Tag: Fantasy

40. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

The next day we woke early to meet with Raella and the others. Raella had questioned the prisoners early in the morning but got no further answers from them, and instead spent most of the day closely attached to Jon Umberling, asking him copious questions about the temple he had found and the information he had uncovered there. The dwarves were in the process of looking for volunteers to go with us on our expedition underground. The danger was great enough that the King wasn’t comfortable ordering soldiers to accompany us. The previous expedition had consisted of a team of scholars, some from the local university and others employed by the royal court, like Jon. They had ventured underground with a team of soldiers to guard them from the dangers there.

Only half the scholars and a handful of the soldiers had returned.

“They’re called Underlings,” Jon said with a shudder.

Greyjon had nodded, his expression grim. “I’ve heard of them. There are some places in the Empire where we can access the subterranean places of this world. We’ve never ventured far – the conventional wisdom when we find such places is to block the exits and place guards to watch them.”

“Underdark,” Peyton said, glancing at Lucas, who nodded as though he understood what she meant perfectly. I raised an eyebrow at their interaction. “What kind of people are these Underlings?”

“People is a stretch, though they are humanoid. We don’t know much about them. They may very well be richly cultured and intelligent, but we’ve never been able to approach them. Any attempts to travel into their domain is met with instant hostility,” Jon explained.

“In the past, the Empire had managed to build and defend a passage directly to the seal. That has likely been swarmed by the Underlings,” Raella said. “I understand promises were made that the passages would be reopened for our return.”

Jon nodded, but grimaced as he spoke. “We haven’t made much progress. For one, our alliance has not been long, and the timeline to achieve such a matter has been… short. Our expedition was mostly intended to be reconnaissance. And so few of us returned… We can make our way safely to the underground temple, but past that will be dangerous. I think our hopes lie in the power of your magical abilities, and perhaps the protection of the gods.”

Raella nodded thoughtfully. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll make it work. I will need all the information you do have on these Underlings and as much as you know about our passage underground.” Peyton and Asterollan stayed with Raella, Greyjon and Zolambi as these matters were discussed, as interested in hearing all the details as they could manage to absorb and to help with strategy.

The rest of us found other ways to pass the time. Chase seemed focused on keeping Lexie preoccupied exploring the Dwarven palace and the surrounding city – they visited several places, trying as many different foods as they could manage, and Lexie cheerfully described everything that evening when she was eating with us. I wasn’t sure what had happened to her in the gardens, or if she was completely okay, but she seemed in better spirits at least.

Lyre and I went to visit the palace gardens to see what they looked like in the light of day. They were quite lovely despite the damage we had caused there and despite it being quite late in the autumn. When we stepped out, we could see Lucas glowing brightly, using his abilities to grow the hedges in the maze and close the circles that Asterollan had blasted through them. An entire troupe of gardeners and palace servants were gathered around, applauding his handiwork. I watched in fascination.  When he was done, he took a seat on a bench, and I went to join him, Lyre trailing along behind me. “That was very helpful of you,” I said.

Lucas shrugged. “It’s the one thing I do. Plants.”

“Plants,” I repeated, amused. He still glowed with the power he continued to grasp, and I watched as some of the nearby plants brightened and bloomed. He didn’t even seem to realize what he was causing.

We were afforded another night of rest in our nice plush rooms. Peyton spent the evening in the stables with her horse – she was quite attached, and we couldn’t bring them underground with us. Lying in bed, the realization that we were going to be traveling underground really hit me and I felt grateful that Lyre and I had spent our day in the gardens. We’d soon be traveling where there was no sunlight and fresh air.

The next day, we were escorted to the nearest mines that led into the mountain, and personally attended by the Dwarven king himself. There was a short ceremony, during which the king lauded the bravery of the soldiers present, all volunteers, a group of 25 brave men and women who were willing to follow us deeper underground than anyone from the surface had been in many hundreds of years. We were also traveling with Jon Umberling, which I found surprising – I hadn’t considered the messy haired bespectacled scholar as a brave man, but this was his second trip into this danger, after the first one hadn’t gone well. I found myself reassessing him a little.

I glanced up at the sky one last time before entering the mines. And then I forced myself not to look back.

We were in the active Dwarven mines for most of that day, and on occasion passed dwarves who were in the process of working to extract some sort of silvery ore I could sometimes spot in the rocks. Everyone was quite relaxed through this part of the journey, as we were in known territory – some of the soldiers even lingered behind to chat with miners they recognized. When we reached the end of the mining shafts, we came to a massive wooden door that blocked the cavern – guards were posted there. The door was so heavy that it required a mechanism to open, and the guards were reluctant to do so until every lingering soldier had caught up. They didn’t want to leave the gate open longer than it had to be, and their nervousness was somewhat infectious. When we did finally pass through, the sound of the massive door shutting behind us seemed to echo with a grim finality.

Half of the soldiers traveled ahead to scout out danger and the other half trailed behind with our supplies – they were intent on keeping us in the middle, where we could be guarded. We carried magical lanterns that held glowing stones to provide light, though sometimes we came across patches of bioluminescent moss that helped light the way as well. Sometimes we came across chambers, and other passages that veered into different directions, but the dwarves all seemed to know the path we should take.

When it was time to camp for the night, we stopped in a narrow passage where any attack would be forced to come from one side or the other. “We should reach the temple by evening tomorrow and be able to take shelter there. It is relatively safe up until the temple, but we should remain alert. Our last excursion was chased nearly back to the mines before the Underlings gave up on us,” Jon Umberling explained, the lens of his glasses flashing in the lights we had. The passages were spacious enough, but I somehow still felt cramped in. I had never considered myself claustrophobic, but I also didn’t spend copious amounts of time in still, dark places underground. It was stifling, and I found myself clutching Lyre’s hand or leaning into him.

The next morning we gathered together and continued on through the passages in the same way we had the previous day. The soldiers were quiet and intent on their duty, grim faced and tense. I found it disturbing, a testament to the danger we could possibly be facing. Most of the rest of us were lost in our own thoughts. It would have been oppressively quiet if it weren’t for Jon’s presence – he was quite happy to chatter away at any question that was asked, and was especially excited to volunteer information that he had learned from his previous trip. “The god of truth and justice shares a name with the star at the center of our galaxy – Cenastrum – or perhaps we named the star after him. It makes one wonder what other things we linguistically centered around the gods, keeping their names safe even as we forgot about them,” Jon was enthusiastically saying to Asterollan. “Still, his symbol is the sun rather than a star. The star symbol is mostly reserved for Sateen, The Morning Star, god of ambition and gold.”

“How many gods are there?” Peyton asked curiously. Even though Raella must have already quizzed Jon on the subject extensively, she still listened intently, her yellow eyes gleaming in the low light.

“Nine gods in all. Besides Cenastrum and Sateen, there is also Myrapen – your goddess, Miss Saint, the Eternal Flame. Gno, the All Knowing; Holtrin, The Ever Changing; Udacha, our Lady of Luck; T’Keran, the Storm; and Koz, the blood god. And then there is the one that I’ve heard blesses you,” Jon tilted his head over at Lucas. “Strangely, or perhaps not very strangely at all, Nature has no name or grand title.”

 I shifted uncomfortably as he said T’Keran’s name, and could swear that I almost felt a soft breeze, even this deep within the underground cavern. I couldn’t decide if I was reassured or spooked. “I don’t suppose you found out the name of the being we’re facing?” I asked.

Jon frowned and shook his head. “I didn’t, unfortunately. But there was a lot of information that we didn’t get through. So much more to study. The temple held a massive library and seemed to be primarily devoted to Gno, but there were rooms with altars devoted to each of the deities. You may all be able to individually commune with your gods there.”

Peyton looked lost in thought as she considered that. We continued with Jon rambling about the different domains and natures of the gods. I was just getting tired of walking when the passage opened into a massive cavern. As we stepped out with our escorts, we found ourselves staring down into a stone ruin. I had expected absolute darkness, but something within the cavern seemed to glow faintly, providing enough visibility to make out the structures within. While many of the smaller buildings that had made up the area had crumbled and given way to time, the larger building of the temple itself still stood tall. A statue of an immense robed figure stood at the gate, its head tilted over a book. The face of the figure was obscured, in part by the low hood but also in part by the giant stone eye that covered the opening of the hood. I realized the eye was providing the light in the cavern.

As we approached, I could see the iris was faceted and glittered faintly. It was some sort of opaque deep red gemstone that reminded me of especially shiny red obsidian. “Well, the Underlings aren’t present, I believe,” Jon said quietly, sounding nervous for the first time. He chuckled lightly. “We’ll make camp inside the temple.”

As we entered, I spotted another statue like the one out front, but smaller – it was situated on the far side of the hallway from us. There were eight doors on one side of the hall, which I realized must lead to the altars that Jon spoke of. On the other side was a massive set of double doors that had been left open previously, through which I could see the remnants of an old library.

Most of the soldiers set up camp in the front hallway and just outside the front doors. Greyjon and Zolambi joined them to provide some magical defenses. Greyjon was probably more at home with the soldiers anyway. Meanwhile, the rest of our party set up camp in the old library. I could see the rotted remains of wooden tables, and wondered how old they were. Had they been well maintained when this temple was a stopping point for the Graces in the past? Or had this library just been allowed to rot for 5000 years?

Some of the books were in remarkably good condition, and I wondered if perhaps there was some magic at work in preserving them. Jon began to lead Raella through the library, and they poked through the more well-preserved tomes, handling them with near reverence. Chase followed, looking mildly intrigued. I was under the impression that they were choosing what books they needed to take back to the surface on their return trip.

Once we were settled in, Lexie wordlessly went to go investigate the doors across the hall. Lyre and I followed her, and the others trailed after us. We stood together in a loose line, surveying the doors, which each had colorful symbols arrayed on them. The symbols were vibrant and held a faint shimmer to them that reminded me of the tether tattoos the elven slaves wore. I recognized the sword in front of the starburst that belonged to Asterollan’s god. And I stared at the lightning bolt in front of the storm cloud, knowing instantly that it belonged to T’Keran.

There was also the flame of Myrapen, and what looked like a pentacle of shimmering gold with a solid black star at its center, and a chalice set in front of crossed axes, and even some more abstract symbols of lines, circles, and squares. Lucas was staring, frowning hard at the door that must have belonged to his god. There was the image of a humanoid skull on it, with flowers vining and blooming over the skull. I frowned, wondering why a nature god would have such a strong image of death as part of her symbol.

The air felt strangely heavy in that moment as we all silently stared at the doors. As if compelled, we moved forward, almost all at the same time. I remember hearing Lyre softly call my name as I stepped away from him, pulling me out of my trance just long enough that I glanced over to see Lexie and Asterollan already passing through their doors, and Lucas just barely hesitating as he pushed his open. I turned to smile reassuringly at Lyre as I pushed the door with the lightning bolt open.

And just before I passed through, I remembered seeing Peyton standing back, looking slightly stricken. And I realized suddenly that she was the one that was dreaming of the god ascendant.

But the compulsion that drove me was too strong, and I stepped through my door.

I had expected a small room, hewn from stone, with an altar and a statue of T’Keran, but I entered absolute stillness. I took several steps forward before I realized just how unnaturally still it was. My breathing sounded too loud in this absence of sound. I saw a distant flash of light and heard and felt the faint rumble of thunder. It was eerily like the calm before a violent storm – I could smell the rain, and feel the humidity thick in the air and heavy in my lungs. The flashes of lightning began to quicken, lighting the darkness around me.

A violent wind swept through and I could hear rain falling, though I didn’t feel any moisture. During a particular bright flash of lightning, I saw the looming form of T’Keran standing before me, her hair shifting in the wind, and felt my breath hitch in my throat. I reached for my magic, and in the soft glow of my power I could see T’Keran, her arms spread as she reveled in the feel of the storm that raged around her.

As I watched, her figure shrunk, until she was a woman roughly of Peyton’s height. She stepped forward, staring at me impassively. I struggled for a moment, trying to figure out what to say or do, before stammering, “Why did you choose me?”

The corner of one of her lips quirked up in a faint smile. “You are different than the others that were summoned. There is a certain degree of chaos to your presence,” she studied me intently, but before I could ask about how I was different, she continued, “And you fell into my corner of the sea. That seemed as good a reason as any.”

I remembered the cursed stretch of sea that I had fallen into, how the sailors had seemed spooked by it. I also remembered what they had said about it. “They said it was cursed because there was no wind or current there. That doesn’t seem very much like you,” I pointed out.

“It’s been calm because we’ve been absent. It will rage once I am free.” There was an almost menacing promise to her words that made me shiver.

“Once you’re free? What do you mean?” For a moment, my mind reeled, grasping at all the possibilities behind her words. And then she explained everything.

39. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

The chairs were too small for any of us. The two slave mages were seated in those ridiculously small chairs, their arms tied to the chair legs so that they hunched quite low to the ground, and they looked incredibly uncomfortable. “Where is the other Focus?” Raella asked. I could see that she was rolling a large ruby in her hands. Lyre sat on the table, not bothering with the undersized chairs, and placed the jade gem next to him with a soft clunk on the solid wood. I could see that it was shaped like an octopus. The silver haired mage narrowed her eyes at it, looking as though she wished she could simply will it into her grasp.

Nodding, Raella stepped over and placed the ruby next to it, where I could see that it was heart shaped and glittered in the light of the room. Then she walked back over to stand between the chairs the mages were tied to. Zolambi stood next to her, his arms crossed as he frowned at the gems where they sat harmlessly out of reach. Greyjon leaned against the wall, his arms also crossed as he stared at the prisoners. He looked almost too casual, and I knew that he was very carefully keeping an eye on their bindings and was poised to jump into action if he was needed. The Dwarven King was also in the room, pacing as he listened to us talk, his expression grim.

Peyton and Asterollan sat across from each other at the table, closer to where the prisoners were. Somehow they both made sitting in the chairs look effortless and comfortable, such a stark contrast to Lucas’s awkwardness that I smiled briefly thinking of him tripping on the chair. Peyton was frowning at the gems. “What are they, exactly?” she asked.

I stood next to Lyre where he sat on the table, so close that our legs touched, and I took some comfort in the closeness. “Focuses,” I told her. “In the human lands, they keep the elves from casting at will by requiring them to use a Focus. Without those, they can’t use their magic… not as long as they’ve got those face tattoos.”

“Ah. So that wasn’t just a fashion statement,” Peyton said, her tone wry. She glanced at Lyre, then at Zolambi. “Did you two have similar tattoos before?”

Zolambi nodded. “Yes,” Lyre said simply. “When you break the Focus, it also removes the tether… the tattoos that help bind us in our slavery.” The raven haired woman looked up curiously, studying Lyre as he spoke, but said nothing. I wondered if perhaps she already knew how to break the bindings, or if this was her first time hearing about.

“With only two slaves here, we’d only be able to break one tether,” I noted, watching their reactions carefully. The silver haired woman stared at me impassively, her eyes narrowing. I suspected that she, at least, knew exactly how that worked.

Asterollan shook his head. “It wouldn’t be wise to free either of them. Yasmin,” he gestured to the raven haired one, then to the silver haired one, “and Safyral are both notoriously loyal to King Guilphrey.”

“Speaking of loyalty,” Zolambi said, narrowing his eyes at Asterollan. “Should we trust you? We show up here, and the human king from your country shows up the same night?”

“He didn’t hesitate to kill any of the soldiers that came for us. Cassandra had to stop him from slicing that mage in half.” Lyre gestured to the silver haired mage – Safyral – as he spoke. “He defended us without a second thought.” Lyre turned his head to stare at Asterollan. “I trust him.”

“In fact, he was more worried about their impending attack than the rest of us were,” Peyton added, looking a little sheepish as she stared at the table. I could see the faint flush of embarrassment creeping across her skin.

Asterollan looked slightly taken aback at the defense that both Peyton and Lyre provided, and stared up at Lyre, meeting his gaze steadily. Zolambi also looked surprised, and nodded quietly, studying Asterollan thoughtfully. I wondered if Lyre’s statement would be enough to clear his suspicion completely, or if he would be keeping a careful watch on Asterollan still.

“Has Yasmin told you anything at all?” I asked Raella.

Raella sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately not. When we met in the ballroom, King Guilphrey only made veiled threats that insinuated they were acting against us tonight, and that he was here to stop our evil plots.”

“I overheard in the maze that they wanted to kill us. The Graces,” I said. “Though I guess that was kind of obvious,” I added awkwardly.

Raella looked thoughtful, raising a hand to rub a finger along her chin. “It may seem obvious, but confirmation is good to have. The next question would be why. Do they want to stop us from sealing the would-be god ascendant away? With the weakening of the seal, is he communicating with them? Perhaps making them his puppets?”

I paused for a moment before adding, “They mentioned something about their failure upsetting a god, but then said the seal might actually protect them.”

Raella’s eyes widened and she turned to stare at the mage prisoners in shock. “Such foolishness! Working for that… creature of darkness!”

For a moment, Safyral opened her mouth, looking as though she wanted to speak to defend their actions, but then her lips snapped shut and she stared at the floor angrily.

“The gods have been taking an active part in things lately. Maybe they were working for one?” I asked.

Raella was already shaking her head as we spoke. “Then why would the seal protect them from the god’s wrath? The seal is for the ascendant. It has nothing to do with the gods.” She sighed. “Besides, the ascendant wants to be a god. He likely claims to be to anyone he speaks to.”

The room fell silent as we considered what little information we knew. “We should still be on the lookout for other assassination attempts,” Zolambi said. “Also, I do recall these two being quite valuable to King Guilphrey. He may attempt to rescue them.”

The Dwarven king stopped pacing. “Bringing soldiers into our palace is an affront, if not a direct act of war – we’ll immediately cut our ties to the Kingdom of Wryaes and have their citizens expelled from the Anchors at once. These two could be useful as pieces in future diplomatic negotiations… if you will allow us to keep them as our prisoners.”

“I don’t think they really want to help us anyway,” Raella said, studying them. “I would like to question them once more individually, perhaps tomorrow. After that, what you do with them is your business. Just be careful to keep their Focuses away from them, and they will be mostly harmless.”

The dwarven king nodded and summoned a few of his soldiers into the room. There was a flurry of activity as a velvet lined wooden box was brought to the king. He carefully placed both focuses into it, locked the box, and carried it away himself as he bid us good night. The prisoners were untied and escorted out. Greyjon took the chance to excuse himself, following the soldiers who were taking the mages away. I think he suspected the next conversation we would be having, and was pretending to be concerned about whether the prisoners would escape so he could avoid it.

Soon it was just Raella and Zolambi left with Peyton, Asterollan, Lyre and I. We sat in silence for a long moment before Peyton said, “So you summoned us here to die.” She pulled Lucas’s jacket close around her and leaned forward in her chair, frowning at the table. I stared at Raella and then at Zolambi. Zolambi was absently running his fingers down the velvety pattern of his robes, as though tracing the raised portions of the pattern was soothing. He stared at the table as well.

Raella’s chin lifted slightly at the statement, ever haughty, but then she gave an uncharacteristically defeated sigh and her shoulders slumped slightly. “Yes. We have no choice. Only divine magic can refresh the seal, and only people summoned from elsewhere can wield that divine magic.” For a moment, her tone was almost pleading.

Peyton looked up to meet her eyes. “The compass spell isn’t new. Others have tried to escape before.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Peyton frowned at Raella. “And the spell to reseal your bad guy. We don’t cast it, do we? We’re just there to provide the divine magic. That’s why the four of you came with us. That’s why we haven’t been taught any sort of sealing spell. We’re just… batteries.”

I hadn’t even considered that – not once had I wondered why we hadn’t been taught more about refreshing the seal, even though that was what we were there to do. I looked from Peyton to Raella curiously. Raella gave Peyton an appraising nod. “You are very astute. Yes. We cast the spell – and the Graces fuel it.” Peyton closed her eyes and visibly shuddered, and Raella looked almost pained for a moment. I could sense Lyre staring at me intently and I placed a hand on his leg. I knew what he wanted, but I refused to meet his gaze. “I know that you will all consider running. I can’t… fault that. But I am not exaggerating when I say that the ascendant’s release will touch every corner of our world. Even if you run now… you’ll never be safe.”

“But how do you know that?” Peyton asked, her tone slightly exasperated.

Raella opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. Then said, “I don’t. Not for sure. I only have the knowledge that’s been handed down to us.”

“A story from five thousand years ago,” Lyre said, still staring intently at me. “So long ago you don’t even know his name. Or even the name of the old gods.”

For some reason, something in what he said clicked in my memory with something someone else had said earlier that night. “Jon Umberling said that there was a temple underground. A temple with all this information, a temple to the God of Knowledge.” I met Lyre’s gaze. “We should at least go that far, and learn what we can. See if this sacrifice is worth it.” Lyre was already shaking his head, frowning, but I smiled at him reassuringly and squeezed his leg. “Maybe we’ll find we have more options than we think,” I told him quietly. I didn’t want to promise that we wouldn’t die, but I found I was flooded with a strange degree of hope.

Asterollan was staring at me too, a soft frown on his face. Peyton sighed. “Fine. We’ll go that far. But if there’s nothing there that convinces me this is necessary, we’re all running.” She looked back over at Raella. “We have a child with us. And these people have become my friends. I’m not letting you use them as sacrifices.”

I nodded in agreement. “Fair enough. I don’t want to die either.”

Raella looked at each of us in turn. “I suppose that is the most I can ask,” she conceded, looking strangely chastened. But that expression lasted only a moment before, hardly seeming able to contain herself, she added, “What is this about a temple in the mountain?”

We returned to our rooms. I drew a deliciously hot bath and convinced Lyre to join me, though he didn’t seem to care for the temperature of the water. We sat together for a long time as the water cooled, mostly in silence. “I’m sorry. I know you’d rather we run now,” I said finally, running a finger along his arm. He had annoyingly flawless skin.

He pulled me close, resting his chin on my shoulder and breathed deeply. “I’m going to find a way to keep you,” he murmured stubbornly, and I smiled despite myself.

When we were done bathing and had pulled on the robes we had taken from the bathhouse before, we found food waiting for us in the common area. Peyton and Lucas were sitting and eating together, using the desk as a table. It seemed that she was filling him in on everything he had missed. “How’s Lexie?” I asked him.

“She’s sleeping right now. I think she’ll be okay, but she killed a few of the soldiers. It… it kinda shocked her.” He shuddered at the memory. “It kinda shocked me too. I don’t think I was ready to see people die tonight.”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever ready to see someone die,” Peyton said, absently pushing her food around her plate.

I thought of how easily Asterollan seemed to take killing, and wondered how many deaths he had seen and caused to make him so desensitized to it. I sat down at one of the other tables in the room, which had plates waiting for Lyre and me. I hadn’t even thought of food all night, but now that I had a plate full in front of me I found I was starving. The scent of the roasted chicken and the mashed potatoes made my stomach rumble. I set to eating, thinking back on how long the day had been. We had still been on the road just that afternoon. That felt so long ago.

Peyton finished first and excused herself to her room. Lyre, also drained, barely pecked at his meal before going to bed before me. I glanced up at Lucas. “I’m surprised you’re not asleep yet.”

“Asterollan’s taking a long time in the bath,” Lucas groused. Just as he made his complaint, his door opened, and Asterollan stepped out, also wearing the robe he had taken from the bathhouse. He was rubbing a towel over his hair. “Oh, good. Finally.” Lucas beelined for the room, shutting the door behind him. I just barely heard Peter trill an enthusiastic greeting before the door snapped shut.

I hadn’t really considered the robes to be skimpy before, but watching Asterollan, I realized it did very little to hide the lithe musculature of his frame. I glanced around quickly, looking for something else to focus on, and realizing there wasn’t any more food set out – only dirty dishes left sitting at the tables. “Did you have anything to eat?”

Asterollan nodded. “Yes, I ate while you and Lyre were in your room.” He studied me, his face carefully devoid of any emotion, and then walked slowly to one of the cushiony couches to sit. He began to unfold a blanket that had been sitting on the arm of the chair. I blushed slightly, thinking of the private moments Lyre and I had been able to steal for ourselves since we had confessed our feelings for each other. I guess we were in a relationship of sorts now, but it was all still very new and I easily got the fluttery-floaty feeling in my chest every time. I had to keep reminding myself that it was the honey moon stage and that eventually I might find something annoying about him, but I really couldn’t see it happening.

I finished eating and stood, glancing at the dirty dishes still sitting out on the tables and guessing that I was supposed to just leave mine as well. I glanced over at Asterollan again. He had laid back and tucked the blanket around himself. I wasn’t sure if he was really sleeping or not, but his eyes were closed and his breathing seemed steady. I returned to my room.  

38. Cassandra

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

“Run!” Asterollan shouted, and I grabbed Lyre’s hand and ran straight toward the maze. I could hear Asterollan shout something after us, but couldn’t make out what he said. We ran through the darkened hedges at a breakneck pace making several turns before we hit our first dead end. It was here that we paused, attempting to quiet our gasps for breath as we listened for any pursuit.

It was strangely quiet in the maze. Almost too unnaturally quiet. Lyre frowned, the glow surrounding him – he lifted a hand up to the sky, chanting quietly to himself in the elven language. I watched curiously as something in the air above the hedges seemed to glow in response to his gesture, some sort of normally invisible barrier that just barely pushed out like a bubble against his magic. “The maze has been enchanted,” he murmured, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear. “With a barrier of some sort.”

“To do what?” I whispered back, stepping closer to him.

“Some sort of obfuscation.” He was frowning as he allowed the spell to drop. No longer strained against, the barrier disappeared from sight, becoming invisible once more.

“Obfuscating what?” I asked.

“Not entirely sure, but it is muffling sound in the maze. Maybe making it harder to get out once we enter. Or harder to get further in.”

I felt myself go cold as I considered what that could mean. “Have we walked into a trap?” I asked.

“Possibly?” He stared absently for a moment, seeming to consider that, before looking over at me. His expression softened. “Nobody seems to be coming for us though.” I nodded. He was still holding my hand tightly, and gave a squeeze to reassure me. “Remember. I’ll protect you.” I nodded again but said nothing. If they were trying to keep us out, how had we entered the maze in the first place? We backtracked a little, but when we came to the first intersection we paused. “Do we want to try to leave, or to get further in?” Lyre asked.

I frowned, staring up at what I could see of the night sky above the tops of the hedges. “If no one has come for us yet, it might not be a trap. Maybe that king is somewhere further in the maze. Maybe they were trying to keep us out to protect him.”

“And he’d be well protected beyond the maze’s barrier,” Lyre pointed out. I nodded. Sensing my resolution, Lyre sighed. “Okay, let’s try to get through this thing.” We took the opposite path, going further into the maze.

The eerie silence was unsettling. I worried about what was happening to the others – how many soldiers had gone running after them? Would they be okay? I was completely lost in thought as I led the way through the maze, still tightly clutching Lyre’s hand in my own. “How are you doing this?” Lyre asked after a while. I turned to look at him, blinking in confusion. “We haven’t run into a dead end yet. It’s almost like you know where to go.”

I paused and considered that. I realized that in a strange way, I had made every turn with conviction. There hadn’t even been a second thought about running into the maze in the first place. Deep down, I suddenly understood why – I could feel T’Keran’s presence and it guided me voicelessly along my path – the air was alive with something that felt like the energy of a storm, and I could feel the mild prickle of static along the hair of my arms. Feeling a little unnerved at that realization, I shrugged. “I… I don’t know,” I told Lyre. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing in response, and allowed me to continue leading the way.

Soon, I could hear the clinking of armor ahead and the sounds of voices. We slowed as we crept closer. If someone came towards us, it would be impossible to hide, but we had come this far and there wasn’t any turning back. I could hear a voice saying, “They’re making their way into the hedge maze, your Majesty. Not only that, but the barrier at the palace has dropped and they have captured Yasmin.” Chancing a glance around the corner, I could see that the maze opened out into a wide area with a fountain at its center. The silver-haired elf from the ballroom was holding a mirror, through which I could see the image of the man speaking. The king was staring into the mirror thoughtfully, a hand to his chin.

“Then we’ve failed,” he said. His words hung heavily in silence for several moments. I could see the pained expression of the man on the other side of the mirror. “I will leave first. Stay, and make sure none follow. If you find a chance to complete our mission, then do so. But once I am securely on the ship, make haste to retreat. There is no point in more of us dying now. We have failed a god, but perhaps the renewed seal will save us from its wrath.”

The man nodded as the image on the mirror disappeared, replaced with the king’s reflection. He looked troubled. He started to turn to give orders to those present – a small handful of soldiers and the elven mage. I ducked back behind the hedges to stay out of sight. He was telling the mage to stay put, and ordered the soldiers to follow him. I pressed against the wall of the hedge, and pulled Lyre back toward the nearest corner to remain out of sight – it sounded like they were getting closer. As I had guessed, I heard them enter the maze where I had been spying on them moments before.

I peeked around the edge and watched what corner they turned ahead of us. Dropping Lyre’s hand, I hurried forward to peek around that corner, just in time to see the next way they went. I could hear Lyre following behind, but mostly just hoped that he would keep up, because I was too worried about missing the direction they were taking. A few times, I had to guess by sound which way they had gone. As I realized they’d find the exit soon, a strange panic began to engulf me. What was I doing? Should I attack? Should I call out to them so I could speak to them? Throwing caution to the wind, I dashed around the next corner while they were still in sight, and shouted, “Wait!”

The king and the three soldiers with him turned, all looking surprised to see me. “That’s one of the Graces!” one of the soldiers shouted.

“Kill her!” the King commanded. “We might complete our mission yet!”

Well, shit, I chose poorly. Still, it did answer exactly what they were trying to do – they were trying to kill the Graces. I turned on my heel to run and practically smashed my head into Lyre so hard that I saw stars for a moment. “What?” Lyre groaned in confusion, grasping his head.

Hearing the approach of the metal armor, I blindly swept my hand up, feeling the surge of lightning release from my fingers and blast down the narrow path created by the hedges. I heard the screams of the men, and when I turned to look, still rubbing my own head, I could see that they had been electrocuted and the king had disappeared. Apparently electricity and metal armor was not a fun combination.

“The king got away,” I grumbled.

Lyre sighed. “We should go back and make sure the others are okay. It sounded like there were more soldiers.” Nodding, I led the way back through the maze. It wasn’t long before we heard the sounds of shouting and fighting from ahead. It sounded like it was coming from the spacious courtyard at the center of the maze.

I could hear Lexie shout, “I! Can’t! Catch!” just as I stepped out of the maze. The scene unfolded before me almost like it was in slow motion as I took in all the details. On the other side of the space, I could hear men crying out as the branches of the hedge grew out to engulf them, and I could see Lucas glowing, staring at them in concentration. I could see Peyton turn toward us, her eyes wide with surprise. I could see Lexie, with her hands outstretched, and the silver haired mage in front of her, diving forward bodily, her fingers clutching at what must have been her Focus. She glowed as she reached for her magic, and began to chant, her voice taking on the eerie echoey cadence of whatever spell she was preparing to cast.

Asterollan, only a few steps behind the mage, glowed suddenly, his eyes lighting up like beacons – he swung the sword he held in his hand in a downward motion, and a wave of light sliced through the air with his movement, straight into the mage in front of him, an extended blade of white light.

“Wait!” I cried out, waving my hand in an upward motion against Asterollan’s blade of light. I didn’t catch it in time – she cried out in pain as it began to slice into her. But I did keep it from slicing her in two, which I suspected it would have done. Asterollan’s glow dropped, and he turned to frown at me. Lyre rushed forward and grabbed the Focus from her fingers. She was whimpering and had already dropped her hold on magic. I met Asterollan’s unfeeling gaze and shuddered. “Maybe she has information,” I said to him.

He nodded, not questioning my judgment at least. His eyes flitted over me quickly, seeming to assess me, and when he was satisfied, he turned back toward a gaping hole in the hedge. “We should return to the castle,” he said, walking off without waiting to see if we followed. Lexie followed behind him quickly – she looked ashen and shaken and ready to be done with the night.

Lucas stepped forward, casting a healing spell on the mage. He flipped her onto her back, and she swung up at him with her hands, attempting to claw at his face. Lucas cried out and fell back as she did so, caught off guard. Peyton stepped forward, grabbing the other woman by one arm and hauling her up forcibly onto her feet, then twisted her arm deftly behind her back and pushed until the silver haired woman grimaced and gasped in pain. “Come quietly, or I break your arm. Then he heals it, and I break it again,” Peyton said, her voice a soft growl. The silver haired woman’s eyes rolled in terror, taking in her situation, and she gave a brief nod. Peyton grabbed her shoulder and pushed her ahead, following Lexie and Asterollan out of the maze.

Lucas stood up, brushing his pants off as he did so. He nodded to Lyre and me briefly, then wordlessly followed Peyton. This time, Lyre took my hand and led me from the maze. I noticed that Peyton’s hair was disheveled and her dress was nearly in tatters – she was wearing Lucas’s jacket. I hurried just enough to catch up with Lucas. “What happened to you guys?” I asked quietly.

“Got cornered in a cave,” he said simply, not offering any more explanation – very typically Lucas. I sighed.

We met Zolambi and Greyjon at the improvised maze exit, both glowing brightly with magic, surrounded by dwarven guards. Zolambi walked up, glaring suspiciously at Asterollan, before turning his attention to the rest of us. “I’m glad to see you’re all okay,” he said. “We have another slave mage captured at the palace. Raella is interviewing her now, but she seems reluctant to speak.”

“Some slaves are treated better than others, and have a degree of loyalty to their masters. Especially these two… I’ve heard they’re given a lot of personal freedom by the king.” Lyre spoke quietly, just loud enough to answer my question, but he was apparently heard by the silver haired woman, who glared daggers at him and turned her nose up into the air. I studied the tattoos on her face curiously – looping tendrils of tentacles that surrounded her right eye and extended up into her hairline and down along her neck. She was dressed nicer than Lyre and the others had been, and her hair was longer and had been carefully styled. She even seemed to be wearing makeup, now that I was really looking at her. I wondered how pampered her life had been compared to any other slave in the human lands.

As we passed the first soldier that had attacked us, Asterollan tossed the sword he held onto the body. We were escorted back to the castle and through the now empty ball room. The dwarven soldiers led us out through a set of doors underneath where we had initially entered, and down a lushly decorated hallway. I had the sense we were on the side of the castle that was built into the stones of the mountain. There was something about the walls and the space that felt dense in a way. The soldiers stopped outside one door near the end of the hall, and Zolambi swept into the room without hesitation, the rest of us following him.

It was a spacious meeting room of some sort, with a long table and chairs set around it. At the other end of the room, the dwarven king paced, his arms crossed behind his back. Raella and Chase turned to look up at us as we entered – they were standing in front of a chair, where another elven woman with a face tattoo was sitting. Hers was a solid block shaped like a flaming heart, with waves of flame continuing under her black hair and down her neck. Zolambi and Greyjon walked over to join them, as did Asterollan. Lucas walked halfway down the room, but then pulled out a chair and lounged in it. It was made for a dwarf, and it looked child sized and uncomfortable for him. He looked like he regretted it instantly, but was committed at that point. Peyton pushed her prisoner over, and another chair was provided for the silver haired woman, so that she was seated across from her fellow slave.

Chase, glancing over at the rest of us, looked suddenly very concerned. She stepped over to Lexie and placed her hands on her shoulder. “You look awful, Lexie! You’re shivering! Let’s go get you cleaned up.” She glanced up at the rest of us. “All of you should come with me, we’ll go get some food and rest for you back in your rooms.”

I shook my head vigorously, and Peyton spoke up, saying, “I’m staying for this. I want to know why we were attacked. And we have other things to discuss.”

Lexie seemed uncertain about leaving with Chase, seeing how resolved the rest of us were to stay, until Lucas popped back up from the chair, almost tripping over it awkwardly as he did so. “You know, a good hot bath and meal sound wonderful. Let’s get out of here, Lexie.” Peyton smiled warmly at his retreating back as Lexie nodded wordlessly, and Chase led them out of the room.

37. Lucas

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

Leaving Raella and the others to deal with the drama of the ballroom, we made our way back to the balcony where I had last seen Peyton and Lexie. They were still there, unaware of everything that was happening inside. They were laughing, trying some kind of dance while standing side by side, holding each other’s hands, but it looked like they were fumbling the steps. Cassandra was practically pulling Jon Umberling along – he looked a little unnerved, like this was the last thing he had expected. “I had no idea they hadn’t even told any of you,” he practically squeaked, breathless at our reaction.

“What’s going on?” Lexie asked as we all arrived. I guess all of us had quite serious expressions, because she looked instantly nervous seeing us. Peyton, on the other hand, had become expressionless.

“This is Jon Umberling,” Cassandra introduced again, standing just behind the dwarf. “He’s a scholar here in the Saph Anchor. When the elves reached out to the dwarves and told them about the seal, he traveled down into the mountains with a group of researchers, and found an old archive that provided information about the gods… and about the Chosen, especially the Chosen summoned to help reform the seal every 500 years.”

“Yes, it was quite the treasure trove of knowledge. Perhaps even a temple of the God of Knowledge himself. We’ve even unearthed the names of the entire pantheon…”

“We’re sacrifices,” I blurted out, interrupting the smaller man.

Lexie blanched and Peyton’s expression deepened into a frown. “Sacrifices?” Lexie said, her voice very small.

“I thought so,” Peyton said quietly. “But I had hoped…”

“Yes. The spell is so powerful that it pretty much zaps our entire life from us. We die when we complete it,” I continued, my voice probably louder than it needed to be from my anger.

“They never told you?” Jon said again, twisting his head to look around at all of us as we reacted to the information. He didn’t seem to want to believe it. “We were under the impression that… that your sacrifice was willingly made… well, I suppose it would be much to ask. But without you, our entire world…” he trailed off again, his expression crestfallen.

Lyre gave the dwarf a pitying look, before turning immediately to Cassandra. “We should leave,” he said.

Cassandra was staring at the dwarf. I could see the sympathy in her face even before she spoke, and hated it almost instantly. I didn’t want to die. “And then what? This great evil being gets loose?”

“We don’t even know that he’ll be powerful enough to destroy the world. That could all be a lie as well!” I pointed out bitterly.

“But the gods were worried about him all those years ago…”

Lyre grabbed her by the shoulders, his fingers gripped tight into the sleeves of her dress. “I don’t care if he frightens gods. I don’t care if he is a god! I’ll face any of the gods I need to keep you safe!” She stared at him, her eyes wide in shock at the ferocity in his tone.

“There’s another thing…” Asterollan started. “The king of my country is here as well, and looks fully prepared for a fight. Perhaps we should be having this debate somewhere safer.”

Peyton had stood quietly through the entire conversation, her expression growing stormy and distant. As Asterollan finished talking, she walked back into the ballroom. Asterollan stared after her. “Or… not?” We followed.

As we entered the ballroom, the human king and his retinue were nowhere to be seen. But it looked like Raella and Greyjon were approaching us, like they had been looking to find us. Greyjon had an openly questioning expression as Peyton stormed up to them, looking furious. Peyton snatched a glass of white wine from a passing tray and, as we approached them, splashed it dramatically into Raella’s face.

We all froze behind her. I could hear Lexie softly go, “Oh shit,” under her breath.

Greyjon took a step back.

“So you planned for us to die,” Peyton said, her voice projected clearly across the entire spacious room. The chattering in the hall hushed as everyone shifted their attention, wanting to see what was happening. Asterollan’s head twisted around – he was clearly on the lookout for the other humans. But the rest of us couldn’t take our eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of us. Chase and Zolambi were approaching, but at a slowed pace. At Peyton’s words, Greyjon and Chase at least looked ashamed, and seemed to be having difficulty making eye contact with any of us. Zolambi, on the other hand, steadily stared at each of us, though he flushed so deeply that his scar stood out like a bright white spot.

Raella coolly pulled a handkerchief from somewhere unseen, dabbing gently at the rivulets of wine that dripped from her face. “I believe this needs to be a private conversation,” she said. “There is much more than this to discuss, after all.”

Peyton turned on her heel, marching out of the ballroom by a different exit that looked as though it descended into the gardens below. The rest of us followed her. “Wait!” I could hear Greyjon calling after us. It sounded like they were following, but we didn’t stop.

We stepped out into the moonlit gardens. Even with the moonlight, it was almost oppressively dark, and the shapes of the bushes and the hedges and statues were indistinguishable shadows that surrounded us. We followed Peyton until she came to an abrupt stop. She turned on us, her expression still distant, her arms crossed. But now instead of looking regal and dramatic, she looked deflated and helpless. Strangely, seeing that made my heart twist a little uncomfortably, and I felt my own rage dissipate. “That was dramatic,” I commented.

“Actress, remember?” she said, her lips turning up into a forced smile. She sighed, and dropped her arms. “I just… wanted to embarrass her, I guess.”

“You did an excellent job,” I reassured her, but realized that she was frowning at something past me. I turned to look back where we had come – a strange shimmery field of light lay across the face of the palace, blocking the exits and the windows. It was apparently stopping anyone from following us. Greyjon was pounding against it with his fist, and he looked to be yelling, but we couldn’t hear any of the sounds beyond the barrier at all.

“Damnit,” I heard Asterollan sigh as I heard the clinking of armor and swords being drawn from somewhere in the dark. “I tried to tell you.”

Peyton looked suddenly panicked. “And I should have listened,” she said, sounding truly remorseful. A shadow shifted away from a nearby shrub, becoming a person. It rushed forward at Peyton’s voice. Whatever martial art she wasn’t a black belt in suddenly came in handy – she shifted fluidly, avoiding the sword that was thrust at her, grabbing the man’s arm and using his own momentum to fling him across the garden path. Asterollan stomped on the man’s hand, hard, causing a garbled cry, then he quickly bent to grab the sword. Without hesitation, he slid it down into our attacker’s neck. “Run!” he hissed at us. We scattered. “No. Back to the palace, idiots!” he hissed again.

We’re really not good at this coordinating thing, I thought to myself. I watched Lyre and Cassandra run off into the garden maze ahead of us, but I was more concerned for Lexie and followed her and Peyton as they dodged off across the garden displays on the outside of the maze. I could hear the clinking of armor as we were chased. How many human soldiers had waited for us out in the shadows of the gardens?

Ahead of us was the face of the mountain where it met with the palace, and what looked like a natural cave mouth that was part of the garden environs. Lexie ran into the dark opening, and Peyton and I followed. I felt myself hit some sort of stone pillar, bouncing off it hard with a loud thump.  Realizing it would leave a bruise later, I twisted around it and held my arms out, feeling for other structures in the dark.

I saw Lexie light up ahead of me, and angrily said, “Stop! Don’t touch your magic! They’ll see you!” I saw the panicky look in her eyes just as the light around her dropped. “Go deeper into the cave and hide,” I whispered as I heard our pursuers catching up outside. 

I scurried further in, finding another stone pillar to press myself against. I did my best to calm my breathing. “Damn, did someone bring a torch?” I could hear one of the men ask as they stumbled into the cave.

“No, didn’t think we’d be running into the rutting mountain,” another whispered loudly. “Do you think they got away?”

I pushed away from the pillar and moved further back into the cave. I was hoping it might lead into a passage that would take us away from our pursuers. And then I hit a wall. I followed along it a bit, feeling my palms smacking against the rough stone for a good several feet, the panic rising in my throat. Maybe this cave didn’t lead anywhere at all. Maybe we were trapped. We had no way of knowing.

I turned back to where I could make out the front of the cave, hoping the opening would provide enough backlighting to tell me how many soldiers there were. Our pursuers were far enough in now that the darkness hid them as well. I could hear breathing and the clink of armor. They would be close soon.

I held my breath for a moment, trying to think desperately of what I could do. We needed light. Despite what I had told Lexie, I reached for my magic. “There!” I heard a shout, and heard the twang of a pair of bows as the light of magic surrounded me. I gasped as one of the arrows grazed me along my right side, and the other pierced my thigh.

“Lucas!” Lexie immediately lit up after me, and a ball of fire blossomed into existence in the middle of the cave. I watched at least two men go up in flames, their screeches drowning out the shouting that erupted from the other two men I could now see in the light. I watched Peyton step away from the wall to deliver a quick series of blows to one of those men, pushing him into the ball of fire. He bounced up quickly, covered in flames and screaming, running from the cave. The two that had been initially caught in the fire had fallen to the ground and stopped moving. They were silent. It had all happened so fast that it seemed unreal. The smell of burning flesh was acrid in my nose, and I felt nauseous – I shifted along the cave wall, wanting the fresh air outside.

Lexie was moving along the opposite wall, looking almost sick as she stared wide eyed at the bodies on the floor. The ball of fire disappeared, but the light of magic still glowed around the both of us. The last man moved toward her, ready to strike with his sword. She hardly seemed to notice, still staring at the charred figures on the floor. I summoned several vines, grasping at his arms and legs before he could reach her, and pulling him hard against the ground and away from the girl. Maybe too hard – I could hear the sickening crunch of breaking bone as the man screamed in pain.

The three of us were outside of the cave quickly, gasping in the clean air. Not far from the cave entrance was the charred body of the man that had run from the cave. Pointedly ignoring him, I pulled the arrow out of my thigh, crying out as I felt it take nearly a whole chunk of flesh with it. Peyton moved toward me instantly, placing her hand over the wound, using the healing spell – though not as effective as what Cassandra or I could manage, the wound did seal and the bleeding stopped. “We need to find Cassandra,” she said, looking at the divot scar that remained in my leg. I could see that her dress had ripped through all the action – there were now slits up the sides of the hips, rising quite high, the sheer cape was completely missing, and one of the shoulder straps had broken so the dress was hanging quite revealingly. I boggled for a moment at the sight, then tried not to stare.

“Yes, we should hurry.” As we turned to jog back to the maze, I belatedly decided to pull off my jacket and handed it to Peyton.

She grinned at me in thanks. “Really. Here I thought you enjoyed the view.”

“Shut up,” I said with a groan.

“I mean, you could have offered this a little sooner. Like before you got an entire eyeful.”

“I. Did. Not. Think. Shut up!” I pulled ahead, not wanting her to see how red I had gotten. I could hear Lexie laughing, maybe a touch manically, behind us.

As we approached the entrance to the maze, we found that a hole had been blasted through one of the hedge walls. The branches were still glowing and smoking from the magic that had created the opening. Following the blasted path, we came across at least two more bodies and found Asterollan, glowing with magic and holding the stolen sword at the ready. He turned on us when he heard our approach, but nodded when he recognized us. “Glad to see you’re safe.”

“Any sign of them yet?” I asked, meaning Lyre and Cassandra.

Asterollan shook his head. “No. I’m not sure how they even entered the maze. It’s got its own barrier.”

“How many soldiers do you think there are?” Peyton asked.

Asterollan frowned, glancing back. “King Vanguard has two personal elven slaves, powerful in defensive and offensive magics. One of them is likely maintaining the barrier that’s trapping our other companions back at the palace. The other may be out here with us. There are ten men in his personal guard – assuming he has brought all of them. I’ve killed three.”

“We killed four,” Lexie said, her voice quite low. She was staring at the ground, a subdued frown creasing her brow. I wondered how long the screams of the burning men would stay on her mind, and wished I could reassure her somehow, but wasn’t sure what to do or say.

Asterollan hesitated a moment hearing the tone in her voice, then clapped a hand on her shoulder. “So there are three left.”

“Assuming he didn’t bring any other soldiers along,” Peyton pointed out.

“To bring too many would be… diplomatically unwise,” Asterollan said. “But yes, it would probably be wiser to assume there are more than the 10.”

“Why are they after us?” I asked.

Asterollan shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“They’re your people.”

“I’m not privy to the motivations of a king.” Looking a little annoyed to be questioned, Asterollan lifted a hand – a bright beacon of light schwoomed! through the next row of hedges in the maze, leaving the glowing, burning debris we had seen in the previous holes.

I stared at the new opening as he stepped through it. “Cassandra!” he shouted as he went. With a sigh, I followed him, readying myself for anything he was likely to draw toward us with as much noise as he was making. We continued in that manner through at least three more walls of the maze, before we hit an open space that had a fountain in the center.

A woman turned to look at us. The same one with the long silvery hair that I had seen back in the ballroom. Standing closer to her now, I could see that the tendrils of her tattoo were forming the shapes of tentacles. She was wearing a heavy looking jade gem at the base of her collarbone, shaped like an octopus. She looked surprised to see us, despite the noise Asterollan had been making. He looked surprised to see her too, but moved quickly straight up to her. The light of magic began to spring into being around her just as Asterollan ripped the octopus shaped gem away from her throat.

The light of magic dropped instantly, and she reached up to where the gem had been, crying out in rage. Asterollan turned and tossed the gem to Peyton. “Don’t let her touch it!” he shouted at her. The woman bodily jumped on him, scratching at his face with her fingers, and he cried out angrily, throwing her away. Peyton caught the gem, but two men emerged from out of the maze closest to her, angrily charging her with their swords drawn. I moved forward to help her, drawing on my magic to make the maze grow out and swallow one as Peyton slammed a fist into the throat of the other. She turned and tossed the gem to Lexie.

Lexie’s eyes went wide in panic, and she flailed her hands helplessly. “I! Can’t! Catch!” she screeched, as her fingers fumbled the gem in the air. She succeeded in accidentally batting it back towards the fountain, and closer to the elven mage, who saw her chance to dive for it.

36. Lucas

On By MaryIn 2023, WritingLeave a comment

My mind mostly blanked from nervousness, and I felt like I was sweating a lot, but it all went down rather smoothly. We were led to the doors that we needed to enter from, lingered for a moment as the man that had led us there stepped to the door and conferred with Raella briefly. Perhaps to make it easy for us, Raella had them start with Greyjon.

“Greyjon Pellort of the Elven Empire, Captain and Weapons Master of Kimber City!” the man cried out, his voice carrying across the bright hall. Greyjon flashed us a grin and straightened to his full height, stepping out and walking down the stairs. Moments after that, the man announced, “Chase Glenn, of the Elven Empire, of the village of Vilunti!” Chase scrunched her nose, clasped her hands in front of her skirt, and stepped out to follow Greyjon down the stairs. “Zolambi Demn, of the Elven Empire, Master of Primordial of the Imperial University!” Zolambi followed, not sparing a glance for us.

Raella seemed to be lingering to go last, since she was feeding the man our titles. She gestured for Lyre to go next. “Lyre Ik’Abalin the Warlock, of the Elven Empire!” Lyre looked a little flustered at his title, but descended the steps, holding his head high. “Peyton Hobbs, of another realm, Chosen of the gods!” Peyton flashed me a confident grin as she stepped out onto the stairs, completely in her element. “Cassandra Murphey, of another realm, Chosen of the gods!” Cassandra paused a moment – I wondered if she wanted to be announced as Chosen of T’Keran, but she had never shared that information with Raella. She followed Peyton, smiling thinly, deeply flushed from the attention. “Lucas Kearney, of another realm, Chosen of the gods!” I stumbled forward, feeling awkward. The lights were almost blinding and I had a momentary fear that I would go sprawling down the stairs, but I managed to find my footing and followed Cassandra down the steps.

“Asterollan Shar, of the Kingdom of Wryaes, Chosen of the god of Truth!” I had to keep myself from twisting around to look at Asterollan as I learned these little details about him. I realized I hadn’t heard the names of any of the human kingdoms since I’d been here. I had managed to reach the bottom of the stairs, where I was joining our group where they were lining up in front of a dais that held a pair of thrones, where the Dwarven King and his Queen sat and watched us, their gazes openly curious. They were dressed resplendently in gold and white. “Alexis Saint, of another realm, Chosen of Myrapen, the Eternal Flame, goddess of Fire!” Lexie’s longer title and the specific naming of a god seemed to garner quite a lot of attention – I could hear people whispering around us. Now that I was standing in line, I chanced a glance back up at her – she descended the stairs, a slight frown of concentration on her face like she was just as worried as I had been about falling. She reached the bottom step without issue though, and grinned at the surrounding company.

“Raella Harn, of the Elven Empire, Master of Ancient Divinity of the Imperial University!” Raella descended the steps, her chin held high. She stepped out in front of our group, and after a carefully timed beat, slipped into a deep curtsy. We followed suit behind her – I watched Lexie half bow and then try to carry the motion into a curtsy from the corner of my eye, and had to suppress a laugh.

“We are honored to be guests of yours this evening, Your Majesties,” Raella said, her tone smooth and gracious.

“You honor us,” the Queen spoke first. “For the first time in centuries, we have been recognized as your equals.” There was a slight edge to her tone that suggested that she did not forget that they had previously been second class citizens of the Empire before the Fracture.

“We hope that our kingdoms and your Empire might be able to enjoy a long and fruitful relationship,” the King spoke next. “And we are honored to host the heroes who will save the world with their actions.”

We each thanked them for their kindness in hosting us, bowing or curtsying again. When this formality was done, the King clapped his hands and stood from the throne, to descend and begin to socialize with the others present, and Raella gestured for us to follow her. I don’t know how long the next part took, but we were walked around the room, offered refreshments, and introduced to many different individuals harboring many different titles – Ambassadors, Dukes, Duchesses, Marquis, Countesses, Earls, Barons, Princes, Princesses. There were also many that were just called Lord or Lady something or other, as well as a handful of scholars and merchants. I was never good at names so I smiled and nodded and hoped that no one would seek me out for further conversation.

Peyton was in her element, and Lexie also seemed comfortable with socializing – they greeted people in a friendly manner, seemed to commit names to memory almost instantly, and made pleasant small talk with ease. Cassandra seemed less comfortable and I noticed she suspiciously did not use names at all, but she was friendly and approachable and many people were asking her questions. Lyre mostly stayed close by her side, like a silent, shadowy bodyguard. Asterollan had somehow managed to disappear quickly, and I spotted him on occasion skulking in corners with a drink in his hand. It made me jealous that I couldn’t extricate myself in the same fashion.

Once Raella was satisfied that we had been introduced to everyone of import, she released us with, “Have fun, but not too much fun.” There was music playing and some people had paired off to dance, including the King and his Queen. I could even see that Lexie was in the process of demonstrating some kind of dance for a small group of younger dwarves. After so much socializing, I wanted some fresh air, and spied a balcony that overlooked the palace gardens. I immediately retreated to the spot. I was nervous that I would find a couple trying to escape to a romantic moment, but it was still early enough in the evening that no one had gotten that cozy yet. When I realized I was truly alone, I leaned against the balcony railing with a relieved sigh, staring out at the garden, and the moons above.

“Really? You retreated that quick?” I glanced over at Peyton as she leaned against the balcony next to me, the corners of her lips quirked up in amusement.

“It’s not really my thing. You seemed to be having fun though.”

“Yeah. It is my thing. I kinda missed it.” I laughed lightly, looking back up at the sky. “They’ve started dancing in there.” She left the statement open, like she expected me to ask her to dance.

“That is definitely not my thing.”

“Oh? What about for me?”

I turned to give her a look that mustered as much “Hell no” as I could manage, and she laughed. “I don’t even know how to dance. Which is not an invitation to teach me,” I interrupted as she opened her mouth to speak.

She smirked. “Well, how about an awkward middle school slow dance? Right here on the balcony. We don’t even have to go back in.” She pushed away from the railing and held a hand out to me. I hesitated, staring down at her hand like it was a viper. “Don’t leave me hanging, Kearney.”

I sighed heavily and straightened, taking her hand. She guided it over to her waist, and as I placed my other hand on her waist as well, she placed her hands up on my shoulders. I wasn’t really paying attention to the music at all, and I mostly let her lead, following her steps as we swayed softly in a loose circle. She was studying me intensely, and I was absolutely swallowed into her eyes for a moment. I couldn’t really escape without making it awkward, after all.

“See, this isn’t so bad.”

I shook my head, making a short huffing noise. “It is bad. It is exactly as bad as I thought it would be.”

The mirth seemed to fade from her expression for a moment as her head tilted. “You always seem to avoid me,” she said.

“I don’t think I do, actually.” She frowned. “I think… we’re both deeply private. And that clashes a bit. Two people that don’t connect well with others aren’t likely to connect with each other.”

“You think I don’t connect well with others?” she quirked an eyebrow at me, pulling back slightly to stare me in the face.

I sighed, and shook my head. “I think you’re personable and charming and sociable. But you keep everything surface level friendly. It’s kind of… superficial?”

“You think I’m superficial?” she asked now, clearly mock affronted. I could see the amusement sparkling in her eyes at my assessment.

I rolled my eyes in response. “No, I think you’re mysterious,” I drew out mysterious in a wavering tone, like I was talking about spooks and ghosts. She laughed and leaned back in, close enough that I couldn’t look into her eyes anymore.

She was quiet for a long moment. We had stopped stepping so much and were mostly standing in one place, swaying back and forth softly, probably out of time with the music. She was close enough that I could hear her breathing, and I tried not to swallow too audibly while thinking that she smelled nice. Like flowers. Or was it something in the garden? From this close, I could see that a few strands of coppery hair had come loose from the bun, drifting around her neck – but in a way that still looked perfectly put together. She felt soft and warm where she was pressed against me. “I don’t mean to be so distant with you,” she said in a soft whisper.

She leaned back to look me in the eye.

I struggled to find something to say in the moment. My mind oscillated between an abrupt “I do” and a lame “Okay” but I realized both of those options were very bad. Very very bad. So super very bad. Shit.

The bright side is, she must have been so used to dealing with guys that could schmooze and choose the perfect words in the moment that my lengthy silence and visible panic was at least entertaining to her. I watched the smile spread slowly across her face as she studied my expression. Her hands had shifted back up and I felt my mind go completely blank as her fingers brushed the back of my neck. “So don’t be?” I finally managed somewhere in that blankness.

For a moment, she seemed surprised by my answer. We stood together, the dance forgotten – I stared deeply into her very blue eyes.

Then she said, “Your hands are very close to my ass, sir.”

I quickly pulled my hands up, away from her body and into the air above my head. “What?” I said in confusion. “I don’t think they were?”

“They weren’t. I just wanted to see your reaction.”

Before I could respond with all the exasperation I felt at her teasing, I heard Lexie drawing out, “OooooOOOOoooh!” as she stepped out onto the balcony to see us standing so close together. Peyton’s hands dropped away as she stepped back, smiling at me mischievously. “Are you guys sharing a moment out here?” the younger girl asked.

“Of a sort,” Peyton said nonchalantly, finally breaking eye contact to look at Lexie.

I felt like I must be the same color as a beet. “I’m gonna go find a drink,” I said, walking back into the lighted ballroom.

“Wow, what did you do to him?” I could hear Lexie ask Peyton as I left, but I didn’t linger to hear the answer.

There were a few separate tables spread with simple foods and servants were walking by carrying trays with drinks. “Can I have one? Or do I have to place an order?” I asked a female dwarf that was walking past me, pointing at a crystal glass with some kind of green liquid in it.

“Help yourself,” she said pleasantly to me.

“Thank you!” I grabbed two glasses and downed them one after the other, then placed them back on the tray. Whatever it was, it was cold and creamy and faintly minty.

She looked at me curiously, faintly amused but doing her best to hide it. “Would you like the other two on the tray?” she offered.  I downed them also. “By the way… those are quite strong. You might want to wait awhile before drinking anything else.”

“Ah. You ummm… couldn’t have warned me about that before I had four?”

“You look like you needed them.” And she walked off to replenish her tray.

I sighed heavily, turning to look toward one of the tables in the corner. I wondered if I should at least put something on my stomach to throw up later, and wandered over to see what the selections were like. As I walked up, I saw that Asterollan was picking at some of the offerings on the table. I went to stand by him, happy to see a familiar face, and could see that Lyre and Cassandra were in his line of sight. They were talking to a dwarf that looked familiar to me – I realized he had been a part of the delegation that had escorted us to Saph Anchor. The one with the glasses and the messy brown hair that always seemed eager to speak to us before.

I looked over the food on the table. Some of it seemed familiar and some of it seemed uniquely bizarre – something that looked quite a lot like deviled eggs was set next to some strange blue paste formed into delicate flowers on crackers. I pondered the options, realizing that my mind was already feeling fuzzy from the drinks. Strange – they hadn’t burned like alcohol at all. From somewhere in the hall, I heard hushed murmuring as something caught peoples’ attention.

I grabbed one of the deviled eggs, biting into it – it was a bit spicier than I’m used to, but quite pleasant. I glanced around to see what everyone was fussing about to see that there were more guests arriving to the ball. The man that had announced us earlier now stepped out onto the dais of the stairs we had descended, and called out, “King Guilphrey Vanguard, First of His Name, of the Kingdom of Wryaes!” the dwarf called out. “And his accompaniment!” The announcement immediately caught Asterollan’s attention – his head snapped up to the stairs, his expression darkening. I noticed Lyre do a similar thing, his body going stiff and his face becoming paler.

A human man stepped out onto the top of the stairs. He was wearing armor, and though it was shiny I had the feeling it wasn’t ornamental. He wasn’t very old – maybe closer to Cassandra’s age. He had black hair and dark eyes that glittered in the light as he turned his head slowly, taking in the entirety of the ballroom. The guards on either side of him wore tabards of blue and grey, with a wolf’s long grey body stretched across the blue side, over full armor. They had swords at their hips, that they rested their hands on in an almost casual manner. There was also an elf standing just behind the man, a woman with long silvery hair and a face tattoo that covered one eye and spread across her face and down her neck in tendrils in a pattern that I couldn’t make out from where I stood. She stared out calmly across the room.

The people in the ballroom parted to make way for the King and Queen to step forward gracefully, ready to accept this apparently unexpected guest. Raella and Greyjon shadowed them, staring up at the man as well. I couldn’t hear what was happening from where I stood, but I did notice that Asterollan was moving, walking over to Cassandra and Lyre swiftly. “I’ve seen the wolf tabard before,” Cassandra was saying as we approached, a frown of worry creasing her brow.

“Yes. They’re from the same kingdom we escaped from,” Lyre was telling her. He glanced over at Asterollan with a suspicious frown.

Asterollan nodded as he came to a stop in front of them. “That’s the king.” He frowned over at where the human king and Raella appeared to be exchanging some tense, if quiet, words. “We should be ready to leave, just in case this gets bad.”

“Oh… Asterollan. Lucas. There’s something important I just found out.” Cassandra placed a hand on the shoulder of the dwarf she had been talking to. He jumped, a little surprised, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “This is Jon Umberling. He was just telling me… well. You were right.” Cassandra looked straight at me, her expression somber. For a moment, my alcohol-addled brain tried to figure out what I had been right about. “We’re sacrifices.”