Chartile: Prophecy (25 page)

The man closed his eyes, his breathing
became slower and forced. Piper knelt beside him, and the boys
followed suit. She placed a hand on the man’s brow and spoke
softly. “What is your name, brave soldier, that I may speak it to
the stars tonight and pray you find your way home?”

“
Tathias,” he
whispered.

“
Tathias, can you tell us
what you mean when you say she will find a way back in?”

Tathias released one long exhale. His hand
went limp in Jayson’s palm and his body relaxed, all the wrinkles
leaving his pained face.

Jayson, Jack, Leo and Piper silence for
nearly a full minute, lost within their own thoughts and feelings.
Finally, Piper rose, looking down at the elf before her. “Did you
catch the other one?” she asked Jack. The boy shook his head and
Piper nodded. “Then we need to report this immediately. Come.”

They stood to follow Piper. Jayson bent to
retrieve the bow Dimitri had thrown to the ground. He stopped
before his hand tightened around his bow. He had killed someone.
The arrow that had pierced the man’s lung was his. He had meant to
aim for the elf’s shoulder. He couldn’t understand how he had
missed. His visions had come true. He had actually killed someone.
Jayson ran to the nearest tree. He fell to his knees, trembling,
crying and vomiting. Leo, Jack, Piper and even Dimitri scrambled
back to him.

“
Jay, are you okay?” Leo
asked from several feet away.

“
Are you hurt?” Jack
asked. He stood beside Leo, the two exchanged looks of
concern.

Jayson said nothing. He rocked back and
forth, his arms clutched tightly across his chest and tears
spilling down his face.

Piper pushed past Jack and Leo and knelt
beside him. She wrapped an arm around him and he fell into her, his
tears almost instantly soaking her tunic where he buried his face
in her shoulder.

“
It’s alright,” she
whispered, and stroked his hair like her mother once did for
her.

“
It’s my fault,” Jayson
choked, “I did it. I k-killed—”

“
No,” said Piper. “No, do
not talk that way.” But she knew he was right. Even if Dimitri had
cooperated, Tathias would not have survived the trek across the
mountain to the healers. Jayson had acted out of instinct to the
prophecy as a King and what they had been training for. But, he had
also been the one that had cut the cord on Tathias’s last
breath.

“
Piper,” said Dimitri. His
voice had returned to its soft and caring tone once more. “We must
inform the Elders.”

Piper nodded and turned back to Jayson.

“
We will always remember
Tathias,” she said and held Jayson at arm’s length. “His sacrifice
has allowed us the chance at the upper hand against Taraniz. We
must inform the Elders. If we are able to save more people with
this information, then we can right this wrong.”

Jayson breathed deeply and wiped his face on
his shirt.

“
It’s what we’re supposed
to do anyway,” he said. His voice was stronger and
steadier.

“
Only if you want to,”
Piper reminded him.

“
For Tathias,” Jayson
whispered. Piper hugged him and pulled him to his feet. Dimitri
handed Jayson his bow and quiver, an unspoken apology in his
eyes.

The group tore back through the door to the
Black Diamond’s mine. Those in the central trading square looked up
as they dodged passersby in a panicked frenzy.

“
Jentar!” Jack cried to
the man who sold them their weapon supplies. “Where are Kylani and
Brande?” They skidded to a halt in front of the merchant. Jayson
fell on the smooth floor, but no one took notice.

“
I do not know,” said
Jentar with a shrug. “In the main armory, perhaps?”

“
Send someone to find
them. Have them meet in the Crystal Quarter. It’s an emergency,”
said Leo. Jentar nodded and the group took off again.

The one time they wished the corridors were
full of guards was the one time the tunnels were completely empty.
They ran as fast as they could back to the Sapphire Quarter. They
hoped to find one of the Royals or Elders currently in
residence.

Two guards stood at attention outside Una’s
rooms. They shouldered out of the way, bewildered when the five
stopped before them, panting, clutching cramps in their sides and
even coughing.

“
We need to speak to Queen
Una immediately,” puffed Dimitri. “Please, Ketill.” The guard
looked suspiciously at the faces staring up at him.

“
I am sorry, Dimitri. I
cannot,” he said.

“
Please,” pleaded Jayson.
“There was a spy for Taraniz. We just heard him talking to her
guards. One of them got away. They’re gunna attack Mount Kelsii
before the soldiers from Tutaria get here.”

The guards sighed and exchanged looks of
regret. Before either could speak, the door opened. Una, dressed in
a robe and her hair tied up in a towel, scowled at them.

“
What is the commotion out
here?” She fell silent when she saw who stood before her and
glared. “What are you doing here? Causing more trouble, I presume.
I thought the kings were supposed to right the wrongs of our land,
not cause more.”

“
Una,” said Piper, pushing
past the guards. “You must call a meeting of the Elders and
commanders. We have less time than we thought before Taraniz
attacks.”

“
Why should I believe you,
elf?” Una spat. “I do not care what Nefiri believes. You are no
Queen. Not now and not ever. A title and a crown does not make you
a Royal. Go! All of you!”

Una moved to slam the door. Ketill reached
past Piper and stopped the door with his spear. Everyone caught
their breath as Una looked at Ketill wide eyed.

“
Forgive me, my Queen,” he
said. “I love my people too much to have these words of caution go
unheeded. If it is nothing, then we still have nothing to fear and
we may proceed as planned.”

“
I should have you
stripped of your titles, Ketill,” Una breathed. “You are unfit to
live as the second hasana of such a noble house as Aulfr. How dare
you speak to me in such a way. How dare you speak to me at all!”
She lifted her hand to strike him, but Leo jumped between
them.

“
Stop!” Leo cried, holding
up his hands. “This is exactly what Taraniz wants. The more we
fight amongst ourselves, the weaker we become!”

“
We?” shrieked Una. A few
Elders had unlocked their doors to peek at the uproar in the hall.
“You are not one of us, Leonardo DeHaven! You have no right to
speak to me in this manner.”

“
What is going on here?”
Frejah folded her arms before her as she approached Una.

“
We need to call an
emergency meeting,” Jayson cried. “Taraniz is going to attack us
sooner than we thought!”

“
This is absurd.
Absolutely ridiculous!” said Una, throwing her hands up.

“
I will inform Nefiri at
once,” said Frejah, and she hurried away. Una stared after her, her
jaw clenched tight. She turned on Leo, who still stood between her
and Ketill.

“
For your sake, I pray
this is no trick.” She slammed the door behind her, leaving those
at her door silent, and the onlookers in the hall whispering
amongst themselves.

“
Thank you, Ketill,” said
Dimitri softly.

“
She will dismiss me,”
said Ketill, and he shifted his spear from hand to hand nervously.
“I have defied a woman, and my Queen at that. I will be called a
Black Diamond for my actions. I will never find work in the
mountain again.”

“
Gemari won’t let that
happen,” said Jack.

Ketill looked at Jack, who stood nearly as
tall as the dwarf. Jack nodded and followed his friends up the
hall.

Frejah and Nefiri wasted no time in
gathering the Elders and Royals. And, thanks to Jack’s quick
thinking, even Brande and Kylani were present. Una continued to
protest against them, but most everyone was in agreement they could
not risk waiting for the Tutarian reinforcements to arrive. Plans
were made to begin evacuating Mount Kelsii immediately and send
them along the Great Passage to the Tutarian Mountains.

Jack, Leo and Jayson had briefly heard of
the Great Passage from Gemari. As they ate a small meal before
joining the soldiers helping with the evacuation, Dimitri explained
further.

“
The Great Passage is a
tunnel that leads from Mount Kelsii, under the Great Plains, and
nearly all the way to the Tutarian Mountain range. It comes up in
the foot hills of the mountains and is about a day’s journey from
the front gates of the mountain. It is often used as a major trade
route between our peoples. It is a straighter and faster way, and
we are sheltered from the elements as opposed to travelling above
ground.”

“
How far is it from here
to the Tutarian Mountains?” Leo asked.

“
If you travelled by The
Great Passage I would expect it would be about a week, perhaps two
for our evacuees as they will have undoubtedly burdened themselves
with unnecessary trinkets.”

“
Dimitri, you can’t blame
them.” Jack popped a spiced mushroom into his mouth, chewed quickly
and continued. “They may never come back here again. If Taraniz is
successful, all of this could be destroyed.”

“
She won’t destroy it,”
said Piper. “It’s too valuable of an asset. She may repurpose it,
but the mountain will still remain, more or less
anyway.”

“
Let us hope,” said
Dimitri. He bit off a piece of mountain boar jerky and stared
quietly at the wall.

Chapter Sixteen

Change and
Stubbornness

The day seemed to fly by in a frenzy of
screaming children and absolute, utter chaos. As easy as it should
have been for the citizens to pack a few essentials and proceed
calmly to the Crystal Quarter for final preparations, it apparently
wasn’t. The dwarves could not leave their treasures behind, and
carried bags full of jewels, paintings, and fancy cutlery in lieu
of clothes and blankets. Once a home was evacuated, it was searched
by the Kelsii soldiers. Any food left behind was taken to the
Crystal Quarter for redistribution or storage for the trip ahead.
There would be hundreds of mouths to feed, and many had
conveniently forgotten how necessary food was for the long trek
ahead of them. Once the quarter had been pronounced clear, guards
were stationed at its entrance to ensure no one reentered, and the
citizens were escorted from the Crystal Quarter to the Great
Passage with considerable more food and far less silverware.

Jayson, Jack and Leo worked through the
night ensuring the homes in each quarter were empty. The dwarves
had offered them a bitter tasting energy bar of sorts that kept
them wide awake. It reminded them of chocolate, and they ate as
much as they could until they were positively buzzing with energy.
They were assisting in a final sweep of the Ruby Quarter when the
door to a homestead Jayson had just searched closed behind him. He
tapped Jack and Leo on the shoulder and motioned for them to
follow.

Jayson fitted an arrow to his bow and
stepped quietly to the door. He listened for a moment then kicked
in the door, bow aimed and ready to fire. Jack and Leo stood
waiting on either side of him. A little girl, no more than six
years old, dropped a stale crust of bread that had been left
behind. She ducked behind a table in the front workshop of the
home, and the boys all lowered their weapons.

“
It’s alright,” Jayson
said putting his arrow back in its quiver. “We’re not going to hurt
you.”

“
We didn’t mean to scare
you.” Jack said in the same voice he used to sooth his baby sister.
“You can come out. We’re here to help.”

Bushy black hair and big brown eyes slowly
peered over the top of the wooden work bench. She looked at them
for a few moments, her eyes darting back and forth between them.
Very slowly, she crept from behind the bench and handed Jack the
other half of the bread she had been eating.

“
I’m sorry,” she said, her
voice so quiet they could hardly hear her.

“
What’s your name?” asked
Jack. The girl was filthy and thin. She didn’t answer, but
continued to look at the floor, her arms clasped behind her
back.

“
Where are your parents?”
Leo asked. Again, the girl did not speak. They heard the other
soldier coming back from his sweep of the corridor.

“
We should check this
place over again,” said Leo, and Jack nodded. They headed into the
main living areas of the home to check for any other dwarves who
may have stayed behind.

“
I’ll take her to the
Crystal Quarter,” Jayson called after them, but Jack and Leo did
not answer. The little girl peered up at Jayson, then quickly cast
her eyes back to the floor when she saw him look at her.

“
Do you want to carry my
bow?” he asked and held the weapon out to her. She didn’t move. She
stared at the bow, her eyes wide and swayed back and forth.
Finally, she reached out a grubby little hand and slowly closed her
palm around the grip. Jayson let go, and she quickly caught it with
her other hand, a smile tugging at the corners of her
mouth.

“
It’s heavy,” she
whispered.

“
A little,” said Jayson.
“Are you hungry? I know where we can get you some food.” He held
out a hand to her. She hesitated, holding the bow closer to her.
Jayson suppressed an eye roll but still sighed. The little girl was
as shy as Jessica had been before his parents had sent her to
Cranbrook. Cranbrook Art Academy was an elite school for gifted
children, and it was a two hour drive from Swansdale. His parents
drove it twice a day so their daughter could receive the best
education possible. Even at five years old, Jessica had been wary
and intimidated about the prospect of going to a special school.
His parents constantly reminded her how smart and special she was.
By the time Jessica had attended her first week of preschool, she
knew she was different.