by Jack Porter
But was it simply a good instinct? Because I had learned to trust my instincts in this strange world. However, I still fought the dark thoughts that invaded my mind. I simply didn’t know whether the ill will I felt toward Maelon was one of these instincts or the result of the dark magic in my blood.
And since I didn’t know, I wasn’t about to take a man’s life simply based on a feeling.
“What are you thinking, Jon?” Ilana asked. It was a question she put to me daily now. And since she was walking beside me, no one else would hear our discussion. I had no problem with Sarina hearing it, but I didn’t want to burden Wren, nor did I really want her to know all my business yet.
“I am second-guessing things,” I said finally.
“What sort of things?”
“Things I can’t see. Things I can’t feel except for inside me. The things that I may never have proof of but that I know are there.”
Ilana frowned and looked at me shrewdly. “You are speaking in riddles,” she said. “And if I didn’t know any better, I would think that your mind had finally snapped.”
I glanced over at her, slightly shocked because that wasn’t the case at all, or at least, I didn’t think so. But the succubus was smiling.
It helped somewhat to lighten my mood, but it didn’t ease the burden on my heart. “Ilana,” I said softly. “I am out here seeking a quest that I’m not sure I believe in. I mean, yes, I believe that I can make a difference. How can I not, after all I have seen and done? But I’m not sure that I’m making the best use of my time by wandering through the forest looking for elves and a seer who I hadn’t even heard of a few days ago. Is this just a pointless side quest, one that only delays the inevitable, one that at worst could result in us getting lost and dying in this forest?”
Ilana laughed. The sound was soothing, and I could’ve listened to it all day long. It didn’t matter that she was laughing at me, because it was so beautiful that I would have done anything to hear it again and again and again.
“What?” I asked.
“I do not believe we will ever be lost in this forest,” she said. “And I believe you know that. I also believe that you have not had a victory for some time, Jon.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “We’ve defeated countless orcs, wraiths, trolls, and sorcerers in the last few months. I’ve had plenty of victories.”
Ilana shook her head, causing a lock of hair to fall over her beautiful shoulder. “Yes, and those are glorious wins. But you have not had a victory for yourself in a long time. This quest, this searching is about to you, and Jon I think you are so selfless that anything to do with you feels wrong. You feel guilty for concentrating on something that can make a difference to you. And maybe you will learn something that doesn’t have anything to do with our battles with the Wraith King. But maybe,” she said softly, “maybe it will help you feel victorious in your heart. To know where you come from is a valuable weapon, and can do much for a man who has been tossed around and used as a pawn. But you are not pawn, Jon. You are special.”
I hadn’t blushed since before I was a teenager, but her words hit a place in me that I hadn’t remembered existed. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and I cleared my throat. Ilana may not have been correct, but that was the way she saw it, and it made me feel… Loved. And that was special enough for me.
“Thank you.”
“Will you think about what I’ve said to you?” she asked.
“I will.”
We journeyed through the forest for the rest of the day and another night. One tree looked much like the other, but we did find pools of water now and then, thankfully all of them free from naiads, or water spirits.
On the third day after entering the forest, the trees changed, growing a bit farther apart and allowing us to even ride our horses a bit. I had just remarked that the journey had been uneventful when the whisper of an arrow caught my attention as it glided through the air into my right shoulder.
I yelled out, jumping off my horse as more arrows whizzed overhead. Ilana had already drawn a dagger and was trying to dismount.
Sarina and Wren had also dismounted and were trying to help me.
“Show yourself!” I yelled. My fury flashed through me like an explosion, and my blood pounded in my temples. Whoever was shooting at us was going to pay.
But then, I saw about ten elves slinking out of the woods, all dressed in camouflage. Leaves and branches and twigs and moss covered their bodies, and they even wore mud on their faces, and it marred what I could tell were beautiful features. Even their hair had been tied back and coated with mud. They walked with no sound at all, but that wasn’t going to stop me from seeing them.
I raised my arms, ready to strike them all down with a burst of magic, but the arrow sticking out of my shoulder stopped me from raising my right arm as high as I would have liked.
“Wait, Jon!” Ilana said. Her voice had that sharp hint of warning that I had learned to trust from her.
“I’m going to kill every one of them, Ilana,” I said as hot fury turned to cold determination.
Before I could turn my words into action, one of the elves spoke, a slight but tall female with dark blue eyes that seemed to reflect the forest around her. “We know who you are,” she said delicately and succinctly. “And you are not welcome in our forest. You will not go any further. And if you try, we will kill you all where you stand.”
“If you know who I am,” I said, “then you know how difficult that will actually be.”
I knew that I could incinerate the arrows as they loosed them from their bows. If only I’d been able to do that sooner, I could have spared myself the pain I was in now. However, I wouldn’t make that same mistake again.
“You are arrogant, Jon,” the first elf said. “And the only reason why we suffer you to live now is because we would not want to inadvertently help the necromancer by killing you. Although he would greatly desire it if we would do so.”
“Then your threat seems empty,” I said, still seething. I felt the magic gathering in my hands, and I was ready to throw it at them, at every one of them, even the ones in the trees. I didn’t care if I burned the trees down around us, these elves would pay. It was my job to protect these females with me, and I would do so by any means necessary.
But the elves didn’t back down. In their eyes, I saw firm determination, a willingness to die before they let us walk any further. I admired that just a little, and the thought seemed to trickle from my brain down to my arms, and into my hands. Because in fact, I was dangerous to these elves, and not simply because I could fight them. My presence was dangerous. I knew it even though they didn’t have to tell me.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t hurt us.
“I am after a seer,” I said quickly. “I was told I could find her with the wood elves. Are you the ones I seek? And if so, do you know of a seer that recently ordered an attack on a water sanctuary in the Slavers’ Bowl?”
The elves didn’t move or give any indication that my words meant anything to them. Even the first elf, the one with deep blue eyes, didn’t say anything immediately. But her gaze turned sharp, and I knew that she could answer my questions.
Finally, she said, “Who told you that the seer lived with the wood elves?”
I stared at her, not sure if I wanted to give away who we had been with or from what direction we had come. But since I had already asked about our important mission, I decided to go ahead and lay all the cards on the table. “Maelon,” I said, “and his harem of elves.”
The elf glanced at one of her companions, and a look of worry crossed her face. Slowly, she lowered her bow and arrow. “You have been deceived, Jon.”
“By whom?” I asked, but I knew what she would say. It was the very idea I had struggled with on the way here. I should have trusted my instinct.
“Maelon keeps the seer captive.” The elf motioned for the other elves to lower their weapons. “He is a powerful man who has threatened all the lif
e in this forest. The only reason he dares not to enter our realm is because the seer has told him this would mean certain death for him. And still he seeks a way to kill us all.”
My blood seemed to run cold, and fresh anger washed over me. But I wasn’t shocked, I couldn’t be. Her words made complete sense. “Why does he want to do that?” I asked.
“Because,” she said, “like the Wraith King, Maelon seeks destruction, and he hates the elves. Or at least the good ones.”
“Is he employed by the Wraith King? Is he one of his minions?” I asked.
The elf nodded. “It has been said that he is, although I have not seen any direct evidence of it myself.”
“Son of a bitch,” I muttered. “And I had a chance to kill the motherfucker.”
“If you had attacked him,” the elf said, “his army would have risen up against you. No doubt, they were hiding in the woods not far away. You would not have left with your life. And his harem of elves is just as dangerous as he. No, you were right to live to fight another day.”
His army.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Maelon is the warlord,” I said, quietly kicking myself for not seeing it earlier. But then, I had seen it. I’d known from the start that he looked like the type. It was his harem that threw me. I just hadn’t considered that he might have more people hidden in the forest.
The elf looked at Ilana, Sarina, and Wren, and then back to the arrow sticking out of my shoulder. In my anger, I had almost forgotten the pain.
“Come,” the elf said, “I am not going to give you aid, except that I can mend the damage I have done. Please, follow me.”
And with that, she turned her back on us and walked deeper into the forest.
24
The abode of the wood elves was much different from that of the Dark Elves of Blackhold. Instead of stone walls and towering battlements, they lived in a glade with a rushing stream, and their finely built wooden structures were set into the rock overlooking a shallow valley.
At first glance, they were difficult to see, for the homes were largely covered by the overhangs in the rocks, the beginning of the southern mountains. And the city was separated into sections, so it didn’t look like many lived there until we kept walking past more and more buildings.
And yet when they took us inside one of the lower buildings that was still beneath the tree canopy, I saw that it was a comfortable place with wooden floors, comfortable but sparse furniture, and animal skins with which to lay on.
I was made to sit down in a chair, and although the pain was still there, I could already feel the magic healing me. Within a few moments, the elves had removed the arrow and bandaged my wound.
Sarina, Ilana, and Wren refused to leave my side, and I was grateful, because I felt that I would not be as good at defending myself with my sword until my shoulder healed.
The elf that had led us there came in then, and she looked me up and down. I was no longer wearing my shirt, which they’d had to basically rip off in order to remove the arrow. She brought me a new one and then settled on another chair, gesturing for my companions to do the same.
Another elf, this one dressed as a servant, walked in on bare feet and brought two tallow candles into the room, which had grown fairly dark as the elves attended to me.
“My name is Raven,” the first elf said without preamble. She was still covered in leaves and mud, but she began to wipe her face with the cloth as she spoke, and I saw that her hair was very dark, like Brightlight’s had been, like the feathers of the bird she was named after.
“You travel in strange company,” Raven said. “Why did you seek to trespass on our lands?”
“My company is my own business,” I said. “But perhaps together, we are a bit strange, although I wouldn’t have it any other way. And I wasn’t seeking to trespass.”
Raven arched an eyebrow, and two more servants came in with more cloths and a bowl of scented water. They began to wash her arms and her face more vigorously, and soon her true colors began to emerge.
“And yet,” she said. “You were trespassing, or would have if we had not stopped you. We wood elves do not take kindly to humans entering our midst, especially humans who are accompanied by succubi and the half-elf.” At this, she sneered slightly at Wren, who scowled.
“Did you bring us here to insult us?” I asked.
“No,” Raven said. “But as I said, this is an unusual visit for us. As soon as you are healed, we will lead you back out.”
“Okay then,” I said, “so I have a little bit of time, correct? Then allow me to ask you some questions.”
Ilana came over to sit next to me then, and she put a hand on my good shoulder. I touched it reassuringly, knowing that if I lost my temper here, we may never get the answers we journeyed for.
“I cannot promise you any answers,” Raven said. “But if it is in my power to provide them, I will. At least,” she said smiling, “until it is time for our evening meal, at which time you are welcome to join us.”
I glanced at the girls, and seeing that none of them were going to object, I said, “We would be honored.”
“And your questions?” Raven asked.
“You said that you knew why I was here,” I began, “but if that’s the case, I’m not sure why you won’t help me.”
“That is not a question,” Raven stated. “However, we have been anticipating your arrival for some time, and we want nothing to do with the war beginning outside our borders.”
“War?” I asked.
“Don’t play coy,” she said. “The war between the humans and the elves. We want no part of it. Nor do we want to watch our people get slaughtered by the necromancer.”
I nodded. If I had thought about it, I would have perhaps anticipated this response. “What do you know about the war?” I asked. “At this point, there has been nothing more than skirmishes and some ill words perhaps. But not outright war, and I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Raven wiped her face one more time and then dropped the towel into the water bowl. Then she gestured for the servants to leave the room. Once they were gone, she leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. “Then I am sorry to tell you that the humans recently retook Crowmore. They slaughtered many elves in the battle, and killed many more after, torturing them before finally hanging them from the walls.”
Ilana gasped, and Sarina seem to go pale. I imagined a similar look on my own face. “When?” I asked.
“Not three days ago,” Raven said.
“And you think I came here for your help,” I said.
“And why wouldn’t you want to provide it?” Sarina asked suddenly. Her hands were shaking with anger now, and I couldn’t blame her. I felt a rise in it myself. And I felt slightly sick. What if Nya or Sy had been injured or killed in that battle? I should have been there, not chasing after some long-forgotten prophecy.
Raven regarded me with a shrewd look. Then she looked at Sarina. “The wood elves are not a warrior race like the Dark Elves of Blackhold. We prefer to stay out of the wars that plague Hell. We try to live in peace, and this requires our isolation. But our elflings learn at a young age what it means to feel safe. And how many can say that in this violent land?”
I stood now and let some of my anger show through. These elves were as bad as the humans who allowed their children to be stolen by slavers. They wanted peace at all costs, even if it meant the death and torture of many. As long as it didn’t touch them. I stopped myself from saying this, however. Instead, I said, “If everyone would bind together against the Wraith King, we could perhaps overthrow him, and then everyone in this land would know what it meant to feel safe.” I spat the last word, hoping to drive home my point.
Raven stood too. “I know who you are, Jon. You do not get to tell us about the necromancer. And you do not get to tell us what we should do to keep our families safe.”
Ilana stood then. “And who do you think he is?” she asked.
Raven glanced
at the succubus. Her eyes even roamed from Ilana’s golden flecked eyes down to the curves of her breasts. Then she looked back at me. “A mage who uses his power to sway the tide of battle. You dare to bring your dark magic into this forest? And then, you set up with one of our mortal enemies beneath the trees. A man who often conducts dark magic in the dead of night, who runs off with our female elves, and even sacrifices male elves for his blood magic.”
“Maelon,” I said. “I did not know who he was. I was looking for him as well, though.” I grimaced, wanting to return to the man even then, and let him understand the depths of my wrath.
“Yes,” Raven said, turning to walk around the room. “He is crafty, and manipulative. You saw what he wanted you to see. But when he rides through the forest on his Hellpig, that damnable creature that eats the bones of his weak children, he spreads terror into the hearts of my people. And you, Jon, want us to leave the only safety we have built around us to go toward certain death against the other peoples of Hell.”
I shook my head. “Victory against the Wraith King is possible,” I said. “I have seen it. I have felt it. And we have experienced it, in small doses. I dealt him a terrible blow a few weeks ago, and it seems he has yet to recover from it. Now might even be the best time to strike.”
I could barely believe what I was saying, but the words just spilled out of my mouth. Yes, I had thought about them. Yes, I meant every one of them. And yes, I had talked about them with my trusted companions.
But I had never uttered these words to a complete stranger. I didn’t want to beg, but at this point, after learning about the defeat at Crowmore, I thought maybe that wouldn’t be out of line.
Raven stopped her pacing to look at each one of us. “I cannot leave my city and defend it against the warlord Maelon. Not unless he moves out against either the Dark Elves or the humans of Crowmore.”
“I asked earlier if he was a minion of the necromancer,” I said.
