by Megg Jensen
As the orc’s horse pulled up alongside his own, Vitagut recognized the rider as his friend, Dak. He clasped his friend’s arm, their palms grasping each other’s elbows. “Dakgormin. I am just as pleased to see you. I bring dire news from Agitar.”
“We know.” Dak’s face fell. “But I am happy you are still alive. We feared the worst.”
“How do you know? We sent no birds. How could word have beaten me here?”
Dak waved him forward. “Come. We have much to discuss.”
Maysant’s weak voice floated up from behind Vitagut. “Thank you for listening to our plea for help.”
“Who’s that?” Dak asked.
“I am Maysant, last child of Ambrielle, Queen of Gailwyn.” She once again peeled herself from Vitagut’s sweaty back.
“A royal elf?” Dak said. “Now that’s a development I wasn’t expecting. Well then, come along, the both of you. I suspect you’ll be needing food and drink.”
“No,” Maysant said, sounding determined. “We need the help of all the orcs in Inab to defeat the ghosts. I won’t rest until we’ve come up with a solid plan. I’m sure Vitagut feels the same.”
“Don’t you want to eat and take a bath?” Vitagut asked, surprised. He’d expected the elf to crumple to the ground the moment they arrived.
“Absolutely not. Nothing matters more than saving the others we were forced to leave behind, including our faun, human, and orc friends.”
“Faun?” Dak said with a chortle. “My, Vitagut, you’ve made some interesting friends in the short time you’ve been gone. But none so interesting as the orc who flew in on the dragon.”
Vitagut’s eyes grew wide. “Orc on a dragon? Who?”
“Some female named Tace. She claims she knows you.”
Chapter 36
Maysant slid off the draft horse, landing on her weary feet while ignoring the hand Vitagut held out to her. She didn’t need the orc’s help, nor did she want it. She supposed she liked him well enough, but she refused to show any sort of weakness around him—or around any other orc. Maysant had learned the great art of diplomacy. She wanted no greater power than the orcs, but she would not let them think her weak, either.
“Would you like me to find someone to help you with a bath?” Vitagut asked her as they walked toward the center of the city of Inab.
“Are you taking the time to do so?” she asked, knowing full well what his answer would be.
Vitagut laughed. “Are you inviting me into the baths with you?”
A blush spread across Maysant’s cheeks. That thought hadn’t occurred to her at all. She was only trying to prove a point, and now he had taken the opportunity to goad her.
“I am fine the way I am.” Maysant tried to ignore her damp clothes, drenched with Vitagut’s sweat. Dirt had worked its way into every crevice of her body. And her odor... she hadn’t known it was possible for her to smell that rank.
Still, it was nothing compared to Vitagut. And if he wasn’t bathing, she wouldn’t either. Bathing would mean missing whatever meetings they were about to have. And while Maysant’s mother would never have been caught dead in public in this state, Maysant was not her mother. She had grown used to living in the forest where there were no servants to draw a warm bath.
“Take us to Tace immediately,” Vitagut said to his friend Dak.
Maysant straightened up and threw her shoulders back. She didn’t know Tace well, but she would not miss this opportunity to conference with the orc who had singlehandedly defeated the xarlug. Besides, she had a feeling she would like Tace. The orc didn’t put up with any of Kazrack’s posturing, which Maysant appreciated. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one who found her brother insufferable.
Keeping up with Vitagut and Dak strained the last of her strength, but Maysant refused to ask them to slow down. She would show them exactly what she was made of. She had survived, alone, in the Tingale Forest for months before happening up on Ghrol, hadn’t she? She could do anything she set her mind to.
“Are you sure you don’t want a bath or a bed?” Vitagut asked. “We’ve been awake since yesterday.”
“I don’t need it any more than you do.” Maysant glared. “And don’t you dare make a crack about us sharing a bed, either.”
Dak guffawed. “She’s a feisty one. I didn’t know such an elf existed. I thought every last one of them was proper and perfect.”
“Maysant isn’t like the other elves.”
Vitagut looked down at her, and Maysant couldn’t help but smile. She’d done it. She’d convinced an orc she was his equal. Pride swelled in her chest and renewed the spring in her step.
As they walked the streets of Inab, Maysant kept her gaze straight ahead and ignored the gapes from the orcs they passed. Though it was night, she was sure her blond hair shone in the starlight, announcing what she was. But for once, Maysant wasn’t embarrassed to stand out as an elf. She understood why those orcs were gaping. They saw she was accepted and walked next to an orc as a peer.
Firelight danced in the window of an inn. The sign hanging over the entrance featured a picture of a bat, its fangs dripping with blood.
“Welcome to the Bloody Bat,” Vitagut said to Maysant with a smile. “I’d say ‘Ladies first,’ but I suspect you’d only spit on my boot and stand with your arms crossed until I went in.”
“I probably would.” Maysant grinned, then pushed in front of him and went inside. She walked directly to the bar and asked for mead. She wouldn’t be getting a bath or clean clothes, but she desperately needed a drink.
As she downed her mead, she spied Tace seated at a corner table with three other orcs. Maysant didn’t recognize Tace’s companions, but she would have known Tace anywhere. A strange blue orc with a tiny dragon wrapped about her neck wasn’t something an elf princess saw every day.
“Should we interrupt them?” Vitagut asked her, leaning over her small frame to whisper in her ear.
“You tell me. Who is she talking to?” Maysant asked. She respected Tace too much to butt in, and yet Dak had said she would be eager to talk to them.
“My father, Rangar,” Vitagut said. “He’s the one who convinced me to claim the throne of Agitar. Who knows what he’s telling Tace to do.”
Maysant looked up at her companion, the firelight making shadows dance across his face. “Then I say we should join them. We’re the only two here who know what’s really happening in Agitar.”
Vitagut nodded, and they walked toward Tace’s table.
Maysant felt her bravery fading quickly. She was an outsider here. Orcs barely tolerated elves on a good day. And so what if Vitagut respected her? Would his father? And would Tace? Especially after knowing Kazrack?
Tace stood and waved them over. “Vitagut! How are things in Agitar?”
“Not good,” Vitagut said as he straddled a seat at the table.
Maysant sat next to him, in his shadow.
Tace leaned around Vitagut to see her better. “You’re Kazrack’s sister, aren’t you?”
Maysant swallowed a lump in her throat. “I am, but—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t judge you based off him,” Tace said. “I’ve spent enough time trying to escape the shadows of my parents’ choices. I won’t do that to you.”
“Thank you,” Maysant said, feeling relieved.
The others at the table made their introductions. In addition to Rangar, Tace was accompanied by Igrath, a general in the Inab army, and Yaghra, an ancient female orc shaman.
“We need your help in Agitar,” Maysant said. “The bodies were buried, but their ghosts were called forth. They’re stealing the lives of everyone they come into contact with.”
“It was only due to the quick thinking of others that I escaped with my life,” Vitagut said. “Maysant in particular has been an invaluable ally. We rode here as fast as we could to beg for your help, Father. Finding Tace here is an unexpected boon.”
“Of course we will help,” Rangar said. “But I do not know
how to fight a ghost. What ways have you found to stop them?”
Vitagut’s voice was grim. “I am sorry to say that we know of no way to stop them, nor even to harm them. Nor do we know if they will eventually spread across the continent. This scourge may stay in Agitar, or perhaps it will kill all living beings.”
Tace looked down at her arm, where three tattoos glowed in the low light. The tiny dragon shifted on her shoulder and cooed. “There is always a way,” Tace said grimly. “We may not know it now, but I can promise you it will become apparent. I have to get back to Agitar as soon as possible.”
“We will ride there as well,” Vitagut said. “Do you want one of our draft horses?”
Tace laughed. “I came on my own ride.”
“A magnificent dragon,” Rangar said. “It will arrive at Agitar long before our horses will.”
“I believe I can help your horses get there even more quickly a dragon,” Yaghra said, her voice like gravel. “With the power of my shamans, we can open a portal directly to Agitar.”
“Large enough for a dragon and an entire army?” Tace asked.
The old shaman nodded. “But you must be prepared to enter it quickly. Our magic does not last forever. And… I will accompany you to Agitar. I believe I can be of assistance with the ghosts.”
Hope swelled in Maysant’s chest. Maybe there would be a chance for them after all. She glanced up at Vitagut, who looked down at her and smiled. Their perilous journey out of the throne room of Agitar had not been for naught.
“We will leave in the morning after everyone has had a chance to rest.” Rangar stood and patted his son on the shoulder. “Your mother will be happy to see you.”
“Then she will have to wait,” Vitagut said. “We leave now.”
“I am in agreement with this,” Tace said.
“As am I,” said Maysant.
She expected Vitagut to argue with her, to insist she bathe in oils and sleep for days. But instead he took her hand under the table and squeezed it tight.
“Father,” said Vitagut, “I respect your opinion, but Agitar needs us now.”
Rangar stared at his son, then nodded. “This is why we chose you to be king. You are a wise orc. Brave, as well. We will ready the army to ride as soon as possible.”
Maysant let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Everything was coming together. She was finally useful, and she didn’t care one whit if her mother was there to see it.
Chapter 37
Alyna and the elf prince waited all of the night and into the day, and Maysant and Vitagut never returned. Nor did the human, Ghrol. He had run off almost the instant Maysant disappeared into the tunnel. Alyna had called to him, had chased after him, but he hadn’t listened or slowed, and he was gone before she knew it. She feared Maysant would have her head when she returned.
“We’ve waited long enough. It is time for us to move on our part of the agreement. If there are others out there, needing help, we must find them,” she said to Kazrack.
“Perhaps instead we should go to Gailwyn,” he replied. “Raise an army.”
Alyna sighed. “We already had an elf army here, remember? Your mother gave up, took it with her, and left us all to die.”
“Perhaps they would listen to me,” Kazrack said. “I am the future king of Gailwyn.”
Alyna knew as well as Kazrack did that if his word meant more than his mother’s, the elf army would still be here fighting. She grasped his shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes.
“I don’t know if anyone has ever told you the truth, but I’m about to.” She held his gaze, refusing to let him look away. “You haven’t accomplished anything in your life, Kazrack, other than to flounce about the continents. Your mother may never make you king, because you simply don’t deserve it.”
Kazrack looked down and his shoulders slumped. He whispered something under his breath.
“What was that?” Alyna asked, straining to hear.
He looked up at her, his eyes sad. “I said, ‘I know.’ You’re right.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re able to say that aloud without an ounce of baseless boasting.” She placed a gentle hand under his chin, making sure he couldn’t look away again. “If you want to be king someday, you need to prove to everyone you are capable, that you are worthy of the throne. You still have that chance. You can be a great elf, a magnificent elf, if only you step up. Together, we can make that happen.”
Kazrack looked uncertain. “I don’t know… Maybe.”
“Fine.” Alyna dropped her arms. “If you can’t even believe in yourself, then I can’t help you. Have it your way. Wait here in case your sister ever returns, which she likely won’t. Odds are she and Vitagut are already dead.”
Kazrack jutted out his chin, squared his shoulders, and straightened to his full height. “I… will try.”
“We don’t have time for trying.” Alyna threw her pack over her shoulder. “There is only time to do. And I don’t even know if we have that.”
“I will do what is necessary,” Kazrack said. “I swear this to you.”
Alyna faced him again, satisfied with his response. She’d hoped to goad him into cooperating. After all, she really didn’t want to face what was ahead alone. A determined Kazrack beside her side was better than nothing, but a defeated Kazrack could fall into the abyss, as far as she was concerned.
“Are you sure?” She folded her arms over her chest, waiting for him to crack again.
“I am. No more false promises and incessant boasting.”
“Good.” Alyna clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, let’s see if we can find an escape, too. Then we can tend to anyone who needs us.”
“Do you think they’re alive?” Kazrack asked as he followed Alyna out of the throne room.
“I don’t want to give false hope, but Vitagut is a very experienced warrior, and Maysant is plucky. I’d like to believe they’re out there somewhere, raising an army to save us all.” Below were the servant passageways; above lay the royal quarters. “Let’s go up. Maybe we can find a good vantage point to survey the land. If the ghosts aren’t covering all of Agitar, then perhaps we can pinpoint a place to slip through their grasp.”
“That’s a sound idea.” Kazrack sounded more confident with every word.
Alyna ascended the stairs as quietly as she could, making sure her hooves found purchase on each stone step. This place might appear solid, but she didn’t trust any of it. Too much of the castle had shifted and fallen apart since the xarlug attack. She was willing to die fighting the ghosts, but she refused to die because of a clumsy fall.
A voice sounded from beyond the top of the staircase. Alyna held an arm toward Kazrack and put her finger to her lips.
Kazrack nodded, his eyes solemn.
Alyna crept silently up the stairs, stopping just before the landing. She pressed a hand against the cool stone wall and strained to hear.
“Back soon…”
“Help us…”
“Why wait…”
She couldn’t hear enough of the words to make sense of them. But the voice…
She knew that voice.
Her insides roiled with anger and fear. It was the orc who had captured Vron. The orc who’d tried to break them both. Who’d tried to turn them against the people they loved. Who’d tried to use them to bring down the orcs of Agitar.
Nemia, the false queen.
Alyna tiptoed back to Kazrack.
“Is it safe?” he whispered.
She shook her head.
Alyna was a confident faun, rarely second-guessing her instincts. Those instincts had brought her here to Agitar to warn the orcs of an impending doom. They’d told her to surrender again to Vron, and to look for him after his disappearance.
And now those instincts were telling her to stomp right up the stairs and attack Nemia with everything she had.
A year ago, she would have done just that.
Instead, she kept her back to the l
anding, as if that would make it all go away. As if by waiting long enough, she and Kazrack could go back to what they were doing. The time she’d spent locked up in the bowels of the castle with infected orcs had affected her more than she’d been willing to admit. As she looked down at her shaking hands, she thought for the first time, that Nemia had broken her, even if only a little.
Kazrack looked over Alyna’s head, and his eyes grew wide.
A pit in her stomach, Alyna slowly turned around. An elf stood at the top of the stairs, a sword in his hand.
Kazrack stepped around her. “Greetings, Lymetyrr. I thought everyone returned to Gailwyn with my mother. Why are you still here?”
“Go away, Prince Kazrack,” Lymetyrr whispered. “Leave this place.”
“We came here, same as you, to shelter from the ghosts.” Kazrack didn’t bother to lower his voice.
Alyna balled her hands into fists. He was ruining everything again. Couldn’t he read clues? The elf clearly didn’t want him speaking so loudly. She nudged Kazrack in the back and shushed him.
The creaking of a door told Alyna she was too late.
Determined to face her fears instead of hiding behind the elf’s back, she stepped to Kazrack’s side, letting herself be in full view of whoever came forth.
Just as she’d suspected, it was Nemia. The young orc’s eyes flashed in anger. She took in Kazrack first, then Alyna.
“You’ve come back, my pet.”
“I am no one’s pet,” Alyna retorted.
“Not long ago, you were mine. Unfortunately, a nasty dragon spoiled everything. Luckily for me, I’ve bounced back. Come, why don’t you meet my new friend?” Nemia waved them up the stairs, as if they were old friends coming for tea.
Alyna’s only hope was in escape. After all, what could she and Kazrack do against an armed elf and an orc with dark magic? She glanced behind her, ready to spring away as soon as Nemia was out of sight. The way was clear.
“Not so fast,” Nemia said with a cackle. “That wasn’t an invitation. It was an order. Come. Now.”