Night Elves of Ardani: Book Two: Sacrifice

by Nina K. Westra

  Soft footsteps. Movement.

  Theros’s voice came again. “Can you understand me now?”

  A pause.

  “Yes.”

  Novikke’s breath caught. It was Aruna’s voice. Even in that one word, she knew it.

  “It’s an enchantment,” Theros said. “It will allow you to understand us, and us to understand you. So we can talk.”

  He paused, as if waiting for a response, and there was none.

  “We can start with your name.”

  There was more silence.

  “You’re going to have to answer questions. If you can’t even tell us your name, we’re going to have a problem.”

  “I foresee that we’re going to have a problem either way.”

  “Your name,” Theros said, danger edging into his voice.

  “Aruna.”

  There was another pause. Novikke assumed someone was writing it down. “Good,” Theros said.

  “Where is Novikke?” Aruna asked. Novikke’s heart clenched.

  “The woman you attacked, you mean?”

  “I didn’t attack her.” Calm, matter-of-fact, only a little defensive.

  “You held a sword to her throat.”

  Another pause. A shifting of fabric.

  “She was your prisoner, wasn’t she? Were you taking her to Vondh Rav?”

  There was a heavy sigh. “Can I speak to her?”

  “So you can persuade her to ask us to let you go?”

  Again, he didn’t reply.

  “Have the Varai allied with Ysura?” Theros asked.

  There was a long silence. Novikke heard movement.

  “I’m not going to ask everything twice.”

  “No one asked you to ask twice,” Aruna said mildly. “You could have taken the hint when I didn’t answer the first time.”

  There was more movement, and then suddenly the sound of flesh hitting flesh. There was a struggle. Grunting, feet shuffling, chains rattling.

  Novikke stared at the grass beneath her feet. Anger and guilt shuddered through her. Blood pounded in her ears.

  She could get a sword. She could cut through that tent and drag him out and stab anyone who got in her way. She couldn’t just do nothing.

  There was another silence and then more talking, more violence, but the sounds from inside the tent faded as she withdrew inside herself.

  She knew the standard methods for extracting information from prisoners. They were not gentle.

  But they wouldn’t kill him. Not yet.

  She repeated that to herself over and over. They wouldn’t kill him.

  She told that to the Panic that snaked into her head and her stomach, making her head spin, setting her skin on fire and dragging her down into a spiral of helpless fear.

  They wouldn’t kill him.

  She buried her face in her arms.

  What did they think they were doing in Kuda Varai? Everyone knew that the forest was off-limits. It always had been. Ardanian soldiers should not be here. If they weren’t here, none of this would have happened. She might not even have been taken hostage in the first place if other Ardanians hadn’t been behaving so aggressively.

  Slowly she lowered her arms away from her face, glaring into the darkness. When she did, she realized someone was watching her. Behind another tent, twenty steps from her, Thala stood, arms crossed.

  Novikke challenged Thala’s gaze with her own, setting her jaw. Thala shifted, cocking her head. Then she gave a jerk of her chin, beckoning.

  That wasn’t what she had expected. If Thala was going to report her, she could have simply left and done so. It appeared that she was giving Novikke a chance to keep this between the two of them.

  Novikke reluctantly stood and padded over to her, leaving Aruna behind.

  Thala gave her a long look, giving Novikke the impression that she was being studied and judged.

  “Come on,” she said finally, motioning for Novikke to follow. Novikke sullenly fell into step behind her, and they circled around the tents and back into the camp.

  Chapter 3

  “You’ll be in the ladies’ tent with us,” Thala said, leading her to a tent and opening the entrance for her. Novikke ducked inside.

  A man was already inside, setting up an extra cot. He gave her a too-curious look. Novikke frowned. News of her arrival had already spread, it seemed.

  There were only three cots. “We’re the only women here?” Novikke asked. “Us and the mage?”

  “Yup,” Thala said, sighing. In a single syllable she conveyed layers of exhaustion and resignation. Novikke managed to crack a smile. She knew very well the dubious pleasure of being one of the only women in a group of men.

  Thala pointed to a neat stack of clothes on one of the other cots. “I got you some new clothes, when you’re ready. I’ll get you a sword, too.”

  Thala smiled, looking at her expectantly. This was the part, Novikke supposed, when she would have put down her things and made herself at home—except that she didn’t have any things other than what was in her pockets.

  “Where is the sun elf?” she asked.

  Thala gave her another measuring look that Novikke didn’t like. “He’s with Kadaki. I’ll take you to them, if you want.”

  “I would appreciate that.”

  Neiryn was in a large medical tent that was empty except for himself and the mage. He lay on a cot, his wrists and ankles chained to either end of it. Novikke was surprised to find him conscious. His heavy-lidded eyes followed the mage carefully as she worked.

  The mage, Kadaki, was bent over his leg, waving a hand over the angry wound there. A faint glow was emanating from her hand and sinking into his skin.

  She looked young, probably just out of her teens, with mahogany hair that would have brushed her shoulders if it hadn’t been tied back. She had a focused, serious expression that hadn’t left her face since Novikke had first seen her in the woods.

  Novikke was relieved and a little surprised they’d kept their promise to help him. The cut already looked better than the last time she’d seen it. Neiryn twitched and squinted his eyes shut as Kadaki’s fingers clenched, twisting the magical glow of the spell in a way that must have been painful.

  “Is it fixable?” Novikke asked.

  Kadaki’s brow twitched down, like she was offended by the question. She didn’t look up. “I can handle a simple fever and a flesh wound, yes.”

  Neiryn’s eyes rolled toward Novikke, giving her a dark look. Gods, they were both going to despise her now. She was going to have no one left on her side by the end of this.

  “Then he’ll be all right?”

  “He’ll be fine. I’m trying to concentrate.”

  So at least one good thing had come out of this. Stumbling upon the Ardanians had saved his life.

  Thala took Novikke’s arm and pulled her outside and back toward their tent. She glanced around, making sure no one else was nearby. “Can I give you some advice?” she murmured.

  Novikke had the distinct feeling she was about to be chastised. “If you must.”

  “You should be more subtle about whatever is going on between you and these elves.”

  “Nothing is going on,” she said defensively.

  Thala gave her a look. “Well, what you did back there in the trees was strange. People are going to start saying things if you aren’t careful. Things that could get you discharged or worse.”

  It was a little late for that. “I’m aware.” She gave Thala a closer look. They’d met before, but they were not friends. Thala had no reason to look out for her. “Why are you telling me this?”

  She shrugged. “Because I’m a nice person. I don’t want you getting into trouble. And, if what you say is true… I don’t want you making things worse for those elves, either.”

  Novikke relaxed a little. She hadn’t been expecting to find any sympathy here. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Now I really think you should get some food and sleep. You’re not he
lping anyone by not feeding yourself.”

  ◆◆◆

  Novikke sat on her cot, fed and wearing new clothes and with a wool blanket awaiting her, and watched her roommates as they prepared to sleep. The tent was warm and lit by a lantern—the kind with a candle, not a magical one, so it gave off pleasant amber light instead of the harsh white or blue tone that mage lights tended to have.

  Thala and Kadaki talked quietly as they moved around the tent. Novikke could hear others outside by the fire pit, talking and laughing and even singing—while they were camped out in Kuda Varai, which was ridiculous. Who sang drinking songs in a place like this?

  It rained for the first time in a fortnight that night. Perhaps it was by the gods’ graces that it was the first time in that long that she’d had a roof over her head.

  It was all oddly comfortable. Mundane. Like nothing that had happened to her in the past week had been real. Like two people she’d begun to regard as friends weren’t being held as prisoners only a few steps away from where she would soundly sleep.

  She wondered how badly they’d hurt Aruna. She wondered if he was afraid. If he was in pain. He was alone here. Most of the people here would gladly kill him, if given permission.

  She wanted to go back and see him, to tell him that she was still here and that she was sorry and that she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

  An odd thought occurred to her: She was free to go on with her life now, if she wanted. She could just go with the soldiers and forget Neiryn and Aruna. She could put all of that behind her, just forget it had happened. That was what she’d been wishing for only a few days ago.

  It was the furthest thing from her mind, now.

  “You all right, Novikke?” came Thala’s voice, interrupting her thoughts.

  She spoke with a friendly smile, but there was a hint of something else—a careful watchfulness that suggested she thought Novikke might either break down crying or fly into a violent rage at any moment. It was how everyone had looked at her since she’d arrived at the camp. She wasn’t sure if it was because they wondered at what she’d gone through while she’d been a captive, or because of how she’d behaved after the scouts had stumbled upon her little group in the woods. Probably both.

  Novikke gave a perfunctory nod, not really wanting to have a discussion about it.

  “You must have been through a lot recently,” Thala said, prodding for more information.

  She was so friendly and well-meaning in her approach that Novikke couldn’t be annoyed with her. “I guess I have.”

  “Sometimes it’s good to talk about these things. Share the burden with friends. It’s better than keeping things bottled up.”

  Kadaki was watching them. She had a way of staring at you when you weren’t looking and then quickly disengaging when you looked back at her, Novikke had noticed.

  “It’s too soon, Thala,” Kadaki muttered.

  “That night elf tried to attack you when we found you,” Thala went on anyway. “You must have been frightened.”

  Novikke met her steady gaze, trying to decide what she was getting at. “Not really,” she said, and reclined on her cot. She looked away, hopefully conveying that she didn’t feel like talking about it more.

  “Why not?” Thala pressed. She really had no interest in reading Novikke’s not-so-subtle signals.

  Novikke closed her eyes. “I know him pretty well. He hadn’t hurt me up to that point. I don’t know why he’d decide to start right then.”

  Thala didn’t look satisfied with that answer, but she didn’t say anything else about it.

  “I heard we’re moving soon,” Kadaki said.

  Novikke looked up.

  “I heard that, too,” Thala said. She folded her legs to sit cross-legged on her cot. “I can only imagine that’s related to the arrival of our new guests.”

  “Moving where?” Novikke asked.

  “Deeper into the forest,” Thala said. She spoke with the solemnity that such a declaration deserved. Few humans had ever gone even as deep as the camp was now, let alone farther.

  “To what end?”

  “The forest is an axis of magic energy,” Kadaki said. “Apparently, there are a few specific places in the forest where the energy is concentrated. If we can get to one of those places, we might be able to use that power to nullify the forest’s defenses. At least, the captain says that’s what Lord Aetos believes. The mages at the Conclave have made him a device that, theoretically, can tap into the forest’s magic.”

  “In preparation for an assault on Vondh Rav?” Novikke asked, her eyebrows lifting. That was the last thing anyone needed, after the fighting with Ysura had finally begun to slow down. Another enemy. Another years-long conflict. More dead soldiers.

  “That information is distributed on a need-to-know basis,” Kadaki grumbled. “That’s what Theros keeps telling me. Which is fine. Why would he bother to actually tell me what’s going on? I’m just the only mage here—the one who’s going to be making all of this happen, if we can get to this mythical magic source.”

  Thala smirked. “I doubt it,” she said in answer to Novikke’s question. “Not yet, at least. Our primary task right now is to find a path into the forest, and then, if we can do that, to set up a permanent base here. Kuda Varai is a huge blank spot on our maps. We’ve gone too long without a foothold here.”

  “It’s a fool’s errand,” Kadaki said, crossing her arms. “There is a good reason humans don’t come to this place.”

  “You don’t think they’d make it through the forest?” Novikke asked. “Even if the night elf showed them the way?”

  “The forest is alive. And the only people it welcomes are the Varai.”

  “Alive?” Thala said. “I didn’t have you pegged as the superstitious type, Kadaki.”

  “It has nothing to do with superstition. It’s magic. I’ve read about it, unlike most people here.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  Novikke leaned back, closing her eyes as Kadaki and Thala continued to discuss and debate.

  ◆◆◆

  Later that night, Novikke waited for them to fall sleep. Thala’s breathing slowed first, and Kadaki’s. Thala snored. Rain tapped against the tent.

  She did try to sleep, but couldn’t. She wasn’t really surprised.

  She stared at the roof of the tent until long after all the voices from the rest of the camp had quieted. Then she got up and slipped on her boots and cloak.

  She had to talk to him. Just to make sure he was all right.

  She listened for her roommates’ breathing, just to be sure they were still asleep, then opened the tent flap and crept out into the dark.

  She had taken only a few steps through the mud when a large shape lifted from the shadows and quickly came toward her. She froze, tensed to run.

  “Novikke,” the figure said. She could just make out his face in the low light of the fire still burning at the center of the camp. It took her a moment to recognize him. Vissarion, the first lieutenant. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “That’s… all right,” she said uncertainly. She had taken half a step away before stopping herself.

  “I’m on watch tonight. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. Fine.”

  He smiled. Something about the expression unsettled her. “If you need anything, you can come to me. Don’t worry—I’ll be nearby.”

  “Ah. Well. Thank you. Um… Just answering the call of nature.”

  He pointed. “Latrines are that way.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Novikke gave him a lingering look as she left. He stared back. Novikke frowned.

  He knew what he was doing. He wasn’t standing next to her tent by coincidence.

  She returned to her tent without searching for Aruna.

  ◆◆◆

  The next morning, she found Vissarion still sitting outside her tent. He smiled coolly as she came out.

  “Morni
ng, Novikke.”

  She suppressed a sigh. “Morning,” she replied shortly. She went to the fire at the center of the camp to get food from the shared pot there. When she glanced behind her, he was still watching her.

  She waited until after she’d finished eating before she spoke to him again.