by David Ekrut
But unlike Feffer, Elwin doubted he would have become a thief-catcher. With Wilton’s disappearance, Elwin had been surprised Feffer had wanted to become one.
Elwin often wondered what had become of Wilton. For Feffer’s sake, he had inquired about Wilton. His squad had been sent to a northern island that had been raided by an unknown enemy. They were never heard from again. A few months later, without explanation, the enemy left the Island Nations altogether. Later there had been a search for bodies. None were ever found.
When Wilton and his entire squad had disappeared, Elwin hadn’t wanted Feffer to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. Nothing Elwin had said could deter Feffer. But the streets were safer now with Feffer patrolling them.
Elwin pushed those thoughts from his mind and looked down at Asa. He almost wished she would open her brown eyes, just so he could see them. Her hair was too short to determine what color it would be, but the little she had was light colored like his. She had her mother’s nose and his high cheek bones.
Asa Escari was beautiful.
Elwin walked around the bed and eased her into the bassinet. She stretched when he released her, opened her eyes for just a moment, then fell back to sleep. Her lips curled into a brief smile.
He walked over to the balcony and leapt off, taming Air before he fell and flew above the castle. His destination was a spire facing the River Serene on the other side of the castle. He reached the balcony he needed within moments. The doors were open to provide a pleasant view for the emissary.
Elwin landed just inside the room next to the redwood table, long enough for a few dozen people. Even though the light of the sun gave the room ample light, several dozen candles burned in the crystal chandelier that hung above the table’s center. The lacquered chair at the head of the table was larger than the rest. A small crown had been carved from the wood atop the chair. White tapestries lined the walls with the symbol of Justice embroidered in red, a sword with the hilt replaced by balanced scales.
He had been the first to arrive. Elwin did not think that he was that early. Jasmine had always beaten him to meetings. Perhaps she was indisposed with greeting the emissary.
As the balcony doors slammed closed, he felt a trickle of power. It was Air. A veil had been concealing several black robed figures in a circle around the room. All but one had their faces hidden behind hoods, a man standing next to the table.
He had pale skin and long dark hair. At first, Elwin thought his eyes were black, but they were a deep blue color. The man looked familiar, but he could not place his face.
“What is the meaning of this?” Elwin said.
“I have been searching for you for some time,” the man said. “I am Zeth.”
The name had a familiar tone. “Do I know you?”
“Resist him,” whispered a woman’s voice in his ear. He looked to the black robed figures behind him, but they were too far away. Where had the voice come from?
“You do not know me,” he said. “But I know you, Son of Bain.”
Elwin heard a ringing in his ears, and he remembered the image of a burning inn. It looked like the Scented Rose. But that wasn’t possible. He had just seen his Poppe’s inn at the Summer Solstice Festival last month.
“Why did you call me that?”
“Your bloodline has a greater purpose, Son of Bain,” Zeth said, “which means, she has a greater purpose as well.”
Another veil was released. Next to Zeth, a black robed figure appeared, holding Asa. She was still wrapped in her white blanket with pink trim. Her eyes were closed.
How had she not woken up?
Zeth pulled a knife from beneath the folds of his robes and touched it to the top of the blanket, near Asa’s throat, “The blood of his blood shall Awaken them, and the dragonkin shall rule the land once more. Are you familiar with this line?”
Elwin felt his muscles tense.
He could hear a voice singing. Zarah always sang the tune to Asa, but it wasn’t his wife’s voice.
Sleep my weary child,
Rest your eyes for a while …
It sounded as if the woman was in the room. None of this made any sense. Was he dreaming?
He pushed the words of the song from his mind. “Give her to me, now, or I will destroy every one of you.”
Even as he said the words, they sounded wrong. Not that he was making an idle threat. He had only trained for five years, but he knew that he could destroy them all. But he only wanted Asa back, safe in his arms.
“Come now,” Zeth said. “That is no way to speak to an emissary. We are here to speak of a truce. Do you wish to insult an allied kingdom?”
Elwin took a few steps toward Zeth.
“Stop, right there.” Zeth brought the steel of the knife to touch the skin of Asa’s neck.
Elwin stopped walking, but his heart became like thunder in his chest. He could feel the Air surrounding every figure in the room. He could feel Water from the moisture of last night’s rain around him. The stones beneath their feet held the power of Earth, which he could tame to crush them all. The heat of the sun lingering in the air could be tamed to engulf them all in flames.
Asa’s eyes lulled open. For some reason he couldn’t rationalize, he did not want her to see the knife.
Elwin opened his essence to Air, Earth, Fire, and Water, allowing them all to flood into his essence. He began to tame Air to hold the knife in place. As he did, the light in the room became brighter, far beyond the incandescence of the chandelier’s capabilities. He had to squint to see.
“No!” Zeth’s voice became deeper than was possible, “He is mine. I almost have him.”
The woman’s voice spoke, “He will never be yours.”
The intensity of the light became too great for Elwin to see anything. He covered his eyes for fear of being blinded.
“Asa!” he cried. “Give me my child! What is happening?”
Then, a blanket of warmth covered him, and a feeling of calm washed over him. He could no longer feel any power in his essence. Arms surrounded him and picked him up, like he was a child. It felt as if strong arms carried him, and he couldn’t remember what had been so important just a moment before.
The sun was warm in the blue sky, but the breeze was cool.
Elwin sat on a green field speckled with white flowers. He picked one. Rounded at the base, it narrowed toward the top, then flowered outward making lips all around. He wasn’t sure what it was called.
A woman stood before him. He had not noticed her a moment ago.
She wore a simple white gown with long sleeves. Her long blond hair hid her face as she bent over to pluck a flower. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sniffed the petals. Her smile made the day seem brighter. Her eyes were crystal blue, like his, and she had smooth cheeks.
He would place her age at not more than twenty years.
“These are tulips,” she said. “They were always my favorite flower.”
“Your voice,” Elwin said. “I know your voice.”
“As you should,” she smiled.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Athina.”
Elwin remembered his dreams. Zeth had been in all three of them. Then he realized, “Asa wasn’t real.”
“None of it was,” she said. “Yet, it was more real than you know. But that is over now.”
“You were the one singing,” Elwin realized. “What is happening?”
“Abaddon, the Seeker of Souls, has been battling for your soul,” she said. “And he lost.”
He remembered falling asleep in the cave and being chased through the shadow realm. His dreams that followed had seemed as real as … this.
“I am still dreaming.”
“Yes, in a way,” she said. “And you will wake soon.”
“I don’t understand,” Elwin
said. “How were my dreams a battle? How did I win?”
“Abbadon is the greatest deceiver the world has known,” Athina said. “He was trying to poison your soul with greed, malice, and hate. But he was blinded by his own vices, and you could not be corrupted.”
Elwin looked away from her.
“What is the matter?”
“I remember how angry I was,” Elwin said. “I was ready to kill Zeth. If I had stayed for much longer, then I think I would have. What does that mean?”
“There are those in this life who are born to oppose the evils of this world,” she said. “Destroying evil does not make you corrupt. Finding joy in your heart in causing destruction is what makes one evil. Did you find any joy in the moment you decided to kill him?”
“No,” Elwin said. “It felt wrong. I never want to kill anyone ever again. I only wanted to save Asa. I would have done anything to save her. I would have killed everyone in that room to protect her from them.”
“That was Abaddon’s error,” Athina said. “Your actions were born from a place of love, not hate or malice. That is why Abaddon could not gain power over you. He is malice, hate, and deceit. Every time you denied him, he lost power over you.”
Elwin stood up. “Your voice. You sang to me in every one of the dreams. I heard you my first night in the shadow realm. Who are you really?”
“You are my heart, Elwin,” she touched his face. It made him feel at peace. “I am with you everywhere you go.”
Her skin began to fade, as if she was an apparition.
“Wait,” he said. “What happens now?”
“You must wake,” she said. “And always remember … The good that is within you is greater than the evil that is in the world.”
Then she was gone.
Elwin’s eyes began to lull. He sat down. The ground was soft like a feathered bed. He laid on his side. Perhaps he would rest for just a moment.
Elwin blinked several times. His eyes were dry.
Light filled the cave, but his surroundings were slow to focus. Feffer and Daki stood over him, holding their weapons. Taego watched him with unblinking eyes.
“They’re blue.” Feffer’s voice held a tone of disbelief. He lowered his sword and looked at Daki. “His eyes are blue.”
“What else would they be?” Elwin said.
Daki smiled, “The Darkness of Spirit is no longer in you.” He sheathed both of his blades with a single motion.
Elwin tried to sit up, but his muscles were slow to respond. Both Feffer and Daki rushed to help him into a sitting position and leaned him against the cavern wall.
“I feel like I have been running for days without sleep,” Elwin said.
“What happened?” Feffer said.
Elwin thought about his dreams for a moment. They felt like memories of events that had happened rather than dreams. He could remember the feel of holding Asa. In that dream, he had memories of being married to Zarah. He felt his cheeks flush. Those memories would be difficult to forget.
“I was dreaming,” Elwin said, “but I wasn’t. It is difficult to explain. I don’t think that I understand it myself.”
“But,” Feffer said, “you are fine, now?”
“I think so,” Elwin said. “I just feel really weak.”
“Perhaps, we should rest here for one more day,” Daki said.
“No,” Elwin shook his head. “I need to get to Goldspire. I need to get to Zarah as fast as possible. And Jasmine. Give me a few moments. I think I can sit a saddle.”
“Elwin,” Feffer said. “We will only be delayed by one more day. It has been several tendays.”
“I found them last night,” Elwin said. “Before I was taken. I need for her … uh … them to know that I am alright.”
“Can’t you find them, tonight?” Feffer asked.
“I am going to try,” Elwin said. “But I am not sure how I even did it. I just remember that I had nowhere else to run. Then, I closed my eyes, preparing to be … I thought I was going to die. But, when I opened them, there she was. Then, I was taken.”
“Taken by what?” Feffer asked.
“Abaddon,” Elwin said. “The Seeker of Souls.”
Feffer stared at him with a blank expression. Daki looked toward the exit.
“Help me up,” Elwin said.
Feffer and Daki both offered him a hand. He let them do most of the pulling and used the cavern wall to steady his legs. They felt weaker than he wanted to admit.
“I can ride,” Elwin said. “You will have to help me into the saddle.”
Daki crossed his arms over his chest. “I will take us to the pass. But I will not take us farther, until you have rested.”
Feffer was nodding, and his mouth made a slight frown.
“Alright,” Elwin said. “Where is this pass?”
“We will travel west along the mountain’s base,” Daki said. “Then we will come to a crevice that will pass us through the mountain, rather than over it. It will save a day or more of travel. On the other side of the pass will be the Mystic Valley. This is giant territory, so we need all our strength.”
“I am fine,” Elwin said. “By then, I will be as good as new.”
Elwin ducked to walk out of the cave opening, and Feffer followed close behind. His legs wobbled with each step, but he forced them to comply with his will to leave the cave. Elwin had to move bushes and limbs aside to pass through the copse. He was careful not to let them fling back at Feffer.
On the other side, the trees were not as thick but still thick enough to hide the opening to the cave. The rock face behind the thicket went straight up. Even craning his head, he could not see the top of it.
“A whole mountain,” Feffer said. “And I never even saw it.”
“It was dark,” Elwin said. “I didn’t see it either.”
Elwin realized he had been moving his shoulder around without the lingering soreness. He pushed his shirt aside. The black lines were no longer there. There was a round, pink scar about the size of the tip of his small finger. “The lines are gone,” he told them.
Feffer let out a long sigh. “I would be lying if I said that I was never worried.”
“Maybe we will survive this after all,” Elwin said.
Feffer raised an eyebrow. “Did you not hear, Daki? We have to pass giants.”
“I just fought the Seeker over my soul and won.” Elwin shrugged. “I think I can handle a few giants. Besides, I don’t think giants can fly. Have you heard that they can?”
“No,” Feffer said, “But neither can I. And don’t be pompous.” He shivered. “Let’s not talk about that other thing. You’re fine now. Let’s just get out of these woods.”
“We have to wait for Daki.”
Feffer slapped at a bite-me on his neck. “Where in the abyss is he?”
As if summoned, Daki exited the copse, the bushes did not so much as rustle. A small pouch of white leather hung from a cord around his shoulder. A moment later, the copse rattled as if shaken by a giant’s hand, and Taego emerged.
“Finally,” Feffer said swatting at a fly. “Can we get out of this giant and bite-me filled abyss already?”
“If fate smiles upon us,” Daki said, “we will not see any giants. I can do little about the insects.”
“Well,” Feffer said. “Pardon me, if I don’t trust fate. Fate has not been to kind to me over the last couple of tendays.”
“Don’t mind him,” Elwin said. “He is always grumpy until he has eaten.”
“We are not far from sucrais.”
“Sucrais?” Feffer asked.
“Bushes that hold red berries the size of a fist.”
“Lead the way,” Feffer smiled.
Chapter 27
Hunting Grounds
Elwin looked up. A tower of grey cliffs stretched up fo
r leagues on either side of him, just wide enough for light to squeeze through. In a few places, both sides would come together, making a bridge across the narrow passageway. They had to coax Haven to climb over or crawl under the joining boulders. But for the most part, they could just walk, sometimes two abreast.
Elwin followed behind Daki. Ahead of the Chai Tu Naruo, Taego lumbered forward as far from the horse as possible. Feffer trailed them at a distance to keep Haven under control. Despite two days of traveling with the bear, the horse remained skittish. Not that he could blame her. Traveling with a bear wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence.
He had to admit, the bear seemed more docile than even Haven. Elwin no longer worried whether the bear would grow hungry and decide to eat anyone. In fact, the bear seemed to prefer berries and nuts to anything else. He snubbed rabbit but loved fish. But Haven didn’t seem convinced the bear was harmless. Maybe she would with time.
Elwin liked riding her, but it felt good to be using his own legs again. He felt stronger than he had since before leaving Justice. It had taken half a day to reach the pass, then they had camped the remainder of that day to rest. That night he had entered the shadow realm to find the protective sanctuary around his body in tact. He had tried to find Zarah, but he could not figure out how to do so. Focusing on a location, he could will himself to be there, but no matter how he had focused on Zarah, nothing had worked. He felt like a coward, but it had actually been a relief. Elwin may have defeated Abaddon, but he still feared him. He did not want to feel those unseen eyes on him ever again. Now, he knew what lurked beyond sight. He felt a chill and shivered.
At first light, they had entered the crack in the mountain. A full day of travel had taken them most of the way through the pass. Before long they would emerge into what Daki had called the Mystic Valley. And it couldn’t come soon enough. The Elements felt different here.
He could feel the power of Air, but the power of Earth overpowered almost everything. If pressed, he could probably tame enough energy to fly, but it took effort to even pull Air into his essence. He had tried to open himself to the power, but he had to actively focus to draw any in. And it was too exhausting to be productive. He could sense the power of Water even less, though Fire was still in abundance. Heat still emanated in the rocks and air around them.
