"No," The shadow growled angrily. "The Dragon Lord forced Makken to speak before he could take the poison. He revealed the location of this place to them."
"That weakling!" Yrinn cursed violently. "I hope his death was slow!"
"It wasn't," Hetris murmured in a voice scarcely above a whisper. "but his punishment in the afterlife shall be eternal." The shadow drew back into the darkness until it was hardly visible. "This place is no longer safe. It is time for you to return to Celestia, and prepare for the final step of our plan."
"What about the Dragon Lord?" Yrinn asked in confusion. "Shouldn't we strike while he is close, and take the Dragon Sword for ourselves?"
"That may not be wise." The dark shadow warned him. "The Dragon Lord has overcome many of our most skilled warriors. He has proven to be far more dangerous than any of us dreamed. We cannot chance facing him, not while I am still so weak."
"Then grant me the power to defeat him." Yrinn's eyes burned. "Grant me that which you promised me, and I shall lay the head of the Dragon Lord, along with his fabled sword, at your feet!"
"The time has not yet come." Hetris told the silver haired elf. "You have not earned that which you desire. You have yet to complete the task given to you."
"I will finish what I started." Yrinn promised the dark shadow. "I will turn my people over to your worship, and eradicate Petra's followers. Their goddess shall feel what it is like to be powerless. Without followers, She will be as helpless as you were when I summoned you for the first time."
"You had better hope that you do not fail." Hetris growled in a dangerous voice that chilled the blood. "I'm beginning lose faith in you, Yrinn. I'm thinking that I may have been too hasty when choosing my high priest."
"Do not lose faith yet, my lord," Yrinn murmured, his expression thoughtful. "You will see Petra laid low, and witness your children's rise to power, just as we agreed." A shrewd gleam came into the elf's eyes. "But if you were to grant my request, I could bring this entire world into your fold, and raise you above all other gods. Your power would be absolute!"
"I will grant your request when you have fulfilled your end of our agreement, and not a moment before." Hetris told him in an unyielding tone. "You have yet to prove yourself to my satisfaction, and until you do, I will not relent."
"Very well, my lord." Yrinn sighed in resignation. "I shall continue to strive to prove myself." His expression became hesitant. "Have you heard any word from the Royal Tower?"
"I have." The shadow withdrew even further into the darkness. "Our friend remains safe, though things have become even more restricted, making it more difficult for them to advance our plans."
"Why? What has happened?"
"I sent one of your sisters, Freedi, to repay the Dragon Lord for his insolence, and things did not go as planned."
"What happened?"
"Her orders were to eliminate one of the Dragon Lord's companions, but she failed, and was taken prisoner. They gave her a bit of potion to make her speak, and attempted to question her, but Freedi did not know anything of any real value."
"I helped to convert Freedi to your worship myself when I first returned from exile." Yrinn frowned. "Where is she now?"
"She is being held in the crypts beneath the Royal Tower until they can question her further. But they will not get the chance. I will be tending to her myself."
"My lord?" The silver haired elf asked in confusion.
"Freedi failed in her task, and she must pay for that failure." Hetris growled. "Let her death serve as an example to the rest of your brothers and sisters. Failure with not be tolerated." A pair of eyes glowed red in the darkness for a brief instant, then disappeared. "Return to Celestia and gather your brothers and sisters. The time has almost come for my children to come forth from the shadows, and strike at the heart of Petra's faithful."
"Very well, my lord Hetris." Yrinn bowed his head respectfully. "And what should be done about the Dragon Lord?"
"Send the Vile Ones to deal with him."
"Th-The Vile Ones?" The silver haired elf gulped uncomfortably. "Are you sure that you want to release them? They are a bit... uncontrolled. Once they have been released, they tend to be indiscriminant with their mayhem."
"Just do as you are ordered." Hetris growled. "Let's see how the Dragon Lord deals with having the most savage of my children thirsting for his blood."
***********
"The city is packed with people!" Damarius exclaimed, glancing out of one of the huge windows and staring down at the milling crowd below. "It's looks like it's going to be quite some celebration."
"It usually is." Queen Serena agreed, glancing down at the crowd with an excited expression. "Elves from all over the island descend on Celestia for the festival. There is singing and dancing, food and fine wine, and numerous archery contests. And on the very last day of the festival, couples gather in front of Petra's statue to be joined in the presence of our beloved goddess." She smiled. "I look forward to the Spring Dawning every year. It's one of the few times that I get to go out among my people. I am expected to preside over the contests, choose the best wine, and give my blessing to the newly joined. It's the most exciting thing that I get to do as queen."
"I would suggest that you appoint someone to see to your duties this year, Serena." Captain Harper told the elven queen bluntly. "It's not safe for you to be out while these blood elves are still on the loose. There's no way that we would be able to protect you from an attack."
Since arriving with his men to oversee the queen's safety, Captain Harper had quickly put aside the titles and formalities, and began to address the beautiful elven queen as he would an old friend. He was soon entertaining her with off color jokes that made her laugh uproariously, and blush in embarrassment. He also gave her prudent advice on everything from dealing with stubborn servants, to her own self protection.
"I'm not going to avoid my responsibilities and send someone in my stead." The elven queen told the old sea captain in a firm tone. "I'll not give the blood elves the satisfaction of knowing that they have scared me into hiding."
"If you won't appoint someone else to do it, then we'll need to take special precautions to ensure that you're safe." Captain Harper insisted. "The blood elves have already proven that they can get close enough to strike if they wish. If we're going to avoid that happening again, we'll have to make sure that no one is able to get close to you, and that will mean you'll have to be escorted by my sailors everywhere that you go."
"The elven people will not like that." Dar warned him in a knowing tone. "To have their queen guarded by a bunch of humans who prevent them from getting near their queen? It would cause an uproar!"
"I don't really care how they feel about it." The old sailor told him in a flat tone. "My men and I are here to make sure that Serena is safe from attack. The sensibilities of the elven people are not my concern."
"I'll be fine." Queen Serena assured him dismissively. "Yrinn and his blood elves do not frighten me."
"Even after everything that they have done?" Delilah asked in surprise. "They have murdered hundreds of elves in the last few months, and with this latest attack on Damarius, they've proven that they can even get close enough to assassinate you! Aren't you afraid?"
"No, I am not afraid." The queen told her, lifting her chin proudly. "The children of Hetris will not harm me. Petra's love will keep me safe."
"Well, I hope your goddess doesn't mind if we help out a bit." Captain Harper told the queen. "If anyone even attempts to get near you, my men are going to nail them to a wall."
They returned to their seats on the oddly shaped throne and enjoyed a leisurely lunch of fresh fish in a delicate cheese sauce, and a fine wine from one of the local vineyards. They were just finishing their meal when there was a sudden bellow of outrage from just outside of the throne room doors, followed by a number of furious curses. A few moments later, the doors to the throne room opened.
"The nerve of some people!" Gilroy of Willowda
le complained as he appeared through the doors looking slightly disheveled.
"What happened?" Queen Serena asked curiously.
"Those sailors stationed outside of the throne room insisted on searching me again!" The stern looking elf explained with a scowl. "When I refused to allow them to search me, they seized me by my ankles, flipped me upside down, and shook me until they were satisfied that I didn't have any weapons hidden anywhere on my body!"
"Why didn't you just let them search you?" Delilah asked as everyone else started laughing. "You understand why we were forced to take these precautions. Why not just let them do their job?"
"It's a matter of principles." Gilroy told her irritably, giving the others a dirty look. "I have been an advisor and loyal servant of Queen Serena for over a century now. I shouldn't have to be groped by a bunch of foul smelling sailors every time that I wish to speak with the queen."
"I run a very tight ship, Gilroy." Captain Harper informed him, still chuckling in amusement. "My men know that when they are given an order, they had better follow it to the letter, or else they may find themselves trying to jog along next to the ship while we're out at sea."
"I still think that they're taking their jobs a little too seriously." The stern faced elf complained sourly. "To shake an elf by his ankles? I have never been treated in such a manner before!" He stomped over to his customary seat next to the queen, still muttering furiously under his breath.
"Has there been any word from Damion and the others?" Dar asked Gilroy curiously.
"No," The stern faced elf sighed. "but they were seen heading towards Oakenvale a few days ago. It's safe to say that they are still searching for Yrinn and his blood elves." He gave the queen a worried look. "The city is nearly overflowing with visitors here to celebrate the Spring Dawning. There are elves from every single village and hamlet on the island gathered in anticipation of the festival. The gods only know how many of them are blood elves."
"We can be sure that they're out there, though." Damarius murmured with a frown. "The festival is too tempting a target for Hetris and his followers not to have something planned."
"We can only hope that Damion is able to locate Yrinn before his blood elves are able to cause any mayhem." Dar sighed heavily.
One of the elven soldiers who usually stood watch outside of the throne room suddenly appeared flanked by a pair of Captain Harper's hard faced sailors. "Your majesty," The elf started, glancing at his escort irritably. "there has been an incident."
"An incident?" Queen Serena asked apprehensively. "Has there been another attack?"
"Not exactly," The elven guard frowned. "It's Freedi, your majesty. She is dead."
"Dead? How is this possible? I thought that she was being held in a cell in the lower levels of the tower! How did she die?"
"We're not really sure, my queen." The elf held out his hands helplessly. "It looks as though she has been ripped apart by some wild creature, but there was no one but Freedi in the cell! We can't find a single clue to who, or what, attacked her!"
"Are you sure that no one managed to slip into her cell while your attention was elsewhere?" Damarius asked, staring at the elf with mistrust.
"No, my lord," The elf shook his head firmly. "Since these... humans, took over the watch," He gave the two sailors a disapproving look. "it has left the elven guard here in the tower rather idle. There were a number of us present when she began to scream as though she were being ripped apart. By the time we managed to get the cell door open, she was already dead, and there was no sign of what did it." He shuddered. "In all of my years of life, I have never seen such a vicious attack."
"What could have done such a thing?" Delilah asked in horror.
"Isn't it obvious?" Damarius asked, brushing his brow lock from his eyes absently. "It was Hetris. Freedi betrayed Him by revealing what secrets she held, and He could not let that stand." The old wizard nodded wisely, causing his brow lock to fall right back into his eyes. "He no longer had any use for her, so what better way to send a message to the rest of His followers? When word gets around about Freedi's death, I'm sure that her fellow blood elves will find the way that she was killed quite disturbing."
"As would anyone." The elven queen murmured, her face unusually pale. "You say that it looked as though she had been ripped apart?"
"Aye, my queen." The elf nodded gravely. "I have never seen anything like it before, and I hope to never see it again. It was truly horrible." He sighed sadly. "I know that Freedi was a blood elf, but even she did not deserve that fate."
"Was it really so horrible?" Gilroy asked in a skeptical tone.
The elven guard nodded grimly. "It was, my lord. I fear that Freedi's screams will haunt my dreams for the rest of my days." He bowed once more to the queen, then followed Captain Harper's sailors from the throne room.
"It appears that our questioning of Freedi had some unexpected consequences." Dar murmured thoughtfully. "It seems that Hetris will not tolerate any sort of betrayal by His followers, not even if they have been drugged."
"It shouldn't come as a surprise." Delilah told them bleakly. "The secret to the blood elves power is their ability to blend in with Petra's followers without raising anyone's suspicions. Once Freedi's true allegiance was discovered, and she revealed her secrets to Hetris's enemies, her usefulness to the blood elves had run out."
"But to butcher one of His own children?" Dar looked sick. "And in such a horrible manner? What kind of a monster would do such a thing?"
"Hetris is many things," Delilah sighed sadly. "but compassionate is not one of them. The fact that Freedi was one of His children was probably why her death was so brutal. Fear has always been Hetris's greatest weapon."
Later that evening, Anallia and Bellatonia appeared to discuss the queen's agenda for the Spring Dawning.
"The festival will begin tomorrow morning with the traditional speech given by Queen Serena," Anallia informed everyone, her voice trembling with anticipation. "followed by the dancers, and then the performers. After that, the first archery contest will begin."
"I don't know how wise it would be to have the queen oversee an archery contest." Dar stated in a doubtful tone. "If one of the contestants turned out to be a blood elf, they could attempt to assassinate her."
"But she must!" Bellatonia objected with a disapproving frown. "The queen always judges the contests, and then awards the prizes to the champions. It's traditional."
"Bellatonia is right." Queen Serena told them. "Even with the danger that the blood elves pose, I still have responsibilities to my people. I will not allow Yrinn to believe that he has frightened me into locking myself away." She shook her head firmly. "I will fulfill my duties as I always have. I will not look weak in front of my people."
"Don't worry, your majesty," Damarius assured the beautiful elven monarch. "I will be by your side throughout the entire festival. I'll make sure that any arrows fired in your direction do not find their mark."
"I'm sure it won't be necessary," The elven queen told the old wizard, then she frowned. "but considering everything that has happened, perhaps it would be wise to have you at my side. You have already proven that you can be quite formidable if the occasion arises, but should still appear harmless enough to my people. It shouldn't cause too much alarm if you were to accompany me during the festival."
"I'll accompany you too, my queen." Gilroy volunteered. "It will appear as though we are merely escorting an honored guest."
"I'll join you as well." Dar told them after a moment's thought. "The elven people know me well enough not to suspect anything."
"That will leave my men free to keep an eye out for any trouble." Captain Harper agreed approvingly. "We'll be able to react the instant that anything happens."
"I hope that the Dragon Lord and the others can put a stop to all of this soon." Anallia sighed, her face etched in worry. "The people do not seem as excited as they usually do."
"They're scared." Dar told her sadly. "They do not k
now who they can trust, and who is their enemy. But the fact that they still came to the Spring Dawning to honor their goddess despite their fear is a testament to their strength and endurance."
"Not to mention their devotion to Petra." Delilah added in a proud tone.
The following morning was a blur as everyone hurried to complete the last minute preparations for the festival. Servants ran back and forth in panic as they rushed to put the finishing touches on all of the decorations, while dozens of elves quickly finished erecting a number of stages and podiums for the various speakers and entertainers who would delight the crowds with their acts.
Everyone met for a lavish breakfast feast in the throne room dressed in their best finery for the special occasion. Queen Serena was dressed in a breathtakingly beautiful scarlet red gown that was cut surprisingly low in the front, and her hair had been arranged in a stunning display of golden curls which cascaded down her back and across her shoulders. Dar wore a tasteful green doublet and hose trimmed in silver fur, and soft leather boots, while Damarius, not to be outdone, wore his most impressive white robes which had magical symbols embroidered along the sleeves and hem in gold. Captain Harper, on the other hand, was dressed in his normal blue vest and canvas pants, topped off by his ever present wide brimmed hat, though his hair had been neatly trimmed, and his shaggy beard had been braided in a series of elaborate braids.
"Don't we all just look splendid!" Queen Serena exclaimed happily. "We should have a festival every month so we have a chance to dress up more often." She paused to give a twirl. "How do I look?" She asked in a girlish tone. "Should my people be impressed?"
"I should say so." Captain Harper said with appreciation. "You make me wish I were an elf."
"Why, captain!" The elven queen blushed prettily.
They quickly finished eating their breakfast feast, then made their way down to the royal antechamber, where they found Gilroy and Anallia waiting.
"You look absolutely ravishing, your majesty." Gilroy, who was dressed in a fine looking blue doublet and matching hose, complimented the queen.
Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Page 31