by J D Dench
“I love you,” she said quietly, her temper finally coming down. Her hand gently brushed against his, and his hand unconsciously opened to take hers in. “I love you so much, Matias. But that world made me and saved me from myself. I love you, and I love that world. And I don’t want to have to choose between you two.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” a third voice said out of nowhere. Matias was on his feet in a heartbeat while Kayla froze in place. She knew that voice.
“Long time no see, isn’t it?”
“Liz!” Matias shouted, walking across the kitchen into the living room and wrapping her in a large bear hug. When he set her down, he cleared his throat and greeted the two Elves with her. “I recognize you, Lotesta, though your hair is different. But who is this?”
“I’m Hanika,” the Elf said with a warm smile. “We never formally met, but I was on the expedition with the Elves to recover Olap’s comrades.”
Kayla climbed to her feet and walked over to Liz, hugging her tight. She felt tears stinging her eyes again and tried to hold them back, but they only stung more as they cascaded down her face. “I miss you so much,” she cried into Liz’s shoulder. She felt her shoulders shaking as sobs took her over.
“I missed you too,” Liz replied, though her voice gave away less emotion. “Listen, we came here to get your help. Demons are taking over the lands.”
“We know.” Matias took a seat on the couch. Kayla fell beside him. He explained the whole story, from driving up to the cemetery to their meeting with Lillian and Hamerst.
The Elves were amazed by their meeting with the spirits of the Sword and Hammer. “You met Lillian in person?” Lotesta cried out.
Kayla smiled a little at that and nodded her head. “Yes, and she’s as beautiful as the myths say.”
“So you’ll help us?” Liz asked. Kayla could hear the desperation in her voice. “We believe the Dwarven Kingdom and BlueCrest are in Demon hands. Who knows what is happening in Malkina, and the Palace can only stand alone for so long. We need help.”
“That’s actually what we were talking about,” Kayla answered, giving Matias a light elbow to the ribs. “I want to go back, but someone is being stubborn.”
Matias’ tone was defensive as he looked up at Liz. “It’s not that I don’t want to! But think about what you’re asking from us. You’re asking us to set down everything we have built ourselves here to go risk our lives in a fight we might not even have a shot of victory in to save a world we don’t belong to anymore.”
“Matias, we need you two again. Millions, maybe even billions, will die. If Azzaan is as powerful as the legends say he was, he will take over the Realm and spread to conquer more lands. If we wait too long, he might even take over the entire world!”
“And remember, Matias,” Hanika chimed in, “you’re part Dwarf. Otherwise you couldn’t wield the Hammer. And Olap, a Dwarf, maybe even related to you by blood, is in danger.”
She told Matias what she had seen. She told the story up until the bird landed behind Olap. “It didn’t look good for them, but Olap has a way of staying alive in these types of situations.”
“I’m going,” Kayla spat, standing up and walking away from Matias. “With or without you I’m going, so it’s up to you. Stay here and make a family by yourself or get ready for a war. There’s no purpose in a future of our own when we don’t save the future of thousands upon millions of others.”
He sighed, running his hand down his face. “Alright,” he groaned. He pushed to his feet and walked beside Kayla. He reached for her hand, and she allowed him to take it. “We will fight. Together.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” Liz said with a wide smile. “Because I did miss you both tremendously. The Palace is nowhere near the same without you two.”
“I just need to go take care of something,” Kayla said, bolting toward the door and snatching up her jacket. “It’ll be fast, I promise!”
And then she was gone with a slamming of the door.
“Where is she going?” Hanika and Lotesta asked at the same time.
“She has a friend. A very close friend. And it wouldn’t be right to leave without saying goodbye.”
Liz huffed at that. “She left me without a goodbye. How much could you two have really missed me?”
“Don’t be like that, Liz.” Matias turned and hugged her again. “She didn’t want to hurt you. She knew saying goodbye meant never seeing you again, and she didn’t want that to happen. She constantly badgered me to come see you, but I was working so much that I kept pushing it off. I’m sorry.” He paused before adding, “We’re sorry, Liz. We really are.”
Liz wrapped her arms around Matias after he finished. “I needed you two, and neither of you were there,” she said gently, her tears lightly trickling down her face. “I lost Rizza. I lost my parents. I lost you two. I had a team of people I loved, and in a flash they were all dead or missing. Only Olap was there.”
“You two will talk about it later. And I hope you can come to forgive us Liz.” Matias gave her a look that he hoped looked genuinely apologetic. He was really sorry, but with how mixed up his emotions were, it was impossible to know what look was on his face. And he was exhausted. “But first I need to know, how in any world did you three get here?”
Liz pulled away from Matias and wiped her face clear. Her sadness was replaced with a smile of pride. “You’re going to like this. So, my researcher, Ryo, claimed he had studied the way the Hammer made portals and could duplicate the process. He would explain it much better than I can, but essentially it taps into the power in the stars. So he had a squad sent out to recover a crashed star on the far reaches of the Demon Lands. This was years ago, way before the Demons really became a threat.
“They came back with the star in pieces. Ryo was annoyed, but it turned out to work far better for his research. He tried this and that, and when a piece shattered or was used up of its power, he moved onto the next one. After trial upon trial, and a giant pile of errors, he was able to forge a complete portal. He combined the stardust with pieces of Dwarven DNA until he found the DNA attached to the Hammer. He knew he found the right one when the portal was red, rather than blue. The same color as your portal.”
“That’s amazing!” Matias remarked.
That’s where the gargoyles came from, the Hammer told him.
It couldn’t be.
But Matias knew better than to distrust the Hammer. “Liz, Hamerst seems to think the Demons came through your portal.”
Liz nodded her head. “I didn’t believe it at first, but if Hamerst, the creator of all portals, says it then it must be true. And your story matches up, too. So the question is, how did two Demons get through the entire Elven Kingdom, sneak into the palace, use brand new technology successfully, and track you two down? Especially without you two noticing.”
Kayla ran as fast as she could for the coffee shop. She had no clue what time it was, but she knew the coffee shop would be busy at this time, and she needed to get to Zae right now. She burst into the shop and saw the counter full of people. But Zae wasn’t behind the counter.
There’s only one other place she could be.
“Zae!” Kayla cried out, and there she was, in her usual seat. She was painting bright colors on a dark campus, and the two seemed to combine to make the feeling of spirits of animals. She wore ear buds while she painted, lost in her own world. Usually, Kayla would know better than to interfere with her work. But this was an emergency.
She tapped Zae’s shoulder as gently as she could. Slowly, she set down her brush and pulled out one headphone. “Kay, sup?”
“I don’t have much time to say this. I’m going back to that other world, Zae. They need me again, and it’s possible I won’t come back. So I needed to come here and thank you for being my rock when Matt was at work. And I wanted to say a proper goodbye to you, because you’re the closest thing to family I’ve had in this city.”
Zae stood up and pointed to her
stool. “Sit down.”
Kayla was about to argue, since she was in a rush. Zae held up her hand. “It’ll take just a moment.”
Kayla nodded and sat down obediently. Zae went out into the coffee shop for a few minutes before coming back. She was out of breath, and she held something in her hand. She sat across from Kayla and held her hands together, concealing what she had obtained.
“Kayla, you’re my best friend. And I trust you to know my secret though I’m sure it isn’t the biggest secret to you. I’ve loved you since the day I met you.”
She took a deep breath, looking down at her hands. Kayla had never seen the woman so nervous before. “I know you have a boyfriend and all that, but I wanted you to know that in case anything happened to you. The night I met you, I saw this at the pawn shop down the road.”
She opened her hands and revealed a black and silver wolf attached to a cloth string. She held the necklace out to Kayla. “I sensed your strength and independence from the moment I met you, so this wolf reminded me of you. I kept it with me to make me feel close to you, but I don’t think I need it.”
“Zae…” Kayla had no words. This was the only person who could make Kayla feel like she wrote book, but knew no words at the same time. “I can’t take this.”
“You’re not taking it.” Her eyes floated up and met Kayla’s. “You’re borrowing it. And you’re bringing it back when you come back. Alive. Because that’s the only thing I will ask of you. Promise me you will do everything in your power to stay alive.”
Kayla nodded her head. “I promise,” she said. Zae stood up and walked behind Kayla, putting the necklace around her neck. Before Kayla could say a thing, she leaned down and kissed Kayla tenderly on the cheek. Then she brought her mouth close to Kayla’s ear and whispered, so quietly Kayla struggled to hear her.
“Thank you for saving me from myself. Now, go be a hero.”
Chapter Seven
“We have one more thing we have to discuss,” Kayla said from behind her cup of coffee. “Where did those Demons come from?”
Liz was on her third or fourth cup of the dark, caffeinated beverage. Matias lost count, but he couldn’t help but smile at the amazement on her face when she took her first sip. Lotesta didn’t seem to like it, and Hanika didn’t really seem to think anything of it. But Liz? Her eyes glowed anew.
“Actually, Matias and I agree they came from my portal,” she explained. “The question is how did they get to the portal and find the two of you?”
Kayla nodded and finished her cup from earlier. It was cold, but Kayla didn’t seem to mind. “Then maybe we should know who is working with you on this portal.” Kayla got up and poured herself a fresh cup, emptying the pot into Matias’ cup beside her.
“Not very many people know about the project. I kept it a secret in case someone spread word to another Kingdom and reignited another war. Or the research fell into the wrong hands. Apart from Lotesta and Hanika, we have Ryo the researcher and four others. Golvannor is a family bodyguard that keeps watch of the portal day and night. Ti’a is our ears that tells us what word is getting in and out of the Palace doors. The catch is she can’t speak. Thero is our experienced veteran warrior with countless awards for his battles and bravery. And then there’s Aega, who keeps track of everything that is said or done in her notepad.”
“I can vouch for Thero,” Hanika explained. “He was on the team with me that searched for Olap’s companions almost a year ago. And Aega was there, too.”
Matias sat back down and took a deep gulp of his coffee. His favorite cup was always the bottom of the pot. “Ryo wouldn’t want his own research getting out, and I have personally met Thero. He’s a brave and honorable man. I don’t think he would do something like this. And if Ti’a can’t speak, I don’t believe she could let word slip. He paused for a moment. “What about Aega? I know you vouch for her, but what if her notes were stolen?”
Hanika was ready for the response. “Aega actually only keeps notes about the Portal beside it and leaves all notes with Ryo before she leaves. Liz already expressed concern about the notes getting out, so Aega agreed she would leave them behind. She’s too protective of her notes to let them slip into someone else’s grasp, anyway.”
“Which counts out Aega,” Matias added. He took another deep sip from the mug. “Which leaves Golvannor.”
“He’s my family bodyguard. He’s served in my family for years, so I think he should be cleared.”
“Golvannor.” Kayla said the name slowly, letting it roll off her tongue. “That doesn’t sound very ‘Elvish’, does it?” Matias shook his head. “Can you three tell us more about Golvannor?”
Lotesta was the one to answer Kayla. “There isn’t too much to say. He’s thin with dark eyes and doesn’t talk much.”
Hanika nodded and added, “he’s got thin hair, high cheekbones…"
“What kind of weapon does he use?” Matias asked.
“He sits alone in that room with only his dagger.” Hanika cringed at the thought. “It’s a very old dagger, though. Rusted and ruined.”
Kayla and Matias exchanged a glance. “You mean he alone has access to the portal every moment of every day?” The three Elves looked at one another before offering a nod. “Then is it possible that word didn’t get out about the portal. The Demons just used it by somebody who knew how it worked?”
“Golvannor would never betray us,” Liz countered, finishing her coffee. “Tell them about the battles he’s served in, and the times he has saved my family’s life!”
Lotesta and Hanika didn’t say anything. Liz shot them looks to try and force them, but they simply looked away.
“Liz,” Kayla said gently, “nobody knows about Golvannor but you.”
I don’t even know about him, the Sword told Kayla. I know many Elves, since they are family names. But Golvannor is not a name I recognize in the slightest. It sounds more Dwarf than Elf. And, if Golvannor has served her family, it is likely either he or his family served me in the past. But no Elf by that name lived inside my Kingdom, much less my Palace walls.
“Lillian agrees with us, Liz. She doesn’t recognize the name, and Lillian knows almost all Elves by name. She even said the name sounds more Dwarf.” Kayla paused for a moment. She looked to Liz to see the weight of her words.
Matias shook his head. “Hamerst doesn’t recognize the name, either. Liz, I think Golvannor is our guy. He’s the intruder.”
“That guy did always give me the creeps,” Hanika commented. “Something about his eyes is...unnatural.”
Liz was about to argue when Lotesta cut her off. “We can at least keep him under guard. Nobody is saying we need to go take him out, but we can keep him for questioning.”
“Okay. Alright, fine!” Liz stood up from her seat, almost sending the chair to the ground. “I’ll signal Ryo so we can head back and ask Golvannor if he’s a traitor.”
“No need to signal Ryo,” Kayla responded with a wink. “You have two portal makers right here.”
“As for Golvannor, you should leave him to us. We aren’t attached to him, so if we question him it won’t look bad on your part.”
Matias walked over to where his Hammer sat across the room. Kayla followed and grabbed her Sword. Together, they created a portal between the two of them. Something about forming a portal seemed to awaken something deep inside both Kayla and Matias. It was like a rush of energy had been building up inside the two of them over the past two years and was only now being released. “After you three lovely ladies.”
Olap did not know if he was awake or asleep. For all the old Dwarf knew, he might even be dead.
No, he thought, not dead. Dead Dwarves don’t hear coughing so close to them. So I’m alive, but am I awake?
He listened carefully for a long time, but no matter how much he focused he could not tell if that coughing was part of some strange dream or some unknown reality.
Alright remember what happened.
Olap remembered the ki
tchen inside BlueCrest’s castle.
He remembered the giant Demon with long horns out of its head.
He remembered the person they had brought with them, Jam’aal, was actually named Azzaan.
He also remembered that Azzaan killed Jonn with what appeared to be his shadow.
Or was that just some nightmare?
Olap couldn’t tell reality from dreams anymore. He felt around him and realized he was laying on something thin and extremely uncomfortable. That alone told him he was awake. But where was he where it was so dark?
The dungeons, Olap instantly thought, his mind clicking pieces together. He didn’t know much about the BlueCrest castle, but their dungeons were renowned throughout the Realm. Their dungeon’s cells were side by side and arranged through an entire room shaped in a circle. The doors to each cell were only a few feet apart from one another. Apart from the cells, the room was completely bare, excluding the few torches in the center of the room that gave off any light. Hardly any of that light actually reached the cells, though, leaving the prisoners in almost complete darkness. The second purpose for the torches was to make it impossible to see across the room to the prisoners on the other side.
Each cell only had a pile of hay, as Olap learned as he rolled over and started pulling the hay out of his thick beard. The hay was meant to serve as a bed, though some preferred to sleep on the ground and use the hay as a restroom. He leaned up with a loud, deep groan, his hand shooting up to massage the side of his head that was pounding in pain.
He tried to see anything in the darkness, which his headache didn’t help in the slightest. He tried to peer through the cell door but realized how impossible the flames made it to see across the room. His feet were ice cold from standing on the stone, but the only relief was when he stood on the piles of hay.
He peered up and saw a window on the wall of his cell. There was another on the other side, another one of BlueCrest’s famous inventions. They connected the windows to each cell so they could communicate with one another. This made the prisoners feel free to share information among themselves, but they would unknowingly be giving information to any guards standing outside the cell door where they couldn’t be seen. The window was barred and only one foot tall by two feet wide. Olap reached up and pulled himself up as high as he could. He was barely able to peer above the cell window, but the darkness made it impossible to see who was in the cell beside him.
