The Last of the Sea Elves

by R. A. Cheatham

  A million questions flashed through her mind as she heard his words, and they all silenced for a moment when he touched her hand. A rush of gratitude, and even affection, overwhelmed her as his hand lightly squeezed hers. She met his eyes, and this time she caught a glimpse of the loneliness and solitude she had often seen in the mirror. But only for a moment, then the sadness turned to determination, and Kamo recognized a look she had worn so often: vengeance.

  He let go of her hand and spoke with a stern and quiet voice. “I think I’ve found the Fire elves.”

  Chapter Three

  Kamo caught her breath. She shook her head in disbelief. “What? What do you mean?”

  Rolin never dropped her gaze. “The Fire elf nation. I know where it is. I know how to find it, and I know when to find it.”

  “When?” Gobi asked. “I didn’t know there had to be a when.”

  Kamo tore her eyes away from Rolin’s to glance at Gobi. Neither of them had imagined this as a possibility. In her wildest dreams, she saw Rolin arriving with a snippet of news, a Fire elf spotted at a nearby port, the location of a city charred and burnt in their wake, but this? Kamo sank her elbows onto the table and dropped her head in her hands. Gobi shrank in his chair, his eyes wide in fear.

  “Their entrance. It must only be accessible at certain times.” Kamo rubbed her palm against her forehead. “I should have known,” she added under her breath. The Sea elves had used plenty of keys and precautions when the Fires had started to attack, including nature’s enchantments to hide their gates for long periods of time.

  “Exactly,” Rolin said. He also looked at Gobi. “Don’t worry, friend, we’ve got a few weeks before the Fire elf nation is even available for entry.” He nudged Gobi’s arm. “Why is it that a fine sailor such as yourself is so afraid of a people you’ve never met, anyway?”

  It had never occurred to Kamo to ask. Why was Gobi so afraid? Her fear was natural as she’d seen first hand the terror that Fire elves brought. Gobi was human. The Fire elves had lain waste to some of the humans’ lands in petty squabbles and minor territory disputes, but it was nothing compared to the destruction of people.

  Gobi shrugged and mumbled. “I don’t like fire.”

  As the sun started to set, a barmaid came to light the lantern on the sconce above their table. Gobi kept his eyes on the flame at the end of her taper. Kamo couldn’t help but smile a little. Gobi had regaled her with sailor tales worthy of a Sea elf, and to see him shrink at a tiny flame was reminiscent of a lion cowering to a mouse.

  “Not all flames are bad,” Rolin said before Kamo had a chance to respond. He smiled as well, and his eyes were playful and amused. “Flame is light and warmth.”

  Gobi relaxed his shoulders as the maid scurried to another sconce. “I know,” he sighed. “I just… I had a bad experience, that’s all.”

  Kamo caught Rolin’s eye. He must have been thinking of the lion and mouse as well, and they grinned at each other.

  “Look, I’ll be fine. Just, let’s try to keep some water on hand at all times, all right? Knock it off!” He nudged them both as they started to chuckle.

  Kamo began to apologize. “I’m sorry, Gobi. Trust me, I have my own fears with fire, but I agree with Rolin. It’s not all bad, and it’s not all uncontrollable. You could snuff out a candle with two fingers.”

  Gobi finally smiled. “Yeah, I know,” he said, a little more encouraged. “So, why a few weeks?”

  “There were rumors of the nation’s entrance to the far North of Brimhaul, through the Pennifold Mountains,” Rolin said. “I was up in the region and wanted to see for myself. I trekked up to the peak of the mountain and camped for a few days. I began to think that perhaps the rumor wasn’t true, that I was wasting my time. But on the third or fourth day, I saw them. A set of pristine iron gates appeared between the two tallest trees, and a couple of Fire elves walked into view. They looked like sentinels.”

  “What makes you think the gates will appear again in a few weeks?” Gobi asked.

  Until now, Rolin had seemed confident and sure. When he heard Gobi’s question, though, he glanced at him and shrugged. He put his head down and rubbed the back of his neck with calloused fingers. “I just know it will.” He looked up at Gobi and nodded with a knowing plea in his eyes. Gobi stared back at him and nodded.

  Unable to make sense of the exchange, Kamo pressed Rolin for an explanation. “How do you know?” she asked. “What if we join you and it’s not there?” Gobi had never intentionally led her astray, but she was not about to venture into the Pennifold Mountains on the word of a man she met only minutes ago.

  Gobi and Rolin started to speak simultaneously, and Rolin put a strong hand on Gobi’s shoulder.

  “If the entrance does not appear within a week of our arrival, I will give you my sword, and you can run me through on the spot,” he said solemnly. Then, with a little more humor in his voice, “Or you can push me off the highest ledge you can find. I don’t have a death preference.” He gave a soft, crooked smile and stared at her.

  His handsome face disarmed her doubts, calmed them, even. But Kamo didn’t want to be calm; she turned to plead with Gobi.

  “Gobi, how do you know?” She needed him to understand her hesitation. She needed him to give her a guarantee, a promise that this was not too good to be true.

  “Kamo, do you trust me?” he whispered.

  She searched his face. Gobi had been her first friend in the human world. He had shown compassion and understanding. He had taken on her burden and joined her cause, and she had only known him a short time. The loyalty between them had developed quickly and easily. She found herself pausing before she answered.

  “Yes, I do.” It came as a surprise to her, but she felt warmth and relief as the words spilled out. She smiled, and he took her hand.

  “The gates will be there,” he said. “I promise.”

  Kamo turned back to Rolin. He lounged in his seat, his body quite relaxed, but the look of determination and vengeance had returned to his brown eyes.

  Satisfied that their journey would not be in vain, Kamo relaxed now too.

  “Just one more question, I guess,” she said to Rolin.

  He shrugged. “Anything.”

  “Why were you searching for the Fire elves? Gobi told you my reasons; I’d like to know yours.”

  She looked at him, and a shiver ran down her spine. His bronze eyes blazed with fire and anger.

  “I’m looking for them for the same reason you are. Revenge.”

  Chapter Four

  Kamo wrestled her fears and musings as she tried to fall asleep. Why would Rolin need revenge? She had wanted to ask him, but the look on his face told her to leave it alone. They had gone on to discuss the challenges of the mountains.

  “It’ll be difficult, but I think we can manage,” Rolin had said.

  He made the journey up the mountains only once before, but as neither Gobi nor Kamo had ventured that way, they listened intently to his cautions and plans.

  “At the base of the mountain, there’s an Earth elf village, Blosso. The elves there are friendly and can give us the best supplies for the journey,” he said. Kamo had heard of the Earths’ refuge, but she had never visited and was surprised to learn they had a settlement so near to the rumored Fire elf nation.

  Gobi interjected, “I’ve heard of Blosso. Is it true they have the best elven wine?”

  Rolin grinned, “Oh, it’s true. The stuff is heaven in a bottle.”

  Kamo’s mouth watered. How long had it been since she had authentic elven wine?

  “But that’s beside the point,” Rolin said, waving his hand to brush off the topic. “The mountains have three main challenges: first, the elf gangs. The village is friendly enough, but some Earth elves don’t appreciate sharing with their human neighbors. They have fled to the mountains and claimed them as their own elven territory. And they don’t look too kindly on trespassers,” he said, holding up his forearm to reveal a long, jagged scar,
“let’s just leave it at that.”

  Gobi didn’t seem to mind seeing the wound; in fact, he grinned. “I’d love to see the other guy.”

  “That’s a story for a different time,” Rolin replied, smirking as well. “The next challenge is a little more difficult to avoid. I never encountered them, but it’s easier to travel unnoticed when you are just one person.”

  Gobi nodded in understanding, and Kamo tilted her head in anticipation, willing him to go on. He paused for a moment longer, and Kamo began to wonder if Rolin enjoyed the suspense.

  “It’s the Rock giants,” he said. “They are big and dumb and, thankfully, very hard of hearing. If we can travel lightly and quietly, perhaps luck will be in our favor as it was in mine.”

  “Easy enough,” Kamo told him. As sailors, she and Gobi would both be nimble and light on their feet.

  Rolin smiled at her. “I hoped you’d say that.” He continued, “The last thing we have to worry about is a bit harder to explain. I think I’ll leave it to Pacha. She’s the expert. She’s the leader of the Earth elves in Blosso, though I’m not exactly sure where in the city she will be.”

  They had had more questions, and Rolin patiently answered them as they asked about supplies, weapons, gear, even weather conditions. Kamo wrapped herself tighter in her cot as she thought about what Rolin had answered about the weather.

  “It’s colder up there. It’s pretty early in the season, but we may still see some snow and ice,” Rolin said. Kamo grew up near the ocean. She knew palm trees and sandy beaches. Cold weather was as foreign as the human continent. When she had arrived on Brimhaul last year, winter was settling in. She had grown accustomed to colder breezes and dead trees but had still never seen snow. Snow, she learned, fell in the mountains and the western states. She snuggled tighter in her cot as she shivered, thinking about cold, white flakes landing on her skin. Gobi and Rolin had both reassured her that snow wasn’t a big concern, and they would find her a jacket, a scarf, and a hat before leaving the Earth village. She finally fell asleep, dreaming of sunshine and thick, fur-lined coats.

  ◆◆◆

  Kamo, Rolin, and Gobi left early in the morning. Before joining the men, Kamo took the little path from the inn that led to the beach's pier. She stared at the horizon, the ocean tinged with orange and yellow as the sun peeked into the sky. She knew this would be her last view of the sea for several months. She folded her arms as a casual breeze floated the scent of brine and sand all around her.

  “Goodbye, old friend,” she whispered. “I’ll come home soon.”

  With one last look at the tumbling waves, Kamo turned and walked back up the path to join her party.

  Gobi cleared his throat as they started the journey and broke the silence. He turned and looked at Kamo as they walked side by side. “I’ll miss her too, you know,” he said, and he turned for one more fleeting glance of his ocean mistress.

  Kamo half smiled and linked her arm through his. “I know. It’s hard to give up the sea, especially when you know you’re heading for the snow.” As much as she tried to steel her nerves against a white powder falling from the sky, she couldn’t help but feel unsettled as she pondered the prospect of snow.

  In a startling motion, Rolin came from behind and broke through the link in their arms. Gobi laughed, and Kamo rolled her eyes.

  “Relax,” he told her, walking backward in front of her along the path. “I promised we would get you the best weather gear available, and we will. You’ll be bundled tighter than the bun on your head.”.

  Kamo instinctively fingered the tight bun high on her head and turned up her nose as Rolin turned to walk face forward. Gobi fell into step again beside Kamo.

  In a playful, quiet voice, Gobi said, speaking in the Sea elves’ language, “Don’t worry about it. He just likes to see you with your hair down.”

  Kamo blushed. Rolin turned around again as he walked. His face looked pleasantly confused.

  “You don’t speak Oshia too, do you, Rolin?” Kamo asked.

  He tilted his head. “I didn’t learn it, though some phrases are familiar to me. It’s no wonder that you two became such fast friends. It must be wonderful to converse in a language you love.”

  “It’s very,” she paused to think of an appropriate word, “comforting,” she said, then added, “Gobi says you’re from Laukia? Do you run into a lot of people who speak Laukian?”

  “Mm-hm. But I haven’t been back home for a few years. I left when I turned eighteen, and I met Gobi on the journey here to Brimhaul seven years ago. I can’t say he’s changed much, but he has gotten a little taller,” he said, grinning at Gobi.

  Kamo shook her head and hurried to catch up to Rolin. “Is it true? About Laukia? Are there those who speak every language?” Laukians were human, like the people of Brimhaul, but the few Laukians she had met in her youth were extraordinary when it came to languages and interpretations. They only had to hear or read a few words of each language before adding it to their list of fluencies. She imagined that a few of these Laukians had taught Oshia to the humans of Brimhaul. Perhaps Gobi was not the only human who would be able to speak with her in her native tongue. “Is it true they could speak Oshia?”

  “It was true once, I suppose,” Rolin replied. Sadness filled his voice. “Laukians were overwhelmed with a population of Talkers at one point in time. But not every Talker couple produced Talker offspring. Add that to the use of Talkers in the war, and I suppose they have just faded out of existence.”

  Kamo nodded. It had never occurred to her that a Talker would be sought for war time, but it made sense.

  “You’re not a Talker, then?” she asked with some interest. “You don’t just have every language sitting on the tip of your tongue?”

  Rolin smiled and chuckled. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t come from a family of Talkers.”

  Kamo shrugged her shoulders. “That’s all right,” she said. “You climbed the Pennifold Mountains by yourself and lived to tell the tale. I would imagine your talents are more suited to tracking and hunting. Well, and stealth.”

  She looked at him, not bothering to hide the admiration she felt. Even Sheelo had mentioned the valor and strength it took to venture to that part of the world. He grinned, and Kamo caught herself staring at his smile. It was authentic, confident, but not arrogant. She’d met adventurous men before. Most bragged and boasted of their travels, but Rolin was more humble, somehow. He reached his hand up to his head and rubbed his neck, as Kamo had seen him do the night before.

  “What can I say?” he said. “I love the adventure.”

  Gobi, who had been walking behind them, pushed Rolin aside and fell into step once again beside Kamo.

  “I think you mean that the adventure loves you,” Gobi said. “You should hear his tales someday, Kamo. They really are extraordinary. It’s a miracle he’s alive if you ask me.”

  “I believe you,” Kamo replied. “Tell me, Rolin, what’s been your greatest adventure thus far?”

  “I’m afraid I will have to tell that tale another time, love.” He winked. Kamo’s cheeks and ears heated as he smiled at her. Then he added, “I can’t do it justice without a comfortable chair beneath me and a hot drink in one hand.”

  “Well, love,” she said as she poked him on the shoulder, “I’ll try to arrange for that when we reach Blosso. Or sooner, I suppose, if someone can manage to make a decent fire tonight.”

  “Headed for Blosso, are you?” a deep voice asked from behind her.

  Kamo turned to see three tall, burly men. The tallest had a glass eye and carried a sword and dagger. The widest, ruddiest man carried just a sword, and the shortest, a pair of daggers. Instinctively, she rested her hand on the dagger at her waist.

  “Indeed,” Rolin answered, “are you headed there as well?” His voice was calm, but he took a step in front of Kamo.

  “ ‘Fraid not. We’re headed to Laukia just as soon as we get ourselves a few more souvenirs to trade.” The tallest
man’s real eye flicked to Kamo’s bun. “What do you say you make this a bit easier and chop it off for us before this gets messy, eh?”

  He took a step forward and offered Kamo the hilt of his dagger. She unsheathed her own, but Rolin drew faster. He took a step forward and jabbed his sword at the tallest man’s gut. Gobi pulled both daggers from his belt and pointed them at the other men.

  “I’d say things are about to get very messy for you if you don’t turn around and head on your way,” Rolin said.

  The tallest man smiled and flicked Rolin’s sword away, but Rolin replaced it, this time digging further into his stomach.

  “I doubt that.” He spit on the trail, and smiled, revealing grimy, blackened teeth. “But in any case, I never leave without a prize I’ve got my eye on.” He leered at Kamo.

  As he reached for the hilt of his sword, Rolin slashed his stomach in one easy motion. The man doubled over as blood spilled from his lips. The wide, ruddy man drew his sword and swiped at Rolin with an angry cry, but Rolin side-stepped and began dodging his attacks. The swords clanged, and Kamo stepped back further from the fight. Rolin seemed almost bored with the combat, but the ruddy man was losing stamina quickly. Gobi and the shortest man circled the dueling swordsmen with daggers at eye level.

  “Concede defeat now, and I’ll spare you and your uninjured companion,” Rolin said. “I don’t know that I’ll be so merciful the longer this goes on.”

  The man grunted loudly and thrust his sword at Rolin’s left shoulder in a graceless jab. Rolin dodged and the man fell to the ground from the fury of his momentum. Rolin stood over him, sword inches from his chest.

  Daggers flew through the air, and Kamo turned to look at Gobi. With empty hands, he pointed to the assailant.

  “I’ve got pretty good aim.”

  Kamo looked at the only man left standing, and his daggers lay on the ground at his feet, his hands striped with blood.

  Rolin looked up for a moment and nodded at Gobi before returning his gaze to the fallen swordsman.