by B. C. Morin
There beside him Maligo saw the spirit form of Samil. He was young. His face sharply angled, his eyes were almost completely black and they peered directly at Maligo.
“Have you an army Sorcerer?”
“No Samil, I have obtained but a few that follow.”
“I believe it is time to call upon my former warriors. We will find those truly dedicated to our cause. And change the minds of those that are not. Let us finish what I started centuries ago.”
Maligo reached for his staff absorbing some of the energy he had stored in it and bowing his head. “Yes Samil.”
Samil, Maligo and Saros spent the rest of the night scouring the mountainside searching for any sign of a race of creatures that lived beneath the mountains that Samil had founded and named them Dorchae, because they came from out of the darkness. They rarely ventured out in the sunlight. They were hunched over from years living in the caves. Their eyes were a horrible dark yellow, and practically bulged from their faces. Their noses looked like that of a swine, and their mouths were nothing more than a slit beneath their snout. They had a tough skin that looked like leather, and communicated mostly through grunts.
Maligo and Samil soon realized that they would have to go deeper into the mountains and deeper underground in order to find them and recruit them.
~ Chapter 31~
The nightmares of the shadows and the demon wolf haunted her through most of the night. Sleep came fleetingly, if at all.
She walked over to the mirror and traced the faint lines of all her scars before drawing her attention to her marks, each having spread since last night.
The knock on the door snapped her out of her trance.
“Come in.”
“Good Morning Ma’am.”
“Lilian. How good to see you.”
Lilian curtseyed. “Your presence is requested in the courtyard for training.”
Evyette walked over and took from the clean clothes that Lilian had brought her and began getting dressed.
“Is anyone down there already?”
“Only the Magisters. They have demanded that no one else be present. They have forbidden even the apprentices from attending. I do not know what is going on ma’am.”
I do, Evyette thought to herself, there is a traitor in this kingdom.
She pulled her boots on quickly and fastened the leather straps to hold her potions, her sword and her bow and arrow. She recited a few guarding spells and left the room.
Evyette walked into the courtyard to find Magisters Torin and Morcant waiting for her.
“Magisters.” She bowed her head towards them.
“My lady” they said concurrently.
“We have forbidden even the apprentices to be here today as we are still unsure of where the counter spells against your wards are coming from.” Torin stepped forward as he spoke.
Magister Morcant waved his arm around and spoke some words that created a concealment around the courtyard. Although they could still be seen, nothing they spoke could be heard by anyone else.
For the next few hours they recollected, recited and memorized various guarding spells, wards and deflective spells. Her head throbbed with the vast amount of information, but she knew that it was necessary.
“Evyette, we will be leaving at dawn tomorrow to Caelestis. I feel that if we spend too much time here we will be risking your safety since we do not yet know who here is against you.”
“Yes Magister Torin.”
“Tell no-one. Not even Tristan and Kaleb. Bring them to the infirmary, there is a room there where we can speak without being heard.”
He turned to the other Magister. “Go and tell the King and Queen that we need to speak to them.” He released the concealment spell and they all went their separate ways.
They all met at the infirmary waiting for Magister Torin to arrive and join them.
“My apologies. I was interrogating the Magister Apprentices to find if any of them had spoken to anyone or if they had seen anything suspicious. Elias and Quinlan have not spoken to anyone nor seen anyone around that they did not recognize.”
“Magister”, Evyette stepped forward. “Have you spoken to your new apprentice?”
Magister Torin looked toward Morcant. “What new apprentice?”
“Aeron” He bumped into me yesterday while walking down a hallway reading a book. He claimed he was a new apprentice.”
The Magisters shot each other a concerned look as well as to the king.
“Guards!” The King’s voice boomed within the walls.
Armored guards came pouring in at the beckoning of their King.
“We have an intruder, a traitor in our midst. He is masquerading as a Magister Apprentice. Find him and bring him to me!”
The guards scattered quickly searching for the trespasser, as the Magisters opened the secret room to speak to their audience about the impending trip.
The guards ran about the castle the grounds of the Kingdom searching for the intruder. The faeries of the Kingdom watched them intently as they new that something had to be going on for this was not the normal behavior of the guards. They entered the stores and shops searching for any unknowns and asking the owners and patrons if they had seen anyone suspicious. Other guards had been sent to check the homes in the villages.
The small bell rang as the front door opened and the young faerie stepped into the old store.
Perfect. He thought, looking around at the dusty shelves and realizing that this run down shop would be the best place to hide.
“Hello?” He called out hoping the store was abandoned.
The old woman walked out of the back room slowly.
“May I help you?”
“Yes, you can keep your mouth quiet when the guards come in looking for me and I will not hurt you.” He spoke the words quickly as he rushed past her ducking behind the counter.
No sooner did he duck down than did a guard enter the store.
“We are looking for a traitor. We are unsure if he is a Magi or an intruder. Has anyone been in your shop?”
The old faerie shook her head. The guard looked her, glanced around the shop quickly and walked out.
The young faerie emerged from hiding. “Very good old fae.” He walked to the windows carefully, peering out to see where the guards had gone.
“It was you.” She said to him.
His attention turning away from the window he had been keeping an eye on.
“I am sure I do not know what you are talking about.”
“You brought down the wards.” She began walking toward him.
Too frightened to walk out the front door for fear of being captured he began stepping towards the backroom.
“You are mad!” He looked around the room and saw that these were also her living quarters. A small bed in one corner, and a table with various potions, an old baby’s coverlet, and some weapons in the other.
She said nothing but continued to walk to him.
“You are the one that endangered her.” She reached her hand out and without touching him, he felt her fingers tighten around his neck.
“What magic is this? What are you doing?” He managed to speak between the gasps and coughing.
“You led them into the Aberrant Woods.” She lightened her grip just enough for him to speak.
His eyes widened at what she had figured out. “Perhaps I was. I was not about to let my cousin Velius’s death go un-answered.”
She smirked at him. “You have no idea the forces you are dealing with.” She stepped closer to him. “I have worked too hard to keep her alive long enough for her to save herself to have a delinquent faerie with a grudge try to kill her!” Her last words were shouted. Her grip tightened on his neck once more. He reached for his neck but could not loosen her grip as she was not actually touching him.
He raised his hands as if to use his power against her.
“Ah, ah, little fae. We will have none of that.” With her free hand she motioned for some
rope that sat nearby and as she thrusted her hand to him. The rope wrapped itself around his wrists binding him.
She began chanting some words that he could barely hear and as she did the dust from the floor began to rise and swirl around him enveloping him until he was there no more.
The body that appeared on the steps of the castle shocked even the guards that were standing watch. A young faerie laying unconscious with his hands bound.
“Fetch the King !” One guard shouted as the other stood over the body.
One of the faerie guards ran swiftly to the infirmary and found the King just as he had adjourned his meeting with the Magisters.
“Your highness, we have found the traitor.” He said, sounding unsure.
The king and the others began to follow the guard. “You sounded doubtful guard. Are you certain this is the one?”
“We would need Princess Evyette to confirm sire, but I was not unsure of the person merely the circumstances.” He glanced back at the king. “He was delivered to us. He appeared on the steps of the castle unconscious and with his hands bound.”
Everyone looked at each other confused. As they came to the front of the castle and opened the doors they saw him limp on the steps.
Evyette stepped closer to look at his face. “Yes , this is Aeron. This is the one that said he was a magister Apprentice.”
Without warning, the young fae arched his back, the guards moving to stand in front of the King and Queen and their guests not knowing what would happen, and he exploded into a plume of dust and dirt and leaves. The ground where he had laid was covered in dead shrubbery. In the distance Evyette caught the gaze of an old woman peering out from behind a tree, but in an instant she was gone.
* * *
Alannah and Brennus arose early in the morning and started toward the Kingdom of Anrad. By the time the noon sun was overhead they were able to see it in the distance.
Alannah looked at Brennus and noticed apprehension in his face.
She walked up and grabbed his hand in hers weaving her fingers between his.
He looked at her and managed a half smile. But when he looked back at his kingdom the smile was gone. The Brennus she had seen the night before was gone. The look of a cold, calculated, arrogant warrior stood in his place once more.
She realized then that no one knew him as anything other than that.
Except her.
The walk to Anrad took most of the afternoon. Mostly because they weren’t walking as fast as they had been the rest of the trip. She sensed that there was a trepidation in his step. Almost as if he did not want to go back.
As they approached the broad hedge gates he allowed his hand to slide out of hers. She wanted to grab it back but knew that it would not be a good idea.
He whispered some words and the hedges seemed to transform into huge wooden doors clad with silver that began to creek open slowly.
“Stay next to me.”
She took a step closer to be right by his side resisting the urge to take his hand again.
They walked in and Alannah was overwhelmed with the beauty of the Kingdom of Anrad. She did not know why but she expected things to be more rough and cold.
As with the other Kingdoms the first area seen was that of the different shops and blacksmiths. Each building was carefully crafted with smoothed out woods and stones. Large wooden beams lined the walkway along the shops connected to the overhangs made by more smoothed wood and carefully thatched roofs. The architecture was unlike any she had ever seen. The doorways were almost twice the size that she had been used to. Of course the reason was made abundantly clear within the first moments of arriving. Some of these faeries were almost two times her size. In keeping with the theme, even the blacksmith’s shop was beautifully crafted in the front with the fires blazing toward the back.
The trees as Brennus had described to her were large and surrounded by flowered vines.
The fae that stood watching reminded her a lot of Brennus. There were very few that did not have their entire arms covered in Marks. As they walked by every one of them bowed their head at them.
The bustle of the surrounding fae seemed to have quieted as she laid her eyes upon the giant oak in the center of the kingdom behind what appeared to be several courtyards whose floors were smoothed and were lined with the same type of large wooden columns that she had seen by the shops. Two of the courtyards had several fae standing in them and some fighting. Clearly it was training as she could see an instructor shouting out directions to his students.
As they walked by, the instructor and the students stopped and turned to them and bowed slightly before continuing. She realized that Brennus must be more of an accomplished warrior than he had let on. There was no way that they could all be bowing because they knew she was a Princess. He must be favored by the King and Queen to have this much respect throughout the kingdom, and to have the guards open the doors of the castle to him without question. She thought to herself.
They entered the main hall and it was just as he had described to her. Tapestries draped along the walls. Weapons dating centuries back, carefully displayed. They walked through the hallway and through two smoothed stone doors into the throne room. The two guards standing in front of them had pushed them open without question to Brennus.
The throne room was decorated much like the rest of the castle. Silk draperies hung between the columns and a large tapestry with what must have been the family crest behind two enormous thrones although neither one was occupied.
Brennus looked toward the counsel of Faeries standing by the thrones as one came rushing to him. He was an older faerie wearing some of the same battle gear that she had seen on the other faeries but he also wore an elegant robe signifying his stature in the court.
He dropped to one knee in front of Brennus. Alannah looked at Brennus briefly and then back to the kneeling faerie before them.
“My prince. You have returned to us.” The kneeling fae spoke, a trace of awe in his voice.
Alannah took a step back, cupping her hand over her mouth as she realized that Brennus is the Prince of Anrad.
Epilogue
She waited inside the room that the guards had escorted her to. The beautiful bedroom provided no distraction to her constantly raging thoughts.
She thought of Brennus and how she saw the hurt in his face when the council member with the robe told him that his father had fallen gravely ill. She wanted to comfort him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him. But everything about him told her not to. He looked at her and sounding indifferent asked her to follow the guards to her temporary quarters so that he may speak to the council alone.
Why did he not tell me? Why hide that he is a prince? She opened the door and peered out into the empty hallway. When she saw no one around, she decided to leave the room. She wandered the halls of the castle only to find that it was mostly empty save for a few servant pixies, brownies and guards.
She had wandered into an area of the castle that she knew must belong to the King and Queen as the doors to the area had a crest carved into it. She had just turned to walk the other way when the door opened, and Brennus emerged.
He looked at her and smirked. “I suppose I should have known better than to think that you would have stayed in the room until I came for you.”
“How is your father?”
Brennus lowered his gaze. She walked up to him quickly and was about to put up her arms around him when he backed away.
She stopped and looked at him questioningly.
“What is it?”
“My father is dying. He has succeeded the throne to me.”
“Brennus I am sorry. I know that it must be a lot to handle right now.”
“That is not all.” He walked over to a bench that lay against the wall and sat down. Alannah walked over and sat down as well careful not to get too close as he was already distracted.
He sighed deeply before he began. “Alannah, my mother died when I was young. My father ha
s ruled alone for most of my life. When he realized that he would have to hand me the throne, he decided that he did not want me to experience the loneliness he endured.”
“I do not understand.”
“He has arranged for me to marry a warrior fae of his choosing.”
Alannah felt her eyes sting as she tried to hold back tears but it was to no avail. Silent tears ran down Alannah’s face. “But-“she could not think of how to react, what words to say, “but, you said no right?” she finally blurted out.
He looked away but not before she saw his eyes water. “I cannot defy the King’s last wish.”
Alannah stood abruptly. He reached out grabbing her hand but she pulled it away leaving the hallway hurriedly toward her room.
* * *
Evyette walked out at dawn to find the horses, Magisters and guards waiting for her. Behind her stood Kaleb and Tristan. She watched as each prepared their horses and packs.
Tristan walked up beside her and took her hand in his. “Are you ready for what my lie ahead?”
“As ready as I will ever be.” She turned and put her arms around him.