The Elemental Trilogy Box Set

by Toni Cox

  The Commanders around the table nodded, not one doubting Jaik’s ability to rule in Lord Longshadow’s absence. Jaik felt a weight settle on his shoulders.

  “Jaik will be leaving for Braérn in two days. His trip should last no longer than a fortnight and I will leave the moment he gets back.” Jagaer looked down at the papers in front of him. “Jaik, I would like to take seven Guard with me on my trip. Please give a list to Silas of the men you will assign to me. Commander Ridgewell, please prepare a list of twenty from your Regiment. Commander Kastenbrink, we will require five Horse Masters for the first leg of our journey. They will only accompany us as far as Thala Yll. Please prepare your list. Silas, as discussed, I will only be taking two Servers with me. I expect you to make the final preparations so that there are no delays when Jaik returns from Braérn.”

  “Yes, My Lord,” the old Elf said.

  “Lastly, Commander Ridgewell, please assemble twenty warriors from your Regiment to leave on a scouting mission by tomorrow morning. Rothea Goodheart will lead the mission. Commander Kastenbrink, please have an additional five horses ready to carry supplies, as well as one extra riding horse. Silas will discuss further details with you after the meeting.”

  “Aye, My Lord,” Commander Kastenbrink answered.

  Commander Ridgewell nodded.

  “If anyone has any further questions, please raise them now,” Silas said, looking around at the assembled Commanders.

  Jaik waited impatiently for the war council to finish. Some of the Commanders had reasonable concerns, though, and Jaik was glad they were addressed before his father left. He got drafted into the Legion at a young age and worked his way up through the ranks, then into the Regiment, and finally into the Guard. He became Commander of the Guard on his centenary, and with it the youngest Commander of the Guard Grildor had ever seen.

  Jaik had worked hard for his position and now, with almost twenty-four years’ experience as Commander of the Guard, he thought he knew what it meant to be a leader. Yet, the thought of taking over the position of Lord of Shadow Hall frightened him. As heir to the throne, the position had always been his; he had just not expected it to happen within the next two millennia. Although it was only a temporary position, he suddenly felt ill-prepared for it.

  Finally, with the scraping of chairs over the marble floor, the meeting was over. The Commanders filed out of the council hall, talking quietly amongst themselves.

  Only Silas and Rowlean Ridgewell remained behind and Jaik went to join them.

  “I do not want to undermine your decision, Father, but do you think it is wise, or even effective, sending Aaron after Maia?”

  The tired look in his father’s eyes made him regret his question instantly.

  “I do not know how effective it will be, but I would like to know where my daughter is and that she is safe. Aaron feels it is his fault she left and I cannot stop him if he wants to search for her. Rothea has volunteered to accompany him, for her own reasons, so I have agreed to give them the supplies and warriors they have requested.”

  “Aye, Father. Maybe something will come of it yet.”

  “We can hope,” Jagaer said.

  “As we have discussed with Rowlean, this mission is of a sensitive nature. We have decided to explain Aaron’s absence by telling the people we have sent him to Eiken to learn about a new design for a war machine,” Silas said.

  “Rothea is waiting outside for an answer. If they are to leave tomorrow, they will need to start preparing tonight. Might I be excused, My Lord?”

  “Yes, Rowlean, we are done for tonight. Please wish Rothea well for me and I trust you select the best of your warriors for this mission.”

  “Aye, My Lord.”

  Rowlean bowed and turned for the door. Jaik felt the weight on his shoulder settle in deeper. Had he been in charge already, he would probably have declined Aaron’s request. They could hardly spare any men, let alone for a mission that was sure to fail.

  He guessed his father had his reasons for agreeing, but as far as Jaik was concerned, his sister did not want to be found. It made him wonder if Aaron was delusional or if Aaron had information he did not know about. The thought troubled him.

  Silas and Jagaer were going over the notes made during the meeting. Jaik tried to concentrate on the various points as they discussed them, but his thoughts kept turning back to Maia.

  Their connection had always been strong and he often felt things from her even if she was far away. Once, she had been attacked by a Vampyre and, although he was halfway across the country, he felt her distress.

  During the past few days, he had felt her distress again. He knew she was all right, sure he would know if something serious happened to her, but it worried him that she found herself in situations causing her such misery that he felt it too.

  Maybe, sending Aaron to look for her was not such a bad idea.

  Heavy drops of rain dripped through the canopy, soaking her supplies. Thunder crashed in the sky, followed by blinding streaks of lightning that illuminated Midnight’s branching blood vessels of his wing in brilliant purple.

  Midnight lay right up against the treeline of the forest, sheltering Maia under his wing from the terrible storm as it raged all night. There was not much she could do about her supplies, except hope the rain would not soak through to her food.

  She could not sleep anyway; the image of the Riven burned forever into her memory. Trying to recall its shape proved difficult. She kept thinking she had seen more than one.

  One. Calling you.

  “So you’ve said, but I am not going back in there to find out.”

  Calling you to him.

  “Oh, so it is a him now. You did not even see it. Besides, it was you who didn’t want me to go into the forest in the first place. Now you get your wish.”

  I was mistaken. Riven is calling.

  “Mpfh.”

  Saw it through your mind. Your fear blinds you.

  “You did not hesitate to fly away from it either.”

  Your fear drove me.

  “Midnight, I really don’t want to argue with you about this any …”

  Look, Midnight interrupted her and opened his mind to her, showing her what he saw through her eyes.

  He tried to do the same earlier, but Maia had refused to look. Now, he had caught her unawares and the images rushed through her mind so fast, she could not stop them.

  She saw the path in front her, the trees all around. Through Midnight’s mind she could hear her breathing, her heartbeat and her own footsteps. Then, as she rounded the corner, she now saw the creature her kind called the Riven. To her, it had been almost invisible, with no discernible form. To Midnight, the creature exuded a range of delicate colours, glowing softly. It still had no shape Maia could name, but she suddenly felt silly for being afraid of something so beautiful.

  “I don’t understand.” Maia shook her head in the dark confines under Midnight’s wing. “I looked for its Eläm. It did not have one. What are the colours you are seeing? What does it mean?”

  Eläm is Life-Force. Glow is different. Bright-Shining-Silver-Star. I named you for your soul, not your Life-Force.

  “Do you mean to say that what you just showed me is his soul?”

  Indeed.

  Maia was silent then, thinking. Why had she felt such fear from a being with such a beautiful soul? Was it a trick to lure people in? Midnight denied the thought in her head. She believed him. Then why the fear? She had been terrified. She would rather face another Vampyre army, than one more Riven. She shuddered at the thought. The fear had been real.

  “Why does it want me, Midnight?” she whispered.

  Help.

  “It needs my help? With what?”

  The forest whispers it.

  Again, Maia remained silent, listening to the storm raging around Midnight’s body. She had heard the forest call to her. It convinced her to go into the dark forest in the first place. Had it been the Riven calling her? To what e
nd? She could not deny that she had heard the whispers. The voices had clearly come from the forest around her and she had understood them, calling her, asking her to come. If the Riven did have something to do with the voices in the forest, then how did it do it?

  For once, Midnight did not have answers either and they discussed the topic all night while the storm blew itself out.

  In the morning, Midnight lifted his wing to let her out and, once she was safely under the trees, he stretched and shook himself, stiff from lying in the same position all night.

  Maia went to check on her equipment. Even hidden underneath the branches she had grown to cover it, everything was drenched. Luckily, only on the outside, the contents still safe and dry. Digging through her supply of food, she found some travel bread to eat for breakfast.

  She did not bother with a fire, or tea. She had made up her mind to go back into the forest. Midnight still did not like the fact that he could not accompany her, but he agreed with her decision to seek out the Riven. Midnight did not fear the Riven, but only the possibility of Vampyres or Werewolves still lurking around. Maia promised to be watchful.

  After sheltering her supplies more carefully, Midnight carried her back to the path where she had exited the forest the day before. The path was barely visible from the outside and anyone riding by was likely to miss it. The Vampyres had been careful when they created this road.

  Tread carefully, partner of my soul.

  “I will.” Maia leaned her forehead against his large muzzle and breathed him in. Musty, warm, wild … dangerous.

  Pulling her rucksack over her shoulders, Maia left Midnight behind and stepped into the gloom. The dark forest was aptly named, even here at the edge, where it wasn’t so dense. She brought a small crystal lantern, as well as the torchlight Jasmin gave her.

  Maia looked back once and Midnight’s face filled the space that was the opening. His concern for her flooded her mind and her heart swelled with love for her dragon. She hated to leave him behind, especially when he worried for her so.

  Determined, she concentrated on the path ahead of her. It did not look any different from yesterday, even though it was morning now and it had been afternoon yesterday. She guessed, except at night, the time of day had no impact on the amount of light that filtered through the thick canopy overhead.

  Maia looked up. She remembered looking up yesterday, looking for Midnight, but she had not been able to see him. A frown now creased her forehead as she scanned the canopy and could not see any place where the sun shone through.

  Where does the light come from if not through the canopy?

  Maia felt Midnight examining the question, but he had no answer for her either. Goosebumps formed on her arms as she went further and further along the path. She drew her coat in, more for comfort than warmth.

  It took a lot longer for her to reach the bend than she anticipated. Midnight told her it was almost noon by the time she carefully rounded the corner.

  You ran fast yesterday.

  Maia scowled at his teasing as she proceeded with caution. She took her time investigating the area, asking Midnight every few heartbeats if he could see anything through her eyes.

  When her searching yielded no results, she decided to carry on with the path. At the very least, it would probably lead to the prison camp where the Vampyres kept the warriors and there might still be clues there as to what the Vampyres had planned.

  Maia had no idea where to start the search for a Riven, so her plan was as good as any. Midnight circled over the forest, with her in her thoughts as she stepped out fast, yet with caution.

  The path, no wider than two could walk side by side, wound its way through the forest. At first, there was a turn every mile or so, but soon, the path wound around ever bigger trees and skirting undergrowth so thick, no hatchet could hack through it.

  Eventually, the path was no more than a game trail and Maia could hear the sounds of the forest again. She listened to the the birds around her and almost missed the split in the path.

  She stopped, looking down both paths. They looked the same, neither one friendlier than the other. The undergrowth here was so thick, Maia assumed the Vampyres had to cut more than one path to get all their people to their camp. Midnight suggested the right one, so she took it.

  Maia kept her mind open to the Eläm around her. The forest was full of animals of all shapes and sizes, but none meant her harm. Because she was walking with such caution, trying not to make a noise, she startled deer and birds on more than one occasion. She eventually reached out to them with her mind to warn them of her approach, so that they could move without giving her position away by fleeing wildly through the forest.

  Soon, she reached a point where her elemental senses warned her of pain and suffering. The feeling was stale, as if it had happened long ago, and after rounding another corner in the path, the abandoned Vampyre camp came into view.

  It was set in a clearing, but Maia could see where the Vampyres had to cut down trees and underbrush to enlarge it. They used the cut trees to make a prison camp and thick chains still dangled from some of the poles.

  The place held only anguish, but she made herself investigate the area thoroughly. The whipping posts held the most horror for her and she did not linger long. Instead, she spent some time looking around the bizarre huts the Vampyres built for their own accommodation. It was clearly deserted and no one had been here in Moons. Vampyres equipment still lay everywhere. It looked as if they had left without taking anything.

  The most interesting thing Maia found was a chest full of maps and she took them, one by one, and spread them out on the table of the hut she found them in.

  Too late to turn back. Dark soon.

  I know, Midnight. As much as I hate it here, I will use one of these huts to sleep in tonight. I think it will be safe enough.

  In Maia’s mind’s eye she saw the smoke curling from Midnight’s nostrils with displeasure, but he reluctantly agreed. It was safer to remain at the camp, than to walk through the dark forest at night.

  Maia spent the remainder of the afternoon looking over the maps. They were similar to the ones she had seen when she travelled to Naylera - maps of Grildor with its major cities, rivers and mountains. Some, though, were more detailed and Maia was horrified to find a map of Shadow Hall.

  Yet, the most interesting one was a map of the dark forest. It was crude and Maia could clearly see they had drawn it as they had made their way through it. Large parts were still blank, but the path she had taken to get to the camp was clearly marked as the main road, with numerous smaller ones branching off in various directions.

  Maia could not read the writing so could neither tell how old it was, nor what the marked locations were. One was clear. She was there now. The camp was marked on the map with a symbol of a shackle.

  Macabre.

  Indeed, she agreed.

  There were other locations nearby, as well as a few far to the west, close to where Maia and the warriors of Thala Yll had been ambushed. The road that led there was also clearly marked, but in places drawn in as a dotted line, instead of a solid one. Maia could only assume that the path itself there was not solid; maybe swamp, cliffs or other obstructions one needed to overcome.

  That must be the reason those Generals took so long to get through the forest that time and we were able to stop them from getting through to Tarron Heights.

  Midnight agreed, but, knowing Maia’s thoughts beyond the words she spoke, cautioned her that it would be a bad idea to find out. Even though it was evening now, Midnight still flew in circles above the area of the camp. He could not see her and it irritated him.

  Go rest, Midnight. I will be fine.

  Fly forever.

  Even Soul Dragons need to rest on occasion. There is nothing you can do for me right now. You have been in the air for over twelve hours. Go rest your wings.

  Maia could hear his roar of frustration through the thick canopy overhead, but he banked and made hi
s way east, back towards where she had hidden her supplies.

  Once Maia finished looking over the maps, she set out her meagre belongings in the hut and made her bed on a wooden crate she turned upside down. There were no beds in the camp and Maia wondered if they slept at all. She knew they did not need to breathe as often as Elves or Humans did, but was certain even they needed to rest sometime.

  Maia set her crystal lantern beside the crate and left it unshuttered while she slept. The feeling that much hurt had happened in this place left her unsettled and she tossed and turned fitfully during those few hours until morning.

  Midnight’s thoughts woke her before sunrise and she quickly packed up, eager to be away. Chewing on fruit, she took a path heading west, not once glancing back at the place that had held so much misery.

  This time of the morning, the forest around her was dark, eerily lit in places only by the night-flowering plants that grew along vines winding their way up trunks of tall trees. She held her crystal lantern high, lighting the way until the light in the forest strengthened.

  Again she wondered where that came from, but could see no ray of sunshine penetrate the canopy. The thought disturbed her more than she cared to admit. It was as if the forest knew it was day and it needed to be lighter. When she scanned the area around her, she only saw the Eläm of contented animals going about their daily routine.

  Disconcerted, she packed her lantern away. The path she now followed had seen no footsteps in a long while and she saw only spoor of deer, foxes and various kinds of birds. She should have felt safe in this environment - forest, peaceful animals - but the further she walked, the more troubled she became.

  By noon, her feeling of unease shifted to fear. She stopped with her back against a massive pine tree, her hunting knife ready in her hand. Her senses open to the fullest, she looked around, giving Midnight the opportunity to see through her eyes to find the Riven. Only the Riven ever made her feel this kind of fear.