Miras Last (14 page)

Elenio’s eyes shot open, wide and tear
filled. He stood and looked at the entrance of the tent, to see
Galena emerge. Her face was tear streaked and her eyes red rimmed.
She looked dead on her feet and staggering, she walked over to
Elenio before collapsing in his arms.

Tears, hot and angry, fell down Tark’s cheeks
as he remembered Morgo as he was. Wise and curious, always willing
to listen to any crazy idea Tark proposed. He had fallen in love
with the world above and was willing to go to any lengths to assure
he would be able to remain in it. He had been the first elf Tark
went to whenever there was an issue and he always had some sort of
suggestion to help aid the situation. He’d guided them through the
horrid underground world and joined the ranks of the elf army as
soon as he was able. Morgo had been his calm when Tark missed his
family the most and was so eager to learn any and everything in
order to help them win the war. Could he really be gone?

Tark heard Nina sobbing softly and saw the
tears in the other generals’ eyes and streaming down their cheeks.
He turned back to Galena who was being held up by Elenio. There
were no more tears on her own face and she appeared to be holding
on to consciousness. Her failing gaze traveled toward the entrance
of the healing tent, causing Tark to look in the same direction. A
hand was pulling back the flap and in a slightly broken motion,
Morgo stepped out.

Elenio looked at Morgo, his mouth hanging
open as was every other elf surrounding the tent. Morgo stood
looking at them with a knowing grin on his face. He wasn’t exactly
the same as before. His grin was a little lopsided and his nose a
little flatter. He definitely limped when he walked and his left
side sloped a little. Nevertheless, it was definitely Morgo
standing there, taking in all the dumbfounded expressions around
him.

“Did we lose someone?” he asked, still
grinning like a small child.

There was a collective gasp before everyone
broke into wild cheers and laughter. Tark strode over to him and
embraced the elf, whispering something in his ear.

Nina ran over to where Morgo stood, slamming
into him when she threw her arms around his neck, causing him to
wince slightly.

“Careful, I’m not sure if you know this, but
I was just getting the grand tour of the Land of the Gods when I
was called back.”

The result was Nina broke into more sobs
combined with laughter.

Elenio still couldn’t take his eyes off him.
He looked down at Galena and saw she had passed out. Which he
expected with the amount of work she had done. It would have taken
a whole fleet of elves to do what she did in several hours. He laid
her gently by the tent where she wouldn’t be trampled by
celebrating elves. He had something he needed to say to Morgo and
it couldn’t wait another moment.

Walking over to Morgo, the other elves moved
out of his way so his path was clear. Grasping Morgo’s forearm with
his own, he pulled Morgo to him and embraced him. He spoke quietly
so Morgo was the only one who could hear what he said. “I owe you
my life. If it hadn’t been for you in that battle, I would have
been the one visiting the gods and I’m not sure if I would have had
enough strength to return. For that I owe you my undying
gratitude.” Elenio pulled back, put a hand on his friend’s
shoulder, and eyed him critically. “Whatever you need, I’ll do my
best to help out.”

“I did what you would have done for me,”
Morgo replied, his expression changing from glee to a more serious
expression. “It is you and Galena that I owe everything to. She
told me before we exited what you were doing so she could
concentrate better. Without you both, especially Galena, I would
not be standing here. You owe me nothing.”

Elenio embraced his friend once more, his
relief so profound that it almost sent him flying. “It’s good to
have you back,” he whispered.

“It’s good to be back,” Morgo said, the smile
returning to his face.

“How do you feel?” Tark asked as Elenio took
a step back and toward Galena. He bent over and scooped her up in
his arms after assuring himself that she was only sleeping. He
turned back to Morgo who was stretching his limbs in different
directions to see if he had any limit to his movements.

“Stiff and some movements I have a feeling,
will always be painful. My head hasn’t stopped aching, but after
Galena explained what she did, I’m not surprised. It is also
painful to take a deep breath, but all together, not bad from the
ordeal that I heard I suffered. I’ll be curious to see if these new
ailments stay with me permanently or if they disappear in
time.”

Tark burst into a raucous laughter before
slapping Morgo on the shoulder, causing the poor elf to wince
again. “Of course you’re curious, it was one of the things I
thought I would miss most about you,” he said gaily.

Elenio excused himself then while the other
elves made their way toward Morgo, anxious to tell him how happy
they were to see him on his feet again. He needed to get Galena to
bed where she would be able to recover from the tedious task she’d
undertaken. After getting direction from an underground elf, he
found the tent they constructed for him and Galena. Using her
dangling legs, he moved the flap out of the way and entered. Inside
looked exactly as it had at their last camp with a couple of chairs
and a large hammock complete with blankets. Gingerly he laid her
down and covered her up thankful Mira took her dreams from her. He
hated to think of the nightmares that would await her if the
goddess hadn’t blessed her so.

Elenio pushed back her coppery hair and
cupped her face gently, trying not to wake her. He felt the breath
come and go through her slightly parted lips and sighed. He knew it
was pointless to worry about her pushing herself too far as it
never stopped her, but he did. This would be one of many times he
would check on her often to make sure she was still breathing.
Elenio pulled the blankets up and around her shoulders, tucking
them in so that she would stay warm. Caressing her face once more,
he pulled a chair over to the side of the hammock and sat down
heavily on it.

What a day. What a year. To think it was
almost a year ago when they had set out on this crazy quest. So
much had happened, it felt as if normal was a lifetime ago. He
watched her sleep peacefully, not wanting to leave her side until
she regained consciousness. He thought of all they experienced on
their journey; reliving the times he thought he lost her as well as
the moments he had been most impressed and proud of her. Since
leaving their village, Galena had become a whole other elf. She was
always strong and beautiful, but now she was incredibly powerful
and wise. She had learned more than any elf he ever knew in the
shortest amount of time and had been through some impossible
situations. She had grown into this incredible elf and through it
all, she still loved him. He sighed thinking of their childhood and
all the things they did together. Those were happy times and he
found himself longing for them.

He awoke suddenly when he collided with the
floor. He sat up gingerly, rubbing his head where he knocked it
hard on the ground. He looked up to see if he disturbed Galena, but
to his relief, saw she was still sleeping peacefully. She hadn’t
moved at all from the position in which he’d laid her. Getting up,
he found himself startled again, jumping slightly when he noticed
someone else sitting in the room with them. It was Morgo.

“How long have you been there?” Elenio asked
quietly, taking a seat once more.

“For a little while. I didn’t want to disturb
either of you and it was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the
quiet for a time.”

“Coming back to life not as peaceful as you
expected it to be?” Elenio asked, grinning at his newly healed
friend.

“No, it’s not,” Morgo said as he laughed
quietly. “To tell the truth, I came here to escape from the others
for a while. I do believe they feel I will disappear if they take
their eyes off of me.”

Elenio chuckled at his friend’s attempt at
humor. “What was it like?” Elenio whispered.

“What was what like?” Morgo said, looking
intently at Elenio.

“The Land of the Gods.”

Morgo continued to stare at Elenio for some
minutes, his expression never giving away his thoughts.
“Beautiful,” was all he said.

Elenio nodded his head, understanding nothing
more could be said about it. “Was it hard coming back?”

“I don’t think I believed I really had a
choice. I just knew it was the right thing to do,” Morgo whispered.
He shifted his intent stare to Galena’s face and his expression
softened.

“You know before we came out or I should say
as Galena worked on me, she continually talked to me. Most of the
time, she would describe what she was doing, I think to help her
concentrate, but also for my benefit. She also told me about the
cave.”

Elenio snorted. “She hasn’t even told me
about all that happened in there.”

“I don’t think she thought I would remember
anything she said. You know, I have searched for the kind of love
the two of you have. Don’t ever doubt her feelings for you.
Remember this—she will risk her own life before she ever sees
anything happen to you or any member of her family.”

Elenio looked at Morgo who was continuing to
watch Galena. He knew this about Galena, he had known ever since
she left the cave and he had never questioned her love for him.
“The feeling is mutual,” Elenio said quietly.

“Mira took her dreams because of the images
that haunted her from the cave. It was the only way to give her
peace.”

“She would wake up screaming every time and
then refused to sleep. It got to the point where I thought I was
going to have to knock her out for her to get any rest. With the
Sword of Lumina at her side, I would have had to surprise her to do
that though. It was hard for both of us the first couple of days.
Then Mira came to her and she’s been managing ever since.”

Morgo just looked at Galena for a long while,
his eyes never blinking. “Her talking of the cave and what horrors
it held for her, confirmed my initial belief about the two of you.
Like some commitment partners, one cannot live without the other.
The two of you fit this description. You do realize where I’m going
with this don’t you?” Morgo said so quietly Elenio had to strain to
hear him.

Guilt and shame welled up in Elenio and he
couldn’t meet Morgo’s gaze. “I wasn’t paying attention for some
stupid reason. I let the death of one dark enemy go to my head and
quit looking around or keeping my guard,” Elenio muttered. He felt
as though he needed to explain why he acted as he had.

“We would all miss you, but not even half as
much as Galena would. You would destroy her and I’m sorry, but the
fate of the elven nation rides on her shoulders. I’m not saying you
did anything different than I would have, but please, be more
careful with your own life.” Morgo finished. He looked at Elenio
solemnly, but Elenio could not meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you, for not
doing what I have trained my whole life to do, for forgetting
what’s at stake. I won’t make the same mistake again, of that I
promise,” Elenio said, attempting a grin as he did. “I can’t
promise I won’t die and you can’t hold it against me if I do, but I
won’t be so careless next time.”

Morgo returned the smile. “If it makes you
feel any better that great brute caught me by surprise too.”

“Then why am I getting the third degree?”
Elenio asked feeling slightly annoyed now.

“Because my death would not have left our
sole means of survival shattered and completely useless.”

It was in that moment, what Morgo was trying
to explain, became crystal clear. After Galena, Elenio’s life was
the next most important life in the camp because of what it meant
to her. He looked at Morgo and nodded his head, showing Morgo he
understood now that guarding himself would save Galena in the long
run.

“Now that this is behind us. Let me share an
idea with you to see what your thoughts are on the matter. Tark
brought up an interesting concept. Your dreams the night before,
what did they consist of?”

Elenio was so startled at the shift in the
conversation that he had to think for a moment before he could
answer. He could remember they contained dark. In fact, he
remembered being lost in the dark. He could hear elves screaming
somewhere all around him and Galena moaning in pain, but he
couldn’t find them anywhere because of the extreme dark. He told
Morgo all this, to which Morgo just nodded his head.

“Your dream is like most of the other elves I
have talked to with the exception of who the loved ones were that
were calling out to them. That changes from elf to elf. All of this
confirms what I believe Tark has figured out. The intunerics have
haunted us while empowering our enemy.”

Elenio nodded his head in response to this.
He heard Tark discussing that very idea with Taura while he had
been meditating.

“Do you think it would be possible for Galena
to destroy the stones then?”

“Yes, with the assistance of the sword, I do
believe it’s possible. My only concern is how many would she be
able to destroy at one time. There are thousands of stones and it
would take her entirely too long to reach out to everyone with her
sword to prick it. My question to you is this, have you noticed her
strength has multiplied since she became owner of the sword?”

Elenio nodded his head fervently at this. Not
only was she always glowing from the power of the sword, but also
she had become even faster and stronger since she first touched it.
He saw she was able to accomplish bigger things now, like
destroying a huge section of the enemy using several different
magical methods, something she had not been entirely successful at
before. Sure, she was able to use lightning, wind, and fire to do
damage, but never all of them at once.