Rhen stared at the door as Tgfhi waited patiently behind him. Damn it! Where could they go to change back? Turning, Rhen stared at his body while trying to figure out what to do. Behind him, Jet’s bedroom door opened again. “Hey, Lilly,” Jet called out. “You should see the moonrise over the Wood Elf forest. It’s gorgeous.”
Rhen inhaled sharply. Why hadn’t he thought about it earlier? The last time he’d ridden jetbikes with Reed, he’d spotted a beautiful grove in the forest that was completely secluded. He’d been meaning to go back and explore it but had never had the time. It was the perfect location.
Rhen sent his body to the grove then bolted out of Jet’s apartment. He laughed as he swung open the exit door to the Teacher’s Residence Hall. He could hear his generals and guard elves pounding down the stairs behind him.
“He’s going into the Wood Elf forest,” Jet yelled, after he’d exited the building with the elfin royals. As soon as Tgfhi’s body entered the edge of the forest, they lost sight of him. They searched the woods, but couldn’t find him.
Jet went deeper and deeper into the forest. When he heard something, he waved at the guard elves to follow him. They crossed through an area of white-bark pines, jumped a stream then weaved their way through a thicket. They ducked down when they heard Rhen calling out softly, “Tgfhi, where are you?” On the other side of a beautiful clearing, they spotted Tgfhi’s body jumping over a fallen tree. Bosternd crawled up beside Jet and breathed a sigh of relief. They’d found Rhen. He turned and waved at the elfin royals to stay out of sight.
“Tgfhi, where did you go? You were supposed to wait right here. Tgfhi?” Rhen called out.
“Gods damn you!” Tgfhi bellowed from the right. He was struggling to pull Rhen’s cape off of a pricker bush. There were scratches on Rhen’s body from the brambles around him. “Tonight was horrible.”
“What?” Rhen walked over and pulled on his tunic, to release it from the thicket. “Why are you in the pricker bush?”
“I saw something moving and it freaked me out, so I started to run and I accidentally ran into here.” Rhen laughed. Tgfhi was about to yell at him to stop laughing when he remembered he had to warn him. “Rhen, they know. They know everything. Crystam and Ceceta are going to kill us and everyone else is angry too.”
“Really? How did they figure it out?” Rhen glanced around the clearing where they were standing but didn’t see anyone, so he relaxed.
“Well, for one thing, you should have considered not dancing like a maniac. Have you ever seen me dance like that before?” Rhen shrugged looking guilty. “And for another, you could have warned me about Ceceta. She’s dangerous. The way she has everything you do pegged. It’s scary. I bet she’s sitting in the apartment right now, telling everyone what time you’ll be walking back in through the door.”
Rhen laughed. “Yeah, she’s pretty smart. Did you have a nice time despite everything else?”
“No,” Tgfhi hissed. “Your body is crap.”
“What?” Rhen said softly.
Tgfhi didn’t notice Rhen’s sudden change in demeanor. “First of all, everyone watches everything you do. It’s downright creepy. No, it’s worse than creepy, it’s horrible. Secondly, your weapon’s belt chaffs, you have this constant ringing sound in your ears, your left shoulder hurts when I move it, your joints are all shot, your stomach hurts, the bloodworms inside you wiggle about when you eat. I thought I was going to vomit because they’re so disgusting. Your fingers ache whenever I move them, your head feels full, like there’s something in it, your…”
“Shut up,” Rhen snapped. “You don’t hear me griping about your out of shape body, do you? I changed places with you tonight for fun, not to hear you whining. Hell, Tgfhi. What did you think you were going to get when you took over my body? I’m a war veteran. Show some damn respect. Those aches and pains have paved the way for your planet’s safety.” Stepping towards Tgfhi with his hands out, he added, “Give me my hands, I want my body back.”
Tgfhi felt horrible. What had he been thinking? Rhen had made his body. Of course, he was proud of it. He never should have complained. “I’m sorry. You’re right.” Rhen grabbed his hands and stepped through him. Tgfhi felt a cold chill pass over his body. He shivered and opened his eyes to find he was looking in the wrong direction. Taking a step forward he groaned. His body ached all over. “What did you do to my body? It hurts.”
“It’s called exercise,” Rhen replied sounding smug. He noticed some wounds on his hands that were bleeding. Some of the blood had dripped onto the forest floor at his feet. Rhen used his powers to heal his wounds, then pulled his weapon’s belt around and looked down at his shoes. “What did you do to my running boots?” His shoes were torn and the sole of one of them was partly ripped off. “You destroyed them!” Rhen sat down on the ground in front of an old log and lifted up his foot to inspect the damage. “I can’t believe you ruined by running boots.”
“They’re called sneakers. Why you insist on calling them…” Tgfhi turned around to chastise Rhen for always calling his sneakers running boots but froze when he saw the white and blue Giy flowers that were rising from the ground at Rhen’s feet. Giy flowers were Themrock’s gift to the elves. They only bloomed twice a year or if Themrock was present, then they bloomed wherever he went. When two apple trees sprouted from the soil behind the stump Rhen was leaning against, Tgfhi inhaled sharply. The apple trees grew quickly, reaching full height within the blink of an eye. They bloomed then produced fruit a moment later. Rhen was too preoccupied with his shoes to notice, but the others hiding in the woods around them saw what was happening and grew concerned. Would Rhen realize he was Themrock if he saw the way the Wood Elf forest was responding to his presence?
“What the hell?” Tgfhi whispered when vines snaked along the forest floor towards Rhen.
“I can’t believe how much damage you did to…” A vine reared up and snatched the sneaker out of Rhen’s hands. “Hey!” He jumped forward to grab his shoe, but instead of catching it, he was suspended in mid-air by a mass of vines. “What’s going on?” Rhen tried to pull his arms free, but the vines lowered him, putting his face into a patch of Giy flowers. As with most elves, Rhen relaxed once he caught a whiff of their scent. Themrock had designed the Giy flowers to bring the elves peace.
Bosternd stood up. “I don’t like this,” he said. “Let’s get him out of here.” As Bosternd and Jet neared Rhen, the ground beneath their feet jerked upward, tossing them backwards. “Crap,” Bosternd yelled, falling into some bushes. “Help, Rhen!”
When Tgfhi ran towards Rhen’s body, a couple of vines grabbed his legs and flung him into the air. He flew through the sky screaming and would have landed in the school’s lake, if he hadn’t have been snatched out of the sky by one of Jack’s dragons.
Bosternd and Jet were now inching their way forward. They got within an arm’s length of Rhen before vines snaked out to grab them. The vines pulled them towards two trees and lashed their bodies to the trunks, so they couldn’t move. The elfin royals and guard elves stepped forward with caution. Rhen was lying motionless, face down in the vegetation. Vines were interwoven throughout his clothes, while flowers, ferns, and plants grew in abundance around him. “Do you think he’s hurt?” Sarah asked. No one knew.
As the elves advanced on Rhen, most of them met with the same fate as Bosternd and Jet. The only elves that weren’t attacked were the Wood Elves. “Hey, how come none of the Wood Elves are tied up?” Charlie complained. “What’s so special about them?”
“That’s it,” Latsoh yelled, her hands resting on the vines that were encircling her chest. Charlie smiled and looked away as Latsoh added, “I can’t believe we didn’t see it before. We’re deep in the Wood Elf forest. You control the forest.”
Reed snorted. “I don’t think so, Latsoh. Remember, we don’t have any powers.”
Latsoh ground her teeth as the other elves chuckled at her statement. Why weren’t they making the same connections she had?
“Think,” she told them. “The forest is coming alive for a reason. Who does it have in its embrace?” When Reed’s eyes narrowed, she knew he was figuring it out. Themrock’s blood had spilled on the forest floor. It had woken up the forest. If the forest was reacting to Themrock, then certainly it would respond to the Wood Elves too. “Tell the forest to release Rhen,” she told Reed. “I bet it will.”
“Do you think that could be our power?” the Wood Elf Queen asked as she took a step closer to Rhen. “Do you think we can control the forest?”
“I’m about to find out,” her husband said. In his deepest voice, Estan bellowed, “Release the boy!” His words echoed around them. The vines, which had been swirling at their feet, stopped for a moment before continuing.
“Do it again,” Latsoh urged.
“Release the… Genister from your embrace.” Estan was afraid to say Themrock, in case Rhen heard him. Fortunately, the forest understood. The vines began to disentangle themselves from Rhen’s body.
Charlie grabbed the vines that were releasing him and held on to them tightly. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed that the forest was releasing him too but they were all preoccupied with Rhen and weren’t paying him any attention.
Shno laughed. “That’s it. That’s our power.” He’d never seen anything so amazing. They could control the forest.
Rhen lay on the ground breathing in the Giy flowers’ scent. “Rhen, are you okay?” Reed asked as he approached. He lifted his head and gave Reed a crooked smile. “They smell so nice,” he mumbled, before lowering his head back down into the flowers.
Latsoh laughed. “It’s like he’s on Tgarus weed.”
“Give me the Genister,” Reed told the forest. The vines lifted Rhen up and carried him over to Reed, who reached out to pull Rhen into his arms. He grunted from the effort. Rhen felt like a dead weight. “Oh, Charlie,” he said when Charlie appeared by his side. Charlie hadn’t been able to stop the vines from pushing him towards Reed, so he pretended he had walked over to help. He wrapped one of Rhen’s arms around his shoulders and hoisted Rhen up.
“Ask for his sneakers,” Latsoh said, when she noticed Rhen’s bare feet.
Shno wanted a chance to command the forest so he waved the others off and said, “Repair his sneakers and bring them to me.” He grinned as the vines swirled about, obeying his request. This is so cool, he thought. A moment later, two vines brought him Rhen’s repaired sneakers. “Thank you,” he said as he took them.
Aaron wiggled his fingers. His hands were growing numb from the constricting vines. “A little help guys?”
“Release our friends,” Reed told the forest. The vines slithered backwards at once, releasing everyone. Aaron nodded his thanks to Reed and stretched.
As they carried Rhen out of the forest, Shno turned back. “Thank you, again. I have a feeling he’ll be back soon.” He gave a general wave then jogged to catch up to the others who had paused on the hilltop above the University.
“That was incredible,” Estan said. Shno couldn’t have agreed more.
Tgfhi ran up the hill to join them. When he reached their group, he slapped Jack on the back. “Thanks for that.” Jack shrugged. He was glad he had been carrying his dragon whistle.
Naci bumped into Jack as he pushed past him to reach Estan. “If you control the forest, would that mean that we can control fire?”
Without thinking, Latsoh jumped into her father’s arms. “Yes! I can’t wait.”
Tgfhi watched as Latsoh paled. She’d forgotten that she wasn’t speaking with her dad. Dropping her arms, she tried to step back, but Naci wouldn’t let go of her. Tgfhi was about to walk over to help her when Naci said, “I’m sorry.” He placed her gently on the ground. “I was wrong. Please, forgive me?”
Latsoh closed her eyes. She wanted this but she refused to give up Erfce. “I love Erfce.”
Naci nodded. “I know. I’m not thrilled about it, but you have my blessing. It would make your mother and me very happy if you would consider getting married at home.”
Latsoh hesitated. “But the priests…”
“They’ll marry you,” Naci told her firmly, “or I’ll remove them from our temple.”
Latsoh studied her father. From the look in his eyes, she could see that he meant it. She stepped forward to hug him. “Thanks, Dad.”
“I love you, Latsoh,” Naci said, kissing her forehead. “I’m sorry I was being so thick-headed before. Let’s talk later?”
Latsoh nodded. She lifted her face to kiss him on the cheek then stepped over to Rhen. Pulling the crown of Giy flowers that the forest had given him out of his hair, she said, “Coming back to us yet, Rhen?”
Rhen blinked a few times then shook his head. “What?” He stepped forward, taking his weight onto his own legs. “Where are my running boots? How did we get here?” He glanced around at everyone. “What’s going on?” Latsoh smiled. Themrock was messing with Rhen’s memory so he wouldn’t remember what had happened.
Tgfhi slapped a hand on Rhen’s shoulder. “We went to change our bodies back and everyone caught us.”
“Oh, no,” Rhen groaned. “Does Ceceta know too? She’s going to kill me.” He reached out to take his shoes from Shno then pulled them on. “I guess we better go back.” Rhen started to walk towards the Teacher’s Residence Hall, but paused and turned back to Shno. “Why did you have my running boots?”
“Tgfhi took them off before you changed back. I picked them up so you wouldn’t forget them.”
Rhen nodded. “Thanks.” He grabbed Tgfhi’s arm. “Come on. Let’s get this over with. Does Crystam know too?”
“I sure hope not,” Tgfhi said, trotting to keep up, as Rhen increased their pace.
The next day, the Wood Elf King and Queen returned to the location where the forest had come alive. They found the Giy flowers and apple trees still blooming, but there wasn’t any life in the forest, not like there had been the day before.
Chapter 16
School Library – Elfin University
Ceceta was waiting by the school’s library doors for Rhen to finish his meeting with Bosternd. Bosternd had wanted to discuss the possibility of Surpen’s rejoining the Convention. Ceceta hoped Rhen would refuse. She despised most of the other members who were in the Convention. Rhen, though, seemed to feel it was important to keep the association. He was already connected to Thestran’s Council. If he rejoined the Convention members, Surpen and her territories would be safe from attack on all sides. Ceceta snorted. As if anyone would attack Themrock.
“She’s so ugly. What does Rhen see in her? She’d be better off married to a dog.”
Ceceta had been pushing a stray lock of hair back from her face when she heard the comment. It was the third time that day that she’d heard someone criticize her. She couldn’t figure out what she’d done to upset so many people. For the last few days, every time she’d been alone, she would hear someone making a nasty remark.
Ceceta rushed towards the alcove on the right side of the library entrance “Who the hell do you…” She rounded the corner and stopped. There wasn’t anyone there. One of the windows in the alcove was open. Stepping up to it, she searched the school’s grounds to see if she could find anyone. In the distance some students were sitting on the lawn. They were too far away to have been the ones criticizing her.
“Rasack’s balls.” Why couldn’t she ever seem to catch the people who were gossiping about her? It was starting to make her angry.
***
The Headmaster stopped Rhen in the hallway outside his classroom. “Thank you for singing at our last event, Rhen. I think you’ll find next weekend’s gathering equally enjoyable, we have a band from Neptian coming to play.”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend your next event.” Rhen reached out to open the door to his classroom.
The Headmaster put his hand on Rhen’s arm. “But, you must. It’s required.” He sounded upset.
“Sorry,” Rhen said, wondering why
the Headmaster cared so much if he was present or not. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” the Headmaster demanded.
Rhen’s eyebrows rose. He was surprised the Headmaster was demanding he provide an excuse for missing an event, as if he were a child. “I’m hosting the Convention’s meeting that day.”
The Headmaster paled. “What?” This was the first he’d heard of Surpen being back in the Convention. “You really can’t miss a University event,” he insisted.
“Sorry, but I have to.” Rhen couldn’t understand his objection. “It’s business.” He nodded goodbye then turned to enter his classroom with the guard elves on his heels.
Charlie stayed behind in the hallway. He needed to tell his family that Rhen was heading back to Surpen. “Charlie!” someone called out. He turned to find Erfce rushing towards him. “You are a hard man to get alone,” Erfce said, breathing heavily. He’d been walking down the hallway, when he’d spotted Rhen entering his class. Miraculously, Charlie hadn’t followed him. “I tried to find you during the last school event, but you…”
Charlie didn’t have time for this. “What do you want, Erfce? I need to go.”
Erfce was surprised by his brisk tone. Charlie never spoke that way. His unusual mannerism flustered Erfce, making him lose his train of thought. “Um, I want to talk to you about… You know if… Well, you see, I think you might like to, well, I heard from Naci, actually, that the auction house told him that–”
The Surpen King - Part 2 - Rise of the Elves Page 17
