“S-sorry,” Naomi replied, peeking over the edge of her bedroll as she blushed, while Jasmine went even stiller, though her visible ear reddened a bit.
“To answer the question, anyone can become a Karakar, so long as they have a sufficient love and respect for knowledge. Not all have the aptitude, but a position that suits their strengths can usually be found,” Nef explained, giving Xandra a stern look. “Dragons enjoy hoarding things, so those that love knowledge are hardly unknown, and they’re long-lived enough that we have at least eight in the Great Library at present, and several adjunct members. Regardless, this is somewhat off-topic. You aren’t being controlled by demons anymore, Xandra, so you won’t be forced to kill people you care about.”
“And that is where you’re being entirely too optimistic,” Xandra replied, feeling like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.
Nef paused, focusing on Xandra, and her gaze was… uncomfortable, honestly. When she wanted to be, the Karakar was incredibly discerning, and Xandra didn’t like feeling like she was a specimen to be cataloged.
“Why do you say that?” Nef asked calmly. “You’ve never struck me as the type to hurt others for no reason.”
“I’m not. However, my soul is still damned to go back to my Mistress, or whoever inherits the contract if she’s destroyed. She also hasn’t given up on getting her hands on me again. If she ever does, I doubt I’ll be nearly as fortunate as I have been this time around,” Xandra told Nef, staring back pointedly. “Perhaps I’ll manage to stay free of that, but it isn’t guaranteed, and I can see her doing her best to horribly maim those I care about to make my torment even greater.”
At that the room fell almost perfectly silent, just as Xandra had half-expected. No one liked the idea of a demon torturing them just because they knew someone else. In fact, Xandra wouldn’t be surprised if Jasmine still had nightmares about her brief stay with Morselle. And Nef… well, Nef had enough details that she knew exactly what Xandra had often been through. It was Naomi who knew the least, likely as not, but Xandra wasn’t going to pretend she knew how much the priestess knew.
Nef was about to speak at last when she suddenly tensed and turned her head toward the exit. Xandra wasn’t sure what she’d heard, but with the way her hand gripped the hilt of her sword, Xandra wasn’t about to take any chances. She opened her mouth, only for Nef to raise a finger, shaking her head.
A few seconds later, Xandra heard a wolf howling in the distance, and Nef’s eyes narrowed. Then, after a few seconds, Nef spoke. “I would love to try to convince you properly, Xandra, but I’m afraid that we don’t have time for that. Suffice to say, don’t let fear keep you from living your life. Now, it appears that we have fair folk following us, so I’m going to go outside and stand guard. I suggest you get some sleep, as I’ll be waking you for a watch of your own. Assuming we aren’t attacked before that.”
Xandra nodded, sighing as she climbed to her feet, murmuring, “I suppose I should have expected that, with the bandits. I’ll rest, so don’t get yourself eaten.”
“See, I knew you cared!” Nef replied, grinning broadly as she stood, then slipped out the cave entrance before Xandra could respond.
Xandra stared daggers after the woman, then sighed and stepped over to her bedroll to prepare to sleep. As she did so, Jasmine spoke softly.
“Will she be alright?” the priestess asked, worry filling her voice.
“I told you that she’d be fine. Nef is a dangerous woman, since she’s out here on her own. If nothing else, she’ll be able to warn us of any danger in time for us to help her,” Xandra replied, and felt her stomach clench slightly as she looked down at Jasmine. “Now sleep. You need it more than either of us do.”
“Alright,” Jasmine said. Xandra thought that was everything, but almost at the same time as she was slipping into her bedroll, Jasmine spoke again, her voice barely audible. “I care. Even if you don’t… I care about you. Just so you know.”
Xandra stopped for a moment, looking at Jasmine, but the woman rolled over as she did so. She considered for a few moments, then let out a soft sigh, shaking her head as she settled down to sleep. She couldn’t sort through her emotions, and she didn’t have time to worry about it.
The one good thing about her time in the lower planes was her ability to fall asleep almost on command, though, as Xandra lost consciousness almost the instant she laid her head down.
Chapter 36
Klei moved through the bushes confidently, pleased with how easy it was to see at night in this world. Perhaps natives would find the near-moonless night difficult to navigate, but he didn’t have that problem, as every twig and stone stood out almost as if they glowed. It was illuminated by the stars, admittedly, but it certainly made it easier for him to track their targets.
The mortals had been moving surprisingly quickly through the hills, which surprised him, but the pack had closed in on them anyway. Now their target appeared to be holed up in a cave a quarter of the way up the mountain, and Klei could smell faint smoke coming from the cavern. That certainly would make it easier to find them, and Klei narrowed his eyes, considering before taking a step out of the bushes and toward some rocks that would give him cover… then froze as a voice rang out, speaking calmly in the tongue most commonly used among fair folk, though the speaker had a faint, alien accent.
“It’s good to know I was correct, wolf-caste fair folk. However, that’s quite far enough,” the woman said, and Klei looked around, then caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes looking out of the entrance of the cavern. They were fixed on him.
He hesitated for an instant before deciding to attempt to deceive the woman and pretend he was a normal wolf instead, baring his fangs slightly as he growled, hunkering down ever so slightly.
“Aww… so adorable, trying to pretend to be something else,” the elf replied, sounding amused. “It might even have worked on one of the others! Not me, though. Your tail is too short for any normal wolf, your front paws have the slightly extended toes that easily transform into fingers, and your teeth are somewhat retractable. You aren’t going to fool me. Now, you can either leave, transform so we can speak like intelligent beings, or make the final mistake of your life and take a single step forward. I’d regret having to kill you, but I’ll do so if I must.”
That caused Klei to pause, somewhat taken aback. He’d never known a mortal that could identify his kind so easily, let alone in light like this. All of them tended to have much poorer vision than his people, so she should have had difficulty even making out his shape, let alone seeing him.
The woman didn’t speak again, simply watching him, and as Klei hesitated, the clouds continued to drift, until just enough light shone into the cave to allow a better look at the woman. She had a sword at her side, but her arms were folded in front of her as she watched. She didn’t match the description of any of the women they’d learned about, which meant that she must be the one who’d burned Vilra. A mage, then, which meant she was at her most dangerous when unarmed. With that in mind, he decided to take a different approach and shifted forms.
Bones twisted and deformed, sinews popped, and his body grew less defined for several seconds as he transformed from a quadruped to a biped. Fortunately, it was painless, though he’d heard of some powerful fey who could remove that gift. He rolled his shoulders as he stood up, watching the woman expectantly… and was a bit unnerved that she didn’t seem even slightly surprised, though she did smile.
“Excellent choice. I don’t like killing others, but I do so when I have to. I presume you’re from Nocturne, as I haven’t seen one of your kind with eyes quite like that before, or with that shade of fur,” the woman said, shocking him even more.
“How did you know that?” Klei demanded, recoiling slightly.
“Simple deduction, good sir. I received descriptions of the thorn soldiers, as well as the shadows which engulfed Loth, and it didn’t take much to narrow it down to Nocturne, even if I haven’t been t
here myself. Add to it the information acquired from the bandits Xandra nearly killed, and I have to assume that you’re after Jasmine,” the woman said pleasantly.
Klei growled, startled by the woman’s words, as well as her attitude. She should be smelling afraid, not excited. After a moment, he decided on a proper response, and one that would get them what they wanted. Many mortals were willing to make bargains, after all.
“Hand the holy maiden over, and we’ll leave you unharmed. We have the gold that you mortals prize as well,” Klei offered warily. The woman laughed in response.
“Oh my… you certainly aren’t one of the ones who bargains with mortals often, are you?” the woman said affectionately, grinning at him. “Never mind that. I’m afraid that your request is quite firmly rejected. I’ve agreed to help Jasmine, and if that means killing those of your kind who’re after her, so be it. I’m simply giving you fair warning first. Xandra wouldn’t give you even that much. I’d suggest going to tell the leader of your pack, lest he arrive to find that your blood has already been spilled.”
Klei stared back at the woman, stunned almost speechless by her reaction. It was irritating, and he growled softly, then threatened her. “You have no idea what you are dealing with, mortal. We have much greater power than you can imagine behind us!”
“Truly?” the woman asked, suddenly looking intrigued. “Perhaps you’re here on behalf of Morgath? Or perhaps Broa, or even Istheil? Not that I can’t imagine their strength, mind you. I’ve visited seventeen fair folk cities on other planes of existence, so I’ve met a couple of beings who equal them. Or perhaps you serve a deity directly?”
For a few seconds that seemed to last forever, Klei stared at the woman, finally feeling a hint of worry. Then he asked softly, “Who are you?”
“I’m called Kel’Nef, adjunct archivist of the Great Library of Karakar,” the woman replied promptly. “I specialize in studying societies on other planes of existence. And you are?”
Klei nearly replied, then decided better of it as he shifted back to wolf form. He wasn’t sure what this Great Library was, but something about the woman frightened him. It was mostly her attitude, but her knowledge… he needed to let Crak know, and let the alpha decide what to do.
As he padded off into the night, Klei heard the woman sigh and murmur, “Well, that was rude.”
Chapter 37
Jasmine hadn’t slept well. It wasn’t just the conversation between Nef and Xandra, but also the confirmation they were being tracked, and with all of the different sources of stress her sleep had been fitful. She was embarrassed that the two elves werethe ones who had been taking watches, but she supposed it was better than her being on watch. She’d probably have missed something.
Breakfast had been a simple affair, and they were mostly packed when Nef finally spoke up, her voice as pleasant as it usually was.
“One of the fair folk decided to exchange a few sentences last night,” Nef said, her words causing Jasmine’s hands to freeze in the middle of putting her brush away. “He offered gold if we handed Jasmine over, and when that offer failed, he tried threatening me. Based on his reactions to what I said, I’m confident that while the invaders are part of a major power in Nocturne, they aren’t servants of one of the demigods that live there. That much is good news, as otherwise we wouldn’t have much of a chance.”
“You… you talked to one of them?” Jasmine asked, her emotions almost frozen with shock. “But they ignored us when they attacked the cities!”
“Yes, I am aware of that,” Nef agreed, nodding slightly. “I must assume that he was on his own, and that they want to capture you alive more than they want you dead. That, or he was intimidated by me. I can’t imagine why.”
“Because you know far too much for anyone’s good,” Xandra muttered, letting out a sigh. “Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
“You’d likely have set the mountainside on fire at the slightest hint of movement, which would have been quite unfortunate,” Nef told her sternly. “I got a good amount of information out of him without any bloodshed, and I can hope I warned them off for good. I doubt it, but it is possible. Besides, knowledge is power!”
“Of course,” Xandra replied, shaking her head. Perhaps it was Jasmine’s imagination, but the woman looked a little off kilter, which caused a hint of worry. It was probably her imagination, though.
“Um, does that tell you where we should go?” Naomi asked hopefully. “I know you said we’re going to Nocturne to find the other side of the portal, but I don’t know much more than that. Having some sense of direction would be nice.”
“Ah, yes, the eternal problem of direction,” Nef said warmly, patting Xandra on the back as she hoisted her backpack. “It will be even more problematic in Nocturne, I’m afraid. See, it’s an entire world of its own, as large or larger than our own. Unfortunately for Loth, it’s a small part of our world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the invaders control a similarly small area.”
“What?” Jasmine demanded, the blood draining from her face. “But… Loth doesn’t have much time! We can’t explore an entire world looking for them!”
“No, we can’t,” Nef agreed, but she didn’t look to be troubled which helped calm Jasmine a little. “Fortunately, we shouldn’t need to. The invaders have created a portal here, so that has created a tenuous connection from there to our world. When we activate the portal here and connect it to their world, it should get us to a roughly corresponding location as well. We could end up as close as a day away by foot, or as much as a week, but I doubt anything more than that. Unfortunately, metaphysics aren’t my specialty, so I can’t guarantee it.”
Jasmine’s worry faded slightly, and Naomi nodded, then rubbed her arms as she spoke up. “I’m glad that we’ve got some idea of where we’re going, but what are we going to do, once we get there? It isn’t like we can fight an entire army, and if the portal isn’t easy to destroy, we could be in a lot of trouble.”
“Destroying the portal would certainly be the simplest solution. Better, if we could destroy it and escape to some middle point… well, that would be ideal, if you ask me,” Xandra said, glancing at Nef as she added dryly, “Though I’m sure Nef has another idea entirely.”
“Indeed! In my opinion, the answer is very simple. The best solution is to find out why they’re attacking,” Nef said, tapping her chin idly as she thought. “Fair folk are an odd species, if you can even call them that. They’re quite varied in forms, except when they aren’t, but they tend to have a few aspects in common. They rarely give their word, but when they do they would rather die than break it. Similarly, they value bargains, and will hold a grudge for longer than anyone could believe. Considering that they’re after you, Jasmine, they must have a grudge against either your faith or the Phoenix Queen. Unless you’ve done something so terrible that they’ve mobilized an entire army and punched portals between worlds to get to you?”
“No, of course not!” Jasmine protested, shocked by the very suggestion. “I don’t think I’ve even met a fair folk before!”
“I thought not, but I had to check,” Nef said, nodding firmly. “So, something must have happened. There’s no reasonable cause for them to try to invade our world, not when there are other worlds that are easier to access and more habitable for them. I believe that the correct solution is to try to discover why they’re attacking, and to make amends if possible.”
For a few seconds the others were silent. A part of Jasmine wanted to protest that there wasn’t any reason for the fair folk to unleash such a horrifying attack to begin with, but she kept from speaking, as she realized that what she thought didn’t really matter. What mattered was stopping the attack, and Nef’s solution might be their only chance. Assuming it was even possible.
“Alright. That sounds like a good idea to me,” Naomi said at last, and looked at Jasmine hopefully. “What about you?”
“I… feel that it’s strange to try making peace with a group which has at
tacked us without a word of explanation, but you may well be right. We have to try,” Jasmine said, taking a deep breath. “There are too many innocents who’ve been killed as it is, and we need to save as many as we can.”
“Excellent! Now, let’s go before the fair folk make up their minds, hm? I’d rather not have to kill them, as that could make the attempt a bit more difficult,” Nef said brightly, and led the way into the main cavern, only to pause and ask, “Xandra, dear? Can you conjure a light, or do I need to break out a lantern?”
Xandra sighed, slipping on her backpack, then murmured the words of a spell, conjuring an orb of purple fire above one hand. Then she asked crossly, “Will this suffice?”
“It’ll do quite nicely, thank you,” Nef replied, and hummed a soft ditty before continuing, “Now, it’s been a couple of decades since I’ve been here, so things may have changed. The only creatures I ran into then were a couple of cave rats which fled quickly, but that doesn’t mean something nastier won’t have made its way here. Fortunately, the caverns seemed to have been enchanted, so I sincerely doubt any of it will have collapsed.”
“That’s good,” Jasmine replied, relaxing slightly, then frowned. “I didn’t see any tracks leading to the cave when we arrived, but I wasn’t looking. Did you?”
“I didn’t, which is a bit concerning. I would have expected at least some animals to have used the caves by this point, but there wasn’t anything recent,” Nef replied, then shrugged. “Regardless, what we need is inside, and if there’s something dangerous, we can always throw Xandra at it. That will deal with the problem nicely.”
Naomi snickered softly, and Xandra rolled her eyes. For her part, Jasmine hid her smile as best she could.
“Oh, thank you so much. It isn’t like I’m the only one who can fight,” Xandra retorted.
“No, but you wield destruction magic. I’m sure you’d enjoy blowing something up,” Nef replied calmly. “Now shush. Noise carries in caverns.”
Dusk Gate (Soul Bound Book 1) Page 27