The Elf King (43 page)

The spirit held a
voiceless conversation in the pit of the catacombs where the
blackest of souls listened on edge. It told its brethren of how the
Elves were now powerless and the Andelline bloodline was extinct.
The ball of magic hissed anew in response, commanding the spirit to
return and collect the sword. The
Takers
would begin the war against
the ineffective elves and make way for the
Mrenx Ku
’s arrival. Nothing would
stop them now.

The spirit shrieked its
pleasure. It would return to the dead woman’s body and finish its
tasks. The end of the world was near, it knew. The war was already
starting. Soon darkness would fall.

But first, it must find the
sword.

“
M
y
Queen!” Lon held on to Sienna’s body as it lay upon a bed. He
had taken her into the medical tent to be worked on by the few
doctors that they had. Her wounds were too serious for them to
suture, he knew. There were simply too many of them. The doctors
were doing what they could, but none of them voiced much hope of
her surviving. Lon’s shoulder was bandaged beneath his shirt, at
his request. He wanted no special attention that a bandage would
attract.

Sienna’s body vibrated
softly as if she was clinging to what little life she had left. Lon
would wait for the doctors to pronounce her dead before returning
to the front. Ern knew of her condition; he was more than able to
lead the assault by himself. It would be a long and bloody battle,
and his men would fight harder now after witnessing the Queen’s
death firsthand.

“
Will she make it?” Ern
asked, suddenly standing in the tent entry.

Lon turned to see his
comrade. “I would not think it possible.”

Ern walked slowly over to
Lon. He stood over the Queen, checking out her injuries, carefully
looking over her face. “She’s alive?”

“
Barely.”

Ern reached out and gently
touched her cheek. He flinched at the touch, as if he was expecting
a reaction from her. “Word has spread into the Ailia by now. Soon
they will meet us. We will need you there, Lon.”

“
I will remain with Sienna
until she passes. I don’t think it would be long.” Lon reached down
and held her cold hands. “She was the last Andelline. What shall
befall the House now?”

“
We will see what happens
after the war, Lon. Right now, we focus on destroying the Elven
nation.” Ern looked up to his friend. It was a weird feeling, he
could not describe it. But a part of him was happy with the Queen’s
death. He felt relieved. He still remembered how she appeared at
their last encounter. He would never forget it.

Lon saw the look in Ern’s
eyes. “What are you keeping from me, Ern? Why are you not in
sorrow?”

Ern stiffened. His face
became the mask of anger it had been for the past several weeks. “I
have a war at my hands, captain. Return to us when you
can.”

The medic walked in the
tent then, stepping between Ern and Lon, excusing himself as he did
so. He checked the vital signs on the Queen. His head shook
slightly in disbelief. He looked up to Ern and Lon, who were
watching.

“
She will not live through
the day, commanders. As I’ve stated before, her injuries are too
severe. We do not have the equipment here necessary—”

“
Do we in Cillitran?” Lon
interrupted.

“
She would never survive
the journey, captain.” The doctor answered. Ern agreed.

“
She is the Queen! We
cannot just simply stand here and watch her die.” Lon was growing
furious.

“
All of her major organs
are failing, captain. What time you have with her now, will be all
that there is. I’ll send word to Cillitran, and we’ll have her body
taken back to the castle.” The doctor pulled a blanket up across
Sienna’s body, up to her neck.

Ern whispered to the
doctor, pulling him aside from Lon, not wanting the other to hear
what he needed to ask. “Did you notice anything strange about the
Queen? Did she seem...” Ern sighed, struggling with his wording,
“unusual in any way?”

The doctor was confused.
“The Queen suffered two dozen arrow wounds to her chest, commander.
How do you think she would respond?”

“
And you are certain she
will die?”

The doctor stared at him
quizzically. He did not respond.

Ern hesitated, thinking of
how he could rephrase his question without giving away any
information. But the doctor said his farewells and left them alone
with the Queen. He would return in a short while, he told them. She
would be dead by then.

Ern walked over to Lon.
“Captain, we will continue our assault along the southern line of
the Forest. By midday, the Elves will be burning for their
mistakes.”

Lon nodded. He didn’t look
up from the Queen’s face. “I will stay with her.”

Ern left the tent hastily.
Seconds later, Lon felt the Queen’s hand begin to shiver. He saw a
shadow spread out across her body. He stepped back and looked
around the tent, but there was no one. He was alone.

S
lina
flew
through the woods in a blur. She sat atop Xtalt with her head
snug to its furry own and her slender hands gripping the leather
reins tightly. Xtalt had been born a colorful butterfly but it had
since been transformed by magic, a creation of the Dark Elves, and
now stood twice as tall as Slina. It had been made to fly at great
distances without rest, strong enough to carry two people, and able
to change color to blend into the environment. When the Dark Elves
were banished, most of their work, their precious creations, had
either escaped or been captured for control. Slina had found the
monstrous butterfly sick and nearly at death. She nurtured it back
to health, and now there was a kinship between them. They were
inseparable.

“
Take us out of the woods!
Higher!” Slina yelled.

Xtalt sped into the air,
skimming the treetops. Slina looked back. She could see the
Cillitran army massed along the grassy hill in the distance. She
could also see the orange and yellow lights raining down into the
edge of the Lyyn. The shield was gone, she knew. Somehow Men had
discovered a way to destroy it. None of them thought that was
likely. If so, Estrial would have sent more troops instead of a few
scouts. Slina’s heart ached. Soon the sunrise would be curtained
off by the black smoke. Bim would be... She paused her thinking.
She was not ready yet to ponder his fate.

“
Fly, Xtalt!”

Obeying its master’s
command, Xtalt pushed itself even harder. Within a few minutes the
waters of the Ailia Springs were seen and Xtalt was descending.
Slina gave word to go directly to Estrial’s home. As they swept
down through the trees towards the open yard and the garden of
flowers, Slina caught sight of Lord Estrial outside, now moving to
greet them in the yard.

Xtalt landed softly near
the back entrance to the Estrial’s quarters. The guards stationed
there moved in to help Slina off her ride, riddling her with
questions right away. But then Lord Estrial arrived and the
questions were asked anew.

“
Slina, what has happened?”
Terill asked as he rushed out of the gardens to join them. “Why
have you returned?”

Slina stood wide-eyed,
brushing the stands of hair out of her face. “My Lord, the shield
has failed!”

“
What?” Terill stood in
disbelief. He stared skyward instantly, as if he could see a
change. “Are you certain? How could this be? “

The guards backed away to
the house, whispering to themselves, faces flush with worry. Terill
moved in close to Slina, who was shaking her head. “Bim and I were
at the edge, scouting the army. They tested the shield with fire
and everything was fine. Then two of them walked down to the Lyyn.
One of them, we think was their Queen, found the shield and began
to disarm it.”

Terill’s head shook, his
face was flush with anger. “There could have been no way for that
to happen!”

“
My Lord, it appeared as if
she removed the shield. Bim attacked. I fled right after that, to
warn you. Then they attacked.” She paused as Terill’s face went
pale. She swallowed hard. “The Lyyn is burning, my Lord. The
eastern edge is gone.”

“
No!” Terill Estrial looked
east then and nearly panicked. He looked to the guards stationed by
the house. “Sound the alarm! Find Dornawee and bring him to
me!”

The guards ran away. Terill
looked at the concern in Slina’s eyes. “Slina, listen to me. I need
you to take Xtalt and head north. I need to know what is happening
from the Upper Krune to the Mallen Hills. Report back to me as soon
as you can.”

“
What am I looking for?”
Slina was confused.

“
Demons. They march towards
the Lyyn.” He responded. As she turned to rein Xtalt, Terill asked
one question. “Bim?”

“
He stayed to fight.” The
sadness in her eyes allowed him to see what she could not say out
loud. As Terill nodded and wished her a safe flight, she brushed
away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“
Keep a safe distance,
Slina. Be mindful of the dark mass.”

Slina positioned herself
comfortably across the back of Xtalt then whistled. Instantly they
were airborne, speeding above the Ailia Court and away from the
safety she felt there. She was just a scout after all, never having
the need to fight or use a weapon of any sort for any real reason.
The war was something that worried her. Being out on her own now
was something that she was not truly comfortable with either.
Scouts usually stayed in pairs, seldom small groups. But not alone,
as she was now. She tried not to think about it.

Ride over the Shyl, find
the black army, then report back to Terill
.

She rode just above the
treetops of the Lyyn Forest heading due north. She would turn east
once she made out the waters of the Upper Krune and ride until the
Caltar Mountains. A few hours, that’s all.

Once Xtalt reached the end
of the forest, the land ahead was wide open and clear. Slina pulled
on the reins and turned Xtalt skyward, holding on tight as he
turned sharp and ascended near cloud levels. The morning sky was
fading quickly, and she noticed the color change on Xtalt, turning
to a light blue. They would not be noticed, she knew. They were a
few hundred feet off the ground and could see for miles.

She could make out the
winding Spira far off to her left, disappearing far north at the
Upper Krune. Its waters were not visible, but she knew it was there
nonetheless. She rode north for some time watching the sun slowly
rise from the horizon at her right. She stayed course, searching
the plains and the small stretches of woods for anything that might
concern Lord Estrial. So far, she saw nothing.

Slina was anxious to be out
of the sky and back into the Ailia Court where she had friends and
protection. Xtalt was a wondrous ride, and the sky was beautiful
and free, but the trip she was on now left little room for
enjoyment. She was worried about Bim, too. It occurred to her that
maybe she would turn back, quickly fly over the Shyl, then down to
the eastern end of the Lyyn Forest to search for her friend. She
saw little harm in doing so. As a matter of fact, she thought it
was the only thing she should be doing.