Archer of the Lake

by Kelly R. Michaels

  ***

  Caelfel's arms drifted to her sides as Feraan quickly dismounted. ?She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and Feraan held out a hand to help her. ?She took it.

  "Where are we?" ?The trees of the forest gave way to a clearing, allowing the sun, now sinking to the horizon, to be clearly visible.

  "See for yourself." ?But when she looked, she saw nothing, save for the trees and the clearing.

  So she turned and saw the toppled ruins of a crumbling city that was the obvious victim of nearly a century of abandonment. ?Though Caelfel had never been here, she could easily identify the place, and it made her stomach fall to the ground.

  Amasel.

  Caelfel stepped past Feraan to approach the city. ?She raised her hand to her quivering lips, and a deep sadness overcame her. ?Elves were instinctually saddened in places of mourning, tears flowing with or without consent, and Amasel was certainly still a place to be mourned.

  Then, without knowing why, Caelfel ran into the city.

  Amasel was a city made of stone, and the great walls remained mostly intact from what Caelfel saw beneath the scorch marks that blackened the once white pillars of the elvish city. ?Caelfel ran, aware of the saplings that had taken root in the empty streets and a faint smell of smoke and ash that shifted and stirred with her feet, trapped within the walls. ?She heard Feraan chasing after her, but the only thing that filled her ears was the ghostly screams of a city of elves dying. ?The tears flowed hot from her eyes.

  She didn't know where she was running, but her feet eventually stopped at Amasel's center where a giant, majestic mausoleum stood, untouched by any rampant fires or stampeding soldiers. ?Caelfel gingerly climbed the steps before falling to her knees halfway up. ?The crypt was a new construction, built to house the citizens of Amasel. ?Their names were written all along the walls in endless lines. ?When she blinked, she found herself lying face down on the steps, sobbing silently, her shoulders shaking. ?Footsteps padded quietly behind her, loud against the fading screams.

  "We don't have to stay in the city," Feraan said quietly.

  Though she had made her peace with the truth her father revealed to her, Caelfel still found herself fighting the anger of grief. ?It was a natural instinct to mourn for them, and many souls had suffered here. ?It wrenched a primal pain through her chest as she ineffectively wiped the tears away. ?"Why did you bring me here?" she asked, wondering why this elvish instinct that gripped her so passionately held no effect on him.

  Feraan held a hand out for her and when she took, he helped pull Caelfel to her feet. ?"I wanted to show you what happened here eighty years ago."

  He led her to the edge of the city where Firnis remained waiting for them. ?Then he had her sit on the grass of the clearing and he sat facing her, the city sitting on her right and his left.

  "Close your eyes," he instructed.

  She did just before feeling his fingertips touch her brow. ?At first, there was only darkness from the inside of her eyelids. ?Then something shifted.

  Through the dimness of moonlight, she saw Eviat Gyssedlues staggering away from the city, obviously injured with blinking orbs flying after him. ?The orbs appeared non-threatening, but Eviat's frightened expression suggested otherwise. ?Then Feraan entered the scene, rushing to her father. ?The vision faded as Feraan half-carried Eviat to a horse with glowing red eyes.

  "When I found your father," Feraan's voice explained briefly, cutting through her thoughts.

  Caelfel nodded as the vision continued.

  Feraan stood before Amasel once more against the dazzling light of high noon. ?When Caelfel turned slightly, she could see an army behind him, an army of rugged and hairy men that numbered in the hundreds. ?Their movements were slow and cumbersome when compared to the grace of elves, so Caelfel knew that they were humans. ?But even more appalling and horrifying was the decaying bodies of elves that lumbered through the city toward the army. ?They glowed with a dull, gray light, and Caelfel knew that they were possessed by the malicious, parasitic orbs.

  Feraan, astride Firnis, yelled, and the sound was distant to her ears. ?Snarls ripped through the air next, and Caelfel saw the army behind Feraan transform into huge wolves. ?Werewolves, she realized.

  Then the bloodbath ensued. ?Feraan ended the scene before Caelfel could properly see the slaughter wrought by the army. ?When she opened her eyes, she was drenched with a cold sweat, and Feraan did not appear to fare any better.

  "Werewolves? You brought an army of werewolves?" Caelfel asked panting, wiping her forehead. ?"Father said you brought humans."

  A small smile touched Feraan's face. ?"I am close friends with Lycaon."

  "Lycaon?" Caelfel repeated, faintly remembering the name.

  "He is the head of the Dirus Clan of werewolves," Feraan explained. ?"The alpha." ?Feraan waved his hand, and the portrait of a man appeared in the air. ?Lycaon was darkly tanned, pale white scars stretching across his face. ?His hair was long and gray, and his equally long beard was braided and white. ?Caelfel remembered seeing him stand closest to Feraan before the battle began. ?After a moment, the image dissolved with the breeze.

  Caelfel eyed the city next to them warily. ?"And those things, those orbs? ?Are they all gone?"

  "I did not leave until every last one was destroyed. ?When they die, they look like rotten fruit and they smell just as bad." ?Feraan grimaced at the memory.

  "Where did they come from?" Caelfel asked.

  "That is what I have been trying to solve for almost a century." He stood up. ?"We should head back before it gets dark. ?Being this close to the city unsettles me."

  Caelfel got to her feet, realizing something. ?"It still bothers you," she said with a gasp of discovery. ?"That battle. ?You have nightmares about it and you strike out when you are surprised. ?That is why-" ?But Caelfel couldn't bring herself to bring up the incident when he had violently pinned her against the wall.

  Feraan avoided her gaze, but there was something sad about his features. ?"Let's leave."

  Caelfel held her palms out. ?"I want to know why you didn't tell me about Amasel in the first place."

  "There was nothing to tell you," Feraan said bitterly. ?"I've committed no wrong."

  He refused to say any more until they left Amasel's clearing. ?Soon she found her arms wrapped around his waist again. ?This time, it felt as though Feraan urged Firnis to go faster. ?Caelfel could not blame him; standing in the shadow of the city made her skin crawl.

  "I had a right to know," Caelfel insisted during the ride.

  "It was not your problem," Feraan said dismissively.

  "It became my problem when I risked execution for you," she pointed out indignantly.

  "And how did you react when you first found out? ?You ran away without even allowing me a chance to explain," Feraan shot back.

  "Perhaps if you were honest with me from the start, I would not have felt compelled to run away," Caelfel grumbled back. ?Inevitably, her sore limbs took precedent, and Caelfel found herself burying her face into Feraan's back. ?She felt something tense in him relax at the touch. ?"My father said that those parasites took his aura."

  "Yes," she heard Feraan say, his voice reverberating through his torso.

  She still gripped him tightly with one arm and examined the black mark on her other arm. ?"Do you think one of those orbs took my aura as well? ?I don't remembering seeing an orb before it happened."

  She felt him stiffen again. ?"I have long considered it."

  "So that means the orbs are still alive?"

  "It means," Feraan corrected harshly. ?"That whoever created the orbs still lives."

  13. Trouble at Home

  "I feel sorry for you," she volunteered after some time. ?"I'm not sure what keeps you here."

  They had arrived back at Sal'Sumarathar and returned Firnis to the meadow after their long journey. ?It was decidedly late, and Caelfel was having a hard time keeping her patience. ?She was groggy and ill-tempered. ?Her harried mind had kept her awake
throughout the ride from Amasel, until finally she had thought of that question to ask Feraan. ?By then, they had reached his house, and he helped her weary body through the doorway.

  It was a question that he considered deeply. ?"I have been charged with the duty of finding the one truly responsible for destroying Amasel."

  Caelfel sank to the floor once she was inside, picking at the dirt that had stained the gauzy skirt of her Spring Festival dress. ?Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was surprised she was still wearing it. ?"Mother said the elves of Sal'Sumarathar burned down your house when you told the Council what happened." ?She sniffed. ?"If I were you, I'm not sure if I would have stuck around to find out who was responsible. ?You should have left the ungrateful bastards to die."

  He gave a soft chuckle at her irritation, but Caelfel saw nothing funny about it.

  "Do you think the Council was involved with Amasel?" she asked him.

  "I had suspicions of their involvement when they were so quick to accuse me and Eviat and then cover up the whole event as if it were a mere accident when they discovered they couldn't rightly pin charges against me. ?The Tree-Talker told them what happened, so they could only spread rumors that I was an evil sorcerer that learned the darkest secrets and spells on my travels."

  "Tree-Talker? ?What is that?" Caelfel asked. ?Feraan turned to stare disbelievingly at her before comprehension dawned on him.

  "Of course you wouldn't know. ?I forget that you are so young."

  Caelfel's cheeks burned, but she ignored the comment. ?"Know what?"

  "The Tree-Talker is the guardian of the forest. ?He can communicate with the trees, and as unbiased, absolute witnesses, the trees recount everything that they witness to their guardian. ?The Council demanded the truth from the Tree-Talker, but when he told it to them, they refused to accept it. ?They declared the Tree-Talker untrustworthy, which is why they no longer consult him. ?Your trial, for instance. They already knew the truth of what happened in the forest. ?They hired Markis to kill me. ?It would not do well for them and their agenda to have the Tree-Talker speak the truth, so they spread rumors that, with my dark secrets, I confounded the Tree-Talker with lies."

  "Where is the Tree-Talker now?"

  "Anywhere. ?No one keeps up with him." ?Feraan sighed, changing subjects. ?"So perhaps the Council was responsible for those parasites and they could harness the orbs to take away the aura of a meddlesome she-elf when she saved a life that was not meant to be saved."

  "My aura? ?You said Luewyn took it."

  "Luewyn knows many more dark secrets than I. ?It does not surprise me to think she learned to harness that power."

  "Does that mean I can't get it back?" she asked. ?Feraan avoided her gaze, looking at his own palms instead.

  "I should think not," he said quietly. ?They were silent for some time.

  Caelfel yawned, stretching from her position in the floor. ?She guessed the time to be around midnight, her eyelids drooping heavily. ?"It is late. ?I should go home," she said, thinking of her bedroom that she had not seen for days. ?Caelfel pushed herself to her feet.

  "You can stay here," he said quietly, his gaze dropping to the floor.

  Caelfel felt the sudden desire to accept his offer, her mind veering to the bed she had primarily been using as of late. ?It was far more comfortable for sleeping than the one she had at her parent's house.

  "Perhaps I want you to stay," he mused mildly. ?"I've grown so used to your presence here. ?I might miss it."

  Caelfel said nothing, wandering over to his desk, and touched the book he had authored with Sir Kennyratear. ?"Well, now it seems as though I know nearly everything about you, at least more than other elves," she said quietly at length.

  "Yes, you do," Feraan admitted quietly. ?"And you are not angry with me?"

  She turned around leaning against the desk to find him inexplicably closer to her. ?There was a thought that flashed through his eyes, and though she had no possible way of knowing, she guessed it mirrored her own. ?"No," she managed to answer breathlessly. ?There was a loud thrumming in her ears that obliterated every sound except Feraan's voice.

  His gaze was penetrating as he looked her over with calculating eyes. ?Her festival dress might have been too formal to wear on a casual outing with him, but Caelfel was secretly glad she still wore it. ?Her mother's work proved very flattering for her frame. ?Feraan's eyes held hers as he said, "There is still the matter of last night's dance."

  Her mind whirred through her sluggish thoughts as she struggled to recall the Victory Dance and his explanation of its meaning. ?The tips of her ears turned awfully hot. ?"Yes," she all but whispered.

  Her hands clenched tightly, nervously at her sides. ?Her throat went dry as he easily pried open her fingers and put his own through the spaces. ?A new, burning question filled her mind. It had obviously been her first Spring Festival, and Caelfel had never before shared a moment of intimacy with another elf, Feraan being the first. ?She could not expect the same went for him.

  "Has there been anyone-"

  But he silenced her with a finger to her lips. ?"You are the most beautiful," was all he would assure her.

  She found it unlikely but smiled at him all the same. ?His bright eyes shone brilliantly just as the house grew dark, the candles extinguished as if by some mystical wind. ?No doubt he was the cause of it. ?Caelfel tenderly squeezed his hand in response.

  He tilted his head curiously. ?"Does that mean you are not refusing me?" ?His other hand trailed from her shoulder to her waist, and she was grateful to discover he was supporting her weight against the desk. ?He transferred her hand to the nape of his neck. ?She clung to him desperately, her suddenly accelerating heartbeat making her lightheaded and breathless.

  Caelfel shuddered with anticipation, unable to say anything that would resemble coherency, so she merely nodded. ?He brushed his fingers against her lips and then traced them along her cheek, pushing some hair behind her ear and cradling her neck. ?She delighted in the sensation.

  "Then be still, my fair lady," he murmured. ?His breath tickled against her ear, sending tiny tremors down her spine. ?His fingers pressed against her skin.

  Caelfel stretched on her toes and kissed him.

  The heat that emanated from his body would have normally been unbearable, but Caelfel soaked in it, matching it with her own heat that burned intensely. She wanted Feraan, she needed him. ?He must have felt the same, for he held her face and pulled her closer to him.

  He pushed against her, shoving her against the desk. ?She heard an inkwell knocking over and felt the liquid staining her fingers and hair as she groped around for support.

  When they finally broke apart, they separated barely a hair's breadth away from each other. ?He said but one word before meeting her lips fiercely again.

  "Remember."