Awakening (Telindell Book 1) (8 page)

The sage extended his right hand toward Kane.  His fingers raised to the sky, his palm facing the injured wolf. “Now you die--” said the sage, before being interrupted.

Lian let out a scream of anger. “No!  No more!”

The Sage looked back to Lian, lowering his hand. “What’s this?”

Lian’s mind was clouded with the images of everyone who had died before his eyes.  First, Elder Marrow was ripped to pieces.  Then, Miss Eva was brutally beheaded.  Then there were the wolves who’d sacrificed themselves.  And finally, Bagra-Shuk, who had given his own life and the lives of his ogres.  Now, before Lian’s eyes, Kane was about to be killed by this monstrous creature.  Lian trembled.  A fury was swelling with him.  He squinted his eyes and his breaths deepened.  A sensation of power shot through his body.  Lian glanced down at the sword.  He gripped the sheath firmly with his left hand, lowering it to his side.  His fingers gripped the hilt tightly.  His mind became blank, not thinking of what he was doing, as if he were following a primal instinct.  With a click, the guard separated from the sheath as Lian drew the sword.  Lian’s hair fluttered in the air.  The silver blade emerged from the sheath.  The edge of the slightly curved blade began to glow with a dark crimson light.  Lian felt immense power surge through his body, the likes of which he could not even fathom.  He dropped the sheath and gripped the hilt with his left hand as well.  Lian closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.  Tiny specks of red were scattered through his blue irises. 

The sage stared at Lian and the sword. “You dare challenge me as well?”

Lian stared upon his enemy in silence.  There were no thoughts in his mind, only fury.

The Sage grew impatient. “Answer me, filth,” he said.  “You think your little sword is a match for me?”

Lian remained quiet.  He took a step forward and began to run.  His boots dug into the ground, and his legs carried him at an amazing speed.  Dust began to rise behind the boy as he quickly approached the sage.

The sage’s eyes widened. “That speed!”

Lian leapt toward the sage, seeming to fly across the ground.  He pulled the sword to his side, ready to swing.  Then, he swung the sword toward the dark creature.  Quickly, the sage gripped his staff with both hands and raised it to meet Lian’s attack.  Lian’s blade made contact with the staff and immediately sliced it in half.  Lian flew by the sage, the tip of his sword slicing his side.  Blood gushed from the sage’s wound.  Lian landed directly behind him, crouched on one knee.

The sage dropped the pieces of his staff. “How?”
he asked.

The Sage clutched at his wound and turned to face his attacker.  Lian remained silent as he spun around and released the sword from his left hand, clenching it into a fist.  He extended his arm as he spun into the air and made contact with the sage’s face.  The sage staggered back from Lian after the immense blow.  Lian touched his boots to the ground and immediately leapt into the air after the sage.  He raised the blade above his head and swiftly brought it down upon the sage.  Blood splattered as it split the sage in half.  The halves split apart as Lian emerged through them and landed on one knee.  Lian gripped the sword, holding it in front of him.  He closed his eyes tight and then opened them.  The red that had diluted the blue of his eyes was gone now.  The crimson glow from the blade’s edge had faded.  Lian’s vision blurred, and his grip loosened.  He dropped the sword.  It clanked against the ground as he fell to his face, unconscious.

A few moments later, Kane struggled to stand back up.  He looked around seeing the blood covered ground and the remains of the sage.  Kane limped over the sage and looked up to see Lian lying on the ground, unconscious.  Next to him lay the sword.  Kane sniffed at Lian’s face.  Lian gave no reaction except the subtle sounds of respiration.  Kane positioned himself in front of the boy and grabbed hold of his shirt, starting to drag Lian from the mountain.  Before Kane could move him very far, Lian reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword tightly.  Kane continued to drag the boy down the path, farther away from the mountains.

Trees surrounded the noble beast and boy.  Kane’s ears flicked. He released Lian and peered farther along the forest path.  Dust rose in the distance behind a group of quickly approaching horses.  Kane hunkered down in front of Lian, determined to protect him from anything.  The wolf squinted, watching a group of twenty cloaked riders close in.  The leader rode just in front of the group.  He raised his hand and signaled his riders to slow.  The leader came to a halt in front of Kane.  Sitting atop a white horse, the leader pointed his finger toward Kane.  A few of the riders broke their ranks and surrounded Kane.  The horses snorted and stomped their hooves on the ground around the wolf.  Kane snarled and snapped as he backed up to stand over Lian.  He crouched down, ready to shield the boy from any harm.  Kane glanced to each of the riders.  Their faces were concealed by the hoods of their cloaks.  Each carried a quiver of arrows and a bow slung across their back.  Kane growled, awaiting their move.  The leader dismounted and ran his hand down the white horse’s nose. It snorted and shook its head, its black mane fluttering.

The leader whispered gently to the horse, “Calm yourself, I’ll be back in a moment.”

He turned to face Kane.  Kane snarled toward the cloaked man.  The leader slowly reached up and removed his hood.  He had fair skin and long blonde hair that was pulled back into tightly woven braids.  The man had a seemingly unaged face with dark blue eyes and sharp pointed ears.  He was an elf.  The elf took a couple of slow steps toward the snarling wolf.  Kane glared at the approaching elf.  He snarled and growled, baring his sharp fangs.

The elf spoke to Kane in a soft voice, “You’re not an ordinary wolf, are you?”  Kane ceased growling but continued to glare, now unsure of the elf’s motives.  The elf crouched down and looked into Kane’s eyes.  “Are you protecting this boy?”  Kane replied with a nod of his head.  The elf raised an eyebrow, curious about the wolf’s ability to understand him.  “You can understand me?” he asked.  Kane once again nodded his head.  The elf smiled slightly. “In my five hundred and twenty three years of life, I have never met a wolf, or any other animal for that matter, that could understand as you do.”  Kane watched the elf intently, glancing around at the riders surrounding them.  The elf smiled once again.  “You can relax. We mean neither you nor the boy any harm.  My name is Elinar Durothil.  I am the commander of the Alinshaharian Riders.  Did you and the boy come from Dawn’s Grasp?”

Kane did start to relax slightly then, his ears returning to their normal upright position.  He nodded toward Elinar.

Elinar looked upon Kane with despair.  “Am I correct to assume they have returned, then?”  Kane lowered his head after hearing Elinar’s words.  Elinar nodded and smiled slightly.  “It took great courage to face such overwhelming odds and get this boy to safety.  You should be commended…”  Elinar paused and remained silent for a few moments.  “We had hoped to reach the valley before the seal broke.  It seems we underestimated the rate at which it would dissipate once weakened.  That will severely complicate our mission.”

Kane tilted his head in curiosity after hearing the elf speak of their mission.

Elinar looked at Kane.  “I suppose you want to know what our mission is,” said Elinar.  “We were to retrieve a legendary weapon hidden within the valley—”

Kane barked, interrupting the elf.  He stood and stepped to the side of Lian, revealing the sword grasped within his hand.  Elinar peered at the boy and the sword.  Blood from the slain Battle Sage was dried on the blade.

Elinar’s eyes widened at the sight of Lian’s hair.  “That hair color…” said Elinar, pausing.  “It is very unique. So unique that I have met only one human with the same color.”  Elinar paused for a moment in thought, then spoke to himself quietly, “She must have lied…but it was unnecessary.  We meant no harm to her or the child.  I suppose I understand why she did, though.”

Elinar stood and looked back to his riders.  “Men and women of The Riders,” said Elinar in a commanding voice.  “This wolf and boy have completed our task for us despite facing certain death.  You all know the importance of this task.  I believe this boy is tied to our mission now.”  Elinar turned to face the riders behind him.  “Now, what I must ask requires all of our agreeance.  I cannot expect you all to simply follow orders on this matter.”  Elinar turned back to face Kane and the riders surrounding them.  “This boy bears features of the Telindell lineage.  He may be of great importance.  It is a risk to bring another human into our post, our home…”  Elinar paused briefly.  “But I believe it to be a greater risk and unwise to leave him here.  So, now I ask for anybody who objects to speak out now.”

Elinar looked around to his riders.  All remained silent.

Elinar smiled. “Very well, Riders.  Now, I ask…who are we?”

The riders shouted in thunderous unison, “The Alinshaharian Riders!”

Elinar smiled and shouted once again, “Who do we fight for?”

The riders bellowed out in thunderous unison once more, “Alinshahar!”

Elinar shouted out once more, “What is our mandate?”

“Honor and glory!” screamed the riders.  They all raised their right fists into the air, followed by thunderous yells of pride.  Their horses reared and neighed with excitement.

Elinar grinned and crouched back down to face Kane.  “We are going to take the boy with us.”

Kane glared at the elf and stepped closer to Lian.

“Don’t worry, you are welcome to come with us,” said Elinar, still smiling.  “I see your loyalty to him, and I wouldn’t expect you to stay behind.”

Kane nodded and moved slightly away from Lian.

Elinar put his hand on Kane’s head.  “Now, it’s a long ride.  You will have to keep up,” said Elinar.  “We should reach the outpost by nightfall if we ride straight through.”

Elinar stood.  Kane nodded and looked to Lian, then back to the elf.  Elinar turned to his white horse and approached its rear.  He opened the worn brown saddlebags on its back and pulled an old wool blanket from it.  He carried the blanket to Lian and crouched at his side.  He pried the sword from Lian’s hand and placed it on the blanket, wrapping it tightly.

Elinar called for one of his riders, “Lieutenant!”

A black horse trotted up to Elinar.  “Sir?” said the lieutenant with a soft female voice.

Elinar handed the wrapped sword to the Lieutenant.  “Take the sword. I shall carry the boy with me,” said Elinar.  “We shall travel through the forest and off the main roads.  That way, it will be difficult to track us and there will be less chance of exposure.”

She took the sword and secured it on the rear of the horse. “Yes, sir.  As you command,” said the Lieutenant.

The Lieutenant trotted around, motioning for the riders to form up.

Elinar looked to Lian.  “Now for you.”  He crouched down and scooped Lian up in his arms.  Elinar took note of the boy’s blood covered clothes.  “You must have witnessed horrors that I could never begin to imagine.”

Elinar set the boy upon the horse in front of the saddle.  He climbed upon the horse and wrapped his left arm around Lian’s upper body.  Elinar took his horse’s reigns in his right hand and gave it a gentle tap with his black leather boot.  He turned his horse, and the riders split apart to allow him to take his place the front of their formation.  Kane walked beside of Elinar and kept a watchful eye on Lian.  Elinar kicked his horse once again and galloped off.  The riders followed suit.  Kane’s paws dug into the dirt of the road through the forest, running beside Elinar.  Elinar turned from the road and entered the forest.  They slowed their pace as they worked their way through the thick trees and vegetation of the forest.  The hours passed as the Alinshaharian Riders journeyed farther northwest through the forest.  Finally, they came upon a small clearing that had a sparkling stream passing through it.

Elinar came to a halt at the edge of the stream and turned his horse to face the riders behind him.  “Riders, water your horses and tend to them,” he said.  “We continue on shortly.”

The riders dispersed to spots along the stream.  Elinar carefully laid Lian upon the horse’s neck and dismounted.  Kane looked up to Lian then to Elinar and snorted.

Elinar looked down to Kane. “Don’t worry,” he said.  “I’m going to try to wake him, see if he is hungry.  I imagine it has been some time sense either of you have eaten.”

Kane nodded his head and walked to the stream for a drink.  Elinar pulled Lian from the horse and laid him in the grass next to the stream.  He kneeled down, cupping some water into his hands and splashed it on Lian’s face.  Lian flinched at the sensation of the cool water trickling down his face.  He slowly began to open his eyes.  His vision was blurry at first, but soon he focused on Elinar.

Elinar smiled and spoke softly, “Good.  You’re awake.”

Lian stared at the elf.  “Where…” said Lian groggily.  “Where am I?”

Elinar watched as Lian became more alert.  “You’re safe,” he said.  “My name is Elinar Durothil.  May I ask yours?”

Lian continued to stare at Elinar.  “My… My name is Lian.”

Elinar smiled once again.  “It is good to meet you, Lian.”

Lian glanced around the area.  “Where are we?”

Elinar looked toward the stream then back to Lian.  “We are just beyond the northern borders of Kynlynn.  But that’s not important at the moment.  Can you tell me the last thing you remember?”

Lian remained quiet for a few moments, attempting to recall what had happened.  “Well… There was this thing,” he said uncertainly.  “A monster or a man.  I don’t know what it was. He was about to--” Lian’s eyes widened at the thought of Kane lying helpless.  He quickly rose up and shouted, “Kane!  Where’s Kane!”

Elinar was startled by Lian’s sudden outburst. “Kane?  Who is Kane?”

Before Lian could reply, Kane leapt from the edge of the stream.  His paws pushed against Lian pinning him down playfully and licking his face.

Lian laughed and wrapped his arms around the wolf.  “Kane!  You’re ok!” said Lian.  “I thought that thing was going to kill you!”

Elinar watched with great curiosity.  “So this is Kane?  I have never seen anyone befriend a wolf such as you have.”

Lian looked to Elinar.  “He and his pack--” Lian was interrupted by his own laughter at Kane’s playfulness.  “They saved me,” he said.  “Kane and I were the only ones that made it out.”

Elinar smiled and spoke softly, “And I’m glad you made it.”

Kane moved from Lian’s chest and sat down, watching the boy with relief in his eyes.

Lian began to take note of Elinar’s appearance, his eyes settling on Elinar’s ears.  “Your ears,” he said.  “What’s wrong with them?”

Elinar reached up and touched his ears.  He chuckled a bit.  “What?” he asked.  “There is nothing wrong with them.  They are supposed to be like this.  I’m an elf.”

Lian was puzzled. “An elf?  But I thought the Elves were all dead?”

Elinar smirked. “No. We are not all dead.  Far from it, actually.  But we stay hidden from humans.  We have for a thousand years.  There was a time when we were near extinction, but that time has long passed.”

Lian looked around, noticing the other elves lining the stream as they watered their horses.  They had removed their hoods as well.  All had the same fair skin as Elinar.  Their hair was either black or blonde.  The males wore their hair the same as Elinar and the females wore their hair pulled back into tight ponytails.

Lian looked to Elinar. “Why do you all look alike?”

Elinar laughed.  “We do indeed look similar, but not alike,” he answered.  “We resemble humans, yes, but we are not as diverse.  We only have two shades of hair color.  Our eyes are either blue or brown.  Our skin color is mostly the same, with very little variance.  Humans on the other hand… Many different hair colors, eye colors and skin pigments.”

Lian smiled.  “I understand.  Are there any other differences?”

Elinar smiled at Lian’s curiosity.  “There is one other rather large difference,” he said.  “Humans age and eventually die of old age.  Elves only age until we are fully mature.  I am over five hundred years old myself.”

Lian became excited.  “You can’t die?”

Elinar smiled.  “Yes, we can indeed die,” said Elinar.  “Just not of old age.  Something has to kill us.”

Lian’s excitement faded a bit “I understand…”

Elinar looked to Kane, then back to Lian.  “Now, you must be hungry,” he said.  “You and Kane both, I’m sure.”

Lian nodded his head quickly.  “Yes, sir!”

Elinar laughed lightly.  “Just call me Elinar, alright?”

Lian nodded and smiled slightly.  Elinar stood and walked to his horse.  It was drinking from the cool crystal clear stream.  He opened the saddle bags and pulled out some cooked meat wrapped in a cloth.  Elinar walked back to Lian and sat down.  He unwrapped the cloth and tore the piece of meat in half.  He handed part of it to Lian and the other part to Kane.  Kane grabbed the meat, dropped it on the ground and began to eat.  Lian took the meat and looked at it.

Elinar looked at Lian.  “It’s deer,” he assured him.  “Not very fresh, but it’s still good.”

“Thank you!” said Lian.

Elinar watched as Lian begin to eat.  “Now, tell me what happened,” said Elinar.  “We found you on the edge of the forest, unconscious.  I suspect your furry friend was dragging you from the mountains.  You had a sword clutched in your hand.”