Ranger

by William Stacey

  The dark-elf woman raised her palms in front of Leela. "I won't hurt you," she said in perfect Empire Common but with an oddly clipped accent.

  Alex lay nearby, on his side and with his helmet sitting beside him. His eyes were closed, but his chest rose and fell.

  "He sleeps," the dark elf said. "But his dreams will be black because of the Soulless poison, I fear."

  "He's sleeping?" Leela asked, realizing her helmet also sat nearby. She had removed both her and Alex's helmets. Why? She realized the answer a moment later—to help them.

  The woman cocked her head and smiled. "I might be able to call him back… if you wish."

  "Who are you? What happened? Did you do this?" Leela looked at the carcasses, their dead eyes staring.

  The dark elf sat back, crossed her legs, and considered Leela for several moments. "I? No. You did this. I just don't know how. Nor, it seems, do you. But it has something to do with your lovely talisman." Her eyes flashed to the Brace. "How did you get such a treasure?"

  Except for Tlathia, every other dark elf Leela had ever met had been trying to kill her. But not this one. Even half-awake, Leela realized that had she wanted to, she could have killed them both and taken the Brace. Instead, she had helped them. Leela considered her for several moments. Dark elves were breathtakingly beautiful, even the males, but this woman put the others to shame. She was a goddess with flawless features, smooth violet skin, expressive golden eyes, and hair so white it shone with a silver radiance. There was something ethereal to her, lovely yet frightening.

  Leela inhaled deeply. "A friend lent it to me."

  "Now that is a marvelous friend. What do they call you?"

  "Leela. Who are you?"

  "Greetings, Leela the Mage. I am Veraxia of the House of Ulfindor from the southern reaches. You are a manling, from the Old World?"

  "Yes… but we don't use that word."

  "Fascinating. You are the first I have met. As to this carnage…" She gestured at the carcasses of the monsters. "Some force has dispelled the twisted magic that gave them the lie of life—although many yet live. For now, they have fled. They do not understand what has happened, Leela the Mage, and such creatures fear what they do not understand, even the Soulless."

  "Soulless?"

  "The twisted offspring of fae-seelie priestesses and their spider charges. This underground temple bore the brunt of the esoteric forces released during the Sundering, forever altering the priestesses. Now, they live only to feed, mindless obscenities driven mad by magic. You are lucky I found you when I did, but to be honest, I've been watching you since your arrival."

  Leela flexed her fingers in the Brace. "You were following us?"

  "Since the moment you came through the gash in the Red Ether, you and the others. Although the cosmic veil was closed when you arrived—how did you come through?"

  "I'm sorry… what?"

  Veraxia cocked her head, as if listening. Leela heard nothing. "We may not have much time. Do you wish me to wake your man or not?"

  Leela's pulse quickened. She was in no condition to fight another battle, even with the Brace. "If… if you can, then yes, please."

  Veraxia slid next to Alex, faster than Leela would have thought possible. The woman moved with the natural grace of a panther. "What is his name?"

  "Alex." Leela moved closer. "What's wrong with him?"

  Veraxia lifted Alex's right arm and pulled back the end of his sleeve, exposing the bite marks on his hand. "The Soulless incapacitate their prey with poison. Then they cocoon them to drain them over many days. A terrible death. I can wake him, but the poison will make him groggy."

  "Wait," said Leela. She placed the Brace over Alex's hand and channeled, sending healing energy coursing into him, far more than she could have managed on her own. Not only did the Brace's magic heal Alex's bite marks, but she also used the magic to scour away all traces of the poison in his blood. Thank you, Cassie.

  Veraxia watched her with admiring eyes. She then ran her fingers over the smooth flesh of Alex's hand. "There are few, even among the fae-seelie mage-healers, who could have done that. You are one to watch."

  "I had help."

  "Indeed." Veraxia's eyes darted to the Brace. "Guard well that talisman." She then placed her palms on either side of Alex's head and closed her eyes. "Alex, Alex the warrior," she whispered. "Wake."

  Alex's eyes snapped open. He gasped, bolting upright and inhaling deeply. He looked about, his eyes wide, and Veraxia slipped back, letting Leela approach.

  She wrapped her arms around her husband. "It's okay, baby. You're safe."

  When Alex's gaze fell upon Veraxia, his body stiffened in alarm.

  "Don't worry. She's… well, I don't know what she is, but she's not an enemy."

  "What… what happened here?" Alex stared at the dead spider-things covering the cavern's surface. "What were those things?"

  "Abominations, Alex the warrior," Veraxia answered.

  "I'm a ranger." Alex's face paled, and his hands flew to his empty scabbard.

  "Your sword is there, Alex the… ranger," Veraxia said, motioning to where Witch-Bane lay glittering in the torchlight.

  Alex retrieved his weapon. "There are… scorch marks on the blade, like finger marks."

  "Me," said Leela. "Something happened when I touched it with the Brace."

  "A violent magical backlash," said Veraxia. "By magic were the Soulless created. By the absence of that magic are they ended. Even from here, I sense the arcane resonance of that blade. When you combined it with your glove…" Veraxia shuddered. "Two such powerful artifacts should never interact. The backlash cut the magic that gave the Soulless life. A blessing of the Grandfather, although the creatures may not see it as such."

  Alex rubbed the blade against his pant leg. "Seems okay." He slid the sword back into its sheath. "Who are you again?"

  "This is Veraxia," Leela answered. "Apparently, she's been following us since we arrived, although according to her, the rift was already closed when we arrived in the city."

  "'Tis true," Veraxia said. "And a lucky thing for you. The forces of the Empress Twins had been watching it for days since before the others like you came. But once it closed, they returned to Arach Warren. Was chance I remained—that and my desire to see if the great wyrm remained in the area."

  Alex stared at her. "Wait… days?" He shook his head. "No, it was only hours between when the contact team went through the gateway and we followed through the rift."

  Veraxia shook her head. "Your friends were captured two days ago. The tear in the Red Ether's skin closed yesterday. I do not understand how you arrived, but one moment you were not there, and the next you were. After that, I watched you from hiding. I even saw one of you create the rift-ring that the others departed through. Most fascinating. How? I thought the Shatkur Orbs were destroyed in the Sundering."

  "Wait," said Leela, her confusion growing. "None of this makes any sense, the Soulless, the Empress Twins, the Red Ether, the Sundering."

  "The timing is wrong," Alex said. "How did we lose two days?"

  "I cannot answer your questions," Veraxia said. "I am but a servant of the Benevolent Grandfather, considered a heretic by many. But I know the Red Ether is the fabric that connects worlds. Time stretches within it. Or so I've read."

  "Grandfather?" Leela asked. "Tlathia worshipped a deity called the Grandfather."

  "Are you a mage?" Alex asked.

  Veraxia shook her head. "I am not—although I have some meditative skills, such as calling you back from your sleep."

  "Why were you following us?"

  "I wasn't—at least not exactly. I was seeking the great dragon that was seen a week earlier near the rift. The cosmic rip must have attracted the wyrm. Such things draw them, like moths to a candle."

  "Why?" asked Leela.

  "Why? To study it, of course. They are said to be masters of magic, as skilled as the Ancient Ones. Is it true, do you think?"

  Leela sighed. "I do
n't have a clue. I don't know what an Ancient One is, but we saw the dragon. It flew through the rift on our world, but it returned."

  "She's talking about one of your people's great elder brothers," said Alex. "The same Bigfoot creature that gave Cassie the Brace—and what are you doing with the Brace?"

  "A great elder brother? You're shitting me!" She stared at him in wonder.

  "You can ask Paco… if we ever get back. The Brace?"

  She stared at the black glove on her hand. "Cassie loaned it to me before we left the hospital. She said she didn't need it to keep the children alive, but I might."

  Alex nodded. "Makes sense." He turned to Veraxia. "You were trying to study a dragon?"

  "I am not only a priestess of the Grandfather. I am also a scholar of magical creatures, and there are few beings as magical as dragons, particularly the great dragons. When they appear, best to learn why, else the world may shift beneath one's feet."

  Alex picked up his helmet and stared at it. Several sharp teeth were wedged into the material. He brushed the teeth loose then put on the helmet. He depressed the power button several times before removing the helmet and sniffing its interior. "Something's fried."

  Leela examined her own helmet and discovered it was also dead. She could still see through the visor, but the night-vision, situational awareness data, and hearing enhancements were gone. "How…?"

  "Put it on, anyhow," said Alex, doing up his chin strap. "It's still armor." He glanced at Veraxia. "What was this about Empress Twins? A friend told me Queen Tuatha de Talinor ruled the Fae Seelie Empire."

  "When the Sundering destroyed Arach Warren and the Spider Mother's temple, it leveled the city, setting in motion a civil war."

  "Civil war?" Alex asked.

  "For six cycles now. With the queen's armies trapped on the Old World and her capital in ruins, her grip on power slipped. When her enemies saw she was vulnerable, they struck. Two of her own daughters, Grellissa and Gretlandia, the self-proclaimed Empress Twins, hold the remains of Arach Warren and the Bane Throne. They held the support of other great houses, but rumor persists that they are losing the war to the Queen and Wolf's Iron Warriors."

  "What's an Iron Warrior?" Alex asked then shook his head. "Never mind, I don't care. What do you know of the fortress? Is there a way up there?"

  Veraxia smiled. "I divine the hand of the Grandfather at play, Alex the Ranger. Yes, there is a path. These caverns run to a lava-filled chasm known as Fire-Heart's Forge. Once, it was the home of the greatest of dragons—Fire-Heart, akin to a god among the wyrms. Many cycles ago, I spent weeks prowling these depths, seeking relics of the great wyrm, but never once did I find even a discarded scale. I fear Fire-Heart passed into the Red Ether eons ago." She sighed.

  "But you know an unguarded route into the fortress?"

  "Not unguarded but not impossible to slip past. The Empress Twins are always on their guard, but they know the Soulless prowl these caverns and that nothing sentient would dare risk their hunger—except you two."

  "And you," Leela said.

  Veraxia shrugged. "And I. But the Grandfather's love protects me. It was no real risk."

  "Can you help us?" Alex asked. "Can you show us the path?"

  Veraxia stared at him for several moments, her yellow eyes expressionless. Then she inclined her head. "Surely the Grandfather's love guides you, and who am I to deny His will? Yes, I will aid you, Alex the Ranger, Leela the Mage. If nothing else, you manlings are the most interesting creatures I have seen in many cycles." She cocked her head, her eyes narrowing. "But we should move. The Soulless stir once more."

  22

  Veraxia led Alex and Leela out of the cavern and through the narrow crevice. Alex let Leela go ahead of him while he watched behind them for more of the Soulless. He saw nothing but had no reason to doubt Veraxia's word that some had survived the magical backlash caused by Leela grabbing Witch-Bane. Veraxia led them through the underground, her lit torch held high. He didn't trust her, but then he had ample cause to distrust dark elves. She might be different, but that was far from certain. At least she doesn't worship spiders.

  According to Leela, Tlathia had also been a Benevolent Grandfather worshipper, and Kargin swore by her. But this dark-elf woman wasn't Tlathia. For now, they had no other choice, but he'd be damned if he put his faith in an elf, even another Grandfather worshipper.

  They travelled through many caverns and twisting natural passages. Sometimes they climbed, while other times they descended. He lost track of time. Often, Veraxia chose between multiple branching paths, ignoring the others without hesitation. Clearly, she knew where she was going. Then the air became uncomfortably hot with the harsh stench of sulfur and fumes.

  "Breathe through your mouth," Veraxia whispered. "We are near Fire-Heart's Forge and the underground entrance to Arach Warren." She hesitated, locking her yellow eyes on Leela's. "Do not use magic, not even a simple seeing spell. The twins will have wards in place."

  Leela nodded.

  When Veraxia extinguished her torch, Alex saw a red glow through the crevice ahead of them. Veraxia slid silently forward, with Alex and Leela following. The temperature soared, and the air became stagnant and acrid. Veraxia crouched and edged forward. They dropped onto their hands and knees and crawled after her. Even for a dark elf, Veraxia moved soundlessly.

  She came to the end of the passage, a lip overlooking a steep drop. Alex and Leela joined her to see a deep chasm extending for hundreds of feet below them, filled with molten lava. The lava extended as far as they could see in either direction, a river of fire. The heat was staggering.

  Just below the crevice, only ten to fifteen feet away, was a stone bridge that spanned the chasm, implying they had come out over another tunnel. On the opposite side of the bridge, less than thirty feet away, two dark-elf sentries stood guard before a set of stone steps leading up. Each guard wore mail armor and a helmet and carried a loaded crossbow with a sword on his waist.

  Veraxia tossed a nod at the lava below them and whispered, "Fire-Heart's Forge."

  Alex peered over the edge, examining the drop to the bridge below and the other tunnel into the underground. He had a length of nylon rope coiled in a pocket of his load-bearing vest, but he saw no way to use it to climb down without the guards seeing them. They certainly wouldn't be able to sneak across the bridge unseen. Alex could shoot them, but someone might hear the gunshots. Nor was he certain he could kill them outright, not at this range. He'd have to aim for their heads, a harder target to hit than most people realized, and what if the helmets deflected the smaller caseless bullets?

  Veraxia, her hand on his shoulder, drew him back, frowning at him. He glanced at her then the guards. She must have recognized the confusion on his face because she sighed and closed her eyes. He looked at her then Leela, who shrugged. Then the guards just… left their posts and walked across the bridge, coming directly toward them. Neither guard seemed concerned. In fact, one even rested his crossbow over his shoulder, as if out for a stroll. The hairs on Alex's neck stood up. Veraxia's eyes snapped open, and she tensed, as if preparing to leap upon them. Is she crazy? That's a fifteen-foot drop. More than high enough to break a leg. What does she—

  Veraxia launched herself over the lip and onto the guards, scattering both in a clatter of arms. Alex stared at the tumult below. Not only had she not broken her legs, but she was also standing upright, gripping the helmeted head of a dark-elf warrior between her hands. She twisted, and his neck snapped with a clean crack of bone. The other guard lay still, but Alex saw his chest rise and fall. Veraxia glanced up and met Alex's eyes, serenity on her lovely features. "Hurry."

  His stomach churning, he nodded and pulled out the length of nylon from his vest. He wrapped one end around his waist and braced himself, letting the other end hang down to the bridge. "You go first," he told his wife.

  She took the rope and lowered herself. Moments later, her weight vanished. Alex looked for somewhere to secure the rope but saw not
hing. He stuffed the nylon back in his vest and slid over the lip, hanging by his fingertips and reaching out with his boots, looking for purchase. When he didn't find anything, his arms tired, and he began to pant, feeling the first stirrings of fear.

  "Calm down," Leela said. "Move your right foot six inches to your left. There's a foothold."

  He did as she instructed and, to his immediate relief, felt it beneath his boot, letting it take his weight.

  "Okay, reach with your left foot, move it farther down, and you'll find another hold."

  He found the foothold where she said it was. She helped him the rest of the way, talking him through each step. He should have been the one to climb down the rope, not her. She was the rock climber. But some habits were hard to break, and he doubted she could have held his weight. Seconds later, he jumped the last few feet onto the bridge to find Veraxia watching him, an amused gleam in her golden eyes. "You manlings are nothing like the fae, are you?"

  "We manage," he panted, flexing his fingers.

  Veraxia knelt next to the unconscious guard. "Hurry. Throw the weapons and the corpse over the bridge."

  Alex and Leela did as she asked, finding the dead guard light, even with his armor. The corpse disappeared with a flash of fire into the lava.

  Veraxia removed the other guard's helmet and held his head between her palms, her eyes closed once again in meditation. A second later, the guard's eyes snapped open then rolled into the back of his skull, exposing only the whites. Spit ran down his mouth, his fingers clenched, and his booted feet jerked. The stench of voided bowels filled the air. Veraxia dropped the guard, and his head fell back, his dead eyes staring.