by Brindi Quinn
“Morning, Grottsy!”
“I didn’t have a chance to give ya these yesterday, but I got ‘em at that store in Cana.”
“Hm?” Kantú poked her head out of the tent. She let out a loud squeal. “Aaaalright! Thanks, Grottsy!”
“What is it?” I asked.
She pulled her head back into the tent. Her mouth was full of something. “Spfringnufts!” The words were distorted, and a small piece of said spring nut came flying out across the tent.
“Gross, Kantú!” But I smiled, glad she’d finally gotten her prized treat.
We dressed and joined the rest of the party, who’d let us sleep well past dawn in consideration of the previous day’s strenuous events in Cana. Then we packed up and headed to Y’ram Stable. I still couldn’t figure out how we were going to use birds to travel, but the idea made me excited. It might be fun, and since I’d agreed to enjoy this little excursion enough for Illuma too, I had to take ‘fun’ when I could.
Rend said nothing during our walk. She was usually several strides ahead of the rest of us, but today she lagged behind, staring off into the countryside.
Nyte flitted back to check on her every now and then, but she was cold even to him, answering only in headshakes and nods. Even though Rend was never particularly pleasant when she spoke, it would’ve been preferable to her present state.
After going several hours without hearing a single stabbing remark, I asked Nyte, “Is she going to be okay?”
“She will be fine,” he said, distracted.
My captor had maintained his dispirited attitude from the night before.
I hadn’t been imagining it.
“And are you going to be okay?” I studied his face.
He looked at me, startled. “What?”
“You’re brooding over something.” I poked him in the chest.
His face softened. “It is nothing.”
But I raised a brow, not convinced. He was upset about something, even if he wouldn’t admit it.
“And why are you so intent on finding out?” he teased, showing off his old charm.
“Intent?” I folded my arms. “What are you implying?”
But he said nothing else – only patted my head before trotting away.
How frustrating. But I couldn’t help but smile. At least he seemed a little happier.
I breathed deep.
The day felt . . . good. Even with the dream, I was surprisingly well rested, and aside from Rend’s negative energy pulsing at the back of the group, everything felt lively and exciting. Maybe it was all of the open space. Scardo had definitely taken us off the beaten path this time, for there was nothing for miles but grass and sunshine.
I closed my eyes and imagined myself flying over the stubby grass, wind sweeping my hair behind me. I was free, a cherry blossom petal blowing towards the Y’ram Stable.
Floating, floating . . . tossed about with the wind’s whims. Elation, elation . . .
I should have realized then that the pleasant ambiance couldn’t last forever.
~
“That’s it there.” Scardo pointed to a group of buildings in the distance.
“Yay! Eggs!” said Kantú. She grabbed my hands and twirled me around, an act which resulted in her chittering uncontrollably when we lost balance and nearly toppled over.
Rend turned up her nose and looked like she was about to say something, but then sighed and walked past us, averting her eyes.
Maybe she really had changed; or at the very least, she was going to lay off for a while.
That’s what I wanted, but it’s weird like this, isn’t it?
The grass around us had transformed from weedy and green to brown, scorched, and rough. The same burning sunrays responsible for the transition bore hotly into the back of my neck, a sensation that was much easier to endure now that the stable was in sight.
Grotts had been antsy all day, but the closer we got to the stable’s fence, the more he grumbled.
“Nillybeaked, blockheaded, bird-brained . . .” He muttered insults under his breath and anxiously rubbed his red hair while staring intently at the far-off building.
Despite his attitude of utter detest, I was anxious to see what these ‘osterflits’ looked like. It’d be nice to travel on something other than foot for a while anyway, even if travel by bird was a foreign concept. My muscles were sore from overuse.
“Doesn’t appear ta be anyone here,” said Grotts when we reached the edge of the stable-grounds. His voice sounded a little too optimistic.
Indeed, the vast wooden fence that surrounded the stable and small ranch house appeared devoid of life. There were no osterflits in sight, even though Scardo had said they’d be roaming the dry grass grounds when we arrived. Their keeper was also nowhere to be found.
“Maybe he’s inside of that house over there?” I said and pointed, but I saw no movement within its windows.
“Probably,” said Nyte. He grinned slyly at Grotts, who looked cross at the idea.
Nyte and Rend took running starts and hurdled over the fence.
Show offs.
Nyte smirked back at me from the other side. “Coming, Miss Havoc?”
I scrunched my nose at him, and followed the rest of the group through the gate, which we found to be conveniently unlocked. Maybe the place really was deserted.
We made our way toward the house without hearing so much as a tweet or cluck or whatever sound osterflits emitted, but when we passed by the closed stable, Nyte froze, his long ears perked as if sensing some far off sound.
“What is it?” asked Scardo. He stuck out his neck and slowly reached for his quiver.
“Shhh!” Rend stared toward the stable.
I strained my ears, but heard nothing. Kantú wiggled her tail uneasily and clutched my arm.
What’s going on? Are we in danger?
But my question was quickly answered when something whizzed out of the stable and headed straight for Kantú, who wasn’t agile enough to dodge it in time. Nyte jumped in front of her and caught the arrow before fluidly pulling out his sword. We were under attack by something in the stable.
The osterflit keeper? Argh! Why are we always under attack?!
“Get back ya two! Leave this ta us!” Grotts flung Kantú and me down to the ground and charged at the stable.
Its doors flung open in response, and we saw then that it wasn’t the keeper that was attacking.
It was something much more treacherous.
A dozen men in onyx, hooded robes charged us from the stable, swords unsheathed and arrows flying.
At once I knew: Druelca was here! Inside my head, my pulse quickened to a deafening thud. They’d been hiding in wait for us.
“We’re trapped,” eeked Kantú.
We were trapped, but . . . Rend, Nyte, Grotts and Scardo reacted quickly, like they’d rehearsed the response to such a situation. Practiced it hundreds of times. But since something like that was impossible, it meant they were just that good. All I could do was watch, lost to the skill of their reflexes.
The four of them plowed into the crowd, slashing and shooting, fearless.
Grotts held his hammer high and swung it at two of the strangers, knocking them both down with a single blow. He readied it for a second swing, and the crescents surged with blue power. Another of the men raced towards Rend. She bound him as he came at her, but she was tackled by two more before she could ready a second attack.
“How dare you!” With a fierce glower, she lashed at the men. She clawed one of them in the face, but the other was strong and managed to straddle her. He brought a short sword to her chest, ready to plunge it in.
“Rend!” I yelled.
Nyte heard my cry and ran over and sliced at the man, who erupted into a cloud of black smoke upon sword’s piercing.
Black smoke? That was when I realized they weren’t ordinary men. They shed not blood, but shadow?
“Daems?!” I mouthed the word, eyes wide. These were the legen
dary men of darkness, made of flesh and shadow and merciless by nature. The Daems of Druelca!
But how had they found us?!
I watched the fight, concerned for the safety of our group, but despite being outnumbered, the four of them were winning against the Druelcan attackers. Scardo stood in front of Kantú and me and unloaded arrows at the men, who each turned to smoke upon fatal contact. Grotts hammered at others, knocking out black smoke with each blow.
“Good job, Grottsy!” Kantú peeked out from behind her tail in time to see him send one of them flying.
“Take that!” Rend was up again, this time fueled by wrathful vengeance as she shot out bursts of red light. She looked terrifying, encompassed in her own red glow of power.
Then there was Nyte. While the battle continued, I cowered with Kantú, my eyes locked on him. He looked fearsome like that, cutting at the men, like he had when we’d first encountered Grotts and Scardo outside of Edaw. How quickly he’d transformed back into a fighter. Were all Elves trained like that? It seemed unlikely, but the way he wielded his sword looked natural, like it was easy for him; an extension of his own arm.
It was elegant to watch.
One by one the men in black burst into smoke and glided away with the wind. Scardo maintained his protective stance, shooting any bow-wielders before they could shoot at Kantú and me. Things were looking good until a stray arrow whizzed out of the stable and grazed Scardo’s leg.
“Ah!” He dropped his bow and fell to the ground, clutching the wound.
“Scardo!” I cried. Kantú and I hurried to stop the bleeding.
“Miss Heart, what are you doing? Take cover!” Scardo swatted us away.
“Hold still!” I said, pressing down the wound with the bottom of my shirt. Luckily, it didn’t appear very deep.
“Aura, watch out!” squealed Kantú.
She pushed me back as one of the men ran toward me with sword drawn. I tried to roll away, but the man tackled me. Kantú punched at him in retaliation, but he hit her in the chest and sent her flying.
“Kantú!” I watched helplessly as she hit the ground with a thump.
She didn’t move.
No!
“Got ya!” The man’s voice was smooth, his accent thick. It’d happened so fast. How had I allowed myself into a situation like this!?
He neared his face to mine, and I caught first sight of the Daem who’d been previously shrouded in hood. His skin was pale white, a deep contrast to his jet-black hair. At first glimpse, I thought his eyes were also black but then realized that they were actually a dark blood-red and filled with a hatred so intense that it made even the worst of Rend’s scorn-filled glances seem gentle by comparison.
You hate me? But you don’t even know me!
I quickly looked away from the shame of the look, and my eyes fell on two curling horns growing from the top of his head.
It was just like the legends.
I stared in amazement, for a brief moment forgetting my fear.
“What’s the matter? Like what ya see?” He chortled evilly and then brought his hand to my throat. He squeezed.
Sing! The thought came. I struggled to form a song, but nothing came out. The words were choked away by the Daem’s grip. I can’t breathe! I started to grow dizzy. Help me . . . Again I wondered how I’d let myself get into a situation like this. Stupid Aura. You should have sung from the get go!
All that was left was my heartbeat, pounding in my head but growing weaker.
Then my salvation came.
There was a flash of silver, and the hand dissipated along with the rest of the Daem, who dissolved into smoke.
Nyte?
I coughed and looked around for him dazedly, growing used to being saved by the heroic Elf. A blurred hand reached down and helped me to my feet. Still dizzily recovering, I smiled at him, grateful he’d come to the rescue, and let him pull me up, but when my vision cleared, I saw that it wasn’t Nyte’s hand I was holding.
Another hooded Daem smiled back at me, still wielding the saber that had been my savior.
“Wha!?” My voice was froggy. My throat struggled to open. I backed away from him, confused and afraid.
The Daem lowered his hood, and I stared. He was strikingly handsome and completely different from the first Daem. His eyes weren’t dark, but bright red with an intense dark ring around the iris. His hair was short, dark, and unkempt, and concealed his horns that were far shorter than the other Daem’s.
He smiled at me coolly, showing off a set of straight, white teeth.
Why? Why did you save me?
Nyte was wondering the same thing. He sprang in front of me, sword drawn.
“Get away from her!” he said, voice cold.
“Easy,” the handsome Daem replied. “If I wanted to harm her, tell me, why would I have saved her?” He narrowed his eyes at Nyte in challenge.
“Saved?” Nyte looked confused but didn’t lower his sword.
“Ardette,” said Grotts suddenly, “‘bout time ya showed up!” He threw the Daem a chip-toothed smile.
Ardette? Grotts knew him?
I looked around at the rest of the group. There were no other Daems left, just crumpled piles of clothing where they’d once stood. Rend was spitting wildly and lurching forward like she wanted to tackle the handsome Daem, but she was being restrained by Grotts, who was beaming brightly. Kantú rolled about groggily on the ground where she’d been thrown.
She was okay!
Scardo sat up, his hand covered in blood from gripping the fresh wound. “It is nice to see you again, Ardette. Nyte, you may lower your sword.”
But Nyte didn’t move. He and Ardette continued to stare each other down. Ardette’s smile didn’t falter.
“Honestly, Nyte.” Grotts walked over and pushed Nyte’s arm down. “He’s on our side. He’s with Yes’lech.”
I finally understood. The mole. Ardette is the mole.
Nyte studied Ardette uneasily before turning to me.
“Are you all right, Miss Hav . . . Aura?” He examined my neck. “I am sorry I could not reach you first.”
“I’m all right. It’s okay.” I shivered at his warm hand on my throat that caressed the area the first Daem had held.
“Aura,” said Ardette. “At last I meet the Heart of Salvation.” He started toward me.
In response, Nyte grabbed my arm and pulled me into him defensively. My cheeks turned hot at his embrace. The newly-released Rend looked away in discomfort.
Why was he behaving so protectively? Not that I minded.
“Geesh, I’m not gonna hurt her, alright?” said Ardette. He moved closer.
Nyte blushed at his sudden burst of protection and released his grip on me.
Ardette reached his hand out to shake mine.
“I’m Ardette.”
I reached out to shake it; but when I did, he pulled my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it gently. I pulled it away, embarrassed at the nature of his introduction.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, hiding the kissed hand behind my back. “Thanks for saving me.”
I studied him, still trying to make sense of everything. Weren’t all Daems supposed to be men of corruption? But he didn’t appear shady or evil or anything. He was attractive and composed.
It was probably another misconception spawned from the ignorance of secluded Farellah.
Ardette’s red eyes searched my face. “My, my, you’re even more beautiful than I imagined,” he said.
I leaned back, startled.
Beautiful? Who was this person to say something so bold? Nyte let out an odd grumble behind me. I looked over my shoulder, and he was staring at Ardette intensely.
“Who . . . is . . . that?” Kantú had sat up and was now also staring at Ardette. She looked like she wanted to eat him.
“Kantú!” I ran over and helped her up. “Are you okay?”
She smoothed her tail out. “Oh, sure! Just a little bumbled, that’s all!” Then she s
auntered over to Ardette with an odd swagger.
“I’m Kantú,” she cooed, fluttering her lashes.
“Why, hello.” He nodded to her with a bright smile.
She let out a chitter and stepped back, lost to his charm.
I rolled my eyes.
Scardo, still clutching his leg, let out a hiss-like laugh at the scene. I’d been so consumed by this new person that I’d forgotten all about him.
“Let me help you!” I hurried to him and helped him wrap a band around his thigh.
Grotts looked around. “Wha’ happened ta the guy runnin’ this place?”
“He was gone when we got here,” said Ardette.
“And the osterflits?” Grotts’ voice was hopeful.
“They were just roaming around freely. Quite careless of their keeper if you ask me. But don’t feel too at ease, my good sir, they’re in the cellar. Those Druelcan crones planned to ride them back to Farrowel after beating you guys.” He let out a deep laugh at the thought.
Grotts bared his teeth at the news.
“Anyway, we should talk inside.” Ardette gestured to the house. “The door is unlocked.”
“Alrigh,’ that sounds good.” Grotts helped Scardo to his feet.
But before starting away, Ardette turned to Rend and eyed her up and down, apparently liking what he saw. “And who might you be?” he asked.
“You may not address me by name.”
“That’s just Rend,” said Kantú stiffly.
“Rend.” He beamed at her, and she scowled before storming off toward the house.
I turned to follow, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“Might I accompany you, Aura?” Though Ardette asked, he didn’t give me the opportunity to decline. He looped his arm through mine and pulled me along with him.
Nyte followed beside, fists tight.
“Tell me, my cherry pit, am I the first Daem you’ve met?”
Cherry pit? I nodded, unsure how to approach the situation, and hoped the nickname wouldn’t stick.
“And what do you think?” he asked, tilting his head.
I thought for a moment. “You’re really different from what I’d heard, to be honest.”
“Because I’m not evil?” He let out another deep laugh. “How I love stereotypes.”