Zelia's Lost Path

by Zora Marie

  The others all shared glances, and Skylar nodded. “But Alrindel is going with you.”

  “Alright, just take care of yourselves and keep an eye on Connan. He’s not himself.”

  19

  Zelia stopped just outside the glimmering gates to the mountain. Her body screamed for rest, but she needed to get Orvi to the protection Vainoff and King Erolith could offer. Besides, she knew now that the wizards could still control her if one were willing to get close again.

  “Alrindel, should we go to the barge or just head north on foot?”

  Alrindel looked towards the trading town, a mere dot against the blinding white blanket of snow.

  “It would be faster to walk, but the Darkans...”

  “We’ll have to fight them either way, but this way we’re not trapped in the middle of the river. Besides, everyone will go after Orvi. They won’t understand.”

  “Why is it s s so cold?” Orvi shivered as she asked.

  “It is winter. Um, do you know how to use your fire lung?”

  Orvi blew a tiny little flame.

  “Good, now just internalize it. You can pull it deep within yourself and it will warm you from the inside out.”

  Orvi tilted her head, and steam rolled from her nostrils.

  “That feels weird.”

  “You’ll get used to it. We’d better get moving, we’re too exposed here.”

  Alrindel led the way, heading straight north until they came to the edge of the woods. Charred trunks stood out against the snow, as if they were guards against the fire that raged there some time ago.

  “How long do you think it’ll be before the forest recovers?” Zelia asked.

  “There were some ancient trees in these woods, I don’t know that the forest will ever be the same.”

  Zelia nodded, she couldn’t help but feel some guilt over what had happened here. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and continued into the live but dormant part of the forest. The night was upon them when Alrindel turned his attention from the trees and their shadows to Zelia and Orvi.

  “I’m so tired.” Orvi’s chin bobbed in and out of the snow as she walked.

  “I think we need to stop for the night,” Zelia said.

  “I noticed you had slowed down. Let’s start a small fire and you two can get some sleep.”

  Once they had gathered some branches, Orvi lit them and curled up almost on top of them, the flames licking the side of her head.

  Alrindel dug around in his pack and handed Zelia a piece of laygoose bread.

  “We need to find something for Orvi.”

  “We will, but you need to rest.”

  Zelia nodded and chewed on the hard piece of bread. As it warmed in her mouth it seemed to melt. When she finished, she stood next to Alrindel as he kept watch.

  “Wake me when it’s my turn.”

  Alrindel glanced at her, then turned back to the woods. “Go sleep.”

  “You need to rest, too.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Go get some sleep.”

  “Fine, but I’m keeping watch at some point during this trek.”

  Half asleep, Orvi nuzzled against Zelia, draping her wing across her. Lying there, the aches and pains of the last few days eased. She wondered if the relief came from something Orvi was doing or just from lying still. She squirmed closer to Orvi. The warmth she radiated was a welcome reprieve from the cold, even if the young dragon wasn’t quite her own size.

  ~

  It was still dark when something rubbed her arm.

  “Come on,” Alrindel whispered, “the Darkans are moving and we shouldn’t stay in one place for too long.”

  Orvi stretched and Zelia noticed the fire had gone out some time ago. It was now darker than it had been when they stopped.

  “They’re close, aren’t they?”

  Alrindel nodded and led them off the path they had been taking, but kept a northern heading. Occasionally he would stop and listen, then move forward a little quicker than before. They continued this way until well after the sky lightened.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “We need to find something for Orvi to eat.”

  “I know, I’ve been watching for signs of animals.”

  “We may have to split up, we have nothing to give her.”

  They heard a howl and scuffle somewhere behind them.

  “Dain?” Zelia asked. She looked down the path of disturbed snow, a trail leading everyone right to them.

  “Dain and his pack can handle themselves, I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

  “What if they’re not?”

  “Zelia,” Alrindel responded, “we should keep moving. That’s what Dain would want, he’s back there to protect us.”

  She pried her attention away from the noises behind them and continued down the snow-covered path.

  “We’ll find you something to eat, we won’t stop until we do.”

  Orvi sighed and trudged through the snow beside her.

  “So, do you know how to fly?” Zelia asked, trying to keep Orvi’s mind off her hunger.

  “No, father promised he would teach me if I had wings, but now it seems like I’ll never learn.”

  “You know what, I may know someone who can help with that, if I can get a message to her.”

  “Really? Who?” Orvi perked up.

  “Raven from Dragon Island. I was her rider.”

  “Was?”

  “I came back here.”

  “Why?”

  “To save Alrindel.”

  “You love him?”

  “Not like that, he’s my brother.”

  “But you’re not an Elf.”

  “Kin is not defined by blood, it’s about the people who care.”

  “So, are you my kin now?”

  Zelia couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Alrindel held up a hand for them to stop.

  “There’s something up ahead.”

  He drew an arrow, then Zelia glimpsed a dark figure through the trees. She lunged forward, lowering Alrindel’s bow.

  “It’s Dain.”

  With Alrindel relaxed, Zelia took a cautious step off the snow laden path.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Keep moving,” Dain’s words came as a growl.

  Zelia shook her head. “Call your pack off, I won’t let you hurt yourselves for us.”

  “Zelia?” Alrindel questioned, he always caught the meaning in her tone, no matter the language she used.

  “We’re not doing it for you. Now go!” Dain snapped, then grumbled under his breath, “Ask your Dwarven wizard friend when you get there.”

  “What does he say?” Alrindel asked.

  “To keep moving. Multly has asked them to protect us. I’m not sure why.”

  “So Multly really can speak to the animals?” Alrindel asked.

  “No,” Dain sighed, “but he talks to his animals enough they’ll pass messages. Don’t stray from the path or you’ll end up in the Darkan tunnels and Zelia, don’t use your powers, the wizards are using them to track you and your dragon. Now get going and take the deer trails.”

  With that, Dain disappeared. Zelia pulled a handful of arrows and nocked one.

  “What did he say?” Alrindel asked as he returned to the path.

  “To take the deer paths and don’t stray from them. And not to use my powers.”

  “Why?”

  “The wizards are using them to track us.”

  Zelia’s stride faltered as she realized what Dain meant but was not willing to say, Orvi was at risk so long as she was with her. She tried to shake the urge to split up as she knew Alrindel would never allow it.

  Hours later there was a dead rabbit, clearly killed by a wolf, in the middle of
the deer trail.

  “Thank you, Dain,” Zelia whispered as she picked it up.

  Zelia held the rabbit up for Orvi and she burned the hide off before gulping the small carcass down whole.

  “You’re not supposed to use your powers.”

  “I didn’t, she didn’t let the flames get that close.”

  “Just… be careful, please.”

  “I will.”

  Alrindel gave her an almost sad smile and turned to continue down the path. Zelia stepped to the side to let Orvi go ahead of her, and as she did, the snow and earth beneath her gave way. She fell onto the cold floor of an earthen tunnel.

  “Ouch,” she groaned as she stared up at the snow dripping over the edge of the hole in chunks.

  “Zelia!” Alrindel frantically called from some ways above her. “Hold on, I’m coming.”

  “No! Take Orvi, the wizards are using me to track her and we don’t have time for this. Go, I’ll distract them and the Darkans. I’ll catch up.”

  Alrindel was about to protest when she scrambled to her feet and ran down the dark tunnel. She could only hope he moved away quickly as she now used her control of ice to feel for her path.

  She was about to turn the next bend in the winding passage when the ice beneath her feet found something that resisted its reach.

  “Who’s there?”

  When there was no answer, she skewered the creature around the corner with ice and another Darkan sounded the alarm. Now Zelia questioned her decision. Could she have turned around and found another path? She shook her head. She couldn’t afford to doubt her decision now.

  “You haven’t changed a bit. You may have Mother and Father convinced, but I know the truth,” Rogath’s voice boomed through her head and she faltered.

  “Rogath please—” her thought cut short as the Darkans noticed her distraction and shoved her between them.

  “Mother asked me to give you another chance, but I hope the wizards kill you for good this time.”

  She could feel the spite and hatred Rogath had for her as if it were her own, and she paid no heed to the Darkans as they led her deeper into the tunnels. Something was wrong, though. He had been mad ever since she left, but now his anger felt twisted as though pushed by someone else. The Darkans shoved her, and she crashed hard against a slick stone slide. She curled up as much she could as she slid ever deeper into the underground home of the Darkans, her cloak pulling at her neck as it dragged behind her.

  A sticky mist hung in the air and threatened to suffocate her as she struggled to regain her bearings. Her captors grunted as they pulled her to her feet and half carried her down the pitch-black path.

  “Wait,” she said, more to herself than the Darkans.

  The Darkan jerked her arm, but she pulled back against it.

  “What have the wizards promised you?”

  Now she wished she had asked Eadon for a refresher on the language the Darkans use as the two that held her rambled on in their own tongue. She felt alone and lost, Rogath’s hatred making her want to just give up and cry. She fought her despair down and composed herself.

  “I know some of you can speak the common language, find me someone who can.”

  There was a low grumble from somewhere deeper in the cavern.

  “Why do you care?” the rough question bounced off the walls. “You’ve never cared about my kin.”

  Zelia was taken aback. She hadn’t thought about Darkans having families but the way he used kin forced her to think. Could they all be that evil, or had she and the Elves provoked them? Her stomach turned. Her first encounter with them she had entered their home and killed them, but she wasn’t the one who started it all.

  “You’re right, I haven’t cared about your people.” She struggled with a mix of emotions as she chose her words. “But I would like to understand you and change that if I can. Please, may we talk?”

  A mangled mess of words came from his direction and the two Darkans led her towards the unseen voice. Zelia went with them. While she wanted to trust them, she questioned why they would trust her after all she had done.

  “Relax, you are safe so long as we talk.”

  The Darkans that held her released her arms, but she could still feel the warmth that radiated from them as they stood nearby.

  “May I have light? I would use my powers, but I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  A Darkan beside her snorted, and she shook her head, a useless gesture in the pitch black of the cavern. Then she remembered they could see in the dark.

  “I never wanted to hurt anyone, not until Asenten made me. Even then I just wanted it to stop, but it seems killing is all I do, it’s all I know how to do.”

  The Darkan in front of her muttered something, and a torch was lit. All three of the Darkans shielded their eyes with crooked fingers until they adjusted to the light. She found herself in a small home carved into the rock, the Darkan in front of her sat in a stone chair. His leathery skin sagged with wrinkles and his gnarled toes sat in worn depressions in the stone, as if the cavern floor had grown up around him.

  “Do you know why we live in the dark?”

  “No.”

  “Many generations ago, the Elves with darker skin grew ill. Those who spent more time in the light drew deformed and died. As our people noticed the trend, we began spending less and less time outdoors. The light skinned Elves helped us build homes at first, but a few of our kind grew greedy, wanting to roam wherever they desired. Through the generations, that greed spread and turned to hatred. For a long time the Elves forgave those who lashed out, but now the hatred is so deep on both sides that neither can see each other for what they are.”

  Zelia nodded and sat with her legs crossed.

  “Why are you different from the others? How do you know all this?”

  “You think the Elves are the only ones who pass down knowledge? Yes, some of my kin were not taught as they should have been or have chosen to forget what they were taught, but knowledge has always been passed.”

  She stared at his feet for a moment.

  “Are deformities passed down from generation to generation as well?”

  “Some are, others are not. Zelia.”

  She met his gaze. His eyes were a hazy gray.

  “You asked what the wizards offered us, they offered us a realm of our own. Someplace we can live free of the caves and free of light. They just need the power to get us there.”

  “But there is not a realm free of light, not one that is inhabitable.”

  “That is why they need the power of Yargo and Zivu.”

  “Yargo and Zivu don’t have the power to do that.”

  “Not while living, but the power released with death can do much.”

  Zelia sat with her mouth agape.

  “But they are my kin too. At least as much as one created by magic can be kin to anything.”

  She struggled to keep her tears from spilling over, her emotions a mess from Rogath’s venomous words.

  “How do you know they are telling you the truth? Maybe they’re just using you.”

  “Because it is the only hope we have, our young are dying from exposure faster with each generation. Soon the caves will not be enough to keep our people alive as we must leave to gather food.”

  She scanned the room, the torch casting an inviting glow around the cold barren cavern.

  “May I go? I need to speak with Vainoff, I have to know if there really is a power that can save your people.”

  “What will you do if that power is only possible through Yargo and Zivu’s death?”

  “I… I don’t know. I love them, even if Rogath wishes me dead.” This time she couldn’t hold back and a tear ran down her cheek. “But I want to help your people.”

  The Darkan nodded, and she wiped away her tears.

 
“I believe you and you may go, but I can’t protect you from all of my people. These two will lead you back to the surface, but then you are on your own.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you for being willing to listen.”

  There was reservation in his stiff wave to the Darkans who had led her there, but he didn’t say a word as she left with her guides. They traveled the dark tunnels for a long time before a stream of light pierced the darkness of the tunnel. She climbed from the mouth of the cave and trudged through the forest, looking for signs of Alrindel and Orvi. Fatigue tugged at her and she sank down into the snow. I’ll just rest for a minute.

  “Zelia?”

  Alrindel’s voice jolted her awake. Before she’d focused on his blurred form, his warmth enveloped her as he picked her up in a hug.

  “Never do that to me again.”

  She opened her mouth to reply, then stopped, remembering her conversation with the Darkan and lowered her gaze.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “A lot of things.”

  Her eyes clearing from sleep, she brushed past Alrindel and Orvi nuzzled her hand.

  “Something has changed, hasn’t it?”

  “What did Kniteoff teach you of Elves and Darkans?”

  “Enough to survive around them, why?”

  “Because what I learned was wrong and I need to find the truth.”

  “Then ask Lumid.”

  Zelia stopped and stared at her.

  “Kniteoff told me about Yargo saving you. It’s horrible what the wizards did to you, but you are stronger—”

  “Get down!” Alrindel jumped in front of them, losing an arrow as he did.

  There was a howl in the distance and Zelia grabbed Alrindel’s arm.

  “There are too many coming, how far are we from the border?”

  Alrindel grimaced. “This way, we’ll have to run.”

  He turned and ran off across the snow, Zelia and Orvi lagged behind him. The cry of a Darkan rang from somewhere behind her and Zelia glanced back.

  “Orvi, don’t stop.”

  Zelia struggled to regain her breath from the exhaustion of using her powers without sleep as she turned to face the Darkans weaving through the trees. Then an elven horn blew, and a horse skidded to a stop in front of her. King Erolith’s warriors rode past.