Ember: Echoes of Ashes - Book 1

by Jessica Schmidt

  “Well, I…” Elwyse seemed to be struggling internally. Before he could speak again, however, there was a loud bang from one of the tunnels.

  Elwyse looked relieved for the distraction. “Ah, I see my minions have captured someone else!”

  Laderic’s heart sank as he heard a familiar felid yowl. He watched as Elwyse walked toward the tunnel, motioning for something to follow him. From the doorway emerged a group of skeletons, dragging two struggling bodies behind them.

  “Let! Me! Go!” Alleria cried, struggling and kicking each time she spoke. The skeletons mindlessly continued to drag her across the floor, unwavering in their steps. Another skeleton emerged from the doorway shortly after, restraining Reia in its rigid arms.

  Reia was flailing about to no avail. “Put me down!” she yipped, gnawing on its bony arms. It paid her no mind, following the others into Elwyse’s dungeon.

  The skeletons pulled their captives to the center of the room. “Laderic!” Midiga cried, seeing him in the cage. Alleria turned to look as well, smiling for a brief moment when she saw him.

  Elwyse looked back and forth between them. “Ah, that makes a little more sense. You guys know each other!”

  “We came to find you,” Midiga said to Laderic, ignoring Elwyse completely. “But… we got lost in the tunnels. I thought we could follow the scrape marks, but some places didn’t have any dirt at all, and we got lost. We stopped to get our bearings and were ambushed. These guys are pushovers.” As she spoke, she jerked her arm out of a skeleton’s rigid grip and tried to shove the other off her, but another bony hand grabbed her wrist as soon as she could escape their grasp. “There’s just too many.”

  “Ha, ha, ha!” laughed Elwyse far too dramatically. “You have fallen right into my trap! My minions are much too powerful for you to escape!” There was a drawn out awkward silence. Midiga and Alleria stared at him, perplexed.

  “Who are you?” asked Alleria with skepticism in her tone.

  “I am Elwyse! I own this fort and all beneath it!” He raised his arms into the air as he had done with Laderic, awkward and rehearsed. After another moment of silence, he scowled, lowering his arms. “Oh, come on. You guys too?”

  “Let us go,” growled Midiga, impatient, straining to pull her arms from the grasps of the skeletons, but there were four of them holding on to her, and even she couldn’t break their grip.

  Elwyse cackled. “You think that’s how this works?” he asked. “No, you are doomed to remain trapped down here with me. Forever!”

  “So, you’re trapped down here?” asked Laderic, musing.

  Elwyse backtracked. “No, no, no. I mean, you are trapped down here, with me, who is free to come and go as he pleases.”

  “So… you could leave right now then,” Laderic said, pushing all the right buttons.

  Steam was beginning to pour from Elwyse’s ears. “Enough! No more questions. My minions!” he called toward the skeletons. They looked at him blankly. “Restrain them! I wasn’t expecting to ever have more than one guest in my lair. So, you lovely ladies get to be tied up… um… over there!” He waved his arms, and the skeletons followed him, dragging the unwilling travelers with them.

  Elwyse helped his minions tie them to the wall where a couple of old hooks were hanging near the ground. Alleria attempted to put up a fight, kicking one of the skeletons in the rib cage and knocking several of its bones to the ground. The skeleton was not even fazed, continuing to tie Alleria’s wrists to the hook, and eventually, she gave up, slumping to the floor with a scowl.

  Midiga didn’t resist at all, muttering to herself as she held her wrists behind her back and sat promptly on the dusty cave floor, scanning the room with her amber eyes. Though the room was dimly lit, for Midida, it was bright as daylight. She could see every nook and cranny in the dungeon where they were held, and was searching intently for a way out of their situation. She frowned, pausing for a moment, shutting her eyes. She could feel the ground… vibrating? In the distance, she could faintly hear a rumbling, almost like thunder.

  Elwyse had Reia tossed in the same cage as Laderic. “Don’t want you burning your way out of those bindings, kitsune,” he jeered as he threw her into the cage.

  “Reia!” cried Alleria, straining against her bindings. “Don’t you hurt her!”

  “I got you,” Laderic assured, catching Reia as she was thrown. The fox buried her head in his armpit, whimpering and shaking.

  Midiga stared at Elwyse darkly. “You will pay for treating my friends with such disdain.”

  Elwyse turned up his nose. “You’re all pathetic.” He barked, judging them each in turn. “Haven’t you realized yet that friendship is a lie? The only person you can truly depend on is yourself.” He spat into the cage that held Laderic and Reia. “I have grown beyond such things, my mentality far more advanced than your own. I have become self-sufficient, living without the need for things like companionship and intimacy. I have, dare I say, overcome my humanity!”

  “And that’s a good thing to you?” Laderic sneered with disgust. “Throwing away your humanity, living as a heartless monster? You’d rather live your life down here, alone, with just some mindless skeletons, and a stupid rotting dog?”

  “You leave Odie out of this!” roared Elwyse into the cavern. His voice bounced off the walls, reflecting back in an eerie echo.

  Laderic smirked, amused. “See? No matter how you try, you’re so unconvincing. You love that dog. You’re just like everyone else! You haven’t overcome anything, least of all your humanity.”

  “I–I— You have no idea what I’ve overcome!” cried Elwyse, his voice breaking in the midst of his sentence. There was a long silence to follow, and Laderic stared into the necromancer’s eyes, refusing to break eye contact. Elwyse suddenly turned away from the cage, throwing the hood from his cape over his head.

  “Come, Odie.” He sighed, weariness overtaking him. Odie, who had been cowering against the wall during the exchange, tucked his tail between his legs and stood to follow Elwyse. Slowly, they marched into the back of the dungeon where they shut themselves away in the back room. The slamming door echoed through the hollow cavern, a mournful, lonely sound.

  Midiga’s ear twitched, as she swore she heard the rumble of thunder again.

  Chapter 14

  Laderic watched Elwyse carefully as he left and waited until he was sure he wasn’t coming back before he addressed Midiga. “Where’s Emery?” he whispered. He glanced at the skeletons who were stationed around the room, but either they hadn’t heard him or couldn’t hear at all. They continued to stand against the walls, staring blankly ahead, cold and silent guards.

  “She didn’t come,” Midiga growled quietly. “She was upset with you about that conversation about the gods.” She narrowed her eyes, frowning at Laderic. “How does your ego always get us into trouble like this?”

  “Don’t blame me,” he whispered back. “If Emery had come down here with you, she would probably have just been captured too.” He smirked, crossing his arms. “If anything, I saved her by making her mad. Just wait until I can rub that in her face too and—”

  “Would you just stop,” interrupted Alleria, glaring at him. “Please, for the love of the gods, stop.”

  Midiga jerked her head in Alleria’s direction. “See? Even she thinks you’re being a jackass.”

  “Whatever. She’ll probably still come down here looking for us, eventually. And then we’ll all be captured,” grumbled Laderic, looking away. He stroked Reia, who was resting in his lap, stewing in his thoughts.

  After another long silence, Laderic spoke again. “How did they catch you?” he asked Midiga. She shrugged, as best she could with her hands tied behind her back.

  “The cave system is intricate and confusing,” she said. “Even with my night vision, I couldn’t figure out where we were going. Locked stone doors seemed to block our path at every turn, but we continued on as best we could. We walked around for almost an hour until Alleria started to fe
el a bit panicked…” Alleria nodded, face stoic. “So we stopped to gather our bearings, find where we had come from, and start over, but, as soon as we had stopped… they ambushed us.”

  “Had you seen any of the skeletons before that point?” asked Laderic, thinking of the one who had knocked him out.

  Alleria nodded. “There was one guarding a wooden door, just down the staircase. And then another one who tried to hit Midiga with a rock. Oh! I forgot to tell you!” Alleria was smiling now, somehow still positive in their dismal situation. “I controlled my magic and stopped one of them, without hurting Midiga!”

  “That you did,” Midiga praised.

  Laderic waved his hand. “That’s good, real good, but do you know what’s better?” he asked. They shook their heads. He smirked. “Elwyse must know a way out of the cave! I had already taken out one of those skeletons guarding the door up there. He must know the path through the tunnels if he can cast spells from here and raise another skeleton that quickly.”

  Midiga shook her head. “There’s no way he could have cast a spell that far away, though, especially without being able to see what he was doing. I mean, those bone bags dragged Alleria and me down here for what felt like forever. I tried to keep track of all of the turns, but there were just so many. They took us through all these stone doors, and the doors only opened for the magical seal on the skeletons’ chests.”

  Laderic pointed over toward the spring of purple, glowing liquid. “You see that?”

  Alleria craned her neck to see. “What is it?” she asked. “It’s so… pretty.”

  “It’s some magic-enhancing water. He’s been using it to amplify his spells. I’m sure using it, he could easily cast a raising spell from that distance, keeping his army freshly stocked. He says it has something to do with Amarantae… the spectral tree of life.”

  Midiga stared at the spring, wide-eyed. “But… no one knows how the tree gets its power!” She glanced at Laderic, almost fearful. “Do you think… this spring welling up down here… do you think it’s the tree’s power source?”

  “Either that or it’s runoff from the tree itself, building up underground,” said Laderic. “Regardless, it’s extremely powerful and valuable. And dangerous, in the wrong hands.” He shook his head. “Honestly, we should be glad that this incompetent pushover is the one who found it in the first place. In the hands of someone actually dangerous… this could be catastrophic.”

  Suddenly, the ground vibrated, and a faint crashing like thunder resonated above their heads. Laderic sat up straight. “What was that?” he asked, nervous.

  “I’ve been hearing it for a while now,” Midiga mentioned. “I have no idea what it is, though. I wonder if our captor has taken notice.”

  They waited a moment, but there was no movement from Elwyse’s chambers. “I wonder what it could be,” Alleria mused.

  Midiga looked around them, scanning the ceiling above. “Whatever it is, it’s coming from up there. And it’s getting louder…”

  They sat again, quietly. “What’s the plan?” asked Laderic, inspecting his cage. “This thing is locked, but I could probably pick it if I had a knife.”

  “I might be able to heat it up enough where you could break it,” piped Reia from Laderic’s lap. She stood up, yawning deeply and stretching her front legs out in front of her.

  “Good idea,” agreed Laderic, scooting back away from the cage door. Reia shook herself off, making her way toward the lock.

  She peered at the mechanism, thinking. “It might take time. I’m not sure how long we have before he comes back out here.”

  “I could probably burn through these bindings with my magic if I tried,” Alleria said, nervous but excited about getting to test out her skills in another real-life situation.

  “I’ve been working at mine with my claws,” Midiga said, concentrating. “I can feel them starting to give, but it’s gonna be a while…”

  As she spoke, the thunder rumbled again, and this time dust fell from the ceiling as everything around them vibrated. “Is it an earthquake?” wondered Alleria, scared.

  The door to Elwyse’s room burst open. “What is going on!” he demanded. “What are you doing! Casting some sort of spell, hmm?” He was sweating, and the whites of his eyes showed as he frantically scanned the ceiling. “Some sort of earthquake glyph? Well, I won’t be having it!” He gestured for Odie to follow him, but the undead hound was cowering in the other room, refusing to budge. Elwyse threw his hands up in frustration. He stalked toward his captives, muttering to himself.

  “Calm down, it’s not us,” Midiga said, irritated. “We know about as much as you do.” But Elwyse wasn’t having it.

  “I know one of you pests is causing this!” he said, marching over toward Laderic’s cage. “Is it you?” He smirked, shaking his head after a moment. “No, I doubt you could use magic. You lack the refined intelligence necessary for a talent such as spellcraft.”

  Laderic opened his mouth, paused, shut it, and then held his finger up. “You’re not wrong.” Midiga stifled a laugh.

  “And you, felid,” Elwyse barked, whirling around to face her. “I see no weapons with you, but that doesn’t mean anything. However, felidae and canidae both struggle with the arcane arts, so I doubt you could cast such a spell. Perhaps you are simply too unskilled to use magic or a weapon!”

  Midiga lunged forward, pulling against her restraints. Elwyse flinched. “If I had my bow, I would have struck you all down before me!” she hissed, snarling and laying her ears back. She bared her teeth, vicious and menacing.

  Elwyse stood up straight, kicking dirt toward her with his shoe. “No... you could not have cast the spell.” He reiterated, muttering. “And the kitsune would have mastered fire magic. Which means…” He slowly, deliberately, turned his gaze toward Alleria. Laderic stiffened. Alleria was looking down, and Elwyse knelt in front of her.

  “Look at me,” he ordered softly. She continued to look away, staring straight ahead. Elwyse narrowed his eyes. “I said, look at me!” He grabbed her face, jerking it toward his own and forcing her to make eye contact. She stared him down, a single tear falling from her red eyes. The ground began to tremble once more.

  “Leave her! None of us are doing this!” Laderic roared. As he spoke, the shaking increased, violently this time, and the thunder sounded like a roar, coming from the tunnel leading into the cavern.

  Elwyse’s eyes were wild with panic. “No! It must be one of you!” he cried. “It must be one of you. They aren’t supposed to be here yet!” He drew from his side a long, jagged dagger, gripping it tightly, his knuckles white.

  “They?” asked Laderic, grasping the bars of his cage. “Elwyse, no! Who is they?” The necromancer was staring at his dagger as one might a lover. “Elwyse! Who are you talking about! We can help you!”

  The thunder rumbled again. “It must be her,” he said, flat and emotionless. “It can’t be them.” He raised the dagger above his head, preparing to bring it down on Alleria. Alleria was pulling at her binds, struggling to escape but to no avail.

  “Please stop!” cried Alleria. “Please, I… I can’t use magic!”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Elwyse sneered, hesitating for a moment, still holding the dagger above his head.

  “No really! I’m—” As she spoke, she leaned her head back, tears streaming down her face as her hood fell off her head to reveal her ears. “I’m an elf!”

  Elwyse stared, slowly lowering the dagger to his side.

  “Alleria!” Midiga cried. “No!” Thunder roared, and the ceiling and walls shook so hard that chunks of rock began to fall.

  “So, it’s true,” Elwyse spoke, mystified by Alleria. “You’re the one they want.”

  “What?” she asked, confused and panicked. “The canidae?”

  “No, you fool!” he scoffed. He gently raised the dagger then, placing it on her throat with care. “Maybe…” he whispered, “if I’m the one to kill you… they’ll finally let me leave!” He pu
lled his arm back, swinging it forward to cut her throat.

  “No!” snarled Midiga, lunging forward, tackling Elwyse, and breaking his grip on Alleria. She had managed to loosen her restraints enough to break through, and just in time. She wrestled with Elwyse on the ground, her claws unsheathed, slicing at his arms and face while attempting to take the dagger from him.

  “Get her!” Elwyse shrieked, and dozens of skeletons which had been stationed around the room began to close in, eyes glowing an eerie, cold green.

  “Reia!” Laderic cried, but she was already on it, conjuring a steady flame on the lock, hoping to weaken it enough for Laderic to snap the door open.

  Alleria was in shock, watching Midiga tumble around on the ground with Elwyse. They seemed to be moving in slow motion.

  She saved me…

  Midiga pinned Elwyse’s hand to the ground, the dagger clattering to the floor. He raised his free fist and swung, and the cat-woman narrowly dodged it, grabbing his wrist and slamming it back down on the ground, as well. She hissed, tail whipping back and forth. Her pupils were like needlepoints.

  Even though I couldn’t save her…

  Elwyse kicked Midiga in the stomach, and the cat-woman yowled, falling to the side, holding her ribs. He scrambled over to the dagger, gripping it tightly and rounding on the felid, a crazed look in his glassy eyes. He walked toward Midiga as she gasped for air. He had kicked her in the same spot where her ribs had been broken only days before.

  That won’t happen again!

  A burning feeling began in Alleria’s chest and made its way down to her hands, and they started to shine. She strained, pushing herself to her limit. “Agh!” she cried, pulling her wrists apart. The magic shred through the bindings, freeing her with a flash of blinding light.

  “Yes! Alleria!” Laderic cheered, throwing himself against the bars of the cage again as he tried to break free.