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by J. R. Karlsson


  'In the last act prior to his execution, Justice Kelgrimm ordered that they be sent into the Sah'kel desert, a harsh and largely inhospitable tract of land. No doubt they will be sent to the fort in that region. Ordinarily this would be the death of most people but in this case they have attracted the sympathy of an unknown individual.'

  A look of distaste spread upon his face then. 'I would have interceded out of curiosity but to do so against the Justice's orders would have resulted in an unwanted conflict. The powers I serve detest unwanted conflicts, they are altogether too messy.'

  Ella was confused at this. El-Vador seemed capable of innumerable things yet he in turn had a master to serve?

  'I see the look on your face, the concept would fill most with confusion. I serve the Emperor like any other good citizen would, my capabilities do not set me above him in that matter. I have no desire to rule over humanity, a ruler must deal with an infinite number of complaints and issues. I leave such concerns to those who desire it.'

  She didn't know what to say to that, so ventured another question. 'Did you really do all the things the book claimed you did?'

  He nodded. 'It was... unexpected. Discovering that you had a detailed knowledge of my past history in addition to your own unique aspects. I do not believe I would have opened up as quickly to you if you hadn't possessed it. Are you sympathetic toward the orphan?'

  She considered the question carefully, after all if he really was the orphan out of the story then this was a deeply personal matter. 'It's been a long time since I read the stories. I was sympathetic initially to his cause, it all seemed very black and white. Then in the later stories he started doing the wrong things for the right reasons.'

  El-Vador nodded, abruptly sitting at the foot of the bed. 'Hindsight dictates that I should acknowledge this. I have had many a year to ponder over my actions back in those earlier times. Though I acknowledge that I was wrong it matters not as I cannot change what is done.'

  He seemed open to her questioning for the first time since he had taken her away from Urial, she decided to risk another.

  'How old are you, El-Vador?'

  In the ensuing silence Ella became increasingly paranoid. Had she presumed too much in asking him that question? Or was it the mention of his name?

  'I resided in these lands before the city we're located in was populated by your kind. The dawning of the Empire happened mid-way through my existence and at great cost, that was thousands of years ago. I do not perceive the passing hours as your friends do and have long lost count of the seasons. As you may also have noticed, I am not human. Would you care to guess as to what I am?'

  He was staring at her intently now, the book had contained a wide bestiary but no reference as to what El-Vador's people considered themselves. She also had no way of knowing how he would react to her response given his interest in it.

  'Are you... some kind of pixie?' She ventured, knowing it was the wrong thing to say as soon as it left her lips.

  He chuckled, this time it didn't seem to resonate inside her own head. The sound echoed off the walls of the bare room and continued to grow in volume. She nervously started to laugh with him, thinking she had inadvertently made a witty remark.

  The laughter died.

  'You think of me as some sort of pixie?' he said in a measured tone, entirely unreadable.

  'I... I don't know what you are. I just took a guess.'

  He made as if to look over his shoulders. 'Do you see any wings on my back, Ella?'

  She shook her head rapidly, a growing fear clutching at her.

  'No,' he said, his tone softening as if noticing he had startled her. 'No, I am not a pixie.'

  He shifted his legs onto the bed and lay adjacent to her. 'I am Elven. My kind are a race from the dawn of time. Of my kin I am the only one to possess the skills that you have seen thus far. Had it been otherwise mankind would not hold dominion over this land.'

  He waved an arm out at the archway. 'Everything beyond this door was built by Elven hands in servitude, you will not see anywhere like it in the known world.'

  Her curiosity at this revelation got the better of her fear. 'You mean there are others of your kind out there in the city?'

  He peered up at her and shook his head, she didn't know what to make of his position on the bed.

  'They were in servitude to build this place, not inhabit it. My people have long since departed it.'

  'And you stayed behind to serve the Emperor after your people left?'

  'No, I was not present during the construction of this city. I came to serve the Empire long after its completion.'

  Ella didn't feel like she was getting the full story. 'So who forced your people to build the city if they pre-dated the Empire? I thought you always had good relations with the early men of the world?'

  El-Vador nodded. 'They were a far more simple people than this humanity that exists today. A better people altogether that have not fallen far. It was not they that ordered the construction of Levanin as you call it. I do not wish to speak of this any further.'

  She knew from the reluctance in his voice that she shouldn't press him any further. She had almost forgotten Jimmy's trepidation regarding what he saw as a malevolent creature. It was strange, he seemed almost ordinary in his gestures toward her and speech, yet at the same time there was an undefinable essence to him that warned her of his lack of humanity.

  'You are weary from the journey,' he said to her.

  Her body found itself agreeing with him entirely.

  'Rest. I will watch over you.'

  She should have been concerned at the prospect, yet all she wished for now was the peace of sleep.

  68

  Alissandra

  She pressed down on it firmly with a nail to hear it gurgle at her once again. She didn't know the name of it but apparently it was a delicacy harvested from underground pools beneath the deserts of the north. All she knew was they were absolutely delicious, if somewhat viscous to the touch.

  There was something delightfully cruel in torturing such a pathetic creature, brought such an immense distance at great expense into a world it had no conception of simply to die a feeble death for her pleasure alone. Through the toying with the thing she had surmised that they were blind in this light and completely oblivious of their fate unless made painfully aware.

  She honestly didn't know if their taste was improved through application of fear or if her imagination was trying to justify her methods. She didn't care really, the means to the end were unimportant, the results were what mattered most.

  The gurgling increased in both volume and pitch as she let her hot breath settle upon it before smearing it around her lips. There was no satisfying crunch as she bit into the head, it lacked a conventional skeletal system, the rush of flavour was gloriously intoxicating.

  She needed to be slightly drugged for what she was preparing to do, there was simply no other way of tracking him. She'd be exhausted for the rest of the week from her labours but she couldn't stand not knowing what was happening.

  Slowly rising from the divan, she dug her toes into the exquisite fabric of the carpet and let a small shiver climb up her back. Eli was busy running errands and she had checked that the privacy of her room had not been disturbed multiple times during the day in preparation for this.

  She walked over to the far wall and placed her hand on the cool marble, then she quickly extended her fingers with spider-like grace across the surface in a peculiar pattern. A casual observer would think her hand had seized as she keyed the final intricate movement into the stone and waited.

  A grinding noise from beneath the floor came and went in the space of a few short seconds, a single clicking sound caused a previously unseen separation to appear in the marble floor.

  Alissandra waddled over and brushed the left corner of the tile gently with the toe of her foot. It sprung open at the touch, hurling a carpet several feet over the divan. She muttered to herself, cursing the servant
who had placed it so inconveniently before proceeding down the stairs into darkness.

  Or at least, it would have been darkness for any other person. Instead everything had a luminous green tinge to it, one of her many capabilities that frightened the common man. She had no lighting in her room whatsoever and at night it would remain pitch black to all that entered.

  Let them think of her as some monstrous creature that surrounded herself in darkness, let the tales of her sanctum grow, she would use them to her advantage in due time.

  She brushed carefully past the tables stacked with a series of books and alchemical creations and on to the end of the chamber. There stood a single concave shape with a large sheet thrown over the top for protection.

  She approached it warily, flinching in anticipation as she grabbed the loose end of the sheet and tore it away in one sudden movement.

  She knew what she as going to see before the familiar green tinge of her sight evaporated. The mirror spoke directly into her thoughts, so powerful were they that her eyes were tricked into believing she actually saw them, dispelling her previous night sight entirely.

  It was the image of a bald man, he was talking jovially to a number of disgruntled looking men who were demanding that he reveal the location of someone.

  She wasn't here to see the trials of Harold Gooseman though, now her hardest task was at hand.

  She strained her thought toward the mirror, urging it to reveal to her that which she wanted to see even more than this strange man it fixated upon. That mystery could be left for another time.

  Her head felt as if caught in a vice as the mirror continued to resist her commands, she was spurred on by the flickering image playing across her eyes. It was changing into a familiar pale white glow, it would appear that he was in Levanin itself.

  She stifled her excitement, reminding herself that the image she was about to inflict upon herself may well be one that broke her concentration on the mirror entirely.

  The vision solidified in her mind's eye and projected itself out onto her strained corneas. El-Vador lay in silence watching the girl slumber. It had happened so soon, she had doubted it even possible yet it had happened. Alissandra pushed forward with increasing urgency, she needed to see his face.

  It was timeless as always, as blank as a slate and in its peculiar stasis. She longed silently to reach out and touch it one last time, yet she knew to do so would be folly. She had tried inadvertently many times before.

  With a gasp she finally broke contact with the mirror, scrambling for the white sheet and hurling it over the image of the innkeeper.

  She had tried to watch him once, much as she had tried to watch El-Vador for extended periods of time. Yet in doing so the sensation of creeping death grew steadily more pervasive. Alissandra was no fool. When using an item such as this the slightest warning of imminent catastrophe was reason not to continue. That it had been spelt out so boldly by its creators brooked no arguments on her part.

  She staggered up the steps, reflecting on how bitter-sweet what little she had learnt truly was. El-Vador had finally returned to Levanin, but the girl was with him.

  69

  Hern

  The dreams had become increasingly vivid as life in the endless darkness drew onward. His communication with Re'tak had been sparing over the course of their captivity. Apparently the link was a drain upon both their energies.

  The cave was cool and there was a moistness about the air as he crawled out from the sticky goo. A coarse tongue descended in front of his bleary eyes and licked him clean. A brightness took him then and a sense of weightlessness was imposed upon him.

  Now he was running, a pounding sense of exhilaration flowing through his veins as a startled canyon rat bounded for the cover of the rocks. He had caught it out in the open and there was no escaping his grasp now. Everything went light and his head ached.

  Another cave now, all was dark around him. A stinging rebuke lingered in his ears as he was educated in no uncertain terms not to kill the rats.

  Now there was resentment, not at the punishment but at how uncontrollable it felt. Was there really that much that separated him from the animals?

  He didn't pull his weight in the hunts now and was shunned by his kin, he took to searching alone as the others didn't feel he was worthy of sharing in their kill.

  It was then he learnt finesse and control. How to push the limits of what his instincts willed him to do by creeping inexorably closer to his targets rather than dash outright.

  Hern woke with a start, leaping into readiness and remembering where he was an instant later.

  You were in my head, yellowskin. Why do you choose to trespass?

  He shook his own head, being hit with a mental communication was a strange enough experience, having to endure it upon waking was less the preferable. Was it his imagination or did it seem more amplified than usual?

  I was dreaming, were my dreams of your own past?

  The snorting noise Re'tak let out seemed to indicate that they were and that he seemed less than impressed about it. Hern did the bulk of the talking in their conversations, he had been mentally violated by masters of his order before and thought he could guess at what his new friend must be feeling.

  That I saw visions from your head was entirely unintentional on my part. The link we have appears to be stronger than we suspected. You have my most profound apologies.

  He waited patiently for Re'tak to reply, finally the beast spoke again, if you could call the communication speaking.

  Did you dream of canyons?

  Hern searched back into his memory, the dreams were fading with great rapidity, it felt like snatching at feathers in a dust storm.

  I vaguely recall a large rock face that you were chasing a desert rat down. Were those the canyons you speak of?

  The response was almost immediate this time. Yes, those were the canyons. To my knowledge you are the first not of our kin to see such a thing. They are a proving ground of sorts, many of our young are sent there to fend for themselves.

  Why are you telling me this?

  Re'tak snorted. If you cannot control the dreams that we have, then it is better that you understand them.

  Hern didn't mention how shaken the whole ordeal had left him. He amongst many others had been trained to control their dreams from a very young age. To be at the peak of his powers and be hit by a dream without lucidity was simultaneously terrifying and intriguing to him.

  It was all about control. A man who had control of his situation was better prepared for variables outside of that. If he could not control his dreams how could he be mentally prepared for any other activities that required great focus? The dreams could be a bi-product of his contact or indeed the alien nature of Re'tak's mind but he couldn't allow himself to make that assumption. The other possibilities were disheartening to say the least.

  If Re'tak seemed put out by the lack of response or acknowledgement he didn't show it. Hern welcomed the silence, it gave him more time to formulate a potential escape route for both of them before they wasted away into nothing.

  It had been an odd experience the first time Re'tak had regurgitated a lump of meat. He had placed his back against the wall in alarm at the sound and then his fear had turned into concern. He had explained to the beast that there was no way he could eat the scraps without sickening and dying.

  Re'tak's solution to this was to use his own juices to cleanse the meat. It was raw and dripping and almost inedible but it gave him enough sustenance to keep him alive.

  While Hern required water once every few days Re'tak was a true creature of the desert and the lack of any moisture didn't bother him in the slightest. The juices he spat up over the meat were painful to swallow but given the choice between ulcers and death, Hern could live with ulcers.

  It had been several weeks of captivity now and there had been no further fights beyond a faint and muffled clang of weapons in the arena beyond. Apparently this Corporal Dyson wasn't going to f
eed any more men to the slaughter. Hern could only assume that he was vaguely satisfied with the few he had kept alive upon their arrival. He had no idea how long they would have to wait for more to arrive and the gates of their cell to open once again. Their cramped existence seemed interminable but like all things Hern knew there had to be an ending, Dyson may well think Hern dead but he wouldn't let Re'tak rot in this cell.

  All he knew was when the doors finally creaked open, together they would be ready.

  70

  Jimmy

  Jimmy had reached breaking point.

  The constant grinding noise of the wheels, the various bumps and bruises he had accrued from holes in the road, the horrid stale sweat that permeated the air. He had just about had enough of it.

  It was an intolerable atmosphere. When they weren't sitting silently and eyeing the people in their midst with distrust they were goaded into fighting to the death for food by the guards, who had started taking bets on who would be the next fatality.

  Throughout all this, the one thought that lingered in Jimmy's mind was of how easily The Hermit had overcome greater odds before. How his complete lack of action in the face of such danger seemed life-threateningly irresponsible.

  He knew he was done for if he stayed here. A number of unsavoury looking men had already started eyeing him up, he couldn't tell if it was to kill him, eat him or have their way with him. He shuddered at the thought. No, something had to be done now, he had been lucky so far not to be singled out. He refused to pin it on the proximity of The Hermit, eventually that luck was going to run to an end.

  He stood and stretched, eyeing his former saviour. The man had conveniently moved closer to him, Jakob was also in close proximity after their reconciliation.

  Without knowing exactly what he was doing, he balled his fists and flung himself at the man.

 

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