The Elemental Trilogy Box Set

by Toni Cox

  It was easy to open oneself to let others see Eläm, but to push outward their Prime Eläm like this took incredible energy. Luckily, the men did not know this and remained on their knees while Rothea secured them and then collected their horses. One by one, the men revealed what they knew, while Maia healed the sword wound Sander had received to his abdomen. More than once Blaid heard Maia gasp at the atrocities the Vampyres had planned as she listened in.

  Then, stripped of their weapons and tied to their horses, which were, in turn, tied to each other; Rothea led the men away towards Shadow Hall. Just before they were out of sight, she cast one last, worried glance back towards them. Blaid nodded to her and was pleased to see that Rothea acknowledged him with respect.

  “Easy now,” he said as Maia collapsed beside him.

  He knelt in the mud with her and they hung on to each other for what seemed like hours. He could feel her shaking in his embrace; not just from the cold, but also from exhaustion. She leant her head on his shoulder and he savoured her closeness while they regained their strength.

  Lilith finally brought them back to the present. The mare stood before them; Fire close behind her; and snorted, stamping her feet.

  “It is time to go,” Blaid said. “Time to save Grildor.”

  The ground was crawling with the foul vermin and he did not know where to fly first. He had lost sight of Bright-Shining-Silver-Star, but felt no danger for her. He scanned the plains below. The Vampyres’ tactics had changed from the last time they had been here. There were not only a lot more of them, but they were also better equipped and more organised. More than once their anti-dragon weapons had pricked his skin as he flew too close. The spears they used were tipped in steel and, although they could not inflict serious damage on him, they were still annoying.

  The other dragons, however, did not fare as well. The little dragons that were so tame and loyal, yet brave beyond compare, did not have his tough hide and the steel-tipped spears punctured their wings and soft underbellies and brought them down in droves. It infuriated him. He circled overhead once more and then commenced his destruction. He had spent the past few hours trying to destroy as many of the anti-dragon weapons as he could, but sometimes it was difficult, as he did not want to hurt any Elves that happened to be nearby.

  He now screamed his fury and dove on a crowd of Vampyres loading spears into a weapon. He heard their screams as they saw him approach, but it was too late. His dragon fire engulfed the machine and the Vampyres alike, and he savoured the smell of their burning flesh as he sailed over them.

  She was cold, wet, muddy, and worried, yet she could not have been happier. Riding towards the battle next to Blaid gave her the kind of hope she had longed for all these past Moons. It would be all right now; they would win. They had the information they needed and all they had to do was deliver it to her father so that they could take appropriate action. There was no doubt in her mind that there would still be fighting, but now it was a fight they could win.

  Their horses’ hooves squelched in the mud as they cantered through the driving rain. Maia’s hair was plastered to her face and she shivered. Fire had his ears laid back and she knew he was not enjoying this weather either. Blaid’s horse, on the other hand, had her ears pricked forward and Maia felt an excitement from her that the mare was barely able to control. Blaid patted her neck often and there was a joyous grin on his face, even though he was as drenched and as muddy as Maia was. She wondered how the two had found each other. She would ask Blaid later; but it was plain to see that they belonged together. Strangely, Maia felt a small jab of jealousy as the thought crossed her mind.

  “There is trouble ahead,” Blaid suddenly shouted across to her.

  At the same time, Fire tensed and she squinted through the sheets of rain to see what awaited them. They reined in their horses and proceeded more carefully.

  “It seems to be a small group,” Blaid said. “No Werewolves.”

  Maia nodded. Vampyres’ Eläm was faint and so different from their own that she often had difficulties detecting it, but she did not need to see their Eläm to know they were there. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and lit up the dark sky, briefly illuminating the plains ahead and exposing the group of eight Vampyres huddled together about five hundred paces away. It seemed they had not noticed their approach.

  “Let us get closer.”

  Maia urged Fire on to follow Blaid, who kept his mare to a slow walk. Darkness, black as night cloaked them; if lightning streaked across the sky again, they would be exposed. For now, the Vampyres were unaware of their presence. Whatever these Vampyres were doing here might be of importance and she agreed with Blaid’s unspoken decision to find out what was going on first, before they attacked.

  Afraid they might be discovered, Maia made the decision to hide their presence. Going to Naylera had enhanced her ability with Air and, even in this rain, she was confident she could hide herself and Blaid, as well as the two horses. gradually she let the energy spread and for a moment the wet air shimmered in front of her. Fire gave a soft snort as he felt the magic take effect and then he stopped, his limbs stiff and his muscles quivering.

  “It’s all right,” she said soothingly, stroking his neck. “Trust me.”

  “Are you doing this?” Blaid asked with what sounded like admiration in his voice.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I am not sure how effective it will be in this rain, but the layer of air around us is thin, so most of the rain should fall through it. How is Lilith? Fire seems a little scared.”

  “She is brave. She will go wherever I guide her.”

  Maia smiled; she had no doubt that the horse would do whatever Blaid asked of her. She gave Fire another pat and sent him reassuring thoughts. She felt her stallion relax and he soon walked calmly alongside Blaid’s black mare.

  Lightning flashed once more, followed almost immediately by a crack of thunder. In the brief light, they saw that they were now only a hundred paces from the group. As they neared, Maia noticed how miserable they looked; it seemed rain did not agree with them. Soon they heard them speaking in agitated voices. Hearing them reminded Maia of what the General said before her father had him executed. The General had called her the Princess of Light and Blaid the Prince of Darkness. They were terms she had never heard before, but seemed appropriate. She suspected that the Vampyres knew more than they gave them credit for. They should proceed with caution; it was clear orders had been given to eliminate them and even this ragged group would know who they were.

  “Do you know what they are saying?” Blaid asked quietly.

  “Not all of it,” she replied. “It seems they are arguing about which route to take. They have a map.”

  As lightning flashed overhead, she was glad she had taken the precaution to hide them. They were now only about thirty paces away and, in the bright light of the flash, they would have surely been discovered. As it was, the Vampyres remained oblivious of their presence. Both horses sensed the need for caution and were silent. Maia attempted to make out what they were discussing, but it was difficult. The driving rain, the thunder and her haphazard understanding of the language made it hard for her to follow the conversation. They were also arguing and often more than one spoke at the same time. She was frustrated, but eventually the different pieces fell into place and it make sense.

  She lightly touched Blaid on his arm to let him know to follow her to a safer distance. Even that brief touch sent tingles along her fingertips.

  “They are talking about prisoners,” she said to Blaid once they were a distance away. “I think they were the first ones taken when the Vampyres came through the Gate. It sounds like they are being taken to the dark forest, but I cannot make out who is taking them. It seems this group is supposed to join up with them. From what I understand, the prisoners are to be held until after the battle, at which time they will then be moved to Naylera. Some of the Vampyres disagree with this decision; they think the prisoners should be killed
and used as nourishment for the battle.”

  A shudder that had nothing to do with the cold rain ran down her back.

  “Then we will follow them and rescue the prisoners.” Blaid said. “How close are they to figuring out which direction to go?”

  “They should be about ready to move out,” she replied, “but we are needed at Greystone too. We cannot abandon my father and the rest of the army. What do we do?”

  Blaid looked at her for a long moment and her trepidation rose; she knew what he was going to say.

  “We cannot leave the prisoners in the hands of Vampyres. We need to find out where the camp is in the dark forest. Who knows how many might be hiding there. Find Midnight and join your father. I will follow this group and see what I can find out and try to rescue the prisoners. I will meet you at Greystone as soon as I can.”

  Maia saw the sense, but she did not want to part from him again. Their power was in being together, not apart. Blaid must have sensed her disappointment, for he reached across and took her hand; his was surprisingly warm.

  “There is no other way. I will be with you as soon as I can. You are strong; you can do this. Find Midnight, do not fight alone. Tell your father everything we have learned. We need to hurry now. The Vampyres are already on their way.” He nodded in the direction of the Vampyres now shouldering packs and marching south-west. “Be strong, my love.”

  He leant over and kissed her on the cheek. Then he let go and his black mare leapt forward in pursuit of the Vampyres. Fire fought her for a moment; eager to follow the mare; but Maia held him back and watched Blaid ride away. Finally, she turned Fire’s head and headed in the opposite direction. Her people needed her; her own feelings would have to be put aside for now.

  The thunder drowned out all other sound as she galloped across the plains towards Greystone. In her mind, she replayed everything they had learned from the Elves captured in the forest. She did not want to forget anything they said; their very lives depended on her relating every fact to her father.

  The driving rain and the ever-deepening darkness made it difficult for her to see what lay ahead and she trusted in Fire to find his own way. The stallion was hot and breathing hard, but his strong legs flew over the uneven ground. She paid attention to his senses, for they would warn her should they suddenly come upon danger.

  An hour later, cold and soaked, they arrived at the first battle. They were still a few miles from Greystone, but even here Vampyres were scattered over a large area, and Elves on foot and horseback tried their best to hold them off. Maia was unable to distinguish which city the warriors belonged to; in the darkness of the storm everything appeared grey. She felt their pain and exhaustion and wished she could help them more. As it was, she only spent a short while riding between the battling enemies, dispatching as many Vampyres with her Fire-Whip as she could in passing.

  Renewed hope and strength now emanated from the warriors and they carried on fighting as she rode on past. She wished there was someone she could draw strength from, giving in to a moment of weakness. Then she pulled herself together and drove Fire on to even greater speed. Her blood-coloured stallion, his red coat darkened by the rain, responded willingly.

  A while later, she sensed Midnight in her mind. Quickly he filled her in on the current situation; it was worse than she had hoped.

  Midnight did not have news of her brother; he was too far away by now. It troubled her that she had no way of knowing how Jaik was doing, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

  Small battles raged all across the southern Yllitar Plains and around Greystone. Seeing through Midnight’s eyes, she noticed there were never more than two to three hundred Vampyres involved in each skirmish and she assumed their main army had not made it through the Gate. At least not yet.

  Her father, and the men he fought with, had almost reached Greystone and they were driving the enemy hard. She knew his aim was to secure the Gate. They needed to quash the smaller fights and rally their troops around the stones. When the Vampyres made their move and sent their main forces, the warriors of Grildor needed to be ready.

  The enemy was coming; the traitors said as much. What frightened Maia was the fact that the men battling the Vampyres were already fatigued. She knew there was worse to come. Quickly she searched Midnight’s mind and found Silas fighting alongside her father a few miles north of her location. As far as Midnight knew, Silas had not handed out any of the Silva they manufactured. It gave Maia a glimmer of hope.

  “Just a little further,” she encouraged Fire, and his ears twitched at the sound of her voice.

  She knew her stallion was tired, but he had the heart of a warrior. Gamely he strode out and his legs drove him at speed through the rain-drenched grasslands of the plain. Where there had been fighting, the grass had disappeared, replaced instead with ankle-deep mud. She tried to avoid these patches as much as possible.

  When Greystone eventually came into sight, she breathed both a sigh of relief, as well as despair. On the one hand, she was glad she had finally reached it, but she had not expected the carnage that now greeted her. Most of the men that were encamped close to the Stones had been slain with the first wave of Vampyres that came through. Their mutilated bodies covered the ground in all directions, interspersed with dead horses, trampled tents and equipment, and she noticed a few downed dragons.

  Her stomach heaved at the sight and Fire snorted his displeasure. Even with the driving rain, the stench of death was almost overwhelming.

  Midnight roared high above her in the roiling sky; a welcome distraction to her current thoughts. She looked up, but rain blinded her and heaving clouds obscured her dragon’s body. He roared again and she followed the sound, glad to leave this battlefield behind.

  A few miles later, she came upon where her father battled Vampyres. She noticed that the rain had lessened and visibility was better. She was soaked through and shivering; nevertheless, she had been glad of the rain, as the Vampyres seemed to dislike it. She remembered her trip to Naylera and judging by the landscape that greeted her there, rain was a rare occurrence.

  “!!!” Midnight sent his warning just in time.

  Quickly she drew her blades and dispatched the Vampyre that suddenly appeared to her right. His dark blood gushed out of the wound on his neck and splashed over her right thigh. She gagged at the sight and smell of it, but Fire went by so quickly she had little time to think about it.

  The closer she came to the centre of the fighting, where she knew she would find her father, the bloodier she became. More than once, Midnight swooped down from above and cleared the way for her, but by the time she eventually reached her father, she had lost count of the Vampyres she had slain.

  “Maia!” Jagaer screamed over the sounds of battle as he caught sight of her.

  Fighting alongside her father were not only Silas and Commander Goldsbane, but also Commander Hollowdale. Maia noticed their men spread out around them, protecting their Lord Regent as best they could. The Battle Dragons fought along the edges and Maia was glad to see none of the war machines here that had downed so many dragons during the last battle. Midnight now joined the dragons and his fire bathed the surroundings in a blinding light, starkly outlining the low-hanging, grey clouds.

  Fire whinnied in panic as a Vampyre staggered against him. Three arrows stuck out of the Vampyre’s throat at odd angles and, when Maia kicked him away, he immediately toppled over. Angry, Fire lashed out and struck the Vampyre on the head with his hoof. Maia heaved again, sickened by the crunch of the skull.

  “Father, we need to talk,” she yelled when she was finally close enough.

  Her father cast her a quick glance, before beheading a General who had managed to get through the Guard him. He was wet, dirty, and Maia noticed how tired he was. They had been fighting for hours without respite and, even with Midnight’s assistance, had only just kept the Vampyres at bay. As it stood now, it seemed that the armies were evenly matched. Every pocket of fighting, as Midnig
ht had shown her through his eyes, had just enough Vampyres and Werewolves to stall the Elves and prevent them from reaching Greystone. Divided as they were, the forces of Grildor were weakened and Maia could see the Vampyres’ plans coming together.

  “I need to speak to you now.”

  She had put the force of her elemental power behind her words, desperate for him to hear her, and this time she received his full attention. She watched him give a signal and then they were on the move. Commander Goldsbane rallied his men and prevented the Vampyres from following the retreating Lord Regent and his adviser.

  Both her father and Silas were on foot. Their boots were caked in mud, but both strode determinedly away from the battle. Maia followed on Fire, often circling them, using her Fire-Whip again to incinerate any Vampyres that dared come close. She noticed Silas give her an approving look, but her father only scowled.

  It was another ten minutes or so before they were finally out of reach of the battle. Maia felt her father’s disapproval for removing him from the fight, but there was no other way.

  “This is far enough,” he finally said and grabbed hold of Fire’s reins.

  The stallion threw his head in the air, but at Maia’s touch, he stood still. Feeling somewhat apprehensive, she climbed out of the saddle. Her legs were shaky as she landed and Silas caught her before she fell.

  “What is it, Maia?” Jagaer said, not hiding the irritation in his voice. “I told you to stay away. We know they are commanded to kill you first chance they get.”

  “I know, Father, but I have information. Rothea and I were riding towards the Gate when we noticed a group of Elves heading towards the forest. We followed them and discovered them to be the traitors helping the Vampyres.”

  “More traitors.” Silas gasped at the betrayal.

  “We learned that masters of Air have been assisting the Vampyres entering and leaving Elveron through the Gate unseen, which is why we were unaware of their movements. If I myself had not been to Naylera, where I also had to disguise my arrival and departure, I would not have believed it possible.”