sat back on the pillow. She didn’t say anything for almost a minute and the tension in the air was electric. I had only included the most believable parts of the truth, she would have accused me of lying if I had been honest about the last few years. Had it really been that long? Time was difficult to gauge after all I had remembered. I had lived hundreds of lifetimes and slept through hundreds more. I counted the seasons carefully and realized that it had been close to two years since Nadea had called me forth in the Radicle. It was autumn now, the second one since I had awoken on this world.
“Telaxthe, you have committed multiple crimes against the clans.” Turnia suddenly spoke and the tension increased with her words.
“Your entire race deserves to be annihilated, just as the Betrayer wanted.” Turnia shifted in her seat and her voice cracked. “My brother was a friend and advocate for your race. He was impressed by your fortitude and cleverness. You repaid his kindness with treachery and murder, yet I know that if he could speak to me from behind the grave, he would still want me to forgive you and feel sympathetic to the plight of your people.” Telaxthe nodded, but the creeping fear soon overtook her composure.
“But, if my brother were in my place, and you had killed me instead, he would have already exacted revenge. He would have set his rage upon your people, innocent or not.” Turnia and Telaxthe stared at each other for a few seconds, then Turnia continued, “So feel fortunate that you betrayed the stronger of us. I will allow your servants, Vernine, and Dissonti to leave my camp unharmed. Your other guards are already dead. You will serve as the Pretender’s concubine for the remainder of our journey. Then I shall delight in ending your miserable existence. After you are disposed of, I will beseech the Council to rid this world of the Elven scourge and free the humans you have overtaken.
“And as you die, know I will dedicate the rest of my life, all of my strength, energy, and power, to ridding the universe of your race. We will enslave every one of your people and farm your skulls for Ovules. My clan will rise to dominate the others, the Two Bears will colonize every planet. Each life we take from an Elven, each skull we harvest will send us to another world to find and eliminate thousands more.”
Telaxthe’s face finally cracked and a single tear dripped from each eye. Her jaw clenched and I could hear the sound of her breath come out in painful gasps of agony. Vernine was moments away from drawing her sword, but then the empress raised her hand.
“Can they leave now?” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper.
“I suggest that they scurry back to the rest of your army quickly and leave no path for my scouts to track.” Telaxthe nodded and turned to Vernine.
“Make sure she returns safely.”
“As you command, empress.” Vernine nodded with renewed composure.
“I have seen how this ends.” Dissonti sighed and stood up from her seat with a swish of her gown.
“And how does it end?” Turnia smirked.
“Everyone that opposes him suffers the same fate. If his generals could not kill him, your Council will also fail.” The jade-haired woman turned to me and said the words as if she was commenting on something unimportant.
“The Pretender will face his punishment, as will your empress, and eventually you will too, Dissonti. This is just a stay of execution. When I return to this world, I will come for you.”
“He isn’t a Pretender, Turnia, and you will never return to this world.” Dissonti nodded at Telaxthe and then seemed to float through the door. Her empress nodded back, but the movement seemed odd. I wondered if Dissonti was the other Singleborn. Vernine saluted one last time, opened her mouth as if to speak, closed it, and then turned to follow Dissonti out of the tent. When she passed me our eyes met but I couldn’t decipher the flurry of emotions in my ex-lover’s ruby eyes.
“Please return with Vernine and Dissonti,” Telaxthe said to her servants. I knew that they were trained warriors and bodyguards who would gladly die for the empress, but they nodded at her command and they solemnly filed out of the exit.
This left Telaxthe, Turnia, her two warrior women, and me in the empress’s grand pavilion.
“We will depart in an hour.” Turnia stood as gracefully as a panther and her guards followed the movement. “You may make use of this tent during the rest of our sojourn. I will have guards around the perimeter, Pretender, so do not think that our agreement allows you to flee.”
“I understand.” I nodded and began to relax. Vernine, Dissonti, and Telaxthe were still alive. The outcome could have been much worse.
“We will tell you when it is time to begin traveling again. My staff will tear down this tent and set it up each night.” The three women walked toward the exit.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Pretender.” Turnia was a few feet away from the stairs leading out of the pavilion when she turned around. “I hope your request to keep Telaxthe alive for a few extra weeks is not part of some grander scheme.”
“No,” I answered and I felt my stomach twist into knots.
“Good. I have over a hundred warriors here and there will be thousands more once we reach Green Solo. There is no escape for you or this Elven bitch.” Turnia smiled like a pleased cat and her two flanking warriors mirrored her expression. Then the three women turned and walked up the stairs.
Telaxthe and I were alone on the circle of pillows.
We stared at each other for half a minute without speaking. I listened to the conversations from the campsite surrounding our tent. Those sounds had been absent during our meal and I wondered how long Turnia had this ploy planned. A few hundred yards away I picked out the voice of the O’Baarni leader telling someone to bury all the Elven corpses. Then she spoke again and assigned guards to the empress’s pavilion. Turnia told them to listen for sounds of us fucking and if they didn’t hear any in the next five minutes to come and get her.
“Do you think she will actually let Dissonti and Vernine leave?” I asked.
“Fuck you, Kaiyer,” she whispered, and the expression of anger on her face reminded me of the last conversation I had with Nadea.
I sighed and stood. The dishes from the meal were still arranged by each pillow but I stepped around them and walked toward the empress. She stood with a graceful movement and took a small step away from me.
“I will not enjoy this. I will curse you every time your vile body violates me!” she seethed and spat the words.
“Shut up and take off your clothes.” I sighed again and shook my head. I said the words loudly and hoped the guards heard. She didn’t move to remove her garments and I raised my voice again. “I can just tell Turnia you aren’t cooperating.”
“Vernine and Dissonti are probably dead already.” Her voice faded into a whisper.
“Do you want to risk it?” I shrugged, pointed my finger at her, and twirled it around.
“Fuck. You. Kaiyer.” She reached down to the silk belt on her robe and untied it with a practiced move. The garment fell open and she shrugged her slender shoulders in a motion that made it slide off of her body with a swish. Underneath the robe she wore a thin green embroidered pair of lace shorts. A matching lace cover hugged her small round breasts. She started to remove the undergarments.
“Stop,” I commanded and her hands froze. Her hair hung over part of her face and she looked up from the ground with a single eyebrow raised and a furious gleam in her eyes.
“Come here.” I beckoned with a finger and opened my arms as if to embrace her. She dropped her arms and I could hear her teeth begin to grind. She took a hesitant step, then another, and then she stood before me. I wrapped my arms around her beautiful body and pulled her against me.
“How long will it take for you to teach Jessmei how to close the Radicles?” My voice was a fraction of a whisper and I muttered the question into the empress’s pointed ear. It was hard to ignore her scent while holding her so closely. It was a mixture of pine, lavender, and lilac.
“Months. Perhaps a year,” she whispered back into my own ear.
“We are going to have to steal their Ovules and escape,” I explained so softly I almost could not hear my own voice, but my lips were touching the inside of her ear now so I hoped she understood.
“You are speaking madness.” One of her hands reached up to my hair to hold my head while she whispered.
“Do you want to die? Do you have a better idea? We find out where they keep the Ovules, steal them, and then get back to Nia and your army. Then we kill these fuckers, and Jess closes the Radicles so no more can come through.”
“Is this your idea of a plan? It won’t work.” The closeness of her body combined with her hand on my head and her scent was bringing me to a state of arousal. I wondered if she was using her magic to control me again, but perhaps she didn't need the power. The way I held her body pushed her firm breasts into my chest. I debated dropping my hands to the small of her back but that would only bring our hips closer together.
“You would be dead right now if I hadn’t begged for you to stay with me, and you’ve yet to tell me a better plan. Are you going to give up now? We are still alive and I plan on staying that way and staying on this world.”
“No. I am not going to give up. There has to be a better plan. I will think of one.”
“Did you find out how many days we have left?” I could hear conversation outside of the tent. A voice asked why it was so quiet inside. It seemed that Turnia took her mandates seriously.
“Less than a week. Was this your intent, to keep me alive? Why?”
“I’d rather be on this world than dead by their Council.” She tilted her head away from my mouth and studied my face for a second. The anger in her eyes was gone and she pulled her mouth to my ear. A shiver went down my spine and I wished I did not find her so attractive. She looked too much like Nadea and it didn’t help that she was mostly naked and in my arms.
“Thank you. This does not mean I forgive you for all the horrors that you have inflicted upon my kind, but it is a small step.” It surprised me that she actually voiced the words of gratitude. “I will cooperate, and if the Dead Gods bless us with a massive amount of luck, we might be successful. At least we will live for a few more days,” she finished.
“We aren’t going to be able to do much of anything if Turnia suspects we are conspiring. If we can sound convincing, they might leave us our privacy.”
“What if they come down and see that we aren’t naked?” Her voice had another hint of anger to it.
“Then I’ll rip off my clothes and fuck you. If you don’t want that to happen, you better make your moans convincing.” I pushed her away from my ear and let go of her body. We stood a few feet apart now, but she didn’t make any noise. A few dozen seconds passed and I frantically waved my arms at her and shot the Elven woman a glare. She let out a long breath, inhaled, and began to moan as if she was in the throes of passion.
It only took a few seconds for my manhood to let me know that Telaxthe’s efforts were more than satisfactory.
Chapter 33-Iolarathe
“We need to accompany you,” Relyara said again. My sister and brother nodded, but I shook my head for the twentieth time.
“No.”
“Why?” the blue-haired woman asked. “This is insane and you will be destroyed if they are actually in the cave.”
“They might not even be in there. If they are, then I want to be alone so that they know that I mean them no harm.”
“Can I speak to you privately before you enter?” Nyarathe was angry, they all were, but her eyes were pits of tar and she smelled of hot coals.
“Fine.” It wasn’t the first time she had asked me since we arrived at the mouth of the dragon’s cave yesterday and I already knew what she was going to tell me.
I took another look at the large maw of black depth hidden under a rocky outcropping on the south side of the central peak. I had used the artifact Nyarathe and I had found in the tower to pinpoint the rough location of the lair. My scouts had found it after two weeks of searching the precarious surfaces of the jagged mountains. The wind here blew ice-cold and it carried the scent of snow, pine, and terror.
The terror was my own.
“I know why you are doing this,” she said when we were far enough away from the group to prevent them from overhearing.
“Because I want to win this war!” I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest.
“No. You are taking the coward’s way out.” She glared at me and I could taste her anger like a red pepper.
“I do feel like a coward. I am terrified of entering that cavern.” I smiled at the white woman and thought about how much I had changed in the last few decades. Though Nyarathe was my most beloved sister, there was a time when I would have killed anyone who would dare to call me a coward. Even her.
“You don’t want to face him.” She leveled a finger at me. The frigid wind caught her snow-colored hair and it spun behind her like a tornado. I tasted more pine on the air and it helped calm me. I wondered where the scent originated. We were well above the tree line and had not seen anything with needles for two days of marching.
“Who?” I asked, though I knew the answer.
“Kaiyer, damn it! You know where this battle will end. You don’t think we will win and you hope that the dragons are still somewhere in that cave. You hope that they will kill you. You want to be rid of this problem.” She shook her head and I could smell the pain and remorse coming from her body like a rotting lime.
“We aren’t going to win.” When I said the words her eyes opened wide and her scent changed to one of fear. “Even with the dragon’s aid, it will not be possible. Have you seen Kaiyer in combat? It is too late for us, Sister. This is the only chance, and it is slim.”
“No. There is another way,” she said.
“Are you going to tell me about these bullshit other worlds and those towers?”
“Yes. There are free worlds for our people. I just need time to figure out how we can reach them,” she pleaded.
“Fine. I’ll just ask Kaiyer not to destroy our kind. He’ll gladly take that truce. He destroyed half of our race because he just wanted an apology from me.” I closed my eyes and a small part of me wished that the dragons would eat me.
“Have you tried that?” Her question surprised me and I stared at her. When my eyes couldn’t tell if she was jesting, I ran my tongue over my lips to detect any sarcasm. There was none.
“Meet with him. Offer a truce. Give him what he wants and buy us some time so I can figure out how these Radicles function.”
“What if he wants my death?” I asked the obvious question.
“Would you be willing to die to save us?” Her eyes narrowed.
“There would be no guarantee that he would be satisfied with only my death. We are assuming these shrines work the way you hope, and that you will be able to figure out how to use them in time.” I inhaled her scent and raised my hands away from my chest in a motion of surrender. “Fine, fine, Sister. Yes, I would sacrifice myself for my people. Kaiyer is my creation, after all.”
“Good.” She smiled for the first time since I told her of my plan to speak to the dragons. “I will send an envoy to his army.”
“You will wait,” I commanded and the smile dropped from her face as quickly as it had appeared. “I am still going to speak to the dragons. If they kill me, then you can negotiate the truce with Kaiyer. If he wants me dead, tell him the dragon already did the job and he can take revenge on them if he wants.”
“No. Please, Iolarathe, I beg you.” Her hands clasped my arm. “Can’t you sense the evil from that place? The malice? I never believed in such creatures, but if any existed, they would live in that abyss.” I nodded at her and in my heart I agreed. The cave looked like the twisted maw of a carrion beast. It was wide enough to ride ten horses through and half as tall. A stale, dry air poured out and it reeked of a foul scent I had never tasted. It was a sick mixture of fungus, bones, and rotten meat.
“Kaiyer might just say no outright. I will need a backup plan, Nyarathe. Have the warriors retreat a mile down the mountain. It is time to smell these creatures up close and determine if the legends of their power is true.” They were brave words, but the ice in my stomach was beginning to turn into nausea.
“By the Dead Gods, you are so stubborn! Fine, go die in there. There is just one more item I wish to discuss with you.” Her face became impassive again and she waited for me to respond.
“What is it?”
“I am with offspring.”
“Fusik?” I asked.
“Yes.” A faint smile came to her lips.
“I expected that outcome eventually.” Perhaps I should have felt happiness for my sister, but I didn’t care much for the thought of children now. It would hamper our ability to fight Kaiyer’s forces because I would have to withdraw her from the war after a year; when her body became too swollen to be effective in combat. “What about it do you wish to discuss?”
“You do not seem to care,” she said flatly.
“You mistake my focus on important matters for apathy.” I gestured around the mountain and toward the cave. “Perhaps I caused all of this, but the genesis was my conception. I never asked to be the Singleborn. I never wanted to have offspring, let alone for the profit of my father and our mother.”
“But now you can do what you want, Iolarathe. Your womb is your own.”
“No. I can’t.” My eyes rested on the entrance of the cave and the last pangs of my fear finally fled my body. “This is my last chance to save our race. I don’t even know if we are worth saving.”
I walked away from my sister and toward the mouth of the mountain. She followed behind me but said nothing. I finally reached Relyara and then turned back to Nyarathe.
“Your plan is sound. If I don’t return, attempt to make peace with Kaiyer.” My sister nodded and her mouth set into a firm line. The air tasted of lemons and salt instead of pine.
I regarded the two women for a moment. The terror surged in my stomach and I fought it down again. I was Iolarathe. The Singleborn. I was afraid of no creature on this world or any other.
Save for Kaiyer.
I wanted to thank them for their love, loyalty, and friendship. I wanted to tell them how much I loved them. But voicing this would be an admission of fear. An admission that Nyarathe was right, that the dragons awaited me in the deep. That they would devour me.
I told myself this was foolish. These dragons were dust now. These dragons had never existed. I would enter the cave and return with nothing. Return with my life, but no more options to save my people. Return unharmed to face Kaiyer.
So I said nothing. I faced the black hole of the cave and walked toward it. The wind moaned again across the frigid mountain peaks and my breath filled the air with the scent of lilacs. I tasted freshness and pine again, and the faint remnants of the scent of my sister, of my people.
All these pleasant scents began to fade within a few hundred feet of the cave. I was overwhelmed by the scent of death, algae, fungi and emptiness. I paused for a few moments to steady my breath, regretting my choice not to bring a torch. I almost turned back to ask Relyara or my sister for one, but decided against it. I had to commit to my original plan.
I did not need to fear these creatures. I was Iolarathe. The Singleborn. I was afraid of no creature on this world.
I stepped into the cave and was immediately enveloped in a darkness so profound it was palpable. The black seemed to seep out of the cave and smother the light beyond its borders. I used the World to create a small fire, but it was too dim to help much against the weight of this darkness. The rocks of the walls were smooth and polished so that the light bounced off of every surface as in a mirror. I glanced over my shoulder and could no longer see the light of day through the opening of the cave, a curtain of black silk had been drawn to enclose me in the lair.
The creatures lived. I sensed their power.
I pushed my shaking legs a few steps forward and continued to study the inside of the cave. Columns of granite supported the high ceiling above me, so smooth they looked as if they had been melted. Shades of gray glinted as I crept forward, my light growing ever more dim and inadequate.
There was a soft and distant movement farther into the cave and I turned my eyes away from the rocks toward the noise. The cavern bent downward to the right; I continued on my journey and inhaled slowly to taste more of the air. The stench of decay seemed to dissipate, but the air still tasted empty, as if nothing lived here.
The stalagmites and stalactites came down like teeth and created hidden nooks of deep darkness I could not see into. I heard movement again, but saw nothing.
“I am Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people!” I meant to sound confident, but my voice came out a shaky gasp. I had walked five hundred yards into the cavern, but it felt like miles. I began to feel the oppression and weight of the earth above me.
“Have you come to mock us?” The voices filled the air in all directions. They spoke at different volumes and tones. Their tempo and pacing was slightly off, so the words hit my ears at different times. I spun around and the reflections off of the walls danced like light through a waterfall.
“Perhaps you’ve come to punish me for my betrayal?” There was venom in the voices. Raw hatred. But also sadness and loss, even fear. I realized that the voices were in my head as well, as if a group of men and women whispered in my ear. My blood froze and I could only smell my own terror. It was a stink of rotten cabbage and broccoli. I knew the stench well from all the Elvens who were terrified of me.
“I seek your help,” I managed to gasp out. I still could not smell or hear where the voices came from.
There was silence for half a minute and I was able to catch my breath and calm my scent to something halfway close to normal. I waited for another length of time, but there was no response. I debated speaking again but my tongue would not form the words.
Then the laughter of a thousand voices filled the cavern and rang throughout the walls like chimes. It started softly, as if the ghosts were slowly understanding a joke, then grew in intensity until it felt as if my eardrums would burst. I fell to my knees and my flame extinguished. I covered my ears with my hands, but it did nothing to dampen the sound and I screamed in pain.
As soon as I shrieked the voices stopped.
I opened my eyes expecting blackness. Instead, a purple glow lit the cavern a hundred yards ahead, illuminating the walls, floor and ceiling clearly. I rose and walked toward the violet light.
I had to proceed slowly, the ground grew rough and uneven as it sloped ever more steeply downward. I came to a wall of jagged columns that extended from the floor like teeth. There a doorway was carved into the rock, leading to another room. I forced myself inside.
Then I saw my mother.
She sat upon a throne atop a pile of polished stones. The glow emanated from her body and I struggled to comprehend what I saw. The woman was dead. This could not be her. But it was her. Everything about the figure was my mother, save the strange violet luminance that made her glow like a Wisp.
“You were fools then. You are a fool now to come here.” My mother’s mouth did not move, but the voices seemed to emerge from where she sat on the throne. She wore a tight fitting evening gown with a slit down one side, revealing her athletic body. I remembered the dress, she had often worn it to entice males and females to follow her wishes.
“Are you Recatolusti’catri?” I forced myself to question the creature’s identity instead of asking the obvious question about her appearance. I knew what my eyes were telling me, but my nose told a different story. There was no scent from whatever sat on top of the throne.
“You have not forgotten my name. Why have you forgotten everything else?” The woman turned her head slightly and looked down at me. The purple glow was coming from her hair. It was hard to determine the color of the long mane, but it seemed to be as black as the cavern. My mother’s hair had been bright platinum.
“I found small stones at a temple on a nearby mountain. The stones told of your cave.” I realized the stones beneath her throne were skulls. Elven skulls. My stomach turned to ice.
“The O’Baarni,” the voices stated.
“They threaten our existence. I came to beseech you to help us in the war against them.” The glow had intensified and I could now see that the throne was crafted of bones. The stench of my fear had returned.
The howling laughter formed the crescendo of an ear-splitting symphony. I found myself on my knees again clutching my head in agony. The laughter continued and the pain was too much. It was the agony of losing Kaiyer over and over while my mind replayed the murder of his family.
“Please stop.” My words were a whimper and I hated how weak I felt when faced with this creature that resembled my mother.
“You want us to kill the O’Baarni? Again?” A growl filled the cavern. It sounded like an avalanche of rocks.
“Yes.” Cold sweat poured out of my skin. “Their leader is too powerful. We face extinction. My entire race will be destroyed if you don’t help us.”
“Who is Kaiyer?”
“He is the one I speak of, the leader.” I didn’t know how she knew Kaiyer’s name. My head was beginning to ache from the sounds of all the voices. It felt as if my brain was trying to push against the inside of my skull. I had never felt such a pain before.
“No. Who is Kaiyer?” the voices repeated the question.
“He was my lover. Now he is my enemy,” I answered quickly. Did this creature know that I killed the human’s brother and father? What did she want me to say?
“What will you give us, Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people?” The laughter came again, but it was much softer this time.
“What do you wish? My people will grant it to you.” I felt relief flood into my aching body and head. They were willing to help. I would pay any price.
“We wish to destroy you. To feast upon your flesh endlessly until you tell us again that we are your Star Children, your favorites, the blessing you gave to the universe. Then we wish to destroy everything living and remake it in our vision.”
Instead of disappointment, I felt anger. I expected to die here, I was willing to die to save my people, but I did not know how to grant her this cryptic request.
“You wish to kill me?” I tried to keep the terror out of my voice and scent. I was successful.
“No. That will not help. You will return again. We require your offspring.” Something had changed in the creature’s voice. I only heard a single female voice now. My headache had increased.
“I do not have any offspring.”
“You will give us one.” This was spoken by a male voice and I turned around, expecting to see someone standing behind me, but there was nothing but darkness.
“What if I never bear a child?” I fought against the anger building in my stomach. Why did everyone want control of my womb? If it wasn’t my own people it was a band of omnipotent dragons.
“You will have a child. We have foreseen it. You will give us the offspring and your debts will be repaid.” The chorus of voices returned with their nightmarish symphony.
“You will destroy the O’Baarni and I will give you my child?” I wanted to clarify the deal.
“We will fight one battle in your pathetic war. If Kaiyer is like you, it will be an easy victory.” The voice was a single woman’s again, but she sounded as if she stood next to me and whispered in my ear.
“If Kaiyer is like me? He is human. What do you mean?”
“Do you agree to our terms, Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people?” The voices seemed urgent. Demanding.
“What if I don’t need you for the battle? What if I can convince the humans to parlay peace?” I remembered my sister’s plea. I wanted to use Recatolusti’catri only if everything else failed.
“The O’Baarni will never agree to peace. They were created to seek more. Always. We have learned much from them, while you have forgotten.” It was a single voice again and there was unspoken sorrow to her words. I didn’t know how to respond, so I contemplated my next question.
“You hesitate. I will alter the agreement to make it more to your liking.” She sounded desperate, as if she needed the deal more than I did.
“We will be present. If a battle occurs, we will act. The child will be our payment. If you make peace with the O’Baarni, then we will return to our nest and wait for you to visit us during your next war.”
I couldn’t believe my luck and that gave me pause. This had been too easy. I was still terrified of the creatures, but something was strange about this dealing. I had expected them to ask for food, or riches, perhaps sacrifices. I had never imagined they would want my child. I would never take an Elven lover, and therefore never create this child.
“What do you want with the child?” I asked one of the questions that lurked in the back of my mind.
“What is one life in exchange for millions? Would you die to save your Elvens? We know the answer. You already have.” The voices filled my mind with urgent whispers. She had not answered my question, but her logic was sound. And I would never have a child to give them. I made that decision long ago.
“How do I know you are the creatures I seek? The dragons?” That was the only other explanation for why these negotiations had gone so smoothly. Perhaps I was dealing with something else other than the flying serpents of legend.
“We will show you. Then you will agree?” The voices were urgent now. They tasted my approval.
“Yes. If I have proof, then I will agree.”
It was as if the sun suddenly rose in the cavern. The light burned my eyes and I covered my face with my hands to keep from crying. My eyes adjusted to the blindness and I removed my palms from my eyelids.
Then I knew true terror, for I gazed upon evil so pure and diabolical that all my senses reeled in horror. I made a mistake coming here, it was a horrible choice that perhaps justified Kaiyer’s desire to exterminate me and all of my kind. I never should have spoken to the monster, nor promised her one of my offspring.
But it was too late now.
Chapter 34-The O’Baarni
I crested the final slope of the mountains and surveyed the valley below. It was dusk, and though the last sliver of the orange sun would soon disappear behind the distant crags, there was still enough light to cast a warm radiance across the land. A river ran through the far side of the valley, winding through miles of long grass dotted with graceful maple and pine trees. I had seen immeasurable beauty during my long search for Iolarathe, but as I looked upon the idyllic scene that stretched out for miles beneath me, I wanted to set down my bags, rest, and soak in the view.
This also could have been because I was carrying several hundred pounds of supplies for Nyarathe and had been traveling the endless wilderness for the last six weeks in search of this place.
The woman had told me to get a horse or a mule to carry the load, but an extra animal would mean another mouth to feed, take care of, and protect from predators. It would have slowed me down and forced me to stick to roads and trails. So I had carried the burden across the Salt Desert that surrounded Deadflats. I could lug it another thousand miles.
Iolarathe’s sister had told me that this was a small village of Elvens. I was delivering mostly salt, but also ink, seeds, and various documents about where her people were hidden. She did not warn me against studying the papers, but she didn’t need to. We both understood that my only concern was reaching Iolarathe and I cared nothing for hunting Elvens anymore.
I did want to set down my burden for a few minutes and take in the glory of the setting sun, but now that I was so close to my destination the thought of becoming one step closer to my lover drove me down the dangerous path toward the foot of the mountain. The weight that pressed down on my shoulders with an unforgiving malice suddenly felt lighter and the ice-cold wind that pierced these peaks no longer bothered me.
I carried a spear in my left hand that I had occasionally used for hunting, but mostly as a walking aid. It served the latter purpose excellently and gave me some additional stabilization when I traversed the steep slopes.
My army had always avoided this area, finding the treacherous peaks too difficult to navigate. The mountain range lay on the coastline, and we had believed the mountains shielded nothing but the sea that circled the world and met on the other side of the continent. Even if we had known of this hidden valley, we would not have risked exploring here.
The light was fading quickly from the side of the mountain but I could carry enough speed down the rocky switchbacks to stay ahead of the encroaching darkness. Most of the valley below me was already cloaked in the shadow of the mountains to the west. This allowed me to see the light coming from camp and hearth fires. I had not noticed the buildings from the top of the mountains; by now the Elvens had grown as skilled at hiding their presence as my army had been in the days of our inception. Their roofs blended seamlessly into the grass of the meadows and the branches of the forest.
I heard them rise out of the grass and pull back their bowstrings before they spoke. Nyarathe had prepared me for the words they would say as a coded test of loyalty: “It is a cold night, stranger. Do you have a place to stay?”
There were twenty of them, all Elvens and all with short bows. For a flash of a second something deep inside of my mind screamed to destroy them all, but I forced the instinct back into the pit of my stomach like one would kick at a raving, rabid dog.
“I do not have a place to stay. Nyarathe told me that I should ask the Dead Gods for shelter,” I repeated the words that Iolarathe’s sister made me memorize.
The group stood still for a few minutes and then the male who had spoken lowered his bow slowly and the rest followed.
“Our mistress makes strange allies. Those mountains are a difficult trek to make as a human, and that load looks extremely heavy. Are you one of the O’Baarni?” A few of the Elvens raised their arrows at me again.
“Yes, but I am no enemy. I owe someone a favor and am looking for a few in return.”
“What favors do you seek?”
“A few warm meals and a bed would be a start. It has been many nights since Deadflats.” The man was still far away from me and I fought to keep my nerves steady. I had asked Nyarathe if I would have any problems delivering her shipment as an O’Baarni, but she confirmed that I would be safe.
As long as I didn’t tell them my name.
“Very well, O’Baarni. Follow us. We have beds and plenty of food for you. What name are you known by?”
“It doesn’t matter.” The Elven man studied me again and then nodded. He wore a dark brown cloak over his head, but there was enough twilight to see his gold hair and emerald eyes.
“Will you hand over your weapon?”
“Of course. Although I use it mostly to aid in my walking.” I extended my left arm with the spear and then one of the Elvens carefully took it from my grip.
“Do you have any other weapons?”
“A knife for skinning and another for shaving. They are in my packs.” He nodded at my words and studied me for a few more seconds.
I expected him to ask another question, but instead he turned and walked toward the group of lights. The rest of the Elvens circled me at a comfortable distance and seemed to meld into the darkness. If not for the beating of their hearts and the soft sounds of their clothing passing through the long grass, I would not have been able to discern their presence.
Shortly we came to the village. There were dozens, perhaps even a hundred small dwellings hidden amongst grass and orchard trees. The scent of fruit and vegetables filled the air, the late autumn harvest was under way.
Cloaked forms roamed the maintained pathways between the homes and spoke in gentle whispers. There were a few bouts of controlled laughter as I passed, but none of them were aimed in my direction. If anything, the Elven inhabitants of this village didn’t even seem to notice my passing. After a few twists and turns through the labyrinth of dwellings we arrived at a simple stone cottage made of stacked river stones and thick wooden beams topped with a steep thatched roof.
“Are you hungry now, O’Baarni? Or would you prefer to rest?” the Elven man with the green eyes asked.
“I would be thankful for food and water. There is some among my supplies I can eat if you do not have any to spare.” The man had said earlier that they had food, but we passed a significant number of their kind on the way here and I did not want to impose on them.
“Please take off your packs. You may rest inside and food shall be delivered. There is a chamber pot if you need to relieve yourself. We will have guards at the door and they will exchange it for a clean one at your request.” I shrugged off my packs and one of the larger Elven bowmen hoisted it onto his back. Before he could leave I grabbed a few of the smaller kits that contained my toiletries and clothes. Then the Elven carried the rest into the darkness. My guide gestured to the cottage and I opened the thick wooden door and entered.
It was a simple place: twenty feet by perhaps thirty; two thick vertical beams of wood supported the roof and a comfortable hammock swung between them. One corner had a chimney and modest fireplace with a pot and hanging hook for cooking. Next to this was a long table. I saw the chamber pot in the other corner next to a plentiful stack of firewood. There was also an assortment of quilts and other blankets that hung from a rope running from one of the beams to a wall. A small desk sat in the last corner, topped with an oil lamp, pile of parchments, ink vial, and quill.
“This is our guest home. Please be welcome. A friend of Nyarathe is a friend of ours. Even if he is an O’Baarni. Our leader may wish to speak with you, but will wait until after you have eaten.”
“Thank you.” He nodded and left. I felt uncomfortably light without my burden. I hated waiting and now I would have to abide by the Elven timetable.
But at least they had not attacked me.
I paced the small cottage for a few minutes and then sat on the hammock. It was comfortable and I had to pry myself out of its embrace to keep from falling asleep. I had not believed that I was exhausted, but spending time in the wilderness traveling, running from my kin, and tracking Iolarathe never gave me a chance to fully relax. The muffled conversations of the Elvens and the babble of the distant river were soothing. I knew if I dared to touch the hammock again I would quickly fall asleep. Maybe for days.
There was a constant shuffle of footsteps and whispers outside of the cottage and I occupied myself for a few moments attempting to make sense of the conversations. Most of it was small talk of weather, harvest plans, and salutations. I listened half-heartedly for a quarter of an hour and then decided to occupy myself with lighting a fire in the hearth. As soon as I finished stacking the wood and set it ablaze there was a knock on the door.
“Greetings, O’Baarni. I have brought you dinner.” The woman stepped into my cottage and I felt the air leave my lungs.
All the Elvens had a graceful beauty to them. They were slender, with smooth skin, well-formed muscles, and luxurious hair. They were elegantly-featured, with sharp almond-shaped eyes and delicate pointed ears. Iolarathe was the most beautiful woman of their kind and perhaps having the memory of her murdering my family had kept me from granting the rest of her species any sort of forgiveness.
The woman that stood before me was just as beautiful as my lover. Her hair was a dark black that shimmered blue in the firelight. Her eyes were also blue, deep like the darkest part of the sea and just as full of mystery. Her skin was the color of light honey and looked as delicious. She wore a dark green cloak over a tan tunic and leather pants. In her arms she held a tray laden with metal covers and a pitcher of water. I could smell the scent of roasted meat and cooked vegetables, but for a brief second I wasn’t hungry for food.
She moved with such grace, she seemed to float into the cottage. I took a few steps back; her movements were so smooth they almost seemed unnatural. She set the tray down on the table next to the fireplace and then stood before me again. Her eyes never left mine and my heart began to race.
“I’ve served you a roast pork loin with buttered sprouts mixed with garlic, salt, oranges, and cranberries. There are is also a baked yam and a sugared apple for dessert.” She didn’t take her eyes from mine while she spoke and my head began to spin.
“Thank you. It is very kind of you.” My mouth was dry and I felt incredibly thirsty.
“Will you require anything else tonight?”
“No. Thank you again.” I forced the sentence out and tried to tear myself from the unnerving beauty of her gaze.
“When will you be leaving us?” The words could have been meant in many different ways, but she seemed more curious than demanding.
“Tomorrow morning. I hope to speak to your leader before I leave. I was told that I would be given information.”
“Who told you that?”
“Nyarathe.” My head felt like it was lifting off the ground and I struggled to pull myself back to the wood floor of the cottage. I focused on the smell of the food and it helped to divert my attention from the woman’s stare.
“What do you wish to know, O’Baarni?” My vision cleared and my brain fought through the effects this woman’s presence had on me.
“You are the leader here?” I already knew the answer.
“Perhaps.” She smiled and I was back in control of my emotions. She was still very beautiful, but my wits were not impacted anymore.
“I wish to find Iolarathe,” I said. The woman continued to stare into my eyes but made no movement to indicate that my request surprised her.
“Why?”
“I love her and want to spend the rest of my days with her.” I debated lying, or telling the blue-eyed Elven that it was my own business. Honesty seemed like the best strategy though. This Elven had a power I could sense and I wanted her as a friend and not an enemy.
“That is a good answer, Kaiyer.” She smiled and the room grew twice as bright. I told no one my name. Nyarathe must have left a note explaining who I was secured in the baggage I carried. I never bothered to search the contents, but it did not matter. My mission was to find Iolarathe and not to understand what methods the Elvens were using to keep themselves hidden from my people.
“I am glad you approve. Will you tell me?” I asked.
“Please eat or your food will get cold. We can talk while you dine.” She indicated the plate and I moved over to the table.
I took the lid off of the single plate and inhaled the divine fragrance of the meat and vegetables. The pork loin was glazed with what smelled and looked like apricot preserve and the small green sprouts were drenched in butter and garlic. There was a large glass of white wine next to the pitcher of water and I took a sip of the amber liquid before I began to eat.
“Is the food to your liking?” The woman sat upon the hammock and swung her feet above the floor lazily. I guessed she already knew the answer from the speed with which I devoured the meat and set into the vegetables. I had kept myself adequately fed during my trip by hunting, but this food tasted unlike anything I could ever prepare for myself, especially around a campfire. My cooking skills were limited to throwing salt, pepper, and maybe a few scented herbs on roasting deer or boar. The creation of this dish was beyond my comprehension.
“Yes it is wonderful. Elvens do know how to cook.” I regretted the words as they left my mouth. I had intended them as a compliment, but this woman knew who I was and might take them as sarcasm.
“Not all of us, but most can get by in a kitchen.” She smiled again and I continued with the last part of my meal. Once I had finished I pushed the plate away, drank the rest of my wine, and then turned my attention back to the beautiful Elven. It did not escape my notice that her magnificent body was draped over my hammock.
“Thank you for the meal.” She nodded at my words and continued to stare at me. The minutes seemed to pass and I felt the discombobulation begin to return.
“I am afraid you never told me your name,” I finally said.
“Relyara. I have actually wanted to meet you for a long time.”
“That is something I never thought I would hear from an Elven.” I forced a smile to my face and attempted to detect any sort of threat from outside the cottage. The sounds were the same as when I first arrived, but I was suddenly cautious. This woman knew who I was and must have held some animosity toward me.
“I was of the Laxile tribe. I was Iolarathe’s handmaiden and her confidant while she lived with her father. When she became the leader of our forces I took on the role again and was responsible for the logistics of the entire army.”
“Ahh.” I searched my memory but could not recall ever seeing the woman.
“I know about you from Iolarathe’s perspective.” She gracefully raised a hand and gestured toward me with outstretched fingers. “She’s told me much about you.”
“Then you know why I am so desperate to find her.”
“She thinks you are dead.”
“That is what her sister told me.”
“Ahh.” Relyara nodded. “I do not believe that you will be able to catch her in time.”
“What do you mean?” My heart skipped a beat and I felt panic spread through my stomach.
“She is running from something more powerful than you.” Her beautiful face frowned.
“My people?”
“I would like to offer you a boon that you may not have considered.” She adjusted her position on the hammock to face away from me and then lay her head down on the edge of the canvas so that her hair dripped behind her like a dark blue waterfall.
“Will it help me reach Iolarathe?” I guessed that this Elven woman was about to tell me something I did not want to hear.
“No. But it won’t interfere with your quest. You may leave tomorrow morning if you wish. We will prepare some dried foodstuffs for your journey.”
“Good.” I felt the tension leave my shoulders, although I didn’t know if I could actually trust the woman. Perhaps knowing what I was capable of, she wanted to be rid of me as soon as possible.
“But even if you leave tomorrow, I doubt you will catch my mistress.”
“She cannot continue to run forever. I will find her and we will be together.”
“I appreciate your confidence and I believe that Iolarathe would too, if she knew you were following her. Our network of people cannot seem to stay ahead of her, unfortunately, and she intends to escape this world.”
“How?”
“Magic. Old magic I possess little knowledge of.” She smiled at me but her beauty did not appease my anger. Part of me wanted to grab the woman and make her tell me what she knew, but I guessed that she was trying to be as forthcoming as possible without putting her own people at risk.
“Will you tell me where she went? How long ago was she here?”
“She was here six days ago.”
“I am right behind her then.” Excitement gave me sudden energy and the weariness of traveling alone through the endless wilderness with the heavy load faded from my shoulders.
“But first, hear my proposition.” She sat up in the hammock with little effort and the stretch of her clothes around her body reminded me of how close we were. The desire I felt for her was muted by my need to have Iolarathe here with me.
“I do not believe that you will catch up to her in time. I will tell you where she is going, but you will not be able to find her.”
“Why should I believe you?” I crossed my arms and sat back.
“I love her. I have been jealous of her feelings for you throughout most of our relationship. I have felt her love for you as well.” I stared into the woman’s strange blue eyes but couldn’t tell if she spoke the truth. “I wish to offer you peace and tranquility. It is something that you do not have at the moment,” she continued.
“What do you mean?”
“We have a home here. We have plenty of food, clean water, and protection from the mountains. There is little we require from the outside world save for the occasional shipment of salt and information from Nyarathe. But I need someone to help us breed horses, care for them, and serve as a guardian in case the O’Baarni ever discover us.”
“Are you saying that you wish me to remain here with you?”
“Yes.” She nodded and smiled.
“Even though I am Kaiyer? I’ve killed thousands of your kind.” My mind spun at her offer. It didn’t make much sense to me.
“Do you still wish to kill us?” She raised a single eyebrow in a beautiful arch.
“No.” I spoke the truth, although I would destroy anyone—human or Elven—who stood between Iolarathe and me.
“Consider your life now. You have roamed this world for more than a dozen years searching for her. Your own people wish you dead and are always a few steps behind you. What if she was gone and there was no way you could follow her? What would you do then?”
“I will find her.”
“Perhaps. I would prefer that you just give up your chase now and stay with us. We have two newborn horses and we could use your expertise. We are also mid-harvest and your strength would be a tremendous aid. However, I can understand that you will not want to give up your search for Iolarathe. During our war I spent many years in similar pursuit.”
“I will not stay here. It has been so long since I cared for horses or did anything as domesticated as harvesting. I would not be of any use to you.” This conversation seemed insane, but I tried not to let my disbelief show on my face or in the tone of my voice.
“I understand. But you will not find Iolarathe. You will wander. Eventually you will want a home. Consider returning here. I will give you a home, Kaiyer.” Her eyes bored into mine with a strange intensity.
“You spoke of magic before. If there is a way to find her, then I will.”
“What if there is no way to follow her?” The smile faded from her full lips and I noticed their moistness in the firelight.
“There will be a way. I have overcome impossible odds before.”
“If she is dead?”
“Then maybe I will consider your offer.” I sighed and suddenly wanted to be rid of the woman.
“Good. Then I will leave you to rest.” Perhaps she sensed my frustration with her or maybe she had run out of ways to try to convince me to stay. The woman rose from the hammock, brushed past me to pick up the tray, and then took the last steps toward the door.
“Thank you for speaking with me. I will have extra supplies and a map ready for you tomorrow morning. Is there anything else I can provide you with tonight?” she said the words in a way that made me think that I could ask for her body. Then again, I may have just been bewitched by her appearance.
“No. I am fine. Thank you again.” I would have enjoyed a bath, but I knew it would require too much work for them to heat water and deliver it to me. I would have even been happy to go down to the river and wash there but that too would have required them to escort me. What I really needed right now was to sleep and leave as early as possible tomorrow morning after Iolarathe.
“Very well. Good night, Kaiyer.” She tilted her head slightly and smiled.
“Good night, Relyara.” She opened the door and seemed to float out of the cottage like dancing fog. I shut the door behind her and then removed my worn boots and socks. I was dusty and reconsidered asking for a bath. Then I shrugged and lay down in the hammock.
I closed my eyes but sleep did not come easily. I hated the idea of Iolarathe being lost to me forever. Relyara’s offer confused me, but thoughts of my lover began to fill my consciousness as I drifted off and her warm embrace carried me into sleep.
Chapter 35-Kaiyer
A hand touched my shoulder and I awoke from the thoughts of Iolarathe.
“Shhh,” Telaxthe whispered from the other side of her bed. “Guards approach.” It was deep night but one of Turnia’s warriors would often check on us during this hour to ensure that we had not somehow escaped. I heard a pair of footsteps descend the stairs and scuff across the floor of the empress’s pavilion. We both knew the routine and she slid through the satin sheets and into my ready embrace.
The curtain that partitioned off the back quarter of the tent moved aside and I gave my best look of annoyance to the O’Baarni woman who entered. Her name was Optira and she was one of the guards that had accompanied the leader of Two Bears during the brunch a few days ago.
“What do you want?” I mixed the perfect amount of boredom with feigned exhaustion into my question. Telaxthe stirred in my arms and nestled her face into my shoulder. It was her hinting that she didn’t want me to push the matter with the woman right now.
“Making sure you are still here.” Optira nodded. I knew she was annoyed with the duty, but various conversations I overheard during our nights and daily marches indicated that Turnia was only comfortable trusting one of these two women with the task of watching over Telaxthe and me.
“We are. You check every night and we are here. Perhaps you have other motives? I wouldn’t mind having two women at once.” I stuck my tongue out and she recoiled in disgust. Telaxthe’s nails sunk into the skin on the sides of my abdominal muscles and I fought back a laugh. The empress was probably worried that Optira would take me up on that offer and then the Elven woman would actually be forced to fuck me.
“No, Pretender. Be happy with your Elven bitch. Soon you will be experiencing horrors beyond your imagination.”
“So your leader has said. And I believe her, so if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to enjoying the last few weeks of my life.” The tall woman nodded and then walked away.
“You play a risky game.” Telaxthe whispered in my ear after Optira had ascended the stairs and we were confident she could no longer hear us.
“She won’t take me up on the request. It just makes them leave faster.”
“If they didn’t believe you were a Pretender, they would gladly be your lover.”
“Are you flattering me, empress?” Our eyes met in the darkness and I still had my arms wrapped around her. We both wore our undergarments but my manhood pressed against her leg when we lay like this and her firm breasts were pushed against my chest.
“No.” She wiggled away from me and I let my arms loosen. “You are handsome though, for a human.” She turned over and lay on her side facing away from me.
“Were you listening to the camp?” I asked the obvious question. It was how we had planned the last few days. We observed the flow of the small army as we traveled and then listened at night with hopes that someone would mention the Ovules.
We were almost positive that they were secured in a chest in Turnia’s tent.
“Yes, but there is no new information,” she whispered.
“I will go back to sleep then.”
“Kaiyer,” she said my name but didn’t roll over to face me.
“Yes?”
“You spoke in your sleep.” Telaxthe said the words and I felt a chill descend my spine.
“Did I say anything interesting?”
“You used our old language. From when the Dead Gods lived. You have spoken those words before.” My head started to hurt and I wanted to change the subject.
“I don’t want to know about what I said. I am going to go back to sleep.” My head was throbbing and my mind spun in dizzy circles.
“You claim you don’t know the language, yet you speak it when you sleep or seem to be in another state of consciousness. Why?” The empress rolled over then onto her right side to face me.
“Tell me of Nadea’s father,” I changed the subject. Her eyes opened wide for a second and then she turned her body to lie flat on her back.
“I have not spoken to her about him yet. Perhaps it was a mistake since it appears I may never be able to. Then again, the man Beltor seems to have done a very good job of raising her.”
“He is a wonderful man. Strong and kind,” I said.
“She is my only offspring. A Singleborn as well. That means there were three Singleborn alive at the same time. It has never been recorded in our history. Once, for a brief period several hundred years before Iolarathe was born, we documented two, but the eldest passed before they could meet.”
“Dissonti is the third?”
“Yes. That is why it was so important that she leave this camp alive. My people have already lost Isslata.”
“What makes them so powerful?” I asked the question, but my mind filled with thoughts of Isslata.
“They are often stronger and have access to new types of magic.”
“Isslata had new magic?”
“Sometimes it is not revealed until later in life. Perhaps they will not ever discover their power. In Isslata’s case, she was unparalleled in combat. I didn’t want to risk her in the O’Baarni Games, so she never fought. She was still so young and immature, but I knew that she would blossom into one of our best leaders one day.” Telaxthe’s whisper choked off at the end and we lay silent for a few moments.
“She was a skilled warrior. I did not want to kill her, but I couldn’t escape her attacks. If my sword had not broken, then she would have lived instead of me.”
“I doubt that,” she whispered flatly.
“What do you mean?”
“If I had understood then what I know now, I would have commanded her to run from you.”
“How did Nadea end up on this world?” I didn’t want to speak any more of Isslata.
“I was trying to make another Singleborn,” she whispered and then sighed. “In her later years Nyarathe attempted to unwrap the puzzle of Iolarathe and your daughter. It was thought to be impossible for our kind to create offspring together, yet it had happened. She knew of Iolarathe’s powers, but knew nothing of yours, so she began to experiment with different ways of drawing our magic.”
“Drawing magic?”
“Yes. The World gives us our power and we translate that into health, vigor, and our fire. But we can draw from any source of energy: sunlight, trees, wind, even blood. That was the secret.” She paused and did not say more for half a minutes.
“Blood?”
“Yes and life. I had to pull energy from him while we were making love. Then my womb became ready to receive his seed.”
“Who was he then?”
“He was from Malek’s clan. Handsome, strong, and intelligent. My magic helps me persuade humans and Elvens to obey me, so it was easy enough to take him as my lover. It took us a few months to be become pregnant, and I grew to have some affection for him.”
“When you say that your magic helps with—”
“They desire me,” she interrupted my question with the answer. “I was always selective with its use because I did not want the O’Baarni to learn of my powers. I did use it on you when we first met.”
“I recall. You smelled intoxicating.”
“That is part of it. Yes.” She turned over again in the bed to face me and I was conscious of the sound of the satin sheets sliding across her bare skin.
“Then what happened with Nadea?” I asked.
“She was born, perfect and strong, as you know. I managed to keep it a secret from most of my own people. Vernine and Dissonti knew, but my sister was away with my generals. Then she was kidnapped. My mate had taken her.” Her voice became a low growl. “When we finally found him, he said he sent the baby away to protect her from me. His mind had changed somehow. It was as if the same magic I had used to make him love me had twisted his feelings into hate. Equally passionate hate. He sent the baby through the Radicle. I tortured him for months, but I could not get him to reveal where he had sent her.”
I wondered if it had really been magic that changed his mind, or if he had acted out of a genuine concern for Nadea being used by Telaxthe for her power.
“I am surprised you didn’t try again.”
“I learned from the experience. This world would have given me the perfect opportunity to create another Singleborn. Then I could have closed off the Radicles so that no one could enter or leave. I even found an O’Baarni that I thought would be an excellent mate.”
“Who?”
“You,” she whispered after she stared at me for a few seconds. “You evaded Fehalda’s assassination squad, so I knew you were powerful. My spies told me you were intelligent and handsome. When we first met I attempted to take you with my magic. After you resisted, I wanted you even more. I knew we could create a powerful child, even if you were delusional enough to believe you were the Destroyer or stupid enough to attempt to escape punishment as a Pretender.”
I sighed and forced myself to turn away from her and look at the ceiling of her pavilion. I had wondered why the Elvens seemed so intent on capturing me and keeping me alive in Nia’s castle.
“But then it became apparent that I couldn’t tame you. I still didn’t believe you were the Destroyer, but it was obvious that there was something terribly wrong with you. Turnia was correct, I did not want you to return to the Council with Kannath. When you told me that my daughter was on this world I was more than surprised. I wanted the information from you, and then I wanted you dead.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” I chuckled lightly at her misfortune, but for some reason I didn’t feel any animosity toward the beautiful woman.
“When we found out you had invaded the castle, I figured I would be able to finish you. Jessmei had given me enough information for me to realize that Nadea was my daughter and I was en route to meet with her. I didn’t need you alive anymore.” She paused for a second and I turned my head to look at her.
“Then you changed. You wore the armor. You carried the shield and the mace. I recognized them from the few times I had seen the horrible artifacts. You ripped through my guards like an avalanche and I realized that you had been telling the truth the entire time. You are the Destroyer.”
“I don’t remember wearing my armor.” My head started to hurt again. “I only remember swimming through water.”
“I remember it. I still have nightmares about you, about what you did.” She closed her eyes and then turned away from me again. “You don’t remember how you came to wear your armor? It seemed as if you shed your skin and the skull metal was really what lay beneath.” I felt her body shudder slightly on the bed we shared.
“No. Let us speak of something else.” My head was throbbing now and I reached up to rub my temples.
“Very well, Kaiyer. I will ask you a question. What happens if your plan is successful?”
“What do you mean?”
“Let us assume we are lucky and the Dead Gods smile upon us from their graves. Somehow we get the Ovules, escape Turnia, make it back to my army, kill her people on my world, and then I teach Jessmei how to close the Radicles before any more O’Baarni can come.” She sighed and then shook her head against the pillow. The movement made her hair rub across the sheets. “Even repeating this plan in a whisper makes me further doubt its possibility; but let us pretend we are successful. What happens afterward?” It was dark in the tent but I could still make out the amber color of her eyes.
“Then we are safe? I don’t understand what you are asking.”
“I won’t be safe. Nor will my people. The Destroyer is alive and he lives on the world I have conquered. I could never consider my people free of the O’Baarni until you are dead.”
“I am surprised you are telling me this now.”
“Why?” Her eyes narrowed.
“You need my help to live. If you tell me you are just going to murder me afterward, why would I want to partner with you?”
“You need my help as well, Kaiyer. Can you close the Radicle yourself? Can you kill all of Turnia’s warriors alone? Even if you do, the O’Baarni will soon send more warriors. You may be the Destroyer, but even you cannot stand against millions of your own people. They will capture and execute you.”
Voices outside our pavilion spoke suddenly and the empress stopped. The guards were just speaking of the weather and various dice games across the camp. We listened for a few minutes in silence until the O’Baarni decided to walk away.
“What do you propose then?”
“You leave this world before Jessmei closes the Radicles,” she said.
“Absolutely not,” I whispered through gritted teeth.
“I have told you of your daughter. You said you would leave with Turnia. The situation is only slightly different if we are successful with our plan. Two Bears will not be around, but I expect you to honor your agreement.”
“I bartered for you to live a few weeks longer. If we successfully escape and you close the Radicles, then your people will have been saved from the O’Baarni.” My whisper was growing in volume and I forced myself to calm my voice and heart. “They need your skulls. Are there any other Elvens on other worlds?”
“We are scattered across different worlds. Not everyone was able to get to Radicles in time. They know their chance to escape is closing, but they are more afraid of being captured by the O’Baarni. I want to save all my kin but it is impossible. I have saved most.” Her whisper was softer than mine; no anger showed on her face.
“You need to close the Radicles,” I stated. “It is more important to your race than me leaving this world.”
“Dissonti has my notes. She might be able to teach Jessmei.”
“Might?”
“The human knows nothing of magic. I have to teach her the basics first. She cannot even feel the World or pull on its power. I can feel the magic inside of her, but it is trapped like a tornado in a bottle.”
“You need to change her into an O’Baarni.” I had never sensed that Jessmei possessed any power or magic. She was not strong in the way of my warriors, of women like Nadea or Shlara, but she was intelligent, passionate, and dedicated to those she loved. She would do well with our magic, she could handle the change. She would do anything I asked of her.
“That might speed up the process,” Telaxthe said after a few moments. “But there is still much for her to learn. It will take months; perhaps even years.”
“How soon will the other clans come looking for Turnia?”
“She has tens of thousands of warriors. They will search for her on their own before seeking the help of the Council.”
“So you put a few hundred Elven guards on this Radicle and they kill whatever O’Baarni come through.” I shrugged.
“They will quickly realize something is amiss. The Council will send additional troops to overwhelm us. They can use different Radicles.”
“Can you teach me?” I asked before I even thought of the consequences.
“Yes,” Telaxthe said after a few moments of deliberation. “But I will not.”
“Why?”
“You nearly annihilated our entire race.” She turned away from me again and I listened for sounds of the guards outside.
“I was enslaved by your people. My mother was killed by Elvens. My father and brother were killed by Iolarathe as I watched.” I reached out my right hand and touched Telaxthe’s bare shoulder. “I understand that you don’t want your people to be under the rule of the O’Baarni anymore. Just as I do not want the humans of this world to be enslaved under the Elvens.”
I thought of Nadea and the dreams Iolarathe sent her. I hoped Iolarathe could somehow tell me of our daughter through Nadea. If Telaxthe could teach me how to operate the Radicles, I might be able to navigate the planets and find her. I did not even know if she was alive, but I had to believe she was and search for her. I just needed her name. Why had Iolarathe kept it from me in our past? If she could speak through Nadea, why did she not share it with me now?
“If I swear not to enslave them, will you leave this world?” I took my hand off her shoulder when she rolled over to face me again. She was closer to me now and I easily smelled the scent of her sweet breath.
“If I told you that I would make peace with your people, would you let me stay?”
“No.” Her eyes narrowed a bit.
“Why?”
She turned away from me and lay on her back again. The sheets fell over her firm breasts and I could see the outline of her undergarments under the satin fabric. “You are the Destroyer. You’ve murdered our people and you won’t stop until we are all dead. Maybe you didn’t want to attack us, but you did and killed hundreds of my people in front of me. We could not stop you. Thousands of arrows were shot at you and only a few penetrated your armor. You laughed. Swords broke against your shield and you laughed. You looked upon my warriors and their bodies burst into molten flames of purple and green. We finally drove you down into the catacombs beneath the castle and forced you into the river. If my death means that you will be taken from this world and we only have to worry about the O’Baarni, I will be satisfied.”
“But you are willing to help me escape.” I didn’t realize that my headache had faded until the empress’s words renewed the pain.
“If you leave this world afterward.” I sighed, rolled over on my back, and covered my eyes with my left palm. It was hard to think with the throbbing in my head and I was suddenly exhausted. I just wanted to sleep, but I wondered if she would betray me to Turnia if I did not agree to do as she asked.
“There is nothing for me anywhere else. Everyone I knew has been dead for thousands of years. My daughter is dead. I will promise peace with your people if you promise the humans the same. What can I do to convince you of my sincerity?” She did not respond to my question and I turned my head to see that her eyes were closed.
“You never met your daughter?” she whispered after a few minutes.
“No. I do not even know her name.”
“Did you want to be a father?”
“I never considered it. My life was consumed by our war. When I found out she existed, I was desperate to find her. Knowing she is lost makes me feel that a part of me is dead.” I sighed and rubbed the pain behind my eyes. “You must have felt the same. But now you have the chance to reconnect with Nadea.”
“Nadea is important to you?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
“Would you kill me if you knew it would upset her?”
I turned to look over at her and found her eyes regarding me intently.
“I need a way to ensure my people will be safe from you. Something more than just your pleas of sincerity.”
“If you enslave Nadea’s people, she will want to kill you herself.”
“I do not intend to enslave the humans. The offer to Jessmei’s father was sincere and we were advised falsely by Nanos. That was the only reason Alatorict invaded.” I sighed and went back to rubbing my temples and forehead, but I realized my headache had faded.
“How can I assure you that you will be safe from me?” I asked.
“How can you assure me that you won’t don your armor again?” she asked after a few moments.
“You threatened Jessmei and my other friends.”
She exhaled sarcastically. “And your intentions were peaceful? You had just killed dozens of my soldiers, including Isslata, and intended to escape with Nia’s army and then return and attack us.”
“Your reasoning is flawed,” I began. I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts before continuing, “If you cannot bring yourself to trust me as an ally now, in spite of our past, I will have to tell Turnia we are done and she will execute you. I will escape the Council and return to this world. Your people will have to face me and an O’Baarni invasion, all without your guidance. Or, you can agree to trust me. I cannot believe you fear me more than the entire population of the O’Baarni seeking to harvest the skulls of your people!”
Her eyes narrowed. She was unconvinced. I was growing weary of trying. I did not need her help.
“Why are you so desperate to meet your child? Is it because she is Iolarathe’s or because she is your daughter?” She raised an eyebrow.
“That is a strange question.” I pondered for a few seconds and tried to figure out why the empress was asking such a question at the moment.
“Just answer honestly,” she prodded.
“Because she is ours. I love Iolarathe, I want to meet the child we created.”
“What if you had a child with someone else you did not love?” Telaxthe’s question hit me square in the nose and I realized what she wanted to ensure that I never attacked her people.
“You still want a child with me? The Destroyer? Why?”
“It is the only way I could trust your promise. Even a monster will protect its offspring. I have seen how desperate you are for even a shred of information about your daughter. I do not trust your words, but I believe you would protect our child, its family, and its mother.”
A smile spread across her lips and though we were separated by a few feet I was conscious of the warmth coming from her body.
“Your previous O’Baarni lover did not prove very trustworthy. What if I take the child from you?” I touched back on the story of Nadea’s kidnapping. This part of the story made little sense to me and I guessed that Telaxthe was hiding the truth.
“That line of questioning indicates that you are willing to breed with me.” Her tongue slid across her lips slowly.
“I have not agreed to anything. Please answer my question.”
“You have no motivation to kidnap our child. Where would you take it? To a world with O’Baarni? You would rob your child of his or her mother?”
“No. I would not do such a thing.” I shook my head. “Unless it was apparent to me that you meant the child harm.”
“Is that what you believe transpired with Nadea?” She raised a dark metallic eyebrow.
“Your story does not make sense. I am supposed to believe that your mate suddenly decided your child was safer sent off alone to a distant planet than with you for no reason? If there is more to the story, tell me now. If you expect me to father a child with you, I need the truth.”
She stared at me for a few seconds and her eyes narrowed. She turned away from me. A few minutes passed and I guessed that our conversation was over. I began to plan my next steps. I wanted the empress’s help with this escape and the eventual manipulation of the Radicles, but if she intended to kill me after we freed ourselves of Turnia, I was going to have to decide when and how to kill the woman.
“He said he heard a voice in his dreams,” she whispered.
“A voice?”
“He was insane. We caught him a few seconds after he sent her away.” She sighed and rolled back over to face me. “He intended to follow her but never had the chance. I didn’t realize that he knew how to use the Radicles. During the torture process I came to understand he had this planned from the beginning. I thought I had been manipulating him but in actuality, he was taking instructions from the voice.”
“Who spoke to him?” I felt a chill crawl down my back. This story sounded familiar.
“He claimed it was our Dead Gods. Then he laughed.”
“Did he say why he sent her to this world?”
“No. He did not even tell me where he sent her. Believe me, Kaiyer. I was more than persuasive. I held him captive for two years and worked on him almost every day. I did things to the man that disgusted me then and still do now. He never cracked. Except for the laughter. He said that as soon as he sent the child through the Radicle, the voice stopped.”
“So you did nothing to Nadea to make him fear for her life?” I asked.
“Of course not. I know you believe us to be monsters, but we are not incapable of love. She is my daughter. And I had important plans for her. Nyarathe had hypothesized that such an individual might have the ability to unlock wondrous new magic for our people. I had gathered thousands of tomes about the Singleborns and the new abilities they have discovered. The girl was going to be important to my kin. She still will be.”
“When I talked to Nadea in the dungeons she said that you two had not spent much time together.”
She looked irritated with my question. “To protect Nadea, to protect this planet and all of the humans and Elvens here, I must close the Radicles. Every moment I have must be spent teaching Jessmei. Once we have done this, when I can rest assured that we are safe, I will spend more time with Nadea. I am more than eager to do so.”
“Could Nadea learn the same magic that you are trying to teach Jessmei? She is part human, after all.” I realized it was probably a mistake to ask the question. I wanted the empress to think I was her best alternative to Jessmei. Then again, Telaxthe was intelligent and I was sure she already thought of using her daughter to close the Radicles.
“I can sense power in individuals much like Nyarathe, I know what is needed to work with the Radicles. I believe Nadea’s powers lie elsewhere.”
“She did bring me through the Radicle.”
“She did?” The empress seemed surprised by my statement and I realized I may have made an error in revealing this. “I was told the human boy Paug was the one who pulled you from the Radicle.”
“You’ll need to discuss it with Nadea. She had a different story and I was out of sorts when I awoke.”
“Very well. Did my answer to your earlier question satisfy you?”
“Somewhat.” I exhaled and debated how to refuse the empress and still form a lasting alliance with her. Truth seemed the best course of action.
“I cannot mate with you. I have commitments to others,” I began to explain.
“Oh? To Jessmei?” Her full lips smiled.
“Yes. Also, Nadea.”
“You are lover to both of them?”
“No.” I refrained from explaining further and she left it alone.
“Their opinions do not matter while we are prisoners of Turnia and facing execution.” She shook her head and the smile left her mouth.
“They will be upset with me if you and I make a child. It will interfere with your relationships with them.”
“I can deal with their anger if it means I have you as my ally. Besides, you and I do not have to be in any sort of relationship beyond what is required to create an offspring. If you want to mate with the queen or my daughter afterward, I will not attempt to stop you.” I almost laughed at her comment when I thought about what Jessmei or Nadea would think of what Telaxthe said.
“They will consider it a betrayal. The humans of this planet value fidelity. Their traditions hold that couples remain entirely monogamous.”
“If they are sharing you already, why would they care if you created a child with me?”
“Nadea and I have never been lovers, and Jessmei does not know I have feelings for Nadea. Your daughter knows about Jessmei and she has made it clear that it is unacceptable. I will have to choose between them, or neither will have me.”
“Their traditions are impractical. Elvens mate with multiple partners to create stronger offspring. In Iolarathe’s time, the deals were orchestrated by the chieftains of each tribe. I have divided my population up between my generals and give them guidelines for breeding the most powerful offspring.”
“I remember Isslata complaining about something like that while I was her captive.” I thought back to the golden Elven warrior woman and did feel a slight pain of loss. I knew part of me cared about the woman, but I would probably never be able to figure out why.
“Do not speak of her again or I will become angry,” Telaxthe’s whisper turned into a soft growl. Before I could respond she spoke again. “We both have leverage over each other. I am sick of the back and forth now, Kaiyer. I care little if you anger Jessmei or Nadea. There are more important reasons for us to solidify an alliance. I will give you a few minutes to consider and then you need to make a decision.” Her demands came out rapidly and I fought against my own anger. I had saved Telaxthe’s life and offered her a small chance at victory over the O’Baarni. She had displayed gratitude initially, but now she was making demands that benefited her more than me.
“What has changed tonight, Telaxthe?” Her hair was dark in the night, but still had a metallic sheen that reflected the small amount of the moonslight seeping through the thick canvas above us.
“What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrow in an expression that reminded me too much of Nadea and her mouth curved slightly into a smile.
“You are making demands that you know I won’t agree with. I have the power here. I can tell Turnia to kill you now. I bartered for your life to be spared and I have a plan for us both to live. I don’t understand your strategy.”
“Do you have an answer?” she whispered urgently.
“No. My answer is no, but this does not mean we must be enemies. We can still work together.” I reached to touch her shoulder. I intended the movement to convey friendship, but my hand stopped midway between our bodies.
Something was wrong.
The pit of my stomach was clenching. My skin was crawling. The Earth raced through my body like a rushing river. I knew the feeling. I looked down at Telaxthe and her smile grew.
“Do you think I am a fool, Kaiyer?” Her voice was no longer a whisper. She brushed my hand aside and sat up in our bed. “Did you think I would only take a few dozen guards as an escort while I was in the maw of the bear?” My ears rang and I heard the sound I knew all too well: Elvens and O’Baarni engaged in combat.
I stood up and the empress followed. She glided a few steps away from me toward the wooden stand that held her many robes. With a practiced movement she donned one of the plainer garments.
“I would have let you stay if you had agreed to my terms.” There were screams in the camp now and it sounded as if a full scale battle was underway. The explosion of magic a few hundred yards from our tent lit the night with orange flame and tore through the shouts like a dozen thumps of thunder. “But I am not without gratitude.” She walked toward me and placed her palm on my bare chest. “Turnia would have killed me before Yillomar and Fehalda could plan the perfect ambush. Thanks to you, I am still alive.” Her hand slid up my chest, around my neck and to my jawline. My mouth was still opened in surprise and she gently closed it.
“But now we will continue to the Radicle with a few thousand troops. I will banish you from this world and my people will live here in peace.” I heard the shouts and the footsteps before they poured into the pavilion. I turned my head and stood nose-to-nose with the big Elven general Yillomar. Beside him stood Fehalda. The big red Elven wore a smirk on his face, but the empress’s sister did not look pleased.
I considered attacking Telaxthe, but it was futile. Even if I managed to kill her before Yillomar or Fehalda could intervene, I would soon be butchered by her other soldiers.
“If you call forth your armor, we are prepared to take you down. I will sacrifice every warrior here if it means you will be driven from this world. You cannot win, Kaiyer.”
She reached behind me and grasped my neck. Her nails dug into my flesh and our eyes met. I gritted my teeth against the pain, but the cuts were nothing compared to the disappointment that churned in my stomach. I was a fool to doubt her prowess. With one risky ploy, she found the location of the Radicle, killed an O’Baarni clan leader, and ensured my capture.
Now I would pay for underestimating her.
Chapter 36-Iolarathe
Lightning struck through the air, dawn in an instant. I was already crouched, crawling through the bushes beside the swollen river, my nose filled with the scent of burnt vapor. I lay flat on my side for the roar that followed the burn. It was hard to hear anything over the torrent of the rain, the scream of the river, and the crash of the thunder, but I did not hear my pursuers raise any alarm.
I risked a glance through the hail-beaten juniper bushes, but the night was so black and terrible that I saw nothing save a few feet of torrential rain. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear, and I couldn’t smell anything through the storm that seemed to follow on the cloaks of the O’Baarni hunters.
Lighting flashed again and the world was lit with a sharp clarity. There were more than a dozen armored figures spread out within six hundred feet of me. There could have been more, the forest was thick with pine trees and bushes that obscured my view in the darkness of the night and the storm.
I lay back down against the frigid mud and the ice-cold granite. The hopelessness of my situation crashed into me harder than the pebble-sized hail that the rain had just turned into. There were too many. I was trapped. I wished Kaiyer were here, but thinking of my lover only made me tremble against the chill of the storm.
If they were here, then it was obvious why he was not.
I should just stand up and fight. The World would warm my blood like a hundred fires and I’d kill at least five of the fuckers before the rest could butcher me. It would be my preferred way to die. Death through battle would be quicker than whatever torture and punishment they had in store for me.
I felt the kick from within my womb and sighed. If I were alone, I could die. I had never much enjoyed this world anyway, not without Kaiyer.
Though he was dead, I wanted our child to live.
I dug through the mud at my feet and separated out the gravel. Then I applied the liquid dirt to my hair for the tenth time. I prayed to the Dead Gods that this mud would keep the light off of my mane and increase my chances of escape. I had no plan other than crawling away undetected. Suddenly an epiphany struck me like the lightning bolts that darted through the sky.
The baby kicked again. At least crawling on my elbows and knees took some of the pressure off of my spine and bladder. As if escaping the O’Baarni while huge with child was not difficult enough, the creature in my womb liked to sit right on my fucking intestines and rest its head on my bladder and I had to relieve myself every ten minutes.
After a few dozen yards of scraped knees and numb arms I began to fantasize about being in my father’s house with Relyara. Once there were hot baths. Warm meals of fresh food. Foot and back massages from my lover. Fuck, even the porcelain toilet occupied my mind with a feverish intensity. I really wanted to urinate again and for more than half a minute I was tempted to just squat down right behind this bush and allow the O’Baarni to find me if it meant I could be relieved of the pressure on my bladder right now.
My stomach pounded angrily again and I moaned. I almost decided to surrender, but my hand slipped on an ice-slick rock and I was sent spinning down an avalanche of mud, rocks, and roots. My hands reached out to grasp onto anything but found no purchase. As soon as I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to stop my descent into the river I curled myself into a tight, frozen ball around my stomach and prayed again that I didn’t land on a boulder when I fell.
I felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness and then I lost all perception of sight, smell, and sound. I was in the frigid water, safe from the hail, but colder than I could ever remember being in my entire life. The water was swift, angry, and it only took the torrent a few moments to realize that I was at its mercy. Once it did, the river slammed me into a boulder. I felt my shoulder break from the impact and I did finally scream. My face was underwater, so I doubted the sound reached my O’Baarni pursuers, but the shriek managed to let a few bottles worth of water into my lungs and breathing suddenly became the most urgent of my priorities.
I couldn’t tell where the surface of the river was, so I picked a direction and kicked my legs with as much strength as I still had left in my exhausted body. I breached the surface and took a panicked breath before the current yanked me back down into the darkness and spun me around like a top. Then I smashed into another boulder and felt my right knee break.
I was going to die here in this dark water. If there was an afterlife with the Dead Gods, perhaps Kaiyer would also be there. Perhaps our baby would come with me and we could both see it together for the first time.
At least its death would deny the dragons what they wanted. Their mirrored black scales reminded me of the dark water that tore at me. I never should have made a pact with such evil. I should have known they would betray me and attack against my wishes.
They wanted my child. They would not have it.
I found the surface again somehow and another strike of lightning revealed the outline of the river for half a second. Up ahead, the middle was deep and devoid of obstacles. To my left, a felled tree hung over a bridge of wicked boulders. If I could navigate the gaps in their teeth and grab onto the tree without being impaled on its sharp limbs, I might be able to pull myself from the icy grasp of the water before I froze or drowned.
No one else could help me through this. Relyara couldn’t escape the O’Baarni. Nyarathe fell to dragon fire. Kaiyer never made it to the mountains, he was dead. I was the only one who could save myself and the child that swam angrily in my womb.
The Singleborn of a Singleborn.
I kicked with my legs and ignored the jagged sharp pain of my smashed kneecap. I couldn’t see shit and held my arms out in front of my face, halfway expecting them to slam into the sharp lines of the boulder before the rest of my body did. The impact might not have immediately killed me, but it would snuff out the life in my womb with a cold merciless certainty.
I caught the tree branch.
I almost sobbed with joy. Somehow there was still strength in my numb hands and arms. I pulled free of the river’s icy suckle and straddled the drenched wood of the fallen tree. It had stopped hailing, but the rain was still pouring down as if the clouds were trying to drown me as much as the river. I wanted to lay on top of the wood and just sleep, but my body would not stop shaking and I knew that the O’Baarni were still hunting me. It took me a few minutes of feeling my way across the drenched log, but I eventually made it back to the shore and collapsed behind a rock that offered protection from some of the wind but none of the rain.
My stomach clenched and I gritted my teeth. The pain slid from the front of my womb and then ended at the base of my spine with the sharpness of a hundred daggers being driven into my body with sledgehammers. The baby in my womb started kicking frantically and I wondered if the hunger was getting to me.
Then the pain flared up again. Worse this time and some warmth spread through the crotch of my deerskin pants.
“No. No. No,” I said through painful breaths. It had only been a year since Kaiyer and I were lovers for the last time and it took twenty months for Elvens to gestate offspring. But it was faster for humans.
“Ahhhh!” I stifled my scream by biting into the fleshy part of my hand under my thumb. I tasted blood after the pain passed but I doubted that the O’Baarni could smell it through the storm. Their armored trackers were still nearby, and I needed to find somewhere to escape. I knew little of birthing, but I did know that it was going to be painful and I wanted freedom to scream.
I crawled away from my makeshift shelter of rocks toward the forest. My broken arm was moving, but it wasn’t fully healed yet. My kneecap was still shattered and the pain of crawling on it was worse than the contractions digging into my spine. The contractions were intermittent, unlike the ache of my broken limbs. Each half-minute of sharp agony was followed by a few minutes of respite. I began to count between them in my head so I would know when to expect the next one. They were coming regularly.
Instead of mud here, the ground was carpeted in dead pine needles and maple leaves. It was less slippery than raw mud, but the scent of decaying plant matter disgusted my sensitive nose. Lightning struck the sky again and I saw a sharp canyon wall some four hundred yards in the distance. I still didn’t have a plan for escape, but sometimes those sheer faces of rock had small nooks and caves that could give me shelter from the rain and hopefully obscure my location from the eyes and ears of my pursuers.
The pain flashed again in my spine and pelvis and I lost control of my body. It took every ounce of combat and magic training to keep from screaming. Fuck this. I would not be able to make it to the canyon wall, let alone climb up to any opening that might give me shelter. As the wave of pain ended, I breathed deeply, amazed that such intense pain could be followed so quickly by such relief. I continued my crawl, counting down and trying to move as much as I could before the next wave hit me.
“Do you see anything?” I rolled away from the voice just as the next contraction came, forcing my screaming body to cling to the roots of a nearby pine tree. By the Dead Gods, a pair of the O’Baarni had been standing not even fifteen feet from me.
“No. She slipped into the river. Probably dead.” They wore the armor of Malek’s army. I almost sighed in relief for the small victory. Malek’s warriors were fearsome in combat, as all of Kaiyer’s troops, but the men and women who wore the wolf armor were not known to be excellent scouts or trackers. Chances were that if these two warriors wore the snake armor of Alexia’s army, they would have already found me. They certainly never would have spoken to alert me to their position.
“The river cuts into the canyon ahead,” the first warrior said. It was a woman’s voice. I held my breath. If either of them happened to glance over in my direction as the lightning struck they would easily see me.
“I’ll take the east ledge and look for a body.”
“There won’t be one,” the woman sighed. “She is crafty. The storm was bad luck for us. I thought we had her captured.”
“We will search until we find her, dead or alive. She will wish she was dead.” The man’s voice made me shiver and I tried to wiggle deeper into the roots of the tree.
Then a contraction hammered into me again.
“I will signal for the search to begin from this point,” the woman said and she raised her hand into the air. I knew what she intended to do before the fire leapt into the air like a red comet, but there was no way I could move. It was taking every ounce of willpower my broken body could muster to keep from screaming out in pain.
Perhaps the Dead Gods were smiling on me, but for whatever reason, the two armored warriors focused their attention up at the rising flare instead of looking at the surrounding forest. Once the fire exploded above they parted ways and disappeared into the blackness of the stormy night.
“Just wait. Damn it all!” I seethed to the child in my belly when a contraction started again. Damn. Damn. Damn. It just fucking hurt so badly! I could not move my legs or hips during the wave of pain. They were growing closer, which must have meant I was close to my time. But how long did I have? I should have paid attention to the accounts of childbirth the women of my tribe seemed so obsessed with telling instead of tuning out their words and judging their recollections of pain exaggerated.
I forced myself to crawl again for a few more feet before I realized that my knee was healed. Then I recalled a bit of esoteric wisdom that swam to the surface of my mind like a goldfish coming to the surface of a pond. I almost moaned again and I wondered if the situation could get anymore hopeless.
I could not use the World when giving birth.
I knew this. All Elvens knew this. Our bodies healed too quickly with the magic and my bones needed to part so the child could pass out of my womb. It wouldn’t have been much of an issue or complication if I was surrounded by the birthing women in the tribal nest. There would have been a warm fire, warm drinks, and warm massages with warm oil to comfort and soothe me. I could have ignored my magic and let the offspring come out of my body with little fuss.
I could not ignore the World at the moment. It was too cold and I would freeze to death in a few minutes without the World to keep me warm. I needed a fire and someplace warm to nest. The canyon wall was my best bet. If there was any sort of cave concealed there I had to find it soon or the baby in my womb would be crushed against my own healing bones or die along with me of hypothermia.
Pain laced through my stomach and back again. I couldn’t keep from moaning this time, but the rain also seemed to feel my agony and increased in its ferocity, muting my cries. When the pain passed, I forced myself up to my feet and walked, hunched over, through the forest toward the canyon.
Thirty-four seconds.
A contraction hit me again and I leaned against one of the nearby trees. Pine, dirt, and rain scents filled the air and I congratulated myself on not vocalizing my agony this time. I guessed that I was halfway to the canyon wall, but it was hard to tell in the darkness and distortion of the unrelenting rain.
I expected to come face to face with one of Malek’s armored warriors behind each tree, but they had either moved on farther down the river or were still searching the area around where I first fell. Finally, I made it to the canyon after two more piercing contractions with thirty-second intervals between them. The canyon wall extended the length of the river as far as I could see in the darkness and rain seemed to seep out of the smooth rocky face like it was crying.
I didn’t see any caves or even a tiny nook that I could use as shelter, so I followed the cliff face for a few dozen more feet. Another bout of pain laced through my back and hips. This one was worse. It drove me to my knees and I could not stifle my screams. The pain did not let up and I twitched on the ground for what felt like two minutes. Intense pressure accompanied the pain and I knew in some deep feral part of my mind what this meant.
The baby needed to come out.
Now.
Lightning flashed and I gasped with joy. High on the cliff face was an outcropping of hanging trees concealing a cave. Thunder smashed into the air angrily and the ferocity of the sound urged me to begin my climb.
I waited through another pain before I began my climb. The pressure was building and I felt overwhelmed with the need to push the baby out here and now, but I held it in and breathed through the urgency. The trees were eighty feet above me, and the water made every hand and foot hold treacherous. If not for the rain, the child, and the labor, I could have made the climb in seconds. As it was, this ascent was impossible.
Except there were no other options.
I climbed. I stopped every few seconds to ride through a wave of pain and pressure, grasping the rock face and closing my eyes to the rain that lashed my hair against me like thousands of stinging whips. The climb was agonizingly slow and my heart pounded with the effort and the fear of being spotted.
I finally reached my destination and pulled myself up into the outcropping. It was a cave, a deep one at that, and I knew I would be safe from the eyes of the O’Baarni as long as they did not think to investigate this section of the canyon. I almost laughed with joy but then I took three painful steps into the cave and stopped. The scent was wrong. A creature lived in here and it only took me a moment to realize what it was.
A carrion beast.
The odor was fresh. It was still in here. I had no weapons, just my magic and a belly full of life the creature would rob me of quicker than the O’Baarni. I had killed many of the monsters in my past, and while I always avoided their razor-sharp teeth, deadly claws, and poisonous quills, I never had more at risk than my own life, and I had always carried a few spears with me.
There was no other choice. I needed to kill the beast
I walked back into the depths of the cave, reminded of my meeting with the dragons. I had been terrified then, but I believed there was no other way to save my people. Now I knew that had been folly. Perhaps she had planned the meeting. Maybe she had even planted the stones Nyarathe and I found in the ruins. The creature was cunning and if not for the fact that Kaiyer had somehow managed to kill her family I—
The beast growled in the darkness ahead. I risked a flame to my hand and the size of the cave was revealed with its orange light. The cave traveled back about sixty yards at a slight upward slope. At the back of the cavern lay a pile of bones, travel packs, skulls, and a massive carrion beast. The largest one I had ever seen was about half the size of a horse, but this particular specimen dwarfed that easily. It hissed as my light appeared and the creature’s tail darted up into the air like a scorpion. The barbed quills on the end turned to face me and I crouched low to prepare to spring to either side to dodge them.
Then a contraction came again.
I tried not to scream but I could not contain my agony. The massive beast hissed again and it sprang to its feet in a liquid movement. I fell to my knees and the fire in my hand flickered and almost died.
The baby’s head was pushing into my cervix with so much pressure I could not focus on the flame anymore. The carrion beast growled menacingly at me and I looked up at the creature.
“Get the fuck out or shut the fuck up!” I screamed at the giant monster. Its tail began to quiver and I grasped onto the World through the intense pain spreading through my body. “I will gut you and wear your fur like a coat. Get out or stay down!” The carrion beast had cat-like, violet eyes and they opened a little wider at my words. “You heard me!” I screamed again at the animal and then growled through an agonizing bout of pain. “Lie down or I’ll kill you right now.”
I stared at the creature and it looked back at me. Our eyes met over the flame in my palm and I debated killing it a hundred times as the agony pushed against my spine like a red-hot fire poker. Finally the carrion beast blinked its large eyes and lowered its tail. It circled its bed a few times, looked back at me, lay down, and rested its feline head on the top of its oversized clawed feet.
I tore off my pants and threw them on the ground. Then I did the same with my soaked undergarments and tunic. I could smell the blood and oils of my amniotic fluid and I looked back at the carrion beast to see if the creature had decided to make a move. Its violet eyes were halfway opened and it studied me lazily.
The pain came again and I forced myself to let go of the World.
It was an odd sensation. My magic was such a part of my mind and body that it almost felt as if I had suddenly lost one of my limbs. The pain hit me full force in the hips, spine, and back. Now that there was no power to dull it, I felt tears stream down my face with the same force as the rain beating down outside the cave. The child in my womb seemed to understand that it was safe to escape now and it made rhythmic movements against the inside of my abdomen.
I panted through the pain and waited for the surge to return. It would all end soon. With the magic out of my system, my bones could bend enough to allow the baby to come out. I felt the urge to push and did, straining with every ounce of strength in my body through the contraction that shot pain through my body. I could feel the baby’s head, so low, so close to emerging, but as I stopped pushing to rest and catch my breath, the head retreated back a bit. I groaned in frustration. All the effort had done little to move it. The surge of tension returned and I squatted down and pushed harder, so hard I felt my eyeballs would burst from my face. My skin reddened and I could not breathe. The pressure was enormous, it felt like the baby was the size of the carrion beast. I had to stop to take a breath and prepare to push again.
I reached between my legs and felt gingerly for the child’s head and found it there, a small, surprisingly soft wet lump. I tried not to feel discouraged at how much farther it needed to go to be born and braced myself for another contraction. I pushed again. As hard as I could, gritting my teeth and moaning so loud I was certain the O’Baarni would hear me through the storm. I continued to push and felt the head descending farther, it was so close. I took another deep breath and screamed as I gave a final momentous push and felt the odd slippery sensation of the little creature’s yielding skull sliding into my hands. I pulled the rest of its body out of mine, then I sat back and laughed in relief as I cradled the puckered little thing to my chest.
It was wet and white and wrinkled, it did not cry yet, its face scrunched up in an angry protest to the harsh interruption of birth. I looked with fascination at the thick pulsing cord that still connected the child to myself. I felt some mild contractions and gently pushed the placenta out with relative ease. The pain faded, replaced by a wondrous echo of pleasure. Lightning lit the hallway of the cave in a series of three thunderous crashes.
“By the Dead Gods, you fucking hurt me!” The baby was wetter than I expected and I cradled it against my bare chest to keep it warm. The fire from my hand had long since gone out. I risked a small glow from my palm so that I could get a better look at what Kaiyer and I had created. It was wrinkly, hairless, and completely unattractive.
Then she opened her eyes.
They were green. Just like his. They seemed to glow brighter than the fire in my hand. There was intelligence and recognition in her eyes. She knew me and I knew her. She looked at me with pure love. It struck me so hard that I felt my chest heave and tears returned to my eyes. This little creature had never spoken a word to me, but perhaps it knew me better than I knew myself. She understood I would do anything to protect her.
“Hello, Vaiarathe. Daughter of the storm.” Her eyes closed and then opened again. I pulled the World back into my body and felt the surge of warmth come from Vaiarathe. Did she know how to use the magic already? That should have been impossible. But she was the Singleborn of a Singleborn. O’Baarni and Elven. Who knew what power she might possess?
The dragons knew.
I debated leaving the cave with my precious child, but I knew this was the safest place within several miles. The carrion beast still watched me, but I knew that the creature and I had an understanding. It was female, and had been a mother as well. I had nothing to fear while I stayed here.
The baby made a gasping sound and I pulled her to my breast. The pain had subsided, but the exhaustion would not leave my body without rest. Vaiarathe sucked lazily for a few moments but then she nodded her head and fell into a deep sleep.
I shortly joined her.
Chapter 37-The O’Baarni
“What happened?” Malek’s voice was halfway between a scream and a question.
“I killed her,” I choked out the words and pushed my face into my shaking palms. The tears that came down my cheeks felt cold.
“What the fuck are you talking about? What did you do?” His armored hands grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently. The scent of Shlara’s charred body drifted to my nose and I wanted to vomit. It felt like a dream. A nightmare. This could not be happening.
What had I done?
I killed Shlara. I chose Iolarathe over my best friend. I chose the Elven who enslaved me, who murdered humans with as much care as I swatted at flies, who led an army against my kin and sent dragons to butcher thousands of my soldiers. I chose the woman who killed my father and brother over the woman who adored me above all else. What kind of monster was I?
“No. No. No.” He let go of my bare shoulders and ran over to the smoldering corpse twenty feet to my side. My eyes followed him, but the image blurred through my tears. Iolarathe was gone and the feeling of our lovemaking was now eclipsed by my self-loathing.
“How? Why?” he shrieked. He pulled off his wolf helmet with a frantic yank.
“I don’t know,” I whispered the words, but I knew he heard me.
“You don’t know? You don’t know? You just murdered her and you have no reason?” Tears streamed down his face. The four warriors accompanying him shifted in their seats nervously. I was grateful that their matching wolf helmets all covered their faces. I did not want to face their disgust.
“This makes no sense!” His voice was full of despair. He fell to his armored knees and reached out hesitantly over the smoking figure. “Kaiyer!” Tears streamed down his face.
I kneeled in silence while he sobbed over Shlara’s corpse and I fought with the knots of agony in the pit of my stomach. Finally he turned to look over at me and the rage was plain on his face. He sprung to his feet and moved to face me.
“Something happened. You better fucking tell me now, Kaiyer.” He pointed a gloved finger down at my face.
“I killed her.” I was suddenly aware that I was naked and the scent of Iolarathe clung to my body like perfume. I wondered why Malek had not commented on my lack of armor.
“Liar! I don’t believe you.” His jaw clenched and his eyes went wide with insanity. I said nothing and he began to tremble in his armor.
I was divided in my own mind. The pain of Shlara’s loss and the horror of what I had done tied my tongue and kept me from explaining what had happened. Another part of my consciousness wanted to buy as much time as possible for Iolarathe to escape.
His fist lashed out, and though it moved slowly, I didn’t bother to block it. My head snapped sideways and my face numbed with shock. He pulled back his arm again to strike.
“You are hiding something from me!” he seethed.
I sprung to my feet and my friend took a startled step backward. The rage in his eyes briefly flashed to fear, but he stood his ground and stepped back toward me. Our faces were close enough so that our noses almost touched and I could smell the anger on his spittle.
“Tell your guards to leave,” I commanded. The armored warriors upon their horses behind him turned to look at each other. When Malek didn’t say anything for a few seconds the one at the end turned his horse around slowly.
“Why? So you can kill me as well?”
The guard who had turned whirled back toward us, though it was clear none of them wanted to be here.
“No. I want to speak with you about it privately.”
“Tell me what happened. Now.” His fists fell to his side and one of the hands brushed the handle of his sword.
“We argued. She attacked. I didn’t mean to kill her.” The half-truths skipped from my mouth like stones across a lake.
“What did you argue about?” he growled. He looked past me and must have noticed my discarded armor, shield, and mace scattered on the grass.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does if you killed her! Fuck! Stop with your lies!” His teeth ground together and I felt the power of the Earth surge through his armored body.
“I just did not love her enough, Malek. Not the way she wanted,” I whispered the words. Each syllable tore through my throat. “I finally made her understand.”
“No. You loved her.” The tears streamed down his face. “Just tell me what happened, Kaiyer.” He sobbed the words. “We finally won, our people are free, and now the woman I love is dead, by your hands?” He kneeled before me and grasped my wrists. “Why did you do this?”
I pulled my hands away from his grip and took a deep breath in an effort to steady my nerves. A plan was beginning to form in my mind. There were only three possible outcomes: I would die here, I would be captured, or I could escape and continue on my path to meet with Iolarathe as we planned.
How could I ensure the last result without killing anyone else?
“I am going to put my armor back on.” I regretted the words when they left my mouth, but I knew Malek would understand what I was doing as soon as I touched the skull-emblazoned metal.
“Why was it off? How are you even alive? I saw you fall from the dragon. Shlara told me she was going to recover your body. We thought you died.” I hoped that my friend was too distraught to figure out why I was putting on my armor.
I didn’t answer him. Instead I grabbed my blood-crusted undergarments and slipped into them. I didn’t know how I had survived the fall from the dragon but perhaps I shouldn’t have, then Shlara would still be alive. I grasped my leather shirt piece and shrugged it over my shoulders with practiced ease.
Then Malek punched me.
Perhaps I should have expected the blow. Maybe I wanted him to hit me. The fist caught me on the left eye and knocked me spinning through the air with the force of a horse’s hoof. I landed on the ground next to my discarded armor and it took a few seconds for my brain to steady the sky.
Malek jumped on top of me but I managed to block the next few strikes of his armored fists. I finally caught one of his arms and managed to trap it next to my neck. Then I lifted my hips with a sharp jerk and threw his body off of mine. Malek was skilled in combat, but he wasn’t a match for my prowess. No one but Shlara came close to my level. I soon had our positions reversed. Instead of pummeling him, I just pinned his arms under my hands so that he could not continue to strike me.
“Who the fuck is she?” he screamed from beneath me.
“What are you talking about?”
“The woman. Was it the Elven general?” Foam was coming out of the side of his mouth and he was doing his best to unhinge his arms from mine. His accusation surprised me and he managed to free his left hand and punch me in the nose. He didn’t have good leverage from beneath me, but the magic of the Earth made our attacks powerful and I felt my skull threaten to crack and my vision swim dangerously.
“Stop hitting me!” The sadness over Shlara’s murder and the shame of my deed was suddenly replaced by anger.
“Tell me I am wrong, Kaiyer! Tell me you didn’t fuck that Elven bitch and then kill Shlara when she found you two? I am not a fool!” Now both of his hands were free and I let him push me off of his chest.
“Nothing to say? Just tell me, damn it all!” He pointed at me again but I couldn’t say the words to defend myself. The four warriors on the horses had their hands on their swords and I wondered how serious of a threat they would think I was. I knew they were more loyal to Malek than they were to me.
“I am so sorry, my friend.” I lowered my head.
“I’m not your fucking friend, Kaiyer!” he growled. “I will find out what happened here, even if I have to torture it from you.” He gestured to the last man on the line of horses. “Elantik, go gather a scout party immediately and bring them here. There are horse tracks beside the corpse leading north. Whren, Gwito, and Fredic, help me bind Kaiyer.”
“Stop.” Elantik obeyed my command by halting his steed. The other three men also paused in their act of dismounting their horses.
“I will come peacefully. There is no need to track the horses. The animals fled the pasture when I killed Shlara.”
“No, Kaiyer. Shlara’s horse would not have left her. Who took it?” I couldn’t hide my grimace. I had let my emotions interfere with my logic. Of course Malek could see through the lie.
“I did it. I will come peacefully if you give up the pursuit.” I did not know how else to bargain with him. I had to let Iolarathe put some distance between herself and my troops. They would easily overpower her now.
“You are not in a position to negotiate with me,” he sneered. “Take him!” He drew his sword and the three men dismounted. Elantik kicked his horse forward and they headed after Iolarathe.
The horse and his rider burst into a torrent of flame. The Fire roared purple and green. It was molten magma that instantly consumed the screaming beast and man. The three other men jumped to the side to avoid being scorched, but the sticky flames spread. The nearest horse was soon engulfed, it stamped and screeched as it roasted alive.
I had only intended to kill Elantik’s horse. My magic was imprecise and powerful. I did not want to hurt any of them, but I could not let them hunt Iolarathe. I had made my choice.
“You fucking bastard!” Malek’s sword cut at me horizontally but my shield was suddenly in my hands and his blade bounced off it with a deafening ring.
He did not expect the block and his eyes went wide with surprise. I stepped toward him and slammed the flat surface of the skulls into his unarmored face and torso. The blow did not break his jaw, but there was enough force to knock him off of his feet.
The first two warriors came at me with a combined attack. They were both right handed and their heavy horse sabers were designed to slash downward from a mounted position. They expected me to fall back and away from their attacks. Instead, I stepped forward, slamming my shield against the man to my right, and then intercepting the attack of his partner with a palm strike to his shoulder. My blow altered the direction of his swing and the weapon swiped harmlessly in front of me, almost striking the other warrior.
My left foot lashed out and connected with the warrior to my left. My shin collided with the mailed part of his knee joint and I heard the bone snap with a dreadful wet sound. The man did not scream out against the pain, but he lost his footing and began to fall toward me. He was more concerned with keeping his balance than attacking me again, so I brought down my shield against his blade, lifted my left arm against this elbow, and shattered his forearm. His saber spun through the air like a disc and I snagged the hilt of the weapon before he crashed into the ground at my feet. There was a break in the wolf armor at the neck and I buried the sword into the warrior’s throat before he could push his helmet down to protect the jugular.
Then there were only two warriors and Malek.
From the corner of my eye I saw my friend struggle to a crouch while he covered his bleeding face. He would be healed in a few more seconds and then I would probably face the wrath of his magic or his sword play. I yanked the buried sword out of the dying man’s neck and then focused my attention on the last two of his warriors. The man I had pushed away from me drove his blade to my right side, but my newly acquired sword was quick and the heavy cleaver almost felt like a toy in my hand. I whipped it upward easily and it caught him in the elbow before the edge of his weapon could cut into my undefended side. The armor parted at my attack and his blade, along with his hand and forearm, spun free of us in a shower of blood. He was surprised and choked out a brief scream of disappointment before my weapon removed the top half of his armored skull.
The last warrior was the most skilled of the three and he lashed out with a series of precise cuts aimed at my right side. I had to fall back a few feet and adjust my shield to block the majority of the attacks and I realized that he was herding me away from Malek. My friend had risen to his feet and fury was clear on his face. He brought up his hands and I knew what was coming next. Unfortunately, my current attacker had done an excellent job of positioning me at the perfect angle for Malek to aim his magic. I was too far away to sprint toward my general, so I risked throwing my sword at him. The blade twisted through the air and buried itself into his midsection like a dagger through a sausage.
The three of us screamed in unison. I had only meant to distract Malek from launching a globe of Fire at me, but my attack may have actually severed his spine. My friend collapsed with an agonized look of panic on his face and the sides of my vision began to grow dark.
The soldier paused to assess his general and I grabbed my mace. He turned back to me just in time to block my attack with his own sword. The saber shrieked when it made contact with my weapon and the warrior stumbled back before I could land a blow against his body.
I drove forward with my shield and he was forced to retreat against the combined pushes from the bulwark and the devastating swings from my mace. The man had left his shield on his horse and was not able to defend against my attacks without giving up ground. After a few seconds, I timed his footwork and managed to slip my bare toe behind his armored heel. He tumbled down before me and my mace crushed the wolf helmet with a shower of red blood and brain matter.
“Fuck you, Kaiyer!” Malek lay on the grass a few feet from his dead warriors. I dropped my mace and shield and then walked to him.
“Hold still,” I commanded. I looked at the position of the blade. It was not coming out of the other side of his back, his armor and his own strength had stopped the weapon from reaching a fatal point in his spine.
“Why? You are my best friend. We trusted you.” The tears streamed down his face and blood came out of the side of his mouth.
“You will live,” I said with a long sigh of relief. It would have been too much to kill Malek and Shlara. A surge of memories rushed through my head and I recalled the many laughs, arguments, and problems my friend and I had shared over the decades we had worked together building this army.
“Why did you kill her? She was wonderful. Kaiyer, she loved you.” He was weeping along with me.
“Don’t follow me. Don’t follow the horse tracks. You are fit to lead our people. Just leave me alone. I am sorry, Malek. I am so sorry.”
“What do I tell them? That you just killed her?” He grabbed my shoulder and I realized he was using all of his magic to remain conscious.
“Tell them I died.” I sighed. “Or tell them what happened. I don’t care. Just don’t follow me. You have what you wanted now. The Elvens are dead.”
“No, you fucking bastard! You can’t do this to us!” I could almost taste his hatred. His sadness.
“I am sorry.”
“You betrayed us all! It was not supposed to end like this.”
I stood and walked toward the group of patient horses. My path took me past my weapons and the armor I had worn for so many years. I would not need them anymore, so I left them on the ground.
“You should finish what you started!” Malek screamed at me. “Kill me, you asshole. I will never leave you alone. We will hunt you. I will make you pay for killing her. I’ll find the Elven woman and kill her as well!”
I mounted the nearest horse and stroked its mane. It was a gray-spotted animal and it cooed at my touch. For a second I recalled being the stable boy at Iolarathe’s home. It seemed ridiculous that I was here now.
I used to love horses.
“Goodbye, Malek,” I said to my friend. He was trying to pull the sword out of his spine, but his hands were covered in blood and he could not gain purchase on the weapon. All it would take is someone to yank the weapon out of him and my old friend would be healed within a minute. A new torrent of tears came to my eyes and I desperately wiped them away with my bloody hands.
“Fuck you, Kaiyer!” he screamed, but his voice was weak.
I turned my horse and rode away toward the east while my friend continued to scream. They would come after me first so I had to disappear into the wilderness. As soon as I lost all signs of pursuit, I would head north and meet Iolarathe. Then we could be together.
Forever.
Even if the sounds of Shlara’s dying scream and Malek’s curses haunted me for the rest of my life.
Chapter 38-Kaiyer
“You awake, Kaiyer?” the voice called from outside my tent.
“Ugh.” I rolled over on my mat and tried to wipe the horrible memory from my mind by rubbing my eyes.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Yillomar said as he entered the tent with two plates of breakfast food. I was surprised at his appearance as Vernine had been responsible for delivering my food for the past five days.
“What is this?” I asked the obvious question.
“Breakfast. Will you eat with me?” His mouth twisted into a crooked smile.
“Do I have a choice?” I sat up and fought against the sounds of Malek’s voice screaming in my memory.
“As my empress often says: ‘There are always choices.’ But I am guessing that you are probably bored with being alone in your tent all day.” He set one of the plates of food in front of me and then sat. He carried a large earthenware jug, I had not noticed it at first because it was concealed in the nook of his over-muscled arms.
I nodded and realized that I might be able to get some information from the red-haired general. Vernine had been tight lipped since Telaxthe's warriors had saved her, and my ex-lover did not speak to me other than to ask if I needed more food or water.
It had been a boring four days.
The big Elven took a massive forkful of food into his mouth. I studied him for a few more seconds and then started on my own food. It was better than the fare Vernine had been delivering me. The cut peppers were stuffed with a smoky cheese and pork. The taste combined with the soft scrambled eggs to deliver a wonderful sensation to the front of my tongue.
We ate in silence for a few minutes. He set his fork down and placed his hands on his knees. Our eyes met and I raised an eyebrow to prompt him to speak.
“I disagree with my empress,” he began.
“About?” I asked.
“If it was my choice, I would keep you on this world. I’d have you close the Radicles and I would try to form a truce with you.” He nodded at his own words and I felt my mouth drop in surprise.
“I am confused,” I said after a few seconds.
“I doubt the human queen will be able to learn the magic quickly enough. We’ll have to fight the O’Baarni when they begin to come through. In some ways, I am eager for the challenge, but I would prefer not to risk the world we have fought so long to obtain.” He punctuated his sentence with another bite of eggs.
“Does your empress know you feel this way?” I wondered why the Red Hatchet was bothering to tell me these things.
“Yes. We’ve spoken about it at length. As have Dissonti and Fehalda.”
“What do they think?”
“I’m sure you can guess.” He took another forkful of food and I realized he wanted me to make a prediction.
“Dissonti wants me to stay and Fehalda wants me gone.”
“Ha. You are partially correct. Both agree with me.” He finished his plate and then took a large swallow of the liquid in the jug. After he was done he passed it to me and I drank. It was refreshingly cool water.
“I find that hard to believe. Fehalda hates me.” I set the water jug down on the floor.
“Maybe. But she claimed you saved her and Vernine from some sort of monsters at the foothills of the Teeth Mountains. The White Flame would rather have you as our ally than the rest of the O’Baarni barking up our tree.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. The sun was higher up in the sky now and my tent was uncomfortably warm. I guessed we were probably close to the border of Brilla and the climate, while not as tropical as Vanlourn, was still much warmer than Nia.
“I wanted to apologize.” The crooked smile left his face.
“For what?” Sweat was beginning to drip down my back and I took another sip of the water.
“I was rude to you when we first met.” I almost spat the water out on the big Elven.
“Are you fucking with me?” I asked.
“No.”
“I was ruder to you.” I laughed slightly and finished another swig of the water. It was only a quarter full now and I set it down.
“I’m not very good at politics. That is the realm of my empress and Alatorict. Much like Fehalda, I prefer the fight. I thought you were just an O’Baarni sent to hamper our settlement of this world. Then I believed you a Pretender. As soon as we fought each other, I realized I was mistaken.”
“You intended to kill me in that battle.” Isslata had told me of the empress’s plan before the fight. Even then, the Elven woman did not believe I was their Destroyer.
“Yes. Do you blame me? My empress knew what it would mean if Kannath took you back before the Council. It was horrible timing for him to arrive when he did.” He grabbed the jug from the floor and finished the rest of the water.
“So you only wish to apologize?”
“Do you accept?” he asked. I searched his red eyes and his sharp, chiseled face. I did not know what would come if I refused to accept. I guessed the Elven general would leave and I would not find out exactly what he wanted.
“Yes, I accept your apology.”
“Thank you. Now I have a request.”
“I guessed as much.”
“We are camped next to the Radicle. We were unable to change my empress’s mind and she will banish you from this world shortly.” I sighed at his words and nodded. I didn’t know what I expected to happen since Turnia’s people were massacred. Telaxthe’s reversal of fortune had completely surprised me and her army of thousands of Elvens meant that there was no way I could escape from their clutches.
My only real plan once I reached the other world was to obtain an Ovule and return as soon as I could. At least I would not have to escape from the O’Baarni Council. As long as I returned before Telaxthe taught Jessmei how to close the Radicles, I would be able to return and find out if Nadea knew anything more about my daughter. The probabilities were low that I would be successful, but I had succeeded against worse odds.
“So what is your request?”
“I’ve never lost in combat since I won the O’Baarni Games. I thought I was even stronger than Kannath. Fehalda could beat me with the use of her magic, and I never had the opportunity to spar with Isslata, but I felt confident that I had reached the pinnacle of my abilities.” The big Elven sighed and ran his left hand through his mane of hair. “Then I fought you, and it pains me to admit that you defeated me easily. After I awoke, I realized that I had much more to learn. Perhaps that is another reason I want you to stay.”
“You want me to teach you?”
“Every hour is precious now. We need to get back to Nia so that my empress can continue working with the human queen. She was angry at me when I lost to you, but now that she, all of us, realize your identity, it would be a shame to exile you from this world without using some of your knowledge to make us stronger.”
“Then it seems to me that you should be able to convince Telaxthe that I need to stay here.” This was a surprising turn of events and I realized that I should have thought of this angle when bargaining with the empress earlier. She wanted a Singleborn offspring from me, but training for her warriors might have been more useful. Even if the idea of training the Elven people to fight my own made my stomach churn, I wanted to stay on this world until I learned of Nadea’s connection with Iolarathe and my daughter.
“We have tried, Kaiyer.” He frowned and shook his head. “Even Dissonti was unable to convince her. I am sorry, but there is no changing her mind.”
“What if I agreed to her terms?” I asked with a sigh. I had already asked Vernine about this possibility and she said that the empress was no longer willing to entertain the idea.
“It has already been asked and refused.”
“She is stubborn.” I rubbed my eyes again with my hands. Malek’s voice was echoing in my head again.
“Warrior to warrior, will you work with me for a few hours until we reach the Radicle?” He placed his palms flat on the dirt ground of my small tent and bowed his head slightly.
I considered his request for a few seconds before I answered. I respected him for apologizing and being willing to admit he needed to improve and that he had something to learn from me. Though I had little to gain from teaching him and I was not thrilled with the idea of spending what were potentially my last few hours on this planet sparring with an Elven I did not even like.
But an extra hour or two might delay the empress in sending me back and perhaps it would earn me a few small stones of favor with the woman. Maybe she would change her mind at the last second and allow me to stay. The worst that could happen would be that the Elven would become a better warrior. But I felt no loyalty to any side anymore. O’Baarni, Elven, human, I did not care as long as Jessmei, Nadea, and my other friends were safe.
“Fine. I will teach you what I can in the time that the empress gives us.”
“Thank you! Come with me.” He stood from his spot on the floor and I followed the red-haired Elven out of my prison tent.
The campsite was busy with the activity of the small army. The warriors wore red or black armor and they glanced at me tepidly as the Red Hatchet led me through the camp. We came to a circle of grass ringed in felled tree trunks. The land bordering Brilla was composed of green sloping hills blanketed in long grasses, ferns, palm trees, and groves of copper wood.
Yillomar told an Elven woman to fetch us some flagons of water and to ask Fehalda to join us.
“The White Flame asked if she could watch you beat the shit out of me again. Is that agreeable?” I nodded and tried not to hide the surprise at how polite the big Elven was acting toward me.
“Excellent. Can you show me your stance again? Was it like this?” He attempted to copy my battle stance but his position was incorrect. I adjusted the placement of his front leg, the height of his arms, and the bladed angle of his body.
“The face is the most important body part to protect in combat.” I had instructed hundreds, maybe thousands of warriors in all forms of combat and the critiques to his stance came easily to my lips. “If your hands are up like this, you won’t be able to deliver a roundhouse punch, but it doesn’t much matter.” I flowed into the stance and demonstrated palm strikes from the relaxed position of my hands held above my eye level. “Gravity will assist with the power and your strong side is forward.” I pointed down to my left leg and his right. “So you have the most power with the quickest strike that has the longest range. If I get a hit in with my right hand, I am happy, but I’m only using it to confuse my opponent’s defense. I really want to connect with my left palm on the enemy’s face. Your turn.” I held my hands up and blocked the large Elven’s quick strikes to my face.
“That is correct. While your hands are up, you can attack and also defend easily.” I threw a few of my own punches toward the Elven’s face and he blocked them. “If my punches are lower, you can drop a quick elbow and block them as well.” I attacked him in the chest and stomach. The big man was swift and managed to drop his elbow and stop my fist from penetrating his defense.
“Just choose your defense carefully. When I fight someone who mirrors my stance I have to feint my attacks. Even if your arms are raised in the correct position, you will block the quickest attacks.” I increased the speed of my punches at Yillomar’s face and a few slipped past his blocking hands, though they still did not connect with his nose because I was too far from his face.
“Once I mix up the attacks to your body, you will be tempted to block them all.” I varied my punches toward his stomach again and he had to drop his elbows slightly to keep them from hitting his body. “But then you leave your face open and a clever attacker could take advantage of the break in your defense.” I told him what I was going to do, but my palm still struck him in the nose with a wet sound that brought the memory of Malek’s confrontation to my mind again.
The blow had not been executed with full force, but Yillomar fell back away from my strikes so that he could regain his composure. Getting hit in the face was a terrible feeling, especially when the nose broke, and it took a hardened warrior to shrug off the damage without temporarily losing their vision or defense.
“So most of your defensive effort should be focused on your face.” I stopped attacking and stepped away from him. The big Elven nodded and the river of blood coming down from his nose dribbled onto his red tunic. He raised a hand and then blew out a fat glob of blood to the side of the circle. Then the big Elven adjusted his nose with a few loud cracks of cartilage.
“I’ll press and attack. Don’t let me hit your head.” He nodded and we took up mirrored positions. I remembered that when we first fought he had jested that my hands in the air made it seem like I was afraid. It was ironic that he was now a student of the technique.
But it was more ironic that I was his instructor.
I varied my attacks between his face and body again. The big Elven did an excellent job of keeping his head defended. A few of my strikes sneaked past his lower defense and smashed into his stomach and ribs. Yillomar’s torso might as well have been carved out of rock though, my attacks did little damage to him; even if their impact sounded like planks of wood being clapped together.
My strikes grew harder and I could see him struggle to fight through the pain I was inflicting on his stomach. I wasn’t hitting him with my full strength, but I guessed the battle would not have been different if I had instructed him to hit me back. After five minutes of punishment I stopped.
“Good.” A crowd of Elvens had gathered to watch, occupying every spot on the logs circling the field. More were standing behind the seated spectators. Fehalda commanded a prime seat, flanked by twenty of her warriors.
“Let’s break and have some water.” I nodded at Yillomar’s suggestion and two Elvens wearing red armor handed each of us a clay jug of cool refreshment. The big Elven had been working hard to tolerate the pain and defend himself and was covered with a thick layer of sweat. Though my strikes required more exertion than parrying, I was not even warmed up yet.
“You can attack me back now. Let’s leave kicks out for the moment. Just focus on downward palm strikes from your defending position.” I guessed a half-hour had passed and I doubted that we would be able to get to any more advanced strategies in the time that remained.
“Looking forward to it.” Yillomar smiled and raised his hands to the position I had taught him. He darted forward quickly and pounded down with a flurry of sequenced palm strikes. He was fast for an Elven, and very strong, but the enemies in my memory were much more capable and I had little difficulty defeating them by the half dozen. I trained with the best warriors of my army and their skill, strength, and speed made the Red Hatchet seem like a child in comparison.
He did have talent and I knew that if we were able to spend a few months together I could have trained him well enough to stand against most of my O’Baarni soldiers. I had judged him a fool when we first met, but the man was learning from my training and his mistakes.
When it was appropriate, I offered him pointers about his technique and reinforced the positioning I taught him earlier. I coached him through the pain that my counterattacks left on his opened defenses. Another half-hour of sparring left him covered in bruises and bleeding from gashes that my blows had inflicted upon his face.
“You are improving quickly.” I nodded and motioned for the woman with the jug of water to bring it to me. Her hair was a dark gold and her eyes an amethyst hue that contrasted sharply with her red armor.
“Thank you,” the big Elven said. “You don’t seem to be working very hard.” He was panting between the words and reached up the hand not holding the jug to wipe some of the blood away from his mouth before he drank.
“It has been many lifetimes since I’ve trained one-on-one. It is too bad I will be leaving shortly.” I shrugged my shoulders, drank deeply from the jug and handed it back to the woman.
“Yes it is. Can you instruct me on kicks?” There were probably two hundred warriors observing our session now and the air was dead silent. It was a little unnerving to be watched by so many Elvens, but I knew each extra minute of training I gave to Yillomar might swing the empress to change her mind on my exile.
“Show me your techniques,” I instructed the red-haired Elven. He nodded and displayed a variety of his leg attacks.
“Don’t kick above waist level,” I commented after he showed me a few of his shin, side, and front kicks. “They are too risky for combat and too easy for an opponent to counter.” I pointed out a few other tiny flaws with his supporting foot position and the way he moved his hands when he kicked. His technique was already very polished, but the few suggestions would make him more powerful if he continued to practice them.
“Let’s spar now. Kicks and strikes. Hit me back.” He nodded, and we spent the next chunk of time battling in the circle while the Elven army watched. I had expected Yillomar to be a quick study and I was not disappointed. If I could have spent a year with the man he might have eventually rivaled Malek or Gorbanni in combat.
Yillomar stopped our match with a wave of his hand and gestured with his head toward the perimeter of the circle. The crowd of Elven warriors had parted and four green-armored warriors walked into the field with Vernine at their point.
“It is time.” Her ruby eyes met mine and I thought I perceived some sadness in them.
“Very well. Thank you, Kaiyer.” Yillomar nodded to me and I returned the gesture. I beckoned to the woman carrying my water jug and she passed me the container. The liquid was still cool and I drank it while Vernine’s warriors circled me.
“The Radicle is located an hour’s walk from us, at the base of the canyon that forms the border between Nia and Brilla,” Vernine informed me as we walked. For half a second, I thought perhaps she and her four armored warriors were to be my only guards, but then I realized that the entire group of Elvens that had observed Yillomar and I fighting were accompanying us as well.
“Looks like you aren’t taking any chances.” I smirked.
“No.” Fehalda had floated into the ring of the empress’s guards and moved to walk beside me. I turned my head and saw that Yillomar was a few hundred yards behind conversing with a group of his warriors.
“Was Yillomar correct?” I asked the two women. I remembered carrying their barely conscious bodies away from the switchbacks of Nadea’s keep so that I could use the power of the Water to heal the injures the spider-lizard monsters had inflicted upon them.
“About?” Fehalda asked with a white raised eyebrow.
“She said you and Dissonti asked the empress to let me stay on this world.”
“Does it matter?” Fehalda didn’t bother to look at me.
“I suppose it doesn’t. Perhaps I just wish to understand why you changed your mind about me.”
“We have faced nothing but bad luck since crossing paths with you. But now that Turnia is dead, the rest of the clans will soon find out that something is amiss on our world. Even if the other clans do not come here, the rest of the Two Bears will search for their leaders. These people are your enemies as well as ours,” Fehalda explained. She did not make eye contact with me. I could see Vernine looking at me out of the corner of her eye and I wondered what the woman would say if we were alone.
We reached the end of the campsite and continued south for another mile before deviating from the main road to a small path that ran eastward. The path was narrow and looked as if it may have once been a game trail.
The trail clung to a creek bed that ran down the side of the gorge. Though there was some shade from giant ferns, palms, and leafy trees, the air was thick with humidity and the breath of the hundreds of Elvens that surrounded me. The air smelled of fresh brown dirt, organic plants, and the oil of weapons.
We had walked for three quarters of an hour and the trail began to dip down into the moving creek before rising up the other side. The entourage moved through the water and I noticed that there were many more Elvens positioned high in the trees surrounding us. These warriors were camouflaged with leaves and mud, and carried composite long bows. The empress was not taking any chances with my exile and did not think that the hundreds of warriors already surrounding me were enough to ensure my departure.
“What if I find a way back to this world?” I asked after we crossed the surprisingly refreshing creek and began to climb the steep trail on the other side.
“You won’t,” Fehalda said curtly.
“I just need an Ovule. From my understanding they are prized but most clans have them. Won’t I be able to find or steal one?”
“No, Kaiyer.” Vernine spoke softly from her position to my right side. “You won’t find another Ovule.” She avoided looking at me.
“You know I am relentless. I will return here. I wish you no harm. I just want to live in peace. If I return, will the empress attempt to send me back?” The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end and my gut was screaming to me that something was wrong. I was alone in the wilderness with hundreds, perhaps thousands of Elvens that wanted me banished from this world. Or dead.
“You will not return,” Fehalda repeated.
“So you intend to kill me?”
“No,” Vernine said. “The empress is going to send you through the Radicle as she said she would.”
Then I realized what was really going to happen.
Anger drove my vision black and my jaw clenched so firmly that I felt my teeth scrape through my skull. I didn’t want to believe what I guessed, but there was no other explanation for Vernine’s odd answers. The woman was normally cold to me, but the change in her body language and tone was apparent. She was not happy with this situation and neither was Fehalda.
They were going to do what Malek and my friends once did to me. They intended to manipulate the Radicle like my daughter had thousands of years ago. Telaxthe would send me through into the stasis and I would never be awakened unless someone knew my name and the procedure for waking my unconscious mind.
I would never be able to return to this world, or any world for that matter. This was the purest form of exile that would guarantee I could never be a loose end for Telaxthe. She would not have to worry about me returning, advising her daughter, or thwarting her plans with Jessmei.
I took a long breath and tried to force down my anger. I meant my words of alliance with the empress sincerely. While I could acknowledge that I represented a deadly risk to her people, I also saved the woman’s life and thought we had reached some understanding. The leader of the Elven people was one step ahead of me again.
There was no way out of this. There were archers in the trees and hundreds of weapon-carrying Elven warriors on all sides of me. Even if I could harness my magic and incinerate a good deal of them, there were too many to escape.
Maybe it was better to die here than be lost for another millennium.
Would I float through the clouds again? Could I chase the birds and the distant colored ships that swam through the blue skies? Maybe I would find peace with the floating islands of my dreams. What were the chances that Nadea could find out my daughter’s name and how to bring her back, if she even lived? My body had been so weak when Nadea and Paug pulled me from my sleep. There was a chance I would have perished from lack of nourishment in another few years.
I loved Shlara and I killed her. I loved Iolarathe and she was dead because of me. I loved Jessmei and Nadea as well. Would they suffer an early end because of my involvement in their lives? Everything I touched turned to death. Perhaps the skull armor really did exist under my skin. Maybe the incarnation of death, demons, and hell was my actual self and the human face I wore now was the lie.
This had been my final battle, and I had lost.
It was time to surrender.
“The Radicle,” Vernine said and I looked to where she pointed. The creek had turned into a wide river and a few hundred yards ahead the trail bent down to the shore of the roaring blue rapids. The green spiral column seemed to fight against the branches of the surrounding trees to push free of the shore of the river. Green leaves, ivy, and thick branches covered almost every part of its stone surface and I could easily understand how the temple remained undiscovered by Nia’s own people.
At the entrance to the Radicle, the empress and Dissonti stood with a hundred more Elven warriors. They looked up and I made eye contact with Telaxthe. The expression on her face was exactly as I would have predicted. She must have determined that I knew her plan.
“Welcome, Kaiyer.” She smiled when I stepped before her, but there was no glee in the expression.
“I understand why you want to do this.” I took a deep breath and did my best to keep the panic from my voice. “Is there anything I can say to change your mind? I would agree with your earlier terms.”
“There is no changing my mind, Destroyer.” She nodded, and the ranks of guards closed in on me.
“Explain why the circumstances of my acceptance are so different now. I can still give you what you want.” One of the guards laid a hand on my back and the group began to move forward into the cool depths of the spiraling temple.
“Before I could be certain of your sincerity. I believed that you would have played your role and not betrayed me. I was in the weaker position to negotiate with you and I was looking for you to cement our alliance. Now it is apparent you are accepting my offer only to save yourself, and I know you will seek ways to undermine me in the future.” She turned to face me while we walked. “I wish it were otherwise Kaiyer, but this is the best solution for my people.”
“You beat me, Telaxthe,” I said with a sigh. “I admit defeat at your hands. You’ve conquered this world and I have nothing but the hope that you will treat the humans here differently than my Elven masters did.” Telaxthe raised an eyebrow at my words but didn’t say anything. “Can I not ask for mercy? I know what you intend for me and there is little I can do to stop you now. Send me to another world instead. Perhaps I can find my purpose somewhere else.”
The bottom floor of the temple was devoid of the usual stone beds, but a shallow staircase on the far side of the giant room led into the depths of the earth. There were more Elven warriors on this level and they looked prepared to battle me.
“No. You are too dangerous. You don’t even know your own power. You almost destroyed my people and then did the same to your own when they tried to execute you for your crimes.” She shook her head and the group descended the stairs.
“Destroyed my own people?” She didn’t bother to answer me. We had reached the bottom of the stairs.
There were twenty of the strange stone beds arranged in a circle around the dais. Half of the space was filled with the armored bodies of Elven warriors and I almost laughed at the idiocy of it all. Even if I tried to resist here there were too many in the small space for anyone to fight effectively. But perhaps that was the empress’s strategy. If I did not have space to move or flee, then I could not escape into the wilderness. Even if she lost a hundred more warriors to me in this shrine, the woman believed almost anything was worth being rid of me.
“Lie on that platform.” The empress pointed at the stone bed on the other side of the room. My head was beginning to ache again.
“Please reconsider, Telaxthe.” I gave a last plea, but I knew it wouldn’t matter. The empress was past reconciliation and my fate would end here. I deserved it. Even if I had lived a blameless life and killed no one, betrayed no one, I had taken more than my share of time and lived longer than any human was meant to.
“The platform!” she commanded again. It took me a few steps to reach the bed and the feel of the cold stone was much more soothing than it should have been. Malek would have laughed at the irony of this situation.
I turned my head and saw Dissonti give Telaxthe the Ovule. The strange globe looked dead in her hands but when she moved to place it on the dais the glow of its etchings pulsed weakly.
“Seeding from four eight seven seven six three eight,” Dissonti said when the empress placed the globe in the dais.
“What does that number mean?” My body tensed and every muscle screamed. The number sounded familiar. I had heard it before, a long time ago when I was searching for Iolarathe.
“It is the location of this world and Radicle,” Dissonti explained.
“Is the last number the Radicle?” My blood surged and I began to shake. I remembered the old Elven that had first explained how the strange devices worked.
“The last two.”
“Stop!” I sat up and the gathered Elvens drew their weapons with a deafening scrape of steel.
“Sent the human across the void to seed world four eight seven seven six three nine.” The old Elven’s words slammed into my memory like a punch from Thayer.
She was on this world. My daughter was locked behind the doors of a different Radicle.
“She was sent to this world!” I screamed again and moved to get off of the platform. This changed everything. If my daughter was on this world, I just needed her name. Then I needed to find Radicle Three Nine and I could pull her from the abyss.
“I don’t care!” Telaxthe’s voice echoed my cry. Something pierced my back and I screamed with surprise. The point of a blade stuck out of my chest. Pain seared through my body along with intense exhaustion. The blade pulled from my back and I felt the cool embrace of the stone bed.
“No!” Blood filled my mouth, choking off my last plea. The light from the Ovule was glowing brighter than the sun and I felt the strange magic course through the stone and my bleeding body.
My vision began to blacken and I tried to reach up a hand to stop the empress. She was across the room, and my body felt like it weighed more than all of the stone beds put together. I could not stop her. I was so close to my daughter but now she would be lost to me forever.
I screamed again with the last of my strength. The glow of the Ovule filled my eyes until there was nothing else but its endless light and my outstretched arm.
The limb was covered in my skull armor. Their mouths opened to screech in unison with my own pain.
Chapter 39-Iolarathe
“I miss Relyara,” the girl sighed from behind me.
“You’ve said that already.” I glanced back over my shoulder.
“Not today I haven’t.” She stuck her tongue out and I fought to keep the smile from my lips.
“You also haven’t told me that you miss Nyarathe or Siltia or Wenrathe either.”
“I miss them as well. Although Deadflats is a shithole. They should all move into the valley with Relyara’s people.”
“Where did you learn that word?”
“What word?” She skipped up a few steps and grasped my hand in her smaller one. Once it had been only big enough to wrap around a single one of my fingers, but she was no longer a baby.
“Shithole.”
“You just said it.” She smiled and it reminded me of Kaiyer so much that I had to look away.
“No. You said it first, and then I asked where you learned of the word.”
“Do you agree with me that it was a shithole?” She squeezed my hand and swung our arms together.
“Yes.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “But Nyarathe has an important job and Deadflats is the best place for her to do it.”
“Then it doesn’t matter where I learned the word.” She swung our arms in cadence with our walk and her smile grew even larger. She smelled like Kaiyer: smoke, lavender, and rich oils. When we lay together in our campground at night I would often push my head against the nape of the girl’s neck and inhale the scent of her hair until I fell asleep.
It helped keep the nightmares of dragons away.
“Your hood is coming off.” I thought about fixing it for her, but she hated it when I did that.
“There is a clearing up ahead.” She pointed up the trail. Sure enough, there was a break in the jungle canopy that exposed our path on the side of the mountain. The sun hung to the west and the two hundred yards of barren trail was clearly illuminated. It would be visible for many miles.
“Then make sure your hood is up.”
“But . . .” She frowned.
“You know the rules,” I interrupted what I guessed she was going to say with a shake of my head. “Stand to my side so if someone happens to be looking they will just see me alone.” She nodded and moved to the inside of the mountain path. Vaiarathe was more than skilled at moving through the wilderness, and while I almost never left a trace of my presence, the girl might as well have been the wind. She could walk across a field of long grass and there would be no mark of her passing. If our luck ran out, and the O’Baarni ever caught us, I wanted her to have the greatest chance of escape I could give her.
We approached the clearing and I tasted the heat of the sun on the side of the mountain. Butterflies spun through the air and the untamed scent of wildflowers accompanied the thick earthy fragrance of the humid jungle. I reached up to check my own hood out of habit but it was in place.
“Stay in my shadow,” I warned her and then we walked through the sun with our heads bowed.
We made it about halfway across the sunny gap when Vaiarathe made a sudden move toward me. I spun my head around, thinking that perhaps she smelled something that I didn’t or noticed movement. I realized she was grabbing for my hood. The girl was fast and I gasped with surprise when she knocked my cowl from my head.
“Damn it, Vaiarathe!” I knocked her hands away, but it was too late. My hair was exposed and now any O’Baarni within thirty miles of us could have seen the shine of the sun reflecting off of my red mane. I pulled the hood back in its place with another curse, then I grabbed the girl’s arm and dragged her forward into the shade of the tree.
“Why did you do that?” I tried to keep from screaming at her. I could taste the rotting fear in the air and it took me a second to realize that it was my own.
“You are hurting my arm, Mother.” She winced and looked down at my right hand.
“You know the rules. What were you thinking?” I tightened my grip on her. I was shaking now and I felt tears sting my eyes. How many O’Baarni saw us? How soon would they be on this mountain range? Did the dragon see us? I thought we had a good lead on our pursuers, but that could have all been lost now.
“I wanted him to see you.” Her bottom lip quivered a bit.
“He’s dead!” My left hand lashed out before I could even think and struck the girl across her beautiful face. “They killed him and they want to do the same to us! How many times do I need to explain this to you?”
“He’s not dead! He saw you! We just need to wait for him. Please, Mother!” Her eyes gushed tears and she sobbed. I doubted I had really hurt her, but she was probably as surprised as I was that I slapped her.
“No Vaiarathe. Your father was supposed to meet me. I waited for him. I waited months for him. The only ones that showed were the people who are trying to kill us. They have never stopped chasing us. If he was alive, he would have met me when he promised.” I hated saying the words, but I also hated that my daughter kept telling me that he was still alive.
“You hit me.” She reached up with her right hand and touched the spot on her cheek. The red mark had already faded and I doubted she felt anything but the memory.
“You put us in danger and you keep speaking of your father.” Her teary green eyes told me that she didn’t think my explanation justified the blow. Her scent hardly ever changed, so I had become much better at reading facial expressions since the wonderful girl came into my life. “I am frustrated, Daughter. Continue walking. I have to figure out how to shake our pursuers now that you revealed us to them.” I tugged on her arm and the girl bowed her head before she fell in step next to me.
“Don’t you miss him?” she said after a few painful minutes of silence passed between the two of us.
The question sparked the flame of emotions in my chest and I gritted my teeth to keep them bottled. I swore to the damn Dead Gods that if I did not love this girl so much I would have killed her three hundred times since she was born. She seemed to know exactly what to say to anger me and distract me from my goal of keeping us alive.
“Yes. But I have you, so I am thankful.” I smiled at her and hoped that she could not feel the pain I was trying to protect her from. I wanted her to know more about her father, but discussing him was so painful I hardly ever allowed it.
“He misses you too. He doesn’t know about me,” she said sadly.
“Damn it, Vaiarathe. Just stop talking about him, please.” I wiped my eyes with my fingers and sighed. “Help me figure out how to escape the hunters that follow us.”
“They are following him now.” She shook her head. “We really should wait—” She caught my glare and stopped midsentence. Then the girl pursed her lips and clasped her hands together.
“Maybe the next Radicle will have an Ovule? Then we can be gone from this world?” She smiled back up at me and batted her long eyelashes. The simple movement washed away the sadness in my chest and I found myself returning the grin.
“That would be wonderful. Nyarathe’s scouts think the entrance to the caverns below this mountain is along this trail.”
“What kind of worlds do you think we can journey to?” It was a conversation we had multiple times a day, but I never grew tired of dreaming with her.
“Maybe one that will be just like this, only without humans.” I smiled.
“But some of them are good.”
“Not the ones that follow us.”
“Those are O’Baarni. Some of them are good. Some of them are not. Just like humans.” She nodded as if she had just told me that the sky was blue and the moon was green.
“All of them want to kill us, so I will conclude that they are not good.”
“Am I human, O’Baarni, or Elven?” She had never asked this question, so I paused for a few seconds to think of an answer that was close enough to the truth.
“Which would you prefer to be?”
“Elven!” She smiled so wide that her green eyes closed with the effort.
“Why?” I wanted to keep her talking while I focused on reaching our destination. O’Baarni were the most obvious threat that my daughter knew of, but I was more frightened of the monster I made a deal with those many years ago. I did not know where the dragon lurked, but I knew she hunted me as well. If we reached the cave in time I doubted that she would be able to follow.
“We are a kind people and help each other.”
“It wasn’t always that way.”
“Oh I know, you’ve told me before that we used to be mean. But that isn’t the case any longer.” She inhaled and seemed distracted for a second. “There is a mango tree over there,” she pointed up the slope. “And it has a beehive in it. We should get some mangos and honey!”
“We don’t have time.” I sighed when her face fell. I almost pointed out that the reason we needed to hurry was that she had pulled down my hood, but I realized that I had made that point clear enough when I slapped her. “Once we travel to the other world, we will have plenty of time for collecting honey. Remember how we slept in my old cottage in Relyara’s valley?”
“Yes.” She smiled again. “Will we have orchards and a garden in our new home?”
“Yes, just like that place; we will find a home next to the river so we can fish and raise livestock. There will be plenty of time for collecting honey.” She tightened her grip on my hand with excitement but then she lost her smile.
“Will there be other children there? Boys and girls my age?”
“It depends.”
“On what?”
“There might not even be humans or Elvens on the new world.”
“Can’t we choose? We should only go to a place where we can make friends.”
“They might not want to be our friends.” I laughed lightly at her words.
“Everyone wants to be my friend, Mother. Remember those human children? They loved me.”
“Oh yes I remember them. Do you recall how angry I was with you?” It had been five or six years ago and we were camped on the outskirts of a human settlement of a few thousand. I was planning a way to steal supplies and perhaps take a hostage to extract news, but Vaiarathe slipped away. I found her after a frantic half-hour of search playing with a group of human children. There were no adults around so I was able to avoid killing anyone.
“It was worth it though. You never obeyed your parents.” She stuck her tongue out at me and I didn’t know if I should get angry or laugh at her.
“Who told you I never obeyed my parents?”
“Nyarathe. Then I asked Relyara and she confirmed.” Her smile was so smug that I did indeed laugh. Surely the Dead Gods were paying me back for the trouble I gave my parents.
“My parents were fools. I hope you don’t think the same of me.”
“No. Of course not, Mother.” The smile fell from her lips and she looked pensive. “I do wish you would listen to me about—”
“No more today, Vaiarathe!” I growled at her. “I don’t want to hear you speak anymore of him. Just give me today please? Your stunt with my hood has created a dangerous situation and you should be thankful I am not angrier with you.”
“Fine.” She spat the word and then looked away. I knew she was mad at me, but I was displeased with her as well. She still maintained the grip of our locked fingers so I suspected that she was not very upset.
I let her walk in silence for another hour before we came to a deep stream that cut across the path. Here we refilled our water skins, drank until our stomachs were full, and then ate the last of our rations from Relyara. The salted meat and dried fruit had lasted us for many more months than I expected, but we had been lucky with hunting. Perhaps fortune wasn’t entirely to blame. Vaiarathe had become a skilled hunter over the years and the last boar I watched her hunt was killed with a single throw of the spear I lent her. We had feasted that night and done our best to smoke more of the meat for a few days before we continued on our journey.
“May I see the map?” she asked after we finished eating. I was packing up the remainder of my supplies and debating the strategy of following the stream upward to thwart our trackers. I left little evidence of my passing but I knew the O’Baarni were only sending their best trackers after me. They did not seem to have sensitive noses, so I often bought us time by taking rivers, climbing trees, or pushing through storms.
“Here.” I unfolded the thick parchment that Relyara gave us and handed it to Vaiarathe.
“I wonder if this creek leads to the entrance. Look at the lines.” She pointed to the detailed drawing that Relyara’s scouts provided. “If the water continues to cut into the mountain it may be right at the entrance. See how the trail bends around?” I nodded at her observations of the map and studied our surroundings.
“Even if I am wrong, we will probably only be a few hundred feet away. If we stay in the water then we will be harder to track,” she continued and I could tell that she was seeking my approval
“I agree with your assessment. Good job, Daughter.” She tried to hide her smile. “I will let you lead us then. Are you up for the task?”
“Yes, Mother!” She hastily folded up the map and handed it back to me. I put the paper back in its correct place and then finished strapping everything else into the sack.
“Take the spear as a walking stick.” I handed her the weapon and looked for an appropriate length of wood that I could use. After a few feet of wading through the stream behind Vaiarathe I found a thick piece of jungle driftwood.
“Do you think that there are sharks in the water?” she whispered over her shoulder after we hit a deep part of the river that brought the water up to her chest.
“Maybe just small ones. I would be more worried about water vipers.”
“I am not concerned. I just want to see a shark. Siltia and Wenrathe had a drawing in one of their books.” Nyarathe’s children had spent many precious days with Vaiarathe. They had grown close and their friendship, as well as being reunited with my sister again, made our departure difficult.
“Careful of the water ahead. It is moving quicker and appears to be deeper,” I cautioned.
“I am fine, Mother.” She blew a stream of water out of her mouth with a playful smile. The air was hot and humid but the chill water was melted snow from the top of the mountain range. We tried to keep as dry as possible when we traveled to preserve our clothes, but the refreshing dip felt wonderful.
Vaiarathe was swimming now but the water only came up to my neck. A waterfall cascaded into the river ahead and before I could advise my daughter on the correct method of climbing the boulders that made up the waterfall she sprung from the current, landing lightly on the top of the falls. The leap was over thirty feet and I closed my open mouth before she could turn back and smile at me in triumph. I may have been able to make that kind of a leap if I had started on solid ground, but she had been floating moments before attempting the jump. It was as if the water itself flung her gently from its embrace.
She sat down on the edge of the falls and waited for me to climb the face. The sides of the creek were cut like a gorge now and though the sky above us was open, I didn’t believe there would be much of a risk of the dragon finding us unless she swooped directly overhead. That only left me the O’Baarni to worry about until we reached the Radicle.
“Do you hear anything?” I asked her when I reached the top of the falls.
“Just the creatures of the jungle.” She shrugged her shoulders and I adjusted the lay of her hood on her auburn hair. Her movement reminded me of Kaiyer and for a few brief seconds I allowed myself to hope that the girl was right in her predictions that her father was still alive.
“Would you call this a pool, a pond, or a lake?” She gestured behind her to the standing body of water that dammed up before the falls.
“A big pool or a small pond. Lakes are much larger,” I confirmed.
“We should walk around it.”
“We’ll have to swim. There are no trails to the sides.” The pool was cut like a deep bowl into the stone basin of the jungle floor.
“I will go first.” Vaiarathe jumped into the water with the spear in her hand. I followed after her and focused on the mouth of the small river that fed the pool about two hundred yards in the distance.
The pond was surprisingly deep, but the water was clear and I could see ten feet through the blue depths. This place was peaceful and if our situation were different I would have enjoyed camping here for a few weeks. With a supply of fresh water, the jungle fruits, and the plentiful amount of small game here we could have lived quite happily. I had considered someplace cooler for our new homestead on whatever world we would inhabit, but perhaps a tropical setting such as this jungle would be more fun.
Something moved under the current of the pool beneath Vaiarathe. It was large, long and swam in a sideways motion like a snake. My daughter was focused on the end of the pool and while she swam with long, powerful strokes that quickly carried her skipping across the surface of the water, the large creature under her was faster and I could see it twist toward her.
“Beneath you!” I screamed out a warning, but the girl choked and then disappeared under the water before she heard me.
I called her name and then dove under the water with a curse. I didn’t know what the creature was, but I guessed it was much too large for my daughter to wrestle with while underwater. If the thing had teeth, it was possible that it bit her and was dragging her deep into the depths of the pool.
I could see nothing through the blood. I kicked hard and swam to her. My mind spun with terror. She was dead, or soon would be. There was too much blood.
The creature struggled beneath me. It was a water viper, they normally grew to four feet in length, but this one was easily twenty and the reptile’s body was as thick as my own chest. The bottom half of its tail coiled around my daughter’s small torso and its maw was positioned only a few feet over the top of her head. My spear was trapped between her hip and the monster, so Vaiarathe could not bring the weapon into play. The only thing preventing the creature from ripping her beautiful head from her shoulders was her one tiny arm pushing its nose away.
I had a short bow latched to my pack, but it would be useless under the water. I did have a long dagger at my hip, so I pulled it free and drove it into the scales where it wrapped around the girl. The blade punched deep and I was able to yank it vertically to ensure the deepest of cuts. Most animals gave up as soon as they encountered any sort of resistance from their prey, but this monster only seemed to tighten its constriction around Vaiarathe in response to my attack.
I cut again and again with the blade but the fucking beast wouldn’t let go of her. It spun in the water and I lost my hold on the dagger buried in its flesh. The water was so thick and red now that I couldn’t see anything in front of me and my panicked attempts to keep up with the twisting pair grew even more frantic. I was lost and floating down in an endless sea of crimson. The twists and thrashing of the water stopped suddenly and I couldn’t figure out where they were in the opaque depths. I was running out of air. Vaiarathe had smaller lungs and had likely taken a shallower breath. If she was not bleeding out she was drowning.
I almost screamed into the water. The Dead Gods were cruel to take her from me when we were so close to our freedom. I had protected her from O’Baarni killers, the unyielding hate of the environment, and the most diabolical creature in all of creation. Yet this was how she would pass from this world. I should have taken the lead. It should have been me locked in the deathly coil of the monster while she swam to freedom.
A hand gripped my shoulder and pulled me. I saw my daughter’s smiling face underwater. I almost gasped with relief. We surfaced from the bloody pool with a symphonic pair of relieved sighs.
“Are you okay?” The water was a muddy red and I could not see any part of her body that was submerged.
“I tried to tell him that we weren’t food, but he didn’t listen!” She was gasping for breath and I wrapped my arms around her while we treaded water.
“Are you injured?” I realized my voice was halfway between a panicked scream and an insane screech so I forced myself to relax. If the girl was talking and treading water she was probably going to be fine.
Unless the viper got its poison into her.
“He bit me to pull me down, but I’m okay now.” She pushed away from me and kicked toward our previous destination. I noticed she held something long and ivory in her left hand, but I couldn’t clearly see what it was until we escaped the dizzying scent of the coppery blood.
“Is that the monster’s fang?” It was curved and more than three feet in length.
“He wouldn’t let go, Mother.” She sighed and wiped some bloody snot from her nose. I couldn’t tell visually if the blood came from her or was just left over from the serpent, but a quick flick of my tongue confirmed it was the creature’s.
“You ripped its fang out?” She sat on the smooth rocky shore of the stream and I moved my hands over her legs. I found the place where the monster bit her, but the ripped deerskin pants were the only proof of the assault. Her white skin underneath was perfectly healed. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly for a few seconds. She pushed away, irritated and too excited to stay still in my arms.
“Yes but he still wouldn’t let go so I had to stab him in the eye.” She held it up in her small hand to show me the fang and I realized that a part of it was broken off at the tip. “The poor thing is dead now. We should have climbed the side walls of the pool.”
“I am just relieved you are okay. Did you feel poisoned?” Viper venom from a normal sized snake would be enough to render one of my kind unconscious for a day, but it would not have the same potency in my own body. However, I understood very little of Vaiarathe’s powers and the giant monster might have delivered its toxin in a dose too large for her small body to handle.
“I need to drink a few skins of water, but other than that I feel fine. Just thirsty.” The disappointment on her face from the death of the monster was replaced by a smile when I voiced my concern. I passed her my water skin and she drank it all before we filled it up again.
“I lost the spear in the water.” She frowned after she returned the skin.
“No matter. We’ll craft a new one once we reach our destination. There is a branch behind you that looks to be the correct size.”
“We are almost there, Mother. I can feel the presence of the Radicle.” She pointed up ahead and sprang to her feet like a playful kitten. Then she grabbed the new walking stick and waded into the moving water.
“I will lead for now.” I took the point position and guided us through the currents and cuts of the deep stream for another two hours.
“Mother, look,” Vaiarathe said from behind me and I glanced back at her and then followed her finger to a cave in the side of the canyon. The cave reminded me of the one I had entered thirteen years ago to make the deal with Recatolusti’catri and her diabolical brood. It was carved like the jaw of some beast that lay in wait to devour any foolish enough to pass.
“There is the trail.” I saw the narrow path that descended the steep canyon face above the stream. The cave was forty feet above us but still ten feet below the trail. If a traveler did not know the opening was there, it would have been easy to miss.
“Let’s climb.” I checked the straps on my pack and then did the same for Vaiarathe. I let the girl ascend first in case her wet hands slipped on the rocks. I was used to worrying about her, but a few seconds of watching her climb made me feel foolish. She ascended like a squirrel up an oak tree and reached the mouth of the cave before I even got my boots out of the cool water.
“I feel good about this one. It is different.” She offered me her hand when I reached the top and I grasped it even though I did not need her assistance. It made her happy when she believed she helped me.
“What is different?”
“It tastes strong.” She licked her lips and I repeated her movement with my own tongue. I tasted the water, damp jungle air, dust from the cave, and the clay mixed with granite.
“I’ll choose to believe you.” I forced a smile to my lips. This was the last Radicle on the map Relyara and Nyarathe put together for me. I needed one of the small orbs that powered the temple but I had been unable to find one yet. I knew that the O'Baarni had captured a few in their looting of my race’s tribal lands, but I did not want to risk stealing one until I had exhausted all our other options.
This was our last hope and I prayed that my daughter was correct.
“I’ll make the light!” she whispered but could not hide the excitement in her voice. The flame appeared in her hand: a faint shade of white mixed with violet. We were still at the mouth of the cave, but the extra illumination allowed me to see that the path into the cave bent down at an angle that reminded me more of the dragon’s lair.
“How far do you feel it is?” I tried not to rely too much on the girl’s odd predictions since she could not explain to me how she made them. Yet she was often correct.
“It is far. Deep down in the heart. That is why there is still an Ovule.” I nodded and tried not to share her excitement. I could not stand being disappointed again.
“We ate the last of our rations.” I gritted my teeth and wondered how far of a descent this would be. I didn’t want to waste time gathering food or hunting when our goal was so close. Especially after she had pulled down my hood and alerted every nearby enemy of our presence. We had little time to spare.
“We should hunt and spend a night smoking what we catch. When we go through the Radicle to our new home we might need extra provisions.” She nodded her head and took steps back to the edge of the cave mouth.
“No, Vaiarathe. We don’t have time. Our water should last us a few days if we conserve it. We will fast until we reach the Radicle and then settle with what we can eat in the new world.”
“Ugh.” She sighed. “I was afraid you would say that.” She wiggled her lips and then spoke again. “You wouldn’t believe me if I said that we have enough time?”
“No.” I forced a smile to my mouth, but the word was firm enough to let her know that I wouldn’t tolerate any of the girl’s arguments.
She turned away from the ledge and walked deeper into the cave. Her boot steps were squishy from our swim and I almost changed my mind about my daughter’s recommendation. Dry clothes and a satchel full of smoked fish or monkey would make the last part of our long journey more enjoyable.
Vaiarathe led me down the deep cave for a few hundred yards before pulling the hood down from her head and shaking her wet hair loose. I followed her example and we both used magic to conjure small flames to our hands. Mine glowed a faint orange but Vaiarathe’s was white with a pulsing purple current at its base.
“The ground is smoother here. I’m going to take my clothes off so that they will dry.” She called over her shoulder while she tugged her pack straps loose.
“We are still close to the entrance. I’d prefer we keep them on in case they track us here.”
“They won’t, but even if they do we will hear them coming from far away. This place echoes.” She smiled at me while she pulled her clothes off and then draped them over her pack. Once she was naked she tied her boots to the latches of the leather kit and slung it back over her shoulders.
Then we continued onward.
After another hour I asked the girl to stop so that I could do the same with my clothes. What I wanted almost as much as an escape through the Radicle was a place to wash our garments with soap. Thoughts of laundry made my imagination wander to the idea of a bath and my mind floated away thinking about such a luxury. I had always wanted to take a bath with Kaiyer, but it would have been too dangerous to sneak him into my bedchambers. Now that the man was dead I would never have the chance, but even a bath alone with a tub full of soapy water seemed more than a divine experience.
Even if we did escape through this Radicle, there was no way to know what the next world would be like. I hoped we could find a relatively uninhabited planet, which would keep us safer, but also mean that it would take years to establish a home where I could enjoy any of the luxuries I had grown up with. I wondered if Vaiarathe was lucky in that she had never grown accustomed to comfort. She only knew this life and seemed content enough, though she enjoyed fantasizing about our new home as much as I did.
“Do you think this Radicle was built in the depths of this cave? Or did the earth just swallow it up one day?” Vaiarathe asked.
“I don’t know, Daughter. Does it even matter?” When she had first started talking a few months after she was born, the babe had bothered me with all sorts of useless questions, but as the years passed I learned to appreciate her ability to distract me from the drudgery of travel.
“Sure it does! I wonder who built these places and who used them. If what Nyarathe believes is correct, then the Dead Gods crafted them for the ancient humans, but why would this one be so far removed from the sunlight?”
“Maybe it was a strategic decision to make the place harder to find.”
“But Relyara said the Gods made these places well before the humans decided to attack. They wanted the humans to use them.”
“Perhaps during the war the earth was moved and swallowed up this place.” We both slid down a steep section of rock on our bare feet but easily regained our balance when it flattened out. I tasted the distant scent of water and felt some of my concerns relax. If there was a creek or river down here, we would not have to worry about drinking and there might be fish or crayfish to catch.
“That was what I think happened, Mother.” She had a big smile on her face, obviously pleased that I agreed with her. “I think the mountain was moved during the war and swallowed up this Radicle.”
“The Ancients were said to be powerful.” I nodded
“Is that why the Gods created the dragons?”
“Do not ever speak of those creatures!” I seethed the words.
“Sorry.” She pouted after a few moments.
“I have told you before—”
“I said I was sorry. I got excited.” She sniffled slightly, but I didn’t think the girl was crying.
I left the conversation alone after our exchange and we didn’t speak for another few hours. The path of the cave continued to take us deeper into the tropical mountain and we did eventually come to a stream that was seven feet across and just as deep. By then our clothes were dry, but we left them off and I swam across first before Vaiarathe tossed me our packs.
“How much farther?” I doubted that she knew exactly how much more distance we needed to cover, but I had grown frustrated by our silence and I knew she would be happy if I asked her opinion.
“It is still far away, Mother.” She pursed her lips.
“Let us rest here for the night.” It was past evening but the absence of the sun or wind was disorienting.
“I’ll set up our bed rolls.” She got to work on the campsite while I removed a small mesh net from my pack and set it up at one of the bends in the river. By the time Vaiarathe finished with our bedrolls my trap had caught four small fish. They were ugly things, devoid of eyes and possessing strange tentacles around their toothy mouths, but we roasted them over our hands with our fire and they tasted delicious.
When we awoke from our slumber we drank deeply from the river, donned our clothes, filled up our skins again, and then continued deep into the darkness of the earth. By now I had lost track of how many hours we traveled, but as soon as I began to feel tired from our endless spelunking I noticed a change in the scent of the air.
“We are close, Mother.” I nodded and we increased our pace. The cave walls had become oppressively close at some points and we had to descend in a single file, but as the air took on a more organic scent, the cavern widened and massive tree roots pushed through the rock of the ceiling.
There was a glow ahead, it was a deep green and my nose filled with the flavors of vines, dirt, and honeysuckle. I could hear the excited heartbeat of my daughter. I heard something else, another beat that knocked slowly from the origin of the distant glow.
“There is someone else in the Radicle. I will lead,” I commanded Vaiarathe and she nodded before falling in place behind me. We continued the last two hundred yards and then came upon the ruin of the Radicle. It was spiraled as the others we had encountered, but this one did look tilted and the top portion was broken apart by the rock of the cave. Or maybe the tower passed through the ceiling like a skewer. It seemed that Vaiarathe’s prediction was correct: the earth had attempted to swallow this Radicle.
The green glow flowed out of the windows of the tower like fog and it carried even richer scents of life and honey. I drew the short bow off of my back and slid four arrows between the fingers of my right hand so that I could quickly fire them. I was sure that there was someone alive inside the shrine and the pulsing of their heart was unlike anything I had ever heard.
“Hello?” I called out toward the ruin. I didn’t expect an answer from whoever occupied the large structure, but my voice was more than loud enough to carry into its depths.
I heard movement inside, the slow shuffle of feet and the soft dragging sound of cloth across tile. Someone moved through the ruined tower toward us.
“Greetings,” an old voice called out from inside of the green stone spiral. It was a man’s timbre and shortly I saw his ancient form creep out of the entrance.
“Who are you?” The Elven looked older than any I ever recollected seeing. I had heard legends of our kin being able to extend their lives past the five hundred years that were the norm, but I always doubted the truth of these rumors. This man proved me wrong, for he must have been many thousands of years old and looked like his flesh was cut from the same stone as the Radicle.
“I am the caretaker of this Radicle. Do you seek passage to a seed?”
“Seed?” Vaiarathe asked.
“Yes, Mistress. Another world.” His voice was like gravel being shaken in a sealed barrel of honey. I could not even smell his emotions on the air; he blended in perfectly with this place.
“We were told we need an Ovule to use the Radicle,” I said.
“Yes, Singleborn. There is an Ovule here.” He nodded.
“How did you know I was a Singleborn?” Perhaps I should have been cautious, but my emotions swirled about my stomach like butterflies.
“I can sense your power, child.”
“Can you show us how to use the Ovule in the Radicle? We wish to leave this world,” Vaiarathe said before I could ask the old shell how he could possibly sense my power.
“Of course. That is my role here. I am surprised you do not know that, Mistress.” He bobbed his graying head and I noticed that his long pewter hair did not sway with the movement. He turned his back to us and slowly shuffled into the dilapidated temple.
“The Ovule is in the Radicle’s heart. This way, please.” We moved through a few empty rooms and then came upon the familiar pedestal. On this stone dais sat a polished metal ball that matched the description Nyarathe had given us. The orb filled the place with the scent of dozens of flowers mixed with coppery blood. I could almost taste the power seeping from the small etchings on its smooth surface.
“How does it work?” Vaiarathe’s voice was filled with excitement and I could actually smell her delight.
“Place your hand upon it as such.” The Elven did so and the glow in the room darkened a few seconds before yellow lines of light sprang to life along the smooth walls around us.
“These dots are worlds that have been seeded.” His voice stuttered between the words. It seemed as if the old fossil was about to fall asleep where he stood.
“It looks like some Radicles can only send to specific worlds,” Vaiarathe stated.
“Why do you say that?” I asked her.
“Look how the lines flow to the dots. I can see hundreds of others that are not illuminated.” I followed her finger and noticed the same on the wall. There were fifty-two spots lit on the walls, but almost four times that many were not glowing.
“She is correct.” The man nodded and I heard his neck creak like an ancient oak tree.
I studied the walls again and paid closer attention to the lines and intersections. It was a spider web of chaos, but after a few minutes of examination I pointed to one of the dots at a far corner.
“This place only has two lines leading to it. All the others have at least six. Does that mean that this world is only accessed through two other worlds?”
“Yes Singleborn,” the Old One confirmed.
“Tell me of this world.”
“If you place your hand on the Ovule and focus on the dot, then you will be told of its mysteries.”
“Like this?” Vaiarathe had already moved next to the ancient Elven and placed her hands on the smooth orb. The lights on the wall pulsed and spun. The old tree stepped back away from my daughter and his eyes opened wide with surprise.
“There are no Elvens on this world, Mother; but there are beautiful forests, vast oceans, jungles, lakes, rivers, and mountains. There are two moons!”
“There are no other worlds with Elvens besides this one, Mistress.” The old fossil guessed my next question. I was about to ask him why our people were only on this planet, but my daughter interrupted.
“This world will be perfect for us, Mother. I can even feel the location of the Radicles. I like the one in the mountain range. Beneath the crags is a beautiful valley where we can build a home. It looks almost like the one where Relyara lives.”
“Fine.” I didn’t really care which world it was. I preferred a land with other Elvens, but if this old piece of rock said that option was not available, I did not want to waste time agonizing over the circumstances. I just wanted to leave.
“How do we get started?” I asked the ancient Elven man.
“The human has already connected with the Ovule. She can tell it that she wishes to travel there and then lay upon one of the Plumule. Then the Radicle will take her to the world.” The man pointed into the other room at the stone beds arranged in the center of the circular chamber.
“Does the Ovule come with us?” I asked. My attention focused on Vaiarathe. She had her eyes closed while she grasped the orb. The glow from the lines and dots on the wall pulsed as if they were alive and I began to feel uneasy.
“No, Singleborn. It will stay here for the next one who wishes to travel. If you have another in your possession, it can be carried with you, but the one used to power the Radicle must remain here.”
“It won’t work,” Vaiarathe said suddenly and we both turned to her.
“What do you mean?” I asked the girl and my stomach tightened.
“It can only send one of us. It doesn’t have enough power.”
“Is this true?” I almost screeched at the old man.
“No. No.” Confusion was plain on his face and his jaw trembled slightly. “It should be able to send many humans or Elvens.”
“Touch it.” Vaiarathe’s green eyes watched the Elven as he hesitantly reached out to feel the surface of the device.
“Oh. I see,” he said after a few minutes. Then he shook his head and removed his hand from the smooth surface of the orb.
“What do you see? Why won’t it work?” I almost screamed through my clenched teeth. We had come this far and endured so many trials. I should never have allowed myself to believe it was almost over.
“You will need another Ovule. One for each of you. After you use the Radicle the Ovule will be empty of power.”
“But you said this could send many people!” I growled and Vaiarathe laid her hand on my arm. I shrugged it off and thought about ripping the limbs off of the old Elven.
“It can. But the Ovule has shown me the truth, Mistress.” He kneeled down in front of me and placed his head on the ground. The movement was slow, every joint in his body creaked in protest. “You could travel without the Ovule, but if you wish to use the device you will need one for each of you. Those are the rules you made for the Radicle.”
“What in the name of the Dead Gods are you talking about, asshole?” I wanted to stomp on the fool’s head.
“Mother, please.” Vaiarathe pulled on my arm and probably saved the old bastard’s pathetic life. “We just need to find another Ovule, then we can return here and leave together. The O’Baarni have some?”
“Nyarathe believes they do.” I nudged the crumpled man at my feet with a booted toe. “You said something about traveling without the Ovule. What did you mean?”
“You can do whatever you wish. I am your servant and I am sorry for what we did to you, great one. Please forgive us all.” His voice became a moan and then it changed pitch and it almost sounded as if he was singing a song.
“No. Stop. Shut your fucking face!” I ripped the man off of the ground and held him in the air by his fragile throat. He had only sung a few measures of the song but I felt it continue to echo through my entire body. It felt as if I had heard the words before, but when my mind repeated them they sounded alien and my head began to ache.
“Look at me!” His eyes were rolling back in his gray sockets and then they seemed to focus on my face. “You said I could use the Radicle without the Ovule. Tell me how. Now.”
“I don’t understand, Mistress. Please forgive me.” He choked out the words while tears rolled down his face like rain and I set him down with a sigh and turned to my daughter.
“You will go through first. Then I will find another Ovule and return.”
“No. We can go together to find another.” She shook her head and her lips folded.
“It is too dangerous. They will kill us if we are caught.”
“We won’t be caught though, Mother. We’ve escaped them for a dozen years.” There was a glassy sheen to her eyes and I knew she was close to crying.
“We ran and hid from them. Now I will have to go into one of their cities. You will journey through the Radicle and I will meet you on the other side once I’ve retrieved another Ovule.” My heart was hammering in my chest.
“I can just wait here for you. Or maybe go back to Relyara’s valley if you are worried about them catching me.”
“No. They are close to us now. We need to keep moving forward.” I reached out my hand and smoothed the hair from her face. “You will be fine on the other world. You are strong.”
“They are following him. They don’t care about us anymore. I can wait here and Father will find me. He is close.” Tears streamed down the girl’s face now, but she wasn’t sobbing.
“No, Vaiarathe. You need to do this for me. If I know you are safe I can focus on this task. The O’Baarni probably don’t even know how powerful an Ovule is. They may have them sitting forgotten on shelves. It will be easy.”
“I will never see you again if you make me leave. I will never see my father. Please, just let me come with you!” The words choked out of her and I felt my own tears begin to pour down my face like warm rain.
“Nonsense. I’ll get the Ovule, my love. Nothing can keep us apart.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her face into my chest. She fit perfectly there and I realized that the last twelve years traveling with her were filled with more joy than fear and more laughter than sadness. My daughter was the best parts of me and Kaiyer and I loved her with a ferocity that pained me.
“They will kill you!” she screeched into my chest while she squeezed my arms. “They will capture you and I will never see you again. Please believe me! I know what will happen!” Her words chilled me. I pulled the girl into me and inhaled the fragrance of her hair.
“Even if they kill me, I will know you are safe. That is all that matters to me. That is all I have cared about since the moment I laid eyes on you my darling. That is why I taught you how to survive, hide, hunt, fight, and be strong.” I pushed her away from my chest to look at her beautiful face.
“Do not argue with me anymore. I love you beyond words, Vaiarathe. Do you know how much I love you?”
She nodded through her sobs and raised a hand to wipe the tears from her green eyes. “Of course. You tell me all the time.” She smirked through her tears and I laughed a little in spite of the heaviness in my heart.
“You will wait for me on the other side. You said there is a valley near this Radicle?”
“It is west of the mountain range. Please do not leave me, Mother. I am scared to be without you.” The girl’s admittance of fear almost made me reconsider my choice. She had never been a coward and I wondered if her prediction about my fate was correct.
All of her other predictions had come true.
“You know how to survive, my beautiful Vaiarathe. It won’t take me more than a few months to return. Then we can be together. Nothing will stop me from seeing you again.” The girl nodded but her sobs continued and I knew my words did not reassure her.
“Mistresses!” a voice said from the ground next to us. I had forgotten about the old Elven ward until he spoke from his prostrated position.
“There might be a solution,” he said before I could extract punishment for interrupting the moment I was sharing with my daughter.
“You can travel to another Radicle, but sleep until someone speaks your name and activates an Ovule to receive you. That way the human can leave first and my mistress can retrieve her when she follows.”
“I can just sleep? What does that mean?”
“The magic will preserve your life and body while you frolic amongst the stars and endless islands of creation, as if you are dreaming. It won’t last forever, but a hundred years will seem only a day to your physical form.”
“I choose that option,” Vaiarathe said.
“No. What if your prediction is right and the O’Baarni do kill me? Then you will never awaken.” I shook my head and sighed.
“That is why you should take me with you!” the girl tried to argue again, but I frowned and fixed my stare on her. She knew my decision had been made and the tears began to flow. I wrapped my arms around her and we did not speak for many minutes. The pain filled my chest and I felt as if I could not breathe. I didn’t want this. I wanted her to stay with me, but it would put her in peril. Stealing an Ovule from the O’Baarni would be a dangerous endeavor and I did not want to risk the one I loved. She would be safer in this new world where there were no O’Baarni to chase her. I owed her that protection at least. The girl was innocent of any of the atrocities that her father and I had inflicted upon each other and this poor world.
If this was the correct decision, then why couldn’t I let go of her? Why couldn’t I keep from crying? Why did I still fear for her?
I wished we could have embraced for days, but I knew our time was short. I couldn’t show her my fear. I couldn’t tell her that we might not see each other again. I couldn’t let her know that I was willing to send her away because her life was worth a thousand of mine. Instead I needed to be strong so that Vaiarathe would know that this was the correct decision.
The O’Baarni would come to this place soon and I wanted my daughter safe before the murderers arrived. They would extort information from the old Elven, but I could not kill him.
“What do I need to know about this place when I return?” I asked the Elven warden.
He stood up to his feet with a slow, pained motion and then touched the Ovule again. The dot on the wall glowed a little brighter than the other intersections and lines that ran alongside it.
“She has selected seed world four eight seven seven six three nine. It is an older world and the humans have only multiplied to a hundredth of its density.”
“Four eight seven seven six three nine.” I repeated the number aloud and then in my head until it was memorized. “Are all the worlds numbered?”
“The last two digits are the Radicles on the world.”
“Is there anything else I can say to beseech you, Mother?” Vaiarathe asked. I turned to look at her and my heart almost gave out on me.
“No, my love. I will send you to this world and see you in a few months.” I forced a smile to my face and tried to choke back my tears. “I’m expecting to see a home already built with an orchard, garden, fishing spot, and some cattle ready for me. Will you complete those tasks before I come?”
“Yes, Mother.” The girl nodded and her jaw set. I wanted to hug her one more time and I did. Then I leaned my face down and kissed her forehead.
“I love you, Daughter.” My stomach flipped a dozen times and I had to force my jaw tight so that I did not sob. Why couldn’t there have been two Ovules in this place? I was surely cursed by the Dead Gods.
“I love you, Mother. I will see you again someday.” She began to cry and I fought against my desire to keep her by my side. It would be too dangerous to make the journey to the human cities with her. I already traveled slower because of Vaiarathe’s age and I did not want to put her in jeopardy. The idea of her staying here or even returning to Relyara’s valley was also foolish, especially after she pulled down my hood a few days ago. The O’Baarni were probably only a few hours behind us now and I needed to make a quick escape if I wanted to put distance between us.
“Did you hear that noise?” Vaiarathe asked.
“No.” I spun to the door and readied my bow.
“Voices.”
“I did not hear anything,” I whispered and the three of us were silent for dozens of seconds.
“We should get away from here,” Vaiarathe whispered.
“No. You go through the Radicle.” I turned toward the girl and then nodded at the Ovule.
“Won’t you check on the noise?” she asked. I nodded and then crept out of the chamber and into the other rooms where the stone beds lay in their perfect order.
I heard nothing, so I moved out of the temple and took a hundred steps up the rocky slope. The green glow of the place almost faded against the inky blackness of the caverns.
Vaiarathe must have been mistaken.
I spent another minute listening and then returned to the rock-embraced tower. When I walked into the room again fear clawed at my stomach and I realized that I had made a mistake.
“Where is she?” I asked the Elven man. He was meandering around as if he was trying to get some slow exercise.
“Greetings, Mistress. Did you bring an Ovule?” His stone face split into a smile.
“I’ve been gone for five minutes. Where is my daughter?”
“Your daughter?” He tilted his head and the smile changed to an expression of puzzlement.
“The girl I was with. You just spoke to us about the Ovule and the Radicle.” I tasted the rotten panic in my mouth.
I knew what he was going to say. Vaiarathe lied about hearing something and I stupidly bought the story.
“She is sleeping between the worlds. Once you journey to four eight seven seven six three nine, you can bring her the rest of the way.”
“No!” I growled at the man and my vision spun.
“Mistress, that is how she used the Ovule.”
“You fucking asshole!” I wanted to punch his face until his skull turned into pudding. “Why didn’t you stop her?”
“I cannot stop my masters. I am here to assist all who wish to travel.” He looked around the room and his voice picked up the song he had sung earlier.
“Is there anything I can do?” I grabbed his shoulders and though I wanted to break him into pieces I only gently shook the ancient Elven. I needed him alive.
“Where would you like to travel, Mistress? Do you have an Ovule? This one is empty of power.”
“No. I want my daughter to fucking live you piece of shit!” I screamed.
“Your daughter?” He looked puzzled.
“Damn it.” I let go of him and felt my legs give out.
“Damn it,” I heard my voice say again.
Then I only heard my soft sobs and the sound of my tears splashing into the cold stone floor.
If I did not find an Ovule, Vaiarathe would be lost forever.
Chapter 40-The O’Baarni
The dragon-armored warriors finished lifting Iolarathe to the metal cross. They secured her with a rope, then chain. The crowd of gathered humans and O’Baarni screamed so loud that I wanted to cover my ears and push my face into the ground.
I could not escape. My arms were chained together and I knew that if I moved even a few inches from my spot beside Malek, one of the guards next to us would beat me again. My mind screamed against my skull and I struggled to find any sort of solution.
All the years of running, hiding, and fighting with my people amounted to this. All the years of chasing Iolarathe were for naught. I could not tear my eyes from the men that leaned down to the wooden pile beneath my love and lit the logs aflame with their magic.
“Stop this, Malek!” I begged my friend. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt as though it would rip through my ribs. Tears stung my eyes and a colossal headache slammed into my skull.
“It is too late, Kaiyer.” He did not look at me but I could sense the emotion in his voice. He may not have wanted this, but now the course was set.
The pile of wood was five feet high, but it was catching quickly and the orange fire began to lick the bottoms of Iolarathe’s feet. Her soft, beautiful feet.
I could almost feel the heat from the pyre when the wind changed direction and blew toward me. Her silver eyes met mine from across the empty stage of the barracks. They were filled with nothing but adoration. She should have hated me. She should have been cursing me for what I had done to her people. For what was happening to her. For allowing it. I was cursing myself, but I only saw love in her eyes.
Her mouth opened to speak but the cries of the gathered O’Baarni drowned out her words. She spoke again, urgently, her eyes boring into mine just as they had when we made love. The screams of joy around me were so deafening that I could not even hear my own heartbeat. They compounded the pain in my head and I found myself screaming as well.
The flames were taller. They flickered and danced up to my lover’s waist. Her hair blew along with another gust of wind and it was suddenly impossible to tell the difference between Iolarathe’s red mane and the flames that were seconds away from devouring her entirely.
“No!” I shouted and my vision blurred. I could not take my eyes away from hers. I saw her feet and legs began to char and blacken beneath the fire that consumed her lower body.
Iolarathe screamed and it was louder than any thunder I had ever heard. Her anguish screeched to the heavens and it cut through the cheers of the thousands of O’Baarni as if they were only whispering. The crowd grew silent and her scream continued with a chilling and horrific crescendo.
She screamed my name.
Her beautiful body burst into flames and the wail reached the apex of suffering. I wanted to put my hands to my head so that my aching brain would have some sort of relief, but the cries of anguish could not be silenced.
I was screaming with her.
I felt her die, but her screams did not cease. Neither did mine. I was beyond grief, beyond despair, and beyond caring about anything else now. They killed the woman I loved and now these fucking mortals would pay.
I hated them all.
The chains that bound my wrists seemed to disintegrate into dust when I looked at them. The guards at my side were crouched on the ground with their hands cupped to their ears. Their mouths opened to scream and blood flowed from between their fingers. I stepped toward the nearest one, the man who had punched me in the face, and drove my own fist through his skull like it was a rotted melon.
Malek moved to grab his sword, but he was ridiculously slow and I delivered a punishing side kick to his stomach before his hand could close around the hilt of his weapon. His body bent around my foot like a tree branch. I heard dozens of bones in his ribs and spine crack against the power of my attack.
I had swords in my hands now. One was Malek’s, the other belonged to the guard I just murdered. I cut the remaining guards around me into four pieces each. They did not have time to scream.
Alexia managed to pull her swords out in time to parry my first attack. Her weapons and Malek’s were both crafted of the same amazing metal as our armor and both of the blades cried out with a shower of blue sparks. I heard a snap and Alexia’s eyes opened with surprise. The blade had not broken, but her elbow had snapped from the force of blocking my blow. She brought up her other blade to block my next strike, but just like Malek, she was too slow and my other sword drove into her chest to the hilt.
Perhaps I meant to miss her heart, perhaps she twisted out of the way at the last second. Either way, her back arched against the impaling blade and I heard her lungs fill with blood.
“You will all die!” It did not sound like my voice, but it came from my throat and my mouth formed the words. Alexia choked out a bloody gasp and then the Wind pushed through me. Magic shot the woman’s impaled body from me like an arrow. She flew backward, across the bottom of the courtyard, and smashed into twenty seated O’Baarni in the wooden stands a hundred yards behind where we stood.
The pyre burned with the heat of a desert sun, but I could not tell if Iolarathe still screamed her death note or if the memory of it was only echoing in my head. It mattered little. I still heard it in my mind and I felt every part of my body fill with the endless power of my rage.
The three guards who had set fire to Iolarathe’s pyre sprinted toward me with their weapons ready. The first one I cleaved in twain where his armpits met his raised shoulders. His top half-spun away in a shower of blood and his legs continued to run for a dozen steps behind me.
The second dragon-armored warrior swung his blade at me from his right side with a quick vertical cut. I blocked his blow with the edge of Malek’s sword where the hilt met the blade and a shower of blue sparks exploded into the air between us. My right hand reached up and clutched the man’s neck where his helmet ended at the chain around his throat.
Then I ripped the Water out of him.
He screamed and his skin turned gray before his body turned into a statue of ash. Then the armor fell to the ground in a pile of white powder of bones and skin. The warrior’s life filled my own body and all of my senses suddenly grew exponentially more powerful.
The colors were vivid. I could see the thousands of different shades of orange flame that consumed Iolarathe’s body. They danced around the wood and her charred figure like lovers seeking attention. Some of the fire matched the exact shade of her hair as it gave up the last fragments of its strands to feed the blaze.
I could hear the tens of thousands of O’Baarni heartbeats gathered around me. Their breaths caught when they saw me slaughter their fellows and I could almost count the number of weapons being pulled from their sheaths. Most of them screamed to kill me, the ones who weren’t screaming had already leapt down from the stands and were running across the ground toward me in a tidal wave of muscle and hate.
One of the dragon-armored warriors remained, poised to strike at me. The soldiers behind her sprinted toward us. The woman thrust the point of her sword toward my chest, but I flicked it away with the outside of my right hand and then slammed Malek’s finely crafted sword into her skull from above.
There was too much power inside of my body. It felt wonderful when combined with the hate I bore toward these people. I wanted all of them to die. I wanted all of them to roast on the fire like Iolarathe. I wanted to end their existence as I had ended the Elvens.
The charging warriors exploded into a green and purple flame. The magic did not even need to spew forth from my hands, I simply wished them gone, and my hate made it so. Instantly.
I stood at the bottom of her pyre. The flames had consumed her and they swirled toward the heavens like the tower of a Radicle. The endless wave of O’Baarni closed in around me like a rising tide. Despite my power and the rage I yearned to unleash upon them, I knew I could not stand against them all.
I stepped into the fire.
The wood was charcoal now. It snapped and popped beneath my bare feet. My skin burned and bubbled. The pain seared against my anger and danced in my brain until the world was only red and orange and vermillion and gold.
The O’Baarni stopped at the foot of the pyre. Thousands of eyes looked up at me in a mixture of horror, disbelief, and disappointment. Each of them sought the glory of being the one to end me. I would take this from them with the very fire they intended for me all along.
Then the pain stopped.
I was still awash in flame. I was still covered in the ash of my burning skin, but the flames and the heat were not damaging me. The heat was power. The heat was energy.
I drank it in and the magic surged inside of me like a torrent of lightning. My brain spun across the world, into the stars, as it had when I pulled the life from the dragon. The understanding of the world crashed into me and I knew the life and the power of every living entity on this planet. I felt them connect with the Elements and channel through the Radicles. I saw the Radicles forging roads to other worlds with infinitely more and varied life. The creation of my universe was beautiful. I almost stopped my rampage to stare and gasp in wonder at what I had made.
But I still wanted revenge.
The Fire emerged from my hands like a sticky purple tidal wave of death. It flooded the arena on all sides of the pyre and thousands of O’Baarni and humans instantly burst into a wet flame as if they were walking wax fire starters.
Iolarathe’s body was gone; it was now part of the charcoal upon which I stood. Even the cross they had bound her to was twisted and bent against the colossal heat. My love was dead and with her went any chance to find our daughter. My old friends had taken everything for me.
I turned my attention back to the thousands of fleeing O’Baarni and set another group of a hundred ablaze with my limitless anger. The fire I stood upon was almost expired now. I had pulled all of its life and energy into me. My power would not fade until every last one of them was destroyed.
I stepped from the mountain of charcoal to continue my revenge.
The ground was awash in lava but I walked through it. The Fire knew I was its master. I was beyond the simple pains of the flesh now. The stadium was empty now. Thayer jumped toward me once I reached the arch marking the exit. My friend with the scarred nose was as quick as usual, but his sword stopped against my skull shield with a symphonic screech that seemed to echo across the entire city. I did not remember picking up my shield, but the heavy piece of metal glowed the same purple and green color as the Fire that dripped from my skin like sweat.
My mace was in my hand now as well and I swung the devastating weapon at my friend’s shaved head. He attempted to dodge it but it seemed as if he moved through molasses and the mace connected with his shoulder. Dozens of bones shattered and his torso buckled beneath the attack. My leg instantly kicked forward and the ball of my foot slammed into his chest. More of his ribs shattered and the man who had once been my dearest friend tumbled away from me like a cast pebble. A stone building a hundred yards away broke his uncontrolled roll and the structure shattered like ice and then crumbled around his dead body.
Gorbanni led twenty of his armored warriors against me. They carried spears and shields decorated with various ram effigies. I considered destroying them with another wave of Fire but I wanted the satisfaction of feeling each of their bodies break under my mace. I sprinted toward them and leapt into the air right before I reached their spear range.
My armored body landed at the edge of the squad and two of the warriors’ ram-helmeted heads imploded with a single swing of my mace. Before the rest could turn around, three more were dead and I stood upon their twitching corpses.
Spears were wonderful weapons for large scale warfare or open spaces, but Gorbanni’s warriors had not expected me to get closer than lance length to them. By the time the remainder of the squad turned around and realized they needed to grab for their swords the city street was awash with gallons of blood and the dead at my feet numbered sixteen.
I swung my mace a few more times and only Gorbanni was left standing before me. He blocked my first strike with his shield and I felt his muscular arm break beneath the blow. He grunted in annoyance, but the pain didn’t stop him from slashing at my legs with his heavy cavalry sword. My shield deflected this blow easily and it felt almost as if a child was attacking me.
I heard arrows twang against bow strings and I swung my shield behind me to block the volley of missiles Alexia and her warriors intended for my back. The arrows bounced off of my screaming death shield like angry rain. Half of her archers died when the rooftop they crouched upon burst into a giant ball of purple and green flame.
Gorbanni may have believed that I forgot about him, but I spun away from the vertical strike he aimed at my exposed back, and then I smashed my mace into his spine. The blond man bent backward like a wet rag and every single disc in his back exploded. He managed to gasp out a scream, but I did not care about his pain. He had killed Iolarathe and now the horseman was going to pay.
I raised my mace and was about to bring it down on his helmet, but Malek stepped from the corner of the building I had just set on fire. He was with ten of his warriors and they raised their hands toward me in unison. I thought about diving out of the way, but I realized it would not matter. Nothing would stop me. I would kill all of them.
Especially Malek.
Then Alexia.
Then Gorbanni.
Then I would finish what I started with Shlara.
Their magic swirled around me in a rainbow of oranges and reds. It should have burned me, but I pulled the power from it and felt my blood boil and surge with strength. Malek’s soldiers then tasted my own purple Fire as it consumed their souls.
“You destroyed everything, Kaiyer!” Malek screamed at me. My armored hand closed around his throat and his next words were lost. I thought about ripping the Water out of his body, but I wanted to see him struggle for air while I squeezed the last bits of life from him. His hands pried at my gauntlet and he reached for his dagger. The blade stabbed impotently at the screaming skulls etched into my armor.
Alexia fell upon my arm from above with her sword cleaving downward. My focus on Malek should have cost me the limb, but again I was saved by my armor. The blade could not penetrate the skull-encrusted plates, but the impact of her blow numbed my arm for a second and Malek twisted out of my grip and sprinted away while Alexia spun her twin swords at me.
She was an amazing swordswoman and wielded her trademarked set of blades with a ruthless efficiency. She was a chaotic fighter and often faded in and out of melee range with an acrobatic flip of her body. Though we had not sparred together often, I could anticipate her moves.
Her swords aimed both high on my shoulder and then low toward my groin. My shield was large enough to deflect both, and then my mace swung around to smash her hip into liquid. She spun back away from me and flipped up into a handstand on her left hand. The blonde woman flicked her right fingers and my shield slid in front of my face to block the four darts that she had perfectly aimed at the eye holes in my screaming skull armor.
She bounced to her feet and I feinted a mace strike. She was too far out of range anyway but she took the bait and raised both of her swords to parry the attack. My right leg swept from her flank and my shin made contact with the side of her left knee. The joint there broke and she tumbled to the ground.
Thayer had clawed his way from the ruins of the building under which I had buried him and emerged from the dead with a scream of rage and a deadly swing of his blade aimed at me. My right arm almost broke when I caught the blow and my boots slid back across the smooth stones of the roadway.
His mouth was covered in foam and his tunic with blood and ash. His sword strikes came in a frantic volley of attacks that I could do little more than block, and he succeeded in positioning himself in front of Alexia.
Thayer could not keep up his frenzy for long. He was strong, and he was fast, but I knew his magic would not allow him to recover quickly enough from the stress he was causing himself with his rage and speed. I could not reach past him to finish Alexia, and he protected her just long enough for her leg to heal. She rose and both of them came at me, their swords and eyes hungry for vengeance.
Their blades simultaneously sought holes in my defense, but there were none. What my shield could not block, my weapon parried. What my mace could not deflect scraped harmlessly off of my screaming demon armor. After half a minute of frenzied attacks, their blades had done nothing but sing their song of disappointment.
Thayer had exhausted himself. He had not kept up the robust training regimen and discipline that he had during the war. His swings left his flank exposed. I slammed my mace into his ribs. He smiled as soon as I took the bait and dropped his weapon to grab my elbow. My left arm was tied up by his body and Alexia threw herself onto my shield.
Malek jumped down from the roof of a burning building, aiming the point of a lance at my face. I let go of my shield and flipped over Thayer’s back before Malek’s spear could hit. I lifted the bald man over my shoulders and bent my body backward to smash his bare head into the cobblestone street. His skull cracked with his spine and shoulders. He released his grip on my arms as his body went limp.
Malek screamed something at me and then thrust his spear at the right side of my stomach. My armored hand deflected it slightly, but his aim was true and the point of the weapon slammed into the left side of my muscles. The armor held against the point, but the handsome man’s thrust was strong and I felt a few of my ribs crack from the impact.
They healed before he could manage another strike.
My mace swung out and Malek’s right arm shattered like glass. I kicked at Alexia. The woman rolled away from the attack, but she left my shield behind. I slammed my foot on the edge of the heavy piece of metal when I brought my leg back. It sprung off the stone tiles of the street and my hand grasped the leather straps to secure it back into the bulwark’s rightful place on my right side.
I felt the power from Gorbanni’s magic cascade down the street. It washed over me like a warm bath and the flames obscured my vision for a few seconds. I jumped away from the heat and realized that it had given Alexia a chance to grab Thayer and sprint away from me.
Purple Fire danced down the path of cobblestones and melted the bricks of the homes and structures near us into a greenish soup. Alexia bore the muscular bald man on her back and she slid around a corner, carrying her burden away before my magic could rip the life from both of them.
Shlara’s Rest was burning green, orange, and purple now. Smoke filled the air like a noxious blanket and the city echoed with the screams of its inhabitants trying to flee from the ravenous spread of my flames. I had killed tens of thousands of humans and O’Baarni, but I did not care. I wanted them all to feel my anguish over Iolarathe’s death. They should have just let us go. Malek should have just given us the Ovule and let us leave this world.
The Ovule.
My anger suddenly stuck in my chest like a block of ice. I did not need to kill them. It would change nothing. My daughter was trapped and I needed to find an Ovule and save her, not waste time with futile revenge.
Malek shoved his spear at me and I knocked it aside with my shield, let my mace slide from my hand, and then slammed my armored head into his skull. The blow knocked him backward and I yanked the spear from his unconscious hands. Then I spun on my back foot and threw the weapon toward Gorbanni. It skewered him in the stomach before he could twist away and he collapsed back on the burning street with a yelp of pain.
I flipped the mace back into my hand, scanned the rooftops for signs of Thayer or Alexia, and then set off running through the torched streets. My mind was clear now and I regretted the moments of insanity that had cost so many innocent lives. All that mattered now was doing what Iolarathe could not.
I headed toward Malek’s estate.
Chapter 41-Kaiyer
I gasped awake and frantically examined my surroundings. I was cold, wet, and exhausted. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and my mind grasped at the present through the fading fog of memories of the destruction I had wrought upon Shlara’s Rest.
My daughter was on this world. But I had been banished.
Tears filled my eyes and I could not contain my sobs. They came unbidden but after the first few racked my body I didn’t try to hold them back anymore.
I could still smell their blood and hear their screams.
But the smell was fresh. The smell was not a memory. The screams were here. Voices shouted in the distance. My hands were covered in blood. My body was covered in blood. The reek of shit, organs, and rot surrounded me.
The floor of the room was thick with Elven corpses.
They were like a twisted jigsaw puzzle, bent and broken bodies filled every possible space. A faint glow permeated the stones of the Radicle, just enough to reveal the black, green, and red armor of the dead Elvens. None moved. Was the empress dead? Fehalda? Vernine? I could not remember anything that had happened after Telaxthe sent me through the Radicle.
I expanded my hearing and picked up pieces of a frantic conversation outside of the temple. Elven voices were coordinating a defensive perimeter around the structure.
In case I tried to escape.
I did not remember killing all these Elvens, but there was no other explanation.
I exhaled with mixed relief and tried to find a dry spot on my tunic to wipe my bloody hands. I felt immense relief that I was still on this world, still conscious and alive. I just had to find the right Radicle and I could awaken my daughter.
If Nadea knew her name.
That and escape through the hundreds of Elvens guarding this Radicle. I glanced at my hands again and another memory buzzed into my brain like a hummingbird. I had worn the armor in Shlara’s Rest. I had worn it when I attempted to rescue my friends from Castle Nia. When Telaxthe used the Ovule, I saw my armor on my hand just before my vision faded to white.
I heard a woman’s voice commanding troops outside. It sounded like Fehalda, but my headache made it hard to discern the voice or her words. Booted footsteps clomped above me and I realized I had little time to devise a plan before I would be attacked again.
I tried to remember what I had done to summon my armor, but the familiar pain returned to my skull, as it always did when I thought of certain parts of my past. It never accompanied thoughts of the war or my life with Iolarathe. It came when I recalled the magic that existed beyond the common magic of the Elements.
There were plenty of weapons among the corpses, so I grabbed a sword and a metal shield. I jumped clear of the bodies and landed at the foot of the stairwell. It was a quick sprint up the stairs and I crouched down so I could have a bit of cover while looking out of the Radicle.
I heard armor moving around outside of the shrine and the room was darkened in shadow for a half a second. There were eight of them and they wore the black armor of Fehalda’s warriors. From my position I could only see fifty yards beyond the doorway before the trail turned out of view.
“Telaxthe!” I called out. There was an immediate silence.
“Telaxthe!” I called again. I had not seen the empress’s body downstairs, she must have escaped. They would have protected her at all costs.
“What do you want, Kaiyer?” Fehalda’s voice bounced into the room, she was farther up the path to my west.
“I need to discuss terms with Telaxthe.”
“Terms of what?” Fehalda asked.
“Surrender.”
“You are surrendering to us?” Her voice sounded sarcastic.
“Or you may surrender to me. I will not wear my armor. I need to return to the castle.” I doubted Telaxthe would agree to any sort of parlay with me after what I had done, but I had to try.
“No, Kaiyer. There will be no negotiations. My sister was correct to banish you. This Radicle will be your tomb.”
“I want peace. Please, let me speak to her.” I sighed in frustration and wondered if there was another exit. Could I make it to Nia before the empress’s army?
Even if I could, the castle would be filled with Elvens and it would be difficult to reach Nadea, especially without murdering more of Telaxthe’s people. Even if I found her, I had no reason to believe she knew my daughter’s name, I only had the vague hope that Iolarathe had communicated it to her, finally, in a dream. Even if we knew her name, we would have to find the correct Radicle while evading the Elvens. Bringing my daughter back here would expose her to danger. We would spend our lives in hiding. It was no life for a child. But it was a life. There was a chance, however small, that it would work. I had to try. I had nothing else.
“We did send you through the Radicle. You returned a few minutes later, and then you set about killing us. You can see why we do not trust your promises of peace.”
Her words slammed into my throat like a punch to the esophagus. I did not recall experiencing the magic that sent me to the other world and I certainly did not remember returning a few minutes later.
“So what is your plan? Send more warriors in here to kill me? They will fail. I do not want to fight you anymore, but I will defend myself.”
“We will continue until we succeed. Once we have ended you we will hack your body to pieces and burn them separately. We will spread your ashes across this world. You will not return from that death.”
“My generals could not kill me.”
I knew now why they called me the Betrayer. There was something else that swam beneath the surface of my previous life. A truth my dreams knew but my brain did not yet fully understand.
I looked at my scarred left hand. My magic was strong and my willpower was even stronger. I could not save Iolarathe, but I had the power to atone for my sins by saving our daughter. My friends had not stopped me, they had only delayed me.
I watched as the armor formed around my hand.
Or maybe the armor was what really lay beneath my skin. My own bones. I had once been a man, but now I was something else. I was the ghost of Kaiyer’s intentions and now I would live forever. It did not matter. The armor, my shield, and my mace were as much a part of me now as my own bones, heart, and soul. I called them to my flesh and they formed from their resting place. The pain of their embrace chilled me for a moment, but then I felt the familiar warmth of purpose and power they brought with them.
Eight black-armored Elven warriors ran into the room. The first four carried short spears, shields, and had swords at their hips. The last four carried stout crossbows. Their coordinated push into the shrine was seamless and fluid. At once the four with melee weapons attacked, while the pair of crossbow-wielding warriors unleashed their bolts.
I stepped backward down the stairs and raised my shield to block the bolts. They hit it at an angle and ricocheted off of the stone walls of the Radicle. My arm went numb with the impact of the projectiles. Someone gasped in pain but I did not have time to see if one of the bolts had found a new target before the spears were upon me. The stairs were wide enough to allow three of them to stand abreast, and they formed a shield wall to prevent me from working around them.
Their spears danced out in a synchronized routine and I lost ground while I tried to deflect the long strikes with my shield and mace. This group was exceptionally skilled and I wondered if Fehalda had trained them specifically to fight me.
But they were no Alexia, Gorbanni, Malek, or Thayer.
After a few of their strikes, I got the rhythm of their tactics and found a hole in their pattern. The woman on my right was slower than the other two and she was having a problem working the spear back against the curve of the stairway. Their strategy was sound as long as they could maintain their uniform wall and push me back with the spears. I guessed that once I reached the bottom of the stairs the crossbows would have an opportunity to punch holes in my body. I knew my armor was strong, perhaps it was close to indestructible, but a wound crossbow bolt could dig into several feet of stone and I did not want to risk testing the strength of my armor while my life hung as collateral.
My foes pushed another cycle of their spear thrusts and I leapt up a step instead of retreating. The woman’s eyes betrayed no surprise and I wondered if the entire strategy had been a feint. She could not pull her point back around quick enough and I smashed my mace into her exposed arm. The bones shattered under her armor and then I spun my body around to slam my screaming shield into the Elven in the center. It meant that I briefly turned my back to the first woman, but she would have to drop her spear to pull out the sword at her hip.
The middle Elven flew to the side and smashed into his partner. The fourth was in the back of the trio and I predicted he would make the poor decision of trying to thrust his spear into my right side instead of falling back up the stairs a few steps to ensure that I did not get to his crossbow support.
My guess was correct.
I thrust my hips back and bucked into the spear woman behind me. It pushed her up against the wall and I felt her right hand close around the shorter left horn of my helmet. It was another risky movement, but the spear intended for my stomach grazed harmlessly past and I dug the tip of my shield against the back of the man a few steps above me.
Then I pulled my right arm inward and thrust my hips forward, pushing the man across me and down the stairs into the other two Elvens. They fell into a tangle of armor, shields, and short spears for a second. I kicked the ass of the nearest Elven and they all tumbled down the winding steps. The woman hanging on my back tugged at the horn on my helmet and I felt her other hand drop her shield. She was going for a dagger, so I slammed my head back into the wall once, twice, and a third time before I felt her armor smash and her skull split with a wet pop.
The crossbows were at the top of the stairs and I heard the twang of their bolts being released before I could summon magic to incinerate them. I did get my shield up in time, but the impact of the projectiles shattered the bones in my right arm and knocked me down the stairs.
We were almost to the bottom of the steps, so I did not fall far. I was fortunate that the Elvens below me had not set their spears or even gotten to their feet. I landed on the three like a falling boulder and heard one of their spines snap.
Then I killed the other two with quick swings of my mace.
I heard the crossbows reset up the stairwell and I realized that trying to assault them from my current position would be suicide. Instead I filled my body with Earth and unleashed my purple and green Fire up the stairs. It filled the spiraling corridor like a chimney of lava and four voices screamed before they died.
Eight Elvens dead. Only a few hundred left.
The steps had melted under my Fire and were still cooling from the hot liquid glass they had become. I should not have used my magic in such close quarters, but it would have been even more treacherous to fall back and try to defend the stairwell from below. I had few choices.
My prospects were grim. I did not feel the same surge of infinite power as I had in my most recent memory. I needed a better plan than just killing small groups of warriors and hoping Telaxthe would run out of troops or grow weary of sending them to die. They would never accept my surrender now, and the more corpses I left piled at my feet, the less likely it would be that they would believe my promises of peace.
“Telaxthe!” I shouted out again once I made it to the top of the stairs. “Stop sending your people to die. I want peace.”
“Shut up and die, Kaiyer!” Fehalda screamed. I ducked back down the stairs and the room filled with enough fire to roast an entire dragon. The heat was intense and though I was not in the direct path of their magic, I would have burned to a crisp had I not been able to pull some of the energy from the flame and fill my own body with power.
“I will surrender!” I shouted after the scorching heat settled. “I will use the Radicle to leave.” There was silence outside for a few moments and I grew impatient. “I need an Ovule.”
“If we give you an Ovule, you will leave?”
“I will leave through this Radicle,” I clarified and prayed that they did not press the question.
There was murmuring outside, but I could not discern their whispered words.
“Fine. Be gone from this world, Kaiyer.” I heard feet approach the door and a leather satchel was set at the entryway.
I exhaled in relief and felt cold sweat trickle down my back beneath my armor. As I intended to trick them, I assumed they were doing the same. I stepped out of the stairwell and moved to the darkest side of the wall. My armor was finely crafted, but it was still over seventy pounds of plated steel and I could not move in complete silence. When I made it halfway across the room I took another deep breath to steady my nerves and dove for the leather sack.
As I expected, dozens of crossbows sang out, but none found a home in my flesh. The satchel contained an Ovule and I sighed in relief.
“I am sorry, Fehalda. Please pass my apologies to your sister.”
“Just leave!” She was furious. Telaxthe must have left. The empress would never have believed me.
Now I just had to get the Radicle to reveal its secrets before Fehalda sent more warriors. I wasted no time dashing down the melted stairs and into the room carpeted in dead Elvens. I set the Ovule in its place on the dais and tried to focus my mind. The walls of the Radicle began to glow in the spider web pattern and I smiled under my helmet.
I rested my gauntlets on top of the sphere and wondered if I needed bare skin to use the device, or if the Ovule could send me to another Radicle on the same world.
I pulled Earth into myself instead of pushing the magic into the orb. The knowledge of the Radicles struck me like a memory that had always been in my mind. There were five on this world, and I knew where they were and where they led. My consciousness expanded outside of the gray-green walls of the Radicle where I stood. I saw the hundreds of Elven warriors who lay in wait to murder me, clad in deadly black and red armor.
Another Radicle in the distant Northlands was also heavily guarded by Elven soldiers. In the far east, past Losher, in the land Paug had called Astical, a Radicle was nestled high in the desert mountains, far beyond the reach of any human. There was no life for hundreds of miles in either direction.
The fourth was deep in the caverns under Nia’s castle. The leather pack holding the other Ovule was still waiting where I had left it many months ago when I had journeyed through the dark place with Greykin, Danor, and the other Nia soldiers.
Nadea’s Radicle was deep in the Teeth Mountains, concealed behind a dense forest that guarded a steep valley. The Radicle sat upon the edge of a large crystal clear pond of glacier water. It was a peaceful place, secluded and secret. I could understand why Beltor had been unable to find it again, but I could.
This was where my daughter had been sent.
All I needed now was her name.
And an Ovule to power the magic that could bring her to me.
Fortunately, both the knowledge and the Ovule were in Nia’s castle. If I could figure out how to get this Ovule to send me there instead of another world I would have a few weeks lead time on Telaxthe. Even if Nadea did not know the name of my daughter, I would have escaped the Elvens. I could work with Nadea and maybe we could decipher her dreams together.
I heard boot steps above me and gritted my teeth. “Send me to this Radicle.” I realized I did not need to speak the words aloud. I pictured the Radicle under Nia’s castle and felt a warm pulse beneath the armor in my hands.
I tied my mace to my armored belt and then lay on the nearest stone bed. I cradled my shield on my chest and then breathed another nervous sigh. There were six Radicles on this world. I had not found the one that sent me here.
The boot steps were closer now. At least a dozen.
Fuck. There was no time to think about a sixth Radicle. I needed to get through this one. I almost got up and prepared for battle, but my armor started to feel warm. The room spun and my vision changed from darkness to bright yellow light, as if I was staring directly into the sun, or the base of a fire, or the creation of life.
Then I traveled through the Radicle.
Chapter 42-Iolarathe
“Why didn’t you tell him her name?”
I opened my eyes against the pain, but it was gone. There was no heat, no flame, no angry, screaming O’Baarni.
There was nothing here but a small, strange human staring up at me.
And a thousand floating islands.
“What?” I gasped out. My breath tasted of smoke, but the world tasted of fertile earth, water, and wet tropical leaves.
“Why didn’t you tell him her name? You could have solved a lot of problems with one word.” He smirked and shrugged his thin shoulders. The human was old, mostly bald, with long, twisting wisps of white hair scattered across his liver-spotted head. The same white hair grew from his chin in ugly patches. His scent was surprisingly young and familiar.
“Where am I?”
“Where do you want to be?” He stopped smiling and I stared into his eyes. They were the same color as mine and the sight confused me even more.
“Am I dead?”
“Is that the last moment you remember?” He held a cane of bamboo.
“I was chained to a piece of metal and the O’Baarni burned me.” I looked at my hands and then down at the rest of my body. I wore the deer-leather clothes that Vaiarathe and I made a few years ago.
“Ahh yes! I am glad that you remember that. So now does my question make sense?” He nodded his head like an owl.
My eyes narrowed at the little human. I did not have a sword, but I felt strong enough to kill. This man did not look like one of the O’Baarni, but even if he was I could kill one of them without a weapon. “No.”
“Why didn’t you tell Kaiyer Vaiarathe’s name?”
I felt like he slapped ice water in my face.
“How do you know her name?” My jaw clenched.
“Maybe if you answer my question, I will answer yours.” He grinned. I felt my anger rise to an uncontrollable rage.
I stepped toward the man and drove my palm into his nose with enough force to snap a tree in half. He was surprisingly quick; I could hardly see him shift out of the way of my strike. This asshole must have been an O’Baarni.
My elbow jabbed toward him, but was met with empty air as the old man ducked. He crouched on the ground like a monkey and I spun my left leg around to take his head off with a shin kick. The spritely man dodged by jumping backward into a handspring that I would never have imagined someone so small could execute. He was definitely an O’Baarni.
I pivoted my back leg and thrust my front foot out toward the small human. It was a solid kick aimed at his chest and it should have connected with enough force to shatter his rib cage. It would not kill an O’Baarni, but I would at least have the satisfaction of hearing his body break around my strike.
He was gone. It was as if the man had vanished as soon as my foot approached him. I spun around and felt fear grip my stomach. He knew about my daughter. He knew her name. If he told his kin, they would hunt her down.
“We should try this again!” I heard a shout far above me. I looked up and fought against my amazement. Thousands of islands floated through the air, stretching infinitely into a blue sea of sky. Plump white clouds danced between the blots of brown islands. Some had water pouring from them, and the spray disintegrated into the blue sky with a rainbow spread of misty color.
It was exactly like the dreamscape I had once painted.
“What is this place?” I yelled my question to the man. He dangled from the side of a small island two hundred yards above me, his gray hair falling from the edge like the waterfalls.
“It is the place between death and life. It is the place of dreams and birth.” He smiled and then stuck his tongue out in an incongruously childish move that reminded me of Vaiarathe. “Can I come down now and talk?”
“How do you know about my daughter?” I could not reach the man. Just as I spoke, a flock of large white birds flew between us and I wished I possessed their wings.
“I know many things about all sorts of people.” His head moved back behind the ledge of the island and he disappeared from my view. “But Vaiarathe is important.” His voice was behind me and I spun to face the man.
“How did you do that?”
“We can do anything here.” He bobbed his head. “Will you answer my earlier question? Why didn’t you tell Kaiyer his daughter’s name?”
“I didn’t want her to hear me.” I crossed my arms and sighed.
“Ahh. I see.” He frowned and nodded once. “It was a wise decision after all.”
“Who are you?” Another group of birds flew by and they let out a chorus of squawks.
“Who do you think I am?” He smiled again and his tongue lolled out like a dog.
“Someone who is fucking annoying, but I cannot seem to kill.” It was worth a try.
He laughed from his small round belly and fell on the ground. Then he rolled around like a dog and twisted with howls. I took a step toward him and contemplated attacking again while he was distracted, but then I stopped myself. The man seemed overjoyed by my comments and tears were actually streaming down his round cheeks.
“You always made me laugh.” He got up after a few moments and let out a long sigh. Then he giggled a few more times before he finally gained control over his amusement.
“As of late I’ve been called Entas. Sometimes I am taller and am called Warc.” He stepped toward me and held out his old, thin hand. I looked at it but kept my arms crossed over my chest. The second name sounded familiar, but I could not place it in my memory.
“Are you an O’Baarni?” I asked.
“No and yes. It is an old name. I did not like the humans that first used it, but Kaiyer and his friends were pleasant.”
“They killed my entire race,” I growled.
“You would not have liked the earlier O’Baarni either.” He winked at me and smiled.
“How do you know of my daughter? Why did you say that she was important?”
“I think of her as a kindred soul. Would you believe me if I told you that I want to ensure that she lives and meets her father?”
“Why would I believe this?” The wind changed and my stomach dropped. The strange human had a unique scent about him. He smelled of oil and smoke. It wasn’t as strong as Kaiyer’s scent, but it reminded me enough of my lover to surprise me.
It also reminded me of Vaiarathe.
“Who are you?” I growled at the man again. “Where am I? Am I dead?”
“Do you remember dying?” He raised a gray eyebrow.
“Yes,” I said and the finality of the words made my arms drop from my chest with exhaustion. I felt the flames burn me. I tried to use the World to heal, but I could not escape their desire. The pain was too great.
I had screamed for Kaiyer.
“Then maybe you are dead.” He shrugged his shoulders and the movement oddly did remind me of Kaiyer.
“Are you dead?” I asked the strange man.
“I’ve died many times!” He laughed again. “I hope this is the last time, but I haven’t given up on living yet.”
“You are strange. I don’t understand half of what you say.”
“I don’t mean to confuse you.” He bobbed his head again.
“You said this was the place between death and life?” I asked.
“Or your dream?” Entas raised an eyebrow.
“But I am dead? This is the afterlife? Am I not supposed to join the Dead Gods in their slumber?”
“That is a silly notion.” He leaned on his cane and appeared to think about what I had just asked. He did not speak for a few moments.
“Why is it silly?” I felt no further anger toward the human. I felt tired and terribly alone. I missed Vaiarathe. I had missed her every minute we had been apart and now that I was in this strange place, I knew I would never see her again. Never hold her again. Never tell her that I loved her again.
That truth was devastating.
“Because this is not the place for sleeping.” He scrunched his face up to make his lips bigger and the strange man looked even more like a monkey. “The Dead Gods are not sleeping. Nor are they dead.”
“How do you know the business of the Dead Gods?” I was thinking about Vaiarathe and this man’s ridiculous answers were bringing back my anger. The emotion was more comforting than my despair.
“How do you not know their business?” He laughed again and it was a burst of glee. The man danced around his cane like it was his partner. He continued this way for half a minute before he realized that I was watching him. Then he stopped and stuck his tongue out at me again.
“I thought that was a funny reply, but you obviously don’t agree,” he said at last.
“You aren’t giving me the answers to any of my questions.” I choked back the scream and tried to focus on something other than the strange man until my anger cooled. I noticed that there was a brightly colored object in the distance. When I focused on the red, orange, and teal of it I saw that it was a floating sea vessel with sails that resembled fish fins. In fact, the entire ship looked like a fish swimming away from me. There were Elvens and humans on the deck, but they didn’t seem to notice the two of us standing so many miles away.
“You should ask better questions.” He noticed me looking at the ship and he turned his head slightly. “If you are interested in sleeping, then that is the route to travel. Or you can stay here with me.”
“Are they dead?”
“More dead than us.” His smile faded and he bobbed his head like an owl again.
I finally got a hold of my anger and pondered my next question for Entas. The man was not trying to attack me, but he had some strange agenda that prevented him from being direct.
“Can you help me?” I asked.
“That depends.” His smile grew bigger. “What do you need help with?”
“Earlier you said that my daughter was important.” I paused to gauge the man’s reaction. His scent still bothered me, but I did not want to speak to him about it yet.
“I did.” His smile was gone now.
“What did you mean?”
He hesitated for a few moments and then pursed his weirdly-shaped lips.
“She is a creation of you and Kaiyer. Is that not a good enough reason?” He smiled again and seemed delighted by his own response. It was not a good enough reason, but I had already learned enough of the man to know that he would only say something cryptic or ridiculous if I pressed for clarification.
Exhaustion hit me suddenly, but it was only in my mind. This man was exasperating, but he was the only one here. He was my only hope for answers.
Even if he was not giving them to me at the moment.
“Will you help me save her?”
“Of course.” His smile grew larger. “It will not be easy though. Even now, your enemies plan to kill Kaiyer before he can obtain an Ovule.”
“I am used to challenges.”
“No. You are used to slight inconveniences. If you really want your daughter to live, the path will be the most difficult you have ever traveled, and we may not be successful. If you also want to save Kaiyer, that will make it even more challenging.” He bobbed his head and the smile grew larger. “But it is not impossible.”
“I am willing to do whatever it takes.”
“Even if it means she will never see you again?”
My chest fluttered and my breath caught.
“Well, nothing is impossible. You can do anything you want.”
“You said earlier I could stay here with you. Is there a way we can save my daughter from here, or do I need to return to my world?”
“We will drift through the cosmos like ghosts of memories.” He nodded at his own words. “As such, there is only so much you can do to manipulate our creations. We do not want your enemies to know what you are attempting.”
“Our creations?” He was confusing me again and I felt my anger rising.
“Oh. That was a slip of the tongue, my dear. Perhaps it is better to talk of what is happening than what could be.”
“Can you just fucking make sense for five minutes?” I yelled.
“Kaiyer is looking for the Ovule. Your executioners know of his intentions. They will attack him.”
“But I can’t do anything about that while I am here with you!” My lover was known to be invincible in combat, but I doubted even he could stand against all of his ex-generals.
“There is little we can do. But even a little is better than nothing. Enough drops of rain can carve through the hardest of stone in time.” He held his hand out to me. “Do you wish to see what transpires next? It might be hard to watch, but perhaps it will inspire your actions.”
“Fine.” I took a step toward the monkey man and grasped his left hand with mine.
Then we were burning.
But I felt no pain.
It was not my body that was burning. It was the bones and flesh of the city that had been Shlara’s Rest. A strange green and purple liquid flame coated everything. The heat did not reach me. I had to squint my eyes to see more than twenty feet in any direction. The air smelled of fire and ash.
“How did we get here? What has happened to this place?” I heard thousands of screams filling the city as humans tried to flee the flames or perish in them.
Entas pointed across the cobblestone street to a massive structure being consumed by flames.
“That is Malek’s estate.” As I said the words, I saw a horrible armored figure sprint down the street. The fire danced off the screaming demon skulls of his armor. The asymmetrical helmet hardly swayed as the figure ran with impeccable form. There was a wall around Malek’s home, and while it was mostly there for decoration, it still stood twenty feet high. The armored terror did not even slow its gait and leapt over the painted barricade with fluid ease.
“Kaiyer!” I moved toward the estate and screamed his name, but the figure was already gone and I doubted he could even hear me over the sounds of the dying city. I made it three steps before I stopped on the scorched pathway.
A large man with a shaved head sprinted down the road from the same direction as Kaiyer. He had an ugly scar over his nose and held thick-bladed swords in his ham-sized fists. Next to him was a blonde woman only as tall as the man’s shoulder. She held two shorter curved swords, and what the man had in a lumbering bear stride she equaled with a smooth gait, as graceful as Relyara. The pair’s clothes were lightweight affairs that may have once been colored white but were now stained red with blood and black with ash.
Thayer and Alexia.
Fear filled my stomach with panic. Entas and I stood out in the open space of the burnt street. I carried no weapon and neither did the old human next to me. I could not stand against them.
“Relax, Iolarathe. They cannot see us.” Entas laid a hand upon my shoulder.
The pair ran to the wall and leapt. Alexia’s movement was graceful and liquid. The woman did not even touch the wall when she flipped over it. The muscular bald man had to anchor the pommels of his swords on the top of the rock and then use his legs to kick himself over.
“That’s good! They really didn’t see us.” The old man breathed a sigh of relief, but the smirk on his face convinced me that he knew we were invisible.
We were ghosts.
While Thayer was climbing the wall, I saw two other men running toward the estate. Malek and Gorbanni. Their clothes were also ruined with blood.
Entas approached the wall. I followed and watched as the two O’Baarni jumped over it. We stood thirty feet from Malek and Gorbanni when they made the leap. Entas walked closer to the wall and then passed through the stone. I stared for a second because the wall actually seemed to part, bend, and warp out of the man’s way. For a moment I could peer through the barricade to the gardens behind it.
“Hurry!” He called from the other side. I reached my left hand out to the stone wall. It was as if the rock did not want to touch me and it parted with a strange urgency. I waved my hand quickly through the stone and it dipped and danced as if I was stirring oil and water.
I stepped through the wall.
I thought I would feel some sort of strange sensation, but other than the brief scent of dirt overpowering the taste of flames in my mouth, there was nothing. I was on the other side of the stone, facing the burning garden.
Entas waited at the entrance to Malek’s estate. I ran through the smoking remains of a once beautiful garden and reached the door right behind the small human. We passed through the thick wooden portal just as we had through the stone wall.
“The Ovule is in the basement below us.” I looked at my feet and wondered if I could pass through the floor to reach the level below. The dark wood began to bend around my booted feet and then I floated down to the basement like a feather.
I was disoriented for a few moments and I tried to recall where I believed the Ovule was kept. I knew Malek had a room devoted to the various artifacts he had discovered on their travels, but Kaiyer and I had never made it that far into his estate. Malek’s soldiers had captured us as soon as we entered the home and we never reached these lower levels.
I heard a clang near me. I spun around to see Kaiyer walk across the hallway ahead of me. He had removed his helmet as the ceiling was too low to accommodate the long horn of the horrible thing. I almost cried out to him, but I knew he would not hear me. It was painful to see him. To see the anguish in his eyes. I wanted to assure him I was okay, I was still with him. I wanted to touch him again.
Entas stood behind me. We turned the corner and walked down a short flight of stairs to the room that held Malek’s collection of artifacts. The walls were lined with suits of Elven armor, weapons, books, artwork, and musical instruments. The sight of them pained me almost as much as the grief in Kaiyer’s eyes. I had failed all of them. My race was reduced to a few relics, to be remembered as nothing but a horrible scourge, driven from the world as vermin by the heroic O’Baarni. History would remember us as monsters, as oppressors, as evil finally defeated. The beauty of what we had created, the world we had established and successfully maintained for our Gods would be forgotten.
On the far wall, I saw the painting I had made of the floating islands. I froze, my vision drawn to the artwork until I could see nothing else. It was exactly like the place from which Entas and I had come.
Except in this painting, Kaiyer was carefully depicted on the canvas.
My mind screamed back through my memories and I tried to recall where I had left the piece. Had I given it to Relyara? No. I recalled talking to my suitors about the artwork one morning. We had made the wager about hunting carrion beasts. Then another thought drifted into my head and interrupted the quest to figure out where Malek had found the artwork.
It was clearly Kaiyer in the painting.
If Malek had it, then he must have known that an Elven painted his friend.
A sharp thud ripped my attention from the painting and back to the father of my child. There was a chest on a simple dais in the center of the room and Kaiyer lifted the lid with armored fingers. Entas tugged on my arm and we walked around the handsome man to see his face. Inside the chest was an Ovule and it pulsed and glowed with the life of a thousand lightning bugs.
“I wish he could see me.” The words escaped my mouth before I even thought to speak them. His armor was horrific. Thousands of my people had seen it just before he ended them; those few of us who survived his wrath would always remember it in terror, but the face behind the helmet was still that of the simple young man who had taken care of my horses those many years ago. Entas grunted at my comment and I was both surprised and relieved that he did not utter another sentence of useless drivel.
Thayer and Alexia entered the room, their footsteps sounded clearly even over the screams outside; I could smell their terror and their blood, but Kaiyer was absorbed by the glowing orb.
“Kaiyer!” I yelled when Thayer advanced a few steps and quickly closed the distance.
“Iolar—” Kaiyer looked up from the chest and our eyes made contact. His mouth opened in surprise.
Then the point of Thayer’s sword emerged from between his eyes.
“No!” I screamed and felt my heart shatter with numbness. My nails raked across the ugly man’s face, but his skin and bones seemed to part like water before my hands. I shrieked again, but the humans did not hear me. Thayer yanked back on his blade and the sword made a sick, wet sound when it came free of Kaiyer’s skull.
My lover's body fell to the stone floor and blood flowed out like an undammed river. His eyes and mouth were still opened with surprise. After a few seconds, his body began to twitch in scattered movements that reminded me less of the invincible warrior he had been and more of a leaf caught in the wind. I tasted his blood in the air and it mixed with the horrible scent of his brain matter and the smell of fresh death.
“No. No. No.” I tried to touch his body, but my hands passed through as if he was made of smoke and fog.
“Do something!” I knew I was screaming, but I could not control my voice. The old man made a wincing expression with his face and then shrugged his shoulders.
“He can save himself if he wants to.”
“What the fuck does that mean? He is dead, you idiot!”
“Yet you just asked me to save him.” He laughed and I realized that I never wanted to kill someone as much as this fucking asshole. Except for Kaiyer’s generals. I wanted to rip them apart as well.
The tears came down my cheeks and I could do little more than weep. I kept attempting to touch his bloody face, but my hands just swirled his skin and bones around like a tortured oil painting.
“He’s dead. I’m dead. No one can help Vaiarathe. She is dead now.”
“What happened?” Malek said. I turned to look at the four humans.
“He was touching that orb. It was like he didn’t even hear us walk behind him.”
Thayer let out a long sigh and then tossed his swords down on the stone tile at his feet. He sat down and put his face in his palms before sobs began to tumble out of his wide chest.
“You did what you had to.”
“I killed my best friend!” Thayer moaned.
“He tried to kill us,” Alexia said softly.
“No. He just wanted to get the orb with his woman. We should have let him have it.” The big man tore his hands away from his tear streaked face and leveled a finger up at Malek. “You did this! You should have just fucking let him go! Why didn’t you just let him go?” He wiped the back of his massive forearm across his face.
“Do you want to tell Shlara that we should have let him go? With the Elven? Fuck you, Thayer!” Malek spat. “I’m the one that has to deal with her every fucking day. Kaiyer just tried to kill all four of us. He almost did.”
“Shlara?” I turned to Entas but the little man just shrugged again.
“And our city burns. How many thousands of our kin are dead by his hand?” Gorbanni choked out the words while he shook his head.
“We need to put out the fires. We can argue later about what we should have done with Kaiyer.” Alexia looked down at my lover’s body. Her blue eyes were moist with tears. “Then we should talk about what to do about Shlara.” She turned to look at Malek.
“Fine.” His jaw clenched. He reeked of human terror.
“I will take my brother’s body. We should entomb him in the Gilar Mountains north of here.”
“Why there?” Alexia asked.
“The two of us once hid in a shallow cave within the range when we fled the Elvens.” The big man retrieved his swords and then bent down to scoop up Kaiyer’s body with his massive arms.
“He isn’t a hero, Thayer. He betrayed us all for the Elven woman.”
“You fucking say that again and I’ll cut you in half. You don’t even believe those words. That is Shlara speaking through your coward mouth. You loved him more than any of us did. Fuck you.” The big man pushed his scarred nose up against Malek’s handsome face and they stared at each other for a few moments. Then Alexia cleared her throat.
“There are lives we need to save. Focus on our next steps. We can argue later,” the woman said.
“Fine,” both the men said at once. Thayer left first, followed by Gorbanni, then Alexia glanced to Malek before she walked from the bloody room.
Malek sighed and sat on the floor. He mirrored Thayer’s movements and put his face in his hands for a few moments. Then he exhaled again before standing.
“What did they need this for?” He walked over to the dais and looked at the orb.
“This might be your chance,” Entas whispered from his spot on the other side of Malek.
“What do you mean?”
“If he touches the Ovule, he’ll be exposed to enough energy to interact with us.” He wiggled his beard.
“Then I can kill him?”
“No!” He laughed. “Then you bite him.”
“Bite him?”
“Hard enough to taste his blood, but don’t kill him.”
“I want to kill him!”
“Do you want your daughter to live?”
“I don’t see how biting the human is going to get me my daughter back.”
“I could explain, but then the opportunity might pass. Just bite the man. Taste his blood, but don’t kill him.”
“I don’t trust you,” I growled.
“He’s going to touch the Ovule.” Entas was correct. Malek had spent a few seconds studying the orb, but then he slowly reached his hand out to lay his bare fingers on the smooth metal surface.
“Do it!” Entas screamed the command when Malek’s fingers lay upon the orb.
I reached out to grasp the human and my fingers made contact. Malek gasped with surprise. I did not want to bite the man, but Entas’s words were too compelling and before I could second guess them, my teeth were sinking into the sides of Malek’s neck.
“Ahhhhhhh!” He screamed and tried to reach back to grab me, but when his hands left the Ovule, I tumbled through him like he was a waterfall.
“Fantastic!” Entas yelled triumphantly “That will make everything easier.”
“Why did I have to do that?” My stomach churned with disgust. I doubted that the bitter, horrific taste of Malek’s blood would ever leave my mouth.
“I’ll explain in a few moments.” Entas pointed at Malek. He raised his hand to the bloody wound on his neck and looked around, the scent of terror clear on his body.
“What the fuck was that?” The human returned to his feet and spun around the room to look for the unseen attacker.
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, Malek. You won’t trust your intuition on this. You know what happened, don’t you?”
“Do you know this man?” I asked.
“Of course! Taught him everything he knows.” Entas turned to me and winked. “Of course, that isn’t the same as everything that I know, is it?”
“Why did I have to bite him?”
“I’ll tell you soon. I just want to see if he is going to touch it again. Then I’ll really scare the shit out of him.” Malek made as if to fulfill Entas’s request, but the tall man pulled his hand back at the last second.
“I’ll leave this here for now,” he said aloud and he glanced around the room to see if anyone heard him. Then Malek turned his back on the orb and ran out of the room.
“Back to the islands. Take my hand.” Entas reached out toward me and grinned. I looked at his hand and then crossed my arms.
“Why did I have to bite him? Is there still a chance that my daughter can live?”
“The bite has much to do with your daughter living. I’ll explain more at the islands.” He smirked and then rolled his big eyes in his skull. “Of course, if you want to stay here and roam this world as a ghost, I can just leave you here. But let me tell you. That shit gets old real quick. You will have plenty of time to ask me questions.”
“Very well.” My heart was still in agony over Kaiyer’s death, but I had no choice but to trust this man who said he would help me.
I grasped his hand.
Then the islands and their peaceful existence filled my vision.
“The blood is a type of magic.” Entas let go of my hand and walked away from me. “It creates a bond between people.”
“So I am bonded to Malek now?” I walked behind the monkey.
“Don’t sound so disgusted. It’s not like you fucked the man.” He laughed and he threw himself off of the ledge of the island.
“Entas!” I screamed and dove toward the edge of the endless drop. My hand reached out, but I was too slow and he was already falling.
He landed a quarter of a mile beneath me, he should have broken into a thousand wet pieces. He rose and continued walking, then he paused, looked up at me and yelled, “Well come on now! We’ve got shit to get done! If we are already between life and death, you aren’t going to go either direction by falling here!”
“I can just fall down?” I yelled.
“Of course! Hurry!”
“Oh fuck this asshole,” I whispered aloud and closed my eyes. I had already trusted this strange man more than I ever thought I could trust anyone save Relyara, Nyarathe, and Kaiyer. What was one more leap of faith?
I jumped off the edge and aimed my body at the distant ground below. I fell, but the sensation was slow and as pleasant as sliding through a pool of water on a summer day. I traveled much slower than I imagined and landed softly next to Entas.
“He’s over here.”
“Who?”
“Kaiyer. Try to keep up. We are moving quickly here, Singleborn.”
“How is Kaiyer here? How do you know I am a Singleborn?”
“There he is!” Entas pointed off into the distance. A figure jumped between the islands and spun through the air like one of the bright white birds.
“Wait here. I’m going to try to get him to come see you. Then you can tell him Vaiarathe’s name and this conundrum will be solved easily.” He winked at me and then jumped off into the air like there was no gravity holding him on the land.
I wanted to run after Entas and fly through the air after him. I wanted to see Kaiyer and speak with him. But I feared doing anything other than what the strange old human told me would probably not help me or Vaiarathe.
I saw him land next to Kaiyer and they began to converse. They were perhaps four miles away, so I could not hear their words or taste Kaiyer’s scent in the air. I tried. I still remembered his scent so clearly and I missed it almost as much as the feeling of his body inside of mine. It took all of my willpower and love for our daughter to keep me cautiously waiting here instead of leaping toward him.
I saw Entas gesture back at me and I raised my hand. Kaiyer turned his eyes in my direction and my heart leapt to my throat. If he was here, did that mean we could stay together forever? What about Vaiarathe? I had too many questions to ask Entas and my frustration was beginning to turn into anger again.
Then Kaiyer disappeared.
It was a split second change. Entas was speaking with my love and then Kaiyer was no longer standing there. I glanced around the islands, thinking that maybe he might have changed his position as Entas did when I first met him, but I did not see my love anywhere.
“Unfortunately, that went as I expected,” Entas said from beside me. I was not surprised by his appearance.
“What did he say?”
“He has memory problems. So do you, but I work with what I can.”
“Where is he?”
“Want to see?” The man held his hand out to me again.
“Yes!” I touched him and we were suddenly in a cave. The place smelled of torch sap, weapon oil, and death.
Kaiyer walked past us.
“By the Dead Gods!” I felt joy fill my chest and tears stung my eyes. “How is he alive?”
“Malek was a backup plan.”
“You are speaking nonsense again.” I felt no anger. Kaiyer seemed completely healthy and we followed him out of the cave into a massive campsite of the O’Baarni army.
“Blood forms a bond. We only have so much power in this world. We have more with those we are bonded with.” Entas looked at me and then back to Kaiyer. “I’m using simple terms with you because you are an idiot.”
“Fuck you.” The joy left my stomach and the anger came back in full force.
“That would be dysfunctional. Do you want me to finish my explanation?”
“Fine. But if I could kill you, I would have by now.”
“I am helping, Singleborn.” He shrugged. “I should not have insulted you, but I grow frustrated as well. He was supposed to listen to me but he didn’t. He never does. You’ve always been the easy one.”
“What are you talking about? Damn it, Entas!” I screamed and felt the tears begin to cascade down my cheeks. “Why won’t you just explain what is going on? You treat me like an idiot but I am only confused because you refuse to speak plainly. I just want my daughter to live. I want her to know her father. I will do whatever you ask, just help me.” The words burned as I spoke. It was humiliating asking this old, feeble human for help. But I meant every word.
“I want them to meet as well. You might not believe this, but I want that to happen more than you do. I’ve been waiting an eternity for her.” He did not smile. “I can only do what I do and pray to your Gods for luck. You have more power than I. I will tell you what I can. I will explain what you can comprehend. If you do what I say and we are more than lucky, we may succeed. Are you willing to follow my instructions? Even if it means doing things that you may not understand?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Yes. But no other alternative will bring her back from the Radicle.”
I stared at the man for a few moments. There was no hint of his characteristic humor. I did not understand human facial expressions well enough to gauge if he was being sincere. He smelled like Kaiyer and he smelled like Vaiarathe.
And it seemed as if I had no other choice.
“I will do as you say.”
“Good.” He smiled again and bobbed his head. “Kaiyer has forgotten that he needs the Ovule. He forgot his daughter. He just wants to flee. We need to get him to the same world as Vaiarathe, at the correct Radicle, with her name on his lips.”
“That sounds next to impossible.” I shook my head.
“Nothing is impossible. Just more than a little difficult.”
“You were telling me about the blood and why I needed Malek.”
“Once you are bonded to someone, you can communicate with them in a subconscious state.” He scrunched up his mouth and looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Through his dreams?”
“Dreams are the easiest.”
“I am bonded with Kaiyer.” I had tasted his blood.
“You are. But his mind is too strong. Malek is all we have.” Entas walked out of the cave entrance and pointed below us. I followed his finger and saw Kaiyer, wearing a stolen uniform, riding a supply cart beside another human.
“What about my sister?”
“She is too far away from Kaiyer and Malek.”
“But I can talk to her while she is sleeping?”
“Yes.” He looked at me and raised a gray eyebrow.
“The O’Baarni do not know how to operate the Radicles. Malek is the most educated among them and even he does not know about Ovules.”
“Yes.” He somehow seemed to raise his eyebrow even higher; it looked ready to leap from his head.
“Will Kaiyer continue to resurrect himself?”
“I hope so.” He shrugged.
I looked out over the army. I could taste the smoke of hundreds of campfires and hear the O’Baarni working like bees in a hive. All the little insects striving together toward a common goal. They followed their queen without question.
“How is Shlara still alive?” I finally asked.
“You of all people should understand that.” I turned to look at the man and for once I saw the flicker of fear in the eyes that were the same color as mine. I nodded at his confirmation and felt my own terror threaten to seize my body. I exhaled and then looked at the army again.
“I have a plan,” I said to my new partner.
Chapter 43-The O’Baarni
They had all cursed me. Malek. Thayer. Alexia. Gorbanni.
Shlara.
They trusted me to lead them against an impossible evil. In the end, I brought them to the cusp of victory and then I betrayed them all.
None of that mattered now.
I floated with the islands.
I danced with the white birds.
I laughed like the water falling into the sky.
And I forgot.
I forgot the pain. I forgot my failures and my guilt. I forgot Kaiyer and Shlara and Iolarathe and everything else that ever mattered to me.
I forgot my daughter.
What is the moon but a reflection of the sun? Each day it hides and forgets the night that has passed. Why should I remember when all it brought me was pain?
“Hi.” It was an old man, skin weathered by years, his face and stomach round and merry.
“Hello,” I said back to him.
“Don’t you have something to do?” He tilted his head and his mouth moved in the other direction.
“No,” I replied.
“Are you sure you are not forgetting?”
“Who are you?” I asked him. He seemed familiar.
“I’m your friend. Do you remember?” he asked. His face was kind and I felt tears come to my eyes.
“I never said goodbye.” My voice choked. The tears were streaming down my cheeks now.
“What you said while I lived means more than what you did not say while I died.”
“I loved Shlara. I killed her, Entas.” The woman screamed in my memories and the white clouds around us darkened.
He nodded his head. “You have been trying to forgive yourself. Was there anything else you were trying to do?”
“I don’t want to do anything but be here with you.”
“What about Iolarathe?” His words hammered into my chest and I gasped.
“Is she here? I never said goodbye to her either.”
“She is here. She wants to see you. But more than that, she wants you to meet your daughter.”
I had a daughter with Iolarathe.
“I need to find our daughter.”
“Yes.” He sighed. “You do not belong here anymore.”
“What about Iolarathe? What about you?”
“We will be okay. We are friends now.”
“I find that hard to believe.” I laughed and felt relief in the brief expression of joy. When was the last time I had laughed?
“It is true. Will you return?”
“How do I return? I don’t remember.”
“You just have to decide that you no longer want to be here.” He rocked his head up and down.
“I do want to be here.”
“More than you want to find your daughter?”
“No.”
“Protect the Ovule. She will be our Savior.”
I tried to speak again, but the world began to fade. Night fell upon the islands. The birds quieted, the sky darkened and the clouds and islands dissipated like evaporating mist. It was familiar. I realized I had been here before. This was not the first time, nor the second or third.
I had been to this strange place thousands of times.
Chapter 44-Kaiyer
The bright sunlight faded into darkness and I blinked a few times to make sure that my eyes were actually opened. I looked around. Again I found myself on a stone dais, in almost complete darkness. This time, I was alone. I did not know how much time had passed, but I felt refreshed and ready as I rose. I had to find Nadea.
Then the memories hit me like a tail whip from a dragon.
They could not kill me.
I remembered Thayer driving his sword into my chest. I remembered Malek taking my head off with his sword. Gorbanni drove his lance through my chest. Then he cut me in two with his cavalry cleaver. Alexia killed me numerous times with her arrows and her blades.
I would not stay dead.
I heard their curses echo in my mind. I recalled the frustration in their eyes as they fought me. I was a sickness that never left them. I was a hell they could not escape.
And I kept trying to get the Ovule.
I understood, finally, why they had to exile me. I felt the pain I had caused them; the desperation they must have felt. They were forced to send me here, in exile, to keep me from returning. To keep themselves safe. To keep the humans they had fought to free safe from me.
Memories tumbled through my mind with tears too painful to shed. They did not know why I wanted the Ovule, or even what it was or how it worked. Perhaps they feared I would use it to kill more of their people. They were not acting out of simple hate for me, but from fear and love. Love for the world they were building. The world I should have been building with them.
“I am sorry, my friends,” I said to the empty salute of the Radicle beds. I had been more than cruel to those who loved me. I had believed any life was worth sacrificing if it meant I could recover my daughter from the Radicle. I still believed it.
I should have told my friends the truth. I should have confessed my love for Iolarathe, told them of our child. They would have helped me. They would have understood. They would have forgiven me.
The leather satchel lay at my feet. I did not remember how many months it had been since I left it there, but it seemed like lifetimes had passed. There were still many steps left to my journey and the unknown variable of Nadea. Did she know my daughter’s name?
Would she even be willing to help me?
I grabbed the satchel and felt comforted by the weight of the Ovule inside. I slung the straps over my shoulders and then walked down the flights of stairs to the exit of the spire that made up one of the support columns of Castle Nia.
I had forgotten about the wurms before I used the Radicle, but they would not stop me from reaching Nadea or saving my daughter. My armor was gone, as were my familiar mace and shield. I had not even bothered to think of them when I first arrived here. I wondered if I could call them forth again. I would try later. Every moment I tarried here was one more my daughter waited, trapped in the stasis I had once endured.
She had been stuck even longer than I had. My heart ached and I felt my jaw clench and my eyes blink back tears. I did not know the girl’s name, but I knew I loved her beyond anything I had ever loved before. I would not fail her. I would bring her here, hold her in my arms and tell her how much I loved her until the day that I died.
I neither heard nor smelled the putrid wurms, though I felt little reassurance in this. The beasts were powerful and deadly enough to make prey of any man, woman or creature I had ever encountered on this world or any other.
Save a dragon.
I grabbed the ledge above me and I flipped up to the higher platform. Then I jumped across to the bridge system and carefully sneaked to the main pillar with stairs winding around its circumference. I remembered that the stairs led to the dungeons above these vast caverns.
As I climbed the stairs that clung precariously to the sides of the giant pillar I began to consider where the creatures came from, why they were so horrid, and how they acquired sustenance. Perhaps I could return here some day and rid the place of their presence. I might need to do the same at Nadea’s keep. I had killed the remaining lizard monsters on the switchback leading up to the eastern fortress, but that did not mean that there were not more hiding deep in the pits of the mountain.
My heart burned at the thought of meeting my daughter. I wanted this more than I had ever wanted anything in my many lifetimes. More than I had wanted to eradicate the Elvens. I wondered what she looked like, how old she would be, what she would think of me. Had Iolarathe told her of me? Would she be as excited to meet me as I was to meet her, or would she be fearful, or worse, angry that I had not rescued her sooner? That I had not saved her mother? That I had destroyed the Elven people? That I had betrayed the humans? She was both human and Elven; both races had reasons to despise me.
If I had never met Iolarathe, our daughter never would have existed. My life would have been so different. Such a simple choice on her part led to the creation of an entirely new world. A new life of freedom for millions. Death for millions more. She had created everything by loving me. For it had always been her choice, I was a helpless slave against her limitless power. I led the war, but she set me in motion. Without her I never would have felt a rage strong enough to drive me to lead a revolution.
If there was an afterlife as Jessmei described, perhaps Leotol and Kai looked upon me and knew what I had done with the life they had been denied. Leotol would have been proud. He would have fit right into my army, becoming best friends with Malek, falling in love with Alexia’s cool aloofness. He was strong and loyal; he would have been a great general.
Our father was a steadfast, simple man, devoted to his work. He never spoke of freedom or yearned for change. He rose and worked every day as he was required, seemingly satisfied and accepting of his fate. Was that because he truly did not care, or because he did not want to give a hope to his sons that he knew they would never live to see? Yearning for something you can never have is more painful than accepting something you do not truly want.
Did they deem my actions noble and applaud the freedom I had granted our people? Or did they think my crimes were as horrendous and unforgiveable as I knew they were?
It did not matter now. All that mattered was rescuing my daughter.
At the top of the stairs sat the familiar gate that divided this ancient place from the younger dungeon. I had left the rusted iron portal closed, there had been no lock then, but now a shiny new padlock was firmly in place.
The lock broke easily in my hand and I cautiously unhinged the latch. I did my best to go through the gate without causing the rusted hinges to screech in protest. I was partially successful, and while there was a bit of a yelp from the metal, no one in the castle would hear it, unless they expected my arrival.
Of course, it was possible that they were expecting my arrival.
Telaxthe was cunning. I had not been able to surprise her, yet she had continued to surprise me. I believed Turnia had defeated the empress and was shocked when she revealed her plan to overtake the O’Baarni clan leader. It was as if she anticipated all the possible negative outcomes of any situation and planned for them accordingly. I had done the same as the general of my army. It was a wise course of action when facing an enemy intent on destroying you and your entire race.
Telaxthe may have alerted her generals to the possibility that I would escape here, seeking Jessmei and Nadea. They would be heavily guarded.
The dungeons were a simple maze. Corridors formed a horizontal ladder of cells. At the end of each level, a set of spiraling stairs led up to the top floor of the dungeons. There, stairs led out to the castle courtyard. I was in the lowest level. The only light came from the very distant glow of the Radicle beneath me. I doubted any human or Elven could discern the soft violet light, but my eyes were strong and had adjusted to the near darkness enough that I could use the dim light to guide me.
It grew ever more faint as I ascended, so I produced a tiny flame in the palm of my hand. While I walked I listened for any signs of life on this floor or the ones above me. I heard nothing, not even the scurry of rats, and no torches were lit, nor had they been in some time.
When I reached the highest floor of the dungeon, I expected to finally see torches blazing, perhaps even a prisoner or two, or at least hear rats and insects skittering over corpses away from my light and motion. But there was nothing here. The cells had all been meticulously cleaned, I caught no lingering scent of mold, blood, or feces.
The door to the courtyard was closed. I stopped and listened. I did not know the time of day. When I had left the other Radicle, it was still lit with midday sun. How long did the journey take?
There were sounds on the other side of the door. Horses, carriages, men and women conversing. I stretched my sense of hearing, but there was little to the conversations that I could use to assist me in my plan of entering the castle. These were simple servants and guards chatting about nothing of importance. I waited for a lull in the conversation and then pushed open the door, emerging into the bright afternoon sun. I hoped this meant I had not been too long in the Radicle. The sun was only a little lower than it had been when I left. It took me a moment before I could lower my hand from my eyes and stare in wonderment.
The castle shone in the sun like gold.
Every surface was immaculate, reflecting the sun as a mirror. Hundreds of beautiful green banners hung from the ramparts and fluttered lazily in the warm breeze. I was overwhelmed by the scent of roses, fruit, and fresh earth from the garden.
Dozens of servants and guards hustled through the courtyard on various errands. A few gave me a sidelong glance and then changed their path to give me a wider berth. It was almost laughable, as the courtyard was many hundreds of yards in width and much more in length. I was not close to any of them, but they were afraid.
Something was wrong.
My stomach flipped a few times and I began to walk toward a side entrance. I was getting too many wary glances from the people and my brain was starting to agree with my gut. This had happened before.
“Paug?” A voice cut through my confusion and panic. The voice belonged to a young woman. She was dressed in the servant livery and carrying a basket of freshly baked bread. Her dark hair fell down past her shoulders in a chocolate wave. The woman was very pretty and the plainness of her uniform did little to hide her beauty.
“Paug?” the woman asked me again and I realized that I recognized her from somewhere. I never forgot a name, but her face did not match the last memory I had of the girl.
“Bethany?” She did resemble the girl who had helped guide me through the servants’ quarters six months ago, but this woman could not possibly be the same person. She had aged years.
“You remembered my name!” She smiled gleefully and her light brown eyes sparkled. My stomach dropped to my toes and I felt a chill run down my spine. “Are you injured?” She looked at my chest and I followed her eyes to look at my clothes. They were covered with crusted Elven blood.
“No. But I could use your help again.” My voice sounded strange in my own head. I realized I was trying not to let my timbre reflect the panic I felt.
“Of course!” She grabbed my sweaty hand and led me through the doorway and into the entryway.
The castle was busy, but once we were inside, I drew less attention. Everyone watched Bethany. We could not go ten paces before a different servant greeted the pretty woman and made pleasant, almost deferential small talk with her.
She had turned eight new corners and my brain fumbled to place us within the castle. Finally, she came to a door and opened it to reveal a tiny room. Inside was a cot with neat, sharply folded sheets, a small dresser with an oil lamp, and three dresses hanging from a rack. Two were of the servants’ colors, but the third was a beautiful lavender dress with white flowers embroidered on the hem of the skirt. The garment was much finer than anything a normal servant would own or ever have occasion to wear.
“Come in.”
“Your name isn’t Paug is it?” she asked once she closed the door behind us.
“Why do you think that?” I crossed my arms and tried to pick a question to ask her from the waterfall of those pouring from my brain.
“When I saw you last it was in that man Kaiyer’s room. I served you and two Elven warriors dinner. Do you remember?”
“Yes.” I nodded and recalled Isslata inviting Vernine over one evening for dinner. We’d eaten our usual feast and then I had fucked the two Elven women until the sun came up the next morning. “How long ago was that day? You seem older.”
She looked up to the right. “I guess it was about three years ago.”
Her words punched my throat as hard as Thayer would have. I gritted my teeth and let out the slowest breath I could manage without screaming. Three years? It had been maybe an hour since I slipped through the Radicle. Yet the girl who had helped me then was clearly older, and the castle had changed more than would be possible if years had not actually passed.
“Can you help me?” I choked.
“Are you Kaiyer?” She raised a pointed eyebrow.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“There were a lot of rumors of you back then, they said you were quite dangerous.” She looked thoughtful, though not afraid.
“Yet I am standing alone here in your room and you haven’t called the guards.” I forced a gentle smile to my lips. I did not want to scare the young woman, but she wouldn’t have brought me to this place if she did not intend to help me.
“Yet.” She stuck her tongue out. “I can get you new clothes again. I did that for you once before. Do you remember?”
“Yes. Is your grandmother still healthy?” I recalled that the older woman had allowed Bethany to take me to the kitchen after she got me the clothes.
“Yes. Thank you for asking.” Her smile grew and I realized the question bonded the commitment of the pretty woman. “I will go get you new clothes right now. You should stay in here.”
“Before you leave, is Duchess Nadea in the castle?”
“Yes!” Bethany’s eyes sparkled and her mouth formed a pleasant smile. “Rumor is that she will be leaving in a few days.”
“Do you know where she is going?” My heart spun with both relief and worry. I was thankful that she was still in the castle, but the idea of her leaving the fortress worried me.
“No. I’m just a simple servant girl, Kaiyer.” She bowed and a sharp blush filled her cheeks. “The duchess asked the queen to allow me my own room though.” She gestured to her small quarters with pride. “Once I helped save Chef Gorfried’s life. One of the Ancients tried to rip his eye out, because some food was late, but I managed to deliver the order quickly enough to stop her.”
“He must be very grateful. You are speaking of Queen Jessmei?”
“Yes. I’ve only seen her a few times. She is quite beautiful. I should really get you clothes. We can talk when I get back.” I nodded and the young woman left me alone in her room.
For the next few minutes I paced around the small space and tried to control the thousands of questions flying through my mind. The most pressing question was obviously if Nadea had found the name of my daughter, but I also wanted to know how she and my other friends were doing, and the current political situation between the humans and Elvens.
What would Nadea and Jessmei think of my disappearance? They must have believed that Turnia took me back to the clans. Perhaps they thought I was dead. It was doubtful that Telaxthe would have told them the truth. Jessmei and Nadea would not have been happy to know that the empress killed Turnia’s warriors and then still attempted to exile me.
Three years.
I had never heard others mention the Radicles robbing them of years of their life. Had I used the magic incorrectly? My head began to ache as I recalled my last memory.
Entas.
I was lost on the islands again, jumping between the skies, flirting with the birds, playing amongst the clouds. Until he spoke to me. I was distracted by the island dream world. Entas had convinced me to return, but I was certain that it took him hundreds, maybe thousands of attempts to remind me of my life here. It took him three years.
I heard Bethany approaching and shook my head to draw my attention back to the present. I had to be careful now when traveling through the Radicles. I could not allow myself to become lost and delayed in the dream world again, not while my daughter waited for me.
Bethany opened the door to her room and entered with a smile on her pretty face. She carried a bundle of servant’s clothes and a basket of food. The scent of bread and cheese filled my nose and I recalled that my last meal was with Yillomar in my tent before he asked me to spar with him. That was either a day ago or three years ago, depending on which clock I chose to count. My stomach confirmed it had been three years and my salivary glands burned in anticipation of a meal.
“This should fit you.” She handed me the bundle and set them on my bed. I pulled off my blood-crusted attire. I heard Bethany gasp and I turned my attention to the young woman. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were as large as dinner plates.
“Something wrong?”
“No!” She turned a shade of dark red and then spun her head away to face the door. I remembered that these people were not used to seeing each other naked and I probably should have given her a warning.
“What should I do with these old clothes?” I still reeked of battle and sweat, but at least now my clothes would not make this so evident.
“I’ll take care of them.” She turned her head back to me just slightly, and once she saw I was fully dressed she completed the spin to face me.
“I thought you might be hungry.” Bethany was still blushing and she looked at the basket she carried shyly.
“I am. Thank you. I would like to ask you more questions while I eat. I’ve been away from Nia for too long.”
“I will do what I can to help you.” I was thankful again for her presence and cooperation. She could have just left me here and brought the guards. It would have made my mission even more difficult.
“Thank you,” I said when she handed me the basket. I tore a chunk of brown bread off of the loaf and then paired it with soft cheese. There was a small bottle of wine in the basket as well and I tore the cork off with my teeth and washed the food down with a splash of the red liquid. It was dry and tasted slightly of apricots in its finish.
“Do you know where Nadea resides?”
“She is in the rebuilt East Wing, next to the small library on the fourth floor.” Bethany answered.
“Is Duke Beltor still in the castle?”
“Yes. His suite is down the hallway from the duchess.”
“Where does Queen Jessmei stay?”
“In the North Wing. The Royal Family suites.”
“What about the empress?”
“She is also in the North Wing. Her suites are next to the queen’s.” I wanted to ask the young woman about the current political structure between the Elvens and the humans. I wanted to understand how much had changed in the last few years and if my friends were safe and free or serving a sentence of slavery, however comfortably they may have been kept. But as she had said, she was a simple servant girl and probably unaware of any political nuances or intrigue involving the rulers of her home.
“Do you know of the big warrior Greykin?”
“Oh yes!” Her smile grew impossibly large. “Everyone knows him. I don’t know where his rooms are though. I’d guess the North Wing, as he is often with the queen.”
I nodded and thought through what I should do next while I finished my food. The bread was still warm and I tried not to wolf down the small meal but my stomach growled with desire as soon as the first bite landed.
Jessmei would be heavily guarded and difficult to reach. There would be plenty guarding Nadea as well, but my priority was finding out my daughter’s name and getting to the Radicle as quickly as possible. I wanted to see Jessmei again and confirm that the empress was treating her fairly, but I had to go to Nadea first.
I had overlooked an important detail. If it had been three years since I left this world, my kin must have realized that something was amiss and sent warriors in search of Turnia. They were not here, which meant that Jessmei had learned to close the Radicles, or the O’Baarni had not yet sent an envoy here.
But I came through the Radicle, so they must not be closed.
Why were they left unguarded? Was the empress unaware of the Radicle beneath this very castle? Wasn’t that one of the reasons she had chosen to invade Nia, due to its strategic position near a Radicle?
“Can you tell me more of the Elvens and their role in the country now? Is there any violence against humans?”
“I have seen nothing in the castle. In the city I hear people complain of harsh and restrictive laws, but there is less crime now and the merchants seem happy. I know the country is doing better than it was when the Ancients invaded.” We sat in silence for a few moments.
“What will you do now?” she asked. I sighed and considered my answer before the sound of heavy boot falls thundered down the hallway outside of Bethany’s room.
“Do any warriors live in rooms in this part of the castle?” I asked her.
“No.” Her smile faded.
The boot steps grew closer. Perhaps they would continue past this room, but I feared the dozens of guards who had seen me stumble around in a blood stained daze when I entered the courtyard were here to apprehend me.
The boots stopped in front of the doorway and I raised a finger over Bethany’s lips to keep her from speaking. Her brown eyes grew wide with fear; she must have regretted helping me. I touched her left shoulder with my right hand and carefully guided her body to the rear of the small room and readied myself to fight whoever had found me. The expected knock sounded and my heart raced with adrenaline.
The man on the other side of the door knocked again and then sighed heavily.
His exhale was familiar, and before I could even reach the doorknob, relief had already flooded my heart and a smile was on my lips.
“Skinny!” The big man wrapped me up in his bear hug before I opened the door halfway. His body filled the room but his embrace was so full of love that the space did not feel small.
“I didn’t believe her but here you are!” My face was buried in the man’s massive chest and my nose was overpowered by the scent of salt, sandalwood, weapon oil, and beer. I heard his foot connect with the door and the thick piece of wood closed behind him.
“Youch! Careful, Skinny. You’re too strong for these old bones.” Greykin gave a short yelp when I returned his hug but then he seemed to match my strength enough to drive the air from my lungs.
“How did you know I was here?”
“Ahhh lad. A better question is: where in the fucking Spirits have you been?” He held me at arm’s length and looked up and down my body. “Also, why haven’t you been eating? You’re always too damn skinny, Skinny.”
I let out a laugh and shrugged my shoulders. My heart seemed to push against my chest and I realized that it was the affection I held for the Old Bear that made my eyes want to water. The big man was a great friend and I knew that if he was still in the castle, then the situation in the country of Nia was probably not as bad as the story I told myself.
“I’ll tell you everything, but it is going to take some time.” I turned to Bethany and realized that she had moved to sit on her bed so that Greykin and I had more room to embrace.
“Bethany, be a good girl and return to your duties.”
“Yes, sir!” She got up from the bed and squeezed between us.
“We are going to stay here a bit. Don’t speak to anyone about Kaiyer. You understand, lass?”
“Yes I do, sir. I am glad I found him.”
“Me too. I’ll let the queen know that you helped the royal family once again.”
“Thank you!” Her eyes opened wide and she smiled with unabashed joy. Then she gave me a last glance before she opened the door. “I’ll see you later on, perhaps?”
“I hope so. Thank you again.” I returned her smile and she nodded before exiting her room.
“Ahh, Skinny. When I was your age I had the same power with women. They could never seem to keep their undergarments on when I walked past them.”
“Why?”
“Ha! ‘Cause they all wanted to take them off of course!”
“When you were my age, Greykin? I am over five thousand years old, my big friend.” I smiled when I spoke, but I really didn’t understand what he meant about women’s undergarments.
“Ah yes. Nadea and Jessmei have told me of your history. That is why I am here.”
“Three years have passed, Greykin. Last I remember, I lay on the stone bench at the Radicle near Brilla and it sent me here. I felt only minutes had passed.”
“Humm.” He nodded his big head and his beard swayed with the movement. I noticed that the hair was a touch more white than gray now and the man had more weather to the stone of his face. “Jessmei summoned me to her room twenty, maybe thirty minutes ago. She said that you were here now and I needed to find you in the castle.”
“How did she know I was here? The castle is a big place. I’m surprised you found me.”
“She’s changed, my friend.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “She’s not my little girl anymore.” His face turned red for a brief second and then he shrugged his giant shoulders. “She was never my daughter, of course, but I spent almost every one of my waking hours protecting her for the last twenty one years. She told me to look for you in the courtyard by the dungeons and then she asked me to bring you to her.”
“How did she know I was here then?” I asked the question again.
“She knows magic now, Skinny. I don’t understand the stuff but she,” he paused and the big man seemed to search for the words. “She is still Jessmei, but, well, I’m just glad you are here, lad. It’s been a long time since the lass smiled. She will be happy to see you.”
“I hope so. How will you bring me to her?” I had intended to see Nadea first, but Greykin’s appearance was more than welcome. I wondered how Jessmei knew that I was in the castle, but I guessed that she would explain the situation to me when I spoke with her.
“We’ll just walk to the Royal Wing. I doubt anyone will recognize you wearing those clothes. We can talk more while we journey there.”
“They may not recognize me, but you don’t escape notice, my friend.” I laughed slightly and walked out of the door of Bethany’s room once the big man opened it.
“True! But you must admit that I fill the hallway with so much manliness that it is hard to pay attention to anyone else. I’m afraid that you’ll have to continue to stand in my shadow for a bit longer.” He let out another laugh and I felt my heart warm again at his joke.
“How is Danor?” I asked after a few steps.
“He is fine. Out of the castle now. Beltor, Knight Capitan Danor, and a few thousand Nia warriors have been working in the Teeth Mountains to eradicate these strange lizard monsters.”
“I have seen those beasts.”
“Aye. I heard a rumor that you killed a few thousand of them with a wave of your hand. They could have used your help. We just got a message two weeks ago that they have cleared the monsters, finally. Nadea is preparing to journey back home and rebuild the keep and its city with her father.”
I nodded at his words and recalled the endless swarm of the horrible creatures that lived in the bowels of the Teeth Mountains.
“How is Runir?”
“He was promoted last year. Vice General. There was a big celebration.”
“That is good to hear. How about Maerc?”
“As grouchy as ever. I think I saw him smile for a few seconds at Runir’s promotion. Jessmei and the empress both bestowed gifts upon the lad and Maerc looked as proud as if he’d just defeated all of Vanlourn with the sharp edge of his penis.” I laughed, but then closed my mouth when we walked by a pair of Elven guards. They wore blue and nodded slightly at Greykin. The big man nodded in return, but they did not otherwise greet each other.
“How is the relationship with the Elvens?” I whispered after I believed the Elvens to be out of earshot.
“It is difficult. They don’t like us. We don’t like them,” he said with a sigh, confirming what I had sensed from the brief interaction we had just had with the Elvens. I wish I could tell you that everything was fine between our two kinds. Fuck, I wish I could tell you that we hated each other and there was an effort underway for us to murder all of the pointy eared bastards. But in reality,” he paused and looked behind us down the hallway. “The empress has stuck to her agreement with Jessmei. There is violence now and then, and if an Elven is found to have caused the fight, then they are executed. Other than that there is not much conflict.”
“That sounds too good for me to believe,” I said. Despite everything that had happened, everything that I had remembered, I still did not trust the Elven people. I knew Telaxthe was honorable in her way, but I also knew she had a fierce, and if necessary, ruthless commitment to her people and I did not believe she would truly allow a peaceful coexistence to continue forever. There was too much pain between our two races. There had been too much bloodshed and death and neither the humans nor Elvens could so quickly forgive and forget such a past.
“Aye. I agree with ya, Skinny. I’ll let Jess tell you more. I try not to think too much about all that political stuff. Just makes my head hurt and the beer taste bad.” We passed a mixed group of three human and two Elven guards. All five of them greeted Greykin by name and asked him when he was going to be off duty.
“Probably when I’m dead!” he yelled back at them. “But I’ll be at the bar tonight if you kids want to buy me a round or four.”
“Sounds like some of them are your friends,” I said once we turned a few more corners of the labyrinthine castle halls.
“Yeah. They can drink. Not all of them are bad. Here we are.” We crossed one of the open foyers and entered the Royal Wing of the castle. Then we walked up a few flights of stairs and reached a hallway with guards posted every five feet. Most of the warriors were human, but there were a few Elvens dressed in the green armor of the empress. I grew worried that the Elvens might recognize me, but none gave any alert at my presence.
“The duchess is inside as well,” one of the human guards said to Greykin when we approached the decorative door that led to Jessmei’s private quarters.
“Good. Thank you.” The Old Bear nodded and the woman opened the door so that we could enter the suite.
“I brought Skinny!” Greykin called out after he closed the door behind us.
“We are back here!” I heard Nadea shout from a distant room and I felt my heart flutter. The foyer to Jessmei’s apartment was filled with gray marble, gold sculptures of various sized lions, and green plants. The surfaces of all the stonework and gold decorations were polished to a mirror-like shine. I almost had to squint my eyes to adjust to the light that poured from the open windows leading out to the distant veranda.
Jessmei’s foyer was probably six times the size of my previous quarters in the castle and I believe I spent more than a few dozen seconds standing with my mouth opened while I gawked at the splendor of the decorative room.
“Come on, Skinny.” Greykin tugged on my shoulder and I fell in step behind the big man. He wore Kannath’s axe on his hip and I felt surprised that I had not noticed the massive weapon earlier.
I hoped that the big man never had to use the weapon.
The thought entered my mind with stealth but once lodged there I could not make it leave. I truly wanted peace between these people. While I was trying to escape the empress’s capture, I told her the same, but I wondered if there was still a part of me that wanted to wash this world with their blood. Now I knew that I was sincere. From what Greykin described, the two people lived together in peace. I would have never believed such a thing was possible, but more than two years had passed and it seemed to be the norm. Perhaps Elvens and humans could peacefully coexist with neither race enslaving the other.
“You were right, Jess. Our handsome friend has returned to us.” Greykin gestured to me with his ham-sized hands and I walked from the foyer to Jessmei’s sitting room.
Both Nadea and Jessmei sat at a small oak table arranged amongst luxurious couches, decorative chairs, stands that held white canvas for painting, and dozens of musical instruments. My eyes focused on the two beautiful women and I felt the room spin and my heart catch in my throat.
Jessmei’s platinum blonde hair was longer than I expected and it fell down her back like a waterfall of brilliance. She wore an ivory dress that exposed both of her creamy smooth shoulders. A simple silver amulet, shaped like the sun, adorned her beautiful neck. She rose from her chair, her blue eyes twinkled with excitement when she saw me.
Nadea’s hair twisted down the side of her neck in an elaborate braid woven with flowers and silver chains. She wore a loose violet tunic that just hinted at the shape of her breasts and toned body. She smiled and stepped around the table to greet me first.
Her arms circled my shoulders and mine ensnared her lean waist. She said nothing as she embraced me and pressed her cheek against mine with guarded affection. She smelled of lavender and gardenias. I don’t know how long I held her, but I felt my eyes begin to water, it felt so wonderful to feel her in my arms again.
“I want a turn, Cousin.” Jessmei laughed from next to us and Nadea broke off her hug quickly. She looked into my eyes for a moment and I saw dozens of conflicting emotions wrestling within them. She looked both joyous and dismayed, her eyes had the tight sadness in them I had seen in those of Elven generals watching the front lines of their army lose the battle, proud of the valiant attempt their fellow warriors were making, but defeated and accepting of their fate, painfully aware their end was coming.
“Sorry, Jess.” Nadea’s cheeks reddened and she looked down. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, tell her I would make it better and that I would never leave her again, but then Jessmei was in my arms. The queen hummed with pleasure and nuzzled into me with the same unabashed affection she had shown me when we first became lovers. Jessmei smelled of roses and mint. I closed my eyes and stroked the silky smoothness of her hair, her skin, her warm, soft body. She felt as familiar and comforting as coming home. It had been ages since anywhere had been my home. I just wanted to hold her forever.
“I’ll leave you three alone for a bit. Give a call out into the hallway if you need me.” Greykin gave me a wink and moved into the foyer. A few seconds later I heard the door open and close. Then I was alone with the only living women that I loved.
“Sit down.” Jessmei pointed to a seat and I slid into the comfortable chair. There was a decanter of water on the table and Nadea poured me a glass.
“Thank you,” I said when she handed it to me. I took a long swallow of the cool liquid and I noticed both women staring at me.
“I was told I have been gone for three years,” I said after I set down the glass.
“A little over two,” Jessmei said. She did look more mature. Her eyes were more focused and her face leaner. The changes made her look even more beautiful.
“We thought you were dead. Telaxthe said that Turnia took you back to her world,” Nadea said. “How did you return?” The duchess’s face looked unchanged from what I remembered.
“Is the empress in the castle?” I felt anger rise in my stomach and I fought to keep my voice calm.
“Yes,” they said in unison. “This is a private meeting. She might know that you are here, but I did not tell her.” Jessmei tilted her head slightly. “You seem angry.”
“Turnia never took me back to her world.” Their eyes opened wide and I hastily explained that the O’Baarni clan leader figured out that Telaxthe had been somewhat responsible for Kannath’s death. Then I detailed how she attempted to negotiate with me and how Telaxthe flipped the situation when her own army ambushed the O’Baarni warriors and murdered them.
Then I told them how the empress attempted to force me through the Radicle. I spoke of the strange vision, how my armor appeared on my body, and my inspiration to attempt to use the Radicle to get here with the slim hope that I might be able to learn my daughter’s name and awaken her before the empress returned to Nia to stop me.
When I finished my short tale I drank the remainder of my water. My hands shook. I was nervous about telling them what had happened, and about being in the same room with both women, knowing how much I loved them both.
When I had been with each of them alone in the past, justifying my feelings for both of them came easily and I had blamed their outrage on their unnatural culture. After all that had happened, all I had recalled of my past and my feelings for Shlara and Iolarathe, I understood their anger and the complexities of our relationships. I had dismissed their ideas of fidelity, but I too had felt possessiveness flare up when I believed for a moment that Iolarathe’s child was another man’s. I had even felt a pang of jealousy when I learned Isslata was pregnant. It was ignorant of me to pretend the women should not want commitment from me. It was not an outdated custom, it was love. I did not know how to fix things between the three of us, but I knew it was both painful and wonderful being alone with the two of them.
“Is there something wrong?” I asked.
They looked at each other and then back to me. Nadea opened her mouth first, but Jessmei raised her finger to interrupt her.
“So you need the name of your daughter?” the blue-eyed woman asked. Her eyes looked as deep and turbulent as the ocean and I felt myself become lost in them.
“Yes. But I wanted to make sure that you were both okay. I wanted to see if the empress was treating Nia as she promised.”
“The empress has treated us fairly. Though I’m afraid this is only because I have an unbelievable amount of leverage over her and her people.” Jess smiled faintly.
“What leverage?”
“Perhaps that doesn’t matter at the moment, Kaiyer. What will happen once you learn of your daughter’s name?” she asked. Her heart rate increased. She was nervous.
“I will go to the Radicle.” I looked at the duchess. “I believe it to be the same one that Nadea was sent through. I know where to find it in the Teeth.”
“And after you bring her into this world?” the queen asked and I saw the urgency in her face.
“I will spend my life with her. What do you want me to say?” I felt my eyebrows tighten.
“I want you to say just what you want to say, what you mean. I don’t want to force anything from you. I want you to be honest.” She shook her head and Nadea sighed. “Where will you live with your daughter?” Jess asked.
“The empress will attempt to kill us. I will probably find a place for us to go, far away from here.”
“I see.”
“You both know how I feel about you.” I pushed my fingers into the wood of the desk and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I considered telling each of them that I loved them, that I was torn, that I could never choose between them. Instead, I decided to speak of my daughter. “But my daughter needs me. She is lost in time. How can I commit to anyone else when she needs me?”
“Kaiyer, it has been over two years,” Nadea said and shook her head. “We thought you dead.” She looked at me with an indifference that stung more than her anger. I felt a flood of both relief and disappointment as I realized I was being arrogant assuming the two women still pined for me. Of course they had found love elsewhere. I had died and left them behind, more than once.
“Then you have found others to love? If you tell me so I will be more than happy for you. Loving someone doesn’t mean you want to possess them. It means that you want their happiness more than your own.”
“You are being cruel.” Jessmei shook her head and her jaw clenched.
“Because I want to focus on my daughter?”
“No!” The woman slammed her fist down on the desk in a sudden movement that surprised both Nadea and me. “Because you know how much I loved you. I thought I carried your child. I wanted that more than anything. I was prepared to give up all of this,” she gestured around the room at the opulence and indicated her gown and then the castle as a whole. “I would have happily given it all up for you. To raise your children. That was all I wanted.”
I did not mean to, but I found myself staring at Nadea, remembering what she had told me about wanting to be a mother, the pain she felt when she learned she could not bear children. But the duchess remained stoic and stared at her cousin, ignoring my gaze. Jessmei continued, her voice filled with more anger than sadness. “Now you have a daughter and I can’t even share that with you?” A tear flowed down her left cheek and Nadea had turned her eyes down to the table.
“You say you love me but you can’t trust me with your daughter? Don’t hide behind her.” Jessmei sat back and crossed her arms. Greykin was correct. She had changed. There was still obvious love in her eyes, but there was a hardness there I had never seen before. She was serious, she had been left on her own to depend on herself and knew that her kingdom depended on her.
“Might I speak?” Nadea smiled at the blonde woman deferentially.
“Yes. Sorry, Naynay.” Jessmei sighed and nodded, and I saw a bit of her softness return as she spoke to her cousin. The women had always loved each other, but Jessmei had finally earned Nadea’s respect, and I knew that was an honor that must have contributed to her confidence.
“I felt you leave.” Nadea turned to face me. “I can’t explain the sensation. But it was as if the air left my body and I could never quite breathe as easily.” I caught Jessmei shift in her seat slightly at the other woman’s words. “The dreams stopped coming. By then I knew your daughter’s name, so perhaps Iolarathe had no more need of me. I finally understood her insistence about speaking to my father.” She paused and sat back in her chair.
I felt my heart hammer in my chest. I wanted to scream at Nadea to tell me the name, but I knew she would not keep it from me much longer.
“He knew the location of the shrine in the mountains. I was preparing to leave Nia and journey there, then bring your daughter back through the device.”
“He should know my role in this, you make it sound like you are the sole heroine here.” Jessmei shook her head and the words rang with sarcasm. Her immaturity was surfacing again. Nadea closed her eyes and drew in a slow breath to calm her irritation.
“I was just about to explain that it was your idea.” Nadea sighed.
Jessmei laughed to downplay her annoyance. “I just want some credit,” she smiled at me sweetly.
Nadea rolled her eyes out of Jessmei’s view and turned to me. Her eyes were impossible to read as she stared at me. I sensed there was something she was holding back and I wanted to speak to her alone, but I knew Jessmei would object and I did not want to be a source of conflict between them.
“Kaiyer, I need you to know,” she paused and looked down, “I do not have romantic feelings for you.”
Her words hit me like a hammer to the chest and I felt the world spin for a few vertigo inducing seconds. She met my eyes again. There was some pain in her eyes, some sadness, but she did not look at me with the adoration and need I had once seen. I believed her.
“My cousin and I have told each other everything.” Jessmei looked a little smug but Nadea was emotionless in face and voice as she continued, “I understand that your relationship with her was much more serious than anything you and I ever shared. What I felt for you was simply a passing affection. Perhaps it was just Iolarathe’s love for you coming through me when she controlled my dreams, and when she released me, I was freed of my attachment to you. But you and Jessmei truly love each other. She needs you here. The kingdom needs you here. I do not want you to feel any conflict or confusion about remaining in Nia with us. With her.” She looked down again and Jessmei smiled brilliantly. “There is still tension between us and Telaxthe, and now that we know she lied to us about what happened to you, we will have an upper hand in our negotiations,” she finished placidly.
I still felt dizzy and I wanted to ask her more. I recognized it was immensely selfish of me to desire both women and expect both of them to love me back, but it was the truth of how I felt and it hurt to know Nadea did not feel the same way about me anymore. I should have felt relief. This made my decision simple, but it did not make it easy. I listened to the sound of her heart beating, but the tempo was even and held no hint that it was a lie escaping from her lips.
“You have not made much progress in your relationship with your mother?” I said to bring the topic back to Telaxthe while I continued to consider Nadea’s change of opinion. Had she found someone else? Or was she correct about Iolarathe influencing her? Maybe she had never truly loved me, but was simply under the control of the Elven woman.
“She is interesting.” The women exchanged a knowing glance that I could not decipher. I almost asked them to elaborate, but I realized I was losing sight of my goal. I had to get my daughter. There would be time to talk to Nadea and Jessmei about Telaxthe later.
“Will you tell me the name of my daughter?” I stared into Nadea’s soft brown eyes. She looked away but answered quickly.
“Of course. Will you return and help Jessmei rule Nia?” Her words were unexpected.
“Help her rule?” I looked at Jessmei and she beamed at me, her eyes hopeful and confident I would agree.
“How can I help her rule?” I asked slowly. Nadea stared at me, unblinking. She was so devoid of emotion I started to believe she was lying. She would put her cousin and her kingdom first, and if she believed it was better for me to be with Jessmei, I knew the duchess would sacrifice what she wanted to make that happen.
Or perhaps I was simply trying to protect my wounded pride.
“I’ve already told you how you can help me,” Jessmei said, and then turned to her cousin. “Are you sure, Cousin?” The queen raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Nadea nodded and her emotionless face finally cracked a slight smile. “I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. I do not want to interfere with a love so strong,” she said warmly, “I just wish to spend time with your daughter, we have much in common.” She looked sincerely excited.
“It sounds like the two of you have decided my fate,” I said.
Jessmei smiled, dismissing any hint of bitterness or protest I was trying to express. I had not agreed to any of this, yet the women were proceeding as if I were bound to whatever they had decided. As much as I cared for both of them and wanted to help, the sense of being enslaved flared up and I reacted against it on a visceral level. I would not be controlled again.
“As my husband, you may help me rule. It is in keeping with our laws. You will have jurisdiction over the Council and negotiating power with Telaxthe’s generals. I am already spread thin trying to keep reins on all of the Radicles.”
As the words left her mouth, I realized the other change within the woman. It was such a slight difference, I would not have been able to detect it without consciously listening to her heart and tuning into the power of the Earth around us. She was using magic. It was just the slightest trickle, almost imperceptible, but I could sense the Earth flowing into her. Nadea was also using the magic, but the duchess’s pull was much stronger than the queen’s.
“Telaxthe showed you how to close the Radicles?” Jessmei nodded at my question.
“How did I make it here then?”
“I sensed you. It is hard to explain, but I knew it was you trying to come back to our world and I released the grip I hold on the Radicles. I am not skilled enough to manipulate each one individually, so I opened them all to allow you to come through and then closed them again when you returned.” Jessmei smiled faintly and she took a small sip of her own water.
“Then you told Greykin to find me?”
“Yes. Nadea and I thought you were forever gone. Perhaps we had a bit of hope that we would see you again one day.” She turned to the duchess and the brown-eyed woman nodded.
“Does that mean that you will need to release them again so that I can bring my daughter into this world?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“It will take me a few weeks to get there. I don’t know exactly how to do the magic either. Can you risk leaving it open for a month or more?”
“No.” Jessmei shook her head. “The empress was correct when she said that the O’Baarni would try to come here. I can feel them pushing against the Radicles like bees flying into a window. They know I am keeping them at bay and I believe they will be able to tell when I release the paths.”
“We fear they might be able to push past Jessmei’s magic. She is still in the process of learning, and even the empress does not fully understand the power, so she is limited in what she can teach Jessmei,” Nadea explained.
“Telaxthe needs you, I see why you have so much leverage.” I nodded and sighed.
“At least until I slip and the O’Baarni pour into this world.” Jessmei smiled and let out a little laugh. “The empress and I are on friendly terms. She has taught me more than I ever thought possible, but the woman has the safety of her race in the forefront of her mind. I am useful to her only as long as I continue to keep her people safe.”
“Then let us hope you can continue to do so for the rest of your life.” They nodded and I leaned back into the cushion of the chair. I had more questions, but I knew I would not like their answers. What choice did I have but to cooperate with the queen? I had already sacrificed so much to find the girl I did not even know but loved beyond measure. I could endure anything for her.
“And you have a plan for my daughter?” They smiled and I noticed a mischievous glint in their eyes.
“I will leave under the guise of heading home,” Nadea began.
“Then I will sneak out of the castle and follow her. Sound familiar?” Jessmei giggled and Nadea smiled. The tension seemed to ease a bit for both of them, but I still felt nervous. I would not be able to relax until my daughter was safe with me. Even then I would spend every minute worrying about her.
“It sounds like you are going to anger a man I know who possesses a bear-like stature.” I risked a smile and they both laughed.
“He needs a good adventure.” Jessmei smirked. “Besides, it will be like old times now that you are here. I could not imagine a safer place than sleeping next to you by a campfire again.” Nadea’s smile faded at her cousin’s words, but I don’t believe that Jessmei noticed.
“We will tell Greykin a few days before we leave. He won’t like it, but I’m the queen.” She smiled. “You will return to the castle with her then?”
“If I refuse? It seems I am at your mercy as I need both of you to bring her back.” Their faces paled slightly. They exchanged a glance.
“I will still tell you her name and if you want, show you how to bring her into the world,” Nadea said finally. Then she looked to the beautiful blonde woman.
“And I will still journey with you and unlock the Radicles so that you can bring her here,” Jessmei said. “I love you, Kaiyer. I know you love me as well. Please return to the castle with me. Become my husband and help me rule this country. I need your support. I need your trust. I need you.” Her eyes betrayed her vulnerability and the look reminded me of when I saved her from the Elvens. To me it had just happened a year ago, but for her it had been over four years. So much had changed, yet she still felt she needed me.
I looked at Nadea and our eyes met. I thought about the life she dreamt of: overseeing the East, working with her people by day, spending her evenings in the keep with her father and me, reading and discussing the events of the day. My heart flipped and squeezed in my chest. I loved both of these women, as I had loved Iolarathe and Shlara, and now that I knew everything that had happened in my past, I felt like I might finally be ready to move forward and start a new life with someone else.
But my child waited for me in the Radicle. She needed me more than Jessmei or Nadea, and my loyalty was to her over any other. She needed my attention and devotion, she needed me to focus on her, not worry about the political situation of a fractured human kingdom. She did not need me to love anyone besides her.
“Do you want me to marry Jessmei?” I asked Nadea.
“Yes. It is for the best.” Her voice came out as a whisper and she looked away. Her heart did not flutter. She spoke the truth.
“You do not love me?” I whispered the question and Jessmei sat up in her chair to stare at her cousin. I wished we were alone. I did not want to have this conversation in front of Jessmei, but the two women were united.
“No, Kaiyer.” Her eyes were glassy and my heart broke in my chest. “You do not love me either. Search your heart. You know that Jessmei will make you happier than I ever could.” Nadea turned her face to Jessmei.
I looked to the queen and her blue eyes met mine from across the small table. Her face was filled with adoration and I remembered the many weeks we spent together in the cave and later in the small dairy town of Merrium. I had once thought that it would be wonderful to spend my life with her.
When I believed Nadea was dead.
My eyes turned back to the woman who woke me from my endless slumber. I wanted to believe that she was lying, it hurt too much to think she did not care anymore, but it would make things easier. I had loved both of these women. Jessmei would make the perfect wife. She was warm and caring and devoted. With her I knew there would be little conflict, there would be warmth and affection. We would have children, and we would be happy. I should have wanted the life she was offering. Just as I should have wanted Shlara.
Now that I was being forced to choose, I knew I loved Nadea.
But she did not love me.
Her eyes betrayed sadness when she told me she did not love me, but perhaps it was simply because she knew her words would hurt me.
I realized I was staring into Nadea’s soft brown eyes and I blinked back the tears forming in my own. I would never know the truth of her feelings. In so many ways, she reminded me of Shlara. Nadea was strong, but she still wrestled with her own demons. I knew she was torn between her sense of duty to her kingdom, her father and the developing relationship she was forming with her estranged mother. I did not fit into her life now and neither would my daughter.
Logic could not ease the pain in my heart. I would never stop loving Nadea. I could hide my feelings from Jessmei. I would have to.
“I will need time to get to know my daughter,” I said to Jessmei. “But I am willing to return here. I love you, and I will do my best to serve you as a husband, but please give me some time to be with her before we marry.”
“Yes, of course!” Jessmei’s dimpled smile shone on her face and I heard her breath leave her lungs with relief. “How much time will you need?”
“I am not sure.” I smiled and almost shook my head. The princess I knew would have let me wiggle out of the question, but the queen before me understood that she needed exact commitments from her people. “I will know more when I meet her.”
I turned to Nadea and wondered what the brief flicker in her eyes meant.
“What is her name?” I finally asked after I regained control of my emotions.
“Vaiarathe,” Nadea said with a smile. The name struck me in the stomach and the room seemed to glow brighter for a few seconds. It felt wonderful to repeat it in my head. Iolarathe had chosen this name for her. It was beautiful and fitting.
“I will have a room prepared for you next to my suites,” Jessmei said to me as she rose from the table. Her ivory dress cascaded down with her hair and she turned to her cousin. “I will inform the empress of my intention to join with Kaiyer. I am excited to see the surprise on her face.”
“She will be horrified, I am sure. How will you play her lie about Kaiyer’s exile?” Nadea asked.
“I shall have to ponder that for some time. We do not need to plan a midnight escape now that I know of her deception. I will tell her I intend to accompany my fiancé; she will be unable to argue.” Jess smiled, Nadea mirrored her grin.
Three knocks sounded evenly on the door. The women did not look alarmed as the door opened. I recognized Greykin’s heavy footfalls.
“The empress and Alatorict are heading this way,” the big man announced.
“Thanks, Greykin. Can you summon Herin for me?” Jessmei asked.
“Yes, Jess.” The big man turned to go but the beautiful queen spoke again.
“Greykin, wait.” He turned back around with a raised gray eyebrow. “Stay here for a few more minutes. Kaiyer and I have some important news for the empress and I believe that you will want to hear it as well.”
“Is that right? Is it good news?” He glanced from Jessmei to me and then to Nadea.
“It is great news,” Nadea said. Our eyes met again and my heart cried.
Her voice sounded sincere.
Chapter 45-Iolarathe
“Tell him her name!” I screamed at the useless girl, but she and Kaiyer just ran past me without heeding my words.
“You know that tactic won’t work.” Entas lounged on a rock on the edge of the thick jungle. Kaiyer and Nadea had reached a plateau in the canyon. I assumed she wanted to be alone with him so she could tell him about the dreams I had sent her, but she had not mentioned them yet and I was growing impatient with the human.
“She has two weeks to tell him. Why doesn’t she do it?” Frustration clawed at my stomach as if I had swallowed a live rat.
“If only these mortals would just do as we say. The universe would be much easier to manage, don’t you think?” Entas said with his usual playful mockery. I turned to glare at the man but his eyes were closed against the late day sun. One of his bony legs was crossed over the other and the odd man looked like a lounging grasshopper.
I growled at Entas and decided it was best to ignore him again. When we lived amongst the islands and he infuriated me like this, I would leap away to another island and avoid him for a few years. When loneliness overcame me, or I had an idea to discuss with him, I simply summoned the strange little man by shouting his name.
Malek and Nyarathe’s descendent had left my sight by turning past a curve on the top of this plateau. The jungle trees and light gray limestone blurred at my thought and I instantly appeared behind the two of them. I didn’t feel the heat of the high sun, but it was apparent from the sweat coming down the girl’s back that she was working hard to keep up with my lover. As weak as he was from his time in the Radicle, he was stronger than all of these feeble humans.
“Tell him,” I begged again, but the girl did not hear me and I cursed her.
“Kaiyer doesn’t remember his past either. Maybe you should direct your anger at him.” Entas was sitting next to me now.
“Her father was so easy to manipulate. This is beyond frustrating.”
“Maybe it is her Elven side? The last three generations of them have become difficult for you to communicate with.” Entas had told me this many times before and I agreed with him. Nyarathe had understood the dreams I sent her immediately, and my dear sister had done as I asked. She taught the O’Baarni how to use the Radicles so that they could send Kaiyer to this world. I had kept careful watch over her daughters, their children, and the next thirty of their kin until the latest empress gave birth to the idiot girl that stood before me.
“They are speaking.” I shushed Entas and he fell silent.
“Yes. You are fast. I can’t keep up,” the girl said to Kaiyer. The millennia in the Radicle had not been kind to the man. His beautiful face and body had been reduced to a skeleton, his skin stretched painfully over bone and wasted muscle. I feared Vaiarathe would look as ravaged when he rescued her. She had not even eaten a good meal before she left. I prayed there was enough fat on her already thin body for her to survive the suspended state.
“Can we break?” the girl asked breathlessly and Kaiyer offered her a drink. She was so weak. I had waited so long for her to awaken him, now that they were so close, every wasted minute was maddening.
“You lead,” he said.
“Thank you,” she replied, and the girl waded through the stream and continued along the rocky edge of the cliffs next to the jungle. Kaiyer watched her walk and I saw the lust in his green eyes.
“Damn it. She is supposed to tell you about our daughter. Not distract you.” Kaiyer did not hear me, of course. My breath caught when he walked through my ethereal body and his skin swirled around my vision. He still smelled as I remembered and the scent made my head spin with desire.
“He doesn’t even speak their language yet. You should give it some time. We’ve made it this far. What do another few months matter?” Entas said.
“She is alone, Entas,” I said softly and sighed. The little man put his hand on my shoulder.
“Not for long.”
“I don’t need your comfort. I need results.”
“Well then. Continue screaming at them. That is producing plenty of your results.” He sighed and removed his hand from my shoulder.
I had stopped counting the years a dozen lifetimes ago. While I had grown more accustomed to the invisible hand I played in the lives of Malek and Nyarathe’s kin, I still did not know what to make of the strange man who was my mentor in this afterlife. He was committed to helping me, but he had not been able to offer much assistance with my manipulations of my sister’s or the O’Baarni’s blood lines since he did not share the connection with them that I did. He could only advise and encourage me.
Entas and I had spent thousands of years together observing the living Elvens and humans, yet I still knew very little about the man and had long since grown bored attempting to decipher the truth in the riddles he spoke, or to elucidate his own personal history from the constant barrage of jokes and jests that tumbled from his lips. I trusted him, still. He had been with me too long to be motivated by anything but a sincere desire to help, whatever his reasons.
Even if he fucking annoyed me.
Kaiyer and the girl named Nadea were out of my sight again, so I shifted my perspective to stand next to them once more. It was a technique Entas had taught me after a few days, and I used it to instantly appear wherever I wished to be. It was useful for orchestrating my plans. I did not even need to know what my destination looked like, I could simply decide I wanted to observe someone, or be in a particular place, and my vision shifted and took me there instantly.
“It is getting late. We need to go back,” Nadea said to Kaiyer.
“We need to check the guard post.” He pointed off to his side where I knew the humans of the nearby tribe had an assignment of warriors.
“Okay. One more hour and then we should go back. Yes?” Kaiyer nodded at the woman’s words. His eyes were bright green and seemed to sparkle against the sunlight. My heart filled with love for the man and then quickly grew to anger when I saw him appraising the girl’s lean body.
“Looks like he is hungry for more than food.” Entas laughed and I shot another glare at him. My anguish just made him laugh louder. “He’s been sleeping a long time, Iolarathe. He has forgotten me and he has forgotten you. Can’t he look at another woman?”
“No. He needs to find our daughter.” I knew my jealousy was unreasonable, but I could not rein in my rage. I wanted to live. I wanted to feel his lips and body on mine again. This girl was not worthy of him and it infuriated me to imagine them together, that he would be with her and forget me.
I should have felt nothing but gratitude toward the young woman. Kaiyer was awake now. That had seemed almost impossible, but we had exhausted our other options. We had tried and failed several times to send various descendants to this world, returning after each attempt to the floating islands to find another limb of either family tree that we could manipulate. I began to juggle dozens of men and women at once. Soon I had laid out hundreds of different plans, hoping and watching to see if any would work.
Finally, Gilluard was born.
Perhaps there was something wrong with him that allowed me to speak to him directly. Perhaps it was a gift from the Dead Gods. Or a curse. Whatever the reasons, Malek’s descendant listened to me both in his dreams and while awake. He was handsome, strong, and born into a family that ranked highly within his clan’s political structure. He was the perfect tool and as soon as I discovered him I began to plot ways to get him to this world to bring back Kaiyer.
My plans shifted when he met Telaxthe.
I sensed their initial attraction to each other immediately. Under normal circumstances, neither of them would have ever imagined forming a relationship with each other. But my voice whispered in their ears, coaxing and persuading them, making them think my desires were their own. Entas and I were intrigued with the possibility of the two of them creating a child. We knew it was possible, as Kaiyer and I had created Vaiarathe, but we had never heard of another like her in the thousands of years we had spent observing their world.
Entas believed a crossbreed could utilize the O’Baarni’s powerful magic and use the Radicles without an Ovule. The orbs were difficult to obtain and I did not know how many, if any, existed on the world where my daughter waited.
My plan worked perfectly. Almost too perfectly. Their offspring was discovered by one of the nobles of this world and adopted as his own. His home was close to the Radicle Vaiarathe would come through, and all I needed to do was instruct the girl to awaken Kaiyer, tell him my daughter’s name, and then my love could finally save our daughter.
Except the bitch was too fucking strong.
Or stupid.
Probably the latter.
I pleaded with her. I asked her hundreds of times to find Kaiyer, or to find Vaiarathe, so that the girl could wake her father. Nadea did not listen. She woke from her dreams and recalled nothing of what I had said. The situation was beyond frustrating. I had laid all my hopes upon this girl and for many years it seemed as if she would fail, though all of the other pieces were finally in place. Entas could do little to help.
Finally, I discovered a method that made my words stick in her brain when she awoke. Nadea was not responsive to my gentle pleas for help, but she was terrified of me when I screamed at her. The fear seemed to bind most of my messages, and when the girl woke, crying from her nightmare of me, she would quickly jot down what she remembered in her journal. She got most of it wrong, but for every step backward, I made two steps toward educating the girl and she slowly became obsessed with discovering Kaiyer.
I was the terrible Singleborn again and I hated it.
“I just worry about Jessmei making that climb.” Nadea’s voice interrupted my thoughts. They were looking from the edge of the cliff at the human soldiers at the base of the canyon. Kaiyer could have destroyed them with a wave of his hand and a shred of his magic, but he did not remember how to use his power, nor the extent of it.
“It will be okay,” he assured her.
“Good idea. Let’s go back.” Nadea smiled at him and my felt my stomach flip with anger.
“I’m sure he’ll remember soon. He has not forgotten how to fight and made quick work of those humans that captured his new friends. When it matters, he will use his power,” Entas reassured me again and I nodded to him. I knew the old man was trying to make me feel better, perhaps he was even experiencing the same frustration I was, but at the moment, I did not want any words of encouragement.
I just wanted my daughter to meet her father.
Kaiyer and Nadea walked back to the area where they ascended the cliff to reach this high jungle. Entas and I followed but did not speak to each other. The sun was close to setting, but I knew that Kaiyer would be able to see in the darkness.
“We should climb up tonight,” he said to Nadea. She nodded but instead of speaking, the girl set about anchoring their climbing rope to the rocky ledge of the cliff and tying the loose end of the length to a tree nearby.
“Tell him!” I stood in front of her when she tied the rope around the tree, but of course she didn’t hear me.
“You should yell louder.” Entas chuckled. “I think your Dead Gods almost heard you that time.”
“Fuck you, Entas.”
“Don’t get mad at me.” The weird monkey man shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve done nothing but help you. Don’t forget that I also want your daughter saved from the Radicle.”
“He’s attracted to her,” I admitted. “It angers me. I apologize.”
“She is attracted to him as well. What can you do? They will probably fuck each other as soon as they get back to the pretty blonde girl’s castle.”
“Now you are just trying to enrage me!” I growled.
“Try.” Nadea handed Kaiyer the rope and he gave it a few tugs to ensure that the tree would hold his weight. Then he slid off of the edge of the cliff and began his descent. The woman followed a few seconds after him.
“What are you willing to sacrifice for your daughter? Maybe if they are lovers, it will be easier for her to remember your instructions.”
“That sounds unlikely. Stop talking about it,” I seethed.
“You are not alive anymore. If you want Vaiarathe to survive the Radicle, you’ll have to stay here and observe his new life. He will love again.”
“No. He loves me. He doesn’t care about that girl and neither do I.” I wanted to smack him, but I knew it was pointless. The man was slippery, and though he was more than annoying, I had come to rely on his help.
“Oh. You don’t care about Nadea? After you spent thousands of years creating her? I find that hard to believe.” He raised a gray bushy eyebrow and chuckled.
“No. I do not care about her. I’ve spent too much time on the bitch.” I was about to say more but Entas did a strange bird-like hop toward the rope and pulled a sword out of the air as if he had an invisible sheath hanging above him.
Then he brought the weapon down on the rope.
It cut cleanly, as if the blade was real and Entas’s arm had actually delivered the blow.
“No!” I dove toward the rope as it slithered over the edge. I felt the smooth hemp slide through my palm before I could close my fingers. My entire body began to ache at the loss and I screamed again.
All was lost.
I crawled to the side of the cliff and imagined the horrific scene that awaited me. Kaiyer might survive, but the girl would be dashed against the rocks below like a drop of splattered red paint. Without her, Kaiyer would not know what to do, he did not even know who he was, he needed her to guide him to our daughter.
Once I peered over the edge I sighed in relief. My love had grabbed onto the side of the cliff and also caught the girl. I watched him swing her onto the cliff face and then he looked up to see what had caused the line to separate from the tree.
“Why?” I shouted my question to Entas.
“Did you feel the rope?” He smiled.
“Yes.” I looked down at my hand and saw a bit of red where the cord briefly slid against my skin. “How did I touch it? How did you get that sword?”
“I think that you care about that girl more than you will admit. She is very similar to your daughter, don’t you think?”
“No. She is nothing like my daughter. Explain to me what just happened.”
“It is odd that you feel that way. Both Nadea and Vaiarathe have mixed lineage. They both enjoy traveling, climbing, and exploring. They both have inquisitive minds and are much smarter than the average human or Elven.”
“Are you going to tell me about the sword and the rope? I thought we were past these games?” I felt my anger subsiding. If I really could touch items in the physical world, I might have a better chance of communicating with Kaiyer. Then I would not need Nadea.
“You can create or touch anything that you want.”
“What?” I rose to my feet and felt like murdering the man. “Why did you keep this from me? That would have made my quest much easier.”
“That is doubtful. And I did tell you. You just don’t remember.”
“I’ve recalled all of our conversations,” I spat at the little bald man.
“Of course you have.” He nodded and winked at me. “It is a difficult power to harness. You must really want the object to appear or move. It won’t just happen. It is difficult to master and it will leave you feeling weak. It is not something you can do often.”
“You don’t look tired.”
“I know who I am. You are still confused.”
“More riddles. I know who I am, Entas.”
“Your apprentice is leaving. Do you wish to follow her?” He pointed at the edge of the cliff and smirked.
“Show me how you made that sword. Then show me how you cut the rope.” I would not let him distract me.
“You won’t forget this time?” He bobbed his head in the usual fashion.
“No. You have not shown me before.” I was calm now and ready to learn. I would forgive him again because this existence was more than lonely. He was all I had and I needed him, as much as he infuriated me.
“See that stone?” He gestured to the palm-sized rock that lay next to my foot. I nodded.
“Pick it up from the ground.”
“It will spin around my hand. See?” I knelt down and ran my hand through the stone. It swirled around my palm and fingers like it was made of oil.
“I want you to think about picking up the stone and throwing it at me.” His face dropped the smirk and I followed his instructions. For a moment it seemed as if the rock became solid in my hand, but then it slipped from my grasp like steam.
“You actually need to throw it at me. First think it, then do it, you only half considered throwing it at me.” He smiled again. “It is nice to know that, despite your words, you don’t actually want to hurt me.”
I smirked and reached for it again. The rock seemed to solidify in my hand and I shot to my feet with a twist of my hips. My arm whipped out and the stone hurled through the air on an arrow’s path to the old man’s chest. His hand blurred at the last second and he caught the rock with a loud slapping sound.
It felt as if I had been punched in my stomach, kidneys, face, breasts, and groin at the same time. I felt my knees hit the rocky top of the cliff first and then the rest of my body crumpled afterward. My lungs did not want to inhale and I could not move. I had almost forgotten physical pain. It had been eternities since I had felt anything this excruciating.
“What is this?” I gasped after a few seconds of agony.
“It’s the pain of doing something that is impossible for a mortal,” he replied. I realized that the pain felt the same as when I briefly touched the rope, but this was much greater and was lasting longer.
“Do you feel like this every time you move objects?” The agony was subsiding and I was able to stand again. The sun was setting and it seemed as if I had lost more than a few minutes to the pain.
“Maybe.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“What if I practice? Will it become easier and less painful?”
“I doubt it. But feel free to try.”
I looked at another rock on the ground and debated hurling it at the man again. But then the thought of the dreadful pain intimidated me too much and I decided to practice later tonight when Kaiyer was sleeping. I needed to observe him and Nadea. I thought about them and the world blurred.
“We need to leave as soon as possible.” Nadea was breathing heavily from her run through the jungle and Kaiyer was unpacking one of their horses.
There were four other people in their group: the chieftain’s small blonde daughter, the large and muscular human with long gray hair who served as her protector, a tall man who stunk of the O’Baarni power but told them all he was a guide, and the young human male with mousy brown hair and a timid disposition. They all began to speak at once and ask Nadea idiotic questions.
“How do I get her to tell him?” I asked Entas over the din of human drivel.
“You could not communicate Vaiarathe’s name before, and I had no ideas for you then either. Perhaps if you help her, she will help you with Kaiyer.”
“What do you mean?” I screamed with impatience.
“Everyone wants something. Our subconscious seeks out our desires while we sleep. Guide her to what she wants in her dreams. She will come to trust you.”
“But she already did what I wanted to wake Kaiyer. She just needs to tell him my daughter's name and lead him to the Radicle.”
“Was that what she wanted? You wanted Kaiyer awake. She does not care about Vaiarathe.” He turned to the small campfire and the orange flames reflected in his silver eyes. “Maybe there is something else that she wants.” I followed his gaze and saw Nadea studying Kaiyer while he put a pack on the back of the boy. “You wanted to wake Kaiyer, but it appears that she wants something else from him.”
“I won’t help her with that!” I spat the words.
“You are wise, Iolarathe, and you have been observing humans and Elvens for countless years. You may not want to admit it, but you understand their emotions. You will figure out a way to get through to her.”
“I don’t have years to test different tactics. My daughter needs to be freed now.”
“Then maybe you should begin testing my idea as soon as you can.” He smiled at me and I sighed. The jungle smelled of human fear and fresh rain.
“You are right, Entas.” I hated to say those words, but I knew they were true. “I’ve waited this long. I can be patient.”
“See? You are growing wiser every day.”
I looked at the woman’s back and wished I could smack her on the head and scream at her until she gave Kaiyer the name.
“Believe me, I among all beings can understand how frustrating this is.” The old man began to laugh and it evolved into a gut wrenching cackle. I looked at him and saw Entas rolling on the jungle floor. His bamboo cane leaned against a thick tree and his hands clutched his sides as if he was trying to hold his stomach inside of his skin.
I turned to follow Kaiyer’s human escorts to the base of the cliff and then I followed their climb to the top. It seemed as if Entas was still laughing when I arrived where he had cut the rope.
But I was the only one that could hear him.
Chapter 46-Kaiyer
The air was chilly and my breath came out in a warm fog that twisted before my eyes like a dancer. It was the soft part of the dawn, just before the sun would rise, when life was at its stillest point. The dark lake over which the Radicle stood was a silent mirror, reflecting the stars of the sky like the scales of the dragons I once battled.
Our campsite lay two hours away by foot. Our band of rescuers, along with a hundred of the empress’s green-armored guards waited there. I could not sleep with the thought of my daughter so close, so I’d left a note for Jessmei and sneaked out of the tent in the middle of the night. The Elven sentries saw me leave, but I informed them I would be at the Radicle. They let me go. They knew they could not stop me.
I walked toward the entrance of the Radicle and considered the path that had led me to this point in my life. Not the narrow path we’d taken through the Teeth Mountains, but the events of my life that had brought me here. It all began when I met Iolarathe. We had changed the world and brought forth a new one. Thousands of years had passed. Thousands of people had died. Everything had led me here, to this mystical shrine that would bring our child into this world.
I was fortunate to survive. Iolarathe had died, Entas had died, my family had died. My generals were nothing but legend and history. But I was alive, my daughter was alive. If these Dead Gods the Elvens believed in were real, I wondered if they weighed the horrors I had inflicted upon these worlds with the good I had done. It was not fair that I lived while my people did not. I hoped Malek had finally found a love to rival what he had felt for Shlara. A love that could be returned in equal measure. I hoped Alexia found peace within herself and someone she could trust enough to share her heart with. I hoped Gorbanni got to spend his days breeding horses and teaching others to ride. I laughed, because when I thought of Thayer I knew all he wanted was to be free from the Elvens and fuck a bunch of women. I was sure he had achieved both goals.
Shlara.
I did not recall ever seeing her after Iolarathe’s execution. Maybe she had perished in the fire that destroyed her city. Maybe she survived and the destruction I had wrought only fueled and furthered her hatred of me. If I could have taken back any of the horrible things I had done, it would be that moment when I burned her. Though now I knew that would have left Iolarathe dead at Shlara’s hand.
I would never be able to forgive myself for what I did to her, but I accepted that it had happened and I understood why I had chosen Iolarathe over Shlara. Since I could not forgive myself, I would focus on atonement. I would live a life that would make Shlara proud and grateful I had survived.
Vaiarathe needed my love. I did not know what her personality was like, or what she would expect from me as a father, but I knew that she was made from the woman I loved. I already knew I loved her beyond any other person I had ever known.
Jessmei also needed my love and support while she navigated through her new role as the ruler of this country. The empress had not been pleased to find out that I was back on this world, and the brief conversation between Nadea, Jessmei, Telaxthe, and I indicated that she would attempt to stop me from gathering any of the political power Jessmei could bestow. Her subtle threats were coming from a place of fear, and I knew that I would be able to win her trust after a few years of treating her fairly. And for the time being, she was beholden to Jessmei and I knew Telaxthe would do nothing drastic that might anger the powerful queen.
Alatorict and I had met briefly before I departed on this journey and we spoke at great length about Isslata. The conversation had been difficult due to the complexities of each of our relationships with the Singleborn.
He was the father of the children she carried.
I sighed and turned my thoughts away from the Elven general. He promised to speak with me again when I returned with my own daughter and I knew that I would have to beg the man to forgive me. Though I had killed Isslata in self-defense, it didn’t make our conversation any easier, and I still felt a tremendous amount of remorse over the death of my former lover.
This Radicle was similar to the others I had seen: a gray-green tower that spiraled toward the sky. This shrine had half a dozen stone beds lining the first level. A staircase led up to the room where the Ovule would be placed on the control dais. I carried the leather bag that held the Ovule, but Nadea told me she could complete the ritual without it. As anxious as I was to bring my daughter forth, I knew it was better not to waste the powers of the Ovule, so I waited for Nadea to arrive. I had waited for Vaiarathe for thousands of years. A few more hours should not make a difference.
I sat down on the tile before one of the benches and let my eyes fill with the darkness of the place. For a few minutes there was no sound, sensation, or scent. I forced my mind to think of nothing other than what it would be like to meet my daughter. Dawn couldn’t come quickly enough.
I heard a noise outside of the structure. Footsteps sounded in the forest. I opened my eyes. The first rays of dawn filled the floor of the Radicle. I knew the footsteps and the cadence of her heart.
I would always remember the sound of her heart.
“Nadea,” I greeted her when she stepped into the doorway of the shrine.
“Good morning, Kaiyer.” She smiled at me and my heart skipped. “I couldn’t sleep, and the Elvens mentioned you had left camp an hour ago. I figured you would be here.”
I rose and tried to keep my excitement under control. It would not be long now before I met Vaiarathe.
“Emotions are funny. My father knew I loved him. He loved me. But he couldn’t bear to show me this place. He was afraid that I would figure out how to use it and then leave him.”
“He knew where it was all along?” I asked.
“Yes. When I told him of your daughter, he confessed.” Her smile faded a bit and she sighed lightly.
“What did you say after he told you?”
“Everyone deserves forgiveness. Everyone deserves love.” She smiled again.
“Even me?”
“Especially you, Kaiyer,” she laughed.
“Then why don’t you believe that you deserve love?” I asked her.
She crossed her arms and looked away.
I stepped toward her and reached my hand out to touch her shoulder.
Then I pulled her into my arms.
Her body shook against me and my nose filled with the scent of her hair and the sound of her heart hammering wildly. I could almost taste her skin on my tongue and her arms gently wrapped around my waist. She leaned her head into my chest and let out a deep sigh.
“Do you know how I feel about you?” I whispered.
“Yes. But—”
“No,” I interrupted her. “You know that I love you?”
“You also love Jessmei. You love both of us.” Her slender body leaned into me for another precious second and then she pushed herself away. “It is better that you are with her. She needs you.”
“Do you love me?” I held her shoulder again.
“No.” She averted her eyes.
“Look at me,” I begged. “Tell me you do not love me. If you really don’t, then I will join with Jessmei in marriage.”
“And if I tell you that I do love you?” Nadea’s eyes were suddenly fierce.
“Then you know what I will decide.”
“I don’t love you, Kaiyer. I only want your friendship and the love of your daughter.” She smiled and blinked a few times. “Will you give me your friendship? Will you allow me to return that bond? Will you let me befriend your daughter and treat her as my niece?”
“Yes, of course.” I forced a smile to my lips and let my breath leave my body slowly.
“Should I bring her through?” Nadea asked.
“Can you bring her here now?” I said after we looked at each other for a few more seconds. “Don’t you need Jessmei?”
“She suspected you would leave and come here. She told me she is close enough to sense when I use the Radicle, and she will release the hold then. Do you want to wait for her?”
“No. Jess will understand. If you are here and can do it now, I don’t want to wait any longer.” My heart began to race and I felt the palms of my hands get sweaty. I was more nervous than I could ever recall feeling. Perhaps I had felt this way when I first met Iolarathe and she asked me to wash her feet, but that was many lifetimes ago.
“Then let’s meet your daughter.” Nadea walked to the nearest pedestal and laid her hands upon the smooth stone. I felt the Earth surge up around me with familiar warmth and the walls of the Radicle seemed to glow with a symphonic range of gold colors.
“Vaiarathe,” Nadea said clearly and the world echoed her name.
Then my daughter came to this world and into my arms.
Epilogue
I watched Kaiyer embrace our child and my heart soared.
“Finally.” I spoke the words, but they sounded strange. The language seemed cumbersome and inadequate.
“You brought her to this world,” Entas said and I turned to look at the man.
He was different.
I was different.
It was a sudden change. The knowledge of who I really was crashed into me and scattered into a million particles of nothing. I knew too much. I understood everything that was now and that had been.
I saw my daughter and my love again and understood who they were. I turned to the being that called himself Entas and knew who he was. It was horrifying and wonderful at the same moment.
“I am sorry, my child,” I apologized because it was needed. I hated admitting I was wrong, much like Iolarathe, but I had made too many mistakes to maintains such pride.
“I know.” His form nodded, but I saw the life behind the mask of skin and bone.
“How many lives have you lived?” I knew the answer before I asked.
“Hundreds of thousands.” The form flickered with a smile and a bright orange color.
“How many times did you try to tell us?”
“I gave up and stopped trying. Neither of you would remember. Every instance was met with rejection. It was the punishment you gave yourselves. Then Kaiyer came to be and I recognized the opportunity.”
“He does not know?”
“He knows at the same time that he does not. It is why he kept returning.”
I watched them embrace again. My child was telling Kaiyer that she knew he would find her. She was painfully thin, but her small arm had enough strength to reach up and touch his face. The adoration was plain in her eyes and I felt my consciousness fill with love.
It was wonderful.
“Your avatar,” the voice of my other child said. I saw that Nadea had left the Radicle and walked in the direction that would return her to the camp. My family was distracted by their first meeting and had not noticed that Nadea no longer stood beside them.
The woman continued to walk into the nearby forest and I wondered why she did not remain to rejoice with her friend.
She crouched down beside a fallen pine log and put her face in her hands.
Then she wept.
They were ravaging sobs of pain and loss. I felt my own sadness force tears to the eyes of the Elven shape I currently wore. I knew her pain.
“This is what we needed to understand.” My child nodded and empathy filled his silver eyes. “We knew nothing of sacrifice, or love, or regret,” I said.
“Now we understand. We know what it is to be mortal.” His words floated to me.
“I will never be able to repay the debt I owe her.” Nadea cried for ten more minutes. She forced herself to stop and wiped her eyes on her sleeve and rose, trembling, to her feet. She walked back toward the Radicle.
“She may continue to serve you. There is still terrible danger to our family, our children, and their worlds.” I nodded and forced my form’s eyes closed.
Recatolusti’catri.
The dragon lived. Though she no longer submitted to our will. She had her own dark desires now. The monster I created needed my daughter so that she could travel through the Radicles.
“She knows Kaiyer’s armor is gone and that he has finally woken. She knows that he will release Vaiarathe from her prison. Her minions will not stop until they return to her what you have promised.”
“I know.”
“What shall we do?” he asked. Now that I was aware of the truth, he reverted to his old role of seeking my guidance.
Kaiyer held my daughter in his arms and they walked out of the Radicle. Nadea met them a few steps in front of the clear pond and Kaiyer introduced his daughter to the woman. Nadea’s eyes were still red from crying, but Kaiyer did not notice; he was too wrapped up with the thin girl he carried.
“She will have to learn of her powers. She will have to fight. She will have to save them. She will have to save us all.”
“Then we will pray that she is successful.”
I smiled at the irony and watched the trio journey into the forest and up the path that would eventually return them to their other friends. The sun had almost completed its initial climb into the sky and I marveled at the beauty of the forsaken world. The scene was a fitting end to my existence, and now that Vaiarathe was alive, I could do nothing more than watch her fate unfold.
“Then we will pray that she is successful,” I repeated his words.
The End
Thank you for reading this novel. Don't forget to write a review!
It's been a long journey friends. I hope you've enjoyed the story of The Destroyer. While this novel ends on a happy note (unless you are a Nadea fan) you are probably wondering about the loose end that I didn't resolve. It will be resolved, but first I plan on taking a bit of a break to work on some other novels. I will return to Kaiyer, Jessmei, Nadea, and Vaiarathe in the near future, so make sure you subscribe to my mailing list.
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Editing and e-book formatting by Ginger Earle
Cover art by Daniel Kamarudin
Typography, illustration and print book formatting by Jason Faraci
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Michael-Scott Earle