“We will escort him to Moonriver. You will go back to your father.”
Marco's dislike of D'jerik increased with every syllable the warrior elf spoke. He didn't intervene out of fear that they would cast him aside instead of helping him, but tried smiling at Camira for reassurance. He would have patted her shoulder but his hands were still tied.
D'jerik took hold of the reins of a horse without a rider. Pure white, the horse's mane and tail had also been adorned with feathers and beads. Without looking at her, he said to Camira, “Here, ride so you will not slow us down.”
His idea of chivalry wasn't very romantic.
Camira glared at him, but mounted the stallion with ease. The warriors reformed themselves around her, creating a deadly guard. Marco, D'jerik and D'jala walked beside her, with Marco in the front. Having the deadly elves at his back was something he didn't like, but it was better than being abandoned by them.
They began the journey away from the forest, with the warriors on horseback sticking close to their leader. Marco didn't know how far they were going to walk and they had to pause several times for him to rest. The group traveled fast, faster than how he and Camira had been exploring the forest and he had already been walking for too long anyway. He was a city kid and walked everywhere, but this was a long journey.
At long last, as the sun was high in the sky, they reached a line of trees and a large stone gate. At this, D'jerik made his way to the head of the pack. “Welcome to Oraldine.”
They passed through the gate and into another forest, of sorts. Or, that's what Marco saw at first. When he looked again, he realized that the trees, while huge and ancient, were set up in a sort of organized way, forming neat rows with plenty of space in between each. Above the ground, on the tree trunks were ornate networks beneath the tree tops, like roads. Woven from tree limbs, vines and other things the trees themselves gave, they formed small, intricate pathways between the trees at various levels. Within the branches of the trees, dwellings were formed out of wooden planks. Like tree houses, they stood proudly within the trees that housed them, being sheltered and protected by the many branches.
There were elves on ground level as well. Stone huts stood on the ground, with the largest being tower-like and rather circular in appearance. Unfortunately, the elves around the tower seemed to be running and gathering armor and weaponry, as if they were under attack.
“The Citadel!” one elf cried. “They're after the Citadel!”
As soon as the cry had been made, D'jerik's warriors were on instant alert. After a moment, the thundering sound of horse hooves rang through the air. Enough horses to be an army...or an invasion.
“Warriors, break!” D'jerik yelled.
Marco turns to ask what was happening but the war party had already left, leaving Camira on horseback next to him. She dropped to the ground and asked him where his knives were. After she had drawn one of his knives from one of his pockets, she opened the blade and marveled at the folding mechanism once more, before she sliced through the ropes binding him.
“The Second Realm was created by four powerful mages,” she said. “A long time ago, the Citadel was their living space. After the territory fell into elf hands, the Citadel became a holy place, used for ritual and elder council. It's an important part of our village.”
She turned back to the village, where knights on horseback were seen coming from behind the trees, heading for the tower she called the Citadel. “Knights of Emeralde. They seek to destroy what means so much to us.”
A shout caught their attention. Marco turned and everything began moving in hellish slow motion. He saw D'jala fall off of his dappled war horse, leaving D'jerik vulnerable and completely open to attack. D'jerik was trying to help someone and didn't notice–
“No!” Marco shouted as he saw a knight raise a bow and arrow up to D'jerik's level. The arrow was already soaring through the air when Marco reached out. His magic flowed straight from him into the air, searching for the arrow. The arrow froze in mid-flight, glowing white as Marco's powers washed over it. With only seconds to spare, the arrow changed trajectory, missing D'jerik altogether. As the arrow circled back to the knight, the knight had the misfortune of removing his ruined helmet – before the arrow made a new home right between the knight's eyes.
Marco wasn't expecting the arrow to hit bone and flesh instead of metal. He flinched. The white glow that surrounded the arrow was surrounding his body now, filling him with a warm light. Once he released his hold on the arrow, the glowing and the warmth that came from it stopped.
D'jerik glanced his way, as if matching the glowing from the arrow to him. Silent gratitude passed from him in the form of a nod, before he turned back to the battle at hand.
By this time, the battle had moved away from the Citadel. The elves made it clear that having the knights even step near their sacred landmark was not allowed. They also made it clear that they did not kill when it was needed. Several knights were disabled, thrown off of their horses and corralled into an area where they could not escape. Marco helped keep the knights penned, pushing armored knights back and collecting their weapons. One man didn't want to surrender his sword and instead came after Marco. Marco gave a yell as he fell back–
A familiar roar answered him.
The familiar roar was enough to terrify everyone where they stood. Knights froze as if the ground under them had given way and the elves glanced around, confused. Relief flooded through Marco. If he was right, then...
Yes. He was right! The roar echoed once more, shaking the treetops, before a streak of glowing red energy came towards him. The streak hit the attacking knight square in the chest, pushing him away from Marco. Pinned to the dirt below, the knight could only stare in confusion as a woman with one angel wing and one demon wing ripped him to shreds.
Marco couldn't watch. This was Evangeline, the real Evangeline, in demon mode. When she was like this, it was either stand out of her way or get killed. In the earliest days of the Shadow Assassins, Evangeline had worn a small vial of holy water around her neck to be used if she transformed when it wasn't necessary. There was no holy water or anything else to fight off the demon that ripped metal armor to shreds like it was tissue. He could only stand out of her way.
The horrific sounds of Evangeline eviscerating the knight before her were enough to freeze all battles on all sides. Both the elves and the humans stared at her with horror, before someone finally announced what she was.
“Demon! She is a demon!”
“Don't attack!” Marco shouted before anyone could move towards her. “She's my friend!”
“You befriend demons?” D'jerik demanded. He clutched his bleeding shoulder as he limped towards the human, his eyes narrowed.
“She's trying to defend me! She saved me! She's not evil!”
Before D'jerik could question the validity of the statement, Evangeline let out another roar, this one weaker. Her demon energy was strong, but short-lived. With the knight wiped from existence, she transformed back into her human form, collapsing on bloody dirt below her.
“Is that Dante?” a human knight whispered to his comrade.
“She looks like her, but without the scar,” his comrade replied.
Marco ignored their commentary and ran towards his friend. Evangeline was out cold, and aside from bloody hands, there was nothing else to indicate that she had just transformed from a horrific demon form.
“Allow me to help,” a new voice said.
He looked up and saw a man with a long traveling cloak around him. The cloak looked like it was made storybook royalty and the man spoke with a regal voice.
“Who are you?”
“I am helping Evangeline cross to Moonriver,” the cloaked man said. “If you are another one of Evangeline's lost companions, we ran across your friend Kaleb earlier, when we were in Kkyathi territory.”
“Where is he?” he asked.
“He insisted on staying to help the Kkyathi, so we left him.”
That was an odd concept. Why would Kaleb want to stay behind, instead of joining Evangeline? Marco shook the thought off and focused back on the woman in front of him. With the cloaked man's help, he moved Evangeline into the Citadel. There were a few protests by the elves, but it was the closest building out of harm's way.
Inside the Citadel, it was cool, with the only light coming from a few lanterns on the walls. In the dim lighting, the cloaked man lowered his hood. His face was as regal as his voice, but the way he looked down at Evie made Marco uncomfortable; too familiar for Marco's taste, too affectionate.
One of the elves inside the Citadel gave a shout of alarm. “The Prince of the Emeralde Kingdom!”
Marco stared at the man before him in alarm. Just based on what he had heard, the Emeralde Kingdom was the one attacking everyone else. Why would Evangeline be traveling with someone from that kingdom?
The prince looked annoyed, but calmly explained that he did not support his father's war. His voice suggested that this wasn't the first time he had to have given that speech. He explained how he helped Evangeline escape his father's territory and his job of escorting her to Moonriver.
“Erik?” Evangeline asked as she slowly woke up.
“You're awake,” he said, kneeling down to her level as soon as he heard her voice.
“Marco?” Evangeline asked, this time slower, as if she wasn't sure if he was there or not.
“Hey, you.” Marco mirrored the prince's motion, kneeling on the other side of her.
She sat up slowly and reached out for him. “You're really here?”
“Yeah, and so are you. You came out of nowhere...”
“I saw you getting attacked. Where are we?”
He glanced around at him. “You're in elf territory.”
Their conversation continued in hushed tones, as if they didn't want to disturb the peace and sanctity of the Citadel with their words. Evangeline caught him up on what she had encountered with Kaleb and his decision to stay with the Kkyathi.
“So you're traveling with this handsome prince, eh?” Marco said on a joke.
Evangeline's reaction was instantaneous. As she glanced at the prince, her face darkened, as if she was blushing. It was something absolutely out of character for her, the sudden embarrassment.
Marco couldn't help but grin. “So Evie, what have you and this prince charming been up to?”
The elves were kind enough in that they tried not to kill. The knights that they had captured were held prisoner as intruders, awaiting a tribunal. With Marco, Evangeline and Prince Erik, they were rather curt. Kind, but curt, in their behavior.
“We thank you for your help, warriors of the First Realm,” D'jerik said, bowing his head slightly in gratitude. He glanced at Marco and spoke to him next. “Unfortunately, with the recent raid on our colony, I cannot see you to Moonriver. My duty is here, with my tribe. I hear that the Prince is going to Moonriver, however, and your friend with him.”
“I plan on sticking close to them, thanks,” Marco said with a small grin.
He nodded. “You will not be able to keep up with them while they are on horseback. Come to our stables and we will gift you a horse.”
That was a surprise. It wasn't what Marco was expecting from the man who he had deemed as a total asshole before. It took a moment for him to thank D'jerik for the gesture. After, he followed the elf to an area that was loosely fenced in with tree branches and other things. Horses were running around in a wide ring, each of them in all sizes in colors. Several had feathers and beads running through their manes and tales.
D'jerik went through a wooden gate and picked a horse out, a white-bodied stallion splattered with brown and black, with feathers woven through his mane only. It only took a fast moment to have the horse ready for riding. He handed the reins to Marco.
“This is Rain Mist. Treat him well.”
He took the leather reins and smiled at the elf. “Thanks a lot, man.”
Another moment of unspoken gratitude passed between them. The horse was for more than just helping the tribe out, it was also for saving D'jerik's life. Not that the elf warrior would ever admit that, Marco thought.
It took Marco a little longer to understand how to climb on the horse and how to direct him. Evangeline laughed at him, but admitted that she too was new at riding. Luckily, the prince made for a great teacher. He gave some good advice and started them off at a slow trot, when they set off.
Marco glanced behind him as they left the elf colony. Through the trees, he could see elves coming out of houses to help organize the chaos that the battle had left behind. Part of him didn't feel right just leaving the elf colony behind. Maybe that was what compelled Kaleb to stay behind with the werecats Evangeline had mentioned.
Before Oraldine was out of sight for Marco, he caught sight of a familiar elf. Camira was at the edge of the woods, one hand raised in farewell. He studied her form for a moment, taking her in and committing her to memory. Only after that did he raise a hand to her in response, watching her until she was out of sight.
Chapter Fourteen
The journey to the First Realm was going to be a grim one. Dirk didn't like accepting defeat but after failing to find the Shadow Assassins, he felt as though the doctor should know. It wasn't going to be a happy meeting but that was expected.
His passage to the First Realm was to be cleared by the afternoon. It was going to be an unexpected visit on the doctor's part and Dirk could only hope that Dr. Fyrn was available to speak.
As Dirk was going through a small wardrobe filled with his collection of “First Realm street clothes,” there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he called absently.
At the door was one of the gate guards. Charged with not letting strangers inside the castle or students outside of the castle without clearance, the guards were rarely roaming the halls of the school. The guard that stepped into the room looked hurried and somewhat panicked.
“What is it?” Dirk asked as he pulled a leather jacket off of a hanger.
“Strangers have shown up on school grounds and His Royal Highness, Prince Erik of Emeralde is traveling with them as a guide!” the guard seemed to be in a state of shock. “His Royal Highness has informed me that he is escorting two of your guests up here and they request entrance!”
That got Dirk's attention.
Forgetting about the leather jacket, Dirk glanced at the rather short man before him. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let them in!”
That was all the clearance the guard needed. He ran right out of the door as fast as he had run in. Dirk followed behind in his wake, at a calmer pace. There was no reason to hurry, not with the rush the guard was in.
The guard was correct. Within the main entrance of the school stood three people, two of which were familiar. The large double doors stood wide open, as if they had just been let inside. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass set in the enormous wooden doors, shining down on his visitors. Marco and Evangeline looked a little worse for wear, a little battle-worn, but they still looked around the main entrance with awe. The man beside them looked regal as he stood still and Dirk only recognized him as His Royal Highness Prince Erik from his travels.
He bowed first to the prince, as was expected, then turned to the two he had been looking forward to seeing.
“Marco, Evangeline!” he called to them. “Welcome to Moonriver.”
The two seemed beyond relieved to see him.
“Dirk! You have no idea of how good it is to see you,” Marco said with a bit of a dark laugh.
“First off, my apologies for the rough landing. You didn't emerge from the portal in my office, as you were supposed to,” he said as he met up with them. Noting the absence of the other Assassins, he added, “Where are the others?”
“Kaleb is in Kkyathi,” Evangeline explained. “We haven't seen Kaydee yet.”
The silence that followed was heavy with worry.
Dirk cleared his throat, then ordered for one of the guards to fetch the stable master, to take care of their three horses. After assuring them that their horses were in good care, he escorted them through the castle, up to his office.
As he walked with them, he spoke of how they were separated. “The only thing I can think of is that thing that attacked us. It had to have sabotaged the portal somehow. We were supposed to land in my office.”
“We were most definitely not in your office,” Evangeline said grimly.
“Where were you?”
Evangeline heaved a sigh, then recounted her adventures with the prince. She nodded to Marco, when she mentioned how they had found each other, then Marco explained what had happened to him and how the prince had escorted them to Moonriver.
“Well, we are fortunate to be in the presence of such a noble prince,” Dirk said, pausing in front of his office to look at Erik. “You have my thanks, for escorting them here.”
The prince nodded. “I did what I thought was right, that's all.”
“You're more than welcome here, if you would like to stay,” Dirk offered him. “Unless you're heading back to the castle?”
Erik hesitated, then glanced towards Evangeline. “I think I should stay here, if that is alright. Maybe I can contribute to the search for lady Evangeline's lost companions?”
“Man, you must want in her pants bad,” Marco commented, mostly to himself.
“I...beg your pardon?” Prince Erik seemed confused at Marco's wording, unfamiliar with the vernacular Marco spoke with.
Evangeline stepped in, alarmed at what Marco was saying. She gave her friend a very gentle nudge in the ribs. “Ignore him,” she said. “We'd love your help.”
The Kkyathi loved their parties. Kaleb had watched them set up as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. The animals killed during earlier hunts were cooked and the smell of the seasoned and cooked meat made Kaleb's mouth water. The social fire was lit once more as warriors and craftsmen took a break from their daily duties to celebrate their newest warrior's arrival.
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