The dark elf’s casual tone chilled Ruethwyn’s blood, but after a moment, she swallowed and nodded as best she could with her face buried in the blankets, giving out a muffled affirmative. “Mmph!”
“Good,” Essryl said, releasing Ruethwyn and stepping away, though the Illisyr was still eerily silent. Pushing herself to her feet, her arm still aching from the dark elf’s grip, Ruethwyn turned to face the intruder, then blinked.
Essryl looked much as she had before, though Ruethwyn was able to see more details now that her mind was clearer. The dark elf’s armor was leather, but there was a strange sheen to it, with darker patterns of black runes and sigils against merely dark leather, and it was reinforced by deep purple adamantine over her vital organs. It wasn’t just the daggers that hung from her belt, but also a wand and a belt pouch. The Illisyr was smiling, her tail lashing like a cat’s, but her eyes were what drew Ruethwyn’s attention the most. Rather than the previous glowing red, the slit pupils were highlighted by an electric purple-blue iris that glowed in the dim light of the room.
“What… what happened to your eyes? I don’t remember them being like that,” Ruethwyn said, swallowing and distracting herself as she tried to think of what else to say, reaching up to massage her mouth gently. Essryl’s grip had been very firm. After a moment, she added, “And what… what have you done with Anara and the others?”
“Oh, these? I was scaring the girls a little too much with crimson eyes; they thought I was a demon, so I changed the color. I still unsettle them, but it isn’t nearly as bad this way,” Essryl said, smiling as she looked Ruethwyn over, much like a merchant sizing up merchandise, the elf thought. It was unsettling. “You look tolerably well, considering what happened to you. I gave even odds you’d die, despite my work. Anara, though? So that’s your beloved? She’s a feisty one, and high-spirited, but well despite that. All the women we took are well enough for now.”
“I don’t even understand why you’re doing this. It’s almost like you’re working against the… the dragon, but I can’t believe that, not with everything else. You confuse me,” Ruethwyn said, trying and failing to keep an accusing tone from her voice. Despite that, her fears eased slightly at the knowledge that Anara was still alive, as were the others. Shaking the thought off, she scowled as she added, “What are you even doing here? Plenty of people would love nothing more than to kill you!”
“If they want to make the attempt, they’re more than welcome to try. Some elves are worthy in battle, but not nearly as many as believe they are,” Essryl said, casually stepping over to the desk and slipping the wand out of its sheath to examine it. After a moment, she nodded in approval. “Not bad; you’re trying to make up for your shortcomings, and this is fairly potent for someone of your skill.”
“What are you doing here?” Ruethwyn demanded, her voice rising slightly, but Essryl raised a finger to her lips, slipping the wand back into place.
“Shh… not unless you want a lot of people to die,” the Illisyr said, smiling slightly. “I’m here because I was worried that you’d lost that fire that made you so interesting to begin with. I spared you because I was curious to see how far you could go, but the dear captain… what he told me of you? It sounded like your fire had all but guttered out. If it had, why… I’d just have to revoke my gift of life. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be necessary.”
Ruethwyn blanched at the casual threat on her life, but Essryl didn’t bat an eyelash, glancing around the room. Swallowing hard, Ruethwyn edged away from the dark elf as she asked, “I… you mentioned Captain Whisperblade before. He… did he…”
“Captain Whisperblade performed admirably. He and a group of soldiers made their way into the Obsidian Palace without being detected, then attempted to break into the wing containing the captives. Unfortunately for them, my wards are much more sophisticated than those over the walls, and they triggered them,” Essryl said, smiling thinly in a way that made Ruethwyn even more worried. “They put up a good fight, I’ll give them that much. Captain Whisperblade, though…”
“No…” Ruethwyn let out a soft protest.
“…Lived,” Essryl finished, and grinned as she teased. “You thought I would tell you he died, didn’t you? No, I threw him over the parapet. Much like you, his chances of survival weren’t the best, but he did live. I checked and gave him the choice between telling me about you, which is how I know your name, or death. He cooperated, so I healed him just enough to get him back to Selwyn. Why, I imagine he’s halfway back here by this point.”
“You…!” Ruethwyn began, then stopped, taking a deep, angry breath. Letting it out, she glared at Essryl and spat out, “You’re just toying with me, aren’t you? You’re trying to make me angry and frustrated, so you have an excuse to kill everyone in the area.”
Essryl laughed suddenly, and her smile highlighted her deadly beauty in a way that Ruethwyn hadn’t really seen before, as the dark elf replied almost gently. “Hardly that, Ruethwyn. What I’m trying to do is to stoke those fires in your heart. I want to see you strive to overcome the obstacles in your path, to see you truly try. I’ll be delighted if you somehow overcome the challenge that I present and rescue your beloved from the palace, because it will show that more elves are worthy of notice.”
“So this is a test?” Ruethwyn asked incredulously. “You’re going to… throw the fight, or something? Go easy on me?”
“Go easy on you? I think you entirely misunderstand, Ruethwyn. If you assault the palace and fail? I’ll either kill you or capture you and lock you away with the others,” Essryl said, smiling broadly as she sauntered around the bed. “You asked me earlier about my loyalty to Resvarygrath… well, the answer is simple. I’m loyal to him because he defeated me in single combat by a hair’s breadth. Loyalty doesn’t mean I agree with what he does, it simply means I won’t work against him or disobey orders. He doesn’t care about your little friends I’m training. To a dragon, the act of taking them is the important thing. It’s a message to all those who might challenge him. If you rescue them… you survived his attack, and you retaliated. He’ll consider it reasonable and ignore your actions, so long as you don’t do too much damage in the process. Essentially, you’re nothing to him, Ruethwyn.”
Ruethwyn found herself at loss for words at Essryl’s explanation. The thought that the dragon had only barely beaten Essryl… a shiver went down Ruethwyn’s spine, staring at the woman. She’d thought that Resvarygrath was far more dangerous than Essryl, but now, looking at the Illisyr standing in her room, in the middle of the academy as though she didn’t have a care in the world… Ruethwyn’s fear grew.
“You frighten me,” Ruethwyn said, her voice soft as she stared at the woman.
“Good. That means you have a working mind. I’m Illisyr, and we are deadly. Where the other clans have remained largely stagnant for millennia, we have been forging ourselves to be stronger and better. If you didn’t fear me, I’d think you were stupid. If you allowed it to paralyze you, you wouldn’t be worth my time,” Essryl said, studying Ruethwyn’s face as she nodded. “I’m glad to see my time and effort haven’t been misplaced. I’d suggest you work on finding a way to overcome your disabilities… oh, and if I may? You’ll need allies from outside Selwyn. The leadership of this realm doesn’t have the fortitude to dare challenge My Lord.”
“What? What’re you talking about?” Ruethwyn protested, but as she spoke, Essryl stepped into a shadow near the wall and flickered like a shadow herself before vanishing.
Ruethwyn stared for a moment, then added, her voice soft, “How did you heal me, for that matter? Gods above…”
Alaran gasped, leaning against the tree as he tried to catch his breath. His entire body ached, and the stabbing pain where the backpack dug into his shoulders was almost a familiar companion by this point.
While the dark elf had healed him enough to get out of the area immediately surrounding Resvarygrath’s palace, Alaran hadn’t had an easy time, not without his sword and
with the lingering effects of having two daggers thrust through his shoulders. He’d gotten enough supplies from one of his team’s caches, but the abject failure of their rescue attempt brought bile to his throat every time Alaran thought about it.
The distraction of when his trail had been picked up by one of the Shadowguard patrols had almost been a welcome relief, as it had focused Alaran’s attention on something more immediate. The last two days had been unpleasant, but if he was right, Alaran had crossed the border into Selwyn about half an hour earlier, and that meant that one of the temporary patrol camps should be nearby.
“Alright, just a little farther. Come on, legs,” Alaran muttered, pushing away from the tree and continuing forward with dogged determination.
He may have failed in his task, but he wasn’t going to also fail Her Majesty by not delivering the chilling warning that Essryl had given him. He also needed to get the lock of hair back to Ruethwyn and apologize to her for all his doubts as to her story regarding Essryl.
Gods knew he’d been wrong about enough so far.
Chapter 12
“I’m told Anara was a bad girl while I was away?” Essryl asked, glancing at Leticia. “What did she do this time?”
“She waited until the day after you left, then attempted to escape via the loft,” the elven woman said, her red hair pulled back in a bun as she watched Essryl respectfully, a gold collar glittering around her neck almost like jewelry. “She was captured by one of the guards as she reached the wall, Mistress.”
“Mm, not bad. She could’ve done better, but not bad at all,” Essryl said, smiling in amusement at the thought of the pair. Knowing that Anara was Ruethwyn’s beloved amused her somehow. If Ruethwyn had fallen for one of the others… well, at least it wasn’t a disappointment. Shaking her head, Essryl asked, “Where is she?”
“She was placed in solitary confinement, Mistress Essryl,” Leticia explained. “She’s still there and has been extremely uncooperative.”
“Excellent. I’ll go have words with her momentarily,” Essryl said, smiling and opening her belt pouch. She pulled out her dimensional sack, which looked like nothing more than a black cloth sack with numerous runes in silver thread across its surface. Unfolding it, she opened the sack and pulled out a white leather-bound book that was held closed by a clasp. She offered it to Leticia, speaking calmly. “Leticia, please take this to My Lord, and tell him that its acquisition was unnoticed. Do not attempt to open it; it’s magically sealed and will burn your hands off should you do so.”
“I… of course, Mistress Essryl,” Leticia replied, her poise breaking slightly as she began to take the book, then paused with her hands an inch away from it, asking, “Is it safe to hold, then?”
“Of course it is. The magic detects intent, not simply actions. So long as you don’t intend to open it while acting on the impulse, you’ll be fine,” Essryl explained patiently.
“As you wish,” Leticia said, taking the book. A moment after she’d been holding it, the woman visibly relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. She bowed her head and asked, “By your leave?”
Essryl nodded, watching the woman go in amusement. One of the predecessors of the girls she was currently training, Leticia knew better than to disobey, but something about her servile nature always bothered Essryl. She didn’t understand why Resvarygrath wished for her to beat the fight out of his opponents, even if she could manage it easily. Where was the challenge in making his opponents unable or unwilling to fight back? She’d rather put them out of their misery and be done with it.
It wasn’t Essryl’s choice, though, and she put it out of her mind, letting out a sigh as she turned to head to the confinement rooms. Unlike most of the Obsidian Palace, these walls were white and kept clean, as she’d found that a less oppressive atmosphere did more to help those she trained to adapt, unlike the looming darkness of much of the palace. Beyond that, the West Wing was Essryl’s domain, and none save Resvarygrath would dare intrude without permission. In many ways, it was a place of safety for the servants, and she did her best to keep it that way. The last soldier to intrude had proven a quite worthwhile example and had kept any recruits from laying a hand on her girls for the past two years.
The door to solitary confinement was much like all the others, fine cherry that had been burnished to a dull shine, and Essryl looked at it for a moment before reaching out to touch it, feeling the wards around her recognizing her presence before they unlocked the door and allowed her into the room.
“I told you to—” Anara began defiantly, spinning around to face Essryl. Then her eyes went wide as she audibly swallowed, her tone quickly growing nervous. “M-Mistress Essryl, I didn’t know you were back!”
“I imagine not. I’m told that you were a bad girl while I was away, Anara… is that right?” Essryl asked, glancing around the room lazily.
Solitary confinement in the wing wasn’t nearly as bad as Essryl could’ve made it. There was a comfortable bed, a glow-globe, which could be dimmed or brightened with a word, a shelf with a dozen books on it, and a wardrobe for spare garments. What it didn’t have was access to the wing’s baths, a window, or a restroom. Anara’s ankle was chained to the bed, giving her just enough slack to go anywhere in the room, but only just.
Much like Leticia, Anara was wearing a gold collar, and the golden-haired elf also wore a relatively simple blue gown. The elf crossed her arms in front of her defensively, her eyes flashing with defiance as she replied. “I tried to escape and was caught. If that’s being bad, well, there’s no point in discussing it. I want to leave, not be trapped in this gigantic bird cage.”
Essryl laughed softly, resisting the urge to smile even more as the woman twitched, the chain clinking as she shifted her feet. After a moment, Essryl spoke, positively amused. “I see. Yes, that’s being a bad girl, Anara… and I’m going to have to ask you not to do it again.”
“Or what? You’ll kill me?” Anara demanded, taking a step backward. “That’d be better than staying here for the rest of my life!”
“Oh no, I won’t kill you, Anara,” Essryl replied, smiling as she considered her little problem, then asked, “Tell me, do you remember Ruethwyn?”
“Ruethwyn?” Anara asked, her expression growing puzzled. “Um, wasn’t she the librarian’s apprentice? Quiet for the most part… I didn’t know her well. She must have died in the attack, since I haven’t seen her here. What does she have to do with anything?”
“Died? Hardly that. She was struck by My Lord’s fire and lost an arm, an eye, and half her body is little more than scars at this point,” Essryl replied, her smile widening as she saw Anara flinch. “Despite that, at the time, she tried to stand up and attack. She tried to fight me, Anara, despite her injuries being enough to fell most Illisyr I’ve known. Do you know why?”
“N-no? How would I know that?” Anara asked, now almost looking worried.
“She did it… for you. She cared for you so desperately that she pushed through unimaginable pain. Ruethwyn survived, and I made her a promise. I can delay the completion of your training for up to two years… and she has that time to rescue you,” Essryl explained.
“As if that’s possible. If she was injured that badly, what chance does she have of ever—” Anara began, but Essryl cut her off.
“My little trip was prompted by a rescue attempt that Ruethwyn made possible. She’d found a token of yours that Selwyn’s agents used to try to rescue you. Had they been slightly warier, they might have succeeded,” Essryl said, her tone precise as she took a step toward Anara, who backed away again, almost bumping into the bed. “I went to see her over the last few days. Her injuries are cursed, and the ignorant magi of your kingdom can’t heal them. Despite that, she nearly killed a noblewoman who attempted to startle her with a fake dragon roar and she didn’t run. Ruethwyn tried to fight me when I ambushed her, until I threatened to kill everyone in my path on the way out of the academy. She hasn’t given up… and I do believe if you have any hop
e of being rescued, it will be by her hand. I’d say hands, but she only has one.”
“Why are you telling me this? To get my hopes up?” Anara asked. “Because it isn’t going to work!”
That wasn’t true, Essryl thought, at least not from the slightly brighter light in Anara’s eyes. Essryl didn’t comment on it, though, instead smiling as she spoke. “Ah, but that’s not what I’m doing at all. I promised to keep you as untouched as I may for that two years. The rest of the people from your village, though…? They weren’t part of that bargain.”
The blood drained from Anara’s face, and the woman swallowed hard.
Circling around to Anara’s other side, Essryl spoke softly but sincerely, making certain just a hint of threat was apparent in her tone. “If you’re a good girl, I’ll keep them as safe as I keep you, Anara. All of you can wait and see if Ruethwyn lives up to my hopes. If you aren’t a good girl… I’ll speed things up with them, and they can experience what happens when a dragon gets annoyed at an impertinent servant. They don’t tend to last long.”
Anara swayed, staring at Essryl for a long moment, then slowly, her shoulders slumped in defeat. Her voice was resigned as she replied. “I’ll… I’ll do as you say. I’ll be good.”
Essryl smiled, satisfied. “Excellent. Let’s get that shackle off, then.”
Chapter 13
The book Ruethwyn was reading wasn’t much help, she found. It’d claimed that it was a full history of the Illisyr and gave all the details one might desire to know. The truth was that it was filled with supposition and guesses, at least beyond the beginnings of the clan.
The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1) Page 9
