by Logan Byrne
“I’m going to guess this is where the Malum is, but of course I can’t be certain until Lexa gets near,” Faus said.
“Then we’ll go. How long would it take to travel there?” I asked.
“We can be there tomorrow, what time I’m not certain. I’m not sure we want to go in there at night,” Faus said.
“We might have to. We can’t just sit around if we get there. That’s how we lose this thing,” Blake said.
“I have to agree,” Britta said, surprising me. “The cave is going to be pitch black anyway, so what does it matter if we go in during the day or night?”
“It just somehow seems safer during the day,” Faus said.
“How deep do the caves go?” I asked.
“The map isn’t complete, I assume the makers didn’t get all the way through, but it could be miles, if you include all the routes and systems,” Faus said.
“So basically they placed the Malum inside a maze,” I said.
“You can’t say they weren’t intelligent,” Faus said.
“We can use our wands to find it,” Britta said.
“Actually, no,” Faus said, pushing up his glasses. “The Malum isn’t going to react to spells the same way anything else would. It absorbs magic and is shielded from most of it at the same time. With ancient magic, sure, it might react, but nothing you could conjure up. No offense.”
“Besides, we don’t want to fire off anything that could collapse the tunnels,” Blake said. “That’s why when we get inside, we’re going to have to be stealthy. In case the duskhowlers are in there.”
“My eyesight should help with that,” Charlie said.
“If you stay shifted, your hearing and vision will definitely give us the upper hand,” Blake said, smiling.
“So we’re settled, then? We’re going to start when we get there?” I asked.
The rest of the them nodded, before Faus shook his head and sighed. “Whatever you guys say.”
Hearing a rustling again, I looked out across the camp, trying to dial in on something I wasn’t even sure was there.
“Are you okay?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, fine. I think my mind is just playing tricks on me. I thought I heard something,” I said.
“I didn’t catch anything,” Britta said.
“Me neither,” Charlie said.
“Weird,” I said, my eyes fixated in the distance.
7
The sound of cracking twigs and faint whispers barraged my ears throughout the night as I tried to get some rest. I was sure somebody would see us or smell us, but it didn’t happen. I drifted in and out of sleep, my paranoia not making it easy to rest even though my body begged me to keep my eyes closed.
I saw a swirl of things whenever I did, though, a swirl of things that I didn’t want to see. I saw my dream, and I saw Kiren laughing over me as he won the war. I could see the magical realm falling into decay and darkness as he imposed his will on every creature and being that existed here.
I saw everybody I love dead, and M.A.G.I.C. going into the mortal world to do the same to them. It was a hellish nightmare that I didn’t want to turn into reality.
I wiped the crust off my eyes the next morning as I stretched and yawned, stretching my mouth open as wide as I could. My eyes took a second or two to focus, before I looked around and saw a beautiful day beginning around us. “Morning,” Charlie said, yanking a bite off a protein bar.
“Morning,” I said groggily, before sitting up against the tree I’d slept under. “Where are the others?”
“Gathering things, water, I think. I don’t know, I wasn’t paying much attention,” Charlie said.
Great, I thought to myself. Our friends left the safety of the bubble and he couldn’t even remember where they’d gone. Sometimes I wanted to slap him, even if he was my partner. Or maybe that was the reason why I wanted to slap him.
“Here they come,” he said, nodding upwards.
Britta swiped her wand, opening a doorway in the translucent film, before stepping through and closing it behind the three of them.
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“We needed some water, and we also gathered some wood and berries. Eat up,” Blake said, handing me some fresh berries.
“Have you seen anyone else in the forest?” I asked.
“We saw some little creatures, but nothing harmful. If you’re asking about duskhowlers, no, we didn’t run into any of them, thankfully,” Britta said.
“I’m not even sure they’re out here,” Blake said, sitting down beside me. “I feel like we would’ve at least heard some by now.”
“Don’t underestimate them. I know they’re lurking,” I said.
“When do we take off?” Charlie asked. “Time is money.”
“Half hour? We can eat and finish collecting our things,” Britta said.
Britta opened a door in the film and we walked out, slinging our packs around us and getting ready to set off on the next leg of our journey towards the cave. “Obscuria Ignitus,” she said, swiping her wand to the right with a little flick at the end, before the thin film lit up and was destroyed.
I still couldn’t help but feel a little less than stellar, knowing there was something around us but not being able to sense what it was. Maybe it was just the forest. Maybe there were so many hidden creatures here that my senses were going haywire. That had to be it.
“I hate to think of them getting there before us,” Blake said, shaking his head.
“Even if they do reach the cave first, we have the upper hand. That cave system is going to treacherous and miles long, I’d imagine. It will have twists, turns, and dead ends to try to squash any attempts to reach the Malum. They won’t find it even if they do reach the cave,” Faus said.
“Just have faith, Blake. We’ll get it, we have to,” Charlie said.
“And why’s that? Why do we have to?” Blake asked.
“We have too much on the line, not only for us but for everybody, to not get it,” Charlie replied.
“How are you feeling?” Britta asked, her voice low, as we trailed slightly behind the guys.
“Better. I hate how defeated I feel after using the mark,” I said.
“It’ll get better with use and time. You’re still new to all this, and you’ve made amazing progress. What you did for that centaur, you’d never have been able to achieve something like that before. It, and you, are only getting stronger,” she said, with a smile.
“Why are you the best?” I asked, laughing a little.
“Um, hello, look at me. That’s why,” she replied.
A scattering of leaves above caught Charlie’s attention. His ears twitched and he looked upwards. “Guys,” he said, nudging his head towards the canopy.
A forest elf looked down at us, one that looked a little like Pokeshi, but it definitely wasn’t him. It smiled, showing sharp teeth, before dropping down and landing just feet from us. “Lost travelers. Humans,” he said, eyeing us up and down.
“We have no problems with you,” Blake said, puffing his chest out.
“Nor I with you…yet. I know what you seek. The others are searching for it as well,” he said.
“Who are the others?” Charlie asked.
“The ones in masks. The ones who hide themselves from view, though I feel their true natures will soon come through,” he said, giggling to himself.
“I guess he likes riddles,” Faus said.
“I can take you there, to the caves. It will cost you, but I know the way,” he said.
“We already have a map. It will lead us there,” I said.
“Until you find the fissure. Will it lead you safely across?” the elf asked.
“I don’t see a fissure on the map,” Faus said, shaking his head.
“That map is old, the fissure hidden. All magical creatures in this forest know of it and to stay far away, but stupid humans like yourselves never seem to learn those secrets. Have fun,” he said, before turning around.
“Wait,” I blurted out.
“Lexa,” Blake said.
“What if he’s right? What if this gets us there faster?” I asked.
“They’re thieves known for trickery,” Charlie said.
“What is the cost?” Britta asked.
“That,” he said, pointing to a compass around Faus’s neck.
“What?” Faus asked.
“If you get us there safely, it’s yours,” I said.
“Lexa, you can’t—” Faus said.
“We can get you a new one, it isn’t a big deal,” I said, throwing daggers at him with my eyes.
“Follow me, the path is near,” the elf said, smirking, before hopping off.
“It’s better than dying in some uncharted ravine,” I said, shrugging.
The elf hopped quickly, singing a song to himself, as we struggled to keep up. “I don’t trust this guy,” Charlie said.
“Same,” Blake replied. “This should’ve been a group decision, not a Lexa decision.”
“We’ll be okay, even if he’s not trustworthy. There’s nothing a forest elf can do to stop the five of us,” Britta said.
We walked for an hour before the elf stopped at the top of a hill, smiling. “We have arrived,” he said, as the five of us, out of breath, trudged up the side of the leaf-strewn hill.
There it was, the entrance to a cave. It looked big enough, the right size, and there were no signs of duskhowlers in sight. It worked, he’d actually brought us here.
“I told you I knew the way, and far faster than your human map,” he said.
“I guess he was right,” Faus said, shrugging.
“Now pay up,” the elf said, extending his disgustingly shriveled hand. He snapped his fingers, salivating as Faus took off the compass and handed it to him. “Yes,” he said, holding the compass up and examining it greedily.
“We should get inside and start this. We can make it home for dinner,” Blake said.
“Let’s go,” I said, motioning forward.
The five of us walked into the cave, hearing sounds of water dropping, as the wet rocks shimmered in the bit of sunlight filtering in from outside. “Ow!” Charlie said, grabbing his nose.
“It’s a dead end,” Faus said, confused, before my eyes flew open wider and I turned around.
A metal cage slammed down in the entrance, locking. We ran up to it but it jolted us backwards, magically charged to keep creatures and beings inside.
I could hear that stupid elf in the background shouting jubilantly.
“I did it, I caught them,” he said, obviously talking to somebody else.
“Good, my faithful servant. They will fetch a marvelous price,” a man said, with a slightly deeper voice.
“Show yourself, you coward!” Blake roared, rattling the bars.
“Master?” the forest elf asked with a shrill voice.
“It’s okay, they should know the mastermind who captured them,” the man said.
We heard footsteps grow closer as Britta and I took out our wands and gripped them tightly. Something familiar, yet strangely different, walked into the light in front of the cave’s opening.
“Who are you?” Charlie asked.
“I am Regelius, and you are my prisoners,” he said, smiling.
“He’s a high elf,” Britta said, squinting.
“Don’t you dare link me with those people,” he roared, the veins in his face going dark as his eyes turned bright red. “I’m not a part of Alornia, not at all.”
“Then what are you, and what do you want with us?” I asked.
“It has nothing to do with you per se, but the price you’ll fetch,” he said.
“That doesn’t answer the question,” I said.
“Like one of you, I’m a halfling myself. My mother was a ritzy high elf from the marvelous kingdom of Alornia,” he said, shaking his head and scoffing. “What a joke that place is. All those filthy high elves drinking the same thing, all deeply into each other as if they lived in some utopian paradise, casting out outsiders like me!”
“How are you an outsider if your mother was one of them?” Britta asked.
“Because she made the mistake of falling in love,” he said, pacing as he dragged out the word “love” dramatically. “You see, my mother traveled to the mortal realm as a young woman to learn more about the mortals and their way of life. Being the magical being she was, she decided to peruse her options, meeting other magical creatures whom she would never get to meet within her gilded walls in Alornia. That was when she met my father.”
“A mortal?” I asked.
“An Incubus. They were so wrong for one another, coming from different worlds altogether. My father was smitten with her, much more than just lust or his own desire to seduce a female of any lineage. No, he wanted her in ways he could not explain. They made passionate love, but alas, it soon had to come to an end. My mother had to return to her forsaken kingdom, and my father wasn’t allowed to return with her, even though he devoted himself to her and only her,” he said, the anger visibly building in his face.
“What happened?” Charlie asked, looking mesmerized by the story.
“You can’t hide a pregnancy, no matter how hard you try, and especially when that child will not be a full high elf. She tried to hide the fact that she was with child, but they found out. Her parents delivered me before casting me out so that the king wouldn’t know. But he still found out, somebody my father had confided in told the king so that he would get a higher status. They tortured my mother before finding out who the father was and where to find him. They sent their best three assassins to execute both my father and me. They wanted to punish him for defiling a high elf, and to kill me so that their precious blood wouldn’t run amok in the magical realm. But no, they weren’t successful, at least not with me,” he said.
“They got your father?” Charlie asked.
“Of course they got him, he was no match. He had magic, yes, but three assassins coming to murder you isn’t exactly a fair fight. His powers were weak since the loss of my mother, and poof, he was gone,” he said.
“What about you? Where did you go?” Charlie asked.
“That I cannot say. I don’t believe my caretakers would like me revealing their secrets,” he said.
“We were in Alornia not too long ago. It has changed,” I said.
“It will never change,” he roared, his face turning ugly once again for a few seconds. “Those disgusting high elves will never learn from their treachery to me and my mother. They killed her, slaughtering her in the town center like a pig to send a message to anybody there who might ever think of leaving the kingdom again and consorting with other beings,” he said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re capturing us, and what you plan to do with us,” Blake said.
“Who are we being sold to?” Faus asked.
“You’re being sold to the dark master. The man who embodies darkness and who will destroy Alornia and their precious King Rafael,” he said, smiling.
“Kiren,” I whispered under my breath.
“It’s nothing personal, but he needs troops if he’s going to take over the realms and that wretched kingdom. Two mages, a werewolf, a shifter, and whatever you are will do wonders for him. It’s nothing personal, but my revenge will always come higher than your lives,” he said, before strutting away.
“He doesn’t know who we are,” I whispered, turning around and facing the others.
“What do you mean?” Blake asked.
“He wants to turn us over and sell us because Kiren needs troops, not because he knows we’re resistance or what I am. I think it’s a good sign,” I said.
“She’s right, he’s an idiot so bloodthirsty for revenge that he can’t seem to see what’s right in front of him,” Faus said.
“But how will we get out of this cage? Magic won’t blast through it, at least not anything I can conjure,” Britta said.
“There’s one thing I bet it can’
t tame,” Blake said, raising his eyebrows.
“If I use those powers, he and his stupid little sidekick will know what I am. That will be worth a lot more to Kiren,” I said.
“It will also give us a chance of getting out of here,” Blake said.
“Eruptico,” Britta said, flicking her wand at the gate. A bolt of red light shot out and hit the target, but only shook off some dust. “Eruptico Maximus!” she shouted, an even larger and brighter bolt coming out, but it didn’t even leave the slightest scratch or dent in the surface of the magical gate. “Was worth a shot.”
“Quiet in there!” the little forest elf shouted in a shrill voice from around the corner.
“There has to be something we can do,” I said, stroking my chin and thinking.
“We just have to wait until we’re being transported. Then we can attack and get ourselves out,” Blake said.
“Wait,” I said, thinking.
“She has something,” Charlie said.
“Obscuria Totalium,” I whispered, swiping my wand from left to right. The thin film came out, connecting to both walls of the small faux cave opening, before sliding together and concealing us.
“Brilliant. They’ll think we got out, and when they investigate, we pounce,” Britta whispered.
“Be quiet, it won’t muffle the sound completely since it didn’t connect into itself,” I said softly.
Thirty minutes, maybe forty, must’ve dragged by before the little forest elf came to check on us after such a long silence. He turned around the corner, about to yell at us no doubt, before his face lost all color and his eyes opened wide. “Master!” he screamed, bouncing up and down.
“What is it, I don’t—” Regelius said as he ran over before turning angry. “You let them go!”
“No master, I wouldn’t! I came and they were gone!” the elf stammered, cowering.
“Those blasts earlier, I bet they tunneled out, the cage wasn’t strong enough on the ground, I told you,” Regelius said.
We looked at one another before looking down, realizing we could’ve just tunneled out of here. Regelius swiped the gate, unlocking it, as the magical barrier attached to it disappeared and it opened right up.
