The Shadow Elf

by Terry Spear

  The sphinx sat back on her haunches. “You speak with this little one and you speak with me? How can that be?”

  Persephonice then realized she’d been speaking in woodland nymph tongue to the nymph and in the sphinx’s dialect to the sphinx. Neither could understand the other.

  The sphinx’s gaze lowered to observe Persephonice’s legs.

  “I have no fishtail,” Persephonice said, then smiled.

  “But you have the mermaid’s fiery red hair and sea green eyes. And your voice has the melodic siren quality even when you speak to me in my gruffer lion’s tongue.”

  “Yes, well, I’m still not a mermaid.”

  The sphinx approached her. Her lion’s paws padded on the earth, but her claws remained retracted. Persephonice held her ground, though the adrenaline rushed through her blood as she prepared herself mentally to defend herself.

  “You will come with me.”

  “The woodland sprite said you needed help.” But Persephonice wasn’t sure she trusted the creature. She knew nothing about them, except from what she’d read in mythology. For the most part, they were good of heart, only being somewhat territorial if creatures tried to claim their lands. But travelers passing through were usually allowed, though she’d read where some required travelers to answer their riddles first.

  “Yes, my queen said I would find a creature in Darkland Forest who could aid us. Our soothsayer said so, but she said nothing about you being a mermaid with legs. However, she did say you would be the most unusual creature any of us would have ever seen. You cannot imagine what I envisioned I might find. It’s given me fits since I was told to journey here.” The sphinx smiled. “You are not wicked to look at as I had assumed you might be. I’m Leona.”

  “Persephonice.” She turned when something crashed through the woods behind her.

  Tiny bells tinkled from tree to tree as nymphs carried news.

  “Dracolin, the shadow elf,” the woodland nymph said.

  “Dracolin, over here!” Persephonice called out. “I’m perfectly all—”

  He rushed out of the shadows of the trees with his sword poised as he looked from her to the sphinx. His dark brown eyes were nearly black with concern. “Get away from the sphinx!”

  “She only seeks my help.”

  Dracolin frowned at her. “Don’t tell me you understand her speech. As a lion, only others of her kind knows what she says. As a human, she only speaks in riddles.”

  “She’s not going to hurt me.” Persephonice touched Dracolin’s arm, trying to reassure him.

  Then when he still hesitated to sheath his weapon, she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  The sphinx rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “You are a creature greater than a shadow elf. Do not tell me he has stolen your heart.”

  Persephonice spoke plainly so Dracolin could understand. “I could have no greater friend than Dracolin.”

  He sheathed his sword, then took hold of Persephonice’s hand. “You can’t go with her. We have no idea what she wants. And you’re not from around here. What could you possibly help her with?”

  “See with your mind and not your eyes, shadow elf,” the sphinx said in the language he could understand.

  “I have found a job here, Dracolin,” Persephonice said, not being able to contain her enthusiasm. “Don’t you see, I am no longer—” She paused. She didn’t want to tell Dracolin how her own people had abandoned her. That she was an outcast among her people. Here where the peoples felt she was needed—she could feel no greater joy.

  “No. Xern wants you to meet his king. Afterward, you will meet mine.”

  “But Leona needs my help. When people need your warrior skills, don’t you use them to aid them?”

  “Of course.” Dracolin’s back stiffened. “But this isn’t the same.”

  Persephonice couldn’t help the disappointment that seeped into her words. “Why not, Dracolin? I live to serve as you do. What’s not the same?”

  He glanced at the sphinx. “Can we speak alone?”

  “If you feel it’s absolutely necessary.” Persephonice worried if Dracolin knew that the sphinx practiced deception or were evil creatures and he feared for her safety.

  When they had walked a hundred yards away, Dracolin said, “I can’t protect you if you’re with her.”

  Persephonice took a deep breath. “You don’t always have to be there for me. I’m sure your king has other missions for you to take care of.”

  “You can’t go with her,” he said firmly.

  “Dracolin, she says she needs my help.”

  But she could see by his determined look, she might have a fight on her hands to convince him she had to help the sphinx when she knew in her heart she needed to. She steeled her back as she readied for the battle.

  Chapter 13

  The woodland nymphs once again sang words of warning through the forest. “More elves approach, shadow and high elves, and a fairy dragon, too,” they said.

  “We’re over here!” Persephonice called out.

  “Do not tell me you can understand the woodland sprites, too,” Dracolin said.

  “All right.” She tilted her chin up. “I won’t.”

  Xern, Balon, Prince Cronus, Zorak and his familiar, rushed to join them, crashing through the underbrush like a pack of wild boars.

  “We feared the worst for you,” Xern said, trying to catch his breath.

  “I was speaking to a sphinx, who has asked for my help.”

  “No,” Prince Cronus said. “Reluctantly, we have agreed that you will meet with the high elf king, but afterward you will see my father.”

  “I would be delighted, but first, I’ll help the sphinx.”

  “You can’t go,” Prince Zorak said.

  Persephonice folded her arms. Only her own leaders and her father could tell her what she could and could not do. “Are the sphinx evil?”

  None of the elves spoke.

  “Are they a threat to me?”

  “You couldn’t possibly help them. Why would she even ask such a thing of you?” Dracolin asked, his voice deeply distressed.

  “I didn’t have time to find out.”

  The elves looked to Xern for counsel. “Let us see what she wants, and then we can decide.”

  Persephonice was perfectly capable of taking care of herself in lots of situations. And she didn’t need a whole bunch of elves deciding her life for her.

  Dracolin held her hand as if he feared losing her again if he didn’t keep a tight grip as they walked back toward the sphinx.

  “I appreciate your always wanting to protect me. It’s comforting to have a friend who cares.”

  He hmpfed under his breath. “You need looking after.”

  She smiled and squeezed his hand, totally amused. “Are you offering to take the job?” She only said it in jest but his eyes grew wide, then he quickly looked ahead as they walked. “I only teased,” she said, feeling the blush rise to her cheeks. If he thought she meant that she wanted him as a permanent mate…

  She shook her head at herself for making such a dumb remark. Elves married elves. Certainly not half mermaids with high elf powers. “I only said it because being a warrior is in your blood. I didn’t meant that you’d want to…”

  He looked at her, his brown eyes darkening again. She quickly swallowed the rest of her words. Her nervousness was showing. Best to keep her mouth shut before she said anything more to embarrass herself. Already her whole body warmed uncomfortably.

  The sphinx glared at the elves. “Do not tell me,” she growled to Persephonice in her lion language, “they won’t allow you to come with me.”

  “They, well, I need to know what you wish of me,” Persephonice said.

  “We need your ability. The rocs are stealing our offspring. We cannot communicate with them to find out why. No one knows their language but their own kind.”

  The elves looked over at Persephonice, waiting, she imagined, to see if she understood the growls of the
sphinx.

  “The roc?” Persephonice asked, again speaking plainly so the elves would understand her also.

  “What about the roc?” Dracolin asked.

  Persephonice explained to them what the sphinx needed her for.

  “No,” Xern said. “If the sphinx are having some difficulty with the roc, they will have to deal with it in some other manner. It’s too dangerous for you, Persephonice.”

  The sphinx roared her irritation, then said for the elves to understand, “She is the one who speaks in several tongues. She is the one known as the overseer.” Persephonice’s mouth dropped open. She quickly shut it as her mind swirled with the implication. Somehow the word had reached the sphinx that she was an “overseer,” and yet her job was to study other peoples, not act as a mediator between them. However, perhaps her mission had to adapt to the primitive world.

  The sphinx whipped her tail about in agitation. “She will come with us. When she is done, I’ll return her here.”

  Dracolin shook his head. “She has never seen one of these creatures. Have you, Persephonice?”

  “No.” She hadn’t even remembered reading anything about the roc in mythologies of different worlds.

  “How will she know its speech?” Dracolin asked.

  “It has been foretold,” the sphinx said, her brown eyes narrowed as if she warned the elf not to interfere with her mission.

  Xern stared at Persephonice, then he said, “My king will be most anxious to meet with you.”

  “And my father,” Prince Cronus added.

  “Let her aid us and my queen will pay handsomely,” the sphinx said.

  “No need,” Persephonice said, thrilled to be of importance to anyone on this planet.

  “I go with her.” Dracolin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword as if to ensure the sphinx agreed.

  “And me,” the shadow elf prince said.

  Balon nodded, offering his help.

  Zorak sheathed his sword. “We will use my dragons for transportation.”

  Tal hissed, “I will not be left behind.”

  Xern said, “I will send word to my king and to your father, Prince Cronus. But can we not partake of my wife’s delightful meal first? She will be pleased to offer another setting for the sphinx.”

  “If it is wild boar,” the sphinx said, then smiled. “It is my favorite food.”

  ***

  Dracolin couldn’t help but feel protective toward Persephonice. He’d never seen a female so obviously in need of his services and yet so reluctant to acknowledge it. She was like a newborn elf babe in an unknown world, unaware of the dangers that existed all around them. Yet, he couldn’t help admire her desire to aid creatures unknown to her in their time of need.

  Still, even among his elf companions, he could see trouble mounting. He glanced at Prince Cronus, who again argued bitterly with Prince Zorak. Would the mysterious half mermaid settle difficulties in one land only to begin a war in theirs?

  Cronus had remarked several times that Persephonice was his. Zorak had usually argued that it was customary if someone saved the life of a high elf, the king would meet the savior and greet him or her personally. But once, he’d slipped and said she belonged to the high elves because of her use of magic.

  Balon had even stepped between the two to settle the fire she had stirred between the shadow elf and the high elf princes. But Dracolin had seethed at Zorak’s words, too. Persephonice, if Dracolin so chose, was his. He’d befriended her after all. Though he was certain his father would say otherwise.

  To avert a possible clash between the shadow and high elves, wouldn’t it be better to allow the enchantress to stay with the sphinx should they want her to?

  He glanced at Persephonice. Her green eyes had darkened considerably as she studied the dragon they would ride. He didn’t want her to live anywhere else but with his people. That was the real problem.

  She stood several feet from the dragon’s silver tail. Dracolin could see the anxiousness in her face as her brow furrowed.

  “They’re safe to ride.” He took her hand and coaxed her forward. Her fingers were cold and trembled. “Persephonice?”

  “I…I’ve never flown before on something like that.”

  “I’ll sit first. You can hold onto me. I have to have my hands free to hold the reins and to get to my sword if need be.”

  “Your sword?”

  “The sphinx’s land is past the realm of the warbler griffons. Many kinds of griffons don’t mind others passing through their territory. The warbler griffons are the exception. The sphinxes have a pact with them. But we don’t. The griffons hate the dragons, for one, feeling they are slaves of the high elves. Which isn’t true. The high elves and dragons have a mutual respect for one another.”

  He climbed onto the back of the silver-scaled dragon, then patted the area behind him. “Sit here.”

  She hesitated.

  “You wish to help the sphinx. Either you’ll have to ride with me, or Leona can carry you.” Though in his heart he hoped Persephonice wouldn’t choose the sphinx.

  The others waited for her to mount the dragon as they stood beside theirs, Balon and Prince Cronus with one, and Prince Zorak riding alone on the last.

  Dracolin reached his hand out to her. To his relief, she stepped forward this time.

  “I’m sorry, Dracolin. They’re just so big and fearsome looking.”

  The dragon’s head whipped around to look at her. She stepped back, startled. His mouth seemed to turn up just a touch, though they couldn’t really smile, but he knew Persephonice’s words both amused and pleased the dragon.

  Dracolin smiled, trying to reassure her. “They’re almost like malamutions in a way, friendly and loyal.”

  She raised her brows.

  He took a deep steadying breath. Where in the world did she come from? She hadn’t seen any of the creatures of their world before from what she’d said. But how could she not have?

  Then he wondered if she’d suffered some loss of memory. That brought a fresh worry to mind. What if by some unknown set of circumstances she had arrived here and her people were searching frantically for her? What if her people discovered her in the elf kingdoms and sought revenge for the troubles she’d encountered, particularly with the river elves? But most importantly, what if their magic was even more powerful than the high elves, and they sought to destroy them? He assumed that though she wasn’t a warrior, many of her people would be.

  He pulled her onto the dragon’s back. For now he couldn’t worry about it. What would be would be…for now.

  She placed her hands on his waist. He motioned to the others to take flight.

  Balon smiled, but neither of the princes did. Dracolin couldn’t help that she had wanted to ride with him no matter how much the princes had tried to change her mind.

  When the dragon lifted into the air, he heard her gasp. Instantly, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. Her head rested against his back as she clung to him as close as she could get like a rinko vine gripped a stonewall.

  He smiled as the others looked on with disdain.

  For now, the mermaid was all his.

  In an attempt to get her mind off her fear of flying as they soared high over the patchwork of light and dark green treetops of Darkland Forest, he said, “A malamution is an elven companion. It has shaggy white hair and the most soulful blue eyes. It barks a sharp sound in warning, a yip when hurt, and cries when it’s left alone too long.”

  “It sounds like a puppy. Does it fly?” Persephonice asked, as she tightened her grip on him.

  The dragon’s wings slowly dipped up and down, creating a slight breeze. Then he soared on a current.

  “No, but they’re both companions to the elves. Though only the high elves can train the dragons. The high elves generally don’t have malamutions. Though some do. Malamutions can curl up and warm your feet on a chilly winter day. Dragons can’t. But the malamutions are extremely protective of the elves, like the dra
gons are. The dragon breathes fire to incinerate its enemy. The malamution’s teeth deter attacks from most animals.”

  “Do you have a companion like this?”

  “Not since I became an official warrior.”

  “Seems a shame. I would think a warrior such as yourself could still have cold feet on a wintry day.”

  He chuckled. Having a mermaid like Persephonice wrapped around him tightly on an icy day appealed a whole lot more than having a malamution sitting on his feet.

  Then he pointed to a crystal lake where pillars of sparkling gems of deep purple and green, ringed the water. “Gavin’s Crystal Lake. They say the river elf discovered the lake on his journey across the griffon lands. He became so entranced by the crystals that he never left. Isn’t it beautiful?”

  “I’m sorry, Dracolin. My stomach’s queasy and I can’t open my eyes.”

  “Oh. Do you want to set down?”

  “No! I mean, the liftoff is most terrifying. If I keep my eyes closed, I can pretend a breeze is blowing across me while I hold onto you, sitting by the sea, or maybe not by the sea, by the pond next to Xern’s house.”

  She was a water creature after all. They never liked to be far from their habitats. The notion discouraged him at once. “Just let me know if you want to land.” The region wasn’t safe, but he feared for Persephonice should she become too ill to travel on the dragon’s back.

  She nodded.

  Tal hissed as she flew next to Zorak’s shoulder. “Griffons,” Zorak yelled out translating the fairy dragon’s words. “To the east.”

  Already Dracolin sensed the dragon they rode, tensing for battle.

  He pulled his sword from his sheath as his heart thundered. “To battle!” he shouted.

  His companions joined in with the call. “To battle,” the elves all said, brandishing their swords.

  Chapter 14

  Persephonice hoped she wouldn’t throw up on Dracolin as he tried to keep her safe. But when the dragon swooped low, apparently getting into some kind of battle flying formation, the bile rose in her throat.