Suddenly it occurred to her that she was not the only one who would soon die. Her hand moved protectively to her flat stomach. Her unborn baby would die with her, too. The sadness about what had not yet happened, and yet was seemingly unavoidable, was breaking her heart.
*
Aerios started swaying and Volcan looked with concern at his friend. For two days they had been occupied with the difficult healing, and they were both running out of energy. Cherry kept them supplied with drinks and for most of the time she was also at Merlon’s side.
“Sit down for a while. We’ve got through the worst,” said Volcan.
Merlon had actually regained consciousness on the previous day, and since then he had been awake and responsive for longer and longer amounts of time. However, he was very weak and the danger of another collapse could not be ruled out. His elf body was at least healing more quickly than his human body. If he had been a normal human being, he would have long since died of such serious injuries, when Aerios first went to him. Only his elf strength had kept the human shell alive.
“I can hold out,” said Aerios, and with relief he took the energy drink that Cherry passed to him.
“Thanks, babe!”
“Will he pull through?” asked Cherry.
“Yes, he’s almost made it now. When he comes around next time, then he’s survived it. He’ll manage the rest himself then,” explained Volcan. “Can I have one of those, too?”
“Oh, yes, of course. Sorry. Here you are!” said Cherry, and passed him an energy drink.
Volcan emptied the can in one gulp and threw it, without looking, into the bin behind him.
“You sort should go into the circus,” said Cherry, smiling.
“Thank you,” said Volcan, and smiled at Cherry. “I mean, about Merlon. That was really brave of you to help him and call Aerios. I know about the difficulties you’re having and you’ve risked a lot. You could still have a lot of trouble when your boyfriend comes back.”
“I won’t be here when he comes back,” said Cherry. “I’ve decided to leave him. I’m only here now because of him,” she said, looking at Merlon. “As soon as he’s better I’ll be out of here.”
“He could help you. He likes you!” said Volcan.
“I know,” answered Cherry quietly, and looked away. “I like him, too. But I’m not ready for a new relationship yet. I’ve gone through too much. I don’t know whether I’ll ever be able to trust anyone again.”
“He’s different. I don’t need to tell you anything else. You know now that he’s not a normal man. Elves bond for life. If he’s decided on you, then it’s for life. For as long as you both live.”
“I… I need to go to the bathroom,” Cherry moved off the subject and disappeared from the room.
Volcan sighed after Cherry had closed the door behind her.
“Merlon will have to make a real effort when he’s strong again. I fear that this woman won’t be easy to conquer,” said Aerios.
“He should just throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to Amarantus. Done!” said Volcan.
Aerios laughed quietly.
“And that’s coming from you! The woman-expert!”
“Funny! What are you trying to say, huh?”
“Why didn’t you throw Coreena over your shoulder and carry her off to Ignigena?”
“We’ll talk again! In a year. We’ll see what sort of headaches your chosen one gives you. Mr Know-It-All!”
“Wait and learn,” said Aerios, grinning.
“I can hardly wait.”
“Come on, let’s finish this off now,” said Aerios.
“Absolutely!” agreed Volcan, and they concentrated again on their patient. Their energy now flowed undiminished into Merlon’s body and the pale light that the elf was emitting became bright and warm. Both guardians had closed their eyes and sweat covered their foreheads.
Cherry came into the room, but neither Volcan nor Aerios were aware of her. She sat down at Merlon’s side and waited, just as she had waited at his side for numerous hours already. There was nothing that she could do. She could not even hold his hand because it would interfere with the energy flow, as Volcan had explained to her.
After what seemed like an eternity Merlon opened his eyes. The guardians stopped the energy injection and Volcan put his hand on the elf’s shoulder.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I’ve been better, but I’m not complaining. I’m guessing that was a close one, hmm?”
Aerios uttered a disapproving sound.
“Close? What the hell have you been up to? Who did that to you?”
“Ice elves,” answered Merlon.
“Ice elves?” Aerios looked in shock at Volcan.
“Damn it!” exclaimed Volcan. “I’ve got to get straight to Coreena. If it’s not already too late!”
“Go!” said Aerios. “I’ll stay with Merlon, and when I can I’ll follow you.”
Volcan immaterialised.
“What’s wrong?” asked Merlon.
“Don’t you get it? The attack on you was not against you personally. It was done purely as a distraction manoeuvre. Who has connections with the ice elves?”
“Exesor,” groaned Merlon in horror. “You mean the bastard had me beaten up so that Volcan was occupied, and Exesor could easily get to Volcan’s chosen one?”
“It certainly looks like that,” groaned Aerios. “We’ll soon find out.”
“Shit!”
“You can say that again!”
“I don’t understand any of this,” interjected Cherry.
Only now did Merlon spot Cherry, and his expression became warm.
“You’re here,” he whispered hoarsely.
Cherry took his hand.
“Of course I am. You needed me.”
Merlon put his hand to his head in surprise, and felt his ears. He looked back at Cherry.
“So you know now. I’m not a…”
“Not a human. Yes, I know!”
“I’ll leave you two alone for a minute. I’ll get myself a beer first.” With these words Aerios left the two alone.
*
Volcan materialised straight away in Coreena’s bedroom and he immediately spotted the chain with the flame pendant hanging from the lamp. His connection with Coreena. Useless.
“Damn it!” he cursed, and a wild roar came forth from within him. The adrenalin shooting through his veins made him transform without him intending to. With clenched fists and glowing eyes he stood before the empty bed and uttered a blood curdling scream.
Aerios appeared next to him and put a hand on his arm. Shortly after, Humos appeared and stood on the other side of Volcan, putting his hand on Volcan’s other arm.
“Vincere aut mori! (victory or death!)“ they shouted, and they teleported themselves to the royal court of Ignigena, where they would organise an army.
Chapter 15
Coreena was sitting on her mattress, waiting. She had been in her prison for three days and although it was not exactly very comfortable, she was being surprisingly well looked after. She was given two meals a day, and the mead-like drink tasted very good and was refreshingly cool.
The time for her next meal had arrived and she could already hear footsteps approaching her cell. A key was put into the lock and turned, then the door swung open.
The old woman, who had served her every meal up to now, looked elf-like, but was different from the elves that she had seen in Amarantus. Instead of the light bluish skin colour, the old woman’s skin had more of a greenish tone, and her hands and naked feet were clawed.
Without a word, the old woman put the tray on the floor and left the cell, likewise, without a word. Up to now she had not uttered a syllable to Coreena.
When the old woman had left, Coreena took the tray and put it on the chair that served as her table. There was bread, a sort of stew and fruit which, to Coreena, looked a bit like an apple, even though the peel was blue and furry. She had been given the same
fruit on the first day and knew that the flesh of this fruit was sweet and tasty and a little like a pear. For such a terrible place the food was amazingly good. Coreena took her time over her meals. After all, she had nothing else to do. Just as she had taken the last bite she heard footsteps in the corridor. She put the tray on the floor and sat up straight.
The door opened. It was not the old woman coming to fetch her empty tray, but someone else, that she had not expected to see. She suppressed a cry of surprise. Her heart pounded wildly.
“You’ve come,” she whispered in disbelief. Joy filled her heart. “You’ve done it!”
“Shhh!” he said, and closed the door behind him.
Coreena jumped up from the mattress. He closed the distance between them and she threw herself into his arms. Tears ran hotly over her cheeks. Their mouths kissed. She sensed his hunger and his hands appeared to be everywhere. She could feel his erection pressing against her belly.
Coreena interrupted his kiss and shook her head in bewilderment. Something was not right. She had been full of joy at seeing him again, but now that he was kissing her and holding her in his arms, she felt nothing. She looked carefully at him, looking into his eyes. She pulled herself forcefully out of his arms.
“You’re not Volcan!” she uttered in shock.
A malicious grin covered the face that looked so deceptively like her lover’s. But two things were completely wrong. Firstly, Volcan would come to her in the form of the warrior, or at least in his true form, and not as a human. Secondly, his eyes were different. These were the same colour, and no one else would notice the difference. But she had looked into Volcan’s eyes often enough and every time she had seen either warmth, passion or anger in them. But never this emptiness that prevailed in the eyes of the creature before her.
“You’re right. I’m not Volcan. But I can be him for you if you wish. I’ve decided not to kill you once you’re no longer a chosen one. I’ll make you my wife. As you’re probably not attracted to my true form, I can take on any form that pleases you.”
“You’re mad! I’d rather die than be your wife! No matter how you disguise yourself. I would always hate your touch. It’s better for you to kill me, if you get the chance, because I believe that he’ll come and that he’ll find a way to rescue me!”
“We’ll see!” hissed Exesor. “You’ll have no choice. You can have me like this… or like this!” Exesor changed back into his true form and Coreena stepped back in disgust. When he tried to grab her, she screamed and Exesor grinned maliciously.
“When the time comes, you’re mine!”
With these words he left her alone and Coreena threw herself onto her bed to cry out the pain in her soul.
*
“We will find her,” Aerios tried to calmly convince Volcan who was pacing up and down his chamber.
Volcan uttered a wild snarl and turned on his heel, looking at his friend out of angry eyes.
“It’ll take days to fight our way through to Exesor’s castle. She’s already been in his power for at least five days. And we have to wait almost another week before the time seal of Abyssus can be re-opened. The bastard planned this very carefully. He knows that we may not make it in time to free her and as soon as the time for the ceremony has passed Coreena will no longer be under the protection of the chosen one’s bond. Then he can kill her!”
“It won’t come to that,” said Humos. “We’ll be quick enough. You’ll see. We have a strong army. We’ll succeed. Trust your friends. We’re at your side.”
I do trust you, but that has nothing to do with the fact that we’ll have hardly any time left.”
“This waiting around is really depressing,” said Beta, Volcan’s younger brother.
“How about a bit of training?” suggested Aerios.
“And who’s going to be crazy enough to be Volcan’s sparring partner? The desire to kill is written all across his face,” joked Humos.
“A stupid comment is more dangerous, believe me,” snarled Volcan.
Humos raised his hands in defence.
“Spare me, otherwise my chosen one won’t have the chance to give me the run-around.”
“You’re right. I don’t want to miss that for anything,” grumbled Volcan, but the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.
“I’ll fight with Volcan,” declared Rrandon the Kanninerr.
Volcan looked at the heir to the throne of Kanninerra. He was big and muscular. Not a gram of fat on his battle-tried body. He wore his white blond hair spiky short. The most striking thing about him, however, were his steely blue eyes, which seemed to view the world with no emotion whatsoever. That was why Volcan doubted whether he could make Merlon’s sister happy. But that was not his business and he heartily welcomed the cool, blond man as a sparring partner.
“I accept,” said Volcan, and the warriors left the chamber to go to the armory to equip themselves with weapons.
Volcan was glad that he had a strong partner. It was not wholly improbable that he might fight without sufficient control because of his anger, and that could put a weaker component in serious difficulty. Rrandon fought with a cool head and a good deal of arrogance. He did not allow anything or anyone to unsettle him. When Volcan cut him on the upper arm, the blond Kanninerr did not even whimper.
“Stop!” a masterful voice suddenly rang out.
Aerios and Humos stopped fighting. Beta and his sparring partner, the elf Vigor, did the same. But Volcan and Rrandon were too engrossed in their battle to be aware of anything but their opponent.
King Volcan, Volcan’s father, stepped onto the fighting arena. Aerios, Humos, Beta and Vigor stepped respectfully aside for the angry man.
Volcan finally registered his approaching father out of the corner of his eye and was distracted for a moment. Rrandon’s sword cut his face. The Kanninerr had noticed Volcan’s distraction and had curbed the strike with almost impossible strength, so that the blade only cut Volcan’s cheek, and did not split his head open. Volcan cast a look of gratitude at the blond giant.
“What’s going on here?” roared King Volcan.
“We’re just training a little,” explained Volcan, out of breath.
“Training? You call that training when you’re slicingone another’s flesh? We have other swords for training and you know that. How are you expecting to free your chosen one if you’ve already destroyed one another? Your mother is beside herself. She saw you from her chamber and had me called to put an end to this nonsense.”
“I beg for forgiveness, father. It was my fault,” said Volcan, his head bowed in respect.
“No! It was my idea,” interjected Aerios.
“You’ll all report to the physician now, to be tended to. After that I want to see you all in the great hall!”
The warriors nodded and left the training arena behind the king.
As the warriors were not to use up their powers before the battle, the physician was responsible for healing their wounds. Moreover, Volcan and Aerios had lost a lot of power through healing their friend and it had taken days to replenish it. That was why they had not been able to use the initial brief window to enter the world of the dark creatures. It would have been pure suicide to set off on such a dangerous mission in such a weak state. There was too much at stake.
“You silly lads,” murmured the old physician. “What stupid behaviour!”
There were not many people who could call a member of the royal family stupid or silly. However, the old physician was in a high position of favour, both because of his skills and because of his great age. He had already scolded Volcan and Beta when they were young boys who injured themselves again and again because of being over-zealous. Guardians only achieved their full self-healing powers once they had reached manhood.
To have incurred the displeasure of the old man was awful for the warriors. However, what lay before them was far more unpleasant. Mighty warriors though they were, they all felt a certain discomfort as they entered the great hall.
Volcan first laid eyes on his mother who was sitting next to his father, and her expression was full of concern. Her look met his and he convulsed inside. It had never been his intention to worry his mother. He looked away, feeling awkward, and suddenly found himself caught in his father’s stern look. He involuntarily tensed his shoulders and kept on looking. When all wrong-doers were standing in a line in the middle of the hall Volcan’s father began to speak.
“A huge battle awaits you,” he began with a loud, firm voice. “The evil powers have succeeded in abducting Prince Volcan’s woman. Our whole race depends upon the ceremony taking place successfully. Could one of the great warriors explain to me how you propose to solve this dilemma when you’re overexerting yourselves in such a stupidcompetition before the battle, and creating so much work for my physician that he’s now having to spend the next week in bed replenishing his powers? Hey? If indeed he everregains them. He’s no longer the youngest.”
“I’m sorry, father. I know it was stupid. We didn’t think it through properly. I… we were all restless because of the waiting. I mean, Coreena is in the hands of this beast and we can only sit around here and twiddle our thumbs,” answered Volcan.
“I understand that, son,” interjected Volcan’s mother. “I know how you must feel. But precisely because of Coreena you must keep a cool head if you’re going to rescue her. And for the sake of all of us, because you know what will happen if the ceremony cannot happen.”
“Your mother is right. I could not have expressed it better myself,” King Volcan agreed.
“We won’t fail,” declared Volcan.
His father nodded and they were dismissed. Now they had to wait until the time was right.
*
Coreena was dreaming about Volcan. They were lying naked on the meadow by the waterfall. The sun was warming their skin and the scent of the flowers hung in the air. Volcan was kissing her and she put his arms around his neck. She wanted to feel him, wanted him to fill her completely. Longingly she pushed herself against him.
Volcan's Fire (Guardians of The Elements #1) Page 12