by S. Y. Lee
By then, Mira and Sarah had returned with a change of clothes for everyone. Sarah had shed her old dirty outfit that had weathered the forest and swamp, and she was wearing a slick, dark green ensemble. She wasn’t pleased with the fashion, but it was functional and practical for the journey ahead. She lay similar outfits down at her brother’s feet and sat down.
“Teffin,” Karine said when she saw the clothes. She seemed pleased. The clothes looked like the same material she had on.
“Yes, mistress. It grows here,” Mira said. When the motherly figure saw David’s puzzled look, she elaborated, “Teffin is a rare plant that some elves used for the material of their clothes. Lightweight but tough. And they don’t smell, which is good for a long journey.”
David picked up a shirt and took a whiff of it. It smelled like lavender and the material appeared to be quite flexible and resilient when he tugged at it.
“It’s not my fight anymore. Mira and I are done,” Delmar continued. He then raised his stick at Leo. “But I can teach you a few tricks, if you want, young man.”
“Sure. That would be great.” Leo looked around for another stick or a branch that he could use as a sparring tool.
“Draw your sword.”
“But…”
“You won’t hurt him. Draw your sword!” Mira shouted. She was already heading back into the teepee, uninterested in the sparring match. Maybe she already knew the outcome.
Leo obliged and drew the light blade as he readied himself. If Delmar was as good as the stories that Karine had heard about, he reckoned he wouldn’t need to hold back.
When the tiny man looked like he was about to jab the stick at Leo, he tried to deflect it, but the end of the stick hit his chest squarely anyway, causing him to take a few steps back. Leo touched the spot where Delmar had tapped him, massaging his sore ribs while trying to figure out what had just happened. If it had been a real sword, there would be a pointed end sticking out through his back now.
“Again,” Delmar said. This time his eyes were closed as he held the stick up straight in front of him. Leo steadied his feet and inched his way forward, deciding to strike first. The moment he pulled the blade back to swing it at Delmar’s body, the small man stepped forward quickly and jabbed the stick at him again. It hit Leo in the same spot.
Karine had seen enough and she picked up her set of clothes and asked Sarah where she could change. “This is going to take a while,” she muttered as she glanced over at Leo being hit in the chest for the third time.
Chapter 63
She was still getting used to riding a horse. The black beast she had been assigned with was not easy to steer. The only other time she had ridden a horse was when she was a child at the zoo. Back then, a zookeeper plopped her on top a small pony and led it by the reins in a slow circle. Caitlin remembered being terrified of the experience. While she was largely attuned to the great outdoors and nature, riding an animal always struck her as somewhat odd and unnatural.
It had been three days since they had left Thermine. The first stop had been a small encampment in a nearby forest where the Dark Flame had been holding women and children like Keela and Edan. They weren’t bound or kept in cages, but they were prisoners nonetheless. Clera had ordered all of them to be set free, though she didn’t provide any horses or money to them. She insisted that the proximity to Thermine was kindness enough, and that most of the people they had abducted weren’t far from their homes.
Caitlin’s heart sank when she found out that a few of the children, some just toddlers, were without their mothers. For those children, the Dark Flame picked them up and shoved them into the arms of any woman, designating her as their new caregiver, before ushering them along. Caitlin didn’t need to ask about the fate of the absent mothers. Rather, she didn’t want to know. A deal was a deal, and she was now a part of this crew that apparently seized children from their homes based on a vague message from somewhere called Gormore.
Once the messy situation with the women and children was dispatched of, Clera had ordered her men to decamp and soon they were on their way. By Caitlin’s estimates, their numbers totaled around two hundred. The Dark Flame was mostly comprised of men, but there were several women as well, most of whom were around Caitlin’s age. She had attempted to strike up a conversation with some of them, but they mostly shunned her and offered nothing more than a cursory nod and acknowledgment.
There was an upside to traveling with the Dark Flame. For one, Alister kept to himself and would only confer with Clera on occasion, never sharing with anyone what they discussed. The other perk was the pitching of tents every night when they stopped to rest. These were nice tents, in matching red of course, that allowed up to four people to sleep comfortably in one. On the first night, Caitlin had been grouped with three other women and given her own uniform. The next day, she looked just like one of them, although instead of a sword, she held on to her bow and arrows. Clera had been serious about wanting to add an archer to her troupe.
Apart from the first day, Caitlin hadn’t spoken to Clera. All she could do was observe the people she was traveling with and try to learn more about them and their mission. So far, nobody had spoken about their purpose and it was clear Clera kept her cards close to her chest and didn’t share any information if she thought her subordinates didn’t need to know. During meals, there was no small talk or reminiscing of home. It was as if their previous identities and lives didn’t matter.
For all her fears that this was be a rampaging army that pillaged and killed along the way, it was not the case. They rode past small villages, cottages in the countryside, farms being tilled, and their gaze didn’t linger. They kept their eyes ahead and focused on the journey.
Now, three days away from Thermine, Caitlin was starting to get used to life as a member of the Dark Flame. She was an ant in a colony which served the queen, Clera. Her struggles with her steed continued and she had fallen back, close to the rear of the contingent, when one of Dark Flame came galloping back to find her.
“The commander wants you. Come,” he pointed at her. She recognized him as one of the men with Clera in the Marble Keep. She was already nervous enough about being summoned, and it didn’t help that she couldn’t get her horse to pick up the pace. That drew some snickers from the other riders around her. Finally, the man sent for her shook his head in disgust and reared his horse alongside her. He grabbed the reins from her and pulled her horse with him.
They had been going up a gentle slope with a while and Caitlin saw where they were when they reached the front of the small riding army. Clera was sitting upright on her mount, staring out and over the edge of the small hill they were on. There was a valley below them and Caitlin could see huts and cottages lining its sides with a clear path through the middle.
The man dragging her forward let go and her horse continued to move, until Caitlin jerked hard on the reins, stopping it in time before it got too close to the ledge.
“You summoned?” Caitlin asked. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to address Clera as “commander,” like everyone else did, not that she cared. She had been forced to join them and the moment she saw an opportunity that would allow her to find a way home, she would take it. For now, the Dark Flame was a means of survival.
“Yes. We’ve reached the Kallen Valley,” she motioned at the land before their eyes. “I want you beside me when we ride in. Ready your bow.”
“What are we going to do here?”
“This is a strategic location on one of the key routes to Thelmont. We must control it.”
“How?”
“Well, that depends on the people down there, doesn’t it?” Clera turned to her and smiled. There was something particularly sinister about her grin.
Chapter 64
“Close!” Delmar said as he sidestepped Leo’s attack. It had been a while since they had started sparring and Leo was sweating profusely. It turned out Delmar hadn’t been bragging about his own prowess and was indeed quit
e the accomplished swordsman who handled Leo much like a professional wrestler would against an amateur, with overwhelming force, speed, and technique. While Delmar used a stick to spar with him, Leo could imagine how lethal the man would have been with the nearly weightless Sparrow in his hand.
After Leo had been hit the chest about ten consecutive times, Delmar finally offered him some pointers and showed him how to better move his feet while wielding his sword. There was no defense in sword fighting, Delmar extolled. Always be on the offense, even when facing an attack. It didn’t take long for Leo to grasp the concept, and once he took Delmar’s advice, he found himself being able to avoid or deflect Delmar’s strikes on occasion, though he still didn’t come close to touching the small man despite how swiftly his blade sliced through the air. Delmar was consistently one step ahead of him, countering with an attack before Leo could even make his move.
When the rest of the group returned in their new outfits, Karine watched them practice while the siblings helped Mira with some fruits she had prepared for them and David slung the bag of fruit over his shoulder. Once, while Leo was getting off the ground after Delmar had swept his legs from out underneath him, the legendary swordsman grinned at the elf and asked if she wanted to have a go. She politely declined. Unlike Leo, she was keenly aware of her capabilities and from what she had seen, she would likely be embarrassed in front of the humans who held her skills in high esteem. She was too proud to enter a fight she knew she was bound to lose.
“That’s enough. You may not realize it now, but in time, you’ll find that you’ve improved immensely,” Delmar said, and he lowered the stick from Leo’s face for the umpteenth time. Leo wiped the sweat from his face as he panted and let Delmar pull him up. Not that long ago, he had never held a sword. Now, he was frustrated that he couldn’t land a blow on a swordsman who was apparently still unbeatable after two centuries.
Delmar glanced up at the sky. The sun had fully risen and the vast blue sky above them was clear, without a hint of any clouds. “Get changed. It’s time for you all to leave. Now is the best time.”
While Mira led Leo away so that he could clean up and get changed, the rest of the group waited with Delmar. He had barely broken a sweat and he looked like he had just gone for a leisurely stroll around the community, rather than spar with the younger, more athletic Leo for a couple of hours.
“Delmar, how do we get off the mountain? We’re going to Thelmont. Karine says it’s on the other side of the thick fog we saw on the way up here,” Sarah asked.
Delmar smiled mysteriously. “You’ll see. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
*
They hadn’t noticed it before when they were walking around the mountain community, but carved into the north side of the mountain was a spiral staircase that led all the way up to the top. The staircase was well concealed, and the entrance to it was obscured by trees and bushes that they had to brush aside to get through, likely by design.
Delmar led the group’s ascent, setting a pace which even Karine struggled to keep up with. Mira had once again gone ahead to make preparations, though Leo couldn’t figure out why they were going higher if their intent was to leave the mountain. Yet, since coming to this world, so many events and occurrences had deviated from the normal, that he suspended his disbelief. Anything was possible.
“I remember climbing stairs for training,” David remarked. He was the last person up the stairs, so he could keep an eye out for his sister in case she needed help. They hadn’t really discussed much about their lives back home, but Leo had gathered that David was some sort of athlete, or aspiring athlete, though he appeared to be a little old to still be “aspiring.” Being natural gifted, the path of professional sports had crossed his mind once or twice, but he knew it required full dedication and drive from a young age. A sporting career nowadays was a cutthroat profession which athletes had to get into early. From what he knew from just watching basketball and football on television, the star players kept getting younger and younger. Sure, some people made it work later in life, but those instances were few and far between, often as fleeting as a shooting star. A short burst of brilliance before disappearing into the crowded bench or lower leagues, leaving behind a faint imprint that was soon lost in the infinity of time.
Mira was waiting for them when they eventually reached the top. The air was cold and light. Leo found it rejuvenating as he climbed onto the last step. They were at the peak of the mountain, where a panoramic view of the lands around Servane greeted them. To the south and practically everywhere around them, Leo could see the familiar and lush grass that they had trekked through for two days. Even from here, he could see no end to it. There was no sign of the marsh or forest before that, not to mention Thermine. He wondered if there was some kind of optical illusion that Servane was shrouded in to protect itself from the rest of the world.
The only difference in the landscape was in the north, where the dark fog stood between them and a river in the distance. Leo’s eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets when he saw what Mira had come ahead of them to prepare for. She was tying a knot on a large kite that used the same material they were wearing. It was a hang glider. There were two and they weren’t too big, though the wooden beams across them looked like they could fit two people side by side.
“This is crazy,” Leo muttered. Sarah and David were just as surprised, while Karine knelt next to Mira to examine her handiwork. She gave the primitive aircraft a few knocks here and there like she was inspecting a car’s tires, until she was satisfied and stood.
“This will work,” she said.
“Of course it will work. Mira designed those kites herself. Everybody leaves this way. Over the fog. If you go through it, you get lost. If you go back to the grass, you get lost forever, I think,” Delmar remarked. He was staring pensively into the dense fog with his hands behind his back.
“Delmar?” Sarah asked meekly, waiting for him to acknowledge her before asking her question. He didn’t respond, but she asked it anyway. “If nobody ever returns, how do you know they survive?”
Delmar said nothing.
Mira did a final check and beckoned the group over to her. She divided the group into pairs, with the twins going together, and Leo with Karine. She pointed out into the fog and it took them a while to see where her finger led. Through the mist, they could vaguely make out a glint of sunlight, like a glass pane reflecting the light in the distance.
“That’s the Shining Bridge?” Karine asked.
“Yes. Use it as your guide and meeting point should you get separated. The kites should take you there just right. You can steer them by shifting your body weight. You’ll all have to work together. And hold on tight,” Mira said.
Hold on tight. Leo wasn’t thrilled about this plan. Actually, he was terrified of this plan. He didn’t want to admit it to everyone present, especially in front of Sarah and Karine, but he was gravely afraid of heights. When he was young, his parents had brought him to an amusement park where his father insisted on taking him on a rollercoaster ride. It was then he discovered his fear of heights, and his helplessness at that moment when the rollercoaster slowly makes it way up to the apex. He thought the moment before the drop was particularly cruel, those few seconds you know you’re about to plunge down to earth at an intense speed with no way of backing out. He remembered struggling against the bar that held him down in the rollercoaster seat.
He had no recollection of what happened after the drop, apart from knowing that it was the most terrifying experience of his young life, and he had avoided heights ever since. He stayed far away from activities such as parachuting or hang gliding, and he even hated those elevators that had the glass walls on the inside that allow people to see outward as they rose or descended. He always kept his eyes straight ahead at the opaque door, praying for the elevator to reach its designation faster so that he could get off.
“Leo, are you okay?”
“What?”
Karine was shaking him by the shoulder and he realized he had spaced out and was breathing so fast he was close to hyperventilating. “Uh, yes. I…”
“I have my reservations as well. But the fog is too dense to walk through. Come, pick up your end and let’s go.”
Taking a deep breath, Leo did as he was told and lifted the kite on his side. It was surprisingly light, which he couldn’t decide if it was a good thing. Light meant the wind could carry it easier, though it might not be as durable and could fall apart mid-air, sending them crashing to their doom.
“You two go first. Then the twins. Don’t want you crashing into each other. It’ll take a while to get used to it, but at this height, you’ll have enough time to learn,” Mira said. Leo laughed nervously until he realized Mira wasn’t joking.
Leo looked over his shoulder at the twins who both gave him a tentative thumbs up. He forced a smile, putting on a brave front, though he quickly turned to face forward, not sure if he could sustain it. “Delmar, thanks for… everything,” he said.
The diminutive man nodded at him as they stepped towards the edge of the mountain. Even Karine was inching forward carefully and watching her step. She didn’t want to slip and fall before they jumped.
“Always be on the offense,” Delmar said, pointing to the fog.
Leo inhaled deeply and looked straight ahead, trying not to picture what was beneath his toes that were sticking off the edge of the mountain. “Ready?” Karine asked. He made some unintelligible sound which she took for a yes and started a short countdown. “Three, two…”
Then came the drop.
Chapter 65
He was hungry and tired. And he smelled. Or was it just the trash in the dirty streets and the sewage that flowed through the city? It made no difference to him as he sat by the side of the street, leaning against the wall of a textile store. The owner, a middle-aged man with two young children, had been kind enough to not chase him away like others had. Yesterday, he even gave Themba an apple. A fresh and crunchy apple, not some piece of rotten fruit that was about to be thrown away.