Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  “You lead the way.”

  “You like looking at my ass? I get it, it’s a fine ass.”

  She smiles as she follows him around the outside of the crystal wall.

  Cornelius drags his feet behind him as he is making his way back to the seaport. A flock of ravens flies high overhead. He can take cover behind any tree but if they come down, they’ll find him. He decides to pick up the pace. He almost falls coming out of the forest and almost lands inside the lake. The seaport is right on the other side. A cruising boat is passing.

  “Hey!”

  The dwarf captain stops the boat. “Look, a fairy.”

  “It’s the fairy prince,” a little girl says.

  “Please, may I catch a ride with you back to the docks?”

  “Alright, get on.”

  “You have to pull in closer to the land.”

  “Your wings are wet?”

  “Just pull in closer.”

  The dwarf captain is a ruddy man with a long black braided beard. He pulls the boat closer and Cornelius jumps on. Girls start touching him. Smelling him.

  “He smells lovely,” a girl says.

  The dwarf captain pulls the boat close to the dock and Cornelius jumps off. “Thank you.” He walks into the town and sees Emily. He recognizes Hans. They go up to the innkeeper who is shaking out rugs.

  Fishermen, both male and female, are bringing in their catch. They slam the nets onto the docks. Fish guts spill out from damaged pieces.

  “Is Merrybrook shut off?” Hans asks.

  “Yes. There was an attack on it earlier. We are waiting for our king’s soldiers to arrive here. Monta is all that we have left.”

  Hans and Emily enter the tavern. “Whew, it smells of dead fish, live fish, and cooked fish,” Emily says.

  Cornelius makes his way towards the tavern but gets distracted when he sees Susie crying up the stone path that leads to the city. “Susie?”

  “Oh, you. Thought you were leaving.”

  “I decided to come back. Gretchen is still out fishing.”

  “She will be all day.”

  “Susie, can you get a message to the king?”

  “We have the captain of the guards who comes here every afternoon. He can just take you to the king.”

  “Okay, I’ll wait.” Cornelius goes into the tavern. He sees Emily sitting at a table while Hans is at the bar.

  Susie comes up behind Cornelius. “I’ll get you a goblet.”

  Cornelius sits down opposite Emily. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  “Oh, I don’t think so.”

  “Wait. What is wrong?”

  “I am not falling for this. We know it’s you, Jegorgon.”

  “It’s me Cornelius. I mean it’s Wesley. Why are you here?”

  “I am going to expose you for the fraud that you are.”

  “Emily you need to stop. I don’t know what you’re talking about. My body is inside a protective shield back in Coral Gardens. Inside the cave. I fractured my heart creating this. I tried to get into the Scarlet Vale but it is closed off. So I came back here to try and talk to the king. I don’t know what you are talking about so, now it’s your turn.”

  Susie places a goblet in front of him. He downs the ale.

  “There was an imposter that looked like you. He has changed the fairy city by placing a curse on it. He came to Kell. Andrea knew it wasn’t you so she decided to have Linus get into bed with her to have sex with her and make you catch them.”

  “Linus had sex with Andrea?” He becomes enraged.

  “No. They didn’t. They were naked together.”

  “She got naked with him?”

  “Point is, we found out it was Jegorgon’s ravens. His attempt to seduce Andrea never stops. But you should know it was no stretch for Linus to get into bed with her.”

  “Of course not. Linus is known for being promiscuous.”

  “He’s also in love with Andrea. Has been since he was little.”

  Cornelius grows sad. Every second he is away from Andrea, he is losing her.

  “But she is in love with you.”

  “Not if I fail again.”

  “I’ve been poisoned. Almost died. I joined the assassins’ guild because I thought I could be more useful this way. We are all making decisions that backfire on us. All we can do is hope for the best. It doesn’t matter what road we take now.”

  “Where is Andrea now?”

  “She’s with Linus. Sneaking into the fairy city. They want to save those that aren’t infected. Whatever curse was put upon people, it doesn’t infect everyone.”

  “That’s good. It means it isn’t as strong as its conjurer wishes it was.”

  The bar gets a little rough. Dwarves drunk, mixing with the different breed of dwarf, causes all kinds of arguments and fights.

  Hans sits down. “Prince Wesley?”

  “Just Cornelius for now.”

  “You should not be here.”

  “What are you two doing here?”

  “We are here to secure our allies. Merrybrook has been taken.”

  “Then we need to get it back.”

  “We don’t have soldiers. And we can’t be sure that the dwarf king isn’t corrupted.”

  Cornelius looks down at his sword. “I’m afraid that I can’t be of much help. This sword isn’t the real one that Wesley has laying with him.”

  “What does that matter?” Emily asks.

  “That other sword is made from the Vale. It was a gift for when Wesley, when I was born. Man, I really need to stop creating Cornelius.”

  Hans waves his hand at Cornelius.

  “Were you hoping that I was an illusion?” Cornelius asks.

  The innkeeper comes over and drops a piece of paper on the table.

  Hans looks the paper over. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Let me see it,” Emily says. She checks it over a few times. Then takes it over to the fireplace. She puts it up to the flame but keeps it away from catching fire. Black writing appears.

  The entire tavern and inn is full of the infected. You will do well to leave Monta. Don’t delay. I’ll be waiting for you around the back of the inn. Look for the green hooded woman.

  “Right.” Emily goes back over to the table. “We have a friend. You stay here while I check this out.”

  “No, we are going too,” Cornelius says.

  “No. This message was coded for me.”

  Emily leaves the tavern. She puts her hood up. Comes around to the back of the inn. She gags from the smell of rotting fish. A dagger to her back.

  “If you think I am caught off guard, you are mistaken.”

  “You haven’t got your daggers, assassin, what could you attack me with?” The green hooded woman pulls her dagger away and lets down her hood. “I am Greer. I am the…

  “The daughter of King Hyrul, the mightiest of the dwarf kings.”

  “How did you know?”

  “We have a list of every single assassin’s name. Even those outside our kingdom.”

  “My father doesn’t know that I am an assassin. We don’t even have an assassins’ guild.”

  “Then how are you one?”

  “Linus.”

  “You slept with him?”

  “Yes. Is he yours?”

  “No.”

  “Have you slept with him?”

  “Definitely not and never will.”

  Soldiers come down the stone path. Greer takes Emily into the shadows of a storage shed.

  The soldiers line up outside the tavern.

  “We better get your friends out of there.”

  The back door of the inn opens and out comes Hans and Cornelius.

  “No need.”

  “We figured you were gone long enough,” Cornelius says. He looks over the dwarf woman. Her red hair and green eyes with a very well-defined chest and slim hips. “Princess Greer.”

  “Prince Wesley.”

  “Your Highness, we must see your father.”

/>   “Impossible. Father has shut himself up in his throne room. We were the first to discover that something evil came over our city. When we saw our people turning, we decided to secure whoever we could. Those that are not infected serve the king still and are locked up in different parts of the castle. Unfortunately there are those that are infected running wild around the castle as well. I came down after word got around that we had the fairy prince in Monta. But I was delayed in meeting him because I had to kill two of my father’s guards.”

  “We need the security of your alliance in order to defeat Jegorgon,” Hans says.

  “Jegorgon? But he isn’t behind it.”

  Emily grabs Cornelius. “If they find you, they will discover that you are here because Wesley isn’t. They’ll know that Wesley is vulnerable.”

  “But he is safe. Unless Jegorgon goes back to Coral Gardens.”

  “Where is Coral Gardens?” Greer asks.

  “It’s in the land - -“

  “No time to explain. Where can we hide him?” Emily asks.

  “Hold on. I am not hiding. Does anyone even know where Jegorgon is?”

  “There is no city close to us.”

  “Yes there is. The human city.”

  “Kell is a long way from here, fairy prince.”

  “No. The other human city. It’s called Manhattan.”

  “Never heard of it,” Greer says.

  Cornelius’s eyes grow large. “Oh, no.”

  “What?” Emily says.

  “Jegorgon opened a doorway to there. He has been spying on us with those ravens. He isn’t in the Vale. He is going after Wesley.”

  Jegorgon looks over Emily’s daggers. “You know there is something familiar about these daggers.” He throws them up into the air. They spin. He uses the pearl to illuminate them. “Oh, I see. I think you were a mistake.” The daggers come down to him. “A happy mistake.” He takes the pearl and touches the tips of the daggers to it. A white light comes over them. As he pulls the pearl away, the blades glow. He takes one of the daggers and stabs the protective shield.

  Wesley’s body twitches.

  Cornelius stumbles going up the stone pathway.

  “We must hurry before more soldiers come,” Greer says.

  “Hold on. What is it, Cornelius?” Emily asks.

  “Where are your daggers?”

  “Jegorgon has them. But they hold no special power.”

  “How were they given to you?”

  “They were given to me by the trainers.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I can’t remember. But I know that Linus’s daggers used to belong to Jegorgon apparently. He was once an assassin but there is no record of it.”

  “Your daggers were given to you by your trainers.”

  “Yes. There was five other people present. We went out to this tree door and went down a staircase.”

  “Emily, he is using your daggers to break the protective shield.”

  Jegorgon stabs at the protective shield again. Wesley’s body twitches more.

  The red hooded woman looks over at the goblin general. “He has three relics.”

  “I do not know.”

  “The daggers.”

  “I think those daggers are still with the assassin.”

  “Not the male assassin. He has the sister blades.”

  Jegorgon stabs again and again. The protective shield is breaking apart. The tiny white lights that surround it try their hardest to pull the daggers away from Jegorgon. “Go away, you pests.”

  Cornelius stumbles all the way up the stone pathway. Greer takes them behind the barracks. “Hans, since you are the ambassador, you can go up the rest of the way. No one is going to hurt you. The infected are very strict about following royal protocol and receiving those of high status.”

  “What about you three?”

  “We have to get in this way.”

  Hans goes out in the open. Guards immediately surround him. “I am Hans Denbook. I am the ambassador for Kell. I was sent by King Michael.”

  “Welcome to Montego, ambassador,” the captain of the guards says. He’s a handsome dwarf with a red and white beard that is trimmed and neat. He stands at almost five and a half feet.

  Greer leads Emily and Cornelius along the grassy wall. There are guards inside the barracks playing cards and drinking ale. “Good thing that most of us are alcoholics.”

  She takes them over a small hill and they huddle by a drain pipe. “We have to sneak in through the pipes.”

  “How are we going to fit through here?” Emily says.

  Greer takes off one of the screens. “It’s a little tight when you first enter but it gets larger as you go. It will leads us straight into my father’s bathroom. There’s no direct line to the throne room.”

  “Who’s afraid of getting dirty?” Cornelius says.

  Cornelius goes first. Followed by Emily. Greer climbs in and puts the screen back up. Greer takes lead. The pipe does get larger as they move. Enough that they can walk side by side. The ceiling is a few inches above their heads. They look out in front of them. Their pipe is extremely long. They pass a few connecting pipes but Greer hasn’t signaled to turn yet.

  Rats climb out of the connecting pipes and scurry along the floor. Emily squeals. “What?” They give her funny looks. “I can be a woman and an assassin.”

  Greer laughs. “It’s just up here.”

  They come to the pipe they must climb up.

  “How are we getting up there?” Cornelius asks.

  “Hope you both have strong legs.” Greer grabs hold of the sides of the pipe and climbs in. She puts both of her legs out to the side and puts both of her hands palms down against the wall of the pipe.

  Cornelius and Emily watch her climbing. “Should be easy,” Emily says. She climbs in and mimics Greer.

  Cornelius shakes his head and does the same.

  Halfway up, Emily starts to feel the burn in her legs.

  “Thought assassins train hard with their bodies.”

  “We do. I am still new and haven’t even done the trials.”

  “And what about you, fairy?”

  “If I could fly I would.”

  Greer laughs. She stops. “End of the line.” She opens the screen and pops through.

  Emily increases her climb. Cornelius ends up right behind her. Greer helps Emily out then helps Cornelius.

  Greer walks out of the bathroom and finds her father lying on his bed. “Father, you awake?”

  “Something doesn’t feel right here,” Emily says.

  “You’re right.”

  “Father!”

  Women’s laughter comes.

  “It’s the sisters. I’ve fought them before,” Emily says.

  “Fought us and lost,” one of the women says.

  Crawling out from under the king’s bed are the three sisters.

  Cornelius draws his sword. “Does the Scarlet witch still control you?”

  Hans stands in the throne room and waits to be seen. Guards fill in the empty spaces around him. “You’ve come at a bad time,” the captain of the guards says. He raises his long and fat sword and plunges it through Hans’s chest.

  The three sisters surround Emily and Cornelius. “Answer his question, sisters,” the rainbow-haired sister says.

  “We have broken from her chain,” the black-haired sister says.

  “Why did Jegorgon take my daggers?”

  “He wanted to find the other daggers. Yours is the sister to his,” the rainbow-haired sister says.

  “Linus’s daggers?”

  “Yes, and yours are his too,” the black-haired sister says.

  Jegorgon reaches down inside and pulls Wesley out. “Wake up, Wesley.”

  Cornelius grips his chest.

  “What is it?”

  “He’s found me.”

  The sisters cackle.

  Jegorgon shakes Wesley.

  Wesley’s eyes open. Takes a breath.

  Cornelius
falls down and falls apart. Nothing remains. Emily bursts into tears.

  “Aww, the poor fairy,” the sisters say.

  Emily glares at them. “I’m going to kill you.”

  Greer holds onto Emily. “We will kill them.”

  The sisters jerk to the side. “Ugh, sisters, away,” the rainbow-haired sister says.

  They crash into the stone wall and disappear.

  The king wakes. “Greer!”

  “I am here, Father.”

  Linus and Andrea sneak into the dungeon. “Okay, hopefully we don’t run into any problems.”

  “I’ll watch your back. You go and release everyone.”

  “Be careful, Andrea.”

  Linus hurries to each of the glass cages. Andrea doesn’t see any guards. That worries her.

  Linus cracks open each cage with his daggers. “Come with me. We are getting out of here.”

  Sounds come from the tunnel leading to the dungeon. “Linus?” Andrea runs down the tunnel. “Shit.” She runs into the dungeon. “Linus, the guards are coming!”

  Linus runs from cage to cage, releasing the rest of the prisoners. He finds Noah’s parents. “Where is Noah?”

  “He is not our son anymore,” Mr. Brittlewaters says.

  “We’ll find him and bring him. I am not leaving behind a friend.”

  Andrea turns around and finds Noah. “Andrea.”

  “Noah, please, don’t give in to this hate and evil.”

  “Guards, take care with the future queen of the fairy city.”

  Guards grab Andrea.

  “Linus!”

  Linus runs over. “Don’t care about how many fairies I have to kill to keep Andrea safe.”

  Jegorgon releases Wesley. “Get up.”

  Wesley gets to his feet. “Do I even want to know what you’ve been up to?”

  “A little of this and a little of that.” He eyes Wesley’s sword. “Give me the sword.”

  “Why? You’ve got enough power.”

  “Don’t make me take it from you.”