“Yes, I am sure Her Majesty shall be quite eager to show Lord Hansel just how merciful she really is,” Rayfen hissed.
Edward glanced at his mother and saw her swallow hard. Rayfen spun, and Edward felt a chill as the black cape brushed his leg. In the blink of an eye, Rayfen was gone, just as he had come.
Edward’s jaw set. “Now what are we going to do?” he asked his mother. “They’re going to kill Uncle Hansel.”
Griselda shook her head violently and pointed to Geoffrey indicating that they should not discuss it in front of the young prince. “Her Majesty will not kill Uncle Hansel,” Geoffrey said. “She is a lovely lady. She’ll understand that he was fighting the Wizard and not her.”
“Of course, darling,” Griselda said. “We all adore Anne.”
Geoffrey’s eyes shot up. “It is ‘Her Majesty’ or ‘Empress Andalynn’,” he snapped, correcting his mother.
“Yes, of course. We all adore Her Majesty.”
Geoffrey smiled satisfied, lifting his cup of milk to his lips and washing the sugar cake down.
***
It was night as Alaric stood on the balcony of his hut looking down at the other Elophim gathered around the fire. He took a step toward the edge, about to descend and join his brothers near the warmness of the flame, when he heard the flutter of wings and the hoot of an owl. Alaric looked up to see a very large bird descending toward him. It landed on a branch in the tree near Alaric.
“Draks!” the bird shouted.
Alaric was momentarily stunned. “Where?” Alaric asked.
“Everywhere!” the owl replied. “And something else.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, it was like the night itself was moving.”
Alaric drew in a deep breath. “Shedom,” he said. “Are they close?”
“Yes,” the owl said. “They are closing in on the human encampment.”
“Thank you,” Alaric said and then in a blur of light he was down the tree and standing beside the fire.
“Shedom and drakmere are in the forest,” he said and all of the Elophim quickly sprang to their feet. “Go out and find them. Kill them. I am going to the human camp to warn them as well.” The others nodded their understanding and rushed out into the forest to face the coming threat.
Xylon joined Vidar to the north of the camp. They raced out and stopped just north of the human encampment. They looked at each other realizing how much their skin glowed in the darkness. The advantage was in the shedom’s favor at night, but it wasn’t the first time either had battled the shadow demons in the darkness.
“Check that way,” Vidar said pointing to the west. “I’ll check the other.” Xylon nodded and took off in a flash. Vidar turned the other way and saw a flutter of shadow in the night before his head was severed from his body by a dark blade. His glowing skin turned to darkness and faded into the shadows.
Xylon stopped about a hundred yards from Vidar. He heard a rustle in the bushes and saw the snouts of draks moving through. He was about to charge them and cut them down when his stomach erupted spewing forth light. Xylon cried out in pain and looked down to see a dark blade protruding outward. The blade was removed and he fell to the ground. He felt the icy tendrils of darkness moving up his skin as he rolled over onto his back. He looked up and saw a black skull staring down at him. The figure held a dark blade over his head and sliced downward sending Xylon to the black.
Rayfen darted away into the darkness continuing to hunt the Elophim down one by one in the night.
***
Erec found Taite and Tallah playing with Valko, tossing a stick back and forth above the wolf’s head as he leapt into the air snapping at it. The girls laughed and shouted playfully as they passed the stick to one another. Erec stood watching and smiling at the game.
“Taite,” he said.
“Yes?” she asked as she tossed the stick back to Tallah but this time it was short and Valko reached it before the girl could. “Ah!” She whipped around to face Erec. “You made me miss,” she complained.
“Well, it was about time poor little Valko got the stick anyway,” he said as he looked at Tallah trying to tug the stick from the wolf’s mighty jaws without much success. “Where is Geoffrey anyway? I assumed he’d be playing with you.”
“I haven’t seen Geoffrey. I looked for him earlier when you told me he was in the camp, but didn’t find him.”
Erec tilted his head and looked at her quizzically. “I saw him this morning,” Tallah said as she continued to pull the stick from Valko’s teeth. “He ran off into the woods after Lord Hansel.”
“Went after Lord Hansel? But Hansel said Geoffrey was staying here.” Erec said. “Surely Hansel would have told me if he had changed his mind.”
Erec was suddenly curious why Geoffrey would have come south by carriage if Ella were not coming with him, when it was Ella, not Geoffrey, who did not like to sail. He remembered how Geoffrey had oddly stated that Empress Andalynn would make everything alright. Erec’s eyes widened at the realization. Why had he not seen it before? “It was a trap!” he shouted suddenly.
“What was?” Taite asked.
Erec ignored her question. Instead he spun to face the camp, drawing his sword from its sheath. “Weapons!” he shouted. “Grab your weapons!” The camp erupted into activity, but scant seconds had passed before drakmere erupted from the trees and brush. Panic gripped the camp and Tallah and Taite ran to each other crouching with Valko as drakmere came toward them as well. Erec readied to fight them, but he knew he had no chance. At least six charged him. Suddenly all six stopped, a mist of green blood splashing into the air before the bodies fell to the ground and Erec found Alaric standing there.
“There is a shedom here!” Alaric said, but before Erec could respond Rayfen attacked. The light of the campfires evened the odds a bit and Alaric was able to see his approach blocking Rayfen’s first assault.
Erec turned to the girls. “Run!” he shouted. Taite and Tallah leapt to their feet and ran away in different directions with Valko running after Taite.
A group of drakmere chased Taite as she fled. They drew closer and Valko turned to fight them. He stopped and growled viciously causing the draks to pause momentarily, startled by the wolf. Valko began to back away slowly as the draks pressed forward. He then leapt at the nearest drakmere, sinking his teeth into the monster's arm. The drak gave out a shriek as it fell to its back, the large gray wolf tearing at its skin and muscle. Another drak speared Valko in the side and Valko yelped, releasing the arm.
Taite ran as fast as she could. She heard Valko yelp, but knew there was nothing she could do to help him. She heard footsteps growing closer and turned to glance over her shoulder. She saw the monsters barreling toward her. She panicked and tripped over something in her way, sliding a few feet on the forest floor. When she stopped, she saw a pair of sandaled feet a few inches in front of her. Her eyes followed the feet up the legs and she realized that it was the woman in the green cloak.
“Get behind me!” the woman shouted and Taite scrambled to her feet and darted behind the woman. The draks hurried toward them and the woman ripped her cloak off and threw it to the ground beside her revealing two large feathery wings. She spread the wings wide and the drakmere halted, terrified of the angel they saw before them. The woman held a sword in each hand and in a flash shot forward and sliced the drakmere down where they stood, their bodies lying motionless, green blood pouring out onto the forest floor. “Stay here!” she instructed Taite and then moved to the camp in a blur of light.
Alaric was matching swords with Rayfen, the dark blade and the light connecting in blurs of motion. Around them the camp was quickly falling to the drakmere. Erec himself was surrounded, but holding his ground by swinging his sword in a threatening manner.
Alaric ducked beneath the thrust of Rayfen’s sword causing him to fall down onto the ground. Rayfen raised the sword to finish the elophim but as it fell the sword was blocked by another. Alaric turn
ed to see his sister standing over him. She swung her other sword at Rayfen causing the shedom to fall back. Alaric quickly climbed to his feet.
“Save my grandchildren,” he told Aura.
“No, I will finish this shedom,” Aura said.
“I can handle the shedom, Aura, please save Erec and Taite.” Aura turned to see Erec, back against a tree, as five draks closed in on him. “Get them out of here!”
Aura darted to Erec, slicing the draks down. Erec looked at her, surprise lighting his face. “Aura,” he said relieved at her presence. Aura sheathed her swords and reached forward, grabbing Erec and flying away with him. She quickly reached Taite and scooped the little girl up in her other arm before darting skyward.
Aura flew the two of them a couple of miles away and landed in the middle of the forest, releasing them, and they wobbled a bit, their bodies and stomachs uneasy even from such a short flight.
“Stay here,” Aura said and then spread her wings to fly back to the fight, but Erec grabbed her arm.
“There is someone here,” Erec said as he spun to find two draks charging out of the brush toward them. They did not get very far before Aura moved in, swords in hand, spinning and swinging, killing them both in a matter of seconds.
She turned to look at Erec. “I must go help Alaric.”
“Don’t leave us!” Taite shouted. “Draks are everywhere.”
Aura looked at the little girl and then at Erec. “If you leave us here you might as well take us back to join the fight. There are draks all over the woods tonight.”
Aura spat a word that Erec did not understand, but he fully grasped the meaning of. She did not want to abandon her brother this way, but knew that if she saved him and left Erec and Taite they would most likely be killed or captured. Alaric would never forgive her. And looking into the humans’ frightened faces she could understand why. She felt such sympathy for them.
“Where should we go?” she asked.
“Take us to Dracengard,” Erec said. “Our sister is there.”
Aura shook her head. “No, I cannot go to Dracengard carrying two humans. The Father will hear of it and know I disobeyed him.”
Erec was exasperated and placed his face in his hands.
“Let’s go to Castle Greynault,” Taite volunteered. “We’ll be safe there.”
“If it still stands,” Erec said.
“Where is this Castle Greynault?”
“A few days by horse, east of Avonvale, where you first rescued me.”
Aura nodded and without warning sheathed her swords and scooped both of them up in her arms. With any luck she could make it back in time to help Alaric.
Chapter 17
A puff of dust and dirt rose into the air momentarily clouding the guards’ vision of what had landed in the courtyard of Castle Greynault. When the dust settled they saw a winged seraph standing tall, her skin glowing in the darkness. Two humans, a man and a girl, were on their hands and knees in front of her retching onto the ground.
A bell began to ring loudly as shouts rose up into the night. Armed and armored men rushed into the courtyard quickly surrounding the intruders, lances and swords pointed menacingly at them. The men leapt back as one mass when the seraph drew a sword in each hand.
“Who are you?” a voice shouted at them.
“Wait!” the man said as he managed to stand, though clearly still shaken. “I am Prince Erec Valestead.”
“It is the Prince!” a voice shouted as the guard clearly recognized Erec.
“And the little Princess!” another voice said.
Lances and swords were lowered. “Fetch Lord Breston!” another voice called. “Tell him his cousins are here!”
Erec turned to Aura to see she still held her swords at the ready. “It is alright, Aura,” he said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Aura glanced around at the armed men. “You are safe here?” she asked.
“Yes,” Erec replied while nodding.
Aura sheathed her swords. “Good. I must return to the Forest to assist Alaric.”
Before Erec could respond Aura flapped her wings and shot upward into the sky leaving Erec choking on a cloud of dust and dirt.
The captain of the guard walked up beside Erec looking skyward after Aura. “Who was that?” he asked.
“A friend,” Erec responded.
“I would hope so,” the captain replied.
Erec looked down at Taite who was finally getting to her feet and spitting foul tastes from her mouth. He knelt down beside her. “Are you alright?” he asked. Taite nodded, but did not say anything. “Good.”
Taite looked at him. “You know her?”
Erec nodded. “Yes. That is Alaric’s sister. The one I told you rescued me from the Wizard.”
“So, she is our aunt?”
Erec smiled. “In a round about sort of way, yes.”
“Do you think she can save them?” Taite asked. “Valko was injured and I don’t know where Tallah is. Do you think they’ll be alright?”
Erec wrapped his arms around his little sister. “I hope so, darling.”
“Erec!” he heard and turned to see Breston and Sephene quickly crossing the courtyard toward them. Erec stood, smiling at his cousins. Breston met them and wrapped his arms around Erec in a tight embrace. “Thank the seraph you’re alive!”
“Literally,” the captain muttered still staring up into the night sky.
“And Taite!” Breston said and bent over and lifted his little cousin up off the ground and twirled around with her as Sephene leapt up into Erec’s arms kissing him on the cheek.
“Sir Terrance told me that you were alive, but I was afraid to believe it,” she said as she pulled away and Erec saw tears in her eyes. She stepped over and kissed Taite on the forehead. “Oh, little Princess, I was so worried about you.” Taite smiled and held out her arms. Sephene took her from Breston and smothered her in a tight embrace.
Erec looked past his cousins to see Sir Stanlas walking toward him. He stopped short and bowed his head. “Your Highness,” he said. “Excuse, me, I guess I should say, Your Majesty.” Erec held out a hand which Stanlas took and pulled Erec toward him, wrapping his arms around the Prince and patting his back. “We’re so glad you’re alive.” Erec saw his Aunt Azaleigh and cousins Staphon and Merdith running across the courtyard toward them
“And Terrwyn?” Sephene asked, concern evident in her voice. “Where is she?”
“The last we heard, she was on her way to Dracengard with Prince Tybalt of the Stromland and Prince Willem of Elophborne,” Erec said. “At least, that is what the elophim told us.”
“Elophim?” Breston asked. “As in elves?”
“Yes cousin, we have been living with them,” Taite said with a bright smile. Breston turned to her and then back to Erec with a look of confusion on his face.
Azaleigh reached them and immediately kissed Taite on the cheek. She was red with excitement. “Oh darling, I was so worried you were dead. Oh my!” She looked so flushed Erec was afraid she was going to faint. He stepped toward her and wrapped his arms around her as much as a greeting as to support her if she fell. “Oh Erec, I am so glad to see you,” she said and Erec heard her sniffle. “If only Theron and Auguston were here.” She began to cry against Erec’s shoulder. He stroked her hair. She pulled away trying to suppress her tears and Breston moved in to comfort her.
Erec looked down to see Taite telling a wide-eyed Staphon and Merdith all about the elophim and how they lived in trees. “And wait until you see Aura,” she said. “She is the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms!” Erec smiled at his sister’s excitement.
“Well, welcome to Castle Greynault,” Breston said. “I can’t wait to hear about the adventures you must have been having since you left Avonvale.”
Erec slapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll tell you all about it. But right now, I would love a hot bath, change of clothes, and a warm meal.”
“Of course,” Azaleigh said. “W
e must get the two of you some food.” She bent over and took Taite’s hand and led her toward the castle with Staphon and Merdith following close behind, still listening to the tales of the tree dwelling elves.
***
The sun was rising over the horizon giving strength to Aura as she circled the tops of the trees scanning the camp below. She saw no one, but landed to perform a closer search on foot. She raced around the camp and found signs of the battle everywhere, but no sign of any people or elophim.
“Alaric!” she cried out, desperation clear in her voice. “Alaric!” Not finding anyone at the human camp, she decided to search the nearby elophim camp. She moved quickly leaving a trail of dead leaves dancing up into the air behind her. As she ran she saw something moving to her left and turned to investigate. She stopped short seeing Taite’s pet wolf.
Valko was injured badly, red blood pumping from his side where a spear had pierced him and spilling out onto the leaves and grass. Aura stepped over to him and knelt down beside him. The wolf whined, clearly in severe pain. “Shhhh,” Aura said softly as she petted his gray fur. Valko’s eyes turned to her and he whimpered. He pushed himself up with his legs grunting through the pain, until his head rested on Aura’s knees.
That seemed to comfort him considerably. “Taite?” Valko asked.
“She and Erec are safe at their cousin’s castle,” Aura told him.
“Thank you,” Valko replied. He released one last soft whine along with his final breath and died.
Aura stared at the wolf lying dead, its soft fur still warm against her legs. To her surprise, her sight began to blur and her finger tips touched tears as they made their way down her cheeks. She attempted to stop the crying before it really began, but that only made it worse. Her lips began to quiver as she attempted to choke back a sob to no avail. The floodgates of emotion, held dormant inside of her for so long, burst open and Aura bent over Valko’s dead body and wept.
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