Elf Mastery

by Bryant Reil

  “Follow,” Phaethusa ordered. Eunoe followed and Aspen took the rear. Phaethusa led them to a golden door which slid open as they approached. Another cautious look. The scene outside was grim, with several tengu, gnomes, and an angel lying dead on the ground. It was a gruesome scar against the beautiful cityscape of golden roads and spiraling white towers. Eunoe saw no one but heard whooping beyond a domed building to the left. Phaethusa led them in the opposite direction.

  “My sister lives in the tower over there.” Phaethusa's whisper was nearly as thunderous as her speaking voice. She pointed to a high spire capped in gold. The distance was difficult to judge, as the terrain was blinding as snow on a sunny day.

  “Trouble,” Aspen said as she twirled her staff in position on the left. Eunoe turned and held up her spear in the stance Aias showed her.

  It took a moment for Eunoe to see them through the glare, but six figures strutted around the corner of the domed building. They had slotted spectacles over their eyes to protect from the brightness of the terrain. Eunoe wished she had thought of this as she was going to be fighting near-blind. A quick glimpse told her Aspen was suffering the same problem. Phaethusa, however, didn't look bothered and stepped forward.

  “Halt, creatures of shadow, and surrender, lest I slaughter you for what you have done!”

  It wasn't until the creatures got closer that Eunoe could identify them: four were tengu, and there was a man with reddish-brown skin similar to Aspen's. Unlike Aspen, he had large wings and black eyes. In front walked a gangly hag with gray skin. She gave a grim smile as she approached, hissing as she spoke.

  “Another angel of light! I must say I am finding your kind most delicious; the young are especially fine meat.” She turned to her fellows. “You can split the other two amongst yourselves.” The hag curled her lips, revealing sharpened black teeth. She looked all the more threatening against the bright background of white and gold. The tengu charged forward first, making strange clicking noises. They were fast, and though Aspen whipped and twirled her staff at fantastic speed they dodged and jumped and surrounded her. In turns a tengu would charge, and when Aspen swung her staff, would bolt out of reach. Then one of the others, standing on her opposite side, would charge and she would have to whip around to defend herself, but the pest would roll away before she could strike. The tengu were quick, and Aspen outnumbered, but even squinting through the brightness of the sun's surface she was able to keep them at bay. Yet for now they only seemed to be trying to wear her down, and Eunoe didn't know how long she could hold out.

  Eunoe lowered her spear to help but had it knocked from her hands by the winged man. “You are too good to eat,” he growled through sharp teeth. “You will serve as a decoration for my new home!” He took a swipe at Eunoe, who tried to dodge but was smacked hard and rolled into the ground. She felt Aias pleading with her to let him take over the body. She was afraid to hand over control, but the large creature gnashing his teeth and stomping toward her made a convincing case. Her foe raised his foot, and Eunoe willed Aias to handle the fight.

  It was a strange feeling. She could still see and hear, but felt as though she was trapped inside her head and looking out a window. Aias was, however, more skilled at fighting than Eunoe, and though he was frustrated at her lack of strength and conditioning, he at least had training and experience. He rolled away from the winged man as he tried to drop a clawed foot on Eunoe's body. Aias scrambled to the spear and whipped around to face the foe. The winged man charged with a roar.

  Meanwhile, Phaethusa was having an easier time with the hag, as she flew into the air out of reach. She held up her hands and sang a long, low note, and a ball of light formed in front of her chest and then blasted forth and sent the hag stumbling back. After a few fruitless swipes at Phaethusa, the hag lumbered over to Aspen, tossing aside a tengu that happened to be in the way, and grabbed Aspen by the neck. Aspen dropped her staff and pulled with both hands at the hag's fingers, trying to loosen the choking grip. She kicked and struggled to scream as the hag lifted her off the ground.

  “Come down here and fight me!” the hag cackled. “Else I pop her head off!”

  The tengu didn't appear to appreciate this, and their faces switched between fear of the hag and anger that she had commandeered their prey. Eunoe urged Aias to forget their foe and save Aspen, but he stubbornly stayed focused on the winged man. Eunoe screamed again, in her mind, but he replied with an image of Eunoe dead on the ground, unable to help. She needed to save herself first. She demanded control of her body back. Aias insisted he couldn't help if he were wounded or killed. Though terrified, she knew he was right. It was fortunate she had handed over control as she would have been killed running to Aspen's rescue.

  Eunoe heard a crackle as Aspen's feet sprouted roots, which wormed their way to the ground. Though they couldn't dig far into the solar surface, it was sufficient. Her skin scrunched and thickened to resemble bark and her body hardened into its tree form.

  The hag only cackled again. “I can still snap you like a chicken's neck, sweetling! Tree or bone, cement or stone, I have strength to destroy from the Lord of Darkness himself!” The hag twisted and tore at Aspen. She could kill her quickly, Eunoe knew, but was toying with her. Though Aspen couldn't speak in her current form Eunoe could sense her pain and fear. Again she shrieked in her mind.

  “I don't care if it kills us – do something now!”

  Aias sensed her desperation, and showed an image of him spearing the hag from a distance. Yet they would die for it, and thus Aspen would as well.

  Eunoe didn't care anymore. If they were going to die, let them die together, and take the hag with them.

  Aias had nothing left to lose. He stepped away from his foe and raised his spear.

  A voice started to sing. The voice was high and haunting.

  “Kai annis alumnar voritim namen!”

  The hag shrieked and let go of Aspen to cover her ears. Eunoe thought it was Phaethusa, but the angel of light looked confused as well. Up above, descending in a pillar of light, was another angel.

  “Mente arenisal liteth asmil!”

  The hag dropped to her knees. The song didn't affect the tengu, or the winged man, but they stepped back in a moment of uncertainty. Aspen reverted to her bodily form and scrambled away from the hag, grabbing her staff. Aias used the distraction to jab the winged man in his side. The demon-like creature fell to one knee with a groan before slumping to the ground.

  The hag was soon subdued—with song, of all ridiculous things—and the winged man lay bleeding. He wasn't dead, but to Eunoe's shock Aias thrust the spear through his throat and finished him off. The tengu, now robbed of their two largest allies, reconsidered their assault on Aspen and ran off in a chorus of clicks and whistles.

  The invisible songstress was now close enough to see, and stood next to Phaethusa. She was smaller and appeared younger. Phaethusa and the new arrival embraced.

  “It is good to see you, sister” The new angel's voice was softer than Phaethusa's, and chimed as she spoke. “I have been watching here since the attack lest you returned to such an ambush. Come; we mustn't loiter. Bands of Avowed still wander the streets.” With that the other being of light turned and Phaethusa followed, gesturing to Eunoe and Aspen to do the same. They were led through a door, and a stairway that led downward, and it wasn't until the door was closed that introductions were made.

  “This is Aspen, one of my students, and her friend.”

  Eunoe attempted to speak, but could not, and Aias hadn't understood the question. Aspen gave a puzzled look before speaking.

  “This is Eunoe. I think. Your posture's all wrong. Are you Eunoe or Aias right now?”

  “Izmith. Vark te lik.” Aias handed control back to Eunoe. She was relieved he did it so freely. “Sorry, Aspen. That was Aias. Izmith is his real name, I think.”

  “I'm just going to keep calling him Aias.”

  “Fine. I'm going to let him have control until we get to safety,
ok?”

  Aspen nodded. Eunoe could feel her body shift into a warrior's stance as she handed control back to Aias.

  Phaethusa, who was eyeing Eunoe curiously, interrupted. “This is Lampetia, my sister.” She turned to Lampetia. “These girls have a plan to capture Erebus.”

  “It's our friend's plan,” Aspen noted.

  “Very well. They require aqualux, as well as a secure trip to Terra.”

  Lampetia nodded. “We have aqualux at home, yet there are no available Steeds and the only Portal is in the Heliopolis, which is under siege. The Heliopolis has much aqualux in storage as well; it would be most prudent to get you inside. We will need to scout the area for an entry point.”

  Lampetia led them down the long stairs. Neither she nor Phaethusa showed any fear of the challenge ahead.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Destinations

  The coach was crowded as many people had lost their homes and were headed to the houses of friends and relatives. Grizzlesnout sighed. He hated to admit it but he was glad to see the peppy elf girl back on his carriage after the assault on Equinox. Once again she engaged those around her in energized chatter, though it was somewhat more interesting than before. She spoke of fighting dwarves with super-strength and shadow powers, and magic stones with spirits inside them, and a chase involving a pig and a mammoth. It sounded too ridiculous to be true, and so Grizzlesnout felt inclined to believe it.

  Her rapid-fire talking still made him miserable, to be sure, but this time it was just the right amount of misery.

  And after all, she did apologize for singing that horrible song when they went to Sulafat Station. He hadn't been as offended as she feared, but it was the first time anyone had apologized to him for anything.

  ***

  “Are you sure your family will be there?” Aura asked. She was tired of the long carriage ride. She could fly much faster.

  Kyla shrugged. “I can't be sure. Marik said that my dad said to go to our summer home if things went south. We don't have one but we spent a summer at my grandparent's house when my grandma was sick. They're dead now but the house is still there. It's the only place I could think of. Anyway at least we can meet up with Aspen and Eunoe there.”

  Aura had wanted to rendezvous on Aeolis, but Kyla was insistent on finding her family. Aura had a family too, but felt more invested in helping Kyla find hers. Her own parents hadn't thought to check on her since the attack. They would, sooner or later. She was never forgotten; she was simply a low priority.

  Aura flew up to get a view over the treetops. Seeing nothing she drifted back down next to Kyla. “How much farther?”

  There was no reply, as Kyla was now talking with a young girl with serpentine skin who had boarded at the last stop. The girl had obviously been crying, and Kyla was asking about her stuffed unicorn, and trying to make her smile. Aura loved to see this side of Kyla, though it was painful for Aura to think that never in her own life had anyone taken the time to comfort her.

  ***

  “Mom!” Kyla ran up to her grandparent's old home. It was lit with firefly lanterns hung in a circle around the trunk of the tree, though Kyla the light seemed subdued. Her mother stood outside with her arms crossed, though she smiled and opened up for a hug as Kyla leaped at her.

  “Oh, ladybug! I'm so happy your safe! I heard what happened at Equinox.”

  Kyla let go. “Where's dad and Bit?”

  “Delayed. They were helping some of the refugees from Monarch. I came here to wait for you.”

  “I wasn't sure what dad meant by summer home.”

  “He was more paranoid than he needed to be. I told him to tell Marik to tell you to come to grandma's old house.”

  “Well, even if you weren't here I was going to meet Eunoe and Aspen here. They went to the sun to get some light. Hey, did you know Eunoe has some old ghost inside her now? Oh, and did you ever meet Aura?”

  No, I didn't.”

  Aura, who had been hovering behind Kyla, gave a low bow. “Aura, daughter of Duke Ukko. It is a pleasure to meet you.” It was the first time Kyla had heard Aura introduce herself with such brevity.

  “Lianaria. Call me Lia. Why don't you come in?”

  Kyla followed her mother to the doorway but stopped before entering. “Should we turn the lights out? So no one sees us, I mean.”

  “What about your father and brother? They need to find their way in the dark.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Kyla took a seat. Her mother pulled up a chair and sat right in front of her. She looked very serious. “You need to tell me what's going on. What do you know?”

  “Are you keeping moonflowers? It's almost winter but I keep smelling moonflowers for some reason. Should we have dinner first?”

  “Kyla.”

  Kyla didn't keep many secrets, but she doubted she'd get permission to confront Erebus. She shifted in her seat. She looked away, not wanting to look at her mother as she lied. “I don't know much more than last time.” She then looked her mother straight in the eye, thinking that by looking away she had exposed herself. Then she thought she was overdoing it by staring too hard and looked away again.

  “Eyes on me. What do you know?”

  Kyla swallowed. She needed to give her mother something, but not the whole idea. “I'm making a trap for Erebus.” She pulled out the orb. “Eunoe and Aspen are getting some liquid light, and then we're going to put it on this ball to trap Erebus inside.” Then Kyla started speaking uncontrollably fast. “And then I'm going to give it to someone else who can track down Erebus and trap him inside but don't worry I'm not going to do anything to endanger myself I think I can find someone in the army who can do it.”

  “Don't lie to me, Kyla.”

  Kyla felt sweat run from her forehead and armpits. A drop got in her eye and she tried to surreptitiously wipe it away. Maybe her mom would think it was a tear. “I wouldn't lie to you,” she said in a mousy voice.

  “Don't lie to your mother, Kyla.” Aura bolstered her warning with a chill wind. Kyla thought she should be upset at Aura for calling her out, but instead felt relieved.

  “Oh, I'm so sorry, mom! I didn't want to lie. It's just that I have this great idea to stop Erebus and no one will take it seriously and I know you don't want me to get hurt but I have to do it because I met him, mom! I met Erebus and if he wins it's going to be just terrible! Even if his army doesn't kill us he'll make the world dark forever but not just that; he'll take away all the love and joy and caring and I had a dream that I stopped caring about you and dad and it was horrible! So even though I know you're going to try to stop me you can't! Even if I have to run away I'm going to get him.”

  Kyla looked at her lap. She could feel her mother's eyes burning into her. She was quiet for a long time. It took Kyla a moment to realize her mother was crying. This made Kyla sob. Her mother seldom cried. There were a few more minutes of silent tears before her mother spoke.

  “I saw the remains of Monarch, Kyla. I was the one who suggested Bit and your father stay to help. It was a smoldering husk. Bodies stacked and burned. The survivors too terrified to cry over their lost loved ones. I didn't know where you were and I thought how terrible it would be if I lost you. I tried to send a message to have you packed up and brought to me, but the lines of communication had been cut. That's why I came here, in case you found your way. I swore to myself I was never going to let you out of my sight again, because I was so worried about you.”

  “But mom, I have to—”

  Liliana held up a finger to silence Kyla. “I listened to the soldiers talking about the military's plans to combat Erebus. They can't decide what he wants. He put out the sun, so why keep up the attacks instead of defending it with his forces? Then I heard some stones had been stolen. Ancient relics – no one knew what they were. And I remembered you and your stone. I was even more afraid, because I know he's going to come looking for you. I can feel it.”

  “Mom, I'll be fi—”

  “Shu
sh. I can't protect you, Kyla. I wish I could. I decided I need to accept that you are a grown-up. I don't understand your plan, but I believe – I can't explain it, I just do – I believe you need to do it.”

  Kyla didn't know how to respond. This was a very uncharacteristic thing for her mother to say. Finally, she simply stood and gave her mother a kiss. “I'll be alright, mom.” She sobbed and smiled. She didn't know if that were true, but didn't want her mother to worry.

  ***

  Aspen could feel energy filling her body. While she couldn't photosynthesize like a true plant, she did draw much of her strength from the sun. The light emanating from the golden fluid in the subsolarean canal was refreshing. “Aqualux?”

  “Yes.” Phaethusa didn't slow down.

  Aspen stopped. “We need a container.”

  Phaethusa looked back. “This is impure. It travels here from the mines to the refinery. Do not worry. There are large quantities stored in the Heliopolis.”

  It was a long walk through a maze of corridors. Phaethusa was unfamiliar with the canals so Lampetia led the way. After a couple hours she stopped at another stairway which led to the surface. “The Heliopolis is above. The enemy is concentrated here. There is a large barricade around the municipal center but no fighting yet.”

  Phaethusa was silent a moment. “I don't know if the portal will be operational. Even if it is, Equinox is locked down. You'll need a different destination.”

  Aspen only knew one other portal address. “We can go to Denzig's cave. But Castor is at Equinox!”

  “I'm sorry to complicate matters, but there's not much else we can do. It shall be trouble enough to get you to the portal.”

  Lampetia began up the stairs but Phaethusa pulled her back by the shoulder. “Allow me, sister. Stay with them.”