The Elf King (17 page)

Qenn nodded. “We should
wait for his return.”

“
I don’t know what else to
do, Qenn.”

Tane and Qenn exchanged a
sadness, each of them feeling the same way about the situation.
They had found a purpose. Kamen Ode would return and they would
discuss their agreement in hopes of joining the fight against
the
Takers
.
Having a purpose made them feel slightly better; it gave them
direction.

“
I would like to wait with
you,” Kandish asked. She smiled at Qenn, hoping to keep his
attention this time. “I could be of some assistance to you,
elf.”

Qenn smiled in return, his
heart pounding. He hadn’t considered her staying, but was happy to
hear that she wanted to. He stared at her luminous eyes as Tane
replied something to her and didn’t look away until Tane’s hand
gripped his shoulder. He turned to see Tane offering him a chunk of
bread. He took it eagerly, wandering away from the window to eat
next to Kandish and Tane.

“
We should sleep. We can
take turns.” Tane announced, finishing his bread, breaking off a
piece of dried meat to hand to each of them. “I can take the first
watch.”

“
No. You two sleep.”
Kandish said, finishing her food. “I am not tired at all. And you
two have been through a lot in the past day.”

“
Fair enough. Wake me in a
few hours.” Tane walked over to the center of the room and laid
down, falling asleep almost instantly.

“
If there’s any—” Qenn
began, but Kandish cut him short.

“
Don’t worry, elf. If
there’s trouble, it will be handled before it disturbs your
sleep.”

“
Hey!” Qenn smiled, almost
laughing aloud.

“
Sleep, Qenn. I’ll watch
over you.”

Kandish smiled as Qenn
walked over to sleep next to Tane. She stared out into the main
street, her eyes sweeping the road carefully before moving on to
another window to do the same.

Qenn lay on the floor next
to his brother with his eyes shut and his smile broad. He had liked
the way Kandish had chided him. He could hear her footsteps move
from one end of the room to the other, her boots giving an audible
thud on the wood-plank floor. He listened to her moving, the
thought of her presence was peaceful to him. Nonetheless, sleep
didn’t come easily.

Kandish was leaning in a
window that faced the dark alley behind the alehouse, looking deep
into the night for anything moving, listening sharp for anything
approaching. It had been nearly an hour since Kamen Ode had left
them. She thought of him momentarily, of his purpose, of his
absolute devotion to his cause. She hadn’t met anyone else like him
before, and the stories she’d heard about him seemed to be true.
She had heard tales of his brute size and strength, of his defiance
against cruelty, and the tales of those who tried to stand against
him and what happened to them. All of it could be true, she
thought. But her opinion of him stayed the same: he was a great
leader and a hero to those who still believed in one.

She looked over to the two
brothers laying on the floor then, noticing how different they
were, not in looks alone, but in everything. Even in sleep they
were different. She noticed Qenn still tossing and turning, while
his brother remained quietly still. Kandish smiled. Qenn could use
some looking after.

Kandish was walking away
from her window, thinking of passing by the brothers to check in on
them too, when the voice spoke to her again.

-
Child
-

She froze in stride,
focusing hard. It had been a week since the voice spoke to her. It
had always come and gone quickly, giving her bits and pieces of
information, revealing to her some truths and some insights as to
what was taking place within her, giving her direction as a mother
would, comforting her when no one else could.

-You are close. Come to me
now-

Kandish closed her eyes and
whispered. “Where?”

-Come. You’ll
see-

Kandish spoke again out
loud, knowing that she didn’t have to. “I can’t leave
now.”

-Do not be afraid, child.
One is coming for them who will protect them-

Kandish thought she was
speaking of Kamen Ode returning. Still, she hesitated.

-Child, there is not much
time. Come-

Kandish stood over Qenn and
Tane. If she left now and something happened to them, she wouldn’t
be able to live with herself. She would have to wait.

-Come-

As she stood over Qenn, his
eyes opened. He sat upright before she could stop him. His face
flushed with concern, his eyes full of curiosity. She quickly knelt
down beside him, placing a finger over her lips.

“
Is everything
okay?”

Kandish nodded. “Go back to
sleep.”

“
I never fell asleep.” Qenn
sighed and stood to his feet. “You want to try?”

-Come, child-

Kandish thought for a
moment, realizing that she was going to leave, thinking now was the
best time. “Listen, I have to leave for a time. Kamen will be back
shortly.”

“
What?” Qenn stood to his
feet, Kandish rising with him. “Where are you going?”

“
I have to go meet
somebody. I’ll be back when I can.”

Kandish turned towards the
door. Qenn followed.

“
Are you sure this can’t
wait until morning?”

Kandish reached for the
door handle, turning back to Qenn. “I’ve put it off for too long
already, Qenn. Don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

With a half-smile, she
left. Qenn stared in disbelief, then moved to a window where he
could watch her. He saw her skirting the side of the building to
the corner, then crossing the street, disappearing into the night.
He stood there for a few minutes, his thoughts still of her and
what she said. Realizing that he was on watch now, he moved to the
other windows in a rotation of a minute or so. He didn’t like being
up alone, and he had no idea when Kamen or Kandish would return. He
looked back to his sleeping brother and wished that he had found
sleep as well.

K
andish had crept away from the main streets and walked in the
cover of the alley’s darkness. Her eyes never stayed fixed in one
direction for too long, knowing what that might cost her, and her
feet moved with a purpose even if she wasn’t entirely certain of
where she was going.

The voice had spoken to her
on a few times since she had departed Qenn about an hour ago now,
and Kandish was getting anxious for it to return again. She was in
the part of Skadar Port where the voice had told her to go, but
everything there looked the same. She stopped next to a long
abandoned building and wished for further direction. And then it
came.

-Child-

Kandish turned behind her
to the building. She could see the ashes of a fire, maybe two days
old.

-Yes, child. Come. Quickly
now-

Kandish looked for a way
into the building and once she found a door, she didn’t hesitate to
enter. The building was dark; there was no source of light to be
found. She moved slowly, relying on her senses, knowing that if she
strayed too far the voice would gather her back.

The walls were bare; some
were nothing more than rotting supports. The floor was dusty and
moldy and there was no sign of life. She pressed on further,
passing adjoining rooms and empty halls, trying to remain quiet in
her approach. She passed through a double-door entrance into a very
large room where several barrels were. As she looked in to them,
she could see that they had been used for burning wood, for heat or
for cooking, she thought.

-Here-

She saw no one. The room
was empty.

Kandish moved the length of
the room and discovered nothing. No rooms, no doors, no one. She
thought about calling out loud, but knew that was too risky. As far
as she knew, she had made it in without anyone knowing.

-You’re here, child. Look
at your feet-

Kandish looked down.
Nothing. She traced the floor beam to the center of the room and
saw a section of the floor cut in a square with an iron handle. Her
heart pounded. She swallowed hard as she reached down and grasped
the handle firm, pulling up the secret door with an audible groan.
The door swung up and a black hole opened before her. She bent down
and placed her head near the floor.

“
Hello?” She was surprised
when no one spoke back. “Is anyone down there?”

-Child, I need you.
Come-

Kandish swallowed hard. She
looked around the empty room before jumping down into the
blackness. She struck ground quickly, standing up, her head almost
rubbing on the floor above. But she couldn’t see anything. She
could hear some heavy breathing and some movements off to her
side.

“
I mean you no harm,” she
whispered. When nothing came back, she moved towards the sounds.
Seconds later she tripped, falling into the cool dirt floor. Her
hands met another’s instantly.

-They are coming, child.
We must leave-

Kandish ran her hands up
the arms and found a face that was gagged and blindfolded. She
removed them both, then helping the form stand, moving towards the
floor door. She had found the Seer.

“
I will get you out of
here,” she promised.

Kandish jumped up and
pulled herself out of the hole. She ran to the burn barrels and
brought one back, tossing it into the hole. The Seer stood on the
barrel and Kandish helped her up onto the floor out of the
pit.

“
Thank you, child.” The old
woman smiled, her face was dirty, her clothes in
tatters.

Kandish nodded. “Let’s get
out of here.”

But Kandish saw the smile
on the Seer’s face disappear. “They are here, child.”

Kandish turned just as two
men entered the room. They were both tall and gruff, with eyes that
revealed that they had never been shown what love was—angry thieves
coming home to find someone stealing their gold. Kandish stepped in
front of the Seer.

“
Leave, now!”

“
You’ve just made a fatal
mistake,” one man growled, pulling a chain from the wall. His
partner picked up a chunk of board and together they walked for
Kandish.

“
Do not be afraid, child.”
The Seer urged her softly. “Use it.”

Kandish felt her stomach
turn in knots. She had no weapons. Save for the one she did not
want to use. As the two men drew closer, with the Seer calmly
urging for her to do what was needed, trying to ease the pain of
the decision, Kandish gave in.

“
Stay behind me!” Kandish
yelled to the Seer, then dropped to a protective stance. As the men
closed in on them, moving quickly, Kandish closed her eyes and
threw out her hands in open palms. Instantly her hands flared in a
bright light that flew into the men, sending them flying into the
far wall. They dropped to the floor in a pile of broken bones and
bleeding wounds. They drew no breath.

Kandish was shivering. She
rose and turned to the Seer with a sour look. “I am sorry. I had
to.”

“
Child, you are what you
are. You need to let go of your fear and step into the role you
must play now.” The Seer opened her arms and Kandish embraced her,
wrapping her arms around her and crying freely. “I know your
suffering, child. I know your label. But you must not give in to
those who would sway your course. You are not a monster. You are
special.”

Kandish broke away from the
Seer. “You know? You know what I have done?”

The Seer nodded. “I have
seen you from afar. I have witnessed all of what you are. That is
why I called to you. Your importance is greater than you
realize.”

But Kandish was shaking her
head. “I killed him. I destroyed him before he had a chance to stop
me. I am a monster. I am a killer.”

“
Labels, child. Only
labels. Let it go.”

“
They chased me out of my
home. They hunted me, to punish me, to kill me, for what I did.”
Kandish was crying so hard that her words were almost
undecipherable. “I hate what I did, you know? I hate it when I have
to use it, because I’m not in control. It just takes over me. I’m
helpless.”

The Seer placed her hands
over Kandish’s in a comforting fashion. “Time will allow you to
have control, to get used to the magic. But you have very little
time. That is why it is so important for you to let go of what you
think of yourself and become what it is that you are destined to
be. The past is gone; you do not want it back. Live for now, child.
Life is now.”

Kandish slowed her crying,
the Seer’s words taking root. It is so hard to let go of all that
you know, of all the damage done to you and believe in yourself,
Kandish thought. So hard. But the Seer was right. Deep inside, she
knew the labels were wrongly cast. She wasn’t a monster. She had
been living with the guilt for so many years it would be hard to
just let it go.