My good mood evaporated between second and third period, when I got a group text from Blade.
Where’s Tess?
I thought about it. I hadn’t seen her that morning, but then that wasn’t necessarily unusual. We hadn’t had any shared classes yet, and we weren’t on the same bus routes.
My phone dinged again, this time from Sarah.
Calvin, you two have a class together. Did you see her?
Less than a minute later, another ding.
Negative, boss. No sign.
I gulped. Tess wasn’t at school. Was she still in Midrealm? Had she stayed awake for some reason?
A sickening sense of dread settled in my mind.
Had Medicorp somehow found her?
That couldn’t be it. And yet once the thought found its way into my mind, it sat there and blocked out all other thoughts. Blade and Sarah sent Tess group texts, asking where she was. There was no answer. Lunch came and went. We discussed what was going on. Calvin, Blade and Miles made halfhearted plans to find their way out from underground and come rescue us, but a dark cloud hovered over the conversation. No one wanted to talk about it, but it couldn’t have been more obvious. We were all thinking about Tess, wondering what had happened to her and if she was all right.
And then, just as the final lunch bell rang, all of our phones buzzed at once.
“I got it!” said Calvin, snatching his phone from its pocket.
“It’s Tess!” said Sarah, already thumbing her phone open.
Need to talk now. We have to get back to the other side right away.
I looked up at Sarah. Something was wrong in the Elven town. And all three of our bodies were there, asleep.
Sarah tapped her phone and put it to her ear. Moments later, she said, “Tess?”
A buzz sounded from the earpiece.
“Yes, I’m with Raven. Sure. We’ll step outside. One second.”
Sarah leapt up, motioning to me. I didn’t even notice all the kids in the cafeteria filing out on their way to class. I followed Sarah to the door that led outside, the boys at our heels. Once there, we looked around to make sure that no one was watching, then huddled over the phone as Sarah put it on speaker.
“Okay Tess, go ahead,” said Sarah. “But remember that this is an open line.”
Tess’ voice crackled out from the phone’s speaker. “We have to get back right now. The queen is going to kill us.”
Sarah looked up at me, confused. “You mean the seer? Why? Did she hear from the lords?”
“She didn’t even try to contact them,” said Tess. “I had a bad feeling, so I stayed behind and kept my eye on her. Well, not eyes. My power. You know what I mean. Anyway, she sent a message, but it wasn’t to the lords. It was in the direction of Morrowdust. Sarah, it was to…him. The guy who we don’t want finding us.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Terrence. The seer was in communication with Terrence.
“What are you saying, Tess?” Sarah snapped. “Are you saying he knows where we are?”
“No,” said Tess. “At least, I’m almost positive. I was able to intercept the communication.”
“You can do that?” asked Calvin incredulously.
“I don’t know for sure,” said Tess, sounding miserable. “I…saw the message. I’m almost positive I did. And I simply stopped it before it reached its destination. I’m sure Sirinia didn’t know what I did, otherwise we would have had guards kicking in the door. But I can’t be sure I stopped it. Or that some of it might not have gotten through. I can’t even be positive that she didn’t send another message. That’s why we’ve got to get back now, so that we can get away before she breaks my lock.”
“Your what now?” asked Blade.
“Oh, right,” said Tess, her voice suddenly sounding embarrassed. “I…well, when I saw how Cennan put a lock on our powers, I sort of figured out how he does it. But I couldn’t lock her powers—she’d be able to sense that. I just put a lock around the town so that no communication can get out or in. If I did it right, she won’t even know it’s there. If I did it wrong…or if she realizes what’s happening and finds out that the lock is there…”
“We’ve got to get back,” Sarah confirmed. “Asap. Thank you, Tess. You did the exact right thing. Get back to sleep as soon as you can. We’ll get home and head over right away.”
“Okay,” said Tess. “See you there.”
The phone clicked off.
“Well, good and bad news,” said Sarah, sounding surprisingly cheerful.
“What?” I shrieked. “How was any of that good news?”
“Yeah, I’m with Raven on this one,” said Miles.
“Guys, think about it,” said Sarah, a little smile on her face. “The seer’s obviously planning to kill us. She wasn’t ever going to tell the lords about us, she just said that so she could tell Terrence we were there, and maintain legitimacy with her people when she gave the order to kill us.”
“Um…exactly,” said Calvin. “Again, not seeing the silver lining.”
“Don’t you get it?” asked Sarah. “If she has to resort to deceit like that, it means that she’s afraid to just give the order. If she has to put up that facade, it means that her people wouldn’t like it if they knew what she was really doing. The split that Tess spotted yesterday. It must be between the Elves who are working with the seer and know what she’s doing, and the Elves who don’t.”
“We can get some of them on our side,” I said, suddenly seeing it.
“Right!” said Sarah. “All we need to do is go back and expose her. Once the Elves see what she’s done, they might help us. They might even let us go.”
“That’s a big chance,” said Miles. “Do you really think they’ll fight their own to protect you?”
“One thing we learned last night,” Sarah said ruefully. “Elves absolutely hate being lied to.”
INFILTRATED
RAVEN
I CAME AWAKE JUST IN time to hear a crashing sound at the front door of the house we’d been put in, followed by an angry shout. The noise filled me with adrenaline, and I shot to my feet to see the three Runegard standing at the door, blades out. They were holding it closed while guards tried to break in from outside.
“Barius!” I said. “What’s happening?”
“Lady Tess told us about the seer,” he growled. “She said not to let the Elves in if they came for you—that they were coming to kill you. They arrived not five minutes ago and demanded that you come forth. We’ve been holding them off.”
In one of the other beds, Sarah was coming awake, shucking off her blankets and getting to her feet. She snatched her boots from the floor and tugged them on to her feet. “Have they said what they want?” she asked.
“Not yet, my Lady,” said Darren.
Sarah looked at Tess, who was still asleep in her bed. “Why isn’t she here yet?” she wondered.
“She just woke up on True Earth,” I said. “She’s probably having a hard time falling asleep. Sarah, we’re useless without her. She’s the only one who can break the mental locks on our powers.”
“I know, I know,” Sarah said, exasperated. “But if we refuse to come out, things could get ugly. They could burn the whole house down around us.”
“And I think we can all agree that that would not be desirable,” said Darren through gritted teeth as another heavy blow crashed into the outside of the door.
Sarah sighed. “Open it up,” she told the Runegard. “But stay on your guard. This is going to be dicey.”
Barius nodded, and the Runegard stepped back from the door as one, swords raised and shields up. The door flew open, and instantly the doorway was filled with the heads of about a dozen nocked arrows.
“What is the meaning of this?” roared Barius, barely visible behind his shield. I stepped behind him quickly. After all, I wasn’t packing any armor. My hand strayed to my whip hanging on my belt.
“You dare refuse the summons of the seer?” The dema
nd came from a familiar voice. Inwardly I groaned. It was Wellath, the one that wanted to kill us. Great.
“We were sleeping,” said Sarah. “What sort of host awakens guests in the middle of the night?”
“You are not guests, you are prisoners,” Wellath seethed. “You are being brought forth to pay for your crimes, but I’ll happily dole out the punishment right now.”
“What punishment?”
Another voice I recognized. Cennan. Please, oh please, I thought. Please let him be in a good mood. Please let him help us.
Wellath stepped back, suddenly full of less bravado. “The seer demanded the presence of the prisoners. They resisted the summons.”
“We resisted nothing,” I said angrily. “They tried to batter down the door. There was no summons.”
Cennan looked at me, his face blank. Then he looked back to Wellath. “What were you commanded to do?”
“The prisoners are to be executed,” she said immediately.
In a flash, Cennan’s hand wrapped around Wellath’s wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. She didn’t cry out, but she did grimace in pain. I don’t mind saying that I took quite a bit of satisfaction from the expression on her face.
“You have lied to me,” said Cennan, his voice still passive but with an underlying anger. “Before, you said you were sent to summon them. Now, you say you were sent to execute them. Which is the lie?”
“We were sent with a summons,” Wellath said quickly. “Forgive me, Cennan. I misspoke out of anger at these faithless trespassers.”
Cennan’s grip vanished, and Wellath spun away immediately, cradling her elbow.
“Very well,” said Cennan. “If you are to summon them, your bows are unnecessary. Lower them.”
Immediately, no more arrowheads were pointed at our faces. I let out a whoosh of breath.
Cennan turned to Sarah. “Now, human,” he said deliberately. “Your summons has been served. You would do well to answer it, or you will receive no more mercy from me.”
Sarah bowed quickly. “Thank you,” she said. “We will come right away.”
Cennan gave a quick nod and waved her out the door.
“Sarah, what about Tess?” I said quietly.
“She’ll have to catch up,” Sarah said. I could hear how uneasy she must be, but it wasn’t like we had a whole lot of choice.
“I will stay with her, my Lady,” said Nora.
“You, too, were summoned,” said Wellath angrily.
“I am bound to protect Lady Tess,” Nora said with a scornful look. “My oaths bind me, body and soul, to her side. Your seer will not mind my absence. I am a servant, someone of no consequence.”
Wellath opened her mouth, but Cennan cut her off. “It is well,” he said. “If she has sworn oaths, let them bind her. It will save us more trouble if the last one wakes to find herself alone and fears the worst.”
“So what if she does?” said Wellath scornfully. “What do you fear from her?”
Cennan eyed Tess’ sleeping form, and for the first time I saw a flash of emotion in his eyes—something between respect and anxiety. “That one is mightier than the rest of her companions put together. Mark my words.”
“Hey,” I grumbled, hopefully only loud enough for Barius to hear. He snorted through his thick, bushy mustache.
The Elves led us out of the house and into the open space in the center of town before the town hall’s front doors. There stood Sirinia, bathed in the glow of the hall’s hearth fire that poured through the open doorway behind her. Her face was lit by the pale blue light of the moon, contrasting sharply with the red glow at the edges of her silhouetted form as she watched us approach.
“Where is the third one?” she asked calmly.
“She is asleep,” said Sarah. “She cannot wake up, as you will understand.”
Sirinia nodded. “Perhaps that is a mercy. The Elven lords have replied much sooner than I thought they might. For your crimes within our forest, you are to be put to death.” She said it with the same cold, passionless tone you’d use to tell your parents you were going to stay at a friend’s house for the night.
“What crimes?” I shouted. “We didn’t do anything!”
“You’re lying to your people, Sirinia,” Sarah said in a flat voice. “You didn’t contact the Elven lords. You’re working with Chaos.”
Elves were slowly amassing in the town square around us. At Sarah’s words, I felt a ripple roll through them. It was like watching a wave in a crowded stadium, except this wave was made of barely-perceptible changes in expression.
Most of those expressions were angry.
Then I sensed a parting in the crowd, and a murmur ran through them. I barely had time to register the disturbance and look in the right direction before the Elves finished making way, and one of them stepped out into the moonlight in the middle of the town square.
His hair was white-blonde, and he stood at least a head taller than even Barius. His dark green cloak fluttered in the night’s cool breeze, looking like some kind of superhero as his cold eyes studied us. His brown clothes were intricately patterned, but they were faded and travel-worn. They looked familiar somehow.
His eyes caught my attention. At first I thought they were pure white with the power of Mind, but then I realized that his irises were simply a very, very pale grey. And they were trained on me and Sarah. I felt pierced by those eyes, my soul and every thought laid bare before them.
Then the eyes turned to Sirinia, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sirinia,” said the Elf. “What is this disturbance?”
For the first time, I saw a crack in Sirinia’s emotionless mask. Her whole face twitched, the corners of her mouth edging toward a scowl. After a moment, the look passed, and she resumed her former calm.
“Yinnilith,” she said. “Welcome back to the People. You have traveled far.”
“Not far enough, and yet too far, it seems,” said the Elf. “I see that much has transpired within the Fairgreen since last I was here.”
“Much indeed, though nothing of your concern. The situation has nearly concluded.”
Yinnilith’s pale grey eyes found us again. “Oh? And what conclusion approaches?”
“These humans are trespassers and criminals within our borders,” said Sirinia. “The lords have commanded that they be put to death.”
Yinnilith’s eyes didn’t leave us. “What was their crime?”
“Perversion of the truth,” Sirinia said easily. “And the unclean murder of animals. Not to mention their trespass into our realm in the first place, which is worth death itself if the lords see fit.”
“If the lords see fit,” said Yinnilith. “And yet I have seen no sign of crime in their conduct.”
Sirinia smiled. “How could you? They only came to us yesterday. Cennan found them within the borders the day before.”
“I saw them within our borders well before that,” said Yinnilith. “I considered destroying them for trespass, as you seem intent on doing. But their actions convinced me otherwise, and I decided to let them leave our lands. I would be most curious to find out their transgressions since then.”
“I’m sorry,” said Sarah evenly, ignoring Sirinia to speak to Yinnilith. “I don’t remember running into you. When did that happen?”
Yinnilith cocked his head, his mouth twisting in a wry smile. He had the most animated face of any elf I’d yet seen. “You have an enchantment of intention,” he said, sounding surprised.
Sarah blinked. “A what?”
“The spell that allows you to understand. It is why you can speak with us, though no human has ever learned our tongue.”
“Oh, yes,” said Sarah. “I suppose it is one of the benefits of being a Realm Keeper.”
A ripple of gasps ran through the crowd. Suddenly every Elf was transfixed by Sarah, every iota of their attention on her words.
But Yinnilith threw back his head and laughed. Where Sirinia’s voice was light and musical, his
was deep and throaty. Where she was moonlight and a babbling brook, Yinnilith was the summer sun and the creaking of an ancient oak in the wind. It was a less beautiful sound, but I thought I found it more appealing.
“I rather thought you might be,” he said, sounding delighted. “Especially being that there were six of you.”
Suddenly, everything clicked. His clothes looked familiar because I’d seen them before. Though the last time I’d seen them, they were about twenty feet up and in a tree. And Yinnilith had been speaking a language the Runegard hadn’t understood.
“You were in the tree!” I cried. “The troll was trying to eat you.”
Yinnilith smiled and bowed low. “That I was. And I assure you, I was most in command of the situation. I was merely trying to work out a way to lure the troll out of my woods without killing it. I was quite struck by your willingness to risk your own lives for someone you didn’t even know. And who did not remain to thank you, for that matter.”
“No thanks were necessary,” said Sarah. “We would have done the same for anyone.”
Yinnilith gave another bow, but this one looked half-mocking. “Then I thank you for your effort, needless as it might have been. But there were six of you, as there should be when one has dealings with Realm Keepers. Where are the others?”
“One of us is asleep in that house over there,” said Sarah, pointing. “We were separated from the others. We are trying to leave so that we can find them.”
“That will not be possible,” said Sirinia with a voice of steel. “Your doom has been pronounced.”
I gave Yinnilith a desperate look. He was different from any other Elf we’d seen yet. He was more normal, somehow. More human. He didn’t look at us like bugs under a microscope, but like people. If anyone in this town was going to lift a finger to help us, it had to be him. And he hadn’t taken his gaze from us at Sirinia’s words. He still studied us, looking both surprised and delighted by everything that he saw.
“Sir Yinnilith,” said Sarah. “Are you gifted with the power of Mind?”
Yinnilith stared her down for a moment. “Sir is a human title,” he said unexpectedly. “You use it to denote that one human is better than another. We have no need of such titles. Among Elves, one’s worth is determined by his contribution to the good of all. But to answer your question, yes. I have some skill in Mind.”
Wyrmspire (Realm Keepers Book 2) Page 25
