Elven Doom (Death Before Dragons Book 4)

by Lindsay Buroker

  Sindari stopped in front of the large tunnel on the far side of the lake. The device we’ve been sensing is just ahead.

  As I joined him, I sensed it and, for the first time, the auras of dark elves. A lot of dark elves.

  Some were in groups straight ahead, and others were in singles or pairs ahead and to the sides. Even though I couldn’t sense the layout of the tunnels or anything non-magical, the arrangement of their auras suggested a vast complex.

  My chest had grown tighter. I would have been curious to see the air quality and composition of it, but I didn’t have any equipment for taking such readings.

  Letting Sindari go ahead, I dug out my inhaler and used it. Once, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t wait, not if the threat of danger lay ahead. As I put it away, I tried not to think of the dark-elf alchemist who’d seen my inhaler and known to exploit my weakness. She was dead, and I had survived.

  There it is. Sindari stopped, his head lowering to peer at something. Not a golem.

  That’s good. I’d been bracing myself to battle another one. Unless it’s something worse.

  I believe it’s an alarm. If we enter this tunnel, it will alert the dark elves that we are here.

  I crouched beside him to look at a cylindrical device attached to the wall a foot above ground level. The ice had been melted and allowed to re-harden to embed it. The device glowed faintly, a dim red that didn’t do much to brighten the area around it, but my senses detected filigrees of magic spreading from it. They ran down to the floor and up the wall to the ceiling and around.

  No chance that our stealth will keep it from going off? I asked.

  Doubtful.

  Is it possible that we could destroy it without them knowing it? I rubbed Chopper’s hilt with my thumb.

  I’m certain you can destroy it and also certain that whoever set it will be alerted. I also suspect… He inched closer, sniffing and examining the device while being careful not to cross the filigrees. The canister contains a fluid. It may shoot it out and mark whoever attempts to pass.

  So they’d be able to find us even through our stealth magic?

  That is my guess.

  Let’s go back and check the side passages by the lake. A part of me wondered if it mattered if we tripped the alarm, since the odds of us sneaking up on the dark elves were low anyway, but the idea of being marked with some beacon that would lead the entire lair right to me was disturbing. Zav’s magical marking of me was bad enough—I was crossing my fingers that it didn’t ooze out when I had my charm activated, but I hadn’t had a chance to test that yet.

  I believe they would have also warded or booby-trapped those tunnels if they led anywhere, Sindari said.

  You may be right, but let’s check anyway.

  I picked the one near the main tunnel that seemed most likely, at least from the location of the entrance, to lead back toward the lair. When I dropped to my hands and knees to crawl into it, the ground shuddered again.

  Are there always earthquakes up here? Sindari asked.

  Not this significant.

  So they may be doing something to cause them?

  Unfortunately, yes.

  Sindari followed me into the tunnel, also forced to crawl. The ceiling rose and fell, never high enough above for me to stand, but the ground—fine rock ground down by eons of glacial movement—was relatively flat. We wound back farther than I expected and didn’t encounter any magical devices in the tunnel. I continued to sense the dark elves in their lair. We were getting close to it.

  Dare I hope this was a back way in?

  Faint red light grew visible—infrared light, I wagered, thinking of Zoltan’s laboratory. He’d once said that his vampiric night vision wasn’t good enough to read in the dark, so he needed some form of light, and infrared did not bother him the way regular light or sun did. Was it the same with dark elves? There had been infrared light at their big ceremony too.

  A flutter of excitement teased my belly. Maybe this tunnel led somewhere important. I could now sense more magical devices up ahead. Two dark elves were in that direction, as well, but Sindari and I might be able to handle two of them, especially if we caught them by surprise.

  Before I could grow too enamored with the idea, the route ahead grew more constricted. The ceiling dipped to within a few inches of the ground. The infrared light seeped under that gap, suggesting the passage continued on the other side, but the route was effectively blocked. Unless Sindari and I could shrink ourselves, we couldn’t continue forward.

  Steamy sulfuric air whispered out from under the ice, but it wasn’t doing enough to melt that low ceiling. How long did it stay that low before the tunnel got larger again? I dropped to my belly to peer under, but I couldn’t tell.

  Val, that is not passable. And this ice could tumble down and crush us any second.

  Sindari hunkered behind me, his head pressed against the low claustrophobic ceiling, and looked miserable. And maybe a little afraid.

  I’d never seen him afraid of anything. He was understandably wary with dragons, but he’d never balked at going into battle with them or anything else we’d fought. But this was something different, something he’d likely never dealt with on the open tundra of his homeland.

  We won’t stay much longer. Willard will be worrying about us.

  Us? Or you? Her feline would be joyous if she returned home and told it I had been crushed by a glacier.

  Maggie probably would be joyous, but Willard knows your value. I turned back to the ice, shifting Chopper into a position where I could poke at it.

  Wait, Sindari said before I could jab at the ice and make any noise. I sense two dark elves in an area directly ahead of us, wherever that light is coming from.

  Yes, I sense them too. I even thought I could hear voices now.

  Were we that close? What if all I had to do was find a way through here and into their laboratory, and I could find whatever they planned to use on the volcano and destroy it?

  But I couldn’t chink at the ice if the dark elves were close enough for me to hear them speaking. I activated my translation charm in case words reached my ears, but the ice and distance muffled the voices too much.

  I rested a gloved hand on the ice wall blocking us. If only I could melt it. That wouldn’t be that noisy.

  My new commands, I blurted mentally.

  What? Sindari asked.

  The elf Lirena gave me two new commands for Chopper. One of them heats the blade.

  I pressed the tip into the ice and mouthed, “Krundark,” hoping the magic didn’t require me to say it loudly. The dark elves’ ears would be keener than mine, and I could still hear them talking.

  A soft thwomp came from up ahead along with a flare of magic that lit up my senses. Whatever they were doing, I hoped it was related to their plans and they weren’t making some poison or device to flush me out of the tunnels.

  Chopper’s blade warmed, the heat it radiated feeling good against my chilled cheeks.

  Are you sure it’s wise to make heat when the ceiling above us is made out of ice? Sindari asked.

  No.

  Just making sure you know you’re being foolish.

  If this ice is the only thing blocking us from sneaking into their lair, we have to try melting it.

  Water dripped down the sword and onto the ground. It was working. But how long would it take?

  As I shifted Chopper, laying its length against the ice, hoping it would melt upward faster, a pungent scent wafted back to us, something different from the sulfur. What were the dark elves doing in there?

  The sword heated to its fullest, and the ice melted faster and faster. It was working. This would work. We—

  A beeping came from my pack.

  Sindari jerked his head up. Val! They’ll hear that!

  I know. I know. I set Chopper down and struggled to get to my pack in the confining space. It was the carbon monoxide detector beeping. So much for the cursed luck charm Lirena had given me.

 
Trying not to make any more noise, I clawed off my pack and unhooked the detector. I yanked my glove off and stabbed the buttons, trying to find an off switch. It kept flashing and displaying “dangerous levels of carbon monoxide detected.”

  Even if that was true, I didn’t care at that moment. I was more worried about the dangerous levels of dark elves.

  Especially since I couldn’t get the detector to turn off.

  Sindari lunged in, grabbed the device in his mouth, and crunched down on it. A final weak beep came out, and it fell silent.

  Everything fell silent. I still sensed the dark elves up ahead, but they weren’t talking anymore. They’d heard that noise, and they knew someone was here.

  25

  If the way ahead had melted enough to let us pass, I would have considered continuing on, bursting in on the two dark elves, and hoping I could overcome them before they alerted the whole lair to our presence.

  But that wasn’t an option. I pulled my pack on and scooted backward as rapidly as I could. Sindari did the same. We had to crawl a hundred feet before there was room to turn around. Despite being larger than I, he scrambled faster than I did, and he soon disappeared in the dark.

  If they are in the lake chamber when we get there, Sindari told me, I will attempt to distract them while you run to rejoin your comrades.

  Thanks, but I’m hoping they’re not there.

  Maybe that was a vain thing to hope for. Even though we crawled as fast as we could, we’d followed that low tunnel for hundreds of feet. I tried not to think about the climb out of the crevasse that awaited me.

  Sindari reached the lake first. They’re not here yet, but I sense some of them coming this direction.

  I’m almost there. There hadn’t been time to put my glove back on, and the cold earth scraped my palm raw. My pelvis hadn’t objected that much when we’d been crawling along slowly, but now, it blasted pain through my body with every rapid move.

  Six of them. No, eight now. I think they’re stopping to gather allies along the way.

  The brimstone scent of the lake chamber grew stronger, and I had to fight not to cough. Almost there. Almost there…

  The water came into view, and the ceiling rose. I lunged to my feet.

  Sindari faced the tunnel with the magical alarm, the tunnel the dark elves would come from.

  Run, I silently ordered him. We’re both getting out of here.

  With Chopper in hand, I sprinted for the tunnel leading back to the crevasse—and gritted my teeth to keep from crying out from the pain of my injury. Now, I wished I’d asked the soldier with the medical kit for something stronger than ibuprofen. And I wished I’d been able to call Amber back. What if I died down here without getting a chance to say goodbye? Or at least answer her call and share any wisdom I could.

  “Just worry… about getting… out of here,” I grunted to myself as I ran, my breathing labored. I didn’t know if that was because of the gases affecting my lungs or simply the altitude I was unaccustomed to. Maybe both.

  Sindari loped after me, but didn’t catch up. He was deliberately staying behind, watching my back.

  My senses told me those eight were running after us—after me. The other dark elves in the lair that had been still—probably sleeping—were up and milling about now. I might be bringing Armageddon back to Willard.

  No, I decided as the first hint of daylight brightened the tunnel ahead. The dark elves wouldn’t come out until after dark.

  I hoped.

  Down! Sindari barked into my mind as the hair on the back of my neck rose.

  I flung myself belly-first to the ground. A crackling sphere of roiling black power sailed over my head. It slammed into a wall and blew ice everywhere, shards pelting my exposed skin.

  Up! was Sindari’s next order as he drew even with me. They’re still coming.

  I jumped up, my injury making me gasp with pain, and returned to sprinting. “Of course they are.”

  My crampons crunched on the fresh ice blown all over the ground, but it wasn’t slippery enough that I had to slow down. Not that I would have anyway. When I risked glancing back, I saw the glints of red eyes in the dark depths behind me.

  “Thorvald?” came Willard’s query from up ahead.

  “Incoming with company. Start climbing!”

  She swore. So did I as my senses shouted a warning into my brain.

  Jump sideways, Sindari ordered, even as I was about to fling myself to the ground.

  Twisting mid-fling, I plastered myself against the icy wall.

  Another black energy ball blew past, this one skipping along the ground like a flat rock on a lake. It blew up pieces of rock every time it touched down, and I turned my back to the flying shrapnel.

  As soon as the ball of magic passed, I sprinted on, rounding a bend. More light came into view and so did Willard. She leaned around the corner of the cave mouth, her modified magical rifle pointed past my shoulder.

  The dark elves were still coming—did they have masks or goggles to protect their eyes? If they didn’t stop, we were screwed.

  As I sprang around the opposite corner of the cave mouth from Willard, I dug out my flashbangs. She opened fire on the shadowy figures rounding the bend.

  Sindari stopped before reaching the cave mouth. He spun to face our enemies, crouching low to spring.

  “Brace yourself,” I yelled to both of them, arming and throwing two flashbangs over Sindari toward the dark elves.

  Another black ball of energy sped straight toward me. I lunged to the side, and it shot past and into the far side of the crevasse.

  Before my flashbangs went off, their attack slammed into the ice wall behind us. Huge shards broke off and flew toward us.

  I yelled a, “Look out!” as I turned away again. Pieces slammed into my pack and torso, making me glad for Nin’s armor. Unfortunately, it didn’t cover my arms, and a shard like a dagger gouged through my jacket and into my triceps.

  My flashbangs went off, the light of a sun filling the tunnel as thunderous booms hammered our ears. Ice tumbled down from the ceiling, and the ground shook.

  Willard glanced upward, as conscious as I was of all the ice that could potentially break away and bury us forever. The walls above us quivered as the ground under our feet trembled. A rockfall—no, an ice fall—slammed down, but it happened inside the tunnel.

  Sindari backed out and joined me. I sensed the dark elves backing in the opposite direction. Two were helping one that had been pinned under the ice. I hadn’t realized the flashbangs might bring down some of that tunnel, but I was relieved.

  “We have to go,” I said. “They’re distracted for the moment.”

  “You don’t have to tell me.” Willard shouldered her rifle and pulled out her two ice axes.

  We rushed back toward our ropes. The ground switched from rock to slick ice, and we had to slow down to maneuver down the crevasse.

  Sindari, will you watch our backs? I asked as we clipped ourselves to the ropes we’d left anchored above.

  Of course. I am certainly not going to sit in your backpack while you climb that cliff.

  That’s good, because you would be one humungous deadweight.

  I’m a live weight, thank you.

  Let us know if they’re coming, but don’t fight them. Go back to your realm if they rush out.

  I will delay them if possible before returning to my realm.

  That’s not what I said. I grimaced, imagining Sindari being blown apart by those energy balls. Don’t let yourself be wounded. We’ll need you later—there are still frost giants out here somewhere to battle.

  I wished I hadn’t thought of that. We had enough problems to worry about.

  Hurry, he urged. They are melting the ice that is blocking the way.

  Shit.

  Had I assumed incorrectly? That the dark elves would leave us alone as long as it wasn’t night yet?

  “Don’t let yourself rush,” Willard ordered, pushing off with her legs and using the p
ick sides of her two ice axes to calmly and methodically start up. “Make sure you maintain three points of contact, even if you’re going to turn to shoot. Especially if you’re going to turn to shoot.”

  “Got it.” Reluctantly, I sheathed Chopper. If I had to use a weapon while dangling from the side of the cliff, it would be Fezzik.

  Forcing myself to take a few calming breaths, I started up next to Willard, keeping space between us in case one of us fell. Before we’d gone fifty feet up, my entire lower back and hip hurt so much that involuntary tears sprang to my eyes. Sweat ran down the sides of my face, and I almost laughed at all that cold-weather survival training advice about not letting yourself get damp.

  They’ve almost cleared the ice, Sindari reported.

  Do they know you’re there?

  I do not believe so. I am using my natural stealth. They’re complaining that their eyes hurt from the blinding light bombs you threw and debating how to destroy you before you reach the top without coming out themselves.

  I hope that’s a conundrum they can’t figure out. But I had no problem imagining them hurling more of those energy balls at us. If they could bend their trajectories around obstacles, they could easily pick us off.

  “How’d they detect you?” Willard asked as we slogged upward.

  “My carbon monoxide detector went off at an inopportune moment. Wish I’d thought not to bring one.”

  “Yeah, better to keel over and die from poisonous gases.”

  “They’re down there. I’m sure the air is fine.” That wasn’t entirely true. The sulfur had been stinging my eyes, and I’d already used my inhaler.

  “They’ve been living underground for thousands of years. They may have evolved to be able to handle poor air. Dwarves reputedly have, and elves—surface elves—are supposed to be more susceptible to such things.”

  “I didn’t realize representatives of those species had signed up for scientific studies.” My forearms ached as we continued up, and I struggled to push my weight up the ice wall with my injured leg.

  “The evidence is anecdotal at this point, largely gathered from my informants and old books from when dwarves and surface elves still visited Earth.” Willard glanced over her shoulder. We couldn’t see the floor of the crevasse anymore. “Is your tiger still down there?”