by Fawn Atondo
A knock came at his door. Alex called, “Come in.” It was Brother Kane. He’d being looking for any information on the Druid race they once a mighty force in this world.
“Alex, I’ve found someone who swears she was a member of the Druid family long before they were wiped from this world,” Kane said, excitedly.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Alex was skeptical. He did not have time for another dead end.
“She is the last of the Binders so her words cannot be false. A Binder cannot tell a lie,” Kane stated.
Alex was not familiar with Binders, but if the monk trusted them, then so would he.
“That’s good enough for me, Brother Kane. Is she willing to meet with me?” Alex asked.
“Yes, but she does not wish word to get back to the Guard. You see, she works for them occasionally, binding all books and knowledge of this world.” Kane’s revelation was alluring to Alex.
“She knows all their doings?” Alex asked.
“Yes, all of them, for the past five hundred years or so,” Kane confirmed.
“When can I meet her?” Alex wanted to know.
“She is in the abbey waiting area as we speak,” Kane smiled.
Alex rushed off. He was in the waiting area long before Brother Kane made it down. Alex urgently needed to know the inner workings of the Guard.
The girl was dressed in black from head to toe. Her hair was the color of dancing flames and shone like fire as it fell over her dark robes. She was lovely. The grace in her every move proved she was connected to the Druid race.
She was looking at the gardens through the window when Alex came in. She turned to face him and her eyes were sparks of golden light. Alex was in a state of awe as he looked into them. He was sure they contained magic in its purest form, something his world did not have much of.
“Alex,” she greeted him, offering her hand.
He took it in his. It was soft and a little cold, but it was not the feel of it he noticed so much as the current of power which ran through it.
“What am I to call you?” Alex asked.
“Luria.”
“Luria, you know why I wish to speak with you?” Alex asked her.
She nodded, pulling her hood back up over her head before moving to take a seat on one of the wooden benches along the wall.
“I do, and I also know what I must tell you because I have been dreaming of your coming for many years.”
Her voice was so soft Alex had to strain to hear her.
“Tell me please, Luria, is all well with the Immortal Guard?” He chose his words carefully.
“No,” she breathed.
“Is the Guard whole?” Alex hoped she got his meaning.
“No, they are no longer in this world,” she whispered.
“But I met with them today, Luria!” Alex informed her.
She shook her head so hard her hood fell, making that flaming mass of hair shine in the candlelight as she took his hands in hers.
“You saw an illusion, Alex. The Guard of old is gone.” She looked lost as she told him this.
“How can that be?” Alex demanded in total shock.
“The four you saw today were nothing more than a magic trick. If you had wiped away the glamor they used, you would have seen Black Druids,” Luria revealed.
Alex was stunned. The Guard, the Immortal race of Gargoyles, all gone?
“How… When?” Alex stammered.
“Around the same time the Druids of Light where damned, the Dark Druids used the Immortal race to fool the others of this world into thinking they wanted the Druid Queen killed for treason. The truth is the Immortal Guard was only down to two brothers, Damon and Connor. No one knew of this except a few of the oldest Binders. My mother was one of them, and she warned the two brothers to seek the help of the others left behind in your world, but when they went to the portal they saw only ruins. It was all a lie, a set up by the Black Druids.”
“I still don’t understand how the whole race is… gone?” He needed answers!
“The Dark Druids have this special, powerful magic which makes other Immortals sick. It messes with their heads. The Dark Druids use tricks to fool other people into seeing what they want them to see. Alex, Gargoyles can turn to stone and back again at will, but with this awful sickness in their blood they stay as stone. They can’t even talk to their brothers… without their abilities they are trapped.” Luria told him. “When the only two remaining Guards saw their brothers in ruins, they did not believe it. If a Gargoyle is slain then it is by something even more powerful than they are, and nothing like this has ever been seen before. They sought out the only other race who would have answers.”
She paused a moment.
“This race was the Elders of the Hallow, a small group of mystics who keep tabs on the other world. The Elders told them to go to the Land of the Elf, to the place of their birth, and turn to stone there. It would be the only way to see if they could reach their brothers and discover if they had been killed or not.”
Luria looked at him now her eyes full of tears.
“But that never happened, did it?” Alex said.
“No, for once a Gargoyle turns to stone with the sickness in them, they do not turn back. Only with the coming of The One do they have hope. With the rumor floating around that The One is among the Druids of Light, the Dark ones posed as the Immortal Guard and went about murdering my people.” Her voice was full of bitter hate.
“How did you make it through? And how is it you work amongst them and yet they’ve never harmed you? I mean, even I can see that you are of the Druid race.”
Luria stood and, with a slight movement of her hand, she became a short, hairy elderly woman. Gone was the lovely young woman.
“They see me like this so this is how I have kept alive all this time. My mother told me to do this before she died,” Luria said, turning back into herself again.
Alex was at loss for words. He was beginning to think that he was in way over his head here. And as if that was not bad enough, he’d just had a meeting with the enemy and made them aware he was looking into the truth of why the Guard had not put a stop to the bad behavior of his world’s Immortals.
“Don’t despair, Alex. I have a place for you to hide until you can find out how to sort out this mess,” Luria told him.
“That’s very kind of you but I’m not sure how the hell I can fix this!” Alex told her.
“I haven’t destroyed any of the documents and records the Black Druids told me to. I keep all of them in a secret place. In those scrolls is the truth about The One and her coming,” Luria said with a soft smile.
“Why did you take this risk?” Alex probed. He could taste emotions and hers seemed off somehow, but nothing he could pinpoint.
“I too wait for The One, because only then will this world be free,” Luria told him.
“So The One is rumored to be able to end the line of the Black Druids and sort out the huge mess they’ve made of this world and also trying to inflict on mine?” Alex wanted to know.
“Oh yes, and it’s no rumor. It’s the truth she was born to rule over us all, to unite the races of the Immortals and lead an army into battle that will end the evil in both our worlds.”
Luria spoke with such passion, how could he doubt her? But somehow, he was able to. Something was not right. Sighing, he knew he would have to go along his current path of action because right now he had no better plan, no other hope.
“Okay Luria, show me where these scrolls are please, so I can find out more about The One,” Alex said, gesturing for her to lead the way.
Luria let out a small laugh as though she could sense his doubt and read his thoughts, which she may very well have been able to do. With another movement of her hand they left behind the abbey for a dark chamber that reeked of old books and damp ground.
Chapter Elven: The One
Falyn awoke to the sound of a r
ushing waterfall and warm sun. For a moment she was confused, her thoughts all mixed into one big mess. It took a moment before her head cleared and she remembered where she was. The other world didn’t look much different than her world except, maybe, for the lack of buildings and people.
She stood at the bank of the huge, thundering waterfall. It fed into a clear blue pool that looked painted. The bright green of ferns and moss gave it a magical quality. It was without doubt the loveliest sight she had ever seen.
She was so taken in with the beauty around her that she almost missed noticing she was not alone in this magical spot, until a loud cough behind her brought her head around. She looked into a stunning pair of pale purple eyes in the face of a very handsome man, whose jet black hair curved around what one could only describe as elfish ears.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello,” Falyn replied cautiously.
In his tight buckskin pants and his open green shirt, he was nearly intoxicating to look upon. Falyn blinked a few times as if that might somehow change this fact, but it didn’t.
“What is your name, pretty one?” he asked with a slow smile.
“Falyn,” she told him.
“How very fitting for such a delicious creature!” he said with a musical charm in his voice.
“Um, thank you, I think. And your name?” Falyn wanted to know.
“Lark,” he told her.
Falyn laughed because, oddly enough, the name was so fitting for this handsome elf-man!
“You laugh at me, beautiful Falyn?” He sounded hurt but the grin on his face said otherwise.
“I’m truly sorry if I offended you, Lark, but I’m feeling a little out of my element at the moment.”
Lark nodded as though he understood, then he took her hand and took her along the bank in the direction of the waterfall.
“Where are we going?” Falyn had to shout over the sound of the falls.
“Home!” Lark shouted back with a grin.
Falyn was still feeling upside-down so she allowed the elf to drag her through the waterfall, which left her soaking wet, and then along a tunnel hidden behind it. Falyn was all too happy to feel the sun on the other side, the tunnel had been freezing!
What she saw once she stepped into the bright sunshine again was like looking into the pages of a book of fairy tales! A large sandstone castle rose from the depths of a lush green forest floor. Mixing in with the earth, the castle was covered in greenery from vines to ferns, even small twisted trees.
“Wow!” Falyn cried.
“Yes, my sentiments exactly,” Lark agreed.
Yet Lark was not looking at the castle. He was looking at her and Falyn could guess why – her white lace dress was see-through now that it was damp. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned at the elf.
“Do you mind?” Falyn snapped
“Not at all… You have nothing to be ashamed of, pretty one,” Lark smirked.
Falyn rolled her eyes at Lark before turning away from him.
“Here, have my cloak,” offered Lark.
She felt it as he threw it over her shoulders – his hands lingering longer on his shoulders than they needed to.
“A shame really, my lovely, to cover such beauty.” Lark’s voice dripped with lust.
Falyn was shocked at his bluntness for a moment but she quickly hid it. She may be a little out of it but no man since Alex could turn her head, not even this handsome elf.
“Trust me, such beauty should most definitely be covered, Lark, when you’re around,” Falyn said teasingly.
“Come Falyn. I shall take you to my home.”
“This all belongs to you?” Falyn asked.
Lark laughed. The sound was as gentle and pleasing as a bell to the senses.
“Not yet, but it will. For now it belongs to my father, who will learn soon enough we have a guest and I would rather not put you through a meeting with him.”
Falyn was going to ask him how his father would find out, but he answered her before she even spoke the words.
“We know everything that happens in our world, and that even covers beautiful portal jumpers,” Lark told her.
“I see,” Falyn said, but in truth she had no real idea what he meant.
She only hoped Lark would be able to point her in the right direction.
The inside of the castle was equally as lovely as the outside, full of blooming flowers and green plants, and the elves themselves were breath-taking. The first woman Falyn saw looked like an angel, her blonde hair so light it looked white, and her eyes as black as the night. She was dressed in a dark purple Grecian-styled tunic and golden slippers.
How could Lark look at Falyn twice with such lovely beings like this walking around? He need not look elsewhere for perfection!
Lark didn’t stop once. The hall they were hurrying down now was covered in gold; it was dazzling, and Falyn could not help but halt to gaze at its beauty.
“No time to dally, Princess,” Lark said, keeping his quick pace.
“Why did you call me ‘Princess’?” Falyn asked Lark in a whisper.
“Because you are a Druid, and they are of royal blood. So you, my dear, are a princess!” Lark told her with a straight face.
Falyn nodded, not trusting herself to speak since she didn’t want to give away her budding feeling of confusion. She carried on following Lark. She did not get a bad feeling from him, but she was in a new world and she had no idea who her enemy truly was.
“Change your clothes. I shall be back in a few. Open the door to no one but me, Princess. Everything you need should be on hand in this chamber, and I trust you will find it to your liking. And if you wish me to join you, just ask!” He laughed at his own joke before turning to leave.
Falyn did not reply to his silly statement. She had no desire to share a bed with him. The last time she slept with someone she got a vampire and turned into a dog!
The room was nothing short of amazing, and she walked around admiring everything. She noted the four-clawed porcelain bathtub, already full of steaming water. It was odd. Lark seemed so ready for her. However, she would not pass a bath up after getting a freezing shower on the way here.
She slipped out of her wet clothes and into the warm water. Falyn planned to get to the bottom of how Lark knew she was coming, but first she would do as he had asked. Then she would determine if she should pack up and get the hell out of there at the first chance or not! For the moment, though, she was going to enjoy the heat from this bath.
She washed with the sweet rose-scented soap provided and then dried herself on the soft fluffy towel next to the bath. Falyn looked at her wet dress. She really did not want to put it on again. She sighed, and then, as if by magic, a long green gown appeared. It was like the one the woman she’d seen had been wearing. It was Grecian in style and floor length, covered in tiny gold and silver sparkles. The dark green matched the forest outside. It was lovely. She touched it, feeling how soft it was even with the dusting of sparkly thread. It felt like silk.
“Okay then,” Falyn whispered as she slipped into it.
The dress went on easily over her head, and she tied it at each side of her waist. Looking at herself in the mirror, Falyn really felt like a princess now!
Oh, how she wished Alex could see her looking like this. Of course, her hair was somewhat disarrayed but her dress was to die for. She glanced down at it again. Then, when she looked back in the mirror, her hair was dry and hanging in loose curls to her waist. It was pure magic.
She quickly realized whatever she wished for instantly happened to show up or be done. Well then, she thought, I would also like matching shoes and a dagger strapped to my thigh. She instantly felt shoes on her feet and the cold blade of the dagger on her thigh.
“Amazing!” she whispered.
A few moments later a knock sounded at her door. She opened it, knowing it would be Lark. He was now dressed in white from head to toe
, making his dark hair appear even blacker, if such a thing was possible.
“Now that is a dress, Princess!” Lark smiled.
“Thank you. It popped out of thin air,” Falyn told him, watching his face.
“Yes, it happens within these walls. Magic, you know.” He winked and took her hand.
She let him hold her hand for a moment until it became clear he had no plans to let it go. She jerked it free and held it behind her back.
“A pity,” he frowned.
“I am sure you will get over it, Elf,” she snapped.
He laughed as they made their way into another room.
“Lark, I need your help,” she whispered as they left.
“Do you?” he asked with a smile on his lips.
“I need you to trust me when I say I have to get away from here. I am looking for my… friend and I would like to be gone before your father learns I’m here since you seem to think this would be bad. I need you to show me the best way to do so… peacefully,” Falyn begged.
Lark doubled over with laughter at that. Falyn rolled her eyes.
“Stop that! I’m serious!” she hissed.
“Okay, I get that, but ‘peacefully’? Really, are you planning war if my father stops you?” Lark teased.
“I would very much like to slip away without having to rip your father’s throat out, or any other elf’s throat if possible, yes,” Falyn snapped.
“Oh, I’m not sure my father needs to fear a lovely woman like you. Even if you are a Druid, ripping his throat out would seem a wee bit hard for a tiny lass like yourself,” Lark grinned.
