The Wrath of Pan (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 2) (22 page)

I was at my desk, reading over some various reports when I heard a knock on my door.  I was not expecting anyone to come by, but it was not unheard of either.  Getting up, I went over and opened the door to see my favorite elf standing there.

“Rumil my girl!  Getting your father all worked up again I see!”

“Hello Algrim, what do I owe this late evening visit?”  I moved out of the way and let him in.  “Should you not be at your forges?  I am sure all the clans are keeping you busy.”

He took a seat at my desk while I sat on my bed.  “Bah, they can all wait.  I am telling you, something foul is in the air.  This conflict brewing with the Aesir reeks of light elves, but no one can prove it.”

“I believe that as well.  Whenever I try to tell father it would be best not to waste our time spying on the few Aesir running around the forest, he just brushes me off.”

Algrim started laughing, “That is exactly why I am here my spunky little princess.  Until Oor stops listening to that pile of Garm shite Azmodeous, this will never change.  Your father is only doing as he is told, so try not to make it harder for him.”

Huh, so that was why he was here.  “The Algrim I grew up knowing would have never followed orders he did not believe in.”

“And that is why I broke away from the clans and became the blacksmith.  You, on the other hand, are too entrenched to break away.  You are destined for greatness child and I truly believe that.”

“Now you are just trying to cheer me up.  My destiny is to forever be entangled in these petty conflicts it would seem.”  It was times like this I envied whoever lived on Midgard.  They were cut off from the troubles the rest of the realms dealt with.  It was no wonder Master Fenrir chose to go there.

Breaking away from my thoughts, “Algrim, what can you tell me about Midgard?”

“What is this curiosity all of the sudden?”

“I just envy their position, sealed off from the rest of the realms.  I would imagine it is a peaceful and happy realm.”

He tapped his finger on his head while thinking.  “To be honest, I do not know much about it.  The Aesir used to go over there from time to time, but for some reason it was sealed off.  I know for a fact that no dark elf has ever been there.”

From my limited reading after father told me about Master Fenrir leaving, I knew the people of Midgard were called humans, but very little was referenced about them or what abilities they may possess.

“I would not go daydreaming about life on another realm.  We have work here to do and it would be best if you kept your thoughts on that.”

I sighed, “Of course.  I will do my best to keep to whatever plans my father has.”

“That is my girl.  In the meantime, may I also suggest you get out and start introducing yourself to more elves?  A woman of your age should already have found her one, if not already gone through the rituals.”

I am sure he felt the needles coming from my eyes, as he got really quiet upon finishing.  “Again, I know my father put you up to this, but at this point, I am happy.  When I am ready to find my mate, I will let everyone know.  Until then, you can tell father to worry about his own issues.”

Algrim grunted something along the lines of an apology and said goodnight.  I hated getting angry with him, but he should have known better than to get involved with that particular argument.  I knew deep down that I just had not met the right one for me yet and I was not in any rush to.  I knew I was being a silly child, but I wanted my soul mate to be different than everyone else.  I wanted it to be like the stories my mother told me as a child where two total strangers met and it was love at first sight.

Now was not the time to think about it or to have to deal with my father and his pestering.  Tomorrow I would be saddled with a new group of elves that would need training.  Going into the forest, even for a simple hunting excursion could still get one killed.  I resolved myself that after a quick breakfast, I would hone my shooting and make sure I had plenty of arrows sharpened to be on the ready.

As I lay down, my last thoughts were of my mother who died too early.  During a hunting trip with a few other elves, including Azmodeous, she had died when they were attacked by dire wolves.  Azmodeous had been the only survivor and relayed the story.  Father was too distraught to ever question it, but to me, it seemed questionable.  At the very least, I came to regard Azmodeous as a bit of a coward.  If the attack was that bad, he should have died too, helping to defend the party.  No, I suspected he ran to save his own life and let the other die that fateful day.

Sleep was overcoming me, and as I passed into my dreams, I heard my mother’s voice admonishing me. “Do not think about the past, daughter.  No, embrace the future as your destiny is soon at hand.”

I had left the dining hall after a quick breakfast.  When I returned to my room, I found a bunch of arrows leaning up against my door with a note.

‘I updated the shafts with a steel alloy.  These should fly truer and give you more accuracy.  Not that you need it, but let me know either way.’

-Algrim

I smiled to myself.  I could only guess that this was his way of saying he was sorry for getting in the middle of my business with father.  I picked up the arrows and they were quite a bit lighter than the last batch he had made for me.  Excited, I went to my closet and grabbed my bow.  Unlike normal long bows that most dark elf archers use, mine was quite a bit different.  A little shorter, but with a double bend at the end and a second piece of wood running parallel to the limbs gave it extra weight on the draw.  Algrim called it a compound bow.

It did not take me long to get to the training range.  There were a few of my cousins at the range, and I waved to them.  I made my way past down to the end of the range that was known as Rumil’s Corner.  My targets were not stationary, moving up and down, left to right, at high speeds.  I had trained so hard to become the top marksman in my clan.

Eager to try out the new arrows Algrim fashioned for me, I quickly went to work.  His words were true, as the arrows flew straighter, but they also hit the mark harder.  Five arrows in and I had already ruined three of my targets.  No matter, the joy of shooting arrows that produced such accuracy and power was exhilarating.

“I am not surprised to find you here at the range again.”

I jumped and my shot went way off.  I turned around, right into the smirking face of Mallerk, one of Azmodeous’s guards.  “What are you doing here?”

Just looking at him made me ill and the fact he continually tried to advance on me made it even worse.  “I thought I would see how my chosen one was fairing.”

The thought of that made me want to throw up my breakfast.  “You overstep your bounds; I am definitely not your chosen.”

“That is because you refuse to place your palms with mine.  The Norns will bless our union.”

“I do not think so, for I have not upset them so much that they would place me with you.”

His smirk faded.  I could only guess realization set in.  “So you are refusing to see what destiny has in store for us?”

“I have no desire to see what I already know.  We are not to be mates Mallerk and it is best if you get that through your head.”

He quickly advanced towards me, with his arm out.  Before he could grab me, I had an arrow knocked in the bow and pointed right between his eyes.  “One more step and the only destiny you will have will be with the Mistress Hel.”

“Rumil Darklighter, you dare point a weapon at a royal guard to the advisor Azmodeous?”  Anger was boiling on his face; a vein in his forehead was throbbing.

“I do more than point it at you.  My words were not a threat but a promise.  Now I suggest you slither back to the royal estate as you are currently in Darklighter territory and my word is law here.”  To make the point even more clear, I drew the arrow back to its full draw length.

After a moment, Mallerk finally backed down and moved away.  “I will not forget this.  So help me, one day I will give you the same humiliation that you have given me.”

“I will not be holding my breath to see if that day comes.  Now leave my territory and do not come back unless it is for actual business.”

Turning on heel, Mallerk stormed out of training grounds and towards the exit of the cave.

“Provoking him was not the wisest thing you could have done, but I do enjoy seeing your spunk.”

This voice was much more welcome.  “How much of this did you see from your shadows Ustin?”

“Enough to know that you have given Hargna quite a headache.  I am quite sad that I will not be around to see the fallout from Mallerk’s anger.  It would be a most enjoyable show to watch.”

Ustin, one of the Dark Moons, was a friend.  I knew he wanted there to be more, but the blue light between our palms proved to me that friends is all we should be.  I gathered each time we greeted each other, he hoped it would change, but it never did.

“Father will just have to deal with it like he always does.  Tell them how much of a bad temper I have and that they should know better than to wake a sleeping dragon.”

He chuckled, as he knew just how true that was.  “It is a shame that the captain of the guard for the royal advisor is such an idiot.  I will never know what Azmodeous saw in him to grant him such a position.”

I bit my tongue.  I did not like Azmodeous and saying anything against him, even to a friend could have consequences.  “It is neither here nor there.  I suspect you are getting ready for your adventure to Jotenheim?”

“This is true.  I came by to wish you well on yours as well.  Hopefully all of our expeditions go accordingly and everyone returns.”

“As do I.  Something is certainly not right with the entire situation in Asgard and hopefully I can find out some information to help us.”

He shook his head in agreement.  “And let us find out that there is nothing to worry about in Jotenheim.  If the ice giants are on the move again, it could be most tragic.”

“Agreed.  Then may The Norns watch over you Ustin and bring you back safely.”

He took my hand, “And you Rumil,” he gave me a knowing smile, “for I picked the elves who will be going with you.”

Ragnarok on Ice Series:

Blood and Arrows (Prequel)

Power Play (Book 1)

Hat Trick (Book 1.5)

Penalty Kill (Book 2)

Face Off (Book 2.5)

The Inglewood Chronicles:

The Cactus Killer (Volume 1)

The Wrath of Pan (Volume 2)

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Jeremy Croston

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