Her hair bright red, Kedoria’s short mane burned. Her clothing dark against her pale flesh, she turned slowly to face the couple who had restored her corporeal form. “How dare you,” she growled, her cold grey eyes fixed on the girl.
“I have decided to grant your freedom,” Ami replied, getting directly to the point. “That is all that I dare. Your choice is simple. You may join us in the fight against those who would destroy our kingdom, or you may return to the darkness below.”
Holding up an empty, bony hand, the daemon hissed, “What trickery is this? Why would you allow me to go?” Studying her adversary, the witch pondered what could have transpired while she had been trapped. Reaching out with her power, she probed the girl before her, poking at her through the protection of the charmed circle in which she stood. “You have discovered yourself,” she surmised more quietly, lowering her appendage.
“Yes, I am aware of my station within the realm,” Amicia agreed. “That is why I have come to make you this offer.”
“I cannot help you,” Kedoria bit sharply. “I am forever a prisoner of the darkness even if you do not hold me within the enchanted gem. Not even by the light of the moon am I permitted to exist.”
“What of your minions? Are they also bound by such constraints?” Ami asked doubtfully.
Shifting her gaze to the elf, the dark queen studied the pair in turn. “You hope to deceive me,” she proposed.
“No. If we wished to destroy you, we would have called you forth within the marsh and been done with you,” the elf explained. “We understand your limitations, and my lady is willing to work within your needs if you would be willing to serve her.”
“Serve her,” the dark elf scowled. “Galiodien would never allow such a thing.”
“Galiodien is dead,” Amicia spat. “Centuries you have remained in the darkness of the dwarf caves, cut off from all that has happened. His daughter, Cilithrand, sits upon the elven throne. It is she that we must face if we are to hold our lands and protect our people.”
“I see,” Kedoria hissed. “And you believe my oath to him died with him. Foolish girl!” She threw up her hand, sending a wave of energy towards them as if to test the barrier between them.
With a quick flick of her wrist, Amicia blocked the unfriendly charm, dispelling the curse around them. Smiling, she felt a hint of pride at her quick reflexes and obvious abilities. “I do not wish to hold you prisoner any longer, and therefore a choice must be made. I understand you may not venture into the light, but there may yet be times you might prove yourself useful to us.”
“And you will carry me in your pocket, letting me out when you see fit,” the witch scoffed.
“Yes. Obviously, you do not require food, water, or sustenance. Can you sit by a warm fire, or is all light forbidden?” Amicia asked in a soothing voice.
“The light of the sun,” Kedoria replied stiffly, “even as it is reflected by the moon, eats away my flesh. I must remain within the shadow if I am to survive.”
“Then I dare say a warm fire might do your decayed heart some good,” the girl smiled at her, genuinely pleased at the idea of including the powerful creature in their number. “Return to the stone, and we will call you forth in the evening that you might meet the others.” Taking the gem from her companion, she held it up in front of her.
Her beady eyes wide, the dark elf glared at Animir as Amicia raised the stone, offering it to her. Blinking rapidly, she considered her options, then lowered her chin. “I will come with you and take up your cause in exchange for whatever freedom you can afford me, but do not be foolish enough to think that we are friends. I will bring forth my favored minions that they might join me.” Turning to the sloped tunnel that connected the cave to the chambers below, she stood in the mouth of it and shrieked loudly.
Covering her ears at the shrill scream, Amicia squinted at the spectacle, curious if any of the daemons would indeed present themselves. To her surprise, they in fact did, and four small blobs of fire and ash came out of the darkness. The tallest of them scarcely two feet in height held up a tiny hand, which burned with small orange flames. “Do they have names?” she asked.
Curious once again at the girl’s behavior, Kedoria indicated each in turn, “Falissi, Alelia, Liranni, and Cadeilia.”
Catching a giggle, Animir snorted a short laugh before he squelched it. “Surely you do not think we will need names for them, my lady.”
“Of course we will,” Amicia corrected, indicating the gem once more.
In a flash, the four small shadows vanished in a puff of smoke as they were absorbed by their queen. Safely hidden within her body, they were a part of her, and she carried them with her when she returned to the gem in a final brilliant flash of light.
Leaving the cave with their new helper safely back inside the hamar gem, Amicia smiled at the bright sunlight. At the circle, she took up her bowl and filled it with mash. “We have our first real ally,” she announced. “When darkness comes, we will be able to share with her our plans.” Sitting, she ate hungrily, the weight of the issue resolved and lifted from her mind.
“Only tell her what you must,” Piers warned, his eyes fixed on his bride. “I fear trusting her may cost us dearly.”
Blinking at the Mate, Meena said quietly, “You have insisted upon bringing her into our group, but I pray you will not call her forth until she is needed.”
“You fear her, even as she is locked away,” Ami noted. “How can she harm us?”
Shaking her head, the other woman did not reply.
Sighing loudly, Amicia stood, pulling the gem from her pocket. “Very well. I will not force her upon you so quickly. I will place the hamar in my bag, and we will give you a few days to adjust to the idea of her joining us.”
“As if a few days could allay my concerns,” Meena sighed.
Rolling her eyes, the girl shoved the darkened stone to the bottom of her pack, next to the red orb. Feeling the sphere, she grinned at the thought of the two objects resting side by side, hidden from view. “You’ll get over it,” she laughed, taking up her bowl and resuming her meal with a satisfied twist on her lips.
Lay in Wait
The cool air of the swamp around her, Amicia lay in her new bed and listened to the noises of the forest. She had slept in it alone the night before easily enough; her day had been long after discovering her inner self, seeing Rey and Lin off on their mission, and not to mention standing before the gnomes.
Tonight, she felt alone. She really hadn’t expected her new husband to return so soon, as Riran was miles away to the south, a distance that the small mermaid would have to swim twice even with her magical speed. And I’m certain she will want to spend some time with her people.
Thinking of the sirens, Ami toyed with the merdoe through her shirt. Their gift had been special, and now that her hamar gem was occupied by the dark elf, she relied upon it heavily to help her focus her magic.
After a few minutes of random thought, she rolled onto her side and stared at the empty half of her bed. She had missed Rey during the day, and the night even more so. She had taken her vow with him, and as the idea of it might have been short-sighted, it only felt right that she should hold to her word.
“Rey, I wish you could hear me,” she reached. It would have brought her great comfort if he had replied. When he did not, she threw back her blanket and crawled out of the small structure.
Glancing around their camp, she sat still and listened. Only the birds, bugs, and sounds of the marsh stirred. In the other beds, her friends slept soundly, their breathing and snores a testament to their peaceful slumber. Sitting back on her mattress, she slipped on her boots and quietly crept out of the square formed by their leaning shelters.
Taking the familiar path, a sliver of moon lighted her way. Drawing her sweater around her, she thought about their day. They had kept busy, she and Animir both practicing their magic under Meena’s guidance. The gnomes had promised their aid, but they were nowhere to be seen
. Resistant to wasting time waiting on them, the wan had insisted there was progress to be made, and indeed Ami had felt the older woman’s knowledge an asset even if she did not always heed her advice.
Amicia had come to suspect the tiny creatures watched from the woods, as even now she did not feel completely alone. The idea of it might have unnerved her if she had not felt inexplicable and unwavering trust in their new diminutive friends. I hope they will honor their word soon enough, but for now, we wait, she sighed, arriving at Baldwin’s memorial. Staring at it, the words the Mate had carved in the stone brought tears to her eyes.
“You do not sleep, princess?” Lamwen joined her thoughts.
“Good evening,” she smiled, comforted by his presence. “Not tonight I’m afraid. Too many things to distract me from my slumber.”
“Come. Lie with me then and let us pass the darkness together,” he beckoned.
Shaking her long blond locks, Ami’s gaze swung around the circle of trees. “Which way?” She had yet to see the place her large friend had taken up residence within the marsh.
“To the north, probably in a straight line, in fact,” he directed.
Still toying with her magical shell as she clomped through the moss-covered rock and mush, she recalled the trek she had made to see him in the dead of winter. How odd to be such friends with a dragon, she mused, a faint grin on her lips. Then recalling what she had learned only the day before, her countenance darkened. I am also a dragon.
Her emotions had run wild over the last day or so, as if caught out on the sea in a violent storm. One minute, she crested the waves at the highest point with pure joy coursing through her veins. The next, she crashed into a crest, and sorrow deeper than any she had ever known pressed in around her.
“Lamwen,” she said gently when she entered his small clearing. His massive body spread on the ground, his pale green scales shimmered beneath the glow of the moon, stealing her breath for an instant.
“Princess,” he replied, raising his wing and offering her the warm comfort of his underside.
Walking towards him with purposeful steps, she rested her hand against his neck, imagining the smile within him as her fleshy palm caressed his rough scales. “What a pair we have become,” she sighed, dropping the appendage and turning to sit on the moist ground. Her back leaned against him, she sighed.
“You are troubled,” he observed. “You miss your mate,” he guessed, unable to hide the pain the idea of it brought him.
“Indeed,” she huffed again. “I made my vow with him, and I cannot deny I love him deeply.”
Wrapping her gently with his wing, he agreed, “And rightly so. Do not feel you are judged for your choice, sweet Kaliwyn. For it is the tenderness of your heart that makes you strong.”
“I don’t see how,” she coughed. “All my soft heart has brought me is pain,” she lamented, thinking again of all she had learned as of late. Arriving at her visit with her father, she asked, “Do you think Ziradon would be displeased to hear I had pledged myself to a mortal?”
“I should think your father will love you either way,” Lamwen replied.
“I hope that it is so,” she agreed. “We have much to do, and yet we lie here in wait, making little progress.”
“Your power grows as you train,” he pointed out, having observed them most of the day. “Your Piers works with the dwarf and nymph, sparring and giving them pointers, as his wife does with you and the elf. I think your fight shall be valiant, whatever the outcome.”
“Still, I grow restless for the battle to come,” she yawned. “And I have secured a strong ally, so there is more to us than our small group and a hand full of dragons.”
“The dark elf.”
“Yes, Kedoria. She kept four of her minions as well. I know my choice was not popular among the others, but I believe it was the right one.” Stiffening, she realized she had not asked his opinion on the matter. “What say you of it, Lamwen?”
“I say she is a dark creature and agree her power is great. Whether she will betray your trust is hard to judge. As you are well aware, even the closest friend can turn against you,” he advised, enjoying the warmth of her back against his belly. “Are you comfortable, my queen?”
“I am,” she giggled, rubbing the stretched part of his wing and tracing the scar from his brush with the satyrs. “You speak of Gwirwen and my father. He is the friend who betrayed him.”
“Yes, they were close for many centuries.”
“He will pay for doing so,” she promised through clenched teeth. “You were not near enough to see how Ziradon has suffered.”
“I have been to his cage before. His body has lost much of its previous glory, but his spirit remains strong. You will try to free him, yes?”
“No,” she cackled. “There will be no try. That task is high on my list of priorities. Once I am out of this skin and back into my scales, we will make for the prison and bring down his walls, be assured.”
Lamwen smiled inwardly at her bravado. He loved her dearly at that moment, and a single tear escaped his eye, running over his scarred face and making its way down to his leathery neck. A lump in his throat, he asked, “Will you be able to control this dark creature you have aligned yourself with?”
Hearing the change in his voice, she gasped, “Surely you do not speak of Rey?”
“No, my princess,” he laughed, in spite of his emotional state. “Your mortal is quite harmless, I am certain. I speak of Kedoria. Will she follow your command?”
“I’m uncertain. I will not control her at any rate, as I have no desire to bend any to my will. It will be her choice, as much as it is yours or any others to follow my command,” she informed him tartly. Her heart beat wildly inside her chest at the anger he had stirred. “This isn’t helping me sleep by the way,” she rebuked.
“Oh, is that why you have come?” his laughter rumbled. “To sleep against me as if I were made of feathers?”
“Feathers,” she grinned, thinking of the beds in their spire at Jerranyth. “Only once have I had a bed so fine, but the price of it was steep. You make a sweet place to rest, love. Feathers or not.” Her eyelids heavy, she closed them gently and rode the waves of his deep breaths.
Aware of her drift towards slumber, despite her protests, Lamwen held further comment. His own thoughts turning, there was much left for them to do, indeed. But for now, they would wait, while they trained and grew their numbers. We must do it quietly, after all, he silently observed. Thinking of the prophecy, he tightened his grip on her. Sleep well my destroyer, lover of dragons and men.
Wanderers Return
Cold rocks beneath him, Rey sat on his small peninsula on the east side of the gnome marshes. The community of Falconmarsh behind him, he had yet to see the actual village for himself. He and Oldrilin had left their group the night Amicia was to stand before their gathering in search of their own quest.
Arriving at the water’s edge, he had watched his tiny friend transform into her magnificent fish form before she swam away, five days ago now. Five long days, he lamented to himself, during which time he could have explored much of the area if fear had not prevented him from doing so.
They were close enough to Adiarwen that he dared not be seen by a passing dragon. His mission was too important to risk it, as being caught off guard by one of the beasts would have been disastrous to their cause. Only sitting out on his little swath of rocks in short intervals, he kept a watch out on the horizon, in case any of them should approach that he might hide before they drew near.
Catching a handful of the smaller rocks that wedged themselves between the larger, he bounced the gravel in his palm, then tossed the small stones into the water one at a time to watch their miniscule splash when they hit. He had eaten his rations sparingly and had managed to hunt a few meals while he was there, but that was the extent of his wandering, as he wanted to be close at hand for her return.
What if she doesn’t come back? he thought again for the umpteenth t
ime since his camp had been made.
They had not discussed exactly what he would do in that instance, but it was approaching the edge of what could be deemed a reasonable amount of time to swim down and back, even allowing for a bit to be spent in Riran while she was there. This could be serious, he surmised.
Picturing her black, scaled form, he could imagine a larger creature attacking her in the dark waters of night. Frozen in fear, his trancelike state stared into oblivion as he watched a shark with pointed teeth tearing her to shreds, or worse swallowing her practically whole with a few quick bites.
“Sharks,” he muttered, thinking of the fins they saw regularly from their ships. Would there be any close to Eriden, or would the great barrier keep them centered around the rim of mortals?
A good question, he didn’t have an answer for that. Deciding he could call it a dubious event, he dismissed the thought and imagined that she had in fact arrived in Riran. What then?
Elves.
If Lamwen had been correct, the beach he had last seen by moonlight the night of the birthday ball could be swarming with them. Would they recognize his small friend?
She had been in the infirmary when we were there, that and the suite. Even when they visited the enchanted gardens, few had laid eyes on her. Unlikely any of them would know her, he concluded.
Arriving at another sad notion, he pondered, what if she chose to stay? He knew she had missed her home and siren kin. If she had arrived but been overwhelmed at being home, she might have decided not to risk the return swim.
Scowling at the waves as he considered this, a large flat fish flipped in the water before him, disappearing into the depths before it rocketed out into the air. Spinning a few times, it slung water around it before it dove, nose first back into the abyss.
“Lin,” Rey shouted, getting to his feet as quickly as he could on the slippery rocks. “Oh my God. You’re back!” Looking around, his eyes dancing over the tops of the waves, he waited, but she did not appear again. “Where are you?” he panted, eager for her to leave the water and join him.
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