The Elf King (52 page)

“
Find Kev Wah!” the man
yelled.

Corwon’s eye sockets were
black, as if they had been burned out. His mouth was wide open in a
silent scream. His body was in a stage of decay, rapidly
increasing.

Voices whispered, stating
that Kev Wah needed to be questioned, ordering for him to be found.
Men lit torches and ran through their so-called village in search.
But Kev Wah was not to be found. People began crying in prayer,
asking the
LifeWaters
to help, pleading for it to save their fallen leader. One man
rushed over to Corwon’s body and began pouring river-water from a
large bowl over Corwon’s head in a failed attempt to heal
him.

As if it would.

As if it could.

Yet even watching in
disbelief, they all waited for the miracle that never
came.

Within minutes, Corwon
erased away until only his bones remained.

Kamen Ode turned to Qenn.
“I guess it didn’t listen to him.”

Chapter 29

“
W
hy didn’t the
LifeWaters
help him?”
Aless asked, suddenly standing between Qenn and Kandish. The two
looked down, never before seeing a face so sad. “He told us that he
was a chosen, and that the
LifeWaters
found favor with him for
being so loyal. The water should have healed him. Why didn’t
it?”

Kandish turned Aless,
moving her through the crowd away from the skeleton, away from the
sobbing and the rumors. She had no answer to Aless’ questions. No
one did. The family all seemed confused, they all had thought as
the young girl did. Once they were out of range, Kandish knelt down
beside her, wrapping her arms around her tightly, holding her
close.

“
Don’t go back over there,
Aless. Promise me you won’t.” Kandish could feel Aless nod, her
small frame pressing tight against her own. “Don’t remember him
that way.”

She held Aless close for a
few minutes, thinking back to the day her father had died. She
wished that there would have been someone to comfort her then.
Someone who could give her positive assurance. Someone who would
have simply hugged her and let her know it was all an
accident.

Someone who did not try to
kill her.

“
I’m okay.” Aless gasped,
Kandish’s grasp on her being a bit too tight. “You can let
go.”

Kandish released her arms,
seeing Qenn and Kamen Ode standing at her side. She playfully
messed up Aless’ blonde hair before standing, wiping the corners of
her eyes where tears were forming.

“
They want to blame Kev Wah
for this,” Qenn whispered.

Kamen Ode disagreed. “They
can’t see anything.”

Prevost walked over to
them, standing beside Kamen Ode. “The people are talking about what
happened. They want justice. They want Kev Wah. None of them can
find him. It looks suspicious. They will hunt him down and
sacrifice him to the
LifeWaters
. They think doing so will
prevent the rest of them from being harmed.”

Kamen spit. “They’ve got it
all backwards. And none of them can see it.”

“
Their leader has died, and
they are scared. They want someone to step up and guide them, offer
them assurance.”

Kamen looked at Prevost.
“They’re brainwashed.”

“
They need a leader.”
Prevost smiled sympathetically. “They are good people. Just a bit
misguided.”

“
Are you listening to
yourself?” Kamen didn’t like the look in his friend’s
eyes.

“
Prevost is right.” Kandish
said, nodding to Prevost. “They’ll need assurance now.”

“
We need to find Kev Wah
before they do,” Qenn interjected, looking at Kamen and Prevost.
“He’s the only one who knows about this place now. He’s the only
one we can count on.”

“
We have no idea where he
could be. There’s search parties out for him already. It’s not
going to be easy.” Kandish said, feeling a tug on her coat. She
looked down to see Aless pointing away from them.

“
Might be easier than you
think.”

Kev Wah walked over to
them, wearing a hooded white robe, his face masked by shadow, his
eyes filled with terror. His pace only slowed as he reached them,
pausing only long enough to whisper. “Follow me.”

The group turned to follow
him immediately. Kandish placed a finger to her lips, motioning for
Aless to remain silent about where they were going, before telling
her to stay with her family. Aless frowned as though Kandish was
doing something wrong, but nodded nonetheless. She remained where
she was, watching the group follow Kev Wah away from the huts to
the foliage covering the base of the lagoon near the waterfall. As
they disappeared from her sight, she ran back to her
family.

The rushing of the
waterfall drown out the group’s movements through the bushes and
tall grass, the snapping of fallen sticks underfoot went unnoticed
even to them. They moved quietly and quickly around the side of the
lagoon, no trail to lead their feet, only the moon and stars to
light the way. They followed Kev Wah as he snaked his way through
the wild terrain, which was growing more rugged as they pressed
closer to the mountainous hill. The area was dark, the trees
blocking out the sky in patches, the tall bushes blackening their
trek further. No one said a word.

They were nearly a hundred
yards away from the village when Kev Wah stopped them. He turned
around, his face dripping with sweat, his eyes still holding a
terrible memory. Small fires from the village burned behind them,
like tiny flickers of light so far away. Kev Wah drew them in close
to him, his hands trembling as they removed his hood and opened his
robes, revealing all of their weapons tucked under his
belt.

“
Corwon was wrong,” he said
in one gasp. He handed them their weapons in a rush. “We must go
there now.”

Kamen Ode breathed hard.
The whites in his eyes were only visible in the darkness. “Get the
story out now. Or we’re not going any further.”

“
I
followed Corwon. I stood where he couldn’t see me. I watched him. I
wanted to see for myself what the
LifeWaters
would tell him. I wanted
to make sure, instead of hearing more lies.” Kev Wah used his
sleeve to wipe the sweat from his eyelids and brows. “Corwon always
thought he was special. But he was a slave, like the rest of us. A
prisoner.”

“
What happened?” Kamen
pressed, growing anxious.

“
Corwon
told the
LifeWaters
everything. He told it about you, and what you
wanted. He said that you carried a magic staff. Corwon said he
would bring it, as an offering, a gift for the life he had been
given. When he did that, the water rose up angrily and took form,
it began to talk. The
LifeWaters
said it could read Corwon’s mind, and that he was
lying. It knew Corwon despised it, that he wished he would have
never been given the water. It knew Corwon would try to use the
staff against it, to destroy it. Corwon tried to argue with it, but
then it got angry. It reached for him and a white light came from
it. It told Corwon that it would give him what he wanted. I got
scared then, and ran out. I ran for the village to find you, when I
saw Corwon floating in the lagoon. He was already dead then. I left
him for the others to find.”

“
What do you think we’re
going to do?” Kamen growled, talking louder than he would have
liked to. The waterfall was a mere stone-throw away. Its roar was
almost deafening.

“
I want you to destroy it!”
Kev Wah leaned in close, staring at Qenn. He was mad, scared, and
desperate. “Use your staff and get rid of it! Then we can be
free!”

“
I don’t even know how to
use it!” Qenn cried.

“
Qenn, we
came here to get the magic.” Kandish’s eyes were full of worry. “I
don’t think trying to destroy the
LifeWaters
is a good
idea.”

“
It’s the only idea!”
yelled Kev Wah. “Take its power, then we can all leave!”

“
Sooner the better!” Kamen
added.

“
I will do what we came
here to do. We must get the power.” Qenn was not ready. “What if it
doesn’t work? I don’t know—”

“
You must try!” Kev Wah
pointed to the lagoon where the waterfall descended. Before they
could protest, he began walking towards it.

Choked by bushes that were
nearly as tall as them, the group pressed on behind the mad Kev
Wah. He reached the fringe of the lagoon and entered, staying close
to the bank, holding on to the water-reeds, carefully walking
behind the waterfall. The group stayed close to him now, wondering
where this would lead.

A tunnel was bore into the
mountain where a narrow river swept in. Kev Wah waited for the
group to see, then crouched down and plucked a few reeds. He
snapped them in half. Where the reeds were broke open, the water
inside glowed brightly. The others did as they were showed, each
having their own reed. Using them for light, Kev Wah signaled for
them to follow, then entered. It was dark enough that he
disappeared from their sight almost instantly.

The group entered the
lagoon in single file, walking slowly through the knee-deep water,
trudging along to stay in sight of Kev Wah. The glow from the reeds
lit the tunnel nicely as they walked through it for a short
distance before it opened up into a vast cavern. The small river
pooled into a series of small ponds separated by stalagmites and
flat rock beds. Stalactites were scattered everywhere as well,
meshing with the protruding rocks to seemingly form a terrible jaw
line. The cavern illuminated a blue light, spread across the water
to cast a glow that reflected along the ceiling and walls. The
cavern was enormous.

Kev Wah motioned for them
to toss their reeds, then placed a finger to his lips, motioning
for them to follow him out of the water onto a large plateau-like
rock slab overlooking the cavern. As the company stood staring down
at the maze of stone-icicles and shallow ponds, they became aware
of Kev Wah staring fixedly at one in particular.

“
Where is it?” Kamen asked
him quietly.

Kev Wah pointed straight
ahead of them then stepped back far enough where he could not see
the pond any further. He looked at Qenn. “Go down there and do
it.”

Qenn hesitated. He looked
at Kandish for support. Her face alone was comforting. But the look
she tried to hide was not.

“
Use your magic,” Kev Wah
pressed. His voice was a vengeful hiss. “Take your staff and
destroy it before it kills us all.”

Qenn ignored him, staring
at Kandish. He had seen the look, he knew what was happening to
her. “Relax. Stay back away from the water. Think of something
else.”

Kandish nodded, trying to
calm herself long before they had entered the cavern. “Qenn, I
won’t be able to—”

The elf moved in close to
her, closing out Kev Wah’s orders to act, feeling his heart ache
for the nervousness he knew she was feeling. She was scared. “It’s
going to be okay. I can do this on my own.”

Her eyes watered, doubting
him. “I can’t let you.”

“
What’s wrong with her?”
Kev Wah snapped. “If she’s sick, get her out—”

“
Don’t worry about her.”
Kamen Ode stepped in, moving between Kev Wah and Kandish, looking
like an unbreakable wall. “She gets all the time she
needs.”

Kev Wah shook his head and
snorted his dislike. He was not used to someone not listening to
his commands. “We don’t have time for this.”

Kandish pressed her lips
against Qenn’s ear. “It’s going to happen again, Qenn. I won’t be
able to stop it. Whatever is in here, is threatening me. My magic
is stirring itself, wanting to protect me.”

Qenn stepped back from her,
just enough to look into her wondrous eyes. He would act now, if
only to keep her magic from overtaking her. It was all he could do
for her. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”