by K.L. Bauman
Chapter 15
Envy of the Elves
Training with Shimmer was exhilarating, but much more difficult than Echo would’ve ever imagined. They had a connection, true, but even then the exercises pushed them to their limits. Echo had to learn to keep her balance--and her seat--as she wielded both daggers while Shimmer ran, lurched to a stop, pivoted on the spot, reared, sidestepped, and jumped over various obstacles. Once she became adapted to all of that, she had to learn to fight one or more opponents during these same movements.
Thalen and Alena attacked her from every angle both from ground and on horseback. Echo found the dirt more than she cared to admit, and her body was sore with bruises. Dorian watched every lesson with piercing eyes that caught every detail. He was more stern with her than when she’d trained as a defender, and she was beginning to feel hopeless.
After an especially difficult day, Dorian sat beside Echo as she rubbed her sore muscles. “You are doing very well, Echo, even if you feel otherwise. You and Shimmer have progressed much more quickly than I could have hoped.”
Echo glowered. She didn’t share her teacher’s optimism. “I hate being human!” she said. “If I was elf or fae or any sort of ancient being, this would be so much easier.”
Dorian chuckled, “You see your race as inferior?”
“Yes.”
“Echo, I have envied the human race the whole of my life. As have many of the elves.”
Echo gaped at him. How could it be possible for any elf to envy a human? “What are you talking about? Elves have abilities way beyond anything any human can do. Compared to your race, we can’t do anything.”
Dorian slowly shook his head, his eyes sparkling. “You are wrong. Your race may be younger than some, but you have in a short time spanned the globe, both in Shae Vale and in the Other World. Humans have the uncanny ability to adapt, to conform to any situation. They can learn something new in a short period of time. Perhaps because humans have a shorter life-span, they value the time given more so than elves. We tend to dawdle, taking years to learn our trades.”
“But that’s why you’re so good at everything you do--you can study every detail and every angle until you reach perfection.”
“Perhaps. Still, I see humans in a different light than what you see them. Humans are not easily defeated. You possess an inner strength that compels you to take hold of a challenge and rise against it. You are powerful beings. You are a beautiful race,” Dorian said sincerely.
Echo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But, we can’t do what you do. We can’t wield magic, unless by sorcery, which is usually bad. We can’t communicate with each other through our minds. We can’t see into the future. We can’t go for long periods without food or sleep. The elves can do all those things.”
Dorian sighed and smiled, “Humans can do all of those things. Most of you have simply forgotten how. The abilities are there, only waiting to be awakened.”
Echo thought long and hard on Dorian’s words. Her mind flashed to what Keebo had said when they’d been walking through the forest after her and Brecker’s Becoming. He’d said that humans could hear the trees if they’d listen. But if what Dorian was saying was true, why hadn’t he tried to teach her these skills? She set the question before him.
He answered, “Because that is a journey you must be willing to take. We can help you, but it must be your choice. You must first accept and believe that it can be done. You have to unlearn what you have learned, and then you will see clearly enough to do what most humans think impossible.” Dorian touched her shoulder tenderly. He then rose, leaving her to contemplate what he’d said. She thought about it often after that, even during training.
In the evenings, before Echo would read with Mari, Dorian told her to spend quiet time with Shimmer. “One of those abilities you claim that humans don’t possess is the ability to communicate with beings other than speaking creatures. Yet you have a connection with Shimmer that defies this logic. Connect with her more. Strengthen the bond you share. It will serve you both well in the days to come.”
Echo practiced reaching out to her horse, feeling her emotions and allowing Shimmer to feel hers. They still could not converse with words, but after time Echo realized just how little words were needed. A slight touch or flash of an image or sensation was all either of them needed to understand exactly what the other wanted to say. At times, it was almost as if they were one, seeing and feeling together as a single being. It was the most beautiful and exhilarating relationship Echo had ever experienced.
Keebo spent more time than usual in Thildin since Echo and her family had moved there. After closing shop in Ulway, he often appeared in Thildin and watched her train. He and Dorian would often whisper excitedly to each other, driving Echo to distraction. Neither of them was willing to tell her what they discussed.
As the days dragged on, Echo’s worry grew like thorns around her heart and mind, pricking them with horrid thoughts and images of what Brecker was doing and where he could be. She had nightmares of him lurking outside the city, waiting in the shadows to drag her away to Belzac.
She also worried about what had become of Cage. The few times the elves chanced taking her to the river, he had not appeared. She hoped that Belzac hadn’t seriously hurt, or even killed, the wraith for helping her.
Echo’s fears for Cage were put to rest soon enough, however. Even the ceaseless wind could not stop Echo’s training. It howled through the trees surrounding the city, forcing attention away from any noise but its own. Once again, Echo attempted to fend off her two elf friends, accompanied by a third, as the wind nearly blasted her from Shimmer’s back. She was concentrating so hard, that she didn’t hear Keebo until he was only a few feet away from them. The party ceased their sparring and turned their attention on Keebo. He ran to them full speed, his expression indiscernible. Echo noticed he wasn’t smiling.
“Echo!” Keebo yelled above the wind as he approached. “It’s Cage--he found me at the river near that pond on my way over here. He wants to talk to you right away.”
Echo’s heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t help the excitement and relief that radiated from her face. Cage was still alive! Keebo scowled at her expression as Dorian approached. “We will accompany you, Echo. Though I feel it would be better if your parents and sister remained behind. We will relay to them what is happening and then meet you all by the river. Thalen,” Dorian said as he looked at younger elf. Thalen gave a slight nod before running toward Echo’s elf home. Dorian looked at Shimmer and Echo’s heart sank. She hoped Dorian wouldn’t ask for Shimmer to stay behind too. “Shimmer,” he said as softly as he could through the wind, “Considering the lateness of the day, I believe a disguise would be prudent. May I?”
Shimmer nickered and the elf master started spouting words of an ancient tongue as his hands glided over Shimmer’s head, neck, body, and rump. Echo gasped as she watched her horse change from shining gold to solid dark gray beneath her. Shimmer snorted disapprovingly. Echo had to agree--the color didn’t suit her.
“What about me?” she asked Dorian.
“Your disguise is even more important.” Dorian used the strange words again as he stretched his hands toward Echo. She felt odd ripples of cool air over her skin as it turned darker. She resisted the urge to scream as a crawling sensation assaulted her scalp; slowly, the strands of hair whipping in her face turned from auburn to fiery red. It felt as if someone was tugging on her ears and when she felt them, she was delighted to find the tops of them pointed like an elf’s. She smiled excitedly and suddenly wished she had a mirror. Dorian lowered his hands and nodded approvingly. “We’ll have to remove the disguise when we approach Cage, or he may attack. Hopefully, though, probing eyes will not recognize you or Shimmer.”
Echo glanced at Keebo. He was staring at her, his mouth cocked half open. He shook his head and then gave her a lop-sided grin. “You look good!” he s
aid, causing her cheeks to flush. “I like your ears,” he added as his smile widened. Echo touched her ear tips again, wishing she could keep them pointed forever.
Outside the protective trees of Thildin, the wind was twice as powerful. The elves that surrounded Echo clung to their horses’ backs, their hair whipping around their faces like wild flames. Echo’s now red braid threatened to beat the life out of her as the wind repeatedly whipped it from her back, only to slam it against her.
Keebo rode beside her. Echo had never seen him astride a horse, but found she rather enjoyed watching him ride. He glanced at her, then patted the hair that danced wildly over his ears. He suddenly fell back to converse with Dorian, but Echo could hear nothing other than the howling wind. It roared in her ears and pressed against her and Shimmer’s body as if to force them back to Thildin. It was frustrating her to madness. She couldn’t concentrate on anything but staying astride Shimmer, and her muscles felt weak and tickly. By the time they reached the river, she was close to having a hysterical, fatigue-induced laughing fit.
They were next to Echo’s secret place, the pond hidden from view by the thick wall of trees and shrubs. Echo wondered if the elves knew about the pond. She couldn’t imagine that the land held many secrets from them.
Everyone dismounted and led the horses down the river bank. The water resembled a miniature ocean as the wind forced jagged ripples against the flow of water. Echo wondered if wind could stop a wraith. Would it dry one out? If so, how had Cage contacted Keebo?
Dorian approached Echo and Shimmer and released the disguise spell. She was disappointed to feel her rounded ear-tops again.
Keebo poked her shoulder, but instead of trying to speak over the wind, he pointed toward the secret place. At the edge of the opening where the stream trickled into the trees stood Cage. His human form shimmered in and out of focus as the wind blasted against him. He motioned for Echo to enter the trees. She stepped forward and everyone followed. As they came close however, Cage shouted above the wind, “Only Echo!”
Echo looked at the others. Thalen and Alena had drawn their weapons, their expressions hard. Dorian remained calm, but spoke sternly. “She will not enter alone!”
Cage stood silent for a moment, his silvery eyes surveying them all. “Fine. But if anyone tries to harm me, I won’t hesitate to return the favor.” Dorian bowed his head in agreement and they filed into the trees.
The change was near magical. The trees blocked the wind as surely as if a wall encompassed the area. A few brave birds chirruped loudly at the intruders then flitted into the shrubbery. The roar of the wind could still be heard, however, and the tops of the outer most trees bent until their tips disappeared behind the inner layer of thick bushes.
Echo’s secret place was no longer secret. But that was unimportant now. Inside the haven, Cage’s form solidified as he stood at the edge of the pond. His eyes were guarded as he watched everyone form a semi-circle around him.
Dorian’s voice was gentle as he asked, “What do you wish to tell Echo? Have you news of her brother?”
Cage surveyed him uncertainly for a moment. He then turned his gaze on Echo. She said, “It’s okay. I trust them with my life.”
Cage gave them all another hard look, and then spoke, “I have news of Brecker, and then some. None of which you’ll find pleasant.” His face softened as he looked into Echo’s eyes. Her heart thumped extra hard once as she nearly lost herself in his hypnotizing eyes. Then, in a breath, the feeling left to be replaced with foreboding. She was suddenly aware that something was terribly wrong.
“What is it? What’s happened? Has Belzac hurt Brecker? Is he alright?” she asked in a rush.
Cage’s gaze was steady and focused on her. “Brecker is alive and unharmed--at least externally. Belzac’s punishment for letting you escape may have scarred him in the unseen places of his heart and mind. He ordered Brecker to kill.”
Echo felt the blood drain from her face. Murder, especially pre-meditated murder, could tear one’s soul in two and make that one a slave to darkness forever. She trembled as she whispered the question, “Who?”
“A woman--the one who was with Belzac before he enslaved Brecker. The wife of Moodey Muckerson.”
Echo could barely keep herself upright as her knees trembled. Mavel! She hadn’t cared for the woman, but she hadn’t deserved to be hunted down and murdered.
Dorian’s soft voice cut through the chill that had gripped the air. “And did Brecker fulfill Belzac’s command?”
At Dorian’s question, Echo grasped onto the small hope that, somehow, Brecker had been able to disobey Belzac. Perhaps Mavel still lived and Brecker’s soul had not been torn by the malicious act of murder.
Cage’s sad eyes bore into Echo’s, his voice barely a whisper. “Yes.”