Escana

by J. R. Karlsson

  He had a point, while she felt a justifiable uneasiness in his presence there was nothing of him that she had seen before, no darker side or rampant terrifying desire in his eyes. Had it all been an illusion of the glamour? She felt a great shame at the screams and struggles she had produced at his touch, if what he was saying held true then he was innocent and her reaction was both baffling and unjustified.

  Then again, could this not be a glamour in itself? Was he offering her the opportunity to reveal Alissandra as the conniving monster or simply absolving himself of blame by misguidedly deflecting it onto her?

  She stared at the small round dot in his face-up palm, he must have witnessed her contemplation even if he claimed to be unable to read it. He knew that if she refused to accept this he would forever be cast as a villain in her eyes. That irrespective of his true nature he would have lost her to Alissandra, it was a pivotal moment for him if he was being honest. Could such a small thing end such a huge problem?

  A strange longing rose in her heart then as she gazed upon his alien features, the assault on her had been so plainly out of character yet her jaded mind had accepted it as a harsh reinforcement of her previously accepted reality. She had wanted someone different, someone to prove her wrong about the existence she was forced to inhabit. She had hoped for one such as this, had led a life of longing for a single soul to validate her dreaming. Was her belief in El-Vador founded upon that or was it discounted because of the lessons she had learned? She had to make a choice, she had to trust to hope.

  She reached out tentatively, waiting for the fist to close and crush all that was left of her dreams, it remained open as her hand brushed his and grasped the small seed.

  'Take it now,' he urged her. 'Then return to Alissandra's. This should give you enough time to see the reality she has failed to offer you.'

  She nodded wordlessly and popped the seed into her mouth, swallowing it whole. It left a slightly bitter and earthy taste but nothing entirely unpalatable. She certainly didn't feel any different or notice any changes for having swallowed it.

  'So that's all I have to do?' she asked. 'Walk back to her as if nothing has happened and wait for the transformation you spoke of?'

  'Yes,' he replied simply. 'It won't take long for you to notice the difference, the true Alissandra lurking underneath the webs and cloaks and disguises is a very different person.'

  She made her way across the flat tiled surface of Upper Levanin, armed with that knowledge and bolstered by an inexplicably strong faith. She returned to the boudoir without comment and settled herself into waiting for the real Alissandra to arrive.

  The woman arrived in a stream of curses, Eli bobbing along after her like a stray puppy looking for a morsel. Her disposition seemed entirely soured by the events she had just witnessed, that or the seed El-Vador had given her was revealing her true nature.

  'Who the fuck does he think he is keeping news of Greyhawk from me like that? Just so he can avenge himself of some vendetta that has arisen. It took Mildred all of her power to make it there to inspect the carnage, not a soul left alive in the entire fort. All of my plans for the honey trap in ruins thanks to the incompetence of that shambling freak.'

  Ella thought the words would stop when the woman finally caught sight of her, she was mistaken. Instead, Alissandra buried herself in the pillows and started to wail at the injustice of the world, swearing cruel demise upon any number of people that Ella had no clue about. The woman finally turned her gaze upon Ella and the look of resentment took her breath away.

  'As for you. The new fucking plaything that I planted to control him, you've completely failed the only task that I set you. You were supposed to break him, to rend his heart into tatters, then perhaps he might come back to me after all this time. No, instead he grows even more distant from me, as if he knows, as if he divines my every secret with a clarity I cannot help but desire. How the fuck does he do it?'

  She smiled, it wasn't one of happiness though, an unnerving aspect had been written across her features, all too manic in its disposition.

  'Still, there is one thing he does not know, one thing he cannot know. The glamour still holds, he still believes that you are Elven, he still clings to that hope and through his adoration of you I can vicariously grow closer. In time I shall strike, I shall find a way and he will be powerless to prevent me.'

  Ella continued to listen on in horrified fascination as Alissandra babbled about further retribution over events that seemed inconsequential to her in provinces she had no knowledge of. It was as if the entire land had offended her with its existence and she desired control over its entirety so that she may exact vengeance. There seemed no other end result to her demands, her ploys were destructive and bent entirely upon responding to this perceived slight on a massive scale. She rose after a time and started to walk away from this raving woman.

  'Where do you think you're going?' she intoned dangerously, her voice utterly calm if somewhat damaged from her wailing.

  Ella had made her mind up, this place offered her nothing but the opportunity to be a pawn for a dangerous lunatic. 'I am leaving, to return to El-Vador once more.'

  A look of consternation passed over her face. 'Sit down child, you don't know what you're talking about.'

  Ella did not sit, her days of listening to this woman's commands were at an end. 'I heard everything,' she finally said. 'I have seen who you really are behind all the glamours.'

  A stricken look hit Alissandra then as she rapidly twisted in her mass of cushions. 'You're lucid...' she let slip, as if to herself. 'You saw everything... how?'

  Ella didn't reply, letting the woman ramble on to her own conclusion.

  'If you can see everything then so can he. This is his fault, he has done this to me, turned you against me. It is a counter-glamour, child, he has poisoned you against me!'

  'So you admit that you worked a glamour upon me then,' Ella replied, allowing her resentment off its leash.

  Alissandra waved away the accusation. 'Don't you see? It was all for your benefit! Now he has decided to take you away from me. To turn me into a loathsome creature that you despise.'

  Ella shook her head at this sorry state, watching her gasp for words in order to sway her opinion.

  'I don't loathe you, nor do I despise you. You would have me become like you, you would have me used as a tool to manipulate at your will. All I feel for you is pity, pity and regret.'

  She started to leave again, turning away from the creature sprawled out on the divan.

  'You cannot leave!' Alissandra shrieked.

  Ella kept walking, she'd heard more than enough.

  The sun was blazing overhead in the sky as she left Alissandra's domain for what she hoped would be the last time, the sheer brightness of everything overpowered her.

  Had she really just abandoned the most powerful woman in the entire Empire? Was such a being really as manipulative and manic as she had seemed or was the seed that had been given to her distorting her perceptions? She knew there was no way of finding out that she could think of, all she had left was to place her hope in faith, hope that she had made the correct decision. She doubted the Emperor would be as receptive to her complaints a second time.

  She had been listening carefully, waiting for the screaming woman to breathlessly hobble out after her and make a scene, or send a number of her servants to forcibly fetch her and discipline her accordingly. What she hadn't expected were the soft footfalls behind her, had the woman really deigned to send an assassin to openly murder her in front of so many witnesses on the plateau?

  She turned as the steps grew closer, they had definitely come from the building directly behind her so it had to be a member of Alissandra's cadre.

  'My mistress would very much like you to return and discuss matters,' Eli said, looking up at her wistfully with his hands in his pockets. The boy had no idea what was being asked, all he knew was that the mistress he adored was upset. As touching as Ella found the child's l
oyalty, she couldn't oblige him now, not after what she had seen.

  'I'm sorry Eli, I don't think I'll be returning ever again,' she replied in what she hoped was a friendly voice, she hadn't been very good with children at the best of times.

  A look of sadness crossed the boy's innocent face. Ella refused to fall for his puppy-dog eyes, reminding herself that Eli was but another tool at Alissandra's disposal and this personal appeal had a manipulative intention behind it.

  'I'm going to miss you, Ella,' the boy said simply, a strange look in his eyes. 'We could have had so much fun together.'

  Ella's steps faltered, realising that she would miss the boy's youthful naivety too. There was something very pure and unspoiled about the child that even his association with Alissandra couldn't mar, it was something she hadn't seen since setting off from Escana. She needed that innocence in her life and this was the only way she was going to get it.

  Another strange look flashed across the boy's face and then was gone, she couldn't put a finger on how to best describe it as it seemed so alien upon one so young.

  'My dear sweet boy. Isn't that what she calls you, Eli?' El-Vador said, crossing the concourse at a relaxed pace. 'My dearest, sweetest of boys. So virtuous and unblemished by the trials of life.'

  He laid a hand upon Ella, stopping her forward momentum. She didn't realise how far she had walked back to Alissandra's abode, had Eli led her there?

  'After all, fair Eli, what else could your queen require than the joyous company of such an innocent?' El-Vador continued, placing his body between Ella and the boy. 'The sweetest of sensations, to grasp at the past that has eluded us and nurture it close to our bosoms, never to let it escape.'

  El-Vador's body was blocking Eli from sight, Ella couldn't tell how the boy was reacting to his words.

  'I give you but one chance Eli, for you have long used up any previous good will your continuing presence may have generated. Turn back from this place and return from whence you came, this young lady shall not join you and you will intimate as much to your mistress.'

  Ella heard a hissing noise from beyond El-Vador that could only have come from Eli, then the Elf's arm was stretched out and grasping him by the throat as one would a snake.

  'You will leave this place, I shall not ask you again. Your demise is a small price to pay to fall out of the Emperor's good graces. Do you hear me? It is a risk that I am willing to take as I can quite happily operate outside of his jurisdiction for the general betterment.'

  Eli wasn't looking at El-Vador, he gazed at Ella with beseeching eyes. His pleading pierced her heart, here was a child caught in the crossfire between two great powers in their incomprehensible struggle over her.

  'Let him go,' she pleaded, surprised at the desperation and fear in her own voice.

  El-Vador didn't listen to her, he carried the boy across the concourse with definitive steps as he continued to squirm and fight against his grasp with more frantic efforts.

  Ella realised where he was headed and screamed at him. 'Please! Let him go! He hasn't done anything wrong!'

  A number of passers by stared at her in confusion and shock, then Belesdair was there.

  'What's wrong my dear? What has happened?'

  Ella pointed frantically at El-Vador as he continued to carry Eli to the edge of the concourse. Belesdair squinted for a time and looked baffled. 'I don't understand, what is it you're pointing at? Maybe you should come with me and we'll talk things over together.'

  A glamour. Ella suddenly realised, he couldn't see what was happening, all of this was only apparent to her because of that damn seed. Then it hit her, El-Vador knew she could see this, he knew she was watching and he was going to do it anyway.

  Composing herself, she turned to Belesdair and gave him a smile. 'I'm quite fine now, thank you Belesdair.'

  The man didn't look entirely convinced but nodded and was on his way. Ella crossed the distance at a brisk pace without breaking out into a sprint, fortunately the deed had not been done yet.

  She touched his arm pleadingly, he paid it no heed. She beseeched him once more, quietly this time so as to not provoke a reaction from those nearby. If El-Vador had heard her words he gave no impression. Finally she grabbed onto his leg to forcibly prevent him from carrying the boy to the edge, he dragged her along with him.

  'I thought you were different,' she finally wailed, sounding too akin to Alissandra for her own liking. 'I thought you were the hero from the book, I thought you had learned.' She let go of his leg and stood directly in his way so that he had no choice but to acknowledge her. 'You were supposed to protect humanity, is that what you call this?'

  He looked at her then, finally acknowledging her efforts to stall his action, probably realising that he would have to force her out of the way. 'Ella, you need to trust me, I will explain everything to you.'

  Eli stopped squirming as he heard that. 'Why are you speaking in your native tongue to her?'

  El-Vador smiled. 'My dearest and sweetest that consists of all parts Eli, I have spoken to this fair lady in my mother tongue because I find it most concise in its deliverance as opposed to my somewhat elongated translation into the tongue you ape.'

  Eli blinked.

  'She doesn't speak your tongue... unless...'

  'Unless she actually is Elven and your mistress is horribly mistaken in her latest conniving scheme against me.'

  She actually was Elven. Alissandra had lied to her and through his own ignorance Eli had confirmed it, using words that no small child could. El-Vador had known all along, he had played both Alissandra and her henchmen for fools, he was untouchable.

  He walked past a stunned Ella and let go, together they watched the boy's prone form tumble down through the clouds and out of sight with a squeal.

  Wordlessly, El-Vador gathered her into his arms and for the first time she felt safe.

  127

  Jimmy

  The boy twisted and turned in his bed, he hated the summer nights with their incessant cloying warmth. No matter which way he kicked out, the heat of the blankets wouldn't cease. He took a deep breath and found himself choking, opening his eyes he spluttered sand out onto the sheets. Then with a sinking feeling he realised that there was no sand in Escana.

  He lay prone on his back in the desert heat, hugging the surface of the sand and cooking. He opened his eyes properly this time and felt a great weight pressing down on him as if he was being buried. He tried to heave it off and then with a jolt he realised what he was pushing at.

  With a frenzied effort he shoved the corpse of Jadil off him, trying to recall what it was that had killed the man without having any success in piercing his foggy memory. Was he dead? He was fairly certain that the last thing he recalled was the execution he was about to receive, had something saved him from this plight?

  He staggered away from the body and twitched his fingers experimentally, he was still here, but who else was?

  Staring down at the bodies an awful suspicion arose in him to mingle with the sickness he felt.

  He was the last person left alive in Sah'kel.

  Taking a deep breath of the dry desert air he set off toward the entrance of the fort, if the assassin had left the Urtaka alive in there he could search for some rations and attempt to set up the cage. He just hoped that the creatures were receptive to him, then again he didn't have much to lose or anything else he could call a plan at this point.

  The stone walls were eerily quiet, whether night or day there had always been noise in Sah'kel, Dyson had seen to that with the night shift making their presence heard when it wasn't felt. Now there was nothing but silence enveloping the entire area, not even the noise of wind touched what now looked like an acrid tomb.

  Jimmy ventured deeper into the corridors with a growing sense of unease, wondering to himself how much noise two Urtakas would make and just what he was going to do if he found their corpses. He stopped short when he heard faint sound from past the corner of the corridor he stood in
, it was a scraping noise as if something was being heavily dragged across the floor. Jimmy's heart pounded in his ears, he had hoped against hope that someone else would be alive but now that he heard the condition it was in he wasn't sure he wanted to witness it. He'd seen enough death to last him a lifetime, he wasn't sure he could take the only other living occupant of Sah'kel dying in front of him.

  He found that his feet refused to move, was it his conscience or his fear that was preventing him from leaving this place and discovering his fate? His legs felt stiff and immobile, as if rigor mortis had set in and he had actually been among the walking dead. Pinching himself, he let out a yelp of surprise, yes, he was definitely alive for now.

  The sound of his voice must have carried further than he intended it as the limping increased in speed and seemed to be heading directly toward him now. Apparently he wasn't going to be given a choice and would have to deal with his fellow survivor one way or another.

  His feeling of unease gave way to panic when he discovered that his legs still couldn't move, it was as if the link between his mind and body had been severed.

  The figure grew closer now, Jimmy could hear a ragged breathing at odd intervals. The man certainly didn't sound in the best of health, he only hoped that would lend him an advantage should he find his feet and need to flee.

  As it finally rounded the corner, Jimmy caught a brief glimpse of it before realising his legs had returned to him of their own accord. The image was burned into his mind as he sprinted down the corridor as far as he could from it, leaping over fallen guards and hoping that he wouldn't lose his footing.

  It was a nightmarish thing, shambling on twisted legs toward him at a frightening pace. The breathing rattled about in its chest and caused open wounds dotted over its form to weep. That wasn't the most frightening aspect though, Jimmy had got a brief look at the creature's eyes.