by Aaron Oster
In the meantime, there was someone else he needed to report to, and this creature was not one who liked to be kept waiting.
***
Ragnar slumped back in his throne, fighting back the sorrow that threatened to spill over at any moment. Elyssa, the girl who’d been as close to him as his own children, was gone, killed by the very person she’d been set to marry. According to his sources, she’d managed to take him down with her, but that was hardly a comforting thought.
It was hard to believe that she was truly gone, and had he not heard about it from the lips of his own cousins – four of them to be exact – he wouldn’t have believed it. It was still hard to accept it, despite the fact that he had such overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise, especially seeing as the gnomes had so quickly jumped on the opportunity to declare war.
That was suspicious enough, especially since Elyssa had supposedly left to the human continent to remain safe from the gnomes in the first place. For just a moment, Ragnar wondered if his cousins had betrayed him, then he noticed the small crystal set in his throne lighting up and going dim.
Someone was trying to contact him, and he had a pretty good idea as to whom.
Gilderon’s face appeared a moment later – far smaller than in the actual meeting room but still filled with obvious grief and sorrow.
“She can’t be gone,” he immediately said, his voice cracking.
Ragnar could well understand the elf’s grief. As close as he’d been to Elyssa, Gilderon had been closer still. The man had no family of which to speak and had devoted his life to her upbringing and protection. When her father had died, he’d assumed the role of her guardian, and Ragnar knew that he would be blaming himself for this.
“Much as I would like to believe that all of the evidence we’re gotten says otherwise,” Ragnar said, slumping back in his throne.
“But we haven’t seen her body…Maybe the reports were wrong. Maybe your cousins were mistaken.”
“Maybe,” Ragnar said. “But what about your soldiers? Do you think they were mistaken as well?”
Gilderon, who’d opened his mouth to reply, shut it again. He had several soldiers in the human lands, ones he’d trained from when they were children. They were elves he trusted more than anyone. There was no denying the truth, no matter how much it hurt, and although neither of them wanted to even consider Elyssa’s death, life was rarely that kind.
“What are we supposed to do?” Gilderon asked, almost pleading for an answer.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Ragnar asked, feeling his resolve darken. “We go to war. We make those human monsters pay for their betrayal and for killing Elyssa. We wipe the Scourge out for good this time, so that future generations don’t have to deal with these monsters and never have to suffer through the same pain!”
Gilderon seemed to take strength in that statement, his back straightening and eyes hardening.
Ragnar knew that the elf had been against Elyssa’s travel to the human lands, and right now, he wished he’d have fought to keep her here as well. If it was anyone’s fault that she was dead, it wasn’t the elf’s. No. The blame rested squarely on his shoulders, and if it were the last thing he did, Ragnar would make sure that the humans paid for what they’d done!
***
“So, have you made your decision?”
Malachi sat back in his meeting room, watching the scene before him play out. An hour had elapsed, and now they were back to deciding whether or not they should be going to war.
Unlike the dwarves and elves, he had a unique perspective. While he had known Elyssa, they hadn’t exactly been close, so he was able to look at this situation logically. If all of the information he had was accurate, then there was only one explanation as to why Elyssa was dead — the gnomes had done it and had somehow managed to frame the humans in the process.
It was the only explanation that made sense.
He’d met with all the parties involved, and there were too many details of the gnomes’ story that didn’t add up.
For one, he knew how badly Elyssa wanted that alliance and that the gnomes would stand to gain the most by her removal. They had even gone so far as to try and assassinate her, which led to her leaving the continent with her future husband, and that was another part of their story which didn’t make sense.
He’d met with the human man, albeit only briefly, and the impression Malachi had gotten was of sincerity. That man had wanted peace, just as much as Elyssa, so what possible reason could he have for just killing her? And therein came the next question.
The gnomes claimed that Elyssa had managed to kill him before she died, which made no sense. He’d seen both of their strengths, and even if she were fully prepared and attacked Morgan when he was asleep and off-guard, she still had about a ninety percent chance of losing. If the opposite had happened and he’d just moved to assassinate her, there was no way Elyssa could have killed him.
But, seeing as Morgan hadn’t tried contacting any of them, he had to believe the man was truly dead. This left the question of who had done it.
Right now, his theory revolved around the gods, the very ones who’d come to deliver the news of the elf queen’s demise and the human’s betrayal. They clearly wanted a war, just as the gnomes did, and if their goals just so happened to align, what better way to ensure a war than to drive Elyssa to the human continent, then strike where she was unprotected?
There were still several things that didn’t make sense, like how they’d managed to do it when the vast majority of their forces had been told to stand down, and all of the others had been taken into custody.
There was also the fact that several people, all of whom were supposedly extremely loyal to both the dwarves and elves, had clearly betrayed them. There was no other way that they’d managed to make these reports of Elyssa’s death otherwise.
After all, if the humans had truly betrayed and killed her, they’d have made sure that no messages got back to Faeland. This way, when they attacked, it would be completely unexpected.
All told, this was a very convenient set up for the gnomes, and they were now taking full advantage of the situation. While he would be forced to go along with the majority, that didn’t mean he couldn’t try and maneuver himself to assure that the gnomes didn’t get everything they’d want.
“Yes,” Ragnar said, interrupting Malachi’s train of thought. “We will be going to war with those damned humans!”
“The elves are with you in this as well,” Gilderon said, his eyes blazing in rage. “We’ll wipe them from existence so that no one in Faeland ever has to feel this way again!”
“I’m with you as well,” Tork, the leader of the trolls, said, surprising absolutely no one.
By now, it was pretty much understood that the gnomes were the real ones in charge of the troll race, although it wasn’t said outright.
“And what of you, Malachi?” Shedra asked, turning his glittering eyes on him. “Will you be joining us in avenging the death of our beloved Elyssa?”
Malachi thought the gnome was laying it on a bit thick there, but he had little choice but to agree. He nodded, and the gnome’s pleased expression turned downright smug.
“Excellent,” he said, all but rubbing his hands together. “We will marshal our forces immediately and head for the border. Then —”
“You have my support on one condition,” Malachi said, interrupting the gnome’s speech.
Shedra’s pleased look vanished as quickly as it had come, turning ugly for a moment before he composed himself.
“And what, pray tell, would the mighty Malachi demand of these grieving leaders?” he asked, all but spitting the words.
“A meeting. In person. At the assigned place where the lay lines converge. If we are to go to war, I refuse to make that declaration through a communication.”
Shedra gritted his teeth in annoyance, but Ragnar moved to second the motion, followed quickly by Gilderon. Seeing that he was now outvoted, Shedra had no c
hoice other than to comply with their demands. After all, if he tried pushing them to go now, it would only cost him the victories he’d already managed to squeeze out of them today.
“Very well,” Shedra said, clearly fighting hard not to spit in disgust. “A meeting in person then. To be held at the end of the mourning period.”
Malachi resisted the urge to smile, instead nodding along with the rest of the leaders. The mourning period would last for two weeks, as was customary amongst the elves. That would give him just enough time to try and figure out what was going on, and hopefully, get to the truth.
He’d already lost enough of his people to this war, and it hadn’t even truly begun yet. He would be damned if he allowed those gnomes to insight a full-blown war that would cost them millions — at least not without exhausting every possible avenue beforehand. He was sure Shedra would try and get him back for this, but right now, he couldn’t worry about that.
Lives were on the line, so the least he could do was risk his own.
14
Lumia touched down at the very center of the massive crater where Morgan had gone down. Even here, she could smell nothing. It was as though his body had been turned to dust, scattering what little remained of her closest ally and friend to the winds.
She lowered Grace to the ground, who immediately began searching for signs of him as well, using the technique Morgan had passed on to her before he’d gone off to fight the Pinnacle King.
There was also no sign of that beast’s body. It, just like Morgan, had been lost in the blast.
It was all Lumia could do to hold herself together; if not for herself, then for Grace. The poor girl would need her more than ever, and since Morgan was gone, it was now her responsibility to ensure that his legacy lived on.
Grace might not have been his blood, but over the last few months, Lumia had begun to count her as part of their small family. Their family would now never be complete.
The very thought threatened to topple her, to shatter what little composure she had remaining. She was not a human, so she didn’t have the illusions of false hope that the rest of them clung to so desperately – though, in times like these, she wished more than anything that she could. She had sensed the moment when that massive sphere had engulfed him. Felt his presence disappear along with his scent and knew that he was gone for good.
Morgan had survived so much. He had fought his entire life. From the moment he’d been born, he’d been destined only for blood and death, but despite that, he’d managed to evolve, to find a better way and slowly become more human. It was the part Lumia had loved most about him. Not the raw, bestial side but the one who’d extended a hand to her when they’d first met, instead of simply treating her like a prized beast, to be slaughtered at his leisure for the power she could provide.
“He has to be alive,” Grace insisted, still searching around desperately.
She was snapping her fingers now, trying to use her Echolocation to locate him underground.
“Perhaps,” Lumia said, not willing to shatter the poor girl’s hopes just yet.
“No. Not perhaps. He is alive,” Grace insisted, looking up to meet her eyes. “I can’t find his spear anywhere, so he had to have taken it with him, wherever he went.”
Lumia just nodded, although, if she were to guess, she’d have to say that the spear had ended up buried somewhere far from there, sent away by the power of that blast. They might even find it one day, though they wouldn’t exactly be able to use it. It might have let Grace carry it once, but the privilege of fighting with it would only ever be given to one person, and he was gone for good.
Pain wracked Lumia’s body at that thought. Not a physical pain but one that radiated through her spirit, rocking her very core. Morgan had been more than just a friend. He meant more than family to her, and she could never see him again, nor feel his warm and comforting touch on her scales. She would never be able to smell the surety and calm aura he projected or go on another hunt with him.
Grace was all she had left of him, and she swore to herself that she would sooner die than allow any misfortune to befall her. She knew it was what Morgan would have wanted, and now, it was her responsibility to ensure that this girl had a happy and healthy life. There was no way Grace was going to give up or simply go into hiding, so she would need to be strong. Stronger than even Morgan had been.
“We need to get going,” Lumia finally said, after Grace had been digging around in the crater for over an hour.
“Not until we find Morgan!” Grace cried, continuing to use her Echolocation and trying to force it deeper into the ground.
“We need to get help for Katherine and the others,” Lumia replied, fighting to keep her composure.
“Morgan needs our help, too,” Grace retorted, ignoring her.
“Let’s say that Morgan is still alive,” Lumia said. “Do you really think he’d want you to look for him or go help his friends?”
Grace finally looked up at that, and Lumia could see how red her eyes were. The poor girl had cried until she could cry no more, and now, she was looking for any signs that her mentor was still alive.
“We can’t just leave him,” she whimpered, her voice cracking and her entire body trembling.
“Morgan can heal himself. Wherever he is, I’m sure he’ll be back. And just think of how proud he will be of you when he finds that you’ve managed to save his friends and his future bride. Think of what you will be doing, in preventing a war that will see millions dead; you will prove yourself as a supermage and one that will herald a much brighter future.”
Grace hesitated for a moment, then, even so slowly, began to move away from the center of the crater.
“What are we supposed to do then?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling and dry sobs wracking her frame.
“We go find help,” Lumia said, bending down and placing a hand on her shoulder.
In this form, she was so much larger than the slight girl, and it was hard to offer comfort in this way. Now, more than ever, she knew that she needed to reach her own Pinnacle, so she could take on a smaller and softer form to better offer comfort to her charge. In the coming years, Grace would need all the help and guidance she could give, and to do that, Lumia needed more power.
“But who? Who can help us against that?”
“There is only one that I know of,” Lumia replied, her mind flashing back to Morgan’s meeting with a specific man, one who’d caused Katherine no end of trouble. “A man named Nathan, who leads a company of fighters known as Garrison Blue.”
“But aren’t they all the way in the North? It’ll take at least a week to get there, even at your top speed. Wouldn’t it be faster to go get some help from the forces of the South?”
“It might, but the Southern armies aren’t exactly the strongest around. Do you really think any of them could break through the enemy’s forces?”
Truthfully, Lumia knew that Grace hardly knew anything about the South. Luckily, she did. The South might have a few fighters capable of fighting on even footing with the attackers, but in the end, they would all perish, leaving them with even less time to find help.
“I don’t know,” Grace answered, sounding unsure.
“Then trust me when I say that Garrison Blue is our best hope for getting them out of this. Yes, the trip to the North will likely take us a week, but at least we know where they’re located. They should also have a portal scroll capable of transporting us all back here, which is more than I can say for the South.”
“Can we try and pick up a portal scroll from the Southern forces then?”
“Not without alerting them to what’s going on here,” Lumia said. “And if they know that, then they’ll be obligated to try and come help.”
“Which would mean they would die,” Grace finished somberly.
Lumia nodded, glad to see that Grace was catching on.
“We’ll have to trust that they can hold on for at least a week. They’ve managed to reach that
bunker, which is just about the toughest thing ever built in these Kingdoms. Plus, all of the people stuck in there are quite strong and smart, so they won’t be killed that easily.”
Grace nodded once again, finally beginning to calm down, for which Lumia was quite grateful. She was still worried about her mental state and how she would cope with Morgan being gone once she was forced to accept it, but for now, refocusing her efforts on something else was the next best thing.
“Then we should get going,” Lumia said, already crouching to take the girl in her arms. “The longer we delay, the longer the others will be forced to hold out without help.”
Grace didn’t resist as she was hoisted into the air, nor did she say anything as Lumia spread her wings and took off into the darkening sky. But what she did do was keep her gaze locked on the crater where Morgan had last been seen. Even when they’d moved so far away that she’d lost sight of it, Grace continued staring back.
Lumia had no idea what Grace was thinking, but she could feel the emotions coming off of her. They were a mixture of sadness and determination, which Lumia could well understand. She’d lit a spark under the girl. To try and finish what Morgan had started and prevent a war from breaking out. She trusted in Grace’s ability to sway people to her cause, and now they would have to convince one of the most reckless and unreliable commanders to travel all the way to the South to help their supposedly trapped queen.
Grace definitely had her work cut out for her, but if anyone could succeed Morgan and assure his legacy lived on, Lumia couldn’t think of anyone better than her.
15
The pain was unimaginable, worse than anything Morgan had ever felt. However, he welcomed it. Pain meant he could still feel and that he was not, in fact, dead. At least not yet. He couldn’t see – his eyes had yet to restore themselves – and his lower body was all but gone. Even now, he could feel his Recovery trait working to heal the gruesome injuries inflicted upon him by the gods.