“Hey!” yelled Laderic at the gray canid. “I’m right here, you know.” He huffed, a little offended that the gray bloodhungry hadn’t even acknowledged him. He dodged a sloppy swing from a sword. canidae were clumsier when it came to combat than most, less agile than felidae or even humans. What they lacked in dexterity, though, they made up for with brute strength and stamina.
“This is not a good time, idiot,” Midiga snapped, backing up. The other two canidae had teamed up on her. Due to their instinctual dislike of each other, the gray canid had decided she was their primary target. “I could use a hand,” the felid hinted, keeping her eyes on her attackers.
Laderic nodded, continuing to watch his own attacker, gauging his every move. The rust-colored canid stalking toward him had yet to take his eyes off Laderic’s throat. The wolf man swung once again, and Laderic sidestepped, dodging the attack easily.
Canidae might not have the best technique, but often times they didn’t need to. Their strategy for taking down prey was to tire it out, as their stamina was virtually unlimited. Once their attacker would grow weary and inevitably make a mistake, they go in for the kill. For the throat. And even without weapons, their claws are still deadly sharp—almost as much as felids, though they aren’t able to retract them like the cat folk.
Midiga was attempting to back up and get a bit of range to fire her bow, but her attackers weren’t giving her a chance. As soon as she would reach for an arrow, one of the canidae would snap at her arm or swing their sword at her head. Only protected by her unsheathed claws, she held them at the ready.
“Mrow!” she cried in her own language, lashing out at a canid that had lunged for her again. He was slow and clumsy, and she made him pay for it. She landed a slice across his nose, and he whimpered in pain.
Laderic had removed his own weapons, the twin daggers, and was holding them at the ready. They shone in the new morning sunlight, dazzling and colorful. One, he held facing forward in his right hand, toward his enemy as he might hold a sword. The other he held hilt first, the blade pointing behind him. With a blade pointing in each direction, the pose allowed for more freedom of movement, allowing him to either attack or defend, even with his back turned.
Wasting no time, knowing he would tire out before the canid even started to pant, he decided to make his move. He lunged forward, feigning an attack with his right-handed blade. The canid dodged left, and Laderic rotated his body in response, spinning away, and jerking his left arm backward. It all happened in seconds. The blade buried itself deep in the canid’s side, and he yipped in pain. Laderic continued twisting, then pulled the blade out, whirling around to face his opponent once more. There was a large gash in the canid’s left side, and it was bleeding profusely. He dropped his crude sword to the ground, holding his side in pain. His red eyes burned holes into Laderic, murder written in his gaze.
When Laderic’s canid had snarled in agony, the two closing in on Midiga had become distracted just long enough for her to draw an arrow. She fired it point-blank at the black canid to her right, landing the shot between its eyes, killing it instantly. Now, it was only her and the gray one that had spoken the first time, the one who appeared to be the leader. He flinched slightly when she shot his companion. Newfound hatred for the felid consumed his mind, and he growled deep in his throat.
“I said you should mind your own business,” he barked, moving closer to Midiga so she couldn’t draw again without opening a weak spot. She took a few steps back, and her tail bumped into a tree. The canid’s fur was standing on end, and his body quivered with anticipation. “Or at least to stay out of mine. I am Karkos, I am thirst!” He howled, snapping at her arm and grazing her skin, drawing blood. His pupils contracted in euphoria as he licked her blood from his chops. Midiga watched, horrified.
A high-pitched howl pierced the forest then, coming from the cliffside. Karkos’s ears twitched. He bared his teeth in a vicious snarl, taking a step back from Midiga. “Unfortunately, your blood is not that which we crave, but I assure you, my brethren aren’t picky!” Suddenly, he yipped something in his own language. The wounded canid, which had been focused on Laderic, pivoted and lunged at Midiga. His sudden retreat caught Laderic off guard, and he looked on, helpless.
“Watch out!” Laderic yelled, knowing it was too late, but still turning to give chase. Midiga’s reflexes were inhuman, and her feline ears had caught the canid switching positions. She rounded to face him just in time, and he tackled her to the ground. The gray canid turned and ran back toward where the other canidae had gone before.
“Don’t let him escape!” Midiga yowled, shoving the injured canid off her body. Laderic turned to give chase, but humans were much slower than the wolf people were. Nevertheless, he followed Karkos into the trees, toward the rocky wall where he guessed they had cornered their prey.
Midiga rolled over onto the injured canid, pinning him to the ground and dodging a snap at her neck. She wrenched another arrow from her quiver, arcing it over her head. “Bad dog,” she said with a hiss, before stabbing the arrow into his eye socket like a dagger. He let loose an unintelligible scream before his body went limp, and he fell into darkness.
She wasted no time removing her arrow from his face, standing and then giving chase to Laderic. It took her only moments to catch up to him. The muddy ground was hard for Laderic to maneuver through, as his shoes sinking deeper into the mud as they neared the river. Midiga wasn’t restricted, going shoeless as all felidae did. She was light-footed, and her strides seemed to glide across the ground. She pulled ahead of Laderic, hoping she wasn’t too late.
Without warning, from up ahead, a bright white light followed by a thunderous boom shook the forest. Hundreds of birds took off from the trees, cawing and screeching as they flew away from the explosion. Laderic stumbled and fell. Even Midiga was nearly shaken off her feet. The light had come from the cliffside, but she pressed on, undeterred. The trees were sparse, but not enough for her to get a decent view of what had happened.
She rounded a tree to a shocking sight. In a clearing, against the foot of the cliff, three canidae were dead, the earth below them indented in the shape of their bodies as if they had been blasted into the ground. Trees were smoking and blackened, and the rocky wall itself was charred and fractured. On her right, she spotted Karkos, swimming across the river away from the clearing with a couple of other canidae. He looked injured, but still mobile. She turned to follow them, groaning at the idea of having to swim. Then a strange sound stopped her in her tracks. A high-pitched whimper was coming from a smoldering hole in the rocky wall. The indentation was smoking and fresh.
Laderic had finally caught up, noticing that Midiga had paused in her chase and was going to inspect a hole in the wall that had mist rising from it. As she approached, a young woman stepped out from the hole. She wore tattered brown clothing and a green cloak and hood that covered her hair and ears. She limped out of the wall, scanning the clearing, a single dagger in her right hand held at the ready. Then, she looked at Midiga, golden eyes narrowed, worried.
“They are dead, I hope?” she asked, almost uncertain. Her voice was soft and smooth, though she was breathing quite hard. Midiga nodded, brow furrowed. The woman sighed, exhaustion and relief emanating from her. “They had been chasing me for days. I cannot thank you enough—oh...” As she spoke, she sank toward the ground, landing first on her knees before falling to the ground.
Midiga jumped forward, not quite fast enough to catch her before she hit the mud. “Laderic!” she cried, holding the woman’s face just above the ground. He was already running to her side. He turned the fainted woman over and felt her neck for a pulse.
“She’s alive,” he said, out of breath. Cradling her head, he continued, “But her pulse is weak. We should take her back with us.” Midiga nodded, reaching her hand-paw under the woman’s shoulder and lifting her with Laderic’s assistance. The mystery woman was several inches shorter than Laderic, very light and easy to lift. Together, th
e two made their way back to Ulandyl as fast as they could, worried for the life of the one between them.
Chapter 4
The sun was high in the sky when they arrived at Midiga’s place once again. Carrying the woman several miles, as they did, tired them both out, and they were relieved when they closed themselves in the house. Gently, they placed her on Midiga’s down-filled mat and stood to look her over.
Her hood had fallen off while they were walking, but they had quickly put it back on her once they realized its purpose. Her ears were elongated and pointed at the tip, clearly marking her as an elf. Now, they removed it once more, getting a better look at her features. She had long, wavy, chocolate-brown hair, knotted and unkempt, looking like it hadn’t been washed for days. Cresting her forehead was a beautiful chain of amber and bronze. Her skin was porcelain and flawless. Her hands appeared delicate with long fingers ending in mud-encrusted fingernails. The pants on her left leg were torn—blood coating them—yet no visible injury found. Covered in bruises and cuts, she was emaciated and gaunt, but through all of this, she had a natural beauty unlike any the two had ever seen.
“I’ve never seen an elf before,” Midiga remarked, staring wide-eyed at the young woman. In the Far Land, elves are very secretive beings, keeping to themselves, hidden deep in the north. Once, elves were great protectors of the whole continent, but now, and for over a thousand years, they have remained closed off and secluded from the world. It is said there is not a mortal alive that knows the location of the last elvish city, and some people are even naïve enough to believe that elves are purely a myth, when, in reality, they have simply disappeared into the ice.
“I have, though it was years ago,” said Laderic. “A friend of mine is married to a renegade elf. That’s probably what she is.” He scratched his beard, looking the elf over once again. He narrowed his eyes. “But why is she being hunted?”
Renegade elves were elves that had grown to dislike the secretive nature of their people and chose to leave the elvish capital to live amongst the other races, where the laws and rules of living are much less strict. Elves were not punished for leaving and becoming renegades but were also not allowed to live amongst elves ever again. To keep them from returning and bringing the culture and ideas of outsiders with them, all of their memories of elvish culture—and the location of their hidden capital—were wiped from their minds.
He bent down, reaching toward the woman to rummage through her pockets. Midiga slapped his hand away. “What are you doing?” she hissed. He reached back down into her pockets again, as if she hadn’t just stopped him.
“We saved her life, and now she is in your house,” he explained, his face stoic. “I want to know what sort of weapons or magic this little lady has on her. If she’s in here with us where we’re vulnerable, we need to know what to expect.”
“She was running from bloodhungry hunters!” Midiga quipped in protest. “Anything she has on her is probably for her own protection.”
Laderic looked up at his friend. “Ask yourself this—why is she being hunted?” he demanded. Midiga froze with her mouth open. “Renegade elves are never hunted for deserting—that is unless they’ve committed some sort of crime. She killed three bloodhungry canidae pretty easily.” He looked back down at the girl. “And why are they tracking an elf anyway? I’ve never heard of even one bloodhungry seeking elf blood, let alone a whole pack of them. Where did they even taste elf blood in the first place?” He narrowed his eyes, filled with mistrust. “She must be dangerous if someone wants her dead that badly. Those canidae weren’t hunting her at random—she is being tracked. What if she kills us in our sleep? I would rather not take that chance.”
He reached toward her belt line and grabbed the holster for a blade. At this, the elf’s eyes popped wide open, and she sat up fast as lightning, in the same motion, pulling the dagger from her belt and pointing it at Laderic. Taken aback and startled, he lost his balance, falling onto the floor. “What are you doing,” she accused. Her voice was cold, laced with the desperation of a cornered animal. She stared into his eyes, her own eyes blood red in color, captivating and terrifying at the same time.
“I… we… we were just…” He looked at Midiga for help.
Midiga sighed, taking a step in front of Laderic. The elf looked up at her from her spot on the bed. “I am Midiga, and this is Laderic,” said the felid, holding her paws up to show they were empty. “We mean you no harm.”
“You are the one who saved me,” breathed the elf, relieved. She lowered her blade. At this, her eyes changed colors back to golden yellow. “At least, you are. He is not.” Laderic raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to argue.
“He helped,” Midiga interjected before Laderic could protest. “And I only helped, as well. Something else must have saved you. There was a bright white light right before we reached you. Do you remember what happened?”
“I made that light,” said the girl. “I was cornered, and they were closing in on me, so I used my magic to… make them go away.” She stated this as a fact, her voice flat and commanding. “But that was a lot at once, and it drains me pretty quickly when I use magic. It must have knocked me out.”
Laderic laughed, and the two turned to face him. “Elves can’t use magic,” he chided, smirking. “You don’t have to lie to us. What actually happened?” He crossed his arms, still seated on the floor.
She stared back at him, blinking. “Elves?” She looked between them. “What do you mean? Are you talking about me?”
“You’re an elf,” he said, staring at her. “You… you don’t know you’re an elf?”
She shook her head, exhaling loudly, irritated with herself. “I should explain. My name is Alleria, and aside from my name, I don’t know much about myself at all. I cannot remember anything from before I turned ten. I’m seventeen now, and even so, I know very little about myself. My memory is not the best.
“My parents told me I was in an accident and injured my head, and that’s why I can’t remember my past. Although, as I grew, I realized they must have been lying, but I didn’t question them. I was curious but believed they had my best interest in mind, and they encouraged that belief by telling me each time I asked them about my past that it was best I did not know. They gave me a hooded cloak, and I was to wear it each day, hiding my ears and even my eyes from those I would meet, especially when going into town. They told me I was just… different. And strangers wouldn’t understand and might try to hurt me.
“I only asked about it a few times, my peculiarities and why my ears were different, and of course, why I had to cover them. My mother always said the same thing—that the answers to my questions lay hidden in the north, though exactly where she did not know.”
Laderic nodded. His eyes were unfocused as he was deep in thought. “The north is said to hold the last elvish stronghold—the ancient, legendary city of Nara’jainita. Somehow, your mother must have at least known to direct you toward the city. But… how? And why?”
Alleria looked down at her hands, feeling tears spring to her eyes. She kept her face hidden behind her hair. “I wish I knew… I left before I thought to ask those questions. How she knew what she did… where I came from… and who my real parents were.” She stifled a sob, feeling her throat tightening. “I always wondered how I came to be their daughter. It’s too late now. I… decided I wanted to discover the answers myself. Just over a year ago, I made my choice. In the middle of the night, I packed my things, and I ran.” She looked away, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut.
Laderic looked her over, reading her body language. He had believed her story up until that point. Something just wasn’t adding up. He narrowed his eyes, skeptical, but kept his mouth shut as the elf continued.
“I had always shown a talent for magic. My powers usually manifested on accident, but my parents told me that I must keep it a secret or it would attract too much attention. So I have kept it buried inside me as much as possible. However, there a
re times I can’t help it… I lose control. About six months ago, I stopped in a small town called Galail, and a man tried to mug me. He forced me out of the crowd and chased me through the alleys. I used my magic to hold him off, and my hood came off my head, only for a second. Just a few people saw, and I didn’t think anything of it. The next day, one of the wolf people broke into the room I was renting and tried to kill me.
“I have spent my time since then running and traveling, trying to reach the north. Now and again, the wolf people find me, and I am forced to flee for my life, regardless of where that may take me. I’ve been as far north as Starpoint, yet have been forced to backtrack so many times, it feels like I’ll never reach my destination. I don’t know why they are hunting me, and I’ve tried to avoid contact with anyone, so it’s harder for them to track me. This was the longest they had chased me without pause.” She looked between Midiga and Laderic, grateful, eyes shining brilliant gold. “If you hadn’t found me and split them up, I fear they would have killed me. I was too exhausted to use my magic to stop them all.”
Laderic and Midiga only stared, taking in her story. Laderic’s eye was twitching slightly. “Let me get this straight,” he began, “you didn’t know you were an elf until I just told you.”
“Yes… What exactly makes me an elf?” she asked, eyes bright with anticipation.
“We’ll get to that later,” Laderic said, waving his hand in dismissal. “You can use magic… and your eyes do some weird color-change thingy?”
Ember: Echoes of Ashes - Book 1 Page 3