Elf Mastery

by Bryant Reil

  The wind grew stronger. Kyla was numb but the cold air bit her skin. She thought of giving up and letting it all go. How bad could it be, floating in chaos? Was it like death? What did that mean? Was it oblivion? She refused to accept it. Death could not be the end. She thought of her family. She wasn't going to leave them behind. Not now. She just needed to focus. Get her mind off the aches and pains and cold and wet and the oppressive darkness that sapped her will. She started to sing.

  'Small and green but vile and mean,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  She sang aloud but could only manage an airy whisper.

  'He loves naught but shiny things,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  Erebus said something but Kyla continued to ignore him.

  'Lock your windows and your door

  Kick the goblin, ho!

  He'll rob you blind and ask for more,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  It occurred to Kyla for the first time the words to the song were rather rude. She had sung it many times as a child but never given it much thought.

  'He'll smile and grin to take you in,

  Kick the goblin, ho!

  But then you'll take it on the chin,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  She regretted singing this to Grizzlesnout on the ride to the star station. She must have offended him terribly.

  Erebus was shouting into her mind, but it was nothing more than a distant echo.

  'Don't trust his words, don't take his hand,

  Kick the goblin, ho!

  He'll steal your children and your land,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  Kyla only knew the one goblin, but he was a decent sort. Whoever wrote this must have hated them. She thought she should try a different song, but no others came to mind and she needed something to help her focus.

  'His eyes look bright but don't be tricked,

  Kick the goblin, ho!

  All he deserves is to be kicked,

  Kick the goblin, ho!'

  The darkness lifted and Kyla collapsed. Erebus was gone, and now the cold and aches and pains overwhelmed her. She couldn't move. She had failed. Hadn't she? She lifted her head. Her eyes were frozen shut, but even so she could sense her orb's light had returned. She pulled up a hand to force her eyes open. Everything was blurred but she could see the shine of ice and snow and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Her hand fumbled along the ground until she found a stone to help her remember the time she had crawled out of the darkness.

  Except she wasn't going to make it. She could feel the biting air and flakes of snow whipping into the cave. The exit. It was so cold, and she was nearly naked. She felt tired. So tired. She wanted to fall asleep, though she knew it would be the sleep of death. Shivering and sore, freezing and exhausted, she only wanted it to end. But she pressed on.

  ***

  Eunoe struggled to stay on Castor. The high winds kept trying to turn the tiger to his side. He could still fly, but Eunoe had very little to grab. Already she was clutching the tiger's fur and worried it was hurting him. She pinched her legs tighter around his sides and tried to lock her feet together below but her legs weren't long enough. Aspen clutched at Eunoe's sides, her head leaning against her back to protect herself from the cold wind. Occasionally she would turn her head to the opposite side, most likely scanning for Kyla on the ground or an entrance to the Digan's kingdom.

  Aias didn't recognize the area. He didn't know modern boundaries and wasn't even sure what part of the world he was in. The Digans had been an important race in his time and he expressed surprise that there weren't merchant stations set up. In his day, everyone traded with the Digans.

  Eunoe felt a tug at her arm and turned to see Aspen pointing to an outcropping of rock. There was a light, nearly buried in the snow, and Eunoe pulled Castor against the headwind to touch down in front of the mouth of a small cave which had been invisible from the air. Kyla was face-down and nearly naked except some rags and pots and pans strapped to her body with rope. Not dead, for she still had some color of health, but frostbitten and fading quickly. Eunoe motioned for Aspen to help lift the frozen elf onto Castor's back.

  “Sit her between us. She needs our warmth.” Eunoe took her place in front and felt Kyla's cold body press against her. Aspen sat behind Kyla, so the elf was stuck between them.

  Denzig flew down and looked at Kyla with concern. “Is she alright?”

  “She's alive. We need to get her warm and dry.”

  Denzig spat a flame, which made Aspen jump. “Get her back to that fire pit.” Denzig trotted over to the light orb, which Eunoe and Aspen had left in the snow. “She'll want this.” And he picked it up in his mouth and leaped into the air. Eunoe watched as he circled back.

  Aspen dug her nails into Eunoe's shoulder. “We need to go. She's dying.”

  Eunoe nodded and squeezed her legs. Castor took two leaps through the snow, flapping his great wings, before lifting into the sky.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Erebus' Assault

  I'm not going to rescue you again.

  “Of course not, m'lord.” Dunkin kept his head low. Marik almost burst into laughter. Dunkin was bruised, beaten, and bleeding, and Marik had never seen the dwarf so subdued. Linkin, for his part, was sitting in his little corner. He was chastising himself for letting Kyla escape.

  “No! Why? We had her! She was in our hands! So easy!” he muttered.

  We are prepared to mobilize. You know the plan. Do it.

  “Kyla Nim's still trying to stop you.” Unlike the dwarves, Marik held his head high when he spoke to Erebus. “I don't understand her plan but it seems convoluted. She shouldn't pose much of a threat.”

  She has learned my weakness. That is no small threat.

  “Yes, but so far everyone in authority has dismissed her.”

  “You should have killed her,” Dunkin muttered.

  “And blown my cover? I don't think so.”

  I'm not leaving that to chance. Find out Oberon's plans from Anh-Bul. If this elf has thought of a plan to stop me, they likely have as well. To be sure, Dunkin will kill her.

  “My pleasure!” Dunkin grunted and raised his eyes to the Shadow. Then he coughed and spat blood on the floor.

  Obtain her rubbing as well. If any in authority learn what she knows, we may need to usher in Chaos to win this war.

  “Yes, of course.” Dunkin mumbled his reply.

  “I'll take care of that,” Marik volunteered. He had been planning on stealing it anyway; no need to compete with Dunkin for it.

  Linkin was still in the corner, sitting against the wall and bobbing his head up and down as he mumbled to himself. “Should've killed her. Had her.” He suddenly screamed. “I had her!”

  It was real work for Marik to keep his condescending sneer inside. He would feel bad for the dwarves if they weren't so pathetic.

  ***

  The sudden snowfall meant there was nowhere dry to settle so Aspen stripped bark from dead logs to use as ground cover. It was gruesome work but the local trees would understand the need. She was unable to bond to it, the wood being dead, so all she could do was lay the strips of bark on top of the snow. The wood from each log was then taken by Denzig who made a great pyramid and blasted it with fire, creating an inferno that was both warm and terrifying. Aspen found an old stump several paces back and sat with her arms wrapped around herself to keep in as much warmth as possible.

  Eunoe tucked Kyla into her coat and sidled next to her. “Aspen! Up here. Kyla needs your body heat. Sit on her other side.”

  “The fire...” Aspen whimpered. She knew her fear was no excuse. Kyla's current needs outweighed her own. She stood and approached warily, dodging floating embers, and sat herself next to Kyla. Her skin was cold, and Aspen feared she wouldn't survive. Aspen felt helpless. She knew a hundred songs to help plants but none that would heal a dying elf.

  Eunoe was watching Kyla carefully, occasionally feeling her tempe
rature and checking her breath. She had spent centuries caring for creatures in Arkwood and had an idea what needed to be done. She was more of a mother than a trained nurse, but offering more aid than Aspen could.

  Denzig, satisfied with the fire, came to inspect Kyla as well.

  “She needs food. I'm going hunting,” he said. His pupils looked more elliptical than usual, and his voice hoarser. He grew to his full size and took off over the forest.

  Aspen and Eunoe sat in silence, as they often did, having worn out most of their conversation years ago.

  Kyla whispered something and tapped a pot she had strapped to her breast. Aspen nearly jumped from her seat. “What did she say?”

  Eunoe was breathing excitedly. “I don't know. Kyla? Can you hear me?”

  Kyla coughed and sat up. She reached under the pot, closed her eyes, and sucked air through her teeth as she pulled out a stone. “I said the aurichalcum froze to my boob. I accidentally tucked it right against my skin.”

  “Oh! You're ok!” Eunoe gave Kyla a hug.

  Aspen clapped her hands and threw her arms around the two of them. “I was so worried!”

  “I still kind of am. Have you seen Lug?”

  “No, I haven't.” Aspen had never met Lug, but Kyla had spoken of him and Aspen was sure she would notice a creature made of rocks walking around.

  “I hope he's ok. Where are we?”

  Aspen looked at the forest. “Near Alfheim. East of the mountains.”

  Kyla looked back. “I was in there,” she pointed at a nearby mountain. “It wasn't snowing when I went in. How long has it been?”

  “I don't know. It started snowing a few hours ago. Lucky you had your orb or we wouldn't have found you at all.” Eunoe helped Kyla readjust herself to a more comfortable sitting position. “You nearly died.”

  Kyla simply nodded. “I met Erebus.”

  Aspen gasped. “He's here?”

  “Yeah. Well, he was underground. The dwarves followed me there too. Dunkin's pig knocked him into a pit and then Linkin let me go. Then the Digan chief wanted my clothes for the aurichalcum and this other guy wanted my skin but Lug fought him off so I could escape. Then I got lost on the way out and Erebus found me and I fell asleep in the snow and now here I am.” Kyla held out the stone. “I got the aurichalcum, though,”

  “Erebus let you keep it?”

  “I don't think he could take it. He's just a shadow. He's powerful but he even said he couldn't kill me. But boy can he make you feel like you want to die. Anyway I don't think he could pick up the rock. That's probably why he needs the dwarves so bad.”

  There was a rush of air as Denzig reappeared with a large hairy beast in his claws. Aspen had never seen anything like it. It had a tremendously long snout that Aspen at first mistook for a hairy snake sticking out of its mouth.

  “It's a mammoth,” Eunoe told her. “You've heard of elephants, right? Sort of like that.”

  “I thought they had died out,” Denzig said as he dropped the carcass by the fire. “Shouldn't bother reading those human encyclopaedias. At any rate now we can eat and make some coats for the flight back.”

  “That's the mammoth I rode here on.” Kyla stood and looked sadly over the animal. She pointed to a cushioned seat strapped to its back. “That's a howdah. I sat there. I hope Inga's alright. It was hers.” The padding and pillows were still inside, so with Denzig's help Eunoe freed it from the mammoth's back and set it near the fire. There was enough room for the three girls so they crowded together for warmth.

  Denzig shrugged. “I apologize if you cared for this creature, Kyla. It was wandering alone in the woods when I saw it. And you need food and clothing.” He got to work, occasional bursts of flame shooting from the side of his mouth as he stripped the fur from the flesh. It was a bloody mess, but to Aspen no more gruesome than debarking dead trees.

  “I need to go to the sun,” Kyla said firmly.

  “No!” Eunoe started. “You're coming back home.” She sounded more concerned than commanding.

  “I didn't do all this to fail. I can't let him win.”

  “There are other people that can help! I have Aias now. He knows what needs to be done. And there's an entire army waiting to fight back. Let the professionals help.”

  “I already tried to tell Professor Ciana my plan. He said the army'd never listen to me. Director Anh-Bul told me to mind my own business. I'll tell them what they need to do but they won't listen. I bet they'll take my aurichalcum but they won't do anything with it. They're getting all their armies together and they'll start fighting and a lot of people will die, but it will be for no reason because Erebus doesn't care about that. He just wants darkness. He doesn't even care about Chaos, you know. He doesn't care about the rubbing. Not that much. I think it's a back-up. If he starts to lose he'll wake up Chaos to destroy us.”

  The winds picked up so Denzig spread his wings, one to protect the flame and one to cover the girls like a great umbrella.

  Aspen nestled against the back of the howdah. “This is cozy. I suddenly feel a lot better. I don’t know what I’d do if you died on me, Kyla.”

  Kyla stared into the fire. She looked sad, but not close to tears. Aspen had seen Eunoe like this. It was a numb sadness that beset those who spent a long time suffering. Yet until a few weeks ago Kyla had always been happy and giddy as a child.

  Shortly thereafter meat was cooked and fur blankets were made thanks to Denzig, who had baked the bloody inside of the mammoth hide so it wouldn't leave a mess. Aspen took her first-ever bite of cooked meat and enjoyed the heat of a fire without fear for the first time. She wished they could sit here forever, snuggling under warm blankets in a peaceful snowfall in the middle of the wilderness, with the setting sun casting purple and orange rays on the clouds and snow.

  But then the sun blinked out.

  ***

  Elial ran to Anh-Bul's door but was intercepted by Marik. He gritted his teeth. “We need to get the students through a portal. It isn't safe here.”

  “Anh-Bul is in High Haven. I'm sure he will receive proper direction.”

  “Have you been outside? The sun has gone out!” Elial struggled with the urge to punch Marik in the face. The panic outside could be heard from here, yet he sat with a vapid expression.

  “I'm well aware. We need to call an Assembly to keep everyone calm until the Director arrives.”

  Elial hated to admit it but Marik was probably right. “Fine. I'll sound the alarm and gather everyone. You'd better be ready to say something to relax them.”

  Marik looked like he was trying not to grin. “Of course.”

  ***

  It was going to be a long flight back to Equinox, and difficult in the dark. Denzig flew ahead and kept a flame burning from his nostrils so Eunoe could follow. In the distance she could see two rows of lights along the ground. As she drew closer she saw two columns of creatures marching in the direction of the town of giants they had flown over on the way to Alfheim. There were creatures of all sorts: minotaurs, ogres, centaurs. It wasn't a large force, and at first Eunoe thought perhaps it was a trade caravan, but they were all armed. It was an attack, though Eunoe couldn't say if it was coordinated with the darkness or simply a group of opportunistic bandits. Either way the same thing could be happening at home. She squeezed her knees to tell Castor to fly faster until they pulled up beside Denzig.

  “They're going to attack that town of giants.”

  “I know. I smell bloodlust. Shall I stop them?” Denzig's voice was rough and his eyes were slotted.

  “I don't know. We need to get back to Equinox.”

  Denzig looked down at the marching columns. “Yes. Let me try and scatter them, at least.” He swooped down and approached the columns from the front, unleashing a torrent of flame. There were screams and grunts, and the columns of torches scattered to the sides. Some of the torches extinguished, but the area soon lit up as several of the soldiers caught fire and began to run or drop to the ground. Denzig rejoined
Eunoe in the air. “Perhaps that will alert the townsfolk as well.”

  Eunoe could feel Aspen shift uncomfortably behind, and Aias was steeling his mind for battle. Kyla seemed to be sleeping again, and Eunoe worried she might fall off but Aspen had her safely pinned. She sighed. Equinox may no longer be safe, but she couldn't think where else she would rather be should the world come to an end.

  ***

  “War is upon us. Most of us knew it was coming, but Erebus has mobilized much sooner than anticipated.”

  King Oberon, though small, spoke in a great and commanding voice and had an aura of flowing energy that felt like static in the air. Bremnos' few remaining body hairs always stood on end when Oberon was present. The other war leaders sat sour-faced. They had been caught unprepared, and Bremnos felt they should be rushing to their command-posts right now.

  Anh-Bul rose to his feet. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. At a previous meeting I had suggested we set up wards similar to those at Equinox. My plan was soundly rebuffed.”

  General Agrimarch snorted from across the table.

  Oberon ignored the General. “The wards were alarms only, and they have failed. As have many other wards. We underestimated the extent of Erebus' infiltration.” Oberon stared at Anh-Bul as he spoke, and Anh-Bul met his gaze. In gorgon culture this was the greatest sign of trust. However, in the Royal Court the gaze of a gorgon was a real threat and General Agrimarch stood and growled. Anh-Bul caught himself and looked down. He appeared as though he wanted to carry on the discussion, but he took his seat and Oberon continued.

  “Assaults have been focused on locations without a heavy military presence. Towns and villages, mostly. Erebus' numbers are greater than we expected but still much smaller than the forces against him. However, he has granted great power to his Avowed followers. Local militias are inadequate to deal with them, and so several national armies and the Royal Army have all been deployed, but the numerous attacks are splitting our forces, which seems to be Erebus' goal.”

  The doors blasted open and a grim-looking djinn flew into the room and handed Oberon a message. Oberon nodded and the djinn departed. Oberon opened the bound scroll, read it over, and dropped it on the table.