The Axe's Edge

by Summers, Derick J. M.

  “Right now Ar’n’tor, the only thing keeping you from getting your arms ripped off is the fact that I’m standing between the two of you. I can’t even reach him through my link!”

  El saw the look of surprise on Ar’n’tor’s face. She hadn’t meant to share the fact that she and Logan were linked.

  Ah well, she decided. I’ll deal with that after I get him back.

  “Now, please,” El continued. “I’m begging you. Let go of the power before I can’t hold him any longer and he tears through me and my wall and kills you.”

  El returned her attention to Logan, who swayed back in forth in anticipation scenting the wind as he tried to find a way past the magical barrier that blocked him from his prey. Time seemed to slow as El stared into Logan’s eyes, hoping, praying and willing him to regain control. El felt the release of tension as Ar’n’tor finally poured the energy he was holding harmlessly into the ground. El wasn’t certain if her words had finally reached the arrogant Elf or if simple exhaustion had prevailed. She realized that she really didn’t care.

  With so many of the Elfin warriors down and out, further hostilities seemed unlikely. Having Smash back on his feet and in a particularly foul humour didn’t hurt the situation either. Any of the unarmed Elves still physically capable of fighting took one look at the angry troll, and quickly thought better of it. The Elfin warrior Tanel had broken free from was the only exception. The Elf’s jaw was already beginning to discolour from Tanel’s uppercut and he seemed angry enough to be entertaining thoughts of a recapture despite the knife she had been menacing him with for the last several minutes. Smash gathered up his massive club and stepped between the Elf and Tanel. The Elfin warrior re-thought his course of action.

  With things calming down and the immediate threat seemingly passed, El saw a flicker of recognition in Logan. It was nothing definitive, nothing she could point to directly, but something in the way he stood, in the way he looked at her, told her that he was back. Or, at least, coming back. She released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she felt his barriers come down and his mind hesitantly touched hers. Grabbing hold of that contact, nearly knocking him back in her excitement, she quickly strengthened it, her joy at his return filling the void between them.

  Thank you, he said softly in her mind. Why are they here?

  My father sent them to take me back. I thought I’d lost you.

  Logan gave a small smile to reassure her as he pulled himself wearily up into a standing position. Scanning the group of battered and bruised Elves, he confirmed his own feeling that there was no fight left in them. In any case, Smash was watching them closely. Casting a critical gaze over his friend, Logan noted that the big man was moving slowly and a couple of nasty bruises were already forming on his face. Thankfully, nothing looked too serious. Catching Logan’s gaze, Smash nodded. With relief, Logan satisfied himself that the big man would be okay. He’d be sore for a few days, to be sure, but okay.

  Tanel also looked all right after her altercation with the Elves though she stayed close to Smash, giving the tall warriors as wide a berth as possible. She was tense and on edge - they all were - but she was none the worse for wear. Logan felt much of the built up tension leave him. History would not repeat itself today.

  Logan brought his attention back to the Elfin mage he had come so close to killing.

  Drop the wall, he thought to El.

  She gave him a quick look but nodded and dissolved the magic barrier. Logan felt the wall drop. Ar’n’tor tensed and Logan knew the mage had also felt the barrier’s dissolution. Logan took a step toward the mage and Ar’n’tor stepped back quickly, before catching himself and forcing himself to stand his ground.

  “You need to leave now!”

  “We will leave when we are good and ready!” With all eyes upon him, Ar’n’tor couldn’t just concede to this creature’s demand. “And, we’ll be taking El with us...”

  Logan was little more than a blur as he covered the distance separating him from the mage. And though nowhere near as fast as he’d been when he’d been caught in the throws of his beast, neither Ar’n’tor nor his fellow mages had the time think about a defence, let alone create one. Logan’s strong hand caught Ar’n’tor around the throat, lifted him from the ground and slammed him down to the ground in one fluid motion. The impact forced the air from Ar’n’tor’s lungs in a rush, leaving the mage struggling to breathe as Logan held him pinned with one iron fist. Logan’s gaze, the animal still flashing within, bore into the Elf. Logan saw fear in the mage’s eyes, smelled it in his sweat.

  “I grant you one hour to get as far away as you can,” growled. “If I can still smell you after that Ar’n’tor, I will hunt you down!”

  Licking Their Wounds

  The two mages, who had served as batteries for Ar’n’tor’s magical attacks, turned out to be fairly proficient healers. Between them, they were able to ensure that none of the Elfin warriors would die as a result of the conflict, getting them all at least marginally mobile before leading them back into the forest.

  Tanel was glad of this, as she couldn’t bring herself to assist her most recent assailants. She knew that as a healer she was supposed to be beyond such petty human things as refusing to tend her enemies and maybe that made her less of a healer, but honestly she didn’t care at this point. Sanctity of life was great and all, but healing those who had just tried to kill or kidnap you, your friends and your family was taking the concept a bit far for her tastes.

  Besides, she thought, Smash has taken more than enough of a beating to keep me busy.

  With herbs and her natural magic she was able to mend the majority of his injuries and reduce much of the swelling. She wasn’t able to make any of it disappear completely. Her magic wasn’t that strong, yet, though. El seemed certain that one day it would be.

  Under normal circumstances, Tanel would have asked El to assist her in her work, but with the Elfin threat still so real, she felt it was best not to tax El’s magic any more than was absolutely necessary. None of them trusted Ar’n’tor and none of them would be at all surprised if he disappeared into the woods only to regroup and attack again. It was best to allow El to track their movements, just in case.

  Not to mention, Tanel thought. She has her hands full with Logan.

  Not that her brother needed any physical healing. She’d checked him out just to be absolutely certain, but his own incredible ability to heal was already hard at work taking care of all the injuries he had sustained. Even his broken forearm was already mostly mended.

  No, she thought. Physically he’ll be fine.

  El was worried about his mind. And, to be honest, so was she. She had been terrified during the attack, but not for herself. No, she had been through too much to be afraid for herself. She had been afraid for Smash as she watched the Elves swarm him, bringing him down like the slavers had brought down her father. She had been afraid for El as she watched the Elfin maid face down the magical energies being raised by the three mages. But, none of that compared to the terror that had filled her as she watched her brother standing between the three Elfin mages and Smash, taking on the role of human shield. She had watched as all that destructive energy crashed over him and heard his screams.

  It had been too much like reliving that day so many years ago, watching her father and mother butchered by the slavers. Watching Logan brought down by arrow after arrow, as he tried to reach them. She’d thought he’d died that day and it still amazed her that he’d survived his injuries. She’d always known that he was different and he’d tried to explain as best he could. But hearing about it after the fact and seeing it with her own eyes were two very different things. As she watched him collapsing before the mage fire, she was sure she was watching his death. Sure that, so quickly after being reunited with him, she was losing her brother again, this time for good.

  El had explained what had happened during the fight, had explained the amount of power being released, explain
ed the nature of the attack being used against her brother. For the most part, Tanel thought she understood it. Though in some ways that just made things harder - harder to believe that Logan had so few injuries, harder to accept how quickly his body was healing.

  Her time with General Siris had given her an understanding of how much pain it took to drive a mind so far away. And, having been lost herself, she knew how incredibly difficult it was to come back. She knew that Logan had managed to find his way home, but understood from her own experience that full recovery would not be easy. Once lost, it was far too easy to become lost again. His recovery would take time, and there was nothing that could rush that. For now, he was keeping to himself as much as possible. He was very quiet and mentally very fragile.

  But Logan wasn’t her only worry. El was like a sister to her and she could tell the mage was having troubles as well. El didn’t seem to be able to keep her attention focused on any one thing, her mind seeming to drift on a whim. When Tanel asked about it, El had explained that she was finding it difficult to keep in touch with Logan’s mind. Tanel knew that having lost touch with him once, El would do anything in her power to ensure it didn’t happen again. Tanel understood her friend’s motivation, but she also understood that there was little either of them could do to help Logan. She tried to remind El about Logan’s strength of will, his incredible stubbornness, she explained again and again that he needed time, time to pull everything back together. And though El listened to all of her assurances, Tanel knew that they did little to ease the Elf maiden’s worry.

  El’dreathia watched with concern as Logan stood guard leaning against the doorframe of the house. He had retrieved Leveller, his battle-axe, after his confrontation with the Elves and now stood with it braced rigidly against his right shoulder. He hadn’t shifted position for the better part of an hour. He’d simply stood there, still. Still, except for his eyes and ears. They moved and twitched as he searched for signs of the Elves’ passage, tracking their retreat from the Hammersmith homestead. El knew that he wasn’t just watching and listening for them. She knew that he scented them and tracked their magic. She could see it in the glimpses she received from their link. He wouldn’t allow himself to be caught off guard should Ar’n’tor decide to double back and attack them again. El prayed that Ar’n’tor had the wisdom to simply return to the Elfin village.

  Logan wasn’t completely better yet, but El knew he was getting there. Or at least she hoped he was. Tanel seemed to have no doubt about her brother’s ability to heal himself. El could only hope that she was right.

  She allowed her gaze to drift over to the young healer. She smiled slightly as she watched Tanel checking Smash’s wounds for what must have been the hundredth time. Smash grumbled his complaints at being fussed over again, but El knew it was more for show. The mountain troll enjoyed Tanel’s attentions and he let her have her way. El allowed herself a sigh of weariness as she watched the two of them. They all knew Smash should be in bed recovering from his wounds, not sitting in the kitchen with his massive war club propped against the table’s edge, but he refused to leave Logan. El sighed again.

  Speaking of people who should be in bed recovering, she thought with a small snort. That’s not going to happen, not with Ar’n’tor and his warriors so close.

  Shifting in her chair, she leaned back and tried to get comfortable, her own senses following the progress of the retreating Elves. It was going to be a very long night.

  Checking On The Riff-Raff

  The night that felt like it was never going to end finally did.

  As the sun broke across the horizon it was greeted by the loud, rumbling snores of Smash. The big man had long since lost his battle with fatigue and had passed out in his chair in the kitchen, his head cradled in his arms on the table, his heavy war club still propped against the table’s edge.

  Tanel, who had been the first to retire the night before, was up with the dawn as usual. She’d already begun preparing breakfast. After the previous day’s adventure she was ravenous and she figured she wouldn’t be the only one. She bustled her way around the kitchen trying not to disturb Smash.

  Though given how heavy he sleeps it would require a substantial earthquake to wake him, she thought with a smile

  Off in her own room, El’dreathia lay in bed and slowly stretched. She had also woken with the sun, but she was reluctant to climb out from under the covers. It was warm and cozy and she didn’t really want to face the day yet. Last night, when she had finally accepted that Logan was going to be up through the night, she’d decided to give in to the fact that she needed sleep desperately. Her fight with Ar’n’tor had left her badly drained of energy and she needed a chance to regenerate her powers, and that meant sleep and meditation.

  Hearing Tanel bustling around the kitchen, El decided she could put it off no longer. It was time to get up. Pulling herself out from under the blankets, she washed her face in the basin on the side table, letting the cold water chase the last of the sleep from her. Dressing and running a brush through her long, golden hair, she took the time to braid it before finally joining her friends in the kitchen.

  She arrived just in time to see Logan’s back as he headed out the door, his axe glinting in the new morning light. She allowed her mind to quest out towards him.

  Good morning, she thought.

  Good morning to you, sleepy head, came Logan’s cheerful response. El allowed herself a moment of joy at the cheerfulness of his response. His mind felt right to her this morning, and once again she marvelled at his ability to heal.

  “Sleepy head!” She exclaimed out loud in protest. “The sun just came up.”

  Tanel smothered a laugh at El’s outburst as she continued to fuss breakfast.

  “Just ignore him, El. He’s been awake all night, so it’s not like he actually had to get up.” Tanel nodded to the still snoring troll, who had barely shifted in response to El’s exclamation, as she continued. “Not like sleeping beauty over there. He’s being doing his best to keep the entire forest awake.”

  El sat at the table feeling much better about the world in general. Sure they had just fought off a party of her kin, likely alienating her entire village in the process, but a new day had dawned, her new family was still together and Logan seemed to be back to his old self. With all that in mind, she didn’t think she had too much to complain about.

  After the events of the previous day, Logan wasn’t content to just leave things alone. He wanted to ensure that the Elves were really gone from the area. He had tracked them to the edge of his hearing and he knew that El had tracked the mages even further, but he also knew that the mages could hide their magical auras if they really wanted to and that the Elves were the ultimate woodsmen and could likely double back without his knowing it. With that in mind, he disappeared into the forest with the morning light intent on ensuring that the Elves were really gone.

  After an hour or so in the woods north of the house, Logan was comfortable that the Elves had actually left the area. He hadn’t seen any actual tracks or other marks of their passage, the Elves were too good for that, but his sensitive hearing hadn’t picked up any out of place sounds and the overall vibe of the forest felt right. The animals were not tense or on guard and even the trees seemed calm and reassuring. Logan found that hard to explain, he couldn’t say why the trees felt calm or reassuring. He just felt right about things.

  You’re becoming more sensitive to the world around you. El’s voice was soft in his mind. I don’t know whether it’s from our link, though honestly I’ve never heard of that happening, or from your own natural abilities, but your affinity with the natural world is definitely improving.

  Well, if what Hephaestus’ says is true, then I’m made up of all the different races, Elves included, he replied. So it would be plausible that I could get this ‘affinity’ naturally through that or one of the other races that went into making me. I mean we have no idea about some of those races. Anyway, if everything is all rig
ht back there I thought I might explore the perimeter around the house before heading back. We don’t want any more surprises and it’s been awhile since anyone has lived there, who knows what might have settled in the area.

  You’re just a little boy when it comes right down to it, aren’t you? El teased.

  Yep.

  Have fun. Oh, and be careful coming back, we’re setting up some wards, warnings and traps to give us better notice next time someone comes visiting. The wards won’t bother you, but Smash’s traps and such might catch you if you’re not on your toes.

  Logan snorted. Just tell him nothing lethal, kids from Solan Bay have been known to explore that forest. They likely won’t come as far as the homestead, but you never know.

  Good point. I’ll let him know.

  Later, Logan thought back to her before moving silently into the underbrush, enjoying the scents and sounds of the forest as he began his exploration.

  New Neighbours

  The afternoon was wearing on and Logan figured he had a few hours before dusk. He had explored a wide arc around the homestead. He had to admit that it felt nice to get back into the forest. In the past few months he’d been so nervous that history would repeat itself that he’d avoided being more than a few minutes away from the house at any time. It was ironic that the time he finally opted to go a significant distance away, they got attacked. Coincidence or just bad luck, either way, they had survived. His worst fears had not been realized. His family had held their own against their attackers and was even now making themselves even more prepared for any future incidents.

  With El placing her wards – magical alarms - and Smash setting his traps, Logan was confident that they would have plenty of warning the next time visitors decided to drop by unannounced. Logan, despite his rapidly healing injuries, felt oddly relaxed and invigorated.