The Crystal Bridge (The Lost Shards Book 1)

by Pulsipher, Charlie

  Aren smiled at Sethkar while keeping her head bowed. I’m not going to lose my hard won humility now. “Yes, your Highness. That’s exactly what I ask. I know it’s unprecedented. I, once again, ask for too much as a human in your court.”

  Sethkar paced back and forth on the platform that put him just above her height, Dveldor at her side translating for the Dwaro Keeper. “Not unprecedented, but it’s been decades since a human has asked something like this. To send a human child to any of the Sidra, even the friendlier Keitane, would be dangerous.”

  Aren nodded. “Yes, great Keeper, but they already have a human in their company.”

  Sethkar stopped his pacing and stood before her. His soft hand lifted her chin and she met his eyes. The soul within him had changed since their last encounter. A part of him still hated humans, but he cared for Aren too. “I’m sorry, Aren. Your friend may already be beyond our help.”

  Aren nodded, holding back tears. She’d allowed that fear to enter her heart a thousand times since she’d read the note. “He’s still alive, my Lord. I can feel it.”

  He let go of her chin and started pacing once more, silver armor clanking. “You’re the first soul seer we’ve seen in generations and we Dwaro live a long time. How do I just let you go? It is true that a soul seer would be the perfect emissary to the Keitane, but you are also human and would not be welcome.” The Keeper stopped pacing again, the sorrow and pain she saw within bleeding through to the surface. “I don’t wish to send you to your death.”

  Aren nodded again. She knew the Keeper’s daughter had died on a similar trip many years before. An accident as she traveled, at the hand of bandits, not the king she meant to meet, but her death had sealed Sethkar’s hatred for all humanity. “It’s my only hope of returning home. I can do my best to repair the strained friendship between your people and the Keitane at the same time.”

  Sethkar stepped toward her, embracing her in a fierce bear hug, stronger than his size made him look. He smelled of spiced wine and clay, not unpleasant, but his armor was hard and unyielding against her ribs.

  “People? No human has ever called me or my kind a person. You remind me of her, so stubborn and strong willed. Of course you see that.”

  Aren squeaked out her words. “Yes, I do. I’m so sorry to dredge your pain up again and again. I’ve played on your emotions for my benefit and I don’t wish to.”

  The strong arms squeezed her tighter. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. You brought a piece of her back to me in many ways.” He let her go, slowly. “The Spirit of Ealdar came to me in a dream last night and told me that a war is coming and I will need allies. I argue against your request only because I like to argue. It is already decided. You and Dveldor will go together. You will carry a petition to the Keitane and the Edane to reopen communication between us and you will save your friend.”

  Dveldor spoke up after he’d finished the translation. The Keeper and he argued for several minutes while Aren waited to find out why. Dveldor finally turned to Aren. “I told him I was ill prepared to take you. There are elders who’ve made these journeys before. He thinks my language skills will help and since I’ve already bargained with a Keitane for your life, you are now my responsibility. He is, of course, correct. We leave tomorrow.”

  Aren nodded her agreement. “Thank you. Thank you both. How far away is tomorrow? I can never tell down here.”

  Kaden felt a slight prickle on his skin as he passed through the barrier once more. He glanced back and could no longer see the city, just the forest swallowing up his vision everywhere he looked. He tilted his head and the silvery streams of light appeared again.

  “You will not feel the compulsion to run away now.” Hasla stepped up beside him, mimicking his titled head.

  Kaden smiled, determined to win over this beautiful and bizarre woman. “It was never a need to run away so much as be elsewhere. Why is it gone?”

  She raised an eyebrow as if he’d asked a silly question. “You have stood upon sacred ground and been accepted in a way as a Light Bringer. The barrier sees you as one of us.”

  “That makes sense, I guess.”

  Hasla shrugged. “Your guess has little to do with any of it. It simply does make sense.”

  Evan chuckled ahead of them. “Be kind to the boy, Hasla.”

  Hasla smiled a wide, cruel smile. “I am always kind, dear Evandrel.”

  Kaden watched her lope gracefully off into the forest. “Oh crap, are we running again?”

  Evandrel didn’t answer, but raced off after Hasla. Kaden growled to himself and sprinted, praying the two elves would take it easier on him this time.

  Hours later Kaden coughed up his breakfast while leaning against a tree. “This is getting old.”

  “Humans are slow.” But Hasla didn’t sneer it this time, just stated it like a well-known fact.

  Kaden nodded his head. “Compared to you two, a cheetah is slow.”

  “A what?”

  Evandrel chuckled. “I have learned to stop asking.”

  Hasla and Evandrel kept giving each other furtive glances. Kaden couldn’t help but laugh when he caught them again.

  “That’s at least the tenth time I’ve seen you two try not to look at each other while practically staring. You gonna start dating now or what?”

  Hasla snorted. “That is none of your business, human, Prophet or not.”

  “That might be true, but I’m stuck with you two on this trip to see the really, really old elves. I might as well be entertained.”

  “The Ancients are neither elves nor Sidra. And you should find your entertainment elsewhere.” Hasla flitted off ahead of them while Kaden straightened next to his tree.

  Evandrel shook his head as Kaden joined him and they began walking in the general direction Hasla had gone. “Are human women this frustrating?”

  Kaden laughed again, louder. “Oh yeah, I think that’s universal across all species.”

  Evandrel smiled as he stepped around a bush that Kaden recognized. He remembered wading through one earlier, dark green leaves glistening.

  “Universal? I like that word. Throughout all matter. I believe you are correct.”

  “So…are you dating?” Kaden flinched at the look Evandrel gave him. “I know. None of my business. I was just thinking of Aren.”

  “Are you two dating as you call it? Forgive the intrusion if it is also none of my business.” Evandrel half bowed as he walked. He’d been overly polite since the meeting with the Elders.

  “You know I’m not the prophet, right?”

  “Ah…I know that you do not believe yourself to be so. Since you also answered my question with another question, I must infer that Aren is none of my business. I apologize.”

  “No. She’s just…I don’t know. I just met her. I’d like to date her once we get home. If we get home. But, really, I’m not this prophet. I’m sorry. I’ll be leaving as soon as we find Aren.”

  Evandrel reached out a hand, blindingly fast, but gentle as it landed on his shoulder. “I know this is your plan. I must trust the Eldest though and trust that the Ancients may change your mind. Much can happen before we find your girl.”

  Hasla slipped back into their company with silent footsteps. “We are getting close.”

  Kaden jumped at the sound of her voice. “Holy Hasla! Can you walk a little louder, clomp around a bit, for the sake of my heart?”

  “No. That would not be very elf-like.” She enjoyed playing with the term since she’d made Kaden explain it. “An elf is always silent and nimble.” Her laughter echoed through the forest and birds took up mimicry, carrying her laughter out for miles.

  Then the birds went silent.

  Evandrel held up a hand and they all froze. The Sidra closed his eyes and hummed to himself for a few seconds. When he opened them again, ice formed around Kaden’s heart at the shock and fear that were written on his face.

  “What is it?”

  “Hush, we are not alone!” He whispered but his vo
ice came out sharp and commanding. “We run.”

  Kaden dashed after the elves who had practically disappeared from the space they’d occupied a second earlier. A black arrow slammed into a tree trunk next to him with a crack like thunder. He ran faster.

  He could see them now, figures in black twining in and out of the forest faster than any human. Another arrow whistled by his face and shattered a branch where his head had been a moment ago, raining him in shards of sharp, dry wood.

  Evandrel chanted in front of him and Kaden felt certain his words might have just saved his life. How long can he keep it up?

  A shout came from his left and Kaden almost fell. He caught a glimpse of Hasla with a knife dripping black, but then she slipped behind foliage again.

  He almost fell again when she appeared at his side. “Too many. We are going to die.” The matter of fact tone she spoke in did little to comfort Kaden.

  The tether came to his mind, glowing escape at his fingertips. He held it as he ran, uncertain whether to run home again. “Aren’t we close to where the Ancients live?”

  Evandrel spoke over his shoulder as if he weren’t running for his life at breakneck speeds over uncertain terrain. “Yes. I can smell them on the air, but too far away to save us.”

  “Shouldn’t you be chanting?” Kaden yelled back. The elf simply grinned back at him and then kept running.

  “I have done what I can to protect us. They will counter my magic soon.”

  “Not as soon as you think. Your words are strong, stronger than any I have felt.” There was awe in Hasla’s voice.

  Three arrows flew past, missing them by inches before vanishing into the forest.

  “You are correct though. Your powers are impressive, but not enough to keep us alive for more than minutes.” She looked at Kaden. “We have failed the Prophet.”

  Kaden shook his head. “I’m not the Prophet!” The tether came to his mind again. I could just leave. “How far do we have to go?”

  Hasla pointed. Steep peaks and terraced cliffs rose out of the forest like Aztec pyramids. They looked older than time, weighted with years that Kaden couldn’t count. Their craggy gray peaks thrust out of the unending green like they didn’t belong to this world, as though they’d been dropped from the sky by some massive hand or pushed up from below by a great force.

  Kaden’s heart sank. It is too far.

  An arrow slammed into his shoulder and he rolled through brush and thorns before thudding into a boulder that had been hidden by years of moss. His vision blurred, but he saw the blue-gray face hover over his, an inhuman sneer on the perfect features.

  Kaden reached a hand out as yellow flickered around him. His Egg distracted the creature long enough for Hasla’s blade to find its black heart. The dark elf gurgled black blood onto Kaden’s face before collapsing to his side. Hasla took Kaden’s outstretched hand and pulled him to his feet and then they were running again.

  The pain tore through his shoulder and raced down his veins in all directions. It felt cold and distant. Poison? Where’s Evandrel? The hand in his felt warm and dry even though his was covered in sweat and some sticky red liquid his brain couldn’t identify. Must have rolled through a berry bush. Hasla’s hand pulled him on, kept him running even when he forgot what they were running from.

  “I just want to lie down, Hasla. Let me lie down.”

  “Shut up, human! Evandrel did not sacrifice himself so you could give up.” She hissed it, spitting as she spoke, and pulled harder on his hand.

  Kaden nodded. “What? No, he can’t do that.”

  “It is too late to stop him. Fool.”

  Kaden didn’t know who she referred to, but couldn’t ask. Numbness spread through his chest. His tongue felt heavy. He slipped on wet stone, but she caught him, her eyes flashing in the firelight that flickered in the dark cave.

  Wait? Firelight? Cave? He slurred it out, “Fur elbs.”

  “Yes, the fire elves. The Sidra A’Edane. Here they are now.”

  Five Sidra stepped from the darkness. They looked very much like their tree dwelling cousins, long slender limbs and sharp features. Their eyes easily set them apart though, large fiery red irises flecked with gold. Their skin held a scaly iridescent quality, rainbow colors splitting from their amber skin in the torchlight.

  They took up defensive positions, eyeing Kaden with obvious malice and giving Hasla suspicious glances, her dark hair and bluish skin tone too similar to their old enemy. The Sidra liquid tongue filled the air.

  Kaden, surprised each time by the beauty of the Sidra language, staggered to the cold floor. Hasla let him fall and stepped forward. She spoke in English.

  “I am Hasla so’a Hirreem. Evandrel da’a Losel is outside fighting the Tyninian threat that has returned to us once more. We are Light Bringers. Help him.”

  The fire elves looked back and forth amongst themselves. Kaden started to think that maybe they didn’t speak English, but Hasla didn’t repeat herself in any other language.

  Finally, the tallest of the welcoming party stepped forward. “I am Gelsadim da’a Rashi, a Torch Bearer.” He turned to the other four. “Go.”

  They ran from the cave.

  Gelsadim nodded at Kaden. “The human will not be welcome here.”

  Hasla snarled. “We are all Light Bringers, including the human child, and messengers for the Sidra A’Keitane. We have been sent to consult with the Ancients.”

  Gelsadim’s mouth fell open. Kaden would have laughed at the unusual facial expression on a Sidra if he’d been able to feel his mouth.

  “Net a schild.”

  Hasla scowled down at him. “Yes you are. Be content I did not call you an infant.”

  Gelsadim closed his mouth and shrugged. “You have been warned. Do you have a token?”

  Hasla handed over a small branch. When the fire elf touched it, the branch burst into flame in his hand and Kaden thought he heard whispers in the Sidra tongue as it crackled and burned. A strong scent of scorched pine filled the air. Gelsadim handed the branch back to Hasla, the fire falling away, leaving the branch untouched.

  Gelsadim raised an eyebrow at Kaden. “The Eldest would have us believe this drooling boy is Cathal?”

  Evandrel staggered into the cave, trailing three of the welcoming committee, his voice sounding clearer and more confident than he looked. “She would, but we hope the Ancients will verify this to be true.”

  Gelsadim spat. The spittle landed next to Kaden and then burst into flame, sending Kaden scrambling back, before it dissipated. “You risk your life for this human. To take one of his kind into the Den of The Ancients is to invite their wrath down upon you all. Where is Opalin?”

  Evandrel shook his head. “Dead. She took out four of the Tyninians before they overwhelmed her. I owe her family a life debt, but I must repay another first.” He glanced at Kaden.

  Gelsadim snarled and spat another sizzling glob at the stone wall. “Wasted! She has no family and you will all be joining her soon enough. You can repay her there.”

  Hasla answered. “We will survive. Cathal is with us.” Kaden thought she sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

  Hands pulled Kaden to his feet. He could barely see now, but he fell in line behind Evandrel and Hasla as they walked deeper inside the cliffs they’d seen in the distance. He didn’t have as much faith in his role as his companions, but he didn’t have the strength to argue. Aren’s still lost out there and these elves are my best chance of finding her. I hope the Ancients are nicer than they’re being made out to be.

  Chapter 28: Abandonment Subroutines

  James felt them watching him, eyes down every hallway. It didn’t help that the computer kept announcing how many cameras were trained on him and what systems Vander had put to use in tracking his movements throughout Omegaphil’s maze. Thanks, PC. Very helpful.

  He stepped into his quarters past the hydraulic doors and fell face first on his bed.

  In here, Vander only tracks your termi
nal usage and messaging.

  Well at least I have some relative peace and privacy at home…if it weren’t for you in my head.

  Yes. Vander seems to be unaware that I am helping you fly below the radar. That is a term you use, correct?

  I wish you’d stop picking through my brain for nice tidbits to add to your conversational skills.

  I’m still attempting to extricate myself, but have continued to be unsuccessful. I don’t intend to take your words or thoughts. They keep bleeding through.

  I know. I’m sorry…and I’m apologizing to a computer yet again! Can you give me a few minutes to myself so I can get some rest?

  Of course, James. Do you want me to wake you at a certain time?

  No. I’m sure Mike or Angie will come looking for me shortly. They’re almost as involved in my life as you are at the moment.

  They just worry…as do I.

  I know. Let me rest, okay?

  The silence that followed felt precious. James flipped himself over and slid farther onto the bed. His head pounded with the constant flow of information, just out of reach of his conscious mind. It poured through him like a roaring river. He hadn’t slept in two days as worry ate away at his insides and the maddening sensation of being a processor for a super computer stole his sanity. But the exhaustion now dulled his fears and throbbing skull. He slept and dreamt of dragons.

  A dozen of the monstrous lizards huddled in a cavern filled with their pungent smoky scent. A slight sweetness undercut the smell, making it bearable and almost pleasant, like his grandfather’s pipe smoke. One of the dragons turned, red and gold irises falling on James, cutting through him.

  James held those eyes, but they were already slipping past him, moving on. “No. Look at me.” The dragon ignored him and turned back to the others as they seemed to be conversing in deep growling tones. James stepped into the middle of the group, dodging massive scaled legs and crystalline wings. He jumped up and down in front of them, yelling. “Please. Tell me what to do. Everything’s gone crazy. I need your help!”