Elf Mastery

by Bryant Reil

  “Guess you can go now. Thank you very much for your help!”

  “What? You were helping me!”

  So Marik had led him to believe. The deluded dwarf was trying to garner favor with Erebus by recovering the rubbing but was too incompetent to do it on his own. Fortunately for him Marik could use this opportunity to build trust with the Nim family.

  Marik knocked over a few candles, allowing the shadow of the tree to create a bridge into the darkness of the forest. Linkin sank into the shadow, slipped through his bonds, and reformed by Marik.

  “You were going to kill me!” the dwarf hissed. “You cut my neck!”

  “Well, all part of the show. And now you can get your revenge. Try to make it look like I put up a fight.”

  A minute later Marik was writhing on the forest floor with blood gushing from his nose and mouth. Linkin had enjoyed his revenge a little too much. Marik couldn't be truly angry. Had Philosthenes not stopped him, Marik had been ready to kill the dwarf.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  No Rest for the Weary

  “I can't believe it! I can't believe they'd do this to me! They're worse than Dunkin and Linkin and Erebus!” Kyla was boiling inside. The military had sent forces to Aspengrove, alright, but Linkin had escaped and now Director Anh-Bul and Professor Ciana and some one-eyed minotaur told her she wasn't allowed to leave campus. And her family had been taken to a military base and she wasn't allowed to see them until the army decided it was safe.

  “A bit harsh,” Eunoe frowned. “You're safe. Your family's safe. That's what you wanted.”

  “I don't want to be in prison!” Kyla drew a spoonful of stew but let it drip back into the bowl. “This is stupid. Why can't I go to the base as well?” It didn't make sense to Kyla. A military base would be safer than Equinox. She should be able to spend her imprisonment with her family.

  “What's going on?” Saul walked up to the table and sat down next to Aspen. The table felt emptier today. Aura was still in Aeolis, Ach'vach had been called back home, and Lili, while still at Equinox, was part of the reserves and assigned to a patrol. Everyone was on alert now that the star stations had been overthrown, and somehow Kyla was part of it. The army wouldn't let her go anywhere.

  Kyla looked up at Saul. She relayed the story with Linkin in the clearing, and the trip to Aspengrove, and the meeting with the Director, but she spoke so quickly she left Saul looking confused as he slowly bit into a piece of mutton.

  “Oh.”

  Aspen summarized for him. “Dwarfs are trying to kill Kyla and her family. Now she's not allowed to leave campus. She wants to go to the military base with her family. We don't know why they won't let her go.”

  Saul nodded. “I see.”

  “Maybe they think your family will be safer if you aren't with them,” Eunoe suggested.

  “I bet its because they don't trust the military right now.” Saul licked his fingers. “Because so many of them were in on the coup.”

  Kyla hadn't heard this. Nor did she know what a coup was. “What?”

  “Yeah, turns out the stars fell so fast because basically every station had at least one person in Erebus' army. Or Chaos' army. Whoever's in charge. Huge scandal. They're keeping it quiet.”

  “Then how do you know about it and why don't I?” Kyla shouted. This made her more afraid. Were more people going to come after her now?

  “Lili heard from her commanding officer. It's classified information.” He said this very nonchalantly and took another bite of his lunch and started speaking while chewing. “So maybe they figure you're too high profile a target to leave with a bunch of soldiers they don't trust.”

  “I doubt Equinox is any safer!”

  “No, but they've had wards up for weeks monitoring everyone for traces of Erebus' power. Equinox just kinda lucked out because they were watching out for you after you gave that stone to Professor Ciana.”

  “Then why can't my family come here?”

  “Dunno.”

  Kyla dropped her chin on her hand and stared at her food. She slowly pushed the bowl of stew away.

  “Eat,” Eunoe ordered.

  Kyla looked at her. “I'm not hungry.”

  “I don't care. You need to eat.”

  “I don't feel like it!” Kyla pushed the bowl farther away for emphasis. “I'm going to my room.” She tried to squeeze past Eunoe but Eunoe wouldn't move. She turned to go out the other way but Aspen, looking anxiously between her and Eunoe, gave an apologetic smile and refused to budge.

  “Oh, crab-apples,” Kyla muttered, and slid under the table.

  She stormed out of the cafeteria toward Haven Hall. No one was going to keep her here against her will. She wasn't a prisoner. She hadn't asked for any of this. Why should she be trapped like she was some kind of thief or murderer? What could they do about it anyway?

  Kyla looked beyond Haven Hall. The edge of campus wasn't too far to the east from the dormitories. What would happen if she marched off the grounds? How would they even know? Was someone spying on her? She looked around. One way to find out. After all, what was the worst they could do? Throw her in jail? They already had her in a prison.

  Kyla realized as she reached the Equinox borders that she didn't know what the wards looked like. Besides the front gate there was nothing marking the boundaries of the grounds. Well, she'd just keep walking until she got to the woods. Just to see if she could.

  She stopped. What about the dwarfs? She had already been accosted twice. Well, three times if she counted Aspengrove. In fact, every time she left Equinox a dwarf tracked her down. Maybe she shouldn't leave.

  But she was a prisoner!

  But she was safe.

  But she wanted to see her family!

  But she might endanger them by going to see them.

  Kyla turned around and looked over the campus. There was a patrol marching around the grounds. They were headed in Kyla's direction but they were still a long way off. Kyla thought she'd best not be seen this close to the boundary. If that were Lili's patrol, Kyla just knew Lili would blab if she saw her contemplating an escape.

  “Going somewhere?”

  Kyla spun with a gasp, clutching at her heart. “Oh! You scared the pine nuts out of me!” she gasped. “I thought you were one of the dwarfs. What happened to you?”

  Marik smiled weakly. One eye was swollen shut and the other had a scar over it. His face and hands were spotted with bruises. “Your dwarf friend got out of his ropes and did quite a number on me. Your mother bandaged me up. I promised to bring you this, since I was headed this way.”

  Marik handed Kyla a letter. It was signed by her father. She unfolded it so aggressively it nearly tore, but Marik grabbed her by the wrist as she started to read.

  “We should get onto the grounds,” Marik suggested. “I doubt you're safe here, and I don't care to be beat up by another dwarf.” He started walking, pulling Kyla along. “Oh! I almost forgot!” Marik dropped his shoulder bag and dug inside, pulling out Kyla's light orb and several pages of parchment. “This light orb is yours. And my friend – she's a linguist and historian – she was translating an ancient text and I thought you might be interested in seeing a copy.”

  “Thank you!” Kyla tucked the orb under her arm and looked over the parchments. It was a historical document. Exactly the type of thing she would not be interested in. She enjoyed stories about history, but always glazed over when presented with actual historical accounts. She looked at Marik for an explanation.

  “It talks about an ancient battle with Erebus. There have been many, but this is the oldest account my friend had ever seen. I haven't read it but I thought you might be interested, since his forces have shown an interest in you. She gave me a copy of the original as well as a translation.”

  “Thanks,” Kyla said insincerely. She tucked the pages into the waist of her pants. She looked over at the patrol, which was getting closer. She didn't see Lili so that was some relief. “We'd better move.”

&nbs
p; Dear Kyla:

  Your mother and Bit are well. I wanted to send you this message to let you know we all love you very much. It hurts that we have to separate for now but you are in our hearts always. Please know we are doing what we think is best for your safety. We have been told very little about the situation beyond what we already knew, but I am optimistic we shall get through this.

  I want you to know it is okay to be scared. Your mother and I feel scared for you every day, but that means we love you and are concerned for your welfare. Please don't worry about us. You will be in our prayers. Keep yourself safe.

  Love,

  Dad

  Marik out a hand on Kyla's arm. “Oh, I'm supposed to tell you one other thing. Your dad said should things go south to meet at the summer home. He didn't write that in the letter in case it was intercepted.”

  Kyla shrugged. “We don't have a summer home.”

  “Well, that's what he told me to tell you.”

  Kyla folded the letter and tucked it into her waistband. She didn't know when she would be able to see her family again, so for now the letter was the closest connection she had. Those and her rocks, of course, but they were more difficult to carry around.

  ***

  Eunoe rolled her three-stone in her hand. Aspen was winning again, and Eunoe wondered if she was using bonded wood. Aspen wasn't above cheating when she played Eunoe. Eunoe tossed her three-stone at Aspen's. It rested about two feet beyond. Not a great throw, but at this distance it might be enough. Aspen grinned as she pulled her three-stick from the box.

  “We should make a bet. If I win you'll fly me anywhere I want.”

  Eunoe smirked. “Nice try! Not wagering at the last throw.”

  “Chicken.” Aspen took aim and tossed the stick in the air. It landed on its end right between the two three-stones, but bounced out. Aspen cursed and stamped her foot on the ground.

  As they walked around the grass picking up their sticks and stones, Eunoe spotted Kyla with Marik walking by the Chiron building.

  “Hey! Kyla!” Eunoe shouted and waved. She didn't want to leave any hard feelings from lunch. Kyla waved back, looked at Marik, and the two started toward Eunoe.

  “I don't like him,” Aspen whispered in Eunoe's ear. Eunoe looked at her.

  “Why not?”

  “I don't know. He feels fake.”

  To Eunoe almost everyone seemed fake. “Ah. Well, fake or not, he's nice to have around.”

  Aspen said nothing but watched Marik carefully as he approached.

  “Whatcha doin'?” Kyla said cheerily, in contrast to her sour mood at lunch. She held up a letter and skipped the final few steps to Eunoe. “My daddy sent me a letter! Marik brought it. Also some other thing about Erebus.”

  Kyla pulled some parchments that had been tucked in her waistline. Eunoe glanced at them with little interest. She didn't care much for history. “Saul can read it and summarize for us,” she suggested, as she knew Kyla was unlikely to either read or understand the document. “Would you like to play sticks and stones with us?”

  Kyla looked at the sticks and stones and shrugged. “I don't know how to play.”

  “I'd love to play,” Marik smiled. Eunoe saw Aspen wince when he spoke. “I've played before but I recall scoring is a bit of a beast. I may need a reminder.”

  “Sure. You get three sticks, three stones, and a three-foot tape. Each set has a one-stick, two-stick and three-stick. Same with the stones. They're all marked with a unique design so you don't get them mixed up. The number of designs imprinted on the stick or stone tells you the value. See, Aspen uses pictures of leaves on hers and I used bunnies.” She paused as she remembered the night of the Fall Ball.

  “Eunoe infested the whole campus with flying bunnies!” Kyla smiled, though on seeing Eunoe's pained grimace she cut herself short.

  Marik laughed. “That sounds like a story!”

  Eunoe interrupted to avoid the story going any further. It might be an amusing tale some day, but for now it was too fresh a humiliation. “Anyway, you want to get your stones as close to other stones as possible. You get minus points if they're touching, and they have to be in range of the tape. To score you add the closest stones together. You throw sticks between the stones to block points, but the stick can't block more points than the value of the stick. Anyway you'll get the hang of it pretty quick.”

  Marik grabbed a stone from Eunoe and smiled. “We'll be on a team!”

  Eunoe looked at Aspen, who was frowning and watching Marik carefully. “Maybe Aspen and I should play together.”

  Kyla put her arm around the frowning dryad. “Nah, we can take you guys, right, Aspen?”

  “Yeah,” the dryad said absentmindedly. It was clear Aspen distrusted Marik and simply didn't want to spend time around him. Eunoe didn't understand why, but decided to keep an eye on him just in case. Aspen sometimes noticed things no one else did.

  Marik was fairly good at the game, and Kyla was abysmal, but Aspen won the day with a solid toss of the two-stick. Aspen was a gracious winner with everyone but Eunoe, for whom she always performed a little victory dance, though today there was less heart in it.

  “Hey guys. Care for another game?” It was Saul. He looked a bit singed and stank of smoke and burned hair.

  “What happened to you?” Kyla asked, scrunching her nose.

  Saul shrugged. “Had an argument with Lili.”

  Kyla looked hopeful. “Did you break up?”

  “No. We were just talking and she flipped out.”

  Eunoe smirked. “What was the last thing you said?”

  “Oh, we were talking about...oh, how they're calling all the armies together. If a war actually starts she might get called home to fight. Anyway I said she shouldn't have to fight because she's a lady.”

  “Lady's a stretch,” Eunoe muttered.

  Kyla put her hands on her hips. “Any one of us ladies could beat the snot out of you.”

  Saul stretched himself to look taller. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. I took out an evil dwarf by myself.”

  “Oh really? I heard that was Aura.”

  “Well, yeah. Different dwarf. But Aura's a lady too. I bet if our army was all ladies we could end this war.”

  “Yeah. Cause you'd yap until the other army got bored and went home.”

  “What?” Kyla looked at Eunoe. “Did he just say what I think he said?” Her eyes shot back at Saul. “You have the biggest mouth of anyone I know. If anything you'd bore us to death. Oh, speaking of which, could you read this and summarize it for me? Thanks.”

  Saul was taken aback, as he looked geared up to continue the argument, but Kyla shoved Marik's parchments in his face. It took him only seconds to scan them and hand them back.

  “Some story about a fight with Erebus. He made the world dark, they fought the darkness with some enchanted metal, and some evil wizard sucked some people's souls into rocks. The end.” Saul handed the parchments back. “Now, if you want to fight me, I'll meet you on the proving grounds at sunset.”

  “Does it say what type of metal?” Marik interrupted.

  Saul grabbed the parchments back and skimmed over it again. “It says it was golden, but not that it was actually gold. Who knows?”

  “Wait a second!” Kyla grabbed the parchments back. “He sucked people's souls into stones? Is there a way we could get a soul sucked out again?”

  “Hold it.” Eunoe crossed her arms. “You aren't doing anything. If you have any crazy ideas pass them on to someone else. I'm watching you.”

  “Of course!” Kyla smiled. “I'm not crazy.”

  Eunoe smiled back, but in this respect Kyla was crazy and Eunoe had to keep a close eye on her.

  ***

  Kyla found herself in a forest. It wasn't Aspengrove. The leaves were too green for this late in the year. It looked like spring. Had she somehow missed winter?

  Kyla didn't know where she was, or which way to go, so she listened. Perhaps she could catch someone talki
ng. She wouldn't have come here alone. Not after what happened with Dunkin and Linkin. How did she get here anyway?

  There was no sound. No birds, no animals, no water, no wind. Nothing. She took a step and her footfall made no sound either. Was she a ghost? Had she died?

  If she were dead, it wasn't that bad. There was nothing to fear after death. She was comfortable. She felt no cold nor warmth. It was peaceful. She would miss her family but if she could find them she could watch over them.

  Could ghosts fly? Kyla supposed they probably could. She jumped but came back down. She concentrated on lifting into the air but nothing happened. She saw a rock and tried to move it with her mind. Nothing happened. She had no ghostly powers.

  “Crab-apples,” she muttered, though no sound came out.

  She bent down and picked the rock up. She dropped it. It behaved normally, but there was no thud as it hit the ground. Maybe she wasn't dead. Only deaf. It was hard to tell as she had no experience with either.

  As she had no idea where to go, she walked in the direction she was facing. She could see by the swaying of the branches and leaves that there was wind but she couldn't feel it. That she couldn't smell anything came to her attention as she passed some lilacs. She didn't like the smell of lilacs—which confounded her mother, who loved them—but not smelling them at all was worse. The only sense that was working properly was sight.

  The forest eventually opened up to a large field of deep green grass. There were rolling hills in the distance and no more trees. Kyla turned around. The forest was gone. She took a few steps back, thinking she might somehow wind up back in the trees, but now all she saw was grass and rolling hills in all directions. Having no destination, she decided to continue on her original path.