by Bill Albert
“BACK!” Gallif warned Blinks and Jakobus. “Get behind me, now!” she ordered them, and they took up positions directly behind her. Gallif could feel the rumbling in her stomach return in force and she swallowed hard. She tried to rise holding both swords, but the rising sickness was too much.
Marassa approached the defenseless woman carefully. “I still have the advantage.”
“You can have the library,” Gallif said fighting the bile in her throat. “What do you want from me?”
The question was so unexpected that Marassa stopped in her tracks to consider it. “You would be a great servant,” she said. “But I know that won’t happen until you are broken. What if I crush this little thing and make them extinct again?” Marassa asked shaking Lincilara and tightening her grasp. “Maybe that would break you.”
“No,” Gallif sat up on her knees and took a feeble swing at Marassa. In return the older woman kicked her in the side and Gallif spit away a mouthful of pain.
Lincilara screamed in fear and pleaded for Marassa not to hurt Gallif anymore and Jakobus, despite his own temptation, stopped Blinks from rushing forward. With surprising speed Luvin came running hard out of the library. Marassa saw him coming and positioned herself to hold off an attack from his hammer but didn’t realize until too late exactly what he was doing. He jumped as high as he could and wrapped his arms around her. The momentum was enough for her to fall back and she lost her prisoner as she fought to break his grip. The flames from the sword caught him and he pulled back in to avoid getting seriously burned. She took several swings and he withdrew until he was just behind Gallif.
“Stay back,” Gallif ordered them and saw Lincilara hovering over Luvin’s shoulder. “You have me,” she said to Marassa and rose unsteadily to her feet. “What do you want from me?” she asked again.
“I want nothing from you,” Marassa yelled back in anger. “You’re an annoyance that needs to be removed,” she growled closing in with both swords in her hands.
Gallif took a deep breath and went at her with both swords ready. She tried to distract her opponent with one sword swing while jabbing with the other, but Marassa saw the move coming and pushed her arc off.
Luvin tried to go forward to defend her but there wasn’t enough space to get around Gallif to attack. He felt useless and frustrated but knew if he moved forward he could get in her way.
Lincilara hovered in front of him to try and get him to stay back and said, “We have to leave.”
“No,” Luvin glared at her wide eyed.
Gallif moved back keeping the rest of them behind her. Marassa smiled as Gallif started to weaken and followed her taking swings at her to keep her off guard. Knowing the others were behind her Gallif stayed as close to the library and kept backing away towards the gate to the courtyard. Lincilara also kept herding them and, since they wouldn’t listen, flew to them to force them outside of the gate. Gallif gathered enough strength to take several jabs at Marassa and managed to cut into her arm and one of the flame swords fell away. Marassa tried to hide the pain but the anger in her eyes was unmistakable.
Gallif rushed at her and slammed her elbow into Marassa’s chest. They fell against the wall and Gallif put her weight against Marassa’s arm to prevent her from using her remaining sword. They were too close for either of them to strike with their blades so Marassa retaliated by punching Gallif directly in the jaw. Gallif immediately kicked back and nearly broke Marassa’s knee before pulling herself away.
“You want me out now, don’t you?” Gallif managed to laugh at her.
“Yes, you annoying little bitch, I want you out.”
“Thank you,” Gallif said quietly and let herself fall backwards through the gate between the courtyard and the cavern. As she passed through the threshold the cast flames returned to her swords and the red tint returned to her armor. She dropped and Jakobus, Blinks and Luvin quickly rushed to prevent her from hitting the floor and set her down slowly. They looked back at the gate to see Marassa laughing at them.
“The tarna eggs should be hatching in the next few hours,” she chuckled. “They’ll be hatched and start feeding on your gut and you’ll be dead in a few days.
“Maybe,” Gallif said wiping the sweat from her face. “You won’t, you’ll survive, but, someday, you might wish you hadn’t.”
Marassa glared at her and replaced her swords with wands. “As much as I like the thought of you dying slowly perhaps, I’d enjoy finishing you off now better.” She prepared her wands and stepped forward only to find herself unable to continue. She stopped and looked around confused and then rushed forward only to be pushed back again. She looked up and considered going over the wall and grimaced when she saw no way of climbing up.
“Even you aren’t strong enough,” Jakobus said looking at her. “These walls were built by dragons, as was the cast that keeps someone inside,” he said patting Gallif on the shoulder.
“Are you sure?” Blinks asked. “She did manage to cast her swords.”
“No,” Gallif informed them regaining her footing and stepping away from them. “Like so much else about her they are fake. I saw the groves in the blades; they’re made of ferno stones.” These stones were actually flammable and, once ignited, could burn intensely for several days, but continuously like a cast flame.
Marassa glared at them and then reached for a bag she kept hanging from her wrist and froze when she found it missing.
Luvin gave her a wry smile and held the bag out to Gallif. “You have to swallow this as quick as you can.”
Gallif opened the bag and sniffed what was inside then looked back at him confused. “It’s still just salt.”
“I know,” he pleaded with her. “I found a book on them. The tarna react badly to the salt because it’s like an acid to them. It won’t remove them, but they will stay dormant inside their shells as long as you have it in your system,” he urged her to take the salt.
She saw the urgency in his eyes and poured most of the salt into her mouth. She coughed, spit some out, then forced herself to swallow as much as she could.
Marassa was standing just inside the courtyard watching them. She was shaking with anger and her mind raced desperate to find a way out.
“Keep looking,” Lincilara said hovering just outside. “You shouldn’t have said you wanted her gone. When you did, she passed control over to you and you became keeper of library.”
“You stinking little bat,” Marassa spat at her. “You’ll watch her burn some day.”
“I’m nothing like a bat,” Lincilara said matching her will. “And you’re the one that stinks,” she said sniffing the air for effect before flying away to Gallif. She circled Gallif and sniffed her several times as well. “You smell better.”
“Can you get up?” Blinks asked Gallif.
“In a minute, I can feel something happening inside,” she said.
There was a crack as something moved in the courtyard and they looked back to see that Marassa had gone. They went to the gate and looked closely without stepping inside but there was no sign of her.
“What’s going to happen to her?” Lincilara asked.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty clear what Alejan told us was the truth and there is no way she’ll be able to get out of there. She’s also got bigger problems than that. The tremors that we felt, and the screams that came after them, happened when we were fighting. She was being careless and destroyed some of the books. There is more to that library than any of us can imagine and she’s damaged it,” Gallif thought looking at the books inside. “She made it angry.”
“We better get going,” Jakobus suggested after they all had time to consider. “We have a long way to go and may still have to deal with Acrufix.”
“He’s right. Shiny Guy could be just outside waiting for us; but where could we go.”
“We can’t go to the Giant Lords,” Gallif said rising to her feet. She had a hand on her belly which was feeling much calmer. “Maybe we should go back to w
here we started,” she said to Jakobus and Luvin. “Back to the school.”
“The swamps,” both of them said simultaneously. They looked at each other in surprise and Jakobus nodded.
“There is a cure for the tarna eggs, I read about it, but the only place this type of grass grows is in the swamps.”
“That’s also the same place we can find a way to remove the curse on the elves,” Jakobus agreed. “Even the Giant Lords don’t have the casting powers to remove it; but the Others do.”
They were all amazed at what he was telling them and gasped in shock. Even Lincilara was aware of who he was talking about.
“The Others…,” Gallif whispered.
Jakobus simply nodded and they all stood in silence as they considered who they would have to deal with.
***
They walked in absolute silence. Lincilara, unseen but close enough that Gallif could hear the fluttering of her wings, followed by Jakobus, Blinks and then Luvin. They took their orders from Gallif and moved only when she told them to.
She stopped them only twice. Once they heard sounds coming from one of the side tunnels that she attributed to the creature in the nest that they had seen earlier. The second stop was to allow a pack of tarsiers to pass untouched.
When things were quiet Gallif tried to estimate how long they had been underground. Her first estimate was about ten hours, so she expected it to be almost dark outside. If she was right, of course. It also occurred to her there could have been hundreds of unknown casts taking place when they were in the library.
She patted her belly at one point and was relieved at just how good it felt. She still had the overwhelming taste of salt in her mouth and she planned on dipping into the underground river as soon as she could.
The river turned out to be the first sign of what had been happening outside. The original calm flow had been replaced by a very strong current and had risen several inches as well. The natural bridge across it was still clear but very muddy from the splashes.
“It must have been raining all day out there,” she said as she scooped up a few handfuls of water. It tasted cool and fresh and soon her throat was clear. She was also relieved to see that some of the color had returned to her hands as well.
They started moving again and soon were only a hundred feet from the exit to the outpost when Gallif brought them to a stop.
“I just want to go ahead first and see if anything’s up there,” she said.
“It smells odd,” Lincilara said.
“Sounds odd, too,” Jakobus pointed out.
“You want me to go along?” Luvin asked.
“No, I think it’ll be better for just one person,” she said. “Sorry, I want you to stay here, too,” she said to Lincilara before the fairy could offer her own talents.
Gallif left them and started moving towards the exit. She carefully planned every move and remembered every step she made. She was halfway to the exit when she stopped hearing some clicking noises. She listened carefully and determined it was the sound that was made when metal armor plates were rubbed together. She stayed as close to the wall as she could and, without making a sound, moved to within sight of the cave mouth.
It was as bad as she had feared. There were a dozen guards from the outpost standing inside the cave holding swords, axes, and staffs. They were ready to fight anything and standing in the center of the mob was Acrufix.
She remained hidden and strained to hear orders given by anyone in the group. She wasn’t close enough to pick up anything useful, so she returned to her friends.
“There’s a dozen of them blocking the exit,” she told them. “They are waiting for us armed with everything they could carry and Acrufix is with them. There’s thirteen of them and five of us.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to suggest they’ll need more help?” Blinks asked.
“No, sorry,” she smiled at the sweetness in his voice. “I have thought of a way to get by them. It should get us out safely but it’s dangerous.”
“More dangerous than a dozen expert guards and Shiny Guy?” Blinks asked.
“Wherever you are going, I’m going,” said Luvin.
BOOK THREE:
LAWBREAKERS
TWENTY-THREE: CRIMINALS
Those filled with faith
The purest life live
Stronger than any weapon can be
And give the greatest gift
Of loyalty and trust
Can change the world
With single word
And deny most wicked strength
With honesty lead them so
Be their guiding light
Your truest heart you show them
Do not dismiss with haste
Do not deceive
Those filled with faith
Even for a torture this had not been a good session. The elf had been stronger than most and had managed to endure anything that had been done to it. After peeling some of the skin away he believed that it did not know anything about the girl. The elf had endured more torment than anyone, but it never broke. Unlike the others this one had spoken clearly and distinctly with no accent or slur. He could hear everything it had said, yet he had learned nothing.
Even in the final moments of its life, after he removed the pointed ears, it had kept singing. A most annoying song that meant nothing to him and he tried to get it out of his memory. The ear tips were hardening in the tin box and he could add them in a few days.
The rest of the body had been dumped into the pit to feed the rats and maggots. He didn’t know for sure if it had still been alive or not, but he knew he would get no information from it; so he had discarded it.
He hated elves. Actually, he hated everything that was not a giant. Even the humans that were so easy to use sickened him. Vile, but necessary for now, was how he classified them.
This girl, however, had been different. She wasn’t as usable as the others, she had broken her strings, and he had underestimated her. He had expected her to tell him the truth about the library, but chances of that were fading. He had already ordered for transport to be ready for Kadame to go to the fortress; to go deeper and even drain her memories if necessary.
Marassa, as unpredictable as she was, had always come through for him in the past. This time there was no response since they had fought the dragon skeletons inside the Burial Grounds. Had they discovered her duplicity? Had she killed them for it?
Acrufix, whose strings were so easily plucked, had also gone silent for some time. He may have to consider recruiting a replacement if there was no improvement.
A wave of anger and frustration swept over him and he smashed his massive fists against the walls as he thought about the girl. He was angry at himself for being foolish when he had dealt with her before. Why? What was it about her that, he was afraid to admit to himself, unnerved him? Her execution was now the utmost priority and he wouldn’t even allow himself the pleasure of torturing her.
He decided it would be best to go to the capital city and wait there. Being with his own kind always made him feel better.
***
There was a storm building to the south that was stirring up the clouds over the capital. The rain had been a steady drizzle and there had been the occasional echoes of distant thunder.
King Paleth sat in his thrown listening to the Royal Cartographer drone on about what they had learned of the new landscape so far. From various reports they had sketched together how the mountain had fallen in the shape of a five-pointed star. He was relieved since it would have been really annoying to have had to change the name under his watch. Other than that, he really didn’t care about where the points were located or their estimated height. He suddenly realized that the Royal Cartographer had finished so he smiled and thanked him for the hard work and had him escorted out of the throne room. He listened to the rolling thunder in the distance and smiled at how thrilling it was. It was too bad that there was no lightening to go with it. That part w
as his favorite.
One of the attendants entered and informed him that the children’s choir was ready to sing for him. They were very talented and it would be a nice change after the endlessly boring information on crops, illness and cartography, plus he could have some of the sweet tea they kept in the kegs there; but, if they sang all twenty-seven verses of Land of Starpoint Proud and True, he was going to have them executed.
***
The Fifth Minister was methodically giving his report on what he had seen and heard during his rescue mission. His voice had trembled from nervousness at first, but, as he had continued, he became more confident. He held a large rolled up paper in his hands and occasionally used it to make a point. Six of the seven Ministers, the Fourth Minister who had not been heard from yet, sat listening intently. The First Minister sat unmoving and there were times it was hard to tell whether he was awake or not. The Third Minister had entered late but had quickly caught up on the presentation.
“The dragon,” he continued, “and the boy riding him, can be credited for most of the survivors. They did warn them to get out of the way and many were able to do so even with very little time. Mostly people in the distant areas made it okay, but the closer they were to the mountain the fewer survived.”
“Do you have any information on the boy?” the Second Minister asked.
“No one was able to identify him, but most of the descriptions we got were consistent.”
“Make sure the Royal Artist gets started on a sketch,” the Third Minister said.
“I have,” the Fifth Minister nodded proudly.
“Why?” the Second Minister asked the Third. “A bit early to make a wanted poster.”
“If we know what he looks like we can find him. It will also give us a chance to find out anything the dragon may have said,” the Third Minister remained calm.