Taylon (14 page)

Euphoria was already prepared and ready. She had
feasted upon a lost squire and a soldier’s mistress that had snuck
into camp the night before. Another officer told the soldier his
ladyfriend had been sent back to the castle. He had unknowingly
brought the queen a meal.

The armory cast plate mail specifically designed for
Euphoria upon her command. Usually most kings stayed toward the
back of an advancing army, queens rarely ever went. But Euphoria
chose to lead the group. Her new captain would make it so.

Figaro and Daisy had light armor as well, which they
seemed to dislike. It was more for show than protection. But the
new shielding made the cats look scarier than they had been before.
To top it off, Daisy growled as she walked behind Euphoria through
camp. Soldiers leapt out of her way.

Nonk stood overlooking the wall, or what remained of
it. Lust for blood—revenge—pulsed through him, not so much for the
Territories or its creatures. This is why Euphoria liked him. Nonk
wanted to kill anything. He had a hatred for life, and needed to
stomp it out in any form he saw. She saw this clearly radiating
from him, and enjoyed it.

“This shall be a glorious day,” Euphoria said beside
him. Nonk quickly turned and bowed. The tigers sneered.

“Your majesty, the men should be ready soon and we
shall begin the march. Scout estimates say the market is about two
hours away. About three for the army.”

A wicked smile creased her face as she turned out to
face the non-existent wall. So much power, and soon there would be
so much chaos.

***

Da’Lynn was sick of marching. The elves had already
come a day’s journey and still had more to go just to get to
Aladedas. She questioned her own commands, wondering if this was
the right choice.

Unlike the human queen, the elves treated their
mistress as if she were one of them. There was no special tent or
treatment for Da’Lynn. With Katrena gone, her feeding became
increasingly difficult. The night before, she had feasted on four
different elves because each came upon her while she was feeding on
the previous one.

But she had control of the army, so the power was
there. These elves were just a tad smarter than the humans.

“Mistress Da’Lynn. The army is ready to move out,” a
scout came to report.

“Good. And how long until we reach Aladedas?”

“About four hours, maybe more.”

Another four hours of marching only to get them
closer to the enemy. She needed chaos and confusion soon or she was
going to be bored out of her mind.

“Have we come across any of my special force group?”
Kerlick’s rebels were now her
special force
group. The other
soldiers seemed to accept it. She had sent Kerlick and his band out
to clear up a loose end, but they had yet to report back.

“No, ma’am.” The scout saluted and moved off.

Da’Lynn’s anger grew a shade redder knowing that the
wizard and Gantha were still out there. It was possible they could
ruin what she had here, but it was unlikely.

Beneath her armor, her fragment necklace glowed
bright. She still had another month until the power of the Palace
of Nine was hers. After that, she could rid herself of the elves
and any other influence she cared to throw away.

***

What the hell was happening to him?

Fret rocked back and forth in one of Ginger’s
bedrooms. He picked a dark corner hoping he could shake away the
visions.

“He’s dead…dead…” Words came out in a mumbled mantra
as he held his knees. The stupid ring on his finger sparkled even
though no sunlight hit it.

“You’re just going to have to accept it,” said a
voice behind him.

“But why me?” Fret didn’t bother to turn and direct
his question. He rocked and stared blankly at the wall.

“Resurrection….”

Ynob had died that evening, right before midnight.
The poison had turned his veins black as his blood dried inside
them. All had been present, staring down upon the magical man lying
prone in the bed.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing else I can do.” Ginger
sighed.

Snow wept upon Ynob’s chest, which barely rose with
each breath. His eyes were open, yet glazed. Ra’na stood behind
Snow, doing her best to comfort. Jesset and Hambone stood at a
distance, not sure what to do with themselves.

Fret stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at
the man. He had never experienced death like this, of someone he
knew. There were a few times Fret thought the wizard recognized him
and was ready to say something, but the moments passed quickly.

When death came, it was silent. One moment the wizard
was breathing and the next, he had stopped. Fret felt the need to
take the man’s lifeless hand in his. There was a faint squeeze, and
he was gone.

Snow wailed. Tears came to Ginger and Ra’na. Fret
noticed Hambone and Jesset look away, wiping their eyes before
standing strong in the corner. Hambone led Ra’na out of the room
and Jesset helped Ginger.

“I’m sorry,” Fret murmured to Snow as he, too, left
her to be alone. It was after that when things began to get
weird.

While sitting at the kitchen table, he saw Ynob walk
by the window. Fret choked on his mead.

“What?” Jesset asked concerned. But by the time his
coughing fit had subsided, Fret had chalked it up to being
tired.

Hambone and Ra’na had turned in for the night. Sleep
soon claimed Ginger and Jesset. Their eyes drooped as they sat with
Fret at the table. No one spoke, which just encouraged sleep.

Ginger finally stood and bid them goodnight. Both men
watched her leave, still charmed by her. As Fret turned back to his
cup, Ynob occupied her chair.

“Ahh!” A quick yell, as Fret pushed back from the
table. When his eyes looked again, Ginger’s chair was empty.

Jesset stood concerned. “Maybe you should get to bed
too.” Fret nodded and made his way to his room. As he entered, Ynob
sat on his bed bouncing. The boy quickly turned to run, but ended
up smacking into Jesset.

“Ynob…” was all Fret could say as he pointed back to
his room. Jesset grabbed the boy in an embrace.

“I know. Death is a hard thing. Get some sleep. It
will be better in the morning.” The old man released him. Fret
watched him disappear down the hall.

Slowly the boy approached his room and peeked inside.
No wizard. A sigh escaped him. He caught movement in the hall. Ynob
stood next to him. Fret ran into his room, slamming the door, and
found his dark corner.

Now, he rocked back and forth. He was sure Ynob or
something was still in the room with him.

“Resurrection….”

“You mean the prophecy?” Fret had come out of his
shell shock slowly, but he wasn’t ready to turn around yet.

“That’s the only thing I can figure. Because I am
resurrected…in a sense.”

Fret finally built up the courage to turn and look.
The wizard stood behind him. On a closer glance though, it wasn’t
actually a solid Ynob. He was transparent, almost see-through. A
spirit, ghost.

He reached out to touch the wizard, but his hand
simply passed through the robes.

“Hey! I believe that is considered rude in my current
state.”

“Oh…um sorry.” Fret began to unfold himself from his
tight ball. The fright and shock of the matter was wearing off now.
He seemed to accept the fact that he was talking to a dead man.

Ynob sat on the bed, but the hand-stitched quilt
spread neatly over the expanse didn’t wrinkle. The bed didn’t
creak. The wizard stared at his hands.

Fret stood and joined him on the bed. “Can the others
see you?”

“No, which is disappointing, because I am stuck with
you.”

He didn’t know what to say. The wizard maintained his
rude demeanor.

“I tried to get Snow’s attention first, but she
didn’t react and soon fell into slumber on my corpse. Ra’na and
Hambone were fast asleep, but after seeing that I was only able to
startle you and not the old man or the satyr, my guess is that it
is only you.”

“But why?” Fret said extending his hands outward in a
gesture. The wizard’s eyes widened and one ghost hand reached out
to grab Fret’s. It passed through, and Fret jerked away.
“What…!”

“Why are you wearing that ring?” Anger coursed
through the wizard’s voice as he tried to grab once more. Fret
jumped off the bed.

“I had to put it on. You wanted me to save the books.
And then I had to save you!” Fret cried out defensively.

“You did a fine job of that!” Ynob stood and gestured
at himself. “Where are the books?”

“I don’t know! I woke up here after collapsing on
you.” The frustration crept through him as the wizard’s tone became
irate.

“First, I lose my ring, then my books, and then my
life. Thank you, little boy!” Ynob threw his hands up in the air
and walked away. Fret watched him try to storm off. The wizard
tried to reach for the doorknob twice before realizing the
hopelessness of it. He walked straight through the door.

“Wait…where are you going?” Forgetting others were
sleeping, Fret ran and opened the door. The wizard was nowhere. The
house was quiet. He thought about going to search for Ynob, but
realized he didn’t think himself crazy for believing in ghosts.

He stood there for a good five minutes thinking. Was
it all just an illusion? Maybe it
was
because he was too
tired. In the end, that was what Fret concluded. He practically
fell into bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

“Wake up, little boy!”

Fret jolted out of sleep. Sunlight filled the room.
Next to him stood the wizard.

The shock of seeing Ynob rocketed him to a sitting
position. Something clicked, as he remembered the previous
evening.

“Great to see you up. Did you sleep well? That’s
good. Oh, by the way, Snow is
gone
!” He yelled the last
words at him.

“Wha…who da…?” Even though his mind was awake, his
body still was shaking off the slumber.

“That’s just great. My hero, the bumbling idiot!”
Ynob crossed his arms and turned away.

It took a moment for Fret to reply. “You know, for a
spirit or ghost…you are very
loud
!” Fret did his best to
mimic the magic user’s tone. Ynob did not appreciate it.

His hand came to his forehead before speaking. “I
just told you that Snow was gone, and your first thought is to
insult me! I am so happy that out of everyone present, I get the
moron to talk to.”

The boy wanted to grumble, complain, but the wizard’s
words about Snow hit home. “Snow? Where did she go?”

Ynob was ready with a retort but changed his mind as
he saw Fret’s was genuine concern. “My guess is she ran off to kill
the elves that killed me.”

“Oh crap!” Fret got to his feet, but before he got to
the door Ra’na burst in.

“Snow is gone!”

“I know.”

This made Ra’na pause. “What do you mean you
know?”

This made Fret pause. What was he going to tell her?
Should he say he was talking to Ynob who died last night? Something
told him that wouldn’t be the greatest idea.

“Snow? I thought you said…Gantha.”

Ra’na looked at the boy with an interesting
expression. “Get to the kitchen. We have to decide what to do,” and
she was gone in a flash.

Ynob still stood next to Fret, his hands on his hips.
“See, I told you.”

Fret ignored him, as he straightened his clothes.

The kitchen was already full and rowdy. Ginger was
busy cooking up food—some kind of meat and eggs. Fret’s stomach
rumbled. Jesset sat at the table, while Ra’na and Hambone
argued.

“You can’t go off by yourself! Those rebels almost
killed you in the first place. Plus the human army is still out
there!”

“I know what I am doing. I can hold my own. I am an
Opi’Chi.” Ra’na held her ground.

Fret made his way in, and sat down without
acknowledgement. Ynob stood beside him, invisible to everyone
else.

“Even though I don’t care for elves, if anyone can
find Snow, Ra’na can,” Ynob said, making Fret look behind him.

Jesset caught the reaction. “You okay?”

Fret just nodded.

Ginger banged a pot. When she had everyone’s
attention, she spoke. “No one is going anywhere without a decent
morning meal. I know I just met you, but I’m not turning out anyone
until they are properly fed. After that, you can decide who’s going
to kill who.”

Chapter Fourteen

He felt like crap. The night in the tree had not been
a restful one. His leg still stung from the bite, and his muscles
ached. Taylon waited until the sun was past the horizon, just to be
absolutely sure the wolves had gone. Every time he woke last night,
there was a wolf below him, saliva dripping between its sharp fangs
as it paced back and forth. But as dawn broke, the creatures
retreated.

Taylon made his way down the path he had ran the
previous night, and found his horse’s carcass. Insects were
swarming what still clung to the bones. He found the saddle chewed
up as well. Close by was the cleaned skeleton of the wolf he had
killed, his sword still driven through its head. Even in death, the
beast was amazing. After a moment of staring at the skeleton,
Taylon recovered his sword.

His life had changed so much in less than a day.
Taylon rubbed his forehead trying to relieve the mental anguish. It
was then that his stomach growled.

How was he to make it through the day without food as
he traveled through this strange forest? And what good would he be
to the girl or the wizard if he found them? His only strategy was
to follow the path and hope it took him somewhere friendly.

But as Taylon walked, the forest became creepy and
dark. The vegetation changed from a light forest green to a dark,
ominous stale brown color. Soon the trail looked forbidding too, as
rocks and tree roots crept into it. But the ex-captain trudged
through. Fatigue started to set in, and each step became labored.
His head drooped, fixed a few inches before his feet, instead of
straight ahead.