Demiourgos (33 page)

Taking the initiative he leapt forward and drove his blade toward the elf’s midsection. He expected the coming dodge and reversed the direction of his swing faster than his opponent could react properly. The clang of blade against blade rang off the walls and the force of the impact knocked Revis off balance. When he stumbled to the side Liostro pressed the attack and finished his sideways sweep, following it by angling the blade downward in an overhead chop.

Revis rolled back into his previous stance and stood, taking no time in charging foward and swinging both blades at a diagonal angle. Liostro fell backward to avoid the swinging swords and once again caught his angry adversary off guard. Lying on his back he planted his legs into Revis’s torso and kicked him hard, staggering him backward long enough to recover and climb to his feet. Liostro hefted his sword, which seemed to be getting heavier with each moment, and held it in front of him again. Once he was squared off with the hoofed elf he positioned his feet around the debris and prepared to go on the defensive. “You could just let me go and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

“You? I’d never let a blood-tainted mongrel like you go, you’re an affront to elves everywhere, even the surface elves. Your unclean parentage only signifies that the elves above are worthless whores.” Revis taunted while waving his blades around like a madman.

“Oh such strong words from one who has the blood of a demon flowing through his veins. I’d wager your mother spread her legs for a red-skinned devil and loved every minute of it.” Liostro could almost see the elf’s blood boiling but he didn’t have to look hard. His ploy to turn the hooved elf’s insults back on him was successful. Revis bellowed an unintelligible battle cry and charged forward furiously. It would have been easy to dodge or parry the incoming reckless blows but instead Liostro stepped to the side of the first swing and cut his blade downward, catching Revis off guard and sending him down to the ground howling in pain. His next blow dug a huge chunk of stone out of the floor where Revis had just been. The second and third did the same as the nimble elf kept rolling out of the way.

Now out of the long blade’s reach Revis stood up with a slight limp and glared at Liostro with murder in his eyes. “You’ll pay for laying a hand on me you dog.”

“That wasn’t my hand you know. I’d rather not soil my gloves on your tainted skin.” Liostro taunted once again. He performed a slow, clumsy diagonal blow that was easily side-stepped. He was deliberately trying to seem like his blade was slowing from fatigue and to add to the illusion he had been increasing the frequency of his breathing as well.

“You look tired half-blood, what’s the matter? Never fought against a real swordsman?” Revis grinned evilly and spread his arms out wide, tightening his grip on his twin blades.

Liostro didn’t bother to reply; he merely gritted his teeth and glared. Inside he was smiling with satisfaction, his ploy was working. Two quick swipes came across his midsection and he danced backward awkwardly on purpose, acting like he was going to fall. When his foe stepped in for a quick kill with both blades thrusting forward Liostro dropped down to his knees and poured every ounce of his strength into a counter blow. The sword in his grip severed one arm and bit into the other, cracking the bones underneath. Revis let out a pained cry and fell to the ground cradling the stump of his lost arm with his broken one.

Liostro leveled his blade right into the wounded elf’s face and felt the temptation to end the wretched creature’s life. Something inside of him thought of Rose so instead he cleaned his blade off on the tunic of a nearby fallen body. “If I ever see you again I will do much more than just sever your hand.”

He left the room feeling good about himself and wondered how he would have felt if he had actually killed his helpless foe. The distraction was present for a mere moment before he began pursuing Nina and the rogue elf. The halls were quiet once more save for what seemed to be a commotion outside. Dismissing it as unimportant he rushed around several corners almost blindly in search of his companions. At the end of his short trek he was faced with what seemed to be an empty store room. He wasn’t sure how much volume he wanted to put into finding them but he had no choice. “Nina?”

When the back wall of the room silently swung open he held his blade up in front of him, until a familiar blonde head poked out and beckoned him forward. He let the blade dip down toward the ground and rushed toward Nina. His legs carried him past her and his sword clattered to the smooth carved floor when he spied Rose lying against the wall of the cavern not far away.

His heart nearly leapt from his chest as he dropped to his knees and grabbed her hand. She was weak he could tell but she smiled for him and put a hand on his cheek. Before she could pull it away he grabbed it and kissed her palm then let it rest on her lap. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“I had faith that you would.” Rose replied in a subdued tone and closed her eyes, sighing in relief.

Avreel hefted out a heavy breath and rolled her eyes. “I think I’m going to be ill.”

“What did you animals do to her?” Liostro stood up and turned toward Avreel, when she backed away a step and dropped a hand onto the haft of her mace he narrowed his eyes. “What happened to her?”

“She saved my life Liostro.” Rose interjected before things could progress any further.

“My apologies then, you have my thanks.” He gathered his blade and sheathed it at his back then walked back over to Rose and Nina. “We have to get you out of here; I’ll take us to the council chambers.”

“No!” Avreel screamed when he went to touch his breastplate. She swatted his hand away and shook her head. “Two reasons before you ask, first is because you’re taking me with you. I have no place here now that Rose destroyed my family’s home. Second because if you attempt to teleport out of the city you’ll be either torn apart or thrown right into a stone wall.”

“You could have said something.” Liostro replied in a heated tone.

“I just did you empty-skulled lummox.” Avreel crossed her arms over her chest and indicated the passageway before them. “We’ll have to cross through part of the city and head out into the endless dark. There’s a route to another part of the surface that we can teleport from but any closer than that and we’ll be taking a huge risk.”

“Fine, how do we get through the city though? We’ll be killed on sight.” Nina piped in, trying to defuse the situation before the two ripped each other’s throats out.

“We can sneak out when the light of the crystal wanes, it should be easier to navigate the slums. I know where most of the patrols frequent.” Avreel motioned toward Rose. “She cannot use her magic so she will be dead weight and it’s imperative that we don’t attract any attention. Furthermore unless you plan on taking out an entire patrol of trained warriors and at least one arcanist we will have to avoid the main streets.”

Liostro listened intently until she finished. “This is your city, so I think it best to take advantage of your knowledge.”

“Thank you.” The sarcasm in her voice was thick as it dripped from each word.

“However,” Liostro interjected before more could be said. “I don’t trust you.”

“Are you sure you weren’t born in this city?” She replied sardonically and rolled her eyes then stepped forward and put a finger in his face. “You listen to me half-blood. I risked everything including my life to get your precious Rose to safety. I have followed the word of the gods themselves to make sure she is safe and I shall continue to do so until I expire so I don’t need your trust, I need your cooperation.”

“Grudgingly.” He replied to her and fingered the sheath of the blade at his back.

“Will you two please stop it?” Rose said with a dry laugh. “You sound as if you’re either mortal enemies or married though I’m not sure the two are that far divorced.”

Nina couldn’t help but giggle at the angry looks they both gave Rose. It was apparent that their journey together would have some rocky points but she was happy that Rose was alright. Kneeling down by her closest friend she put a hand on her near-limp arm and tried to smile. “We’ll get you out of here safe.”

“You shouldn’t have come, you are too important to your people.” Rose said to Nina though she was glad to see the spritely little elf. “How did you two get into the city in the first place?”

“We got ourselves caught on purpose then killed our captors.” Nina paused then glanced over at Liostro. “Actually he killed our captors just as we entered the house.”

“Single handedly?” Avreel said with a low whistle. “Well your combat prowess notwithstanding we would do well to use stealth to leave the city. That requires brains and careful planning, not muscles and hitting things.”

Liostro could not tell them that his combat prowess was not all him. The better part of it was the armor and weapon he now carried; they both seemed to boost his abilities quite a bit. Pushing those thoughts from his mind he glanced down at Rose who was paying attention to Avreel as she laid out another part of their plan. Obviously she sensed his gaze upon her because she turned her head toward him and smiled a little. His heart could have broken into a thousand pieces at that moment but he held himself strong for her and returned the smile then turned his attention to their new ally.

“I am going to go out into the city and attempt to get us what supplies we cannot take from the room beyond. I’ll also try to retrieve some long cloaks or maybe the trappings of a house slave.” Avreel paused and looked back toward the doorway. “That’s it! I can pass you off as house slaves at least until we reach the gate near the academy. Once we’re there it’s an easy thing to bribe the guards to look the other way. You’d have to lose or pack away your weapons and armor though.”

“Not happening.” Liostro said with a shake of his head. “We worked too hard to retrieve these items.”

“What?” Rose said in response as she looked at the armor and sword that was strapped on his back as if seeing them for the first time. “Are those the artifacts? How did you come to wear them?”

Liostro wondered just how badly hurt Rose had been if she was just now noticing that he was wearing the armor of kings. “Yes they are. The half-blood insult that Avreel just hurled is true, my mother was an elf.”

“Truly?” Rose replied softly. “Much has happened in the short time I was away.”

“Rose, you’ve been gone for more than a month.” Nina said before Liostro could and knelt down next to her stunned friend. “Time seems to flow differently here, the lack of a sun and moon explains that.”

Avreel swiveled her gaze toward Nina. “A what?”

“You’ll have to see it, I can’t explain it otherwise.” Nina said with a shrug. “It’s not unlike the crystal you have hanging at the center of the cavern in some respects.”

“For another time then.” Avreel dismissed with a wave. “You three converse or do whatever it is surface dwellers do and I’ll go gather what we need.”

~~~~

Roughly an hour had passed since Avreel had left the three of them in the cramped tunnel. Tense silence had been the current emperor for most of the time but Rose didn’t mind, she was in Liostro’s strong arms and that was all she needed for now. It bolstered her to have him so close and she was surprised at how attentive and gentle he had been with her since they had been reunited, something had changed inside of him and she knew it was for the better. “Liostro?”

“Yes?”

Rose paused for a moment and looked over at Nina who had fallen asleep not long after Avreel had left. She couldn’t blame the little elf. They were all tired and in need of a serious rest anyway. “Do you love me?”

He couldn’t answer at first and he wondered if that was because he didn’t know or because of what he had been taught all of his life. After a moment of deliberation he decided that it would be better to tell her than to keep her guessing. “You are my heart and though it sounds like a lousy pick-up line I truly mean it. I didn’t know that I had the capacity for love until I met you. The way you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the elves, the heart you poured into healing Barius. Even the way you came to my aid though I had just attacked your friends. You are a beautiful person Alethia Rose and I would be a fool not to love you.”

“So it’s prudence then?” She replied in jest, laying her head back down against his chest.

“You’ve carved a hole in the black stone that encases my small heart.” Liostro replied and kissed the top of her head, running a hand across her hair soothingly. “Rest now, we’ll have to move soon and it’s going to be fast paced from here.”

Just as he finished that statement Rose heard movement down toward the exit of the tunnel and turned her head to find Avreel approaching them with a bundle in her arms. Her face was ashen as if she had just gotten some horrible news. Honestly Rose didn’t know what was worse than being stuck in a small tunnel or in a city full of people that wanted nothing more than to carve you into little pieces just to see what made you tick. “From the look on your face I can tell that you’ve not gotten any good news.”

“Far from it, my brother Revis survived.” Avreel set down the stack of clothes and sat against the wall of their current hideaway. “He’s drained the family treasury to restore his lost arm and hire a bounty hunter to find us and return with our heads. That in itself would not be so bad if it weren’t for who he hired.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked out of sheer morbid curiosity.