“This place is beautiful,” I said. “I mean, I’m not exactly a nature girl. But I wouldn’t mind spending some time here.”
“It’s Elven territory,” said Barius, as though that explained everything.
“So, what, they grow the trees or something?”
“It’s part of their magic,” he said. “Most Elves have at least some skill in Mind, and their most skilled wizards are nearly as powerful as Lady Tess. The influence of their magic works on the forest without their conscious thought. The plants grow stronger and more plentiful, and the beasts are faster and more cunning. Mind is the source of all life, and life flourishes in the presence of so many who are attuned to Mind.”
“If they’re so in tune with life, why are they so hostile toward humans and the other races?” asked Sarah. “Shouldn’t they be all zen and peace and love?”
“Who knows?” asked Barius. “I do not know their reasoning, only its result.”
“Perhaps it is because of their alignment with life that they resent us,” said Darren. “Our people, after all, are less respectful of the trees and beasts of the wild. Our tendency is to fell the forest and build a town where it stood. We would sooner hunt the herds of game to their doom then replace them with cattle. Perhaps the Elves simply want to be left alone with the world as nature created it.”
Sarah looked at him and smiled. “That’s pretty smart, Darren. I’ll bet you’re not far off.”
Darren returned her smile with an awkward one of his own. “Thank you, Lady Sarah,” he said. “I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the Elves, though I’ve never seen one.”
“Hopefully we don’t,” growled Barius. “Or your fascination will die mighty quick.”
I opened my mouth, about to make some snarky comment about how Barius was just a grumpy old man who didn’t want anyone on his lawn, when I thought I heard a sound deeper in the woods. A thin whiff like a blade slicing the air, or maybe a cloak dragging across branches. I reined in my horse. Barius saw it and wheeled around beside me.
“Lady Raven?” he asked. “What is it?”
“Shhh,” I hissed. “I thought I heard something.”
The others stopped. Tess’ pure-white eyes were fixed on me, her brow furrowing in concern. Slowly, the Runegard drew their weapons.
“Which way?” said Barius, his baritone voice just above a whisper.
“East,” I said. “In the trees.”
Our mounts’ hoofbeats stopped, and the forest was silent except for the sound of distant bird calls and the swaying of branches above.
“I don’t hear anything,” whispered Nora.
But I could feel it. A presence on the edge of awareness, like the hair rising on the back of your neck before you realize there’s someone else in the room. We were being watched.
“I think someone’s out there,” I said.
“Or several someones,” said Barius.
Tess looked up. “I can check. If there is someone, I should be able to—” her voice suddenly dropped to the volume of a mouse. “Oh, gosh.”
“Tess, what is it?” Sarah snapped.
And then they were there.
They didn’t quite appear from nowhere, although for a few seconds my mind thought they did. In reality, they dropped from the trees, but their feet made absolutely no noise when they hit the ground. They stepped from behind trees, but there was no crunch of leaves underfoot. They stepped from behind trunks to stand on thick branches above us, but those branches didn’t sway a millimeter.
In the blink of an eye we were surrounded by Elves. How many, I couldn’t have said. Dozens. A quick glance behind me revealed that there were even more on the other side, half-hidden behind rocks on the mountainous foothills that climbed up toward the sky.
For several long, tense seconds, there wasn’t a sound. Even the birds and wind fell silent, as if holding their breath.
“Off your horses, now,” came a voice from the woods. It spoke too quickly for me to identify the source. The Runegard jerked in response, edging their horses closer to us. Their hands tightened on their sword hilts.
“Do what he says,” Sarah said quietly. We dismounted. The Runegard still held their blades at the ready.
“Identify yourselves,” said the voice. I still couldn’t see who was speaking.
“We’re humans,” Sarah said carefully.
“Do you mean to insult us? We know you are humans. You are loud, and your stink fills the trees for leagues around.”
This time there were enough words for me to spot the speaker. It was one of the Elves in the branches above, a young male with grey eyes and a brown hood thrown back across his shoulders. His clothes looked to be made of soft, supple brown leather. Since he was talking, I figured he had to be the leader.
“Our stink? And we’re being insulting?” I said, annoyed.
Sarah whirled on me. “Raven, be quiet,” she said, her voice iron-hard. “Not another word.”
“What are they saying?” said Darren in a low voice. That’s when I realized that only our magic as Realm Keepers allowed us to understand the Elves—they were speaking another language from the Runegard’s.
“They want us to identify ourselves,” replied Sarah, turning to him and the others and putting her back to the Elves. It was a bold move; they could interpret it as an insult, but it could also be a gesture of trust. Trust that they wouldn’t plant an arrow between her shoulder blades if her back was turned. Although that was less of an issue since they were behind us as well. Me, my whole body was itching, half-expecting bowshots to come flying at us from all directions at any second.
“We may need to fight our way out,” said Barius carefully, low enough that I hoped the Elves couldn’t hear him. “We can probably break through and ride hard to the North, maybe reach the—”
“No,” said Sarah, cutting him off. “It’s too risky, and there’s too many of them. Put your swords away. All of you.” Her eyes found each of the Runegard in turn, settling on Barius last. Darren and Nora reluctantly sheathed their blades, but Barius hesitated.
“My Lady,” he said. “We cannot protect you with our bare hands.”
“You can’t protect us from arrows with your swords, either, unless you’re way better than I think,” said Sarah. “Put it away, Barius.”
Barius sighed and stuck his sword in its scabbard. “This is not a good idea.”
“Your advice is noted,” said Sarah, turning away from him at last to face the Elf who’d spoken to us. She raised her voice as she addressed him. “We didn’t mean to insult you. We are lost in the woods and only want to find our way back to the path that will take us from your kingdom.”
“Human hunters often enter our forest without leave,” replied the Elf. “Some claim to be lost, as you do. Few are telling the truth. Fewer still are allowed to leave alive.”
I felt a chill in my blood.
“We aren’t hunters,” said Sarah. “And I swear I’m telling you the truth. We were traveling east when we were attacked by goblins. They pursued us into a cave not far from here. We didn’t realize until we came out the other side that we were in your kingdom. For what it’s worth, I apologize.”
“It is worth very little,” replied the elf. “You are leaving out part of your tale. Goblins do not attack unless they are provoked. You invited their wrath, did you not?”
Sarah was wise enough not to wince, but I could feel her discomfort. “One of us didn’t know about goblins. He was surprised by one of them in the woods and attacked it on reflex. It was him.”
To my surprise, Sarah pointed at Darren, even though it had been Calvin who had attacked the goblins. I managed to conceal my shock, but only just. The Runegard remained stone-faced, and Tess’ expression was hidden behind her hair.
She wasn’t telling them about the others. I couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad idea.
“Typical humans.” It wasn’t the Elf who’d been speaking so far. It was another one, a female on t
he ground who stood half-hidden behind a tree trunk. “They stumble around like foolish children, disturbing the peace of our home. And then they have the audacity to attack the creatures of our woods.”
“This was before we came into your kingdom,” Sarah said quickly. “We didn’t mean to intrude, I promise you.”
“Promises of a human,” spat the female elf. “They’ve broken our law, Cennan. Humans who kill the creatures of our woods are to be killed, their bodies left for the forest to consume as recompense.”
“We didn’t kill any creatures in your stupid woods!” I said angrily. “We’re just trying to get out of here. Why don’t you just get out of our faces?”
The woman’s face grew dark. She let her bowstring go slack, stepping toward us and drawing a dagger from a sheath at her belt. “You insolent little wretch,” she growled. “You come into our lands, and then you dare to—”
The back of her collar shot up, dragging her up with it. In a split second she was hoisted in midair, hanging helplessly a few feet off the ground while her feet flailed for the ground helplessly.
“What is the meaning of this?” she screamed.
The leader, the one she’d called Cennan, shot a surprised look at Tess. “You are of Mind?” he said, surprised.
“She is,” said Sarah, and suddenly her voice grew firm and uncompromising. “I am of Earth, and she is of Lightning.” She pointed at me. “We do not want to hurt any of you. But we’re not just a bunch of helpless travelers. Please, let us be on our way and no one on either side has to be hurt.”
The Elf paused for a moment, considering. Then he blinked, and when he opened his eyes, they were pure white. I heard Tess give a small gasp. The female hanging in midair dropped to the ground, landing catlike on her feet with a snarl. She coiled to pounce.
“Stop, Wellath!” barked Cennan. “Be at peace, or I will hoist you up again myself.”
“Sarah,” whispered Tess urgently. “My shield is gone.”
Cennan must have heard her. “I removed it. You have strength of power, but no finesse. You are, indeed, like stumbling children.”
At long last, he slowly released the tension to the string and arrow nocked to his bow. As if it were a signal, arrows dipped in the hands of all of the elves around the clearing. I gave a long, heavy sigh of relief, suddenly realizing that the muscles in my shoulders and back had grown so tense they were hard as rocks.
Cennan stepped lightly from the thick bough he’d been standing on, dropping the dozen feet to the ground and landing effortlessly, as though it were a six inch drop. He strode quickly toward us, every move graceful and swift. As he got closer, his eyes returned to normal. Then I did a double-take; they weren’t normal after all. His eyes had no pupils. The green irises ran straight to the center of the eye, forming a solid circle of color. A quick glance at Wellath, the female, and the other elves showed me that they all had the same curious eyes.
“So,” said Cennan. “Three human wizards and three mighty warriors, in our lands for reasons unknown.”
“And reasons uncared for!” said Wellath viciously. “They are trespassers. They must be dealt with.”
“Peace,” said Cennan. The word was gentle, but his tone was not. He sounded as exasperated as if he’d said Shut up instead. “If you cannot keep a civil tongue, then still it.”
Wellath lapsed into silence, staring daggers at us.
Cennan turned away, dismissing her, to face Sarah again. “I cannot see the tale of you,” he said. “Therefore I cannot pronounce your doom.”
“I’m glad,” said Sarah, relief obvious in her voice. “In that case, we’ll just—”
Cennan held up a hand, and Sarah fell silent. “I cannot allow you to leave, either,” he said. “You must be judged. You will come with us, and our seer will determine what will happen to you.”
Sarah looked at the rest of us anxiously. The others were still out there somewhere, alone and possibly in trouble. Calvin and Cara were all alone, and who knew what was going on with Miles and Blade.
“Our journey is very important,” Sarah began. “We can’t afford to—”
Cennan held up a hand, and his eyes flashed. His eyes turned white, and suddenly my hands shot together, held in front of me by invisible bonds. The same happened to all the others, and then our ankles were bound in turn. Off balance, I crashed to the ground.
“I am not making a request!” Cennan’s voice boomed around the clearing. I felt its vibration in my chest. “You will come with us, whether we drag you the whole way like this or you walk on your own feet. What will it be?”
My throat was suddenly dry. This guy went from calm to anger quick as lightning, and he seemed to feel both emotions with a volume my mind could barely understand. These Elves might look similar to humans, but were they really?
Well, I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I twisted my hands outward, planning to blast Cennan back with a bolt of lightning. I reached deep within my mind, searching for my power…
…and got nothing.
My eyes widened. As though he could sense my surprise. Cennan looked over. His still-white eyes met mine, and suddenly the anger dropped from his face to be replaced by a cold smirk.
“Yes,” he said. “Your magic is blocked, and so it will remain.”
I’d only been stripped of my magic once before—Greystone had blocked it once as part of a training exercise. I’d felt uncomfortable then. Now, used as I was to having Lightning at my beck and call, I felt positively naked.
Clearly Sarah and Tess, too, were blocked. Sarah was lying awkwardly on her face. She jerked her shoulders to roll over on to her side and looked up at Cennan.
“Very well,” she said, her voice steel. “Since it looks like we don’t have much choice, we will go with you. If you let us walk, we won’t try anything.” She looked around awkwardly at the rest of us. “You all got that?”
Grudging murmurs of assent came from the others. I kept silent. I wasn’t promising anything.
As quickly as before, Cennan’s face became a calm mask once more. The bonds disappeared from my ankles and wrists. Slowly, cautiously, I pushed myself to my feet.
“My archers will take your horses. I will allow you to march unbound as long as you are compliant,” said Cennan, sounding all robotic and zen-like once again. “Try to escape or fight, and I will bind your wrists. Try again, and I will bind your legs again. Then you will come with us dragged along the ground, bouncing against every rock and root.”
“I already said, we won’t try anything,” said Sarah, a hint of exasperation creeping into her diplomatic tone.
“You said,” repeated Cennan. He looked right at me. “This one did not.”
Sarah gave me a hard look, but Cennan had already turned away. He moved into the woods, and slowly the other Elves filed in behind to follow him. Wellath gave us a final dirty look before she, too, moved into the trees with the others. I looked over my shoulder. Well over a dozen Elves stood behind us, clearly waiting for us to proceed.
“I was only able to understand your side of the conversation,” said Darren, “but I assume that the negotiations did not go particularly well?”
“No, they didn’t, thanks for asking,” said Sarah, annoyed. “You’re like a replacement Calvin.”
“I will do my best until Lord Calvin returns to us,” said Darren, nodding and giving a wry smirk.
Sarah sighed. “Well, come on,” she said. “At least they’re heading east, so we’re going the right way.”
“No we’re not,” I said, angry and unable to hide it. But I wasn’t going to say anything about Blade and Miles behind us. Sarah presumably had a plan, or at least a reason for keeping their existence a secret.
An Elf approached and held out a hand for my horse’s reins. I hesitated only a moment before handing them over. No point in starting anything—yet. Let them think we were compliant, for now. I’d wait for an opening before I tried anything. One by one, our horses were led away
, disappearing into the spaces between the trees, each led by an Elf.
Sarah went first, leading the way. Darren followed close by her side, looking suspiciously at the Elves that flanked them. One by one we filed through the woods behind them.
The Elves set a brisk marching pace, and soon I was having some difficulty keeping up. Tess had an even harder time, her smaller legs pumping in overdrive just to not be left behind. Our captors were half-glimpsed shapes on either side of us in the trees, flitting from cover to cover and shadow to shadow. At first I thought it would make it easier for me to find an opening, to make a move. But their semi-presence was intimidating. I couldn’t tell if a section of woods was truly empty or full of Elves ready to pounce on me the moment I looked like I had even a thought of trying to run.
Ground began to disappear beneath our feet, swiftly turning into miles as the Elves drove us at a pace just below jogging. My limbs started to burn, my breathing coming harsh and ragged from my chest.
“What is wrong, little humans?” came a detached voice from my right. I recognized it as Wellath’s. “Are your weak little legs already weary of the forest’s paths?”
I scowled. “Maybe it wouldn’t be a problem if some thieves hadn’t stolen our horses.”
A mocking laugh floated out from the woods, making me angrier.
Barius gave me a look. “It would be unwise to antagonize them, my Lady,” he said softly. “At least until we have figured out a plan for escape.”
“Oh, whatever,” I groused. “She’s annoying.”
Minutes turned to hours as the sun slowly climbed in the sky, then descended once more. In addition to the burning in my legs, I felt sharp pangs begin to gnaw away at my gut. I’d barely eaten anything at the beginning of the day, and I was beginning to regret that decision.
Wyrmspire (Realm Keepers Book 2) Page 21
