Elf Doubt

by Bryant Reil

Kyla’s eyes widened, and she waved her hands in front of her chest. “No, no, no. My patron seeks them to stop Erebus from awaking Chaos!”

  “Erebus was defeated!” shouted one of the bandits, though his comment earned him a prod from a spear.

  “Well, yes, but just in case his forces try to reorganize, she doesn’t want them to get the stones.”

  This was the mission? Eunoe should have insisted on more details. How idiotic for Kyla’s patron to send such a young, inexperienced girl on such an assignment.

  The Queen loomed over Kyla. “How do I know your patron is not Avowed? Many of Erebus’ followers were slain seeking my people in this jungle. We are no friend of his kind.”

  Kyla was leaning away from the Queen, and sweating. “My patron’s trying to protect the stones. I swear.”

  “You consort with these brigands, and think I should accept your word?”

  “Well, yeah. Like I said they kidnapped us, but then Handrin killed Ceiba and—"

  There was a murmur among the guards. The Queen’s eyes opened so Eunoe could see the whites glint in the torchlight. “Ceiba has been killed? Who is Handrin?”

  “That guy. There. With the four arms.”

  The Queen nodded at one of her personal guard, who shouted an order, which was relayed to Handrin by the guard nearest him, and he was escorted to the Queen. Eunoe felt something in the pit of her stomach. It was Aspen, afraid for what was about to happen. The dryad was shifting her weight from bended knee to bended knee.

  “What’s wrong?” Eunoe whispered, but she was hushed by a guard. Aspen gestured at Handrin with her head. Eunoe nodded. Satisfied her guards had their eyes on Handrin and the Queen, she reached behind her back for the gun.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Information Overload

  Kyla tensed, and the world slowed, as Handrin lunged for the Queen. The Queen’s guards raised their spears, but each of Handrin’s arms flew at them, touching them wherever he was able, and with a pinch of his fingers each collapsed like a sack of sand.

  “Ichtha vas!” Eunoe’s voice uttered Aias’ words as she levelled a gun at the Queen. She shook her head and shouted “No!” as her aim shifted to Handrin.

  Kyla covered her ears as a loud bang sent everyone ducking to the ground. Handrin dropped, a hole in his side oozing blood onto the grass. He looked at Eunoe, his face twisted in pain and rage as he clutched his side.

  The world sped up again. Eunoe’s eyes were wide and her mouth open as she looked about as ciguapa and bandits clashed in sudden combat. The nearest ciguapa smacked her wrist with the shaft of her spear, and Eunoe dropped her gun in the grass.

  Kyla was saved perhaps because the Queen’s personal guards were escorting her away from Handrin, who still lay bleeding on the ground. One of the guards tried to spear him, but he kicked out with his leg, clipping her on the calf, and she dropped lifeless to the ground.“I’m going to find a friendly tree and get a staff,” Aspen whispered. “Follow me.”

  Aspen crawled toward the jungle but one of the guards thrust a spear at Kyla, who scrambled in the other direction and found herself unable to follow. The only safe path away from the fray was toward the temple. Kyla ran for it, with the one guard in pursuit. The soldier was fast, but Kyla found her smaller size an advantage as she bounded through a narrow gap between two small houses. She took a hard right toward the corner of the temple, looking back to see that she had made a small gain from her pursuer.

  She rounded the corner and looked for an entrance to the temple. There was a small wooden shutter on the wall a few feet out of reach. The stone walls were held with gaps of mortar, which provided handholds, so she clambered up, lifted the shutter with one hand, and lunged head-first into the hole.

  It was a tight fit. She exhaled and squeezed and pushed herself forward with her arms, but before she could pull her legs all the way through, a strong hand gripped her ankle. She panicked and kicked. Her shoe slid off as she lurched forward. She tumbled to the floor and the shutter over the window dropped shut.

  Kyla landed head-first on what felt like a table covered in cloth. She felt along the surface, and discovered she was lying next to a large stick topped with a rock. She eased herself to the edge of the table and swung her legs over the side, gently lowering her toes to find the floor.

  She could feel the cool slickness of the stone floor as she lowered her bare feet. She stood and felt her way along the sides of the room, which alternated from stone wall to table, each table topped with a single item of irregular shape. A museum, perhaps? Very likely the stone would be kept in such a place, though none of the items she encountered here were the right size or shape.

  Her pursuer wouldn’t fit through the window, but she probably knew the layout of the temple and would come around the other way. Kyla felt along the walls for an exit. She found a smooth crack and supposed it to be the outline of a door, but there was no handle.

  She prepared to rest her weight against the door to push it open when she heard a banging noise through the wall, and a battle-cry, and footsteps. Her pursuer must have gone around. Kyla shuffled back across the dark room, feeling for the table below the shutter, and supposed she might climb back outside.

  A clamor changed her mind. The fighting grew louder, toward the temple. She heard what she guessed were Aspen’s grunts as she smacked ciguapa soldiers and spears with a staff. She must have found a friendly tree.

  The footsteps from the corridor echoed closer. Though her knees shook, Kyla faced the door. She took a couple practice kicks to warm up her leg. Go for the kneecap. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t, but it was the only move she had.

  The door swung open, and the ciguapa lunged. Kyla rolled forward to dodge a spear-thrust, brushing against her attacker’s leg. Kyla jumped up and scrambled out the door, slamming it shut and grabbing a torch from a sconce on the wall. She jammed it into the looped door handle.

  There was a clang as the ciguapa slammed against the door. It might not take her long to break her way out. Kyla grabbed another torch from the wall and ran down the corridor.

  Kyla wondered now if she should search the temple for the stone or go out and help her friends. She was useless in a fight. Aspen had apparently found a staff and would be able to manage. Eunoe had a gun. Kyla could be of no help. For now, she would do what she came to do and seek the stone. Perhaps in her search she might find something useful to help the others.

  She creaked open the next door along the corridor and held her torch inside. This room too was lined with small tables and had a window high up on the far wall. Each table was covered in a red and black cloth, and on each cloth a peculiar item. On a table in the center was a large skull, crested at the back and topped with two horns over the brow and one at the end of the snout. It was big enough to be that of a dragon. Although there were several items of interest, there were no black stones, so Kyla headed for the next room.

  There was a crash as distant doors banged open and more footsteps thundered into the temple. Kyla darted into the room across the hall, marked with a golden handle. This room was nearly empty save for a bust of the Queen, and a chain which hung from the ceiling. She might be able to climb it and hide overhead, lest anyone peer inside. It seemed the only hope, as she could hear angry voices heading her way. She placed her torch in a sconce on the wall and climbed.

  As she grabbed the chain, it gave from her weight and a length of it pulled to the ground. There was a sliding sound next to her as the inside wall, opposite the door, slid open. Kyla had no time to wonder. She grabbed her torch and ran inside, searching for another mechanism with which she might close it.

  Nothing. She scanned the room again, seeking exits, but saw none. This chamber was larger than the others, and she supposed must be the heart of the temple as the center breathed an eerie red light which emanated from a large hole in the floor. Floating above the hole in the room was a bubble, nearly invisible except the glassy reflection from the red light, and inside the
bubble floated a familiar black stone.

  She approached the hole and stretched her arm, yet the bubble remained a foot out of her reach. She investigated the hole below and saw only a red glow and flickering flame, making the depth impossible to gauge.

  There was shouting in the next room, and nowhere to hide save in the fiery pit. Her heart pounding, Kyla stifled a scream and tossed her torch into the pit and lowered herself over the edge. There were handholds enough, but the heat from below baked her skin. Yet as she lowered herself down the hot stone walls, she heard—no, felt—a scream from below, and the fire retreated several feet. No time to worry about that now. She had to hope no one looked down the pit.

  There was a hush, and the footsteps stopped. Soft but urgent voices spoke with each other in a foreign tongue. Kyla, her hands sweating and fingers starting to slip, clutched tightly to the wall with images in her mind of losing her grip and falling into the fiery depths below.

  Then a voice entered her mind. She worried, at first, that it was Erebus returned, though this voice lacked the sense of cold void that Erebus brought. This one was bright, and passionate, and for some reason afraid.

  Why do you assault me? For what purpose do you raid my home?

  Kyla looked down. The fire, it seemed, wanted to talk.

  ***

  Aspen stood among her fallen foes. She had managed to disarm them without killing anyone, but two loud shots and she could see that Aias had taken over again and shot two of the ciguapa on the other side of the grassy field.

  Talking this over wasn’t going to be easy. The soldiers surrounding Aspen were chattering amongst themselves, likely planning a coordinated attack. The bandits were nearly all dead, though a few continued to fight with their hands tied.

  Faron was playing dead on the grass, an act complicated by Oly urgently licking his face.

  Where was Kyla? The Queen and her guards were shouting in their language, and Aspen could see a fresh unit of soldiers charging from the west. One of the Queen’s guard called out to the new arrivals and pointed at the temple.

  Somehow, Aspen knew Kyla had gotten inside and they weren’t happy about it.

  Enough play. She swung her staff at the soldiers around her as a warning as they scattered to pick up weapons lying about the field.

  “Come on!” Aspen shouted, waving her staff for Eunoe to see. “Kyla must’ve gone in the temple. But put your gun away!”

  Eunoe did not put the gun away. Aias was in charge now. Aspen could feel Eunoe in the back of her mind, shouting for the ancient spirit to return control.

  ***

  The clamor from the temple grew louder, but Kyla’s focus was no longer on her pursuers.

  O great wizard! echoed the inferno in Kyla’s mind. Why do you assault me in my home? The war was over eons past. I have nothing left for you to take. The ciguapa keep great treasures, stored above. I shall not interfere if that is what you seek.

  Kyla whispered low, so as not to be heard by the ciguapa above. “I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m no wizard. And I’m not your enemy. So…uh…no reason to burn me up.”

  I cannot burn you, for your magic prevents it.

  “Oh! My ring. I got this from an evil dwarf who was trying to kill me. He’s dead now. Didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m very sorry. It’s just I need a place to hide.”

  Why do you invade my sanctum? And why do the ciguapa hunt you?

  “Kind of an accident. I do need that stone up there in the bubble, though.”

  The flames roared upward, yet, fell shy of touching her. Why do you seek the Stele of Bachtris? Do you know what it is?

  “Yeah. I had one of the other ones. We’re trying to collect them so no one else can get them and wake up Chaos.”

  I have protected this fragment for millions of years. The ciguapa have enchanted the region so it cannot be found. Their safeguards have failed, if you have found it. It is their most sacred item, though they do not know its nature, nor mine.

  So, they didn’t even know what it was. Kyla looked up. If the stone was indeed safe here, she had no reason to take it.

  Voices gathered above, and Kyla heard footsteps approach the pit. The combination of heat and fear drenched Kyla in sweat.

  “Don’t look down,” she mouthed. “Don’t look down. Don’t look down.”

  The Queen’s head peered over the edge, motionless for a few seconds before the Queen turned red and screeched.

  “Kill her!” the Queen roared. “Blasphemer! Violator! Feed Anhanguera.”

  The fire roared again. A guard stepped forward and smacked Kyla in the forehead with the butt of her spear. Kyla’s already slippery fingers lost their grip and she fell. There was a great roar and she could feel the fire elemental’s heat on her skin, though his flames whipped away as she fell. She landed on her back, the wind bursting from her lungs. She turned her head and vomited.

  The fire elemental roared above. You insult me, Queen! Your tongue is not worthy of my name.

  Kyla expected some apology or deference from the Queen. It would be foolish to challenge the creature of fire. But an apology was not what she heard.

  “You are in my domain, creature. Obey my command and devour the intruder.”

  I take no orders from you. I am lord of this temple, and protector of this stone. Your predecessors served me well, but if you challenge me again, your ashes shall adorn the floor of my sanctum.

  “You have no authority in my kingdom. You are mine to command. Guard! Retrieve the Amulet of Ouidaiin and teach Anhanguera to obey his Master.”

  Kyla was not familiar with the Amulet of Ouidaiin, but the fire spirit seemed upset at its mention, as he roared and there was a chorus of burning screams. A soldier, flailing and in flames, fell into the pit and Kyla only just rolled out of the way. The ciguapa soldier was still alive, and Kyla scraped for dirt and ash on the floor with which to douse the flames, but it was far too little. With a sickening moan the woman pulled a knife from her belt.

  She first extended it to Kyla. Kyla knew what the ciguapa soldier wanted but pushed away. When the ciguapa soldier saw this, with a final breath she placed the point of the dagger to her heart and thrust with a final groan.

  If Kyla hadn’t already vomited on hitting the ground, she would have now, for even at the attack on Equinox she hadn’t seen anything so horrifying. She looked up, supposing she was next. The fire spirit may not be able to touch her, but it could certainly drop something heavy down the pit to crush her. The spirit was looking down at her, and she could see the faint outline of a face and eyes.

  The ciguapa need a new Queen, wizard. You claim to seek the stone’s protection. Leave it with me, and I shall watch it as I always have. I pronounce you the new Queen so long as you serve this end. The ciguapa will resist your coronation but will perhaps be humbled by it.

  Kyla, though confused at the fire spirit’s deference, was grateful at the chance for a longer life. She took a few minutes to catch her breath before climbing out of the pit.

  “Nice.”

  It was all Sophrosyne said as Kyla walked into the chamber decked in the beaded jewelry, feathered headdress, and face paint given her by the ciguapa.

  “I feel like I’m going to a costume party,” Kyla muttered. She stopped in front of Sophrosyne’s chair. “Eunoe took Aspen home for some rest. She says I can’t do any more of these assignments.”

  “She coddles you. You’ve been made Queen! What more could she ask?”

  “Yeah. Uh…I don’t think the ciguapa are happy about this.”

  Nor was Kyla. She didn’t want to live in the jungles of Laenith any more than she wanted to live underground with the Digans.

  Sophrosyne chuckled. “First a Chief, and now a Queen.”

  Kyla looked at the floor, as she felt she didn’t deserve either title. “I put one of the ciguapa soldiers in charge for now. Her name’s Simea. Faron’s going to run messages. They said he can live there since he’s my messenger-boy. He’s the fir
st male to get a house there. He was excited to live around a bunch of women with backwards feet. Oh, I left the stone with the ciguapa. There’s a fire spirit named Anhanguera protecting it and he won’t let me take it. He’s the one who told them I was Queen.”

  “You did fine, Kyla. The stone is in a good place, now that we know where it is. I see the fire spirit killed the former queen. Interesting he thought you to be a wizard.”

  “He realized pretty quick that I’m not.”

  “That ring, and other items like it, were wielded against the elemental spirits by the forces of Chaos millions of years ago. Its bearers were the enemies of Anhanguera and his kin, yet they both feared and respected each other.”

  “Uh-huh. Can I go? I’m pretty tired.”

  Sophrosyne sat and stared. Kyla slowly turned to leave.

  Sophrosyne stood and stepped forward. “Stop. I need a moment. Take my throne.”

  “Um…are you sure?” It seemed a breach of etiquette to sit on someone else’s throne. Yet it also seemed a breach of etiquette to disobey an order. Kyla shuffled past Sophrosyne and slowly lowered herself onto the stone chair. It was surprisingly comfortable, with contours in just the right places for a relaxing sit.

  Sophrosyne chewed her lower lip before speaking. “You ran into a band of brigands in the jungle. You suspected some were followers of Erebus, yet you worked with them.”

  “Well, kind of. I mean, only some of them were. Ceiba for sure. It’s not like they came out and told us. I think some were ordinary folk.” She squirmed. “I didn’t really think about it because I just needed help.”

  “Relax. I’m not faulting you. You were able make your enemies into friends. Not all of Erebus’ followers were wicked. Some were misguided. Lost. Uninformed.”

  There was another pause, and Kyla began to wonder if Sophrosyne would continue. Then, just as Kyla was about to speak, Sophrosyne broke the silence. “Eons ago, my family dwelt here, immaterial, drifting in the Void. Matter floated about us, but it took no form. It all behaved as it wished, as did myself and my siblings. There were many of us, then. Somehow, and I’ve never understood the means through which it happened, creatures arose who wished to possess the disorganized matter, and use it to create a place of Laws and Order, where rules would be dictated and enforced on the inhabitants. We thought it was wicked that some intelligent Being should tell the universe how to behave. We ignored them at first, as it didn’t affect us, and they gathered materials and made this great ball on which you live. It seemed harmless enough, but as time went on, they themselves took shapes, and began to reproduce. But in their material forms, they became subject to the very laws they tried to impose on the world they had created. They became victim to disease, and hunger, and cold. To alleviate their discomfort, they subjugated more of the matter of the Void to create the sun and moon, and water, and plants and animals. This Order, which had only tugged at us immaterial beings in the beginning, had grown too large and began to hurt. My brother, Erebus, burned in the sun’s light. Our father, Chaos, decreed that the earth be destroyed, but it was too late. The creatures of Earth had mastered their craft and organized their forces and tools and weapons to fight us. We, the primordial beings, were far stronger, but they were too many and we were driven back. We waged assault after assault, growing fewer in number as we were defeated. Eventually we were driven from our home, until we were abandoned in the edge of the void. A star system was created, whose border we couldn’t cross, and Chaos put to sleep with a powerful spell.”