Lost mark 3 The Queen of Death:

by Matt Forbeck

  Within a handful of strokes, the battered railing creaked and then snapped. The airship zoomed backward, and Sallah tumbled toward the broken railing. She might have fallen through it had Xalt not managed to grab the back of her tunic and haul her back.

  "Go back for Duro!” Sallah shouted as she scrambled to her feet and clambered on to the bridge. "We can’t just leave him there.”

  Monja screwed up her face as she brought the airship about in a tight curve and pointed the Phoenix toward the fortress. Below, Sallah could see Duro swinging his axe back and forth, cutting a swathe through the elf guards foolish enough to get close to him. As she watched, another patrol of archers streamed onto the docks and leveled their bows at the battling dwarf.

  Sallah watched in horror as the airship’s prow eclipsed the scene below. "What are you doing?” she said, grabbing Monja by her shoulder.

  "What Duro would have wanted,” she said as she pulled the Pfioem'jrhard to port. "If we go back for him now, his effort will be wasted. We have to let him go.”

  A flaming ball of pitch spun past the starboard gunwale and arced out into the distance beyond. Then something slammed into the bottom of the ship and shook her hard. Sallah fell to her knees.

  "Ballista bolt," Monja said as she leaped down from the spars on the wheel. "Here, take over—and fly for Espre’s father’s tower. You know where it is, right?”

  Sallah leaped forward and grabbed the wheel before the elemental trapped in the airship’s ring of fire could take control and destroy the ship. "I think so,” she said.

  "You’d better know so,” the halfling said as she left the bridge. "Soon we’ll have a whole fort full of soldiers out after us.”

  "Wait!” Sallah said. "Where are you going?”

  Monja pointed toward Te’oma’s collapsed form, still smoldering in the middle of the ship’s main deck. Xalt knelt over the changeling, beating out the flames on her wings with his bare hands.

  Sallah reached out with her mind and urged the elemental to swing back to the starboard. As she did, the top of Ledenstrae’s tower appeared straight in front of her, and she prodded the Phoenix forward at full speed.

  Chapter

  25

  Kandler?” Espre said. "What’s wrong?”

  When her stepfather didn’t answer, the young elf pulled her shirt’s collar back up and turned on the wizard and her father. Kandler and Burch stood behind them, but neither of them said a word as she gazed at them. They didn’t move an inch. They didn’t even blink.

  "What have you done to them?” Espre asked Majeeda.

  The deathless wizard gave Espre a smug look and fanned her fingers, which crackled with the movement. "I’ve excused them from our little talk,” she said. "This is a conversation between elves."

  Ledenstrae nodded his approval. "We need to make our decisions about this based on what is best for our race. Peoples like humans and shifters cannot have the perspective our years bring. They cannot comprehend as we do the long-term effects of the choices we must make here today.”

  Espre steeled herself as her father reached out to caress her cheek. She had longed for such affection from him for years, but now it only made her want to run screaming into the streets. She’d not known much about him, except from what her mother had told her, and she’d discounted some of Esprina’s comments as naturally biased against the husband she’d abandoned back in Aerenal.

  Espre realized now how she’d become infatuated with the idea of her father rather than the real person. It had been easy enough—perhaps too easy, as she hadn’t had any new information about him to deal with since shortly after her birth. Once her mother died, her daydreams about her father had grown stronger, helping assuage her terrible loss. With one parent gone for good, she clung to the idea that she and her father would one day be reunited.

  Kandler had been much more of a father to her than Ledenstrae, but she’d allowed her fantasies to come between them. When Esprina had been alive, Espre had known that both she and her mother would outlive Kandler by several of his lifetimes. If they’d somehow had a child, as sometimes happened between humans and elves, she’d live longer that that younger sibling too.

  It had been easier to keep Kandler at a distance, but then Esprina died, and Kandler had been all she had in the world.

  "Why don’t you send me back to my father?” she’d asked the justicar once over a meal. He’d just come back from a mission with Burch and a couple friends, scouting the land that would soon after become the town of Mardakine.

  Kandler had put down his fork and knife, then swallowed his half-chewed food. "Do you know your father?” he’d asked.

  She’d shaken her head.

  "Neither do I,” he’d said. "All I have to go on is your mother’s word, and from what she tells me he’s not a nice man.”

  "He’s not a man at all. He’s an elf.”

  "You know what I mean.”

  "Wouldn’t I be better off with him?”

  Kandler had stared at her hard. He’d come back the day before, covered in ash and singed by what he’d described as living fireball spells. His skin had looked like he’d stayed out in the sun far too long, and most of his eyebrows had fallen off after he’d bathed.

  "I swore to your mother I’d take care of you if anything ever happened to you.”

  "She made you do that?”

  "She—she didn’t make me do anything. I made that vow to her, and she accepted it.”

  "Why would you do something like that?”

  Kandler had stuffed another bite of food in his mouth, and he’d finished it before he responded.

  "I wanted to. We both lived dangerous lives. I knew something might happen to her.”

  "Did she vow to take care of me if you died?”

  Kandler had grinned at the joke. "I think she thought she already had that covered.”

  They’d returned to their meal then. After a while longer, Espre had pushed back her plate and spoke.

  "I relieve you of your vow.”

  "I didn’t make the vow to you.”

  "You made it to my mother about me. I am her heir, and all her assets pass down to me, including the obligations of others. I absolve you of your vow.”

  "Very well.”

  Espre had almost fallen out of her chair, but she’d recovered from her shock before Kandler had noticed—or so she’d hoped.

  "I can leave then?”

  Kandler had pushed back his own plate then. "You can leave any time you want. I’ll even go with you if you like, escort you back to Aerenal. I bet we could even convince Burch to come with us.”

  "But?”

  "But my vow still stands. I made it not just to your mother, but to myself. If you’ll allow me the honor, I’ll make it now to you.”

  Espre had pursed her lips at that. "Give me a moment to think about it.”

  "Take as long as you like.”

  After dinner, Kandler had taken Espre for a walk outside the camp to look up at the moons and stars. When they’d reached the top of a hillock, they’d lain down on the grass to take it all in.

  "Do you really want to go to Aerenal?” Kandler had asked after a quiet moment.

  "No. I—I just wanted to make sure you wanted me around.”

  Kandler had sat up. "Have I given you any reason to think I didn’t?”

  Guilt had welled up in her for even giving voice to these thoughts, but she had pressed on. "You married my mother, not me.”

  "You were always part of the package. I never thought otherwise.”

  "Did you always want the whole package?”

  Kandler had hesitated then, and she had waited for the lies to start. To her relief, though, he had spoken as honestly with her as ever.

  "No,” he had said. "When I found out your mother had a child, it bothered me at first. The kind of work I do, it’s not easy to have a child around, even an elf-child, but . . .” "But? ”

  "I don’t know when it happened really. I couldn't pinpoint the
exact spot, but I came to think of you as my child too.” He had torn his eyes from the sky and gazed back at Espre where she lay on the ground. She had smiled up at him.

  "I’m not going to start calling you 'Father.’ ”

  He had beamed down at her. "I can live with that.”

  "Then I accept your vow.”

  What Kandler hadn’t known then—and still didn’t know now—was that Espre had made a similar vow to herself that night. She’d sworn to take care of him too, no matter what.

  "Let them go,” Espre said.

  As she spoke, she felt the dragonmark on her back start to itch. She wondered if Ledenstrae or Majeeda would have been able to see the mark change if she hadn’t already covered it back up.

  "Once Majeeda and I are done talking,” Ledenstrae said. "This is important. In fact, you could say your life depends on it.”

  Espre felt the black energy from her dragonmark start to spread across her shoulders and feed down her arms.

  "This isn’t your decision to make,” she said. "It’s mine.” She narrowed her eyes at her father. "You’d really kill your own daughter?”

  The elf arched an eyebrow at Espre. "If she wasn’t mature enough to make such a decision herself.” He leaned forward. "If I found myself in your shoes, and the entire fate of my race depended on my death, I’d toss myself into the nearest volcano just to make sure there was no trace of me left to resurrect.”

  Majeeda eyelids rustled like dry leaves as she batted them at the girl. "Young lady, you are fortunate that we are bothering to having this conversation at all. Many of our ancestors would have simply killed you on the spot rather than risk even a hint of the Mark of Death be found in their blood.”

  "Maybe I have spent too much time among humans then,” said Espre. "I don’t feel that lucky at all.”

  The black power reached her hands then, and they began to glow. Her fingers felt like she had dipped them in ice, and they hungered for something warm in which they could bathe to relieve the sensation.

  "Let them go,” she said again.

  Majeeda gave Espre a condescending smile at the threat in her voice. "Or else what?” Then she glanced down at the young elf’s glowing hands and burst into a dry, hacking laughter.

  "My dear,” she said. "Do you think your dragonmark holds any power over me? I am long since dead. Do you mean to threaten to kill me if I do not release your two friends?” She giggled again, and it sounded like rain falling on a mound of brown leaves.

  "No,” Espre said. "Not you.”

  Her hands shot out and grabbed her father's arm. He yelped in pain and surprise and crumpled into his chair like a smacked child. Despite this, he seemed unable to pull himself free, as if all his muscles had knotted up at once, paralyzing him in his contorted state.

  "Let them go, or my father dies.”

  Chapter

  26

  As Ledenstrae s tower loomed larger, Sallah pulled back on the airship’s speed. They would be there in a matter of seconds, but then what?

  "How is Te’oma?” she shouted out over the rushing winds and the crackling of the Phoenix’s ring of elemental fire.

  "She will be fine,” Xalt called back. "I put out the fire in her wings, and Monja should have her healed up soon.”

  "Fantastic!” Sallah said. "Hold on to something tight.”

  "Why is that?” Xalt said, standing up, confused.

  Sallah tore a gauntleted hand free from the ship’s wheel and pointed at the tower toward which they were headed. She could see the balcony right there, the one from which Ledenstrae had come when she, Burch, and Kandler had visited him. The trellises and arbors that covered the area hid the occupants from view—if there were any.

  Sallah wondered if they’d gone to all this trouble for nothing. Perhaps Kandler and Espre had managed to work things out amicably with Ledenstrae. Maybe Duro had sacrificed himself for nothing. Maybe they weren’t coming to the rescue but had made a horrible mistake.

  Every instinct in her, though, told her that they had no time to lose. Then she remembered something.

  "Bring Te'oma here!” she said.

  Without even a nod, Xalt knelt next to the changeling to carry out Sallah’s order. He slipped his arms underneath her, ignoring Monja’s protests.

  "She’s not healed yet,” the halfling said. "I need more time.”

  "Sallah needs her now,” Xalt said, standing up and hefting Te’oma in his arms. The changeling clutched at him, her back arching in pain.

  "I know what she wants,” Te’oma said, her voice a weak rasp as Xalt clambered up on to the bridge with the changeling in his arms. "Tell her that we have to go in now. Otherwise, they will all die.”

  Xalt looked to the knight.

  "I heard her,” Sallah said. "Grab one of those safety straps on the console or the rail. We’re going in!”

  Majeeda stared at Espre, then threw back her wizened head, and laughed.

  "Such bravery can only be found in the young,” Majeeda said. "Why would you think I would care about your father’s fate?”

  Espre nearly let loose her grip on Ledenstrae’s arm.

  "Do you imagine your powers might work on me, little one?” Majeeda asked. "Perhaps you should give them a try. Perhaps that’s not the Mark of Death you carry after all. You might be able to harm me.”

  Majeeda leered at the girl, and Espre saw the barely repressed madness dancing in the ancient elf’s eyes.

  "On the other hand,” the deathless wizard said, "you might not.”

  Espre paid no attention to that last bit. She had another voice in her head, demanding a different answer from her altogether.

  Arejou hurt? Te’oma asked.

  "Majeeda is here,” Espre said out loud. "She’s frozen Kandler and Burch with her magic, and she plans to kill us all. Gome help now!”

  Majeeda narrowed her eyes at the girl. "To whom are you talking?” She glanced toward the only entrance into the balcony, but no one was there.

  Ledenstrae groaned in fear and pain, and Espre felt his clammy sweat growing beneath her palms. Something had to happen here soon, or she would end up killing him for sure. She feared if she let him go she would lose the last bit of leverage she had against Majeeda.

  Threatening her father’s life hadn’t seemed to shake the wizard much, but it was the only thing that Espre had. She considered telling Majeeda that she would throw herself off the balcony if she didn’t let Kandler and Burch go, but that would only give the wizard what she wanted.

  "If Ledenstrae dies,” she said to Majeeda, "your dreams of going home die along with him.”

  Majeeda stiffened at these words, and the mirth fled from her face. Espre twisted herself around behind her father, putting his tortured form between herself and the wizard. As she did, she allowed herself a vicious grin.

  "Who’s going to introduce you to the Undying Court if he’s gone?” Espre said. "Who could even bring you back to Aerenal? Without his help, you’ll have to go back to the safety of your tower in the Mournland. Isn’t that right? You’ll have to stay there, trapped again, forever.”

  "You don’t know of what you speak,” Majeeda said, her

  voice like the hiss of a cornered snake. "I am going back to Aerenal to become a member of the Undying Court. I am!” Espre smiled at the desperation she could hear in Majeeda’s voice. She knew she had pierced the deathless elf’s armor of serenity. Now she just had to drive her point home.

  She let loose of her father’s arm for a moment. He screamed out in terror and pain.

  "Espre! ” he said. "You cannot kill me. I am your father! ” "The fact I’m your daughter didn’t mean much to you,” Espre said. Her words bore more bitterness than she had realized she felt. She tightened her grip on him again.

  "No! Please!”

  Espre averted her eyes from her father and stared at Majeeda instead. "Let them go,” she said.

  "I should kill you myself,” the wizard said. "I could destroy you where you stand.”


  "You>vould have done it already,” Espre said, hoping she was right. "Quit wasting my time. Let them go, or he dies!” "All right!” Majeeda said, panic filling her voice. She closed her eyes for a moment and muttered something. As she did, Kandler and Burch staggered forward from where they were and took deep, grateful breaths.

  "Hear that?” Burch said, jerking his head in the direction of the vertical shaft that let out into the room beyond. "Guards on ropes. Be here in a second.”

  "The airship is—”

  Something large smacked into the building and cut Espre off. The balcony shook, and the sound of a raging fire filled the air. The screening structures around the outside of the balcony began to collapse, some simply falling to pieces while others went up in flames.

  Kandler reached out and grabbed Espre around the waist. "I think our ride is here,” he said as he carried her toward the low wall around the balcony and hefted her into the air.

  Espre saw the broadside of the Phoenix appear in a gap in the screens. Xalt stood there, his arms extended toward them, ready to pull them in. "Jump!” he said.

  Kandler swung Espre up and out, and she found herself sailing through the air, across the gap between the airship and the building. Xalt caught her in his strong, hard arms and fell backward to the deck, absorbing her fall.

  "Bring her back!” Ledenstrae shouted. "Without her, we’re all doomed!"

  While Espre still flew to the Phoenix, Kandler brought his sword around and slashed at the elf. Ledenstrae flinched away and cowered on the floor.

  Kandler hesitated for a moment. As much as he disliked Ledenstrae, he had no desire to execute an unarmed foe who seemed to think curling up like a baby offered some sort of defense. Then he heard an angry voice start to speak from the far corner of the room.

  Majeeda was chanting.

  A crossbow twanged to Kandler’s right, and a bolt appeared in Majeeda’s throat. The feathered end of the missile jutted out from her withered flesh, but no blood flowed from the wound. Still, she clutched at it as if in mortal pain.