by Bill Albert
They came across a larger, broken tunnel leading off from the main path. Gallif stopped to listen and heard nothing new, but when she took a deep breath her senses lit up with interest. There was fresh air coming from this direction and she decided to follow the trail. Walking slowly, she was surprised when the tunnel suddenly came to an end and she had not found the opening she had expected. She considered going back when she heard a female voice from above and looked up to see a small crack leading into a cave a layer up.
“Thanks, Lincilara,” she whispered as she looked for a way to climb up the slippery walls.
“What for?” Lincilara asked as she flashed to visibility.
“Well, for pointing that out to me,” she said nodding to the upper tunnel.
“I didn’t do that,” she said and vanished.
Gallif stopped and listened again as she brushed her pale red hair from her dirty face. If the voice wasn’t from the fairy, it had to be from the only other female in the Burial Grounds. She readied herself for an attack from Marassa and started to work her way up the smooth stones.
She cautiously made sure every step was perfectly balanced. She reached the crack and tried to look as far as she could in all directions without going through.
“It’s okay. There’s no one up there,” Lincilara whispered nearby. Gallif heard a light fluttering and couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the invisible Lincilara hovering over her.
She pulled herself up and, with some twisting and bending, got herself through the hole. Once she was up to the next layer she tried to stand but the rumbling in her belly made her ill and she decided to just lay on her back for a few minutes.
Lincilara appeared above her looking down at her. She held her body horizontally so she could look Gallif straight in the eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”
“In what way?” Gallif asked wishing there were actually a shorter list of things to pick from.
“You smell strange. Like you are ill.”
“Tarma worms,” she said regrettably and they both sighed.
“I wish I could help you,” Lincilara said as tears formed in her eyes. “Maybe if my family or some of the thinkers or dreamers were here, they would know the way.” Lincilara’s oversized eyes widened even more at the horrible thought of what could happen to Gallif.
“I know,” Gallif said climbing to her feet and walking again. “There is someone here who knows how to stop them,” she added, “but we can’t depend on her. She’s a traitor.”
“I’m going to save you,” Lincilara said as she spun in circles. “I’ll save you like you saved me.”
For the first time Gallif felt as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders. This new friend, with all the knowledge and casting abilities the fairies were rumored to have, could save her if anyone could. “What are you going to do?” Gallif asked with a sweet smile.
“I’ll find you,” Lincilara said cheerfully and vanished.
Gallif listened for the fluttering of wings and was confused when she heard none. Frustrated, she began walking as fast as she could.
She encountered no obstacles for some time and managed to find a way up to a higher level. This green tunnel was wider and smoother than the other two and after reading the natural signs she knew this was the same place she had started on. She listened and smelled for any other signs of where she was and decided to head westward when a female voice called from behind her.
“No, this way.”
She turned back with both weapons in hand ready for a fight but saw nothing coming towards her. The source had been so distant she wasn’t sure who had spoken to her. She knew it wasn’t Lincilara.
“Don’t listen,” another female voice came from the westward direction. “You were right the first time.”
She quickly scanned both directions and, just barely, caught a shadow moving in the direction she had been heading. Keeping her weapons ready she sprinted in the direction of the movement. The closer she got the surer she was that someone was hiding. There was another movement and a very small reflection from her flame sword and she almost lost her footing as she stopped. She realized too late the reflection was from the silver tip of Marassa’s wand and before she could move a wet, silky web had created a cocoon around her. She could not move.
“Damn you,” Gallif spat at Marassa as the traitor came out of the shadows and stood several steps away.
“Me? Why me?” Marassa glared at her. “We’ve known a perfect balance for two centuries until you, who brought down our mountain, got involved.”
“I went to protect the Giant Lords.”
“They don’t need protection from you, orphan. They have more powers than you can possibly imagine.”
Gallif took a deep breath before answering, taking the extra moment to listen for fluttering wings nearby. “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing. I just needed to stop you from getting any further.”
“That’s not true. If you wanted to just stop me, you could have killed me.”
Gallif felt a sudden cold near her legs. She kept her eyes on Marassa and thought about the position of her body. The frost sword, in her left hand, had been near her side when she was cocooned and was still working.
“I do need to know something, that’s true. I’ll spare your life for information.”
“Go to hell,” Gallif said giving Marassa the expected rejection. She listened again for the fluttering of Lincilara’s wings and was disappointed when she heard nothing. “What do you need?” Gallif realized her right hand was holding the flame sword out and away from her and her wrist was still free. If she could slowly reposition it, without Marassa noticing, her idea just might work.
“I need to know the secrets of Starpoint Mountain. I know you were inside it and met the dragon. What did it tell you?”
Gallif hid her surprise and confusion at the comment. “Nothing,” she said. “It told me nothing.”
“Liar!” Marassa yelled. She rushed forward and struck Gallif in the face so quickly Gallif had no time to prepare for it or and her face stung. Marassa stayed close and didn’t notice Gallif tilt the flame sword back towards her. “I know you were told something. That’s what makes you such a threat to them.”
Gallif’s thoughts stumbled again. Who could she be a threat too? She served the Giant Lords faithfully. The truth about the curse on the elves could only help them.
“I know what’s growing inside you, ready to eat you up,” Marassa narrowed her eyes at Gallif. “I wouldn’t be foolish enough to use tarna eggs without some way of protection. There is a cure.”
Gallif’s eyes widened as Marassa pulled a purple bag from her blurred cloak. She opened the bag, dipped a finger in it, and then showed Gallif the white shiny powder inside. Her brown eyes stayed locked on Gallif’s green as she licked the powder from her finger.
“That’s all it takes. A mouthful of this and the tarna and their eggs dissolve.”
Gallif was staring at the bag and desperate to taste the powder when the glow of the flame sword reflected off of Marassa’s wand. She twisted the sword upwards in her direction and laid it against her side. The heat from the flames immediately melted away the fiber. Her arm was quickly free, and she slapped the blade hard down on her left side. The searing heat connected with the frozen strands around her frost sword and the cocoon shattered.
Gallif jumped forward and made a quick attack on the surprised caster. There were still some patches of the sticky fiber against her body but not enough to slow her movement. Her flame sword missed the target, but the frost sword caught the female caster in the side, and she fell back in pain.
Marassa prepared to cast on Gallif but the younger woman was too fast. The right-hand swing was off, and she missed a direct hit on Marassa, but it was close enough to disrupt her casting. Marassa cursed at her and backed away as quickly as she could.
Gallif was determined to keep her from escaping and went after her. She started waving the frost sword in a
figure eight and readied the flame sword for another swing. Suddenly her right hand started to shake as if she’d just been stung by something and nearly dropped the weapon.
Marassa took advantage of the distraction and made a quick cast. There was a sudden explosion of light from the wand and four glowing globes of light burst from the tip. They shot towards Gallif at great speed and at the last second started circling her head alternating colors as they went.
Gallif cried out and quickly closed her eyes. She concentrated and remembered where Marassa had been standing and took a bold step forward in that direction. She cut forward with both swords hoping the woman had not moved and suddenly felt resistance as the frost sword hit something. She centered her attention on the spot and repeated the attack. She felt that she’d struck something again, but the dull thud told her that she had just struck the rock wall.
She opened her eyes briefly, but the globes had increased their speed and she felt immediately dizzy. The disorientation from the globes only added to the problems in her belly and she swallowed hard to avoid getting sick.
She heard several thumps to her side and sensed Marassa was approaching her from behind. She spun around and jabbed forward, but felt the blades slip through the air with no obstructions.
She sensed movement again to her right seconds before she felt as if her head exploded as she was struck hard in the temple. She dropped to the ground and lost her grip on the frost sword. Desperately, she opened her eyes and was relieved to find the globes gone, but there was now a blur to everything from the blow. She took a deep breath and realized one of the blurs was moving toward her, so she rolled toward it and lifted her sword. The blur changed its direction and Gallif scanned the area to see where her missing weapon was. She saw a lighter glare not far from her and shook her head to clear her vision. She kicked the handle at her feet, and it slid back to her hand. She jumped to her feet just as a mighty strike from Marassa’s sword cracked the stone floor she had been laying on.
Gallif quickly oriented herself and deflected another blow to her head. As she spun out of reach she noticed a few drops of blood fall away and realized she was bleeding from a bruise in her head.
She saw Marassa approaching her and crosscut with both swords to try a scissor attack. Marassa howled in pain as she was struck by the cold of one cast and the heat of another and fell back. She desperately attacked Gallif, but the blade only cut air. She stepped sideways and out of range into a darker alcove.
Gallif came after her swinging firmly but Marassa was faster and already chanting the next cast as she approached. Gallif lunged forward hard as Marassa raised the wand to make her cast. From the darkness around her a hand reached out and took the wand from her grasp. Her jaw dropped in shock and she twisted to see where the wand had gone but saw nothing but shadow. Gallif was approaching with her swords swinging and Marassa reached for her own sword to defend herself. She was even more shocked when, instead of the hard metal feel of the hilt, she touched the warm flesh of someone else grabbing her own weapon.
“Don’t you dare hurt her!” Luvin growled at Marassa as he quickly came out of shadow form. He pushed forward from the wall and used his weight to throw her to the floor as he rolled away.
Gallif stopped a few feet away and stepped to her right to protect him from any attack she might try to deliver. Luvin stood with his hammer in hand and Marassa’s sword beneath his feet.
Marassa looked around and realized she was trapped. Before Gallif or Luvin could stop her, she reached under her blurred robe and pulled a small box no bigger than three inches wide. With expert precision she snapped open the lid and an explosion of darkness shielded her. Gallif and Luvin pulled back to stay clear dragging her sword as they went. They stood armed and ready for another assault until the total darkness faded to reveal an empty corner. The natural shadows along the walls left no room for Marassa to hide. They followed the walls as high as they could to make sure she wasn’t hovering above them but there was still no sign of her.
Luvin looked at Gallif and showed her he was holding Marassa’s wand in his hand. “It felt good to shadow form again.”
Gallif took a step towards him and smiled. Suppressing the urge to hold him close she gently ran her fingers across his cheek. “Thank you. Your shadow forming was perfect.”
Luvin took a step closer to her and was near enough to feel her breath on his cheek. He tilted his head up slightly and put his lips against her cheek.”
“No,” she said quickly turning and walking away.
“Dammit, Gallif,” he growled at her. “After all this, all we’ve been through, why do you keep pushing me away?”
“I just can’t” she stuttered wrapping her arms around herself. “You don’t understand.”
“Well explain it to me right here and now. Tell me what it is.”
“I just can’t,” she said looking away. “I have to stay centered on the task that was given to me by the Giant Lords.” She drew the flame sword and held it out for him to see. “When the Third Minister gave this to me he entrusted me to do a duty.”
“Third Minister?”
“Yes. We’ve believed all our lives we must honor the Giant Lords and I have to stay centered.”
“And forget everything that’s gone before?”
“Of course not.”
“But you have,” he said knowing he was doing the right thing. “The Third Minister returned the sword to you, but you seem to have forgotten that Rayjen gave you the sword when you left the school.”
Gallif gasped as if she’d just been punched in the chest. All the whispers of her past at the school suddenly came back to her. She looked at the blade and saw Rayjen’s trusted face looking back at her. Her hand went to the backpack and she pictured all of the wonderful items she kept inside it. She sat down with her back against the wall; the flame sword tip nearly touched the ground.
Without making a sound Luvin walked to her and kneeled to look her straight in the face. “Tell me how to help you,” he said softly.
“I don’t know,” she said looking at him but before he could speak again she continued. “I don’t know why I survive. So many people I have been connected with, Mom and Dad, Veret, Rayjen, Tome, Pate and so many more have all died. All gone; but why do I survive? For a time I was sure it was to stop Zaslow, but he’s gone and I somehow managed to survive the fall of the mountain.
“Now I wonder if it’s to free the elves, to find out the other secrets that these burial grounds hold and find a way to remove the curse. Either way, I can’t let anyone else die because they are close to me.
“I’m sorry, Luvin,” she said quickly as tears flowed down her face. “I have been so cold to you. I pushed you away so that you would be safe. I wanted you to be angry enough that you would leave and be safe.”
“I wanted to,” Luvin admitted and she finally looked up at him. “I wanted to and was ready to when Acrufix showed me the attention and friendship I wanted from you. As tempting as it was, I couldn’t stop the way I felt about you.
“Gallif, there was something I told you when you left the school. If you forget everything else that happened there don’t forget this,” he said slowly. “I will die for you, not because of you, but for you.”
She nodded as she remembered that moment and thought how odd it was that there was no sadness in how he said it; but a deep fire of loyalty and devotion.
She rocked back and forth. As he reached forward to take her hand she shivered and pulled away. His shoulders dropped and the rejection swept over him as he tried to understand.
“In Starpoint Mountain,” she said in a hollow voice, “when I was being held by Zaslow and before Pate found me, I was held captive in this room of mirrors. I was strapped down on this table,” she said almost choking on the tears. “I was naked,” she said shaking her head violently. Her legs were pressed together and her arms were a wrapped around her body. “He let them at me,” she said sobbing. “As I was laying there, he let the e
lves, the aquilus, the monsters, lick me. They tasted every part of my body!” she screamed. Her cries echoed off the walls as she put her head to her chest and started to rock quietly.
Luvin watched her wishing and praying that he could comfort her. Instead he sat without making a sound and waited.
NINETEEN: MASKS
Luvin looked up at her eyes and hoped she was feeling better. She read his thoughts and simply nodded, and he stood without saying a word to follow her. She waited until he was standing next to her before continuing. Though they walked side-by-side they didn’t speak or even make eye contact until Gallif held out a hand to stop them.
“Stop a second,” she whispered. “Just listen.”
They waited and listened to a slow, heavy breathing coming from a nearby tunnel. This tunnel was smaller than most of the others and they had to crouch low, almost crawling on their knees, to get through. It was a perfectly round tunnel with a moist substance on the sides.
As they got closer to the source they moved slower and were careful not to make a noise. To avoid attracting attention Gallif sheathed her swords to muffle their light but made sure Luvin had his hammer in hand.
The path took a downward twist and the amount of moisture on the walls caused them to move slower. They soon came to a flat green surface with what appeared to be a large round nest. They were both disturbed by the fact that most of the materials used to make the walls of the nest were bones. Some of the bones were small enough that they most likely came from smaller animals like dogs or sheep, many looked human sized and one bone was large enough to have come from a giant. Holding their breath, they stealthily looked over the walls of the nest.
Gallif felt a brief churning in her stomach as she saw the eggs inside the nest. One was open and the creature inside was slowly crawling out of the shell.