“They're preparing to charge!” Aiden exclaimed.
There was a sudden sizzle of power followed by a shuddering clap of thunder. The entire group was thrown off-balance by a flash of light that appeared several feet away from where Aiden was standing. He squinted through the after-images and tried to identify the figure that had materialized out of nowhere.
“Aiden. All of you. Gather to me!”
It was Tamara. The mage was wearing a bright red robe with yellow embroidering along the hem and cuffs and she was surrounded by a glowing aura. She glanced down the slope at the menacing figures along the forest's edge and narrowed her eyes.
Everyone gaped at her in surprise and Tamara scowled back at them.
“What are you waiting for? Do you want those things to tear you apart?” she said, pointing down at the banshees.
The monsters had obviously been confused by the mage's sudden appearance, but they were recovering quickly and seemed to be ready to attack.
“Now move it!”
Aiden leaped toward her, gesturing at the others to do the same. At the same time, the banshees screamed in unison and raced forward with unnatural speed.
“Aiden, take my arm. Everyone else, touch the person beside you. We must all be connected.”
The entire group hurriedly followed her instructions. It looked like they were having a group hug.
“We are leaving,” Tamara exclaimed. “Now!”
She was holding a glowing wand and raised it as she rattled off a spell.
“Invectis!” she cried, just as the banshees crested the low hill and leaped at them.
A blast of power crisped the monsters to ash and the guardsmen gagged at the stench of burned meat as the world around them disappeared. Tamara had Gated them away.
They were finally safe.
Chapter 8
The group re-materialized in the center of the castle's courtyard. The first thing that Aiden saw was a crowd of people standing well back from where they appeared. Obviously they had been told to give Tamara a lot of room when she returned with the patrol.
Good idea, Aiden thought. I'm not sure what would happen if one person materialized inside of another. Instant and messy death, I suppose.
He checked on his guardsmen immediately. They all looked dazed and relieved in equal measure, having been snatched from the jaws of death and delivered to safety in the space of a few seconds. Several of them, including Tom, were looking around as if trying to reassure themselves that what they were seeing was actually real.
“Never been Gated before?” Aiden asked Tom with a grin.
The other man pushed back his coif and ran his fingers through his blond curls.
“Nope. Not even once. And if at all possible, I never will be again. But I do thank you, lady, for our rescue.”
He bowed to Tamara, who was watching them with a rather pleased expression on her face.
The other guardsmen added their thanks to Tom's and the mage nodded to them all.
“It was my pleasure. Aiden, I know that you are in command this patrol, but may I suggest that they be released from duty for the day. I'd say that they've earned some time off, wouldn't you?”
“Absolutely. Ladies and gentlemen,” Aiden said to the six members of the patrol. “You've handled yourselves with bravery and discipline today and I thank all of you for your service. Head home and relax. You are off duty.”
As they thanked him and began to scatter, Aiden held up a hand.
“And don't think that I've forgotten my promise. I owe all of you a drink, or two, and I'll pay you back soon.”
They cheered and laughed and Tom gave Aiden a wink.
“It might take more than two drinks for me, sir,” he said roguishly.
“I know, Tom,” Aiden laughed. “Whatever it takes, it's on me. Now get moving. Your wife looks like she wants to have a word with you.”
Tom looked around and grinned widely as a lovely young woman with short black hair waved at him from the crowd of onlookers.
“Ah, so she does.”
He hurried off and Aiden was left standing alone with Tamara.
“How are you doing?” she asked quietly. “None of you were injured by those things, whatever they were?”
“Banshees, apparently,” Aiden told her. “Or so one of my people claimed. And no, none of us was wounded, fortunately. And now for the million dollar question: how the hell did you find us? For that matter, how did you even know that we were in trouble?”
“I didn't,” Tamara told him, smiling. “Our new friend told us about it.”
She nodded at someone over Aiden's shoulder and he turned around to see who she was talking about.
“Who's our new... ?”
His voice caught in his throat as he caught sight of Chase, who was standing next to a grinning Malcolm.
“Close your mouth before a bird decides to build a nest in there,” the big man said with a laugh. “And allow me to introduce your savior.”
Aiden shut his mouth and swallowed heavily, trying to process what he was seeing. Was this stranger with the long, pointed ears an actual...
“This is Chase, an emissary from the elves,” Malcolm said, confirming his first impression. “Chase, this is my partner, Aiden.”
The elven woman walked forward a few steps and bowed slightly.
“I am honored to meet you, sir,” she said, her voice light and musical. “But I am hardly a savior. I simply passed along some information that was relayed to me.
“The honor is all mine, lady,” Aiden replied as he bowed in return. He'd finally regained his equilibrium. “Forgive my surprise, but I was told that your people had left the Earth and wouldn't be able to return for decades or even centuries. Apparently that report was incorrect.”
He was startled to notice that Chase was only a few inches shorter than he was, making her the tallest female in the castle. She also looked very strong and he admired the intricate tattoos that ran down both of her arms.
“Your report was accurate enough back then, I suppose,” she told him. “But time in our realm does not pass at the same pace as it does in this one. For us, centuries have indeed passed since we were in contact with your people. But now our worlds are back in sync again and will remain so for many of your years. It is the main reason that I was directed to meet with your leaders,” she nodded at Malcolm and Tamara, “and open diplomatic relations between our peoples.”
Aiden push back his coif and took off his gauntlets, tossing them to Malcolm with a smile. Then he shook out his damp hair and ran his fingers through it.
“Ah, that's a relief,” he said with a sigh of pleasure. “Lady, could you tell me how you knew that my patrol was in danger? Your knowledge saved our lives, even if you don't think that it did.”
Chase hesitated and then slipped a hand into a pouch on her belt and pulled out an oval, milky-colored stone.
“My leader passed along the warning via this lode stone. We have seers among our people who are watching over this world. One of them saw your predicament and warned him and he, in turn, told me. It was as simple as that. The lady mage,” she glanced at Tamara, “is the one who truly saved your lives, not I.”
“Happy to do it,” Tamara said with a tight smile. “Now Aiden, why don't you go and get cleaned up? Get changed, refresh yourself and meet us in the main hall in about an hour or so. We will be having a full meeting. Chase has some things that she wants to discuss, but I wanted to make sure that all of the leaders were present before we heard her out.”
“Thanks, Tamara, I'll do that. And thank you for the rescue. I don't know that we could have made it out of there alive if you hadn't shown up.”
The mage shrugged.
“Oh, I think you would have,” she told him. “You're a lot tougher than you seem to think you are. Anyway, off you go now. We'll see you in about an hour.”
“How bad was it?”
Aiden and Malcolm had walked silently together back to their qua
rters and it wasn't until they had entered and closed the door behind them that the big man said anything.
“It was bad, Mal,” Aiden replied soberly as he accepted his gauntlets back from his partner. “It was really bad. I've never seen monsters like the ones that ambushed us. Banshees, Sharon called them. Looks like two fairy tales came to life today, doesn't it?”
Malcolm looked at him curiously.
“Meaning what?” he asked.
Aiden pulled off his coif and then leaned over to let his chain-mail tunic slide over his head and drop in a heap at his feet. He picked it up and stood up straight. His under-tunic was soaked with sweat and stuck to his chest.
“Whew, I definitely need to get washed up. Thank God Tamara has given me the time to do that.”
Aiden walked into the bedroom and Malcolm followed him. He tossed the armor into a metal bin that had several inches of sand and gravel in the bottom of it. As he undid his sword belt and leaned the weapon carefully against the wall, he gave Malcolm a piercing look.
“Meaning that we ran into both banshees and an elf on the same day. It's like living inside a twisted fairy tale, sort of.”
The big man smiled and nodded.
“That's a good point. Look, just drop your clothes here and I'll put them in the hamper. Grab a shower and relax a bit. You've more than earned it.”
Aiden thanked him, stripped off the rest of his gear and headed for the washroom.
Malcolm watched him leave the room, admiring his partner's physique as always and, as always, counting himself lucky to have him.
We're like an old married couple now, he thought fondly as he picked up Aiden's soiled clothing and tossed it into a hamper. Instead of fiery passion, we have a level of comfort and affection for each other that is constant and long-lasting. Yes, I am a lucky man. Now, if only we could rid ourselves of this damned lycanthropy. Life would be perfect after that.
He shook his head at his own hubris. With so many blessings, he still wanted more.
Be grateful for what you have, Malcolm told himself. And stop being so greedy.
Yeah, sound advice, I suppose.
He threw Aiden's chain-mail trousers into the bin with the rest of his armor and used a metal pole to bury the armor under the sand and gravel. Then he started to slowly stir the gravel around in the bin. The mixture would absorb the sweat and dirt from the armor and make it shine again. It was a crude, old-fashioned way of doing things, but it worked well enough.
By the time that Aiden returned, briskly drying his hair after his shower, Malcolm had finished cleaning his armor and had hung it on a heavy wooden rack. He left it up to Aiden to shake out the bits of sand and gravel before he wore it again.
“Hey, thanks,” Aiden said as he saw the armor. “You didn't have to do that.”
“Yeah, I know. I left the fun part for you though, so don't thank me too much.”
Aiden laughed and threw his towel at Malcolm, who caught it deftly.
“I get to shake out the sand and sweep up afterwards? That's no big deal. How long before the meeting?”
He began searching through the chest of drawers looking for a change of clothing.
“About twenty minutes, I think,” Malcolm replied as he tossed the wet towel into the hamper. “No rush. We have lots of time.”
Aiden slipped on a pair of boxer shorts, new ones made by the castle's weavers. He gave his partner a teasing look.
“Time to get dressed and head over to the hall, sure. But not enough time for...?”
Malcolm grinned and rolled his eyes.
“No, not enough time for that. Tempting, but we'll have to wait for later.”
Aiden laughed as he sat down on the bed to slip on a pair of socks.
“Ah, the sacrifices we make for the good of others. That's fine. One thing a long-term relationship teaches you is patience.”
Malcolm watched him get dressed in a plain white tunic, brown leather pants and high boots.
“You need patience to deal with me, is that what you're saying?” he asked as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded.
“And vice-versa,” Aiden replied with a smile. “I've not always been the easiest man to live with.”
“You're a saint compared to me,” Malcolm assured him. “You've always been even-keeled and fair. I mean, you do have a few flaws, but who doesn't?”
Aiden stood up and gave the bigger man a piercing look.
“I have flaws, do I? Such as?”
Malcolm grinned at him.
“You snore. And you talk in your sleep. Oh and you always forget things like birthdays and anniversaries.”
“One time,” Aiden corrected him firmly. “I forgot the anniversary of the day we met one time and one time only. And you will never let me live that down, will you?”
“Have you forgotten since? No? Well, that's because I keep reminding you. But you do know that I'm just teasing, right?”
Aiden picked up his sword belt and fastened it around his waist. He poked Malcolm in the ribs as he walked past him, making him jump.
“Yeah, I know,” he said with a laugh as he left the room. “Now come on. We don't want to be late.”
When the pair arrived at the meeting hall, they found Chao, Sylvie and Veronique deep in conversation at the far end of the long conference table. A fire was burning brightly in the fireplace and dozens of candles glittered in holders along the table and on stands around the room. High above them, the sunlight streaming through the windows was dimming as evening set in.
Aiden glanced up and grunted.
“What is it?” Malcolm asked him.
“Just thinking about how close we were to being stuck out in the wilds after nightfall,” Aiden replied as he met his partner's eyes. “We wouldn't have stood a chance against those banshees in the dark. That elven woman, Chase, showed up at just the right time.”
“Tell me about it. When I found her sitting alone in the woods, I thought that I was seeing things. I'm glad that I was wrong.”
Aiden frowned at him as they walked over to the table and sat down.
“Wait a second. You never told me that you were the one who found her,” he said sharply. “When were you going to share that little nugget of information?”
Malcolm grimaced and then smiled down the table at the three magic-users. They all smiled back and then returned to their whispered conversation.
“Why? Do you think it matters that I'm the one who found Chase? It could have been anybody. I just got lucky, that's all.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. I'm just surprised that you didn't tell me, that's all.”
Malcolm gave him a direct look.
“I'm not keeping secrets, if that's what you're thinking. I would never do that to you. It's just that I was more worried about you than about how I found the elf.”
Aiden reached out and gave his forearm a squeeze.
“Yeah, I know. Thanks for that. Now, I wonder if Chao and the ladies are having their intense discussion about us? If so, let's hope it goes well.”
“Damn, I never even thought of that,” Malcolm exclaimed. “There's been so much happening today that our last meeting with him completely slipped my mind.”
“Mine too, until just now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.”
“Same.”
Tamara walked in a few minutes later, with Sebastian and Chase following closely behind her. As they all sat down, the cleric, Katherine, and Daniel Cooper entered together and greeted everyone. They sat down across from Aiden and Malcolm and nodded at them.
“Well, I see that we are all here now, so let's get started, shall we?” Tamara said loudly.
Chao, Veronique and Sylvie stopped speaking and sat up, listening attentively.
“Good. Before we begin, I know that not all of you have met our guest formally yet, so let me introduce her. Chase is an emissary from the elves, who are now back in contact with our world. Chase, allow me to introduce the Council.”
Tamara name
d each person in turn and each one nodded and smiled at the elf. Chao actually stood up and bowed when his name was mentioned and Chase returned the gesture gracefully.
Once Tamara was finished with the introductions, Chase stood up again and began to speak.
“Thank you, lady,” she said to the mage, “for your gracious greeting. And thanks to all of you as well. If I may, I would like to take a moment to pass along a message from my superiors.”
“Of course,” Tamara told her. “The floor is yours.”
Chase stood silently for a moment, appearing to collect her thoughts. She looked from person to person as she did so, a mere glance at each one, and yet the members of the Council felt themselves weighed and measured.
“Our own Council of Elders sent me to contact your race,” she began. “We have waited hundreds of our years for our worlds to come into conjunction again. In that time, our leadership has changed significantly. Our legendary leader, Ethmira, has stepped down from the Council and now follows her own pursuits. Others from the old Council have also moved on. A few have died from illness or accident. And so the new Council members were eager to contact you once we were able to travel here again, to reassure you that we are still your allies against the Darkness.”
“That's good to know,” Malcolm said. “We have new primal dragons to worry about now, and it will relieve our people to learn that the elves and their wisdom are available to us again.”
Chase smiled at him.
“You honor us. I do not know how much our wisdom, as you call it, can help you, but you are welcome to it. Let me remind you that it was your people who saved mine from an invasion of dragons, not the other way around. Perhaps we can learn more from you than you can learn from us.”
“Or maybe we can learn from each other?” Tamara suggested. “And while we may have helped you with your battles, I've heard the stories about what Ethmira and many other elves did to fight the dragons here on Earth. I believe that means that we can help each other going forward.”
“Well said,” Veronique spoke up. “Our races are quite different in many ways, but we both honor the lords of Light and battle against evil. That is an important commonality.”
The Werewolves of Nottinghill Page 10