Dawning Ceremony (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 3)

by Edmund Hughes

  Hal didn’t answer her. He feinted forward, trying to hold her off while he thought of something else he could do. He was almost out of essence, and without his weapons, his options were limited. And Vrodas…

  He glanced over at his friend to find that the other side of the battle had already played out. Vrodas was on his knees, his wrists shackled in front of him with command bracers, which would steal any free will he had away from him. Two elves were dead, the one Vrodas had killed, and one of the ones Hal had hit with his initial Flame Shot. The rest had him surrounded.

  “Surrender,” said Gardius. “Do you understand? You cannot win.”

  Hal reached deep into his heartgem, feeling for the store of sapphire essence within it that he’d forgotten about. He could feel it, but he couldn’t use it. It was impossible for him to cast spells of another element while in a Ruby Trance.

  I’ll have to return to my normal state, first.

  The elves closed on him before he got the chance. Hal spun, casting another Flame Blast off the campfire. The spell fizzled, the fire burning out before it even reached its intended target. He felt his Ruby Trance fade as his essence ran dry and fumbled between focusing on casting Wave Blast, his sapphire water magic spell, and dodging the attacks of the elves.

  Gardius’s trident was what took him down. She thrust the prongs into his shoulder. It only caused a superficial wound, with the force of the blow spread across the three prongs, but the points curved as soon as they broke his flesh, hooking him like a fish on a line.

  “Shackle him,” said Gardius.

  “The Xelrent Staff!” shouted another elf. “He deserves it! Both of these animals do. They killed Menlow and Karo.”

  “And their families will pay good money for those responsible at auction,” said Gardius. “Control your bloodlust, brother. We do things the way we do them.”

  Hal struggled as the shackles snapped into place on his wrist. The elf who’d put them on him told him to stop, and his body obeyed even as he screamed at his muscles to attack and fight back. Gardius walked over to him slowly, her expression pensive as her eyes met his.

  She was attractive, though he loathed to admit it. Her hair was blonde and cut in a style that was more masculine than most human women would have gone for. She was tall and lean, with slate grey eyes and red lips.

  Gardius reached out, and her hands patted across Hal’s body. It took him a second to realize what she was doing, but when he did, he tried to lurch backward and put himself out of her range. The elf who’d put the shackles on him told him to stop, and he instantly did. He watched as Gardius found his heartgem and pulled it free from his neck.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a surfacer use a gemstone with as much skill as you did,” said Gardius. “I will keep this ruby to remember you by.”

  She flashed a wicked smile at him. Hal had to work to keep his anger from spilling out pointlessly, but he kept enough presence of mind to make note of her choice of words. She may have taken his heartgem, but she called it a ruby. He doubted she’d realize what it actually was, and the value of what she held.

  Though, if what Zoria told me was true, the heartgem is bonded to me, and useless to anyone else.

  Gardius walked away from him, and Hal was forced down to his knees, next to Vrodas. He tried to think through the situation, pushing through every detail of their capture in search of a means of escape. He was scared, but less for himself than for Laurel, who would be alone and vulnerable, back at the homestead.

  The regular, rhythmic sound of flapping wings came from the sky overhead. Hal felt a surge of emotions, first hope at the possibility of Karnas having come after him, and then dread at what the dragon’s chances would be against five armed elves.

  It wasn’t Karnas. The dragon that landed in the sand next to the elves camp was fully grown, easily the size of a building even without taking its wingspan into consideration. It wore something on its back that made the comparison seem even more appropriate, a carriage compartment large enough to carry the elves and their prisoners.

  “Good timing, Keltamor,” said Gardius. “We’re returning to the capital. With slaves in tow.”

  The dragon let out a smoky, scoffing breath and brought a claw down in the sand. It was a hulking, intimidating monster, and Hal both respected and hated Gardius for the way she stood her ground in front of it.

  “Extra weight…” The dragon spoke with its mouth open, but motionless, as though sounds were formed somewhere deeper inside. “I will not be overburdened. Not again.”

  “We can leave the bodies behind,” said Gardius. “I’m sure the families of Menlow and Karo would prefer vengeance over the sentiment.”

  And with that, Hal and Vrodas were unceremoniously loaded inside the dragon carriage. They sat beside the elves as the back door was pulled shut. Small slits in the wooden structure allowed them to peer out, but as the dragon flapped his wings and took to the air, Hal’s stomach turned in a way that made him wonder if he truly wanted to.

  CHAPTER 9

  The inside of the carriage was freezing cold, though only he and Vrodas seemed to mind. It triggered memories and emotions within Hal, all of which were better left forgotten. He remembered being taken from his family’s estate by Aangavar, being carried across the sky to a foreign land with the knowledge of his impending doom.

  And here I am again.

  His fear was the only thing left that he had any control over, with the command bracers and open sky limiting his options. Hal forced himself to breathe and to remember everything he could about the Upper Realm, any detail Zoria had let slip to him that might allow him and Vrodas a fighting chance.

  The elves talked amongst themselves as the flight went on, not seeming to mind or notice the precarious shifting of the carriage as the dragon banked or ascended on wind currents. Hal couldn’t overhear what they were saying and didn’t bother trying after the first few minutes.

  Hours went by. He would have tried to sleep if not for the cold. At one point, Vrodas made an attempt at attacking one of the elves, but the fight was over before it even started at a word from the elf who’d enslaved him.

  It was still dark when the Upper Realm came into view. Hal only noticed it as a massive section of the sky lacking stars, at first. He’d seen it once before, riding on Aangavar’s back, but the sight was no less impressive a second time, or at night.

  Hal had no idea through what means the Upper Realm was kept aloft, or how it managed to shroud itself in clouds to escape detection. Whatever magic allowed it to exist was another testament to how far in advance the elves were over the people of his surface. Hal gritted his teeth as he considered it, annoyed by having to acknowledge the superiority of his captors.

  As they flew level with the Upper Realm, their perspective shifted. Hal saw an uncountable number of lights, each of them like a tiny, glowing jewel against the night. Some of them clearly came from hearths inside homes, but others were brighter, and the colors were strange. He could see where the cities were, the lights packed more densely together within their borders and rising higher from the ground.

  The elves were talking amongst themselves again. The dragon, Keltamar, seemed to know exactly where to land. He circled one of the cities, dropping lower on each pass, until Hal could see the dark outlines of the odd, hexagonal buildings.

  They landed in a long, empty strip of dirt with more wooden carriages, sans dragons, lined up at one end. The elves climbed out first, stretching their legs and complaining about the late hour before dragging Hal and Vrodas forth.

  “Leave them in the holding pens for tonight,” said Gardius. She spoke in elvish, but Hal’s ears had warmed to it enough that he barely noticed the difference. “I’ll come back tomorrow and handle the sale. Don’t worry, you’ll each get a cut.”

  The other elves grumbled their ascent, and Hal and Vrodas were brought to a series of small, mostly empty cages on the far side of the landing strip. They were each forced into one, bar
ely having enough space to lie down without pressing up against the bars.

  Hal watched as the elves split off in groups of one or two, disappearing into the night, unconcerned by the risk of leaving their captives alone. He made an attempt at pulling the door to his cage open, but it was made of heavy enough metal to make the idea ridiculous.

  He watched Keltamar shrugging off the dragon carriage he’d worn on his back before taking flight again, heading off to do whatever it was dragons did with their free time. He scowled and sat down on the dirt, glancing over at Vrodas’ cage next to his.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Vrodas grunted.

  “I’m alive, if that’s what you mean,” he said. “But I would not use the word okay to describe how I am.”

  Hal let out a single, sad chuckle. The biting cold of the wind had numbed his body during the flight, but the pain of his wounds was slowly flaring up again. His shoulder had gashes in it from Gardius’s trident, and the muscle sent tendrils of fire through the rest of his body each time he moved it.

  “We’ll be okay,” said Hal.

  “Is that the truth?” asked Vrodas.

  That’s a good question.

  Hal was too tired to seriously consider any ideas for escape. His despair was starting to get a foothold, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He’d lost the heartgem, left Laurel alone and undefended back in the homestead, and led Vrodas into a situation that would, in all likelihood, lead to their deaths.

  “Let’s rest for now,” said Hal. “If we don’t keep our strength up, we’ll have no chance at all.”

  Vrodas was silent. Hal didn’t push the point, and instead closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep.

  ***

  Something poked into Hal’s ribs, and then his shoulder, which ignited the pain of the gashes there. He let out a groan and opened his eyes, wincing at the intensity of the morning sun. It took him a couple of seconds to catch up to where he was, and a few more after that to make sense of the crowd surrounding his cage.

  It was easy to make sense of the area where he and Vrodas had been imprisoned in the light of day. It was next to the dragon landing strip, with rows and rows of mostly empty slave cages. There was a wooden auction stage in front of them, and about hundred people were already congregated around it, waiting for something to happen.

  Hal glanced over at Vrodas. The maug was sitting against the bars of his cell, staring at the ground with a morose expression. Hal was about to say something to him when Gardius and the elf who’d put the command bracers on them approached their cages.

  “It’s time,” said Gardius. “Are you excited to find out how much you’re worth?”

  Hal glared at her. He was groggy, and slightly feverish, but still had enough sense to not respond to her taunt in elvish. The fact that he could speak their language was the only advantage he had left, and giving it away would only serve to undermine him.

  Gardius pulled Hal out of his cell first, leading him up to the stage to stand in front of the crowd. There were people of all ages watching, including young children and a few white haired, elderly women. Hal knew that elves typically lived centuries longer than humans, and wondered how old an elf would have to be to reach the point where they began to look aged and wrinkled.

  Gardius waited until she had the full attention of the gathered people. She lifted a hand, and her audience grew slightly quieter, though she still had to shout to be heard over the din of the nearby city.

  “This surfacer was captured yesterday,” said Gardius. “Age… somewhere in between sixteen and fifty.”

  That’s… a pretty wide estimate.

  “He’s skilled with a short sword and can use ruby magic,” said Gardius. “He attacked myself and the other members of my squad without provocation, so he’s certainly has courage and spirit. He would make a solid gladiator, or a potential competitor in the Dragongrounds.”

  Several people in the crowd shouted a series of words in elvish which Hal couldn’t make out, but still recognized as insults. A few of them were quite nearly frothing at the mouth with anger.

  “I’m sure what interests some of you more than his physical qualifications is the fact that he took an elven life,” said Gardius. “This is the killer of Marlow Tenard. And I would gladly sell him in the name of vengeance. Do I have an opening bid?”

  Several hands shot up. One man pushed his way to the front of the crowd, his eyes burning with fury and locked steadily onto Hal.

  “Fifty shards,” said the man, as Gardius pointed to him. Several other hands in the crowd descended after the amount registered.

  Hal felt like an object as he stood on that stage, with no agency and no choices. The elf who was in control of his bracers had whispered for him not to try anything, and he couldn’t make his muscles violate the command, as much as he wanted to.

  There was an elf woman in the crowd who kept her hand up after the first bid. She was attractive, with dark brown hair twisted into an intricate braid, and youthful features. And she was confident, watching Hal with an expression that looked thoughtful, and a little eager.

  Gardius pointed at her hand, and she stepped forward through the crowd so she could be better heard. She wore a red dress that clung tightly to her figure, showcasing the curves of her moderately sized breasts, and revealing a scandalous amount of thigh and leg.

  “Seventy shards,” said the woman. “Apologies, Lord Tenard, but I could use a new slave.”

  The man who’d man the original bid turned his attention to the woman, his expression furious.

  “You bitch!” he shouted. “This surface scum killed my son! You would try to outbid me, under these circumstances, Lady Katara?”

  The woman gave a lazy shrug and brushed a lock of brown hair out of her face. The man waited, perhaps expecting her to retract her bid, and finally raised his hand again.

  “Ninety shards,” shouted the man. “More than what this… insect, is worth.” He turned to stare directly at Hal as he added “You will be fed to my hounds once I’m done torturing you.”

  “A piece and ten shards,” said the woman. She held a folded fan in her hand and made a show of waving it back and forth in front of her face.

  “We’ve all heard the rumors, Lady Katara,” shouted another voice from the crowd. “Do you need a new beast to play with? Have you run out of virile surfacers in your harem?”

  Lady Katara showed no reaction to the insult. She waited, watching the man bidding against her, until it became clear that he wasn’t going to raise his hand again.

  “And I’ll take the maug, as well,” said Lady Katara. “Two pieces for the both of them. Unless anyone else is interested in digging into their purse?”

  No hands were raised to counter her. A few people in the crowd groaned or booed, and Hal got the sense that the auction was as much for entertainment as it was for practical purposes.

  “I won’t forget this, Lady Katara,” said the other man who’d been bidding.

  “Watch your words, Lord Tenard,” said Lady Katara. “Perhaps I’ll decide to resell him to you, once I’ve had my fun. But only if you stay on my good side.”

  Her remark stole away any ideas Hal might have had about ending up in the care of a benevolent mistress. The command bracers were taken off both him and Vrodas and replaced with regular, nonmagical shackles, which were attached to chains held by Lady Katara’s personal guards.

  Hal shot a glance at Vrodas, wondering if it was their chance to try something. They were both taller than any of the elves around, and that was at least one advantage they’d have in their favor. The maug gave a slow shake of his head, gesturing with a finger toward a third guard who walked behind them with a crossbow trained on their backs.

  CHAPTER 10

  Hal and Vrodas were unceremoniously led through the elven city, their guards pulling on their chains occasionally to keep them close. It was hard for Hal to completely understand what he was seeing, as he glanced a
round at the foreign environment he found himself in.

  The streets weren’t dirt or brick, but some type of smooth, uniform stone that felt warm under his feet. The buildings were dense, hexagonal mounds of dark metal, with doors that were nearly too small for him to have entered through without ducking his head. He could also see several massive towers in the distance, obelisks rising up and cutting through higher layers of clouds.

  The city was crowded, with elves of all ages walking about on their daily business. Unbelievably, there were humans, too, and not just slaves. Hal saw several humans dressed in the same tight, expensive clothing as the elves, and a few who were attended by guards and servants.

  Overhead, dragons soared through the sky. There were half a dozen that Hal could spot, some of them sinking low and tracking over the paths of the streets, others disappearing off over the horizon. It was an unnerving sight, and each time one of the dragons made a low pass, Hal had to fight the urge to cover his head.

  There did not seem to be any taboos against nudity or sex in the Upper Realm. The fashion trends were decidedly skimpy, with many women wearing dresses that left their breasts bare, or forgoing pants completely. Hal stared in disbelief as he passed by a female elf urging her lover on as he took her against the side of one of the metallic buildings, with few in the crowd stopping to give them more than a glance as they went by.

  Stranger still were the ghostly crystal displays that occasionally divided the center of the street. It was similar to what Hal had seen Gardius use before, but on a larger scale. A dozen or so crystals would be connected by thin lengths of glitter chain on the ground, and an image of a man, or a woman, or some event would hover in the center.

  Hal stared at one of the displays as an elven woman described what the weather would be like the next day. He looked to the next one, and saw a half-naked young, elven woman with her legs spread, slowly massaging herself between the thighs. An older male elf stopped as he passed by the crystal display, pulling a small, shiny object out of his pocket and pushing it into a receptacle at the base. The young woman seemed to react to something, and then smiled broadly, pulling her blouse down to reveal her breasts.