The Dark Elf

by C C Morgen

Achilles and Leonidas rushed at the other night watchmen and in one swift swing of their swords, they cut off their heads, making them combust into thin air. The dust glimmered like black diamonds, floating down to the ground. A silent kill didn’t attract others to their aid.

  Leonidas nodded once at me and Eric, which meant we needed to move out of hiding within the shadows. He intended for us to enter the diamond mine with him and Achilles. He ordered Gabriel, Romulus, and Ethos to stand guard, while him and Achilles cautiously entered the darkness, expecting Eric and I to follow behind.

  I pulled Eric back by the arm as he walked forward. He glared at me, wondering what was going on. I yanked him by his leather chest plate and went near. “Fall back—I need you to stay behind. Head down the trail.”

  “What…” His jaw became crooked in shock. “What are you doing?”

  “Remember what I said—follow my orders. Head down the mountain and stay at watch in the trees. I have a bad feeling about this. You are swifter than the others. So, if anything happens, you will know. I want you to get home to your fiancé safe. This is your last mission.”

  “What about you?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’m the most powerful one here.” I shoved him back to get away. “I’ll produce an excuse for you. Just hurry.”

  Eric didn’t think twice about what I ordered him to do. He ran back into the darkness, moving fast as the wind. The night shrouded him from the predators I sensed in the woods. My eyes followed him until I could no longer see him in the distance and his presence was not here.

  Gabriel gawked at me oddly, watching the whole thing. “Where is he going?”

  “I ordered him to leave the area,” I readied my bow. “We don’t need him for this mission. He will stay watch down the trail until it’s done. His fiancé ordered me to make sure he comes home for his wedding.”

  Gabriel maintained his stern look in silence. Then his face softened, and he gave a slight chuckle. “That was a nice wedding gift to his wife. It’s his last mission, anyway. Let us have the man retire in one piece. We can manage this without him.” He turned away and returned to Romulus and Ethos, who were still standing guard.

  I pulled out my Elven sword instead of Valora. My stance became stiffer than normal, gripping tightly the hilt, not fully prepared for what’s coming in the dark tunnel. The walls glimmered with glowing crystal as I made my way down to catch up with Leonidas and Achilles. They were in my sight not too far ahead; crouched down, looking at each other with a confused expression. There were embedded torches in the walls the further down we went. The flames flickered in the silence. This was too quiet for a stronghold of rebellious Demons.

  “I don’t feel right about this silence,” Achilles whispered softly to Leonidas as if he was on edge. Our General remained quiet in the tunnel that began to echo a rumble. The ground shook and the walls cracked. The ceiling above us began to crumble down. We all rushed quickly away from the cave-in down the tunnel, blocking our way from going down any further. There were boulders piled in front of us, creating a wall. It didn’t take them long to realize someone trapped us.

  “No—It’s a trap,” Achilles yelled out of shock. “Fall back now!”

  However, even I knew… It was too late.

  The sound of Romulus and Gabriel’s voices echoed from the exit that seemed so far away to run. There was the sound of swords clanging together above. The war outside was coming in after the rest of us. “It can’t be—they knew we were coming,” Leonidas had anger in his eyes, listening to our brothers suddenly die out in the background of Demon soldiers running down the tunnel, heavily armed with swords and had archers with them.

  “They were ready for us.” Achilles raced ahead to meet their forces head on. He had a desperation to his run that led me to believe he wanted to reach our men outside, knowing that they were most likely dead.

  Soldiers charged towards us, going pass Achilles who collided into them with his shield and speared them. They ran up to Leonidas, who tried to force them back from getting to me. The ones that went by, I swiftly sliced them apart one by one, their bodies bursting into ash.

  In the distance, archers drew back their strings and shot a group of arrows at us. Leonidas tried to block most that came our way and I tried to duck behind him; however, one found an opening and sunk its tip into my right shoulder. The force of it stabbing into my flesh rendered my arm useless and I could no longer grip the sword firmly. It slipped from my hand and fell as I knelt to the ground on one knee. The rest of the arrows flew by and hit the rock wall behind us. Leonidas kept his shield up to cover us, spearing any soldier that came close.

  In a brief second, he turned towards me and with one hand, snapped off the base of the arrow. I screamed in sheer pain. I grabbed my bow with my useless arm and held it firmly as I mounted an arrow and drew back the string with my good arm. This wasn’t my shooting arm, but I’ll make due for the sake of fighting off the enemy that crowded in the tunnel more and more. I shot at them one after the other, my arrow never missing its mark.

  Leonidas killed everything in his path, strategically keeping me safe from the arrows that tried to hit us. Any chance after he lifted his shield I shot an arrow and sent another soldier to his death. Although, it wasn’t enough to survive. The army kept coming at us in full attack and my arrows were running out. I pulled out Valora, trying to activate its power. The pulse wave that radiated from her blade knocked them back long enough to catch our breaths.

  “We are dead if we stay trapped down here much longer, general.” I tried once more, killing the archers ahead until there were no more arrows left to shoot. “I’m out. If we don’t make it outside soon—this is it.”

  “Stay close behind me,” Leonidas yelled with fierce determination in his glare. “I will get you out of here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I need you to survive,” he groaned as he speared a soldier charging at us and pulled out his sword. “Only you have speed to make it back alive and tell the king what happened here—and my suspicions. You must survive at all cost.” He was referring to Valora in my hand that glowed red at the engravings in the blade. He gave a soft smile. “This is my final order.”

  “Yes, general.” I pounded my fist on my chest.

  “May we fight together again in the next life?” He raised his sword and shield. Then charged the army ahead. I followed closely behind, helping him push forward. He knocked down soldiers as if he was a brick wall colliding against their small bodies. The last bit of strength left, we fought through to the exit and made it outside. The night sky was above with the blood moon in sight. Below, on the ground, we could see the bodies of our comrades, laying lifeless, covered in their own blood from being stabbed many times and cut open.

  We found Achilles laying against a tree trunk, barely alive and bleeding out from his wounds. The worst one was on his stomach, which he pressed his hand on to stop the bleeding. Blood poured out of his mouth as he coughed.

  Leonidas shoved me forward. “Go—run now!” His voice had urgency when the army came out of the woods. He held them back with his shield, struggling to keep them at bay while I made my escape.

  All my strength went into my legs, sprinting hard into the forest. I panted heavily into the night, avoiding low branches and leaping over stumps and trenches. I ran at full speed, not looking behind to the scurries of the horde. I could smell the cinder and the rotten stench of their odor close by.

  Ghouls ran at my pace on each side, motivating me to run faster. I needed to go faster. They leaped in the trees above and tumbled on the ground, trying to tackle me down. Each time I moved away, avoiding their teeth and claws that reached to take out my legs.

  I got ahead of them, far enough to see the clearing. They growled far behind and I ran out into an empty field which there were no trees for a few yards. I didn’t have to worry about Ghouls jumping from above to attack in that moment. I sprinted to the center of the field a
nd suddenly stopped to the feeling of being surrounded. The forest in the distance, all around, were swarming with the blood hungry horde, who waited for me to enter.

  There was no escape as they exited in groups, closing in on me. They snarled, showing their long incisors used to rip a body apart. Their eyes pitch-black and focused on me.

  I circled around seeing them get closer and closer, their growls more ferocious to the sight of my helplessness. When they were in a range of attack, I slammed my sword into the ground and created a shockwave that sent them flying backwards. There was a group not affected by the attack and kept coming towards me. I exhaled in grief. This cannot be it.

  I spread my legs more apart then usual and gripped both hands on Valora. This was my last chance. I pointed the tip of my blade at the ground and raised the grip to my forehead. The engravings began to glow black to my energy flowing into it. “Darkness lend me your strength!” A feeling in my chest began to weigh heavy on my heart, as I felt my throat being choked by the dark energy, entering my body like a mist, and circulating around me. Its very presence sent shivers down my spine, but I held my stance at the sight of the Ghouls before me ready to attack. “Grant me the power of Oblivion.”

  All my focus went on the dark energy and forcing it to enter Valora. It made my bones ache and my body slowly began to weaken to the amount of power that was conjuring around me. The blood ran down my nose and dripped from my eyes like tears.

  A black flame formed around the blade of the sword, until I needed to raise it higher up. “Darkness—I release you! Obliterate everything in sight!”

  I plunged Valora into the ground and a massive shockwave exploded outward like a groundswell of black flames, devouring everything.

  May you all turn to ash?

  CHAPTER 26

  Angelica

  CLAUDIA AND I WAITED in the council chambers with the rest of the members sitting at the table with the king. The princess stood by her father with the same look that my sister had. Their minds were not here as they dazed off with blank expressions towards the window.

  The sun was rising and there was no word about the seven warriors. Even I was on edge, not knowing what to do. All we did was just stand and wait on any form of news. The king himself tapped the table with his long fingernails. His eyes shut as if it exhausted him from not sleeping at all. He still wore his black polished boots that tapped anxiously on the black marble floor. He wore the same black silk attire from yesterday; it seemed shocking to the other council members that he would be this worried to not leave his chair and rest in the royal chambers. Everyone kept a close eye on him as he tapped constantly in the silence.

  Suddenly, a soldier entered the room. His boots sounded heavy, which gave me no peace of mind. He kneeled before the king, inhaling and exhaling, out of breath.

  “What news do you bring on the seven?” The king became wide-eyed at the sight of his sad face.

  The soldier rose to his feet. “The scouts have sent back a message near the outskirts of the mountain. They don’t dare to go any further since the oracle sensed dark magic, coming from the location—a fatal amount your majesty. Of the highest form.”

  The room gasped audibly and glanced around at each other. I look over at Claudia to see the terror in her eyes. This was not good news.

  “What was conjured?” The king asked as he looked at his daughter. Her eyes beginning to tear up. “Do they know what?”

  “The black flames, your majesty.” The soldier cast his eyes to the floor. “It engulfed everything within the range of the mine down the mountain. None should have survived.”

  “How can this be?” The king blurted out. “Are you saying there're no survivors from either side?” His reaction became more angered.

  “Yes, your majesty.” The soldier knelt on one knee with his fist over his heart. “It seems your finest had succeeded—but at a terrible price. There’s nothing left or any signs that either had survived.”

  “That can’t be,” the king reacted in confusion. “None of them possessed the power to use dark magic at that magnitude. It must have been the enemy who annihilated their own to kill my seven warriors.”

  Claudia looked at me enraged. I held my breath not knowing how it was possible. Only a highly skilled Demon can summon the black flames of Oblivion. “I never taught her that,” I mouthed to Claudia, knowing she was angry with me for teaching Ali the dark arts. It’s not possible for her to achieve such a spell. Why was this happening? If everything was true, they are all dead. Ali and Eric were gone.

  “We don’t know, your majesty—how all this transpired.” The soldier stayed kneeled to the floor. “With your consent, I’ll send a message to the scout to investigate the sight for any further clues what might have happened. We are just waiting on your orders.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “Yes, your majesty,” the soldier answered. “The oracle senses no life on the mountain. The enemy is gone.”

  “Very well—send your scouts in on my command.” The king leaned on his armrest in grief. “Find out what happened to my warriors. This is truly devastating news.”

  “Yes, your majesty—princess.” He stood back up and then exited the room, leaving everyone in silence.

  The king glanced at his daughter in tears. “I apologize, my precious—I know Eric and Alucard were your dearest friends. My heart is weeping for you, my child.”

  The anger inside me grew at his words and Armenia’s.

  “Thank you, father.” She sobbed and came to me. I grasped my chest in pain, trying to hold back my tears. This girl before me is the center of my hate. How dare she sheds tears when Claudia and I are experiencing heartache? The worst part of this all, I could no longer feel Ali’s life force. The magical link we had was now severed.

  Armenia wanted to say something comforting, yet she just stood there and looked at me for a moment. My ears did not want to hear what she had to say, so she kept walking, respecting my loss.

  Claudia rushed by me, but I grabbed her arm, tugging her close. “Claudia…”

  “Let go of me, sister.” The tears began to fall down her face.

  “I’m sorry,” were the only words that could come out, seeing how upset she was. Her eyes glared at me and she forced away, before leaving. I paced after her down the corridors until my legs just stopped moving. The ache in my chest prevented me from going any further after her. She needed space through all this.

  I needed comfort that didn’t seem to be around this dark hall. The air was constricting and the Demons that walked by were staring at me as if nothing had happened. They had nothing to grieve about with their smiles and laughs, which I heard down the hallways. This wasn’t the place to be in this painful hour.

  I finally ran outside into the courtyard to catch my breath. The sun felt warmer on my face as it rose higher in the clear blue sky. A slight breeze flew in from the east that carried the scent of flowers from the Enchanted Garden. I strolled passed the gates, towards the nostalgic smell that reminded me of Ali. She loved this garden. The Fairies fluttered around glowing the colors of the rainbow. The cherry blossoms had bloomed in the trees, floating petals of pink in the wind.

  My fingers found the locket on my chest and held it in tears. Not holding back the sadness that began to overwhelm me. My legs automatically walked me over to the old oak tree where we always met every day in secrecy. Our memories locked into the bark, reminding me of her in vivid detail the times I wanted to kiss her and hold her close. It was hard to fathom that she is gone with only this locket left of her essence.

  All of a sudden, my heart throbbed hard against my chest. I leaned against the tree, losing my balance. It throbbed again, sending my body into shock. What is this feeling? It became stronger like it was getting closer.

  In haste, I ran to the front gate where the guards were already waiting for the unexpected visitor. My heart pounded more rapidly as in the distance a Shadow Strider galloped towards us. The rider appeared to be huggi
ng the neck, trying to stay on. When my eyes went into focus, I became stunned at the sight of Ali, barely alive. The guards sprinted towards the Strider the moment they recognized her. She fell off the back, and they caught her. Blood came out of her shoulder and a guard holding firmly onto her yelled. “SHE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN TO THE HEALER NOW—HURRY!”

  Why couldn’t I move to meet her? She was right there.

  They rushed her body into the castle, and I followed close behind, trying not to get in their way. “Is she alive?” I need to stay calm. She’s alive… I can feel her now.

  The guards ignored my question as they carried her into the infirmary, and they laid her on the table where three old hags huddled around her until I could no longer see Ali’s face. They chanted healing spells and lit sage, waving the smoke over her body.

  One guard came to me, blocking me from going in. “Milady—please leave this room so the Witches can have focus.” I glared in anger. “Please, milady—let them work in peace.”

  I huffed in grief and did as asked. He shut the door behind him and stood guard behind it all the same. I waited against the wall next to him, waiting patiently for the chants to stop. One guard exited the room and hurried off down the hallway which I assume he went to notify the king of Ali’s return.

  Hours had passed since they brought her in. The Witches hadn’t stop chanting or even left the room for a second. There was only the sound of them down the corridors. I kept gazing at the door in desperation, waiting with a little patience from ripping it off its hinges. Ali was close yet I wanted the walls to disappear, so I could see her once again. To hear her sweet voice, resonate in my ears. This was hard to endure, not able to do anything at all to help her.

  The door creaked loudly as it slightly opened. One Witch whispered out to the soldier guarding the door, but I couldn’t hear her words. He nodded his head and raced down the hall. The Witch opened the door fully and her curly gray hair caught my attention. She peeked her head out to have a look at me and recognized me as nobility.