When B’iff taught me to travel the ley lines, we didn’t go all the way to the intersection, and the gate wasn’t open at that time.
Could I travel up the ley line against the Mississippi’s current while being pulled through the gate to New Albion?
I wasn’t sure, and being underwater, there wasn’t a simple way to communicate my concern.
Besides, B’iff was kicking hard toward the riverbed.
You’d be surprised how much garbage litters the Mississippi. For centuries, going back to the westward expansion, people had thrown their junk into the river. All I needed to do was make my way through it to touch the ley line.
I followed B’iff’s lead. He’d been here before. I presumed he knew what he was doing. I didn’t want to destroy the Blade of Echoes. It was a death sentence.
King Brightborn had already pronounced a death sentence on both Layla and me. At least this way, our sacrifice would mean something. We could prevent the elven king from bringing his legions to Earth.
No, I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live with Layla and love her, but if we were going to die…well, everyone dies eventually. Most people die relatively meaningless deaths. They live their lives, but their deaths don’t mean much. All things considered, if we had to die, saving the world in the process wasn’t the worst way to go.
Chapter Forty-Two
Follow me. The moment we entered the ley line, I could hear B’iff speak in my head. Being inside the ley line wasn’t like being underwater, and it wasn’t like being on land.
I had a body. I wasn’t pure energy here, but I was more than that. My soul, it seemed, was awakened and touched by the magic of the Earth, and it connected me to B’iff.
I’m right behind you. I didn’t know how I spoke. It wasn’t with my mouth. It just felt natural. The words came out, and they echoed in the channel.
Gold light mixed with green Earthen energies flowed around me. It moved fast, faster than I could track with my eyes.
Above me, it flowed in one direction. Below me, the other.
I just had to touch the side that corresponded with the direction I wanted to go.
We hadn’t come this far when B’iff showed me how all this worked.
Thankfully, as B’iff had explained, traveling the ley lines was a magical tactic the elves hadn’t discovered, even in New Albion. That meant the one thing I didn’t have to worry about was the king or the knights following us.
We were going back to the spring, the deepest part of the line where the magic emerged from Earth's magical core and the line was formed, along with the river that flowed above it.
That was where the magic was at its strongest. That was where we’d have to overcharge the Blade of Echoes and destroy it.
Could I escape the core once I went inside? Not once the Blade was destroyed.
B’iff said he’d used the Blade’s magic to escape the core. This was a death sentence twice over. Not only would I die because my soul was attuned to the Blade, but because my body would be overwhelmed by the magic in the core.
I was overwhelmed with feelings of guilt.
This was going to kill Layla too, but it was what she would have wanted.
And Agnus, I’d barely gotten him back. He’d become a stray. How long would he last before he went feral? I could only pray that someone would find him and take him in before the coldest part of winter.
My mind drifted to the people I used to serve at Holy Cross. Good people, people who only wanted a hopeful message to help them make some kind of sense of a world full of insensible suffering. I felt like I’d let them down. I’d let the dogmatists, the powers that be, rob me of my passion and silence what I used to think was my calling.
And the chosen one? There were two scrolls of the prophecy yet to be read. I supposed those prophecies didn’t have anything to do with me. They had to be something about whatever would happen after I was gone because the fifth seal was about to be fulfilled.
The Blade of Echoes was going to be destroyed. So was I.
B’iff, I said as we approached the source, the place where the ley line coursed into the Earth’s magical core. You need to stay up here. Once the Blade is gone, you won’t be able to make it out alive.
B’iff stopped and looked at me. I must go with you. I have to see it for myself. I need to be sure.
I looked at him blankly. But how will you get out of the core without the Blade?
Let me see the Blade.
I nodded. It made sense. If he could draw magic from the Blade now and hold it in reserve, maybe he’d have enough power to pull himself out of the core.
I pulled the Blade from my pocket, unwrapped the cheesecloth, and handed it to him.
Are you sure about doing this, B’iff? If we destroy the Blade, you won’t be able to bring magic back to your world.
B’iff shook his head. It’s the only way to stop the war, to prevent the elven legion from overwhelming the Earth.
I nodded. Thank you, B’iff. For everything. And I’m sorry about trying to attack you in the alley.
B’iff smiled. It was meant to be. Your cat, on the other hand…
I laughed. Yeah, he did a number on your face.
Before you destroy it, let me hold it one more time. I’m not sure I can hold onto the magic long enough to make it down there and back again.
You can’t just draw magic from the Earth directly? It’s all around us.
B’iff shook his head. You can, you are human. You were made from the Earth. But elven giants, we are different. Our origins are different. We must rely on items, trinkets, enchanted blades to use the Earth’s magic.
I reached out and squeezed B’iff’s arm. Well, I know you’re not doing this for moral support, but it will be nice to have a friend there at the last moment.
B’iff smiled as best he could. Indeed. It is a blessing to die in the company of friends. And you are a true friend, Caspar Cruciger. You are a friend to all of us. You give us reason to hope.
I felt tears well up in my eyes. Hell, I’d barely met the elven giant. For most of the time I’d known him, I’d believed he was my enemy. There were different kinds of friends. Some became friends over time through the accumulation of shared experiences. Some became friends in a moment out of a grand gesture or because circumstances bound you together. It was this latter kind of friend B’iff had become. Sure, if I had my druthers, it would be Layla here at my last moment. Agnus, too. Maybe my parents. But then, I knew B’iff would be safe, and he could make sure Layla was safe.
With a nod of understanding, we dove into the magical core.
It was overwhelming. It felt like every cell of my body was resisting the urge of the magic that wanted to flood my body. It would overwhelm me if I lived long enough for that to happen.
We went so deep that it was impossible to tell if we were going any farther. The magic around us was so intense that all other senses seemed to fade.
We’re here.
I nodded. Here’s the Blade, B’iff. Take the magic you need, and I’ll destroy it.
B’iff took the Blade out of my hand.
Then he plunged it into his abdomen.
B’iff! You can’t survive a cut by the Blade of Echoes!
I don’t intend to. But by my sacrifice, the Blade is now attuned to my soul, not yours. Go save your elf, and save the world.
B’iff was gasping for air. His body was failing.
With his last breath, he handed me the Blade.
The prophecy dictates it must be the chosen one who destroys it.
I nodded. B’iff, I can’t. It will kill you.
If you do not, the cut of the Blade will kill me, and my sacrifice will no longer matter. You must do it now.
My hand was trembling as I extended the Blade of Echoes into the source.
B’iff, thank you.
The elven giant nodded at me. As I held the Blade in the source, I drew as much magic into it as I could. I felt it grow warm, then hot, in my hand
until the Blade disappeared, and his body with it.
A single verse from the Bible came to mind as I sat there and watched B’iff disappear. No one has greater love than this that one should lay down his life for his friends.
Yes, he’d been a friend. More than a friend, even though I’d hardly known him. He’d sacrificed himself to save us.
No dogma could describe the depth of such a sacrifice, such love, such friendship.
But that was the kind of love we needed. The sort that considered others before self. The kind that fought not for personal gain but for the betterment of the world and all its people. That was the kind of love that could save the worlds, Earth and New Albion alike.
There was more magic flowing through my body than I knew what to do with. All I could do was release it. I visualized myself shooting out of the magical core through the ley line like a torpedo.
The Blade of Echoes was gone. The fifth seal of the prophecy had been fulfilled by my hand.
The elven king would have to accept it.
Magic exploded around me, almost overwhelming the ley line as I flew through it toward the gate, back to Layla.
Chapter Forty-Three
Magic still swirled around my body as I exploded out of the water.
For a moment, I regretted that I’d gone the jeans-and-t-shirt route. The commando look would have been much more epic as I landed on the deck of the boat.
I stood face to face with King Brightborn. His jaw was dropped.
I glanced at Layla. Even she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“The Blade of Echoes is gone,” I said. “It has been destroyed.”
Layla cocked her head. I don’t think she knew if I was lying, given that she and I were both still alive, or if she was just overwhelmed with curiosity about how B’iff and I had managed to pull it off. I grinned at her and nodded.
“Release my daughter,” the king said.
The knight who had harnessed Layla removed his hands from her.
“Tell me, human,” the king said. “How did you do it?”
“The Blade of Echoes was overwhelmed with magic. It has been returned to the Earth’s magical core.”
The king narrowed his eyes. He glanced at the water.
The gateway had grown.
“It seems, human, that the magic you released is flying through the ley lines, and destroying the Blade has invigorated our gate. Perhaps all is not lost after all.”
I clenched my fist. “Bring your legions to Earth. We’ll stop you.”
The king laughed. “Come now, human. One thing is certain, though I must admit it is surprising. The most recent prophecy was clear. The chosen one would destroy the Blade of Echoes. It seems you’ve fulfilled every mark revealed so far, and no coincidence can explain this latest one.”
“So you won’t attack the Earth?” Layla asked.
“I won’t today; that’s all I can promise. Not until I’ve had a chance to consult with the elven priests about the meaning of these events.”
I nodded. “The prophecy dictates that I shall unite the peoples.”
“And because you still live, human, I presume the orc sacrificed himself to sever the bond between your soul and the Blade.”
I nodded. “He did.”
Layla cocked her head to the side in disbelief.
The king folded his arms over his chest. “So you have united elves and orcs.”
“Elven giants, Father,” Layla said. “They prefer to be called elven giants.”
I smiled slightly. So far, Layla had struggled to shake the habit of using the word orc, but now that she was standing face to face with her father and she knew what B’iff had done, her tune had changed.
The king stared at me. He was ignoring Layla’s correction of his terminology. “It appears that he has already set the stage for uniting humanity and the orcs. No surprise. I suppose since the orcs have taken it upon themselves to protect the Earth from our rightful reclaiming of our world for centuries.”
“But, Father,” Layla said. “These people, they are not the ones who exiled our ancestors. Most of them know nothing about what happened.”
The king looked around and took a deep breath. “Do you smell that?”
Layla looked confused. “Smell what?”
“Smog,” the king said. “It’s subtle this far from the city, but compared to the air our ancestors breathed, even compared to what we breathe in New Albion, it’s undeniable. You’ve been here too long, Layla, if you cannot smell it.”
“Humanity is growing,” I said. “They are imperfect, but they are worth saving.”
King Brightborn huffed. “You think we come out of vengeance? We come, rather, to rescue your planet and rescue you from yourselves.”
“Because we’re better,” Layla said. “We who consumed the last of the magic our ancestors brought to our world in a perpetual cycle of war.”
“A war fought so that we could return and stop humanity from destroying their world.”
“By slaughtering millions?” I asked.
The king shook his head. “No one needs to die, provided they submit to our rule. Provided they sacrifice their machines and their industries.”
“But they won’t,” I said. “They’ll never give up their way of life. Certainly not because some king from another world demands it.”
“If they do not submit, if they do not give up their ways, it is just a matter of time before they destroy themselves.”
I sighed. “Perhaps that’s true. But why do you seek to defend the Earth?”
“Because we revere the Earth’s magic,” the king said.
“People won’t change by force. If you want them to appreciate the world, if you want them to change, you need to show them the truth. You need to reveal the beauty, the magic of this world. You need to show them that embracing the Earth has more to offer than they might lose by setting aside their machines.”
“You’re naïve, human. Chosen one or not, you are unrealistically optimistic about the capacity of your species to change or grow.”
“Perhaps this is what the prophecy was all about. Perhaps it has always been my role to invite you to show humanity the beauty of their Earth. To give them magic.”
King Brightborn released a raucous laugh. “To give humanity magic? You can’t be serious. You are like children! So many resources in your world. Water, the forests, even the oil in the ground, and you waste it all. You pollute it. You destroy it. What would humanity do if it learned of the power of magic?”
“Hopefully,” Layla interjected, “something better than using it for war.”
“You’re as naïve as the human you seem to love, daughter. Our wars would seem like child’s play compared to the destruction humanity would release on the Earth if they learned to wield its magic.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “But maybe they’d do just the opposite. How do you know until you give people a chance?”
“Come, daughter. It is time we returned home.”
“Where I’ll be tried for treason? No, thank you.”
The king frowned. “Considering that you were right about the prophecy, perhaps we can make a case that you be spared prosecution.”
“I’m not leaving,” Layla said, hooking her arm in mine. “I love him, Father.”
King Brightborn narrowed his eyes. “I will attempt to excuse your treason. I will do what I can to convince the elders. You can stay until I’ve ensured your safety. But I would suggest you not get too attached to this human meatsack.”
“Meatsack?” I asked, feigning offense. In truth, I was more taken aback by the odd choice of terms than offended.
“You know what the prophecy dictates, Father.” Layla put her hands on her hips. “We are destined to be together.”
The king shook his head. “Perhaps there is an alternate interpretation than what we’ve assumed to be the case. I will consult the priests about this matter and submit a revision to the elven dogma. One way or another, m
aybe not today, but I will send someone for you before we invade. I will not see my daughter die with humanity in their futile resistance.”
“You’d just change your dogma because it’s not convenient now that the chosen one is a human?” I asked, shaking my head. “Stick to the dogma, no matter who suffers for it, until it doesn’t fit your expectations and prejudices?”
Layla raised her hand to silence me. Probably a good thing because the king had tightened his grip on the hilt of his sheathed sword. I needed to learn to bite my tongue, especially when confronting kings with world-destroying aspirations. “Father,” Layla said, “I’m not coming with you. I’m staying with Caspar, no matter what.”
The king snorted. “We will see about that. If you do not come home, then when we return, you will fall with the rest of them. Prophecy be damned, chosen one or not. I tell you, human, your species’ days are numbered. We are coming to reclaim the Earth.”
I nodded. “Then we’ll be ready. And we’ll stop you.”
The king shook his head and chuckled, but the look in his eyes suggested he wasn’t as confident as he wanted us to think. I wasn’t armed. He could have taken his Blade and struck me down, but something scared him. Maybe it was the force of the prophecy. Perhaps it was the realization that if he killed me in front of his daughter, he’d alienate her for sure. Or maybe, after what he’d just seen me do, he was being careful not to underestimate what my counterattack would be.
Whatever the case, we’d see him again. The king took one last look at Layla and tears filled his eyes, then he dove headlong into the water and back into the gate. His two knights followed suit.
“See ya,” I said, saluting as they disappeared. “Wouldn’t wanna be ya.”
Layla looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”
I shrugged. “False confidence. If I’m honest, the prospect of him showing up again with his armies scares the shit out of me. But I thought peeing my pants would be a turnoff. I went for bravado instead.”
Who Let the Dogma Out (The Elven Prophecy Book 1) Page 23
