Chartile: Prophecy (8 page)

“
That overhang is probably
as safe as we are going to find without exploring.” Piper pointed
at a location several yards away.

“
That’s why I’m here, my
gem.” Dimitri smiled at her again, and ran his fingers through his
curly black hair, making Piper blush. “Just a little further is a
small cave. It will be a bit crowded, but we will be safer there
than out in the open.” He scanned the area, squinting through the
deepening darkness. “There are worse things than bumbling mountain
trolls out here. Come.”

They travelled only another quarter hour,
yet it was so dark when they arrived, they could barely see the
person in front of them.

“
Night sure comes fast
here,” said Leo.

“
It is the angle of the
mountain,” said Piper. “You will find morning comes too soon, and
the dew seems to linger.”

They built a fire with what little kindling
and wood they could find in the dark. The threat of creatures that
feared the flame was greater than those attracted to it. They took
turns keeping watch. Jack was too excited for sleep, and
volunteered for the first watch.

“
You never finished
telling me about the Emperor,” he said quietly to Dimitri. They had
all settled into their respective nooks and crevices in the tiny
cave for the night.

“
Ah, yes,” Dimitri
whispered. Piper had already fallen asleep against Dimitri’s chest.
He carefully adjusted his arm and continued quietly, “Well, there
is no Emperor.”

“
Did he die?” asked
Jack.

“
No, there simply isn’t
one. The Dwarvik society is mostly run by our women. Ladies are
very rare amongst the dwarves. Women are the head of their House,
and they can take up to four husbands. The first Hasana, or
husband, to give her a daughter becomes Harasan, or the Head
Husband. He is in charge of the daily running of the household. Our
men are our craftsmen who specialize in trade skills.”

“
What do the wives do,
then?” Jack asked as he poked the fire with a long
stick.

“
They manage the finances
their hasanas earn. They negotiate raises and work place
advancements for their hasanas. If they do not yet have a Harasan,
they designate the daily tasks necessary to run the House and
decide whether they will continue in their current profession or
find other work. Our women find apprenticeships for their children
and work to arrange good marriages for them. They are our religious
leaders and political negotiators with other peoples. They make our
laws and carry out justice. Women, unlike men, can rule with their
heart, mind and soul. It is very difficult for men to find their
souls.”

“
That’s not, like, very
fair,” chimed Jayson, who had apparently been listening.

Dimitri scowled. Even by firelight, his once
twinkling eyes were hard as stone. “Our system has worked well
enough since long before you or any great kings were here in
Chartile. If I did not know better, I would say you sounded much
like a Black Diamond.”

“
A what?” asked Leo,
pushing himself up to sit.

“
Ssh!” said Jack as Piper
stirred slightly. Dimitri repositioned his arm again and
continued.

“
The Black Diamonds are a
society of men who have been cast out by their families, or have
joined in secret for want of greater privilege. They have been
trying for years to get a man on the Council. They want to manage
their own finances. They want to choose their own marriages.” He
frowned, allowing a scowl to wrinkle his brow. “All they do is
want. They have spent too much time among the elves with their
society of equality. They have no respect for
tradition.”

“
You sound like you’re a
dwarf, Dimitri,” Leo interrupted in an attempt to break the
argument. He could see Jayson had opened his mouth to speak again,
but shut it quickly and folded his arms when Leo
intervened.

“
My mother was the head
retainer and liaison for the Empress before me. She fell in love
with a brother of the Empress, and died giving birth to me because
the healers would not remove her orenite cuffs. The Empress was
very fond of my mother, and since the Empress is not permitted
marriage or children of her own, she raised me. I recently took my
birth mother’s place as head retainer and liaison.”

“
Wait, so you’re half
human and half royal dwarf? How does that work?” asked
Jack.

“
And you’re awfully tall
for a dwarf,” said Jayson raising an eyebrow.

Dimitri sighed. He rubbed his temples with
his free hand, and the boys could see the circles forming under his
eyes.

“
The positions of
Princess, Queen and Empress are appointed positions, no different
than anyone on the Council. This is why we need Piper. There is a
stalemate in— well, it’s very complicated.” He yawned and stroked
Piper’s hair absentmindedly. “It is late. Let us rest. You will
learn plenty when we arrive at the fortress tomorrow.”

The boys sat awake for some time, musing
over the thoughts of everything they had just learned. When they
had first arrived, Chartile seemed smaller, less complicated than
home. Now, life was starting to become more complex in ways they
could not understand. Magic existed, but was prohibited. Dwarves
were a matriarchal society, and Piper was someone important that
the dwarves needed to settle a political matter of state. Piper,
who once seemed little more than a sisterly figure in this strange
land, was becoming more and more interesting by the day.

Chapter Six

At Fortress
Kelsii

Jayson woke with a start. He had drifted
off, thinking of the “dangers worse than bumbling mountain trolls.”
His experience of being carried off by a troll his first day in
Chartile had set him on edge whenever darkness came. He wasn’t sure
what had roused him, though he shouldn’t have been sleeping anyway.
He had traded shifts with Jack only minutes ago. Or had it been
hours? There was a rustling just outside the cave entrance. He must
have been sleeping longer than he thought, for the fire had reduced
to glowing embers. Something moved again, this time closer to the
cave entrance. There wasn’t much time to rebuild the fire, but he
could hardly see to shoot with his bow.

Jayson moved as slowly and quietly as he
could, adding a log to the fire. He fanned the flames with one hand
and reached for his bow with the other. The sound was more like
scuttling this time, and was closer and faster. He thought he saw
the glint of glowing red eyes, but dismissed it as a trick of the
darkness.

It all happened at once. A massive,
leathery-winged creature flew into the cave, its wings fanning out
what little fire had just sprung to life. Jayson cried out and shot
the beast with the single arrow he had managed to grab before
falling spread eagle across the floor and his friends. The arrow
missed its main target, but caught in the animal’s wing. It
screamed, and everyone was on their feet now, scrambling in the
dark for their weapons.

The creature pulled the arrow from its wing
with almost human hands and rounded on Jayson. He had lost most of
his arrows when he had fallen. His hands shook as he fitted on to
his bow string. Before he could notch it, the monster was upon him.
Its wings beat around him, and its screeching and screaming was
deafening now that it was inches from his face.

“
Jayson!” someone shouted.
There was a flurry of weapons. Jayson was oblivious to anything but
the animal screaming at him. He held his arms around his head, and
curled himself into a ball. From beneath his arm, he saw a dark
gray face, both human and bat-like, with large, pointed teeth in a
wide mouth as it screeched. The creature opened its mouth wider,
ready to bear down on him. He closed his eyes, prepared for the
pain. It never came. Piper cried out and lunged forward to cover
Jayson. The creature sank its teeth deep into Piper’s arm. She
screamed an agonizing cry as loud as the creature’s. It echoed off
the small cave walls. What appeared to be lightning surrounded her
and lashed out at the creature. It screeched its ear-piercing cry
again, and turned tail, taking off into the night.

Jack and Leo followed it, but it vanished
into the night as quickly as it had come. Piper fell to the floor
beside Jayson whimpering and shaking. He knew this was his fault.
If he hadn’t fallen asleep, the fire would have never died.

“
Piper, I’m sorry, I’m
sorry,” was all he could say. He couldn’t move. He shook so
violently he could barely hold his bow. He didn’t even notice the
tears that streaked his cheeks. Piper was shaking more fiercely
now, and her breathing was becoming more labored. The lightning
coiling around her body had died away, leaving the shrunken form of
a little girl curled in pain at their feet.

Jack and Leo hurried back into the cave to
find Dimitri cradling Piper, and holding back her hands to keep her
from clawing at the bite wounds on her arm. The flesh around the
wound was red and raw as though it had been touched by acid.

“
It burns! It burns!” She
whimpered weakly, her head rolling from side to side. She screamed
again and fell unconscious.

“
Piper, stay with me! Stay
awake!” Dimitri bellowed. He shook Piper and ran a hand over her
face and hair, but she did not stir.

Panic followed. Leo and Jack dropped to
Piper’s side. They too attempted to rouse her, but to no avail.
Jayson curled back against the wall, his arms wrapped around his
torso and tears continuing to stream down his face. Dimitri stood,
cradling Piper in his arms. She suddenly appeared very small and
frail.

“
I must get her to the
healers. They can help her,” he said and hurried from the cave. It
was still dark, and the threat of getting lost or being attacked
again loomed for another several hours. They could not hold out for
morning. Piper could not hold out for morning.

“
Dimitri! Wait!” Jack
cried. “Let’s at least light some torches.” Dimitri nodded in
agreement, but did not set Piper down. He swayed and paced at the
mouth of the cave. He kissed Piper’s forehead and whispered quietly
to her. Jack and Leo worked as quickly to make three torches from
the scant supplies they had carried. Jayson attempted to help by
fanning the barely warm embers, but he still shook so violently
that Leo eventually took over.

“
Please! Quickly,” pleaded
Dimitri. It pained them all to hear such desperation in his voice.
“We still have many hours journey. Why didn’t I bring a pony? Oh,
by Rashiri!”

“
We’re almost done,” said
Jack, lighting the last torch. “There. Alright, I’ll lead. You just
tell me where to go.” Dimitri nodded, and they hurried
on.

Even by torchlight, their way was still slow
and cumbersome. At first they attempted a slow jog. But after
having tripped on rocks and roots, or nearly ending up with a face
full of branch, they quickly slowed to a brisk walk. If Dimitri
tired of carrying Piper it did not show save for the few times he
adjusted her position in his arms. She never stirred the entire
way.

Finally, the sky began to turn from black to
gray. They found a small spring, and collapsed at its banks in an
unspoken agreement of rest. Dimitri gently laid Piper in the moss
and grass by the water. Carefully, he cleansed her wound, wiping
the blood streaks from her arm with immense care. Jayson dropped to
his knees and splashed the icy water on his face two handed. He
looked at Piper who was ashen and sweaty.

“
This is my fault,” he
whispered. “I fell asleep. The fire died. Damn it! Why does this
keep happening to me? First the trolls, now this? Oh,
God!”

“
Jayson, this could have
happened to any of us. We were all exhausted,” said
Jack.

“
If she dies —”whimpered
Jayson.

“
She’s not going to die,”
said Leo so assuring, they knew it was forced.

They fell silent, looking at Dimitri,
waiting for some kind of reassurance. But it never came. Dimitri
never took his eyes from Piper. He softly arranged her red hair
against the dark green moss. “Let’s keep moving,” he said abruptly.
He lifted Piper with ease and hurried onward.

The boys suspected they may have been
slowing their progress, but they still managed to arrive at
Fortress Kelsii just as the sun peeked over the top of the
mountain. It illuminated the great entrance in a shimmering array
of gems and color. Two carved stone doors stood open before them,
at least twenty feet high and each twelve feet wide. They were
inset with hundreds of gems, and were as strong as they were
beautiful. Six armored guards stood at either side of the doors.
The boys were surprised to see they were all very tall, and even
more muscular and built than Dimitri. They had the same dark
complexion, some even darker. These were not the dwarves the boys
had expected.

“
Dimitri,” said the guard
on the right. “Thank the stone you are alright. What is going on?
Who are they?”

“
There is no time to
explain, Imohad. Piper has been attacked, and I believe it was a
vampire.” The faces of the guards turned suddenly grave. They
fidgeted and whispered amongst themselves.

“
A vampire? Snap, man,
that’s what that thing was?” Leo asked, but was ignored.

“
Come,” replied Imohad.
Four guards escorted them inside, their bright, polished armor
clanking off the stone walls.

Even in their concern for Piper, the boys
could not help but hope they would get another opportunity to
explore the grandeur that surrounded them. They hurried along so
quickly they were unable to take in everything Fortress Kelsii
offered their wandering eyes. Different kinds of rock had been
layered and arranged in intricate patterns, pressed and swirled
together. The runes were their own work of art. Some had been
chiseled into the rock face, while others had been carved from
large pieces of gem stone, and had been fixed to the wall above the
tunnel entrances. There were Dwarvik runes, Draconian runes, Elven
script, and several other kinds of writing. They adorned the walls
of the great circular room they entered immediately beyond the
front gates. At least thirty tunnels led off the main entrance,
each with a different pattern and colored gem at the top of each
entrance.