by Logan Jacobs
“What positions are we supposed to be in again?” Selius wondered.
“See those straps by your arms?” Ava pointed to rubber straps with a hole big enough for an arm to slide through. “You sit straight up against the wall and slide your arms through those, but let your head hang as if you were asleep.”
“Won’t the elves sense our heartbeats once they transport us to the ceremonial chamber?” Cimarra lifted her head from my shoulder.
“Elves can’t touch the bodies.” Ava gestured as if she were washing her hands. “We’re unclean until the high priest declares us clean when collected from the chamber.”
“Who will transport us to the chambers then?” I wondered.
“So many questions from you guys,” Ava sighed. “It’ll most likely be humans or prisoners serving their terms as servants to the politicians.”
“Prisoners?” Selius looked up at me. “Wasn’t Skam one of those? Will they recognize him?”
“Where did he serve his term?” Ava straightened her posture.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “He mentioned he transferred boulders across a field.”
“Okay,” Ava relaxed, “no, they won’t recognize him.”
Another wave of silence fell over our team just as the wagon began to slow. Then there were two taps on top of the carriage, most likely from Skam.
“We should put on our masks and take our positions,” I suggested as I slipped on my elven mask. Then I helped Selius next to me and made sure he put his arms through the rubber holders. Once everyone looked the part, I did the same.
“Quiet now,” Ava whispered.
We could only hear Skam’s muffled voice at first until another appeared.
I looked around at all of us and never wanted this to be our destiny.
There were another two taps on the roof as the wagon started to move again.
“It won't be long now,” I began, “just stay in your positions until they drag us out of here.”
“The role of the century,” Dar chuckled underneath his mask.
“You don’t make that bad looking of an elf,” I joked back to lighten the mood before it was showtime.
“Don’t you ever tell me that,” Dar growled and then flipped me off with his hand that dangled at his side from the weird positioning of the restraints.
“Quiet,” Ava whispered again, “we’re supposed to be dead in here.”
“Got it,” Dar said as he dropped his chin into his chest.
I tried to imagine where we were in the Elf District at this point. We were probably nearing the forested area where the elven noble lived. Not only did we steal his painting, but now we would take the chest, too.
Fucking pointy eared cunt.
As we continued to drive for another few minutes, the faint noises of other wagons and multiple voices surrounded the carriage.
We were in the White City.
My eyes locked onto Ava’s across from me as we both listened. She looked fully elven now between her blonde hair, blue eyes, and the mask. Her eyes then shut as the noises grew louder, and we came to a stop.
The sound of grinding chains and metal erupted just in front of us.
Then the wagon moved again, and the metallic screams from the chains followed one more time until there was complete silence.
We were inside the pyramid.
Two more bangs echoed above us from Skam’s fist.
“See you all on the other side,” I whispered and hung my head lifelessly into my chest.
The wagon rocked back and forth as Skam jumped down from the driver’s seat. As he walked along the side of the carriage, he tapped against it again and laughed his signature belly laugh.
Then the doors opened.
“There they are for ya, lad.” Skam’s voice was calm and collected. “Poor bastards, eh?”
“Aye,” a gruff voice responded. “At least they’re free now.”
“Dwarf, are there five?” an elven voice shouted from afar.
“There is, my lord!” the gruff voice shouted back. “We’ll unload the offerings from here. Just sit tight, and once we have the bodies out, you’re free to exit.”
“Aye, thank you.” Skam clapped the other dwarf on the back.
My eyes were closed, but I felt the collector dwarf climb up inside the wagon with us. He was the first dwarf I’d ever met that didn’t smell of their spices.
“Let’s take the wee ones out first,” the dwarf grunted as he unlatched Selius next to me, and I felt his body leave. Then a shadow crossed in front of me and moved Dar’s direction.
One by one, they removed us.
“Last one, now,” the dwarf hollered back as I felt his hands grip onto my shoulder and tug my arms free from the restraints.
I played dead, fell face forward, and hoped the dwarven bastard would catch me.
He did.
Then he pulled me to the ledge of the carriage and dropped first. I used that opportunity to breathe.
I felt his hand again as he hoisted me over his shoulder briefly, and the world seemed to spin around within my eyelids until they placed me in the middle of a soft cushion.
“Take them to the chamber, Darcy,” the dwarf grunted. “You’re free to go now.”
“Aye, until next week,” Skam said with another chuckle.
I almost forgot he was on our side just by listening to him.
Whatever I was on started to roll forward, and I could hear a creature breathing above my head as they pushed me around. Even with my eyes closed, I could tell the lights were bright.
We must’ve been on the day elf side of the pyramid then.
“Is that the last of the offerings?” an elven voice asked whoever was pushing me.
“It is, my lord,” the worker responded.
“Very well, put them where they belong,” the elven voice commanded.
I was on the move again.
I wanted to open my eyes to get a glimpse of where the hell I was, since we turned in every direction down winding cold and bright hallways. I could tell we were going up higher, as if we were on turnbacks going up a mountain.
Finally, the dizzying journey stopped.
“In ya go, human,” the worker grunted as he pulled the gurney I was on. Then the sound of a metallic door squawked open, and I moved forward again into darkness as the bright lights vanished.
I was officially dead now.
More gurneys rolled in behind me, and the door squawked shut.
Complete darkness surrounded me, along with the smell of death that resembled old onions. I couldn’t see anything, but I could sense many other bodies in the same room.
“Guys,” I whispered into the blackness. “Who’s here?”
“I’m too afraid to move,” Selius squeaked from my left. “It smells like death in here.”
“Well,” Dar’s voice broke through the darkness, “we’re kind of surrounded by it, kid.”
“I’m here, too,” Cimarra whispered in front of me.
“Did anyone get a glimpse of where the light from the hallway was before the door shut?” Ava asked from my right.
We were all here, and that made my heart calm for a moment.
I now imagined Penny and Skam starting their second phase of our plan: climbing the pyramid to where Ava estimated the historical room was.
“I did,” I answered the assassin. “I’m not sure how you’re oriented, but it was in front of me and slightly to my left.”
“Okay, well,” Ava responded, “did anyone else?”
“I can’t even tell if my eyes are open,” Selius panted. “It’s so dark in here.”
“Relax, kid,” I said and then turned toward Ava’s voice. “Did you see anything, Ava?”
“No, I think I’m facing the other way,” Ava replied. “We have two options.”
“What are they?” I asked.
“Wait until they come back and grab a body, but that could take hours, or … ” she hesitated, “they could take one of
us.”
“What’s our other option?” Cimarra requested.
“Since Wade got a tiny glimpse of the light,” Ava replied, “he can feel his way to the door.”
“Then what?” I asked as I began to sit up on the sponge pad.
“You lead us to you,” Ava said. “We should decide quickly.”
“I’ll find it,” I said as I felt with my feet for the floor beneath me. “I keep expecting my eyes to adjust.”
“They won’t,” Ava began, “just wait until the door opens and unleashes that light.”
“Was this where you were last time?” Dar asked.
“Yeah, as far as I can tell,” Ava answered the halfling.
“I’m going for it,” I said as my toes touched the stone floor. Then I stood and took off the weird white robe to free myself and my cloak from its constricting hold. “I can barely see with this mask, let alone the pitch darkness.”
“I hear you,” Cimarra breathed, “I think I’m right in front of you, can you reach for my hand?”
“Yeah,” I said as I extended my hand into the darkness and felt for the dancer. Then I took a few small steps forward and felt coarse hair on my fingers that didn’t feel like Cimarra’s. “Do you feel my hand?”
“Uh, no … ” Cimarra answered from my left. “I think you’re touching a dead person.”
“Fuck.” I winced as I pulled my hand away and turned to the left. “There you are.”
“I got your hand.” The dancer celebrated as she used my touch to guide her off the gurney. She took off the robe too and gripped onto my arm as if she were hanging off a building. “I’ll follow you.”
“Yeah, just hold on to my cloak,” I said as I shuffled forward and ran into another gurney. “Is anyone else close?”
“I think I see you,” Dar said. “Maybe halflings can see in the dark?”
“I can’t see anything,” Selius grumbled.
“Okay, Dar,” I waved my hand through the darkness, “see me?”
“Shit, no,” Dar groaned.
“Sit tight and let me find the door, then,” I said as I tried to remember where I saw the flash of light extinguish when the door shut behind the worker. It felt like I was swimming in space, and it was easy to get disoriented.
“Duck,” Ava hissed at us just as the door opened and sent a punch of light into my eyes.
I dropped to my knees along with Cimarra and couldn’t see anything but purple and green spots.
“Are the mourners ready?” an elven figure asked as he tugged a gurney out of the room.
I tried to see if I could make it to the door before it shut behind him. I studied the layout through the legs of the gurneys that looked like a jungle of metallic wheels.
“They are,” another elf responded.
“In three, two, one,” the elf snapped, “now.”
A chorus of wailing and weeping erupted from the elves as the gurney was tugged out entirely, and the door began to shut.
“Jump on my back,” I told Cimarra, and she gripped onto my neck and pulled herself on me as I ran toward the thinning light.
“Go, go, go,” Cimarra breathed in my ear as I dodged the gurneys in front of me until the light vanished as the door shut and locked.
“Shit,” I panted in between the agonizing howls from the elves as they moved the body further away. “I know where it’s at for sure now.”
“As do I,” Ava said, and it sounded like she was already moving. “I’m not sure if that was the night or day elves, but whoever it wasn’t will pick another body within minutes to make an offering at the same time.”
“We got to hurry then and get to the door,” I said as I adjusted Cimarra on my back with a quick hitch from my hips. “Dar, Selius? Did you see it?”
“I’m on my way to it now,” Dar replied and sounded like he had plugged his nose. “How about you, kid?”
We waited in the darkness for Selius to answer, but none came.
“Selius?” I asked again, but there was still no answer.
“Fuck,” Dar hissed, “did they take him?”
“I-I think they did,” I stuttered as I tried to think what we needed to do. “Ava, you said they wait to make the offering at the same time?”
“They do,” she confirmed, and her voice was strained as she crawled toward the door. “We can follow the mourners, but I wouldn’t recommend all of us doing that.”
“You and I will go,” I ordered. “Dar and Cimarra, stay hidden in here near the door, and we will come back with the kid and let you out.”
“That means we’ll be fighting some elves,” Dar said as he too inched closer to where we were.
“These elves aren’t the Elven Guard,” Ava stated, “there are a few, but most are priests or politicians fully exposed with no armor or weapons.”
“They have magic, though, right?” Cimarra asked.
“They do,” Ava grunted, “it’s useless if we kill them before they see us, though.”
“That’s the plan,” I snarled as I escaped from the maze of gurneys and felt for the door. “I’m here.”
“Me too,” Ava said as she touched my boot. “That is you, right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered and could faintly hear movement to the right. “I hear you, Dar, almost there.”
“Got it,” Dar said as he felt my face. “Wade?”
“You found me.” I moved him aside next to Cimarra. “You all understand the plan?”
“Yes,” all three of them said at the same time.
“Selius will not die,” I breathed and tried to calm the buzzing inside of me.
The mourners had quieted down the hall, but from what I heard, they didn’t seem to be that far from where we were. The hard part would be to stay out of sight.
Suddenly, the door flashed open again and nearly knocked me over as I ducked behind it.
“Okay, the mourners ready?” the same elf voice asked like before.
“Yes,” the other elf replied.
“Three, two, and, one.” The elf pulled another gurney forward and through the door to the chorus of elf screeches and cries.
I waited for the door to close, and just before it shut all the way, I stopped it and held it open.
“Wait,” Ava said as a small sliver of light shone on her black elf mask. “Let’s go.”
“We’re coming, kid,” I said as I opened the door wider, stepped through the bright light, and returned from the dead. “Follow me.”
The mourners for the night elves moved in unison with the body they just pulled out in the hallway to our left. Each of them wore long black robes and black headpieces to protect them from the lights. The screeches and cries from the elven mourners rained down on my ears as I gestured for Ava to follow.
“He should be down this way.” Ava motioned toward the far hallway that opened up into another area. “That’s where the priest performs the ceremony, I believe.”
“He’ll be alone with the body?” I asked as I crouched and moved down the hallway.
“Not sure,” Ava said and unsheathed both of her daggers. “Let’s find out.”
We arrived at the end of the hallway and peeked in the next room. Inside was a gray stone space with a sharp slab of rock in the middle of the room that overlooked the White City below. I hadn’t realized how high we were. The triangular glass window was as big as an orc, and it was wide open just above the slab of stone.
“Fucking monsters,” I breathed as I saw Selius tied to the slab by all four of his limbs. Either he was a great actor and played dead this entire time, or they had killed him for real already.
“Wait until his back is facing us,” Ava whispered as she watched the high elven day priest walk around the slab in his golden robe and tall ornate hat. He sprinkled liquid all over the young halfling and stuffed hay around his body.
“He’s mine,” I said just as the elf turned his back and began to chant in Elvish. Then I moved low and quick as I unsheathed my dagger by my side.
&n
bsp; With my free hand, I wrapped my arm around the elven priest’s neck, reached around with my dagger, and hammered my blade into the elf’s exposed chest multiple times. My knife entering and exiting the elf’s heart sounded as if I were digging up the overgrown weeds in a crop field just as I did with my dad so many moons ago.
I covered the priest’s mouth as I pulled my blade out one more time and turned his face toward mine. His expression was that of fear and awe as he looked upon my death mask.
Burn him instead.
The keys’ melodic voice was a little darker as it echoed in my mind.
“Wh-who ar-are you?” The priest slumped down to his knees as his heart pumped his blue blood onto the floor by my feet.
“Thank the Ancients,” Selius cried out as Ava began to untie him from the stone altar. “Wade, holy shit.”
“You did good.” I looked at him briefly before I returned to the dying priest in my arms. “Who am I?”
“Ye-yes,” the elf gasped as his pale eyes looked up at me.
We told you they’d bow to you.
“I’m the last fucking face you’ll see,” I said as I lifted my death mask to let him see a human had just slaughtered him. “Let’s make a real offering, shall we?”
“What’re you doing?” Ava asked as she helped Selius off the altar.
“Performing the ceremony,” I replied while I lifted the bleeding elf onto the stone slab covered in hay.
“Yo-you’ll be--” the elf gasped again and clutched his chest.
“No, I won’t,” I said as I pulled the torch from the wall and tossed it onto the hay. Within seconds, the fire engulfed the priest as he screeched.
It felt amazing to watch the fucker burn.
I wanted to burn all of them.
“We should get the others,” Ava said and nudged Selius out of the room. “The night elves will wonder why the day priest didn’t wait for the signal.”
“Let’s go,” I said as the red and yellow flames curled over the elf like a wave of fire and turned the priest into a cloud of smoke that drifted out the open window.
Chapter 22
We hustled out of the ceremony room and back down the hall toward the chamber where Dar and Cimarra waited.