The Gods' Games Volume 1 & 2: Graphic Edition (The Gods' Games Series)

by Quil Carter

  There were even Lelan elves with musical instruments playing on a raised platform; their slow and pleasant music mixing in with the constant orchestra of elves catching up with each other and the laughter that usually followed. It filled Ben with flickers of hope for the future to see so many highborns and lords enjoying themselves; after years of bloodshed and tyranny they still seemed to hold hope. But the reality of what Alcove was like outside of Lelan’s borders was still a dark cloud over Ben’s head.

  Even though reality was only just a few leagues away, everyone still seemed genuinely happy to see each other, and, of course, everyone was thrilled to see Malagant. Ben witnessed again and again colourfully-dressed elves coming into the hall and exclaiming “Malagant!” followed by embracing and flurries of questions.

  “Just look at how much he’s grown! Spitting image of that father of his,” the Lord of Al’Casca, a large holdfast in Alathéa, said. “I bet you have a lot of stories to tell.”

  “Oh, you have no idea. I just beat a malkah and four accalites just a few weeks ago,” Malagant said. He took a drink from his goblet of wine and handed it to a servant to refill. He was surrounded by several elves, all of them throwing back goblet after goblet of wine.

  “Four?” Teal snorted beside Ben. “Next he’s going to say it was ten accalites and the high priests.”

  “Did you do it in that fancy new surcoat of yours?” a large and burly red-haired elf with a bushy beard laughed, thumping Malagant hard on the back. That was Lord Gorat Firemane, the Hold Lord of Valewind, one of Alcove’s four holds. He was the biggest elf Ben had ever seen but he was incredibly good-natured and laid back.

  “You can blame those bloody tailors and my uncle for that!” Malagant said, tugging on the collar of his new coat. “You nobles and stuffing us gutter rats into your fancy attire!”

  Everyone around Malagant roared with laughter.

  “Oh, it’s like Syr Anagin is here right now!” Gorat said. “Unlucky bastard, his hip has been bothering him so he couldn’t make it. But I’m sure if he knew you’d be here, boy, he would have. You know your father and his hatred for gatherings.”

  “Oh, too well,” Malagant chuckled.

  Ben nudged Teal. “You’d get along with him, eh?” He got an elbow in the ribs for that comment.

  Another elf who had been nodding along with Malagant’s group, turned to him. “How is your father doing? Have you seen him lately?”

  “Just fine the last time I checked, Lord Catchak. My friends and I will be visiting him on our journey too,” Malagant replied, taking a huge gulp of his wine cup that had been returned to him. Ben heard Teal make a noise in his throat and he could understand why. Malagant was already on his third glass of wine and he wasn’t slowing down in the least.

  “That’s good, Malagant,” Lord Gorat said with a nod. “A good elf your father is, and your brother too, staying behind to take care of him.”

  Malagant scoffed. “He just didn’t want to see the house get dirty; I swear he held a party after I took off to Fort Greybane.”

  The crowd erupted in laughter again.

  Teal sighed; he tucked a lock of red-streaked hair over his left ear as he slowly turned around. “Will… will you come with me?”

  “Sure.” Ben looked ahead to the tables of food and drink. There were silver trays of shredded meat and fillets of fish, potatoes prepared in every way Ben could imagine, vegetables glistening with butter, baskets of bread, and complex-looking dishes that had tasted as good as they’d looked. He and Teal had both already eaten and Ben was still stuffed, but, even full, he was eyeing up the tray of crispy pig skin and had already zeroed in on a particularly crispy-looking piece.

  “Thanks,” Teal mumbled and waited until Ben was walking beside him until he continued on to the table of drinks. Ben, practicing his social skills when it came to the Lelanders, raised his hand and waved over a servant.

  “Silverwine, raspberry for me and he’ll have blackberry,” Ben said to the servant, a boy who couldn’t have been older than ten. The boy nodded and made his way towards the drinks.

  When the boy came back Teal grabbed his and started walking towards what Ben realized was the farthest they could possibly get from the socializing elves; a dark and secluded corner partially hidden by the food tables.

  Ben quickly grabbed a small plate of the crispy pig skin and several other meat items and followed Teal, just as Teal glanced over his shoulder to make sure Ben was still there.

  “Are you okay? We can leave and ask Malagant to come to our quarters when he’s done being the center of attention,” Ben said. He sat down in a chair beside Teal and offered him the plate of food.

  Although Teal was dressed in his new surcoat, with dress pants and hair shining and aromatic from Lelan’s many perfumy soaps, he still looked like the nervous hibrid Ben had first seen in the Silverwoods. “I have never been around so many elves,” he said, his voice was small and meek. “I’m shaking inside, I’m ashamed to admit. And I’m not only hating being around so many elves – I’m afraid someone might recognize me. If it gets back to Keleon…”

  A surge of guilt went through Ben, and in that moment he hated himself for forgetting one of the reasons Teal had such social anxiety. Keleon, the elf who had murdered his family, was not only still out there – he was the Grand Master in Ben’s brother’s court.

  “It won’t,” Ben said reassuringly, but he found himself looking around the massive hall with a new set of eyes. He wanted to make sure the place they’d sat down in was out of the line of the guests’ sights and it seemed to be. “We’ll go soon.”

  “No,” Teal said, there was a vein of stubbornness in his tone. “I want Malagant to have fun; he deserves it. We’ll – we’ll get him in an hour. I’ll be okay.” Ben heard him sigh. “I’ll be okay…”

  Ben laughed and lightly patted Teal’s knee, then, to distract his socially anxious friend he started talking to him about the prophecy book they were supposed to find that night.

  After an hour, and near the time they were planning on dragging Malagant from the party, Ben got up to refill their goblets and hopefully snag some of the dessert food they’d seen be brought out.

  By now the party had gotten even louder and more robust as the lords and highborns got steadily drunker. There were even speeches being made and toasts raised to the fallen and gods alike, and Lord Catchak had even made a rather colourful speech about his hatred for King Erick. Ben had learned a couple new insults he decided to log away and try out – tosser was his new favourite.

  Ben poured the pink silverwine into his goblet and then moved to Teal’s, a servant beside him putting squares and cakes onto a plate for him to bring back.

  “You’re Sir Malagant’s friend, aren’t you?” Ben heard a soft voice say.

  Ben turned around and saw a female hibrid standing behind him. She had blond hair that fell well past her shoulders with light blue streaks, and a matching long-sleeved blue dress with pearls that were sewn into the sleeves.

  “Oh, yes I am,” Ben said with a kind smile. He inclined his head to her and she did the same. “I’m not that into social gatherings so we’re letting Malagant soak up the attention.”

  The lady laughed and lightly touched his shoulder. “And he must love that. Malagant has always loved the attention. My first memory of Malagant is him climbing the drapes, almost to the ceiling, when Josiah was getting praised for his sunmagic.” She took a sip from a gold goblet before curtseying to him. “My name is Taelie,” she said. “My father is Arganti of House Ahren, the Hold Lord of Alathéa.”

  “I’m Ben,” Ben said. He glanced behind him to see Teal had risen from his seat and was staring at him several feet behind Taelie. His arms were crossed. “Ben from Galan, no House name or anything like that.”

  Taelie’s face brightened. “I love Galan! My family has travelled there many times over the years –” Ben felt a lump form in his throat. Well, this was a first… someone who had actually been to
Galan. “– they make the most exquisite cheese there. They say it’s because the grass is so rich, and their wines are wonderful too! Just splendid farmland. Do you know the Baseil family?”

  Ben stared at her for a moment before he decided to take a chance and nod. “I believe so. I left before the war, I hope they’re doing well.”

  To Ben’s relief, Taelie nodded, her smile fading. “I do hope so.” Then the smile appeared again and she touched Ben’s shoulder again. “I think I can tell you’re a Galan hibrid. They have such strong biceps from tilling the soil and having to work with their arms. You’re quite strong aren’t–”

  “Get away from him, Taelie Ahren. He’s chayle and you’re engaged to be married!” someone said sharply behind them. Ben looked to his right, towards the center of the party, and saw a male hibrid approaching them. He had light blue streaks in his hair like Taelie, though his was cut short and half-hidden in a lavender silk hat.

  Taelie’s cheeks went red, before she turned around and clenched her fists. “You drunken eegit, I was just being polite!” She looked back to Ben and smiled embarrassed. “Please excuse my brother Desa. He’s drunk.”

  “I am not and you know it,” Desa said as he snapped his fingers to a servant and pointed to the pitchers of wine. “Help me bring this wine back to Father. He seems to think he’s in competition with Lord Gorat to drink Korivander’s entire store.”

  Taelie’s jaw seemed to tighten, before she once again seemed to remind herself of her manners. Her blue eyes travelled back to Ben and she inclined her head. “Excuse me one moment, Sir Ben.”

  When the two hibrids left, Teal slowly approached, his face was glowering and he looked uncomfortable and upset.

  “That was wonderful,” Ben chuckled, then he noticed Teal’s expression. “What?” He was half-amused to see the look of possessiveness on his friend’s face.

  “Nothing,” Teal responded curtly. “Let’s find Malagant and get this over with. I’m about done pretending I’m enjoying myself here.”

  “Pretending? You’re a horrible actor if you were actually making an attempt to not look like you’d rather be getting bathed by those she-wolves again,” Ben said with a smirk, though all he got was a soured expression in return.

  And that soured expression only got worse when they tried to find Malagant.

  “You’ve got to fucking be kidding me…” Teal buried his face in his hands with what he saw in front of them, but Ben couldn’t suppress the laughter.

  Malagant was sitting with Gorat, Gorat’s son Grady, Catchak, and King Korivander. Malagant was loudly telling a story that, for some reason, involved stealing a goat and a wheel of cheese, and every elf around him was roaring with laughter and hanging on his every slurred word. Malagant’s goblet was half-full of purple wine and a servant was standing just two feet away with a pitcher, looking like he had been needing his services called upon regularly.

  “He’s drunker than a rat in a wine barrel,” Teal said bitterly. “What now?” When Ben let out another laugh Teal’s teeth ground together.

  “It isn’t funny, Ben!” Teal said exasperated. “We have to get into the damn library, and I don’t know about you, but I have no idea where it is.” Teal turned around and started stalking back to his dark corner, his shoulders tense and tight and his fists clenched.

  “You said you wanted to let him have fun,” Ben chuckled as he caught up with Teal. “I thought he would be smarter than that.”

  “Obviously we overestimated his need for attention and his easy access to wine,” Teal said, his forehead creased. “We’ll need to come up with a better–”

  “I can help you get into the library,” Taelie’s voice was heard behind them.

  They both stopped, and slowly turned around.

  “Sneaky thing aren’t you?” Teal said with narrowed eyes; he certainly didn’t like her. “What did you hear?”

  “Tee, this is Taelie,” Ben said, before Taelie could get a chance to speak. “I was talking to her before you came over.”

  “I saw that,” Teal said in a rather aloof manner.

  “Nice to meet you too,” Taelie said with a smile and a curtsey. “Now, would you like my help? Or are you going to take your chance with –” She pointed over her shoulder to where Malagant was. “– him.”

  And at that moment Malagant and the others broke out in song.

  Teal groaned and ran a hand down his face. “Alright, if you know where it is and you can keep quiet about it. We certainly aren’t going to get far waiting for that eegit to sober up.”

  “A wise decision,” Taelie praised, then she added in a rather singy voice. “I’ll only charge you one silverling.”

  “What?” Teal exclaimed; Ben could almost see a vein pulsing on his forehead. “You charge?”

  “I want to become a spy. I eventually want to get into the Shadows of Azrah, the spy academy in Azrayne,” Taelie explained, her pointed ears reddening. “I have to start somewhere you know.”

  Teal let out his hundredth exasperated breath of the evening and took one last glance at the group of drunken Alcovians.

  The other elves at the different tables had started joining in to what Ben recognized as Alcove’s unofficial anthem. In record time the entire hall was ringing with the sounds of elves singing their hearts out, most waving goblets and tankards into the air as their voices echoed against the vaulted ceiling.

  “Let’s go,” Teal sighed, nodding towards a door that was being guarded by two Lelan soldiers. The soldiers only nodded at them as they walked through the doors and into the lamp lit hallway. Everyone knew Ben and Teal by now and knew they had free reign to walk wherever they wish.

  “It is nice, really –” Taelie whispered when they had left the noisy hall behind them. She was walking ahead of Ben and Teal, leading them deep into the castle and down corridors Ben hadn’t even noticed previously. “– to see them all together having such a good time.” She placed a hand on the door handle and opened it before peeking inside. She nodded at them to follow her. “It’s been such a long time since we celebrated anything. Nowhere is safe right now. I’m surprised King Korivander allowed this get-together. He’s putting Lelan at risk if word gets back to Erick that Korivander had all of the hold lords and highborns meeting in one place. Erick might suspect a rebellion and Lelan is still recovering from the last one.”

  Ben wanted to ask Taelie what happened during the rebellion and how it ended but he knew even for a Galan hibrid this should be common knowledge; he made a note to ask Teal when they were alone.

  “It is nice,” Teal agreed, his eyes going in every direction and his shoulder rubbing against Ben’s. Ben was surprised he couldn’t hear Teal’s heartbeat with how much he knew it must be thrashing. “Though Malagant should’ve…” Teal stopped and sighed instead. “Are we almost there?”

  “We are here,” Taelie whispered.

  Ben looked forward and saw that she was right. In front of them was a heavy wooden door with a carved archway which had ancient lettering embedded in the detailed woodwork.

  But that wasn’t what told Ben this was the library, it was the destruction he saw laid upon the door. It looked like it had been attacked by a sword, angry and deep gouges and slash marks scarred the frame, the door itself, and the surrounding walls. They were swings that made it obvious that the elf had some personal vendetta against the library.

  “I thought Lelanders loved reading?” Teal said surprised. He ran a finger over a missing chunk of wood, the slash now the same colour as the wood itself. This hallway had the intense smell of must and dampness, like it hadn’t been warmed or dried out in ages and the torches in their iron holders were as cold as death itself.

  “They love reading,” Taelie replied. With a gentle hand she dusted what Ben realized was more ancient script. This one seemingly carved into the door, but not with the gentle hand like the script above, this looked to have been made with the very blade that had attacked the hall. “King Korivander boarded u
p this royal library after his wife died. He is the most well-read Lelan in all of Alcove, possibly Al’Anea, and when he couldn’t find a cure for his wife’s sickness in his books, I hear it destroyed him.” Taelie tried the door handle and Ben saw her breathe a sigh of relief as it turned and opened. “In his grief he shut down the library and never stepped foot in it again. Eventually the scribes and auchtrs moved the important scrolls and text to a different library, one that didn’t remind Korivander of the loss of his wife, but many old books, scrolls, tomes, still remain.”

  “What does the text on the door say?” Ben asked. He felt guilt and empathy for the poor Lelan King. King Korivander was such a kind, gentle, and wise king it was sad to think of him going through so much grief.

  “My heart died here,” Taelie whispered. “Korivander wrote that. Her name was Aurellei, and her sister, who also died years before, was Tes. Malagant’s mother.”

  “How old was Malagant when she died?” Teal asked.

  Taelie pushed the door open and an overpowering smell of musty, soured wood reached their nostrils. She walked into the darkness and said back to them. “Malagant was only a few months old, my father said. He was just a little baby when she killed herself.”

  Ben and Teal exchanged surprised glances. They knew Malagant’s mother had died but had no idea it was under such extreme circumstances. Poor Malagant, and Anagin as well, having to raise two young boys with no help whatsoever. He seemed to have done a good job at least, Malagant was one of the best elves Ben knew.

  All conversation halted when Ben entered the library. He found himself standing in momentary awe as he looked around the dark room. He could tell in its prime it would’ve been one of the most beautiful places in Lelan Castle.

  There were two levels to the library. The first level had bookshelves that stretched to the second level mezzanine, with ladders covered in cobwebs attached to rollers to reach the higher levels. Statues, some as tall as the bookshelves, stood with their silent dignity, dust covering their faces and spiders weaving their webs between drawn bows and unsheathed swords. There were scrolls stacked up against these statues, and the bookshelves as well, some partially unrolled like the scrolls themselves were desperate to be read, even if their only audience were the ghosts of the past.