by Lou Anders
“I’m surprised you remembered me,” the dark elf replied. But as she took her place, shouting emerged from the street beyond. The soldiers had caught up with them. Desstra glanced their way, hesitating. With Karn and Thianna separated, she wasn’t sure which one to protect.
“Go, go,” said Thianna. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Thianna slipped into the stream just as her cousin came around the corner. She waved a merry goodbye. The Keras Keeper swore and ran after the giantess. Dead Ymir’s head, thought Thianna, the girl was fast!
“Come on,” Thianna urged her little boat. Ahead in the watercourse she saw Desstra disappearing through a hole at the base of the first of the intercity walls.
Sirena made a grab for Thianna and missed.
The giantess started to voice a witty goodbye when her cousin leapt again. This time she sailed into Thianna and almost knocked her off the ice boat. Sirena clutched her tightly, refusing to be dislodged. Then it was their turn to pass under the wall.
The slope of the watercourse tipped severely as the stream hit the steep embankment. They tottered in the air for an instant, Thianna and Sirena sharing a look of panic. Then their craft tilted nearly forty-five degrees, and they were racing down the hill.
—
The wind blasted Karn in the face as he fought to stay atop the slippery frozen block. He actually left the watercourse entirely when stepped cascades sent him briefly airborne. He landed with a splash, feeling like his stomach wanted to flee his body through his mouth.
At the forefront Asterius continued to holler, but the tone of his yells seemed to have shifted to be more excited, less terrified. The minotaur was enjoying the ride.
Karn saw Desstra behind him. The elf seemed to be having the hardest time of it, clinging to her craft for dear life. Then he spotted wyverns in the air over her head. It was going to be close!
Karn passed a befuddled man standing with a clay jar, blinking at the strange procession speeding along his source of drinking water.
“Be healthy!” Karn called to the man.
“Uh, good fortune,” the man replied, confused.
Then the watercourse veered to the right. They were heading to the southernmost tip of the island, near the south gate and the land bridge to freedom. Though what they would do to outpace the wyverns when he arrived, Karn hadn’t a clue. Figuratively and literally, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
—
Thianna and Sirena battled atop the ice craft. Neither had time to draw a weapon, so they swung at each other with their fists. Each tried to stay aboard while shoving the other off the side. The little boat rocked precariously as the two girls struggled.
Ahead of them Desstra watched as the cousins fought. The houses were thick enough here that the wyverns could only be glimpsed intermittently between the buildings, but they’d be upon them soon enough. If Thianna fell off, she’d be lost.
The elf looked to Karn. He had a strong head start. And he wasn’t the one the Calderans were truly after. Karn was smart too. He’d reach the lower city and either escape or hide until he could get away. The stubborn frost giant was in the most trouble. Desstra made up her mind.
She leapt nimbly into the air, spreading her legs to land atop the sides of the watercourse. Her little boat flew away without her. Desstra bent at the knees and raised her hands in anticipation, watching Thianna and Sirena zooming toward her.
She’d have to time it perfectly.
Desstra hurled herself at Sirena. She struck the Calderan hard, and the two of them fell splashing into the water. They slid down the hill, but without the ice raft they weren’t moving as fast.
The elf pushed away from the girl and sat up in time to see the frost giant’s confused look as she realized what Desstra had done. Thianna was safe.
No, the frost giant was standing on the ice block, looking back in puzzlement. And the last of the intercity walls loomed ahead.
“Duck, duck!” Desstra shouted, but Thianna couldn’t hear her. She slammed into the wall as her craft sped under it. Thianna fell to the edge of the watercourse and rolled to the street. Desstra cursed out loud at Thianna’s stupidity. Her sacrifice had been for nothing. Neither of them was getting away.
—
Thianna groaned and clambered to her feet.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” she berated herself. The wall had knocked the wind out of her, but she’d struck it flat-on. It didn’t seem like anything was broken, though it had certainly hurt. Worse, she had almost gotten away. Even worse, she had Desstra to thank for it. If the elf hadn’t surprised her with that stunt, she would have seen the wall coming. Of course, Sirena might have gotten the better of her if Desstra hadn’t sacrificed herself. “It was still a dumb thing to do,” Thianna said, unwilling to concede the point.
At any rate, now she’d have to go help the elf. She just needed a minute to recover. She shook her head to clear it and leaned back against the wall. The stones shifted behind her as a section of the brickwork fell inward. The portion of the floor she stood on tilted upward, pitching her over. Then Thianna was sliding again, through the newly revealed hidden doorway and down into the dark heart of the island.
—
“You stupid, pale”—Sirena hesitated, glaring at the girl who had ruined her victory—“whatever you are!”
“Elf,” said Desstra.
“I don’t care,” the Calderan shot back. “You’re not going to be around long enough for it to matter.”
Sirena charged at the elf, but Desstra was faster. She twirled aside, thrusting out a leg and shoving with her shoulder. Sirena was sent splashing face-first into the trough of water. She sputtered in rage as the current carried her downstream. Desstra didn’t wait to continue the fight. She needed to get to Thianna, and quickly. But the direct route wasn’t the best. If there was one thing the dark elf knew, it was how to hide in the shadows. She ducked into an alley before Sirena could recover. Then, moving swiftly but silently, she worked her way to where the giantess had fallen.
But there was no sign of the big girl. Had she managed to get away? In the moonslight it was easy for the dark elf to spot Thianna’s large footprints in the dirt. They traced a path to a section of bare wall. Thianna had rested here. But where had she gone next? The footsteps didn’t continue. The giantess was a good climber. She might have gone up, though there wasn’t much in the way of handholds.
The elf’s ears twitched. Company was coming. Reluctantly she moved back into the shadows, settling in and holding perfectly still. If she didn’t move, no one would find her unless she wanted them to.
Sirena came around a corner. Desstra repressed a smile at the girl’s drenched clothing. Her own fire salamander leathers were more resistant. Water beaded on them and shed quickly. Then the elf heard the beat of wings and saw two wyverns land beside the girl.
“Don’t let her get away!” Sirena yelled. “Get back into the air and go!”
“She’s in the lower city now,” one soldier protested. “It will be like looking for a pebble in the sand.”
“She’s seven feet tall, you moron!” Sirena replied. “Go!”
The soldiers rose back into the air. Thianna’s cousin scowled as they departed, then ran in a direction Desstra assumed was toward the next gate.
The elf waited to be sure the coast was clear, then she rose, determined to search the wall some more for any clue to Thianna’s whereabouts. But then her ears twitched again and she hesitated. What she had thought was a potted plant on the side of the street had just moved. Were her sharp eyes playing tricks on her? Surely not. As she watched, the clay pot lifted off the ground and the plant shuffled a few feet farther down the road. Then it settled down and sat still. A heartbeat later, the plant again shuffled a few more paces. Desstra was intrigued. She crept forward, moving soundlessly, and approached the ambulating vegetable. When it began to walk again, she tapped it on the shoulder.
“Yikes!” the plant yelped. Then it
s leaves rearranged, some of them parting to reveal a face and others settling into the shape of Thican-style clothing. Desstra found herself looking at a young girl. Her skin was patterned like tree bark, while hornlike branches grew from a head that also sported long, slender green leaves in place of hair. The elf saw that the girl had camouflaged herself by fluffing out the leaves of her clothing and brushing her hair across her face.
“You’re a hostage princess,” said Desstra. The plant girl didn’t answer. She cast her eyes around looking for a way to flee, eyes large with panic. “I don’t want to hurt you,” the elf continued. “My name is Desstra. I’m looking for a way out of here.”
The girl relaxed a little at this.
“My name is Daphne,” she said. “I’m looking for a way out too.”
“Forgive me for asking,” said Desstra, “but are you a tree?”
“No,” Daphne replied with a nervous laugh. “I’m a dryad. Though some people call us ‘tree folk.’ ”
“I’ve heard there are dryads in Araland,” said Desstra. “That’s the country next door to Norrøngard. But I’ve never met one before.”
“I’ve heard that too,” said Daphne, “though we lost touch with the dryads of Araland a long time ago. But—if you don’t mind my asking—what are you?”
“I’m an elf,” said Desstra.
“But I thought elves were more glam…,” Daphne trailed off. Desstra’s eyes narrowed.
“Glamorous? Beautiful? Enchanting?”
“I’m sorry, have I offended you?”
“My scowl’s not giving it away?” replied the elf. Daphne looked like she wanted to disappear back into her camouflage. “No, it’s all right. You’re thinking of the wood elves. Or the light elves. Or maybe the sea elves—they’ve got green hair like yours. Well, not exactly like yours. But I’m a dark elf. I guess we got the short end of the elf stick.”
Daphne tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Aren’t you’re awfully pale to be dark?”
“It’s because we live in the dark,” Desstra explained. “And our hair is dark. And our eyes. And, well, other people don’t really like us very much. Not that we’ve given them much reason to. Anyway, we call ourselves the Svartálfar, “the swart elves.”
“Doesn’t swart mean dark too?”
“All right, look,” said Desstra irritatedly. “It’s not important. What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for the passageway,” said Daphne, then clamped her lips tight, bringing a small hand to cover her mouth.
“There is a hidden door!” Desstra exclaimed. “I knew it. Come with me!” She dragged the protesting dryad to the wall. “It’s got to be right here. Show me.”
“What?” said the dryad. “No, I don’t know anything about that.”
Desstra’s eyes narrowed. “My friend—okay, we’re not exactly friends—but Thianna disappeared right on this spot, and I’m going to find her. So show me what you know.”
“I don’t know anything!” whined Daphne.
“Tell me,” hissed Desstra.
The dryad quaked at her anger. “You said you weren’t going to hurt me.”
“I said I didn’t want to. That’s not the same thing!” Desstra pushed the girl against the wall. “Now show me where the hidden door is!”
“I don’t know about any door. I’m looking for a passageway,” Daphne wailed.
“Quiet,” said the elf. “You’ll bring the guards back.” She turned to the wall. “It’s got to be here somewhere.” Desstra ran her hands over the brickwork. Tricks and traps were her specialty. If anyone could find a hidden switch or lever, it was her. “Ah,” she said, her fingers finding a loose brick that shifted at her touch. “Here you are.”
“Here is what?” asked the dryad.
“This,” replied the elf. She depressed the brick, which slid back into the wall. Then the wall itself fell inward, a section of the floor at their feet rising up. Desstra and Daphne were pitched into the opening. Then they were both crying out as they tumbled into the darkness.
—
Karn sent a spray of water into the air as he slid to a halt in a small pond. The ice raft was very nearly melted. Fortunately, he was at the foot of the hill, near the gates to the land bridge. Karn splashed his way to shore, where Asterius was just climbing onto the land.
“We need to find a place to hide,” he said to the minotaur prince, “until Thianna and the others get here.” Karn looked up the slope. Desstra should have been right behind him, Thianna on her tail. The fact that neither of his friends was in sight worried him. Had they been captured?
“No hiding,” snorted the minotaur. “Fighting! Escaping! Not hiding.”
Karn sighed. Was the bull boy always going to be this much trouble? Then he noticed the wyverns overhead. They were still searching the city, but they weren’t following the watercourse. Obviously the soldiers thought Thianna had abandoned it.
“They think she’s left the stream for the city streets,” he observed.
“Then she’s fine,” said Asterius. “Searching for her in the city will be like looking for a flea in the straw.”
“We need to be the same,” Karn replied.
“I don’t like fleas,” said Asterius. He swished his tail involuntarily.
Karn pointed to a nearby building. “We can hide there and wait to see if Thianna and Desstra make it down.”
“No!” Asterius stamped a hoof. “I will go to my father in Labyrinthia. When he hears how I was attacked by the Calderan soldiers, he will raise an army and come back!”
“We wait for Thianna,” said Karn.
“We escape!” demanded Asterius.
“Wait!”
“Escape!”
“Honestly,” spat Karn. “You’re as stubborn as a—as a—”
Asterius glared at him.
“Go ahead,” the boy growled. “Say it!”
“As a frost giant!” yelled Karn.
The minotaur blinked.
“All right, I admit, I wasn’t expecting that.”
Karn glanced hopefully at the watercourse. Still no sign of his friends. He didn’t want to acknowledge it, but it didn’t look like they were coming. Their plan to seize the horn had failed. He needed new options.
He looked at the bull boy. Asterius was strong and eager for a fight. Were all minotaurs like that? Asterius had been the cause of the food fight with the other royal hostages, too proud to get along. But if the minotaurs could be convinced to stand alongside others, maybe Thica would rise up against the Calderans.
“Look,” said Karn, “will your father really help you?”
“I’m sure of it,” said the minotaur.
“Then I don’t mind going to him. But, um, let’s just take a moment to collect ourselves before we escape.”
“That’s okay,” said the minotaur. “As long as we’re clear that we’re not hiding.”
They reached the building, which was a long, rectangular one-story structure. Sliding open a large door, Karn saw that the interior was dark. There was a familiar earthy smell, and something crunched under their feet. Karn reached into his shirt and pulled out the phosphorescent stone that he wore on a necklace. He shook it to life and it cast light around the room. They were in a stable. He could see the stalls running along each wall. The floor was littered with hay but also with grass seeds and vegetable scraps. The hay, although it should have been in a feeder, was clearly for horses, but why someone would strew chicken food in a stable Karn couldn’t imagine.
He walked to one of the stalls, lifting the glowing stone to shine its light inside.
“What in the world is that?” Karn said. Unfortunately, his light woke the stall’s occupant.
“Kikiriki!” it crowed.
The rest of the stable occupants woke up too. Suddenly, they were all crowing and neighing, poking their muzzles out of their stables and beating their feathered wings, stamping hooves and scratching in the dirt with claws. The noise was d
eafening.
“Now can we escape?” said Asterius.
—
The elf and the dryad slid to a halt at the bottom of the slide, tumbling onto a hard stone floor. They were in a cavern, a natural basalt cave. Desstra picked herself up, then noticed that Daphne was crawling on her hands and knees. The girl was feeling her way gingerly with her palms and quivering in fear.
“You can’t see in the dark,” the elf realized.
“You can?” said the dryad in amazement. She began questing toward the sound of Desstra’s voice. “It’s pitch-black. Where are we?”
“You tell me. This was the hidden door you were searching for.”
“No, it wasn’t,” objected Daphne. “I told you, that’s something else. Please, I can’t see a thing.”
Desstra studied the girl. She appeared terrified. And helpless. She didn’t want to be burdened with the dryad, but she couldn’t just leave her groping in the dark. She sighed in exasperation. Karn and Thianna were Desstra’s responsibility. Not this leafy plant girl at her feet. Now that she was one of the “good guys,” was she going to have to help every unfortunate case that came along?
“All right, calm down,” said the dark elf, assisting Daphne to her feet. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. We’re in a cavern—no surprise there—but I see a tunnel leading out of it.” She glanced down at the shards of clay at the girl’s feet. “Also, I think you broke your pot in the fall.”
“It isn’t mine,” said Daphne. “I was just borrowing it. You don’t think I walk around with that thing around my ankles all the time, do you?”
“I don’t know what tree people do,” said Desstra. “You could eat dirt for all I know. You don’t eat dirt, do you?”
“No, of course not,” said Daphne. “Don’t be silly. We just stick our feet in it from time to time.” She wriggled her toes at a pleasant memory.
Grumbling, Desstra led the dryad toward the exit. The girl was clinging tightly to her arm, and the elf already felt hampered by her presence. She shifted Daphne’s grip. “Take my hand. I’ll get us out of here, but I’ve got to find Thianna first, and I can’t do that with you tugging on me. Fortunately, there’s only one way she could have gone.”