Taylon (2 page)

***

“Someone comes!” A cry came out from the
tower. This was not an unusual message, but one not heard every
day. The watchman knew the members of the army, and wouldn’t
announce the approach if a rebel was returning. This call meant
someone advanced whom he did not recognize.

Fret glanced up, knowing he wouldn’t see
anything from where he was—just the crudely shaped fence walls.
Today he chopped wood for the fire, in a place farthest away from
the gate.

A few of the elves scrambled for a weapon,
while others ignored the call and went about their business. Fret
was curious, but knew as a slave it was not his place to do
anything. His intrusion would result in a quick slap or kick and
his removal He sighed and went back to chopping wood.

But after a few more whacks, Fret heard
murmuring and excitement from the gates. Two elfin riders trotted
in, escorted by Kerlick’s thugs.

“Council? Here….”

“But look….”

“How dare they.”

The reactions from the outlaws varied. Some
donned a fearful gaze, some were angry, and some looked comically
welcoming. One of the smaller bandits ran to get Kerlick.

The newcomers dismounted. Both were elves,
but had much darker skin than many of the clan here. If he
remembered, this race of elf called themselves Opi Chi.

Fret also noticed they were both women.

Kerlick made his way from his barracks
quickly. He stopped a few feet from the women, a shot of
recognition coming over his face.

“Katrena….”

But his shock was more intense and made him
jump back a few feet as he recognized his second guest.
“Da’Lynn!”

Immediately, he drew his dagger from his
belt. A few of the other rebels did so as well.

“Why did you let them pass?” Kerlick shouted
to his brethren.

“Peace to you,” the one he called Da’Lynn
said.

“Damn with your peace! Did you bring the
whole council here? Guards, why are you standing there!”

One large man did find the courage to charge
at Da’Lynn. The elf called Katrena made a move to block the attack,
but the other held her back. The rebel came in with a ridiculous
maneuver—a long staff he swiped downward at Da’Lynn. The dark one
caught the stick, snapped it in two, and drove the broken half
through her attacker’s neck. Blood spurted from the wound, raining
the ground. Everyone else in the crowd watched. Kerlick stood
mute.

Da’Lynn then stepped toward the dying brute
and bent down. Her riding vestment covered the dead. One arm of the
deceased lay outside the cloak, pointing as if in jest to the sky.
Kerlick’s eyes widened at the sound, and he watched in horror as
his fallen comrade’s arm shriveled and then disappeared completely.
When Da’Lynn stood, only the broken staff lay amongst a pile of
clothes.

Fret gasped. A flicker of a memory threatened
to surface. That seemed so long ago. The axe fell from his hand.
His insides screamed for him to run, hide, but his legs did not
move.

“Katrena… What have you brought into my
camp?” Kerlick’s eyes flicked from the pile that once was an elf,
to the woman responsible for the death.

Da’Lynn looked over the crowd of rebels,
walking casually, cautiously. She caught sight of Fret. All at
once, he remembered.

Lyra.
The whole reason he was here.
But what should he do? What
could
he do?

“I see you have changed your ways. A human in
camp. How very quaint.” Da’Lynn nodded.

Ignoring Da’Lynn, Kerlick turned toward
Katrena. After a moment of hesitation he spoke. “What… Why? I don’t
even know what to say.” His voice held anger, yet Fret thought he
heard fear.

The woman glared at Kerlick, unfazed by
everything going on around her. “I bring you your ticket, your
ultimate weapon against the council. You would think you would have
more to say to your mate than
why
.” She turned away from
him, leading her horse to a nearby trough. Kerlick watched her go.
Da’Lynn started to move in the opposite direction.

“You. Do not move.”

Da’Lynn stopped and slowly turned to address
Kerlick’s command.

“You do not order me.” She raised an accusing
finger. Her cloak shifted and Fret saw something around her
neck.

The mirror shard!
Terror erupted
within him. He stumbled backward, tripping over the wood. Finally,
his feet listened.
Run!

“Get me the boy,” Da’Lynn said. And soon
footfalls followed him.

Panic rushed through him, leaving
disorientation in its wake. Strong arms plucked him up. Fret knew
it was useless to resist.

“How
dare
you order my men. You have
no power here.” Kerlick’s strong words quivered at the end.

The rebel slammed Fret to the ground next to
Da’Lynn. She glanced down at him, and smirked before turning back
to Kerlick. Fret tried to stand, but a forceful hand encouraged him
to stay down.

“I come here to offer you a chance at
redemption.” Da’Lynn took calculated steps toward Kerlick. “I offer
a chance for you to regain your—let’s use your word—power.”

She stopped short of Kerlick, looking him up
and down.

“Why do you scorn me so much, Kerlick?”

“Because he was forced to marry
me
.”
Katrena entered into the conversation. Surprise crossed the
leader’s face. Fret noticed for the first time this elf was missing
her right hand.

“No.” Courage crept back into his voice as he
spoke, “The marriage was good, it was the council condemning me for
my actions. Your vote…” He managed to take a step forward and point
at Da’Lynn. “So I want nothing from you, short of you leaving my
camp.”

“I can promise to take down the council in
one day. I would need a little help from you, of course.” Da’Lynn
walked slowly over to the other dark elf and rested a hand on her
shoulder.

“And why should I trust you? Just because you
are with your daughter? Katrena has not been my mate for some time
now. There is no connection there.”

“Wow. Thanks.” Katrena folded her arms,
sullen. Kerlick looked as if he was formulating a retort, but held
his ground and focused on Da’Lynn.

She eyed him, not one emotion showing on her
face. “Bring the boy forward.”

Startled by the command, Kerlick looked back
and saw Fret led to the front. “What does this human slave have to
do with any of this?”

Fret trembled as he stumbled closer to the
dark elf. Katrena appeared unsettled too, which made him worry
about his fate. Was this it? Was Lyra going to get revenge on him
for losing her? He stood just out of arm’s reach. He immediately
focused in on the necklace. It began to pulse.

Da’Lynn looked down at the palm-sized pendant
hanging from a silver chain. A crystal casing enclosed the mirror
fragment. “You like? My daughter made this for me.” Fret stared at
the fragment as the pulse of color intensified. His fear softened,
and he thought he could hear her voice again.
Lyra…is that
you?

“Again, why is my slave involved?” Kerlick’s
annoyed words brought Fret out of his trance.

“Because, he helped bring this new power I
possess to the Territories. He will be the key in bringing down the
council. He will help bring down Shalaydis.”

Kerlick stared from Da’Lynn to Katrena, and
then Fret.

“Is this true, slave?” When he didn’t get an
answer, the elf turned Fret to fully face him. “Answer me, is this
true?”

Deep in his subconscious, Lyra’s voice came
to him. It whispered,
Lie to him. Tell him all I say is
true.
The tone cut deep into him, making him very afraid as he
followed the advice.

“Yes...yes it is true.” The elf’s hands
slowly released him.

For the first time today, Fret saw Kerlick
smile.

Chapter Two

“I think the wizard’s getting stressed
lately,” Snow said as she climbed a small rise.

Ra’na and Snowbell talked as they made their
way through the forest. They had gone to pick up some supplies for
an afternoon meal, and now headed back to Ynob’s tree. The forest
was unusually quiet for such a beautiful day. When in the company
of the others in the group, a serene walk would be out of the
ordinary. But snow sensed something was a tad peculiar.

“Stressed? I thought he always seemed
stressed. Or annoyed,” Ra’na jokingly stated. Snow glanced at Ra’na
over her shoulder.

“No, really. I think all this pouring over
Guilaud’s diary, or whatever, is wearing him out. I am glad Lourak
decided to leave for the week. He was really getting under Ynob’s
skin.”

The dark elf laughed. “That’s Lourak for
you—crude, rude, and sometimes foul. But he is very handy to have
watching your back.”

They were almost back to the tree. Snow hoped
Gantha and the wizard would not be fighting, again. She enjoyed
these moments with Ra’na, out in the woods. Life had been so
different before that human girl came along.
Kara.
How long
ago that seemed.

But then, she recalled that night and Dante
and Grace. Had she almost forgotten about them?

“Snow?”

“What?”

“I was saying… Are you alright?” Ra’na
paused, taking a hard look at the girl.

“Yes…I was thinking how different life has
become ever since Kara.”

Ra’na nodded. “Hambone still talks about her.
Must have been a special human. Pity I did not get to meet
her.”

Snow looked at her. “You still can. It’s not
like she died or anything…”
But Dante and Grace did.
Sadness
filled her eyes and threatened to spill over. She looked away and
began to move.

Ra’na seemed to sense Snow’s anguish and
placed a hand on her back. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to dredge up
the past.” Snow spun and hugged the elf tight.

“I miss them so much. The way they made me
laugh…” Tears fell, and Ra’na squeezed tighter.

“Grace and Dante were the best.” And the two
stayed like that, lost in their memories of dear departed
friends.

CAW! CAW!

The sound made them both jump. When they
realized it was a crow sitting in a nearby sapling, Snow began to
laugh. Ra’na soon followed, all tears forgotten.

“Let’s get…” Ra’na began, before an avian
call cut off her words.

CAW! CAW!

Snow looked at the bird. It stared back with
beady black eyes. “What a rude little….”

CAW! CAW!

Ra’na looked at Snow and then back at the
animal.

“It’s a carrier crow. But who would be….”

CAW! CAW!

“Alright already!” Ra’na screamed at the bird
as she approached. When she neared, the crow jumped onto her arm.
Carefully, Ra’na extracted the note from the compartment on the
bird’s leg. As soon as the message was out and the container
closed, the bird flew off.

CAW! CAW!

“Good riddance to you as well,” Snow said in
reply. “What’s it say?”

Ra’na unrolled the paper and read. “It’s from
the council. They are looking for a report from Gantha. He needs to
return immediately.”

Snow looked down at the message. “I wonder
why it was sent to you.”

“Maybe the crow couldn’t find Gantha or
Da’Lynn.”

“Heck,
we
can’t even seem to find
Da’Lynn,” Snow said, but then noticed the look that came over
Ra’na’s face. Almost similar to the one she herself had a moment
ago.

“Come on. We better let them know.” And the
dark elf was walking again.

***

“Finally, will you tell this imbecile that I
know what I am talking about?” Ynob greeted them at the door this
way, followed by Gantha who was ready to chime in to defend
himself.

“All I am saying is that….”

“Stop!” Ra’na yelled. Ynob looked taken
aback, but both men closed their mouths. “Here.” She handed Gantha
the slip of paper. He read it. Snow and Ra’na slipped by the two as
they stared at it.

“Where…?” Gantha turned to ask.

“Crow,” Ra’na said as she started preparing
the meal.

“A crow? You have
got
to be kidding
me. The council still uses crow carriers?” Ynob looked astounded.
He partially laughed at the annoyed look on Ra’na’s face.

“It says there is a meeting in two days. But
why another?” Gantha asked no one in particular. He left the wizard
to his own humor and sought out more answers from the women.

Ra’na was already warming the bread she had
brought, and Snow was busy slicing some cheese. Gantha watched them
for a moment, hoping one would say something more about the memo or
the crow. Neither did.

Gantha looked down at the scrap of parchment.
Report…but he really had nothing to report. He possibly had found
the wizard of races, but good lot that did. The
savior from the
prophecy
, so far, was not that helpful.

“You probably should start to gather some of
your things if you have to reach Shalaydis in two days,” Ra’na
said. The councilman kept staring at the note.

“Um, right. Are you going with me?” He hoped
his pleading look registered with her.

“Um no. I wasn’t planning on it.”

Gantha was crestfallen, but then glanced to
Snow. “Same here. Why don’t you take Ynob?”

“What?” both the wizard and Gantha
exclaimed.

Ra’na smirked. “Yes, he could explain your
progress to the council.” Ynob had made his way to the
conversation. He looked bewildered.

“Just what I want to do. Plus I have
so
many pressing matters here.” He swept his hand outward to
the room. Snow watched the gesture, surveyed the room and then
straight at Ynob. His strong resolve started to crumble.
“What?”

“You haven’t had a customer in over two
weeks. The last one here? I literally had to drag you away from
Gantha and that stupid book, and force you to offer your
services.”