Zane Halloway: Omnibus Edition

by P. T. Hylton

  She heard Gabel say, “I’m so sorry. I’ll light the lamps. We should have done this before you arrived.”

  Lily highly doubted this was an unintentional error. More likely, it was a not-so-subtle show of power. Elves could see in the dark, and humans could not.

  Gabel moved through the room, lighting lamps one by one. It was an odd way to experience a space for the first time, with small areas of the room slowly coming becoming visible. It was like seeing small sections of a puzzle without seeing the whole thing. And with each new lamp lit, a new wonder came into view.

  From the outside, Lily had had low expectations for the interior of the home. But this was beyond extravagant. It was clear much time, effort, and coin had been spent on the design of this space. It looked very different from the homes of human nobles Lily had seen, but no less impressive. Most nobles seemed to show their wealth through stone and metal. Marble floors and tables. Silverware and silver frames. And gold. Gold on all available surfaces. The more gold, the higher your status.

  This was different. There was no gold in sight. And very little of any metals. Instead, the elegance of this place was displayed with wood. Beautiful wood, richly carved. There was Birdseye Maple. And oak. And rich, deep mahogany. The banister leading up the stairs next to Lily was intricately carved to look like it was wrapped in a twisting, leafy vine. The detail was astounding. Lily didn’t even want to think about how long this must have taken.

  When the last lamp was lit, as if the timing was perfectly planned, Ewrkind stepped into the room. Lily’s breath caught in her throat when she saw him. He was beautiful. There was no other way to describe him. It was as if the word beautiful had been created to describe him. But it wasn’t a beauty that made her want to touch him. It was an unworldly beauty, an unattainable beauty. There was something troubling about looking at him.

  Gabel was tall, but Ewrkind was even taller. The doorways were perfectly sized so he could walk through without brushing his head against them, but just barely.

  The elf clapped his hands together. “Ah, the guests have arrived.”

  Gabel swept in next to Ewrkind. “Mr. Zane Anderson and Miss Lily Moore.”

  “Wonderful,” he shook their hands. His skin was soft but cool to the touch. He glanced at the swords hanging from their belts. “Would you mind terribly letting Gabel hold onto your weapons for the duration of our meal? As you can see, I’m unarmed, and I find it more pleasant if my guests are, too.”

  Zane paused only a moment before he complied and handed the servant his sword. Lily reluctantly did the same. She consoled herself with the knowledge that she had a number of knives hidden on her person.

  Ewrkind led them into the dining room. He sat at the head of the table and gestured for them to sit on either side of him.

  A plate of fresh grapes was set in front of each of them, and Lily popped one in her mouth. It was delicious. It did make her wonder how Ewrkind was getting such fresh produce behind the Blue Wall. From the stories she’d heard, there were always difficulties getting enough food here, let alone fresh produce.

  Apparently she wasn’t alone in her thoughts.

  Zane said, “I’m impressed. I’d heard fruit was…rare behind the Wall.”

  “And so it is.” Ewrkind’s voice was low and powerful. He scowled and seemed to think for a moment before continuing. “Such is the struggle of my people. I can either serve my guests the scraps most of my fellow elves are forced to eat and have you leave hungry, or I can go to elaborate lengths to acquire the types of food that you are accustomed to, and have you think the stories you have heard of poverty and hunger are overblown. It is a question I still wrestle with. Show you how things really are, or shelter you for propriety’s sake?”

  Zane waited a moment before replying. “Whatever the case, I appreciate your hospitality.” He put a grape into his mouth.

  Lily did the same, wondering what the fruit had cost the elf.

  “Apparently we’ll be eating alone,” Ewrkind said. “I invited some other newcomers, but it looks like they declined.”

  “Do you invite all new merchants to supper?” Lily asked.

  Ewrkind nodded. “I guess you could say I’ve taken it upon myself to provide a certain role in our little society. As you may know, we are allowed to have seven magistrates, but their powers are very clearly defined, and they are not allowed to overstep them. Rules from just after the war, you understand. I expect Opel wanted to make sure we wouldn’t organize and form some type of resistance against them.” He chuckled, as if the idea were absurd.

  “So what do you do for your people, besides feeding random merchants?” Lily asked. She usually let Zane take the lead in these types of situations, but he hadn’t kicked her under the table yet, so she must be doing a passable job. Besides, these social skills were exactly what she needed to work on before she went out on her own. She didn’t know how much better she’d be able to get in the next two weeks, but she was going to try.

  “My primary goal is restoring the pride of my people. After the…surrender—” he stumbled over the word as if it pained him to speak it, “—elvish kind lost something essential. Something that made us who we were. Our very identity.” He waved toward the window. “You’ve seen the elves out there. The way they walk with their heads down. The way they step out of the way and defer to you humans in all things, as if you are naturally better than us. Tell me, is that the way the elves in the stories behaved? Can you picture Balim the Strong bowing and scraping before the humans just after he struck King Zachary’s head off with a single blow of his axe?”

  “No,” Lily said. He had an engaging way of speaking. She had to keep reminding herself not to look him in the eye. If she did that, she’d be nothing more than a puppet on his string.

  Ewrkind suddenly looked ashamed. “I should apologize. I get a little worked up.”

  “That’s not necessary,” Zane said.

  “No, it is,” Ewrkind said. He looked out the window a long moment before continuing. “My parents’ generation is different. They remember the war. Most of them fought in it. They were involved in the decision to surrender, to resign ourselves to this ghetto. It’s different for my generation. We had no choice in the matter. We’ve never seen the world outside these walls. That option was taken from us.” He looked intently at Zane and Lily, each in turn. “You asked why I invite all the new merchants to dinner. Hospitality was the answer I gave. That’s part of it, but only a small part. I want you to carry stories of what you learned here tonight to the world beyond the Blue Wall. Mostly, I want you to understand.”

  “And what would you have us understand?” Lily asked. The confidence in her own voice surprised her.

  “That we are not broken,” Ewrkind said. “Not all of us. That the elvish spirit captured in story and song is not gone from this world.” He gave a sad smile. “The older generation believed humans and elves were destined to clash. That the two species were like two sides of a coin. For one species to be up, the other had to be down. Understand?”

  “And you feel differently?” Zane asked.

  Ewrkind chuckled. “I agree wholeheartedly that violence between our two races is inevitable and perhaps even beneficial to the advancement of both species. But I don’t agree that we are opposing forces. When my parents surrendered, they believed our kind was defeated, that we were now on the bottom side of the coin until some future, distant day centuries from now when we could once again flip the positions. I don’t believe that. I believe we can use the advancements of humanity to make our positions better, just as humanity has used so much of what elvish kind held dear. Allow me to demonstrate.”

  He reached into the pocket of his jacket. Lily had to resist the urge to go for her sword.

  Ewrkind pulled out an object the size of his fist. It was almost square, but for a familiar curve in the surface. It bore a stylized F. The symbol of Irving Farns.

  It was a tangle. An Irving Farns tangle.

  He s
et the object on the table in front of him, and suddenly Lily couldn’t move. She could breathe and wiggle a little, but no more than that. It was as if a heavy weight were pushing her against the chair.

  She looked at Zane and saw he too was pinned to his seat. His face was calm, but there was a strained look in his eye that would have been difficult to pick out for anyone who didn’t know him as well as Lily did.

  Ewrkind watched them for a moment. “Interesting. This is normally when I have to tell people to calm down. You both seem to be taking this in stride. I take it you have some experience dealing with tangles, then?”

  Lily locked eyes with Zane. They’d overplayed their hand. His eyes were reassuring.

  “We do,” Zane said. “I believe in the importance of self-defense.”

  “I find that fascinating!” Ewrkind said. “Most of the merchants we get here aren’t the types who would be able to afford a luxury such as a tangle. Their idea of self-defense is a good dagger. And then you two show up. Well spoken. Mannered. And unfazed by an elf wielding magical objects. And all to sell one small cart of…What was it, Gabel?”

  The other elf answered from near the door where he stood patiently, hands folded over his chest. “Pumpkins.”

  Ewrkind smiled. “Of course. Pumpkins. And a month after the Midnight Festival. It’s curious.” He let that hang in the air for a moment. “But your business is none of mine. I merely bring it up as an interesting side note. The true purpose of using this—” he patted the tangle lovingly—“is to show you the difference between myself and the old generation of elves.”

  “And that is?” Lily asked, working her mouth open just far enough to speak.

  “My parents’ generation hates these so called magical devices and the abditus who create them. They see them as a betrayal. As a fouling of elvish way. But did you notice I’m still moving? That’s because your magical devices don’t work on elves.”

  Lily felt her mouth drop open, at least as far as the tangle on the table allowed. She looked at Zane and saw surprise on his face, too.

  “The elder elves are so fond of secrecy, they don’t even want the world to know that much,” Ewrkind said. “But why? One of humanity’s greatest classes of weapons is completely ineffective against us. But, instead of using it to fight against them, we shun these magical devices.” He leaned closer to them and spoke in a soft voice. “But not me. And not those who have embraced my message.”

  “So you’ve been collecting magical devices,” Zane said. They’d known that already, of course. Ever since Dursten had told them Ewrkind had been the one to steal Farns’ greatest device.

  Ewrkind nodded. “Not an easy task when it is forbidden for any visitors to carry them through the Blue Wall.” He picked up the tangle off the table, and Lily felt the force pressing her against the chair shift slightly. “Did you know that the famed abditus Irving Farns spent some time living here? He left in a hurry, leaving behind all his devices. I’ve managed to acquire most of them, but I suspect there may still be a few others out there. I’ll find them if I keep turning over stones.”

  He moved the tangle closer to Zane, and Lily could see the pressure pushing against him in the way the skin on his face was being pushed back.

  “The reason I brought you here,” Ewrkind said, “was so you’d know. So you’d be able to tell the others when you go back beyond the Blue Wall. Tell them we are not all cowering here in our ghetto. Tell them we will not wait here, hungry and forgotten, forever. Tell them the time of the elves is returning. They have forgotten us for too long.”

  He put the tangle into his pocket, and Lily felt the weight pressing her backwards slowly disappear.

  “I believe in clear intentions,” Ewrkind said. “My kind is far too interested in keeping secrets. Now, with that out of the way, shall we eat?”

  Before Lily and Zane could reply, seven armed men burst through the door.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Throughout Ewrkind’s speech, Zane had been growing more and more nervous. This elf clearly had a reputation and a following, and his ideas were revolutionary, going against common elvish thinking for the past fifty years. But, his ideas aside, Ewrkind was dangerous for two reasons.

  First, he was clearly not intimidated by humans in the way most of his peers were. He’d proven that when he’d used a tangle against them just to prove a point. In the upper crust of human society, using a tangle on a dinner guest, even in jest, would be cause enough for a duel. Granted, Ewrkind hadn’t grown up in human society, so he couldn’t be expected to know all the rules. Still, don’t use a magical weapon to incapacitate your dinner guests seemed like a universal enough truth. Ewrkind wasn’t afraid they would retaliate, and he certainly wasn’t afraid of offending them.

  The second reason was that he not only collected Farns tangles, but he was also familiar with operating them. For all Zane knew, he might have some Farns thorns stashed away, too. And he and his kind were unaffected by them. That was a piece of information Zane would keep close to the chest. Ewrkind might not believe in secrets, but Zane did.

  None of that would have been overly disconcerting in a simple dinner host. But the elf was more than just their host; he was their target. Zane and Lily would have to steal Farns’ device from Ewrkind. There were certain qualities Zane looked for in a robbery victim, and Ewrkind possessed none of them.

  The job would have to be done, though. Zane’s freedom was on the line, and that was not something he took lightly.

  After his explanation of his views of thorns and tangles, Ewrkind said, “I believe in clear intentions. My kind is far too interested in keeping secrets. Now, with that out of the way, shall we eat?”

  At that moment, there was a crash as the front door burst open. Gabel was waiting near the entrance to the dining room, and he quickly pivoted, looking to see who had entered the home.

  Seven men dressed in black burst into the room. Gabel, unarmed and unprepared for the onslaught, was bowled over as the men roughly shoved him aside.

  Zane’s breath caught in his throat as he saw the black, robe-like outfits. That was traditional ferox garb, designed to flow with the wearer’s movements and blend into shadows. But why would seven ferox be behind the Blue Wall?

  Zane was suddenly aware that he and Lily were unarmed.

  He needed to take control of this situation, and he needed to do it now. He stood up.

  One of the ferox, a man with stark blond hair smiled menacingly. “Ferox Halloway. Please take your seat.”

  Zane squinted at him. He recognized that man. “You were apprenticed to Harlan Willis. I don’t remember your name.”

  The man took a step forward. There was a sword in his hand.

  Zane didn’t flinch. “I do remember that Harlan made you wait seven years before he let you take the placement exam. He didn’t have a lot of confidence in your abilities, did he?”

  The ferox snarled, but Ewrkind held out a calming hand.

  “Zane, please. Do as he asks.” The elf turned to the intruders. “My man Gabel spoke to you this morning, when you were posing as merchants.”

  Zane looked at them more closely. One of the men was the largest ferox Zane had ever seen. He wore an eyepatch The other had a bandaged hand. Could these be the two Lily had described as Big and Ugly?

  “I invited you to my home for dinner,” Ewrkind continued, “but you declined. I offered my hand in friendship, and this is how you repay me? By bursting into my home, armed to the teeth, and threatening my guests?”

  The blond ferox shrugged. “We’re not the dinner party types.” He glanced at Zane. “Besides, we didn’t know who you were at the time.”

  Had they followed Zane here?

  Ewrkind folded his hands on the table. “I’ll ask one more time. Would you like to sit down and eat dinner with me as my guests?”

  The blond ferox looked confused. “We’re not here for that. We’re here for something Irving Farns made. And I’m told you have it.”

&nb
sp; Ewrkind sighed. “In that case, I guess this is going to go the other way.”

  Quick as lightning, Ewrkind reached into his pocket and pulled out the tangle he’d used to immobilize Zane and Lily. He drew back his arm and threw it toward the doorway the men had come through. The tangle buzzed through the air like an arrow, and, as it did, it pushed aside the ferox in its path.

  In the doorway, a hand shot up and caught the tangle. Gabel. He must have slipped away after the ferox shoved him. And he carried a bundle under his other arm. He set the bundle on the table and shoved it toward Ewrkind.

  It was a bundle of swords. Zane’s, Lily’s, and another one, a heavy broadsword.

  Ewrkind, snatched the broadsword off the table, and then looked at Zane. “I don’t usually ask my guests to fight on my behalf.”

  Lily already had her sword in her hand. “You don’t have to,” she said.

  Not wanting to be the only unarmed ferox at the party, Zane grabbed his own sword.

  The ferox looked confused. They glanced at each other, unsure of how to proceed. These certainly weren’t the cream of the ferox crop. But they were ferox, which meant they could fight. And the odds were seven against four.

  The blond ferox leapt toward Ewrkind, and, as soon as he saw him move, Zane remembered the man’s name. Rayble. Harlan had said Rayble was one of the best swordsmen he’d ever seen, and Harlan was no slouch. This was not going to be easy.

  Rayble thrust his sword toward Ewrkind, and the elf barely raised his broadsword in time to block the blow. It was an awkward motion, and, though he was strong, he clearly wasn’t used to this faster style of swordplay.

  Zane slipped in, engaging Rayble with his own sword.

  Ewrkind grunted his thanks.

  Zane risked a glance toward Lily, who was holding her own, if barely, against two other ferox, the ones Zane assumed were Big and Ugly.

  Ewrkind swung his sword at one of the remaining ferox and drew first blood. The ferox screamed as the broadsword sank into his arm.

  The elf turned toward Zane. “A word of warning. There were fourteen merchants this morning, not seven.”