Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords (21 page)
Read Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords Online
Authors: Richard Saunders
He heard Trian’s voice in his head,
Where are they?
Marlow looked up into the sky, at the black dragon hovering above the trees. “They have fled.” He answered.
I can tell that, fool. Where have they gone?
Marlow checked the faces of the terrified men and guessed that they could not hear the dragon’s words. The Supreme Commander was pleased by that discovery.
They will hear me only if I want them too,
Trian explained.
Marlow shook his head in confusion. “I am sorry, but I do not know where they are.” He pointed to the wide path, “They went that way. I was about to order the men to follow.”
Ask the gem to guide you to the Elf Lord. Find him and you will find what we seek.
Marlow reached for the green gem that hung from a chain around his neck. He concentrated on Seebaul, silently asking the talisman in his hand to lead the way to wherever the Elf Lord was hiding. Marlow had been impressed with how easily the stone had guided him to the place that had eluded them for so long. It was as if everything but the true path to this location had been blurred all around him. As he focused, he could see the trail ahead become clear, even in the darkness.
Good boy.
The dragon praised his efforts.
Marlow resented the tone. Even in his mind, it felt that he was being spoken to like a well behaved pet.
Get over it, and go after Seebaul. Kill everyone who gets in your way until you find him. Once you are there, I will land and take charge.
The dragon flew away, much to the relief of the squad of men following Marlow. The Supreme Commander inhaled deeply. He wished that he was on horseback, rather than running on foot in the darkness, but it had become too difficult for horses to maneuver in the forest. He just hoped that they did not have to march much farther.
The children screamed as the black dragon flew overhead. Everyone felt the dragon-fear well before Trian had come into view. Seebaul frantically ushered the children into the cave as quickly as possible. “The cave will help to protect us against the dragon.” The Elf Lord said to those nearest him. “He will be unable to enter the narrow cave in his natural form. He must shape-shift back to his
Trian
identity; that limits his power, and will make him easier to kill.”
Jaylen and Trevor came running from the place where they had been keeping watch as everyone else prepared for their magical escape. “The soldiers are here!” The elf warned.
“Oh dear, that does not give us enough time.” Seebaul said with great concern.
Tessa and Megan had taken charge of the children, leading them into the depths of the cave as quickly as they could go. In an instant, the princess had transformed into a mother figure for the orphans. Her demeanor in this panicky situation helped to calm their fears.
Seebaul motioned to Katryn, “Go into the cave and get everyone ready to enter the gates.”
He called to Natis. When the mage stepped forward, Seebaul handed him the red stone. “You know what to do with it.”
Natis accepted the stone. Before he could answer, the Elf Lord turned his attention to other matters. “Landis, you already have the White Pearl in the hilt of your sword. Tessa, Doogal; between two of the gates you will find the Red and Black Pearls. I have fashioned them into necklaces. Tessa, you take the Red Pearl, and Doogal, you will take the Black Pearl.”
“Are you sure?” Landis asked, knowing the type of magic contained within the Black Pearl.
Seebaul nodded, “Remember Landis, magic is pretty much the same. It is how it is used—or misused—that causes problems. The Pearls will corrupt any magic user, but you three are not magic users. However, all three of you do have elven blood, so they will respond to you more easily.”
Seebaul placed a small, circular, blackened disk, about the size of a large coin, into Seth’s hand. “Once inside the Dragon’s Gate, throw this to the ground and tap it with this.” He handed his green staff to Seth. “You will bear the Green Pearl.”
“But this is your staff!” Seth objected.
“I am afraid that I cannot go with you.” Seebaul explained.
When everyone began to protest, the Elf Lord waved his hands and called for silence. “We do not have time to bicker. I will give each of you one of the four secret words that will lock the Red Stone. Once the stone is secured in place, you must each whisper that word to the stone, in the order that I give you the words. This must be done to both lock and unlock the stone. The order to lock it will be green, white, red, and black; more simply, Seth, Landis, Tessa and Doogal. To unlock it, you would whisper those same words in reverse order. It is my hope that you will never unlock it, once it is in place.”
The Elf Lord took each of the four aside, one at a time, and whispered a single word to them. “You must not share these words with each other.” He said when finished. “Now, get inside the cave and use the four pearls to unlock the Dragon Gates. Usher everyone inside, and then Katryn will use the magic that I have granted her to teleport everything to Sedau.”
The sound of soldiers cresting the hill could be heard in the distance.
“We will not make it in time.” Trevor warned.
“I will hold them at bay.” Seebaul promised. “Everyone keep moving. Oh, and prepare to fight Trian. I doubt that I will be able to stop him. I will do my best; hopefully he will be injured by the time he reaches you. Whatever you do, stop him before he morphs back into his dragon form. Fighting a dragon in the Dragon Realm gives him a major advantage.”
“Not like he doesn’t already have one in this world.” Landis responded.
Katryn hugged the Elf Lord. Tears ran down her face as she spoke, “I am grateful to you for all that you have done.”
“Enough talk, everyone get moving, I have to go hold off those soldiers.”
Trevor Kahn drew his sword. “I will stand and fight with you.”
“No you will not.” The Elf Lord corrected. “Your duty is to Jordan and Megan. They may need your help before this is over.”
Jaylen stepped forward, “Then I will stay.”
Seebaul eyed the elf. “This is a battle that I will not survive. I can hold them off, but I have no hope of stopping them all.” Seeing the look of concern on everyone’s face he continued, “Do not worry about me. I have lived far too long, and carry too many secrets. My death will serve a greater purpose than my continuing on. Besides, I am tired of being the last of the Elf Lords. It is time to join my brothers in the next world, assuming that any of them will be where I hope to go.”
Jaylen grinned, “You speak the words of my heart, Seebaul. I too should have died many times before. I find it ironic that I survived the Battle of Sedau, in which the evil elf Bytoron was destroyed before he could capture the pearls, then I survive the fight in that same ruined city, while providing escape for my son and friends, when they retrieved those pearls. I think that it is only fitting that I die here, while providing them the time to escape back to that same land. It appears that our lives have always been united; it will be an honor to fight—and die—at your side.”
“Very well.” Seebaul concurred.
“Father!” Landis objected.
Jaylen approached his son, motioning for Seth and Megan to join them. “I am choosing what is best, Landis. Trust me, just as you asked me to trust you back in Sedau eighteen years ago. I am just happy to have lived long enough to have seen my two grandchildren.” The elf hugged Seth, then Megan, before embracing his son. “Take care of them; and yourself.”
Before Landis could speak, Jaylen turned and began walking to stand beside Seebaul at the mouth of the cave.
“We have to go!” Katryn insisted.
The companions pushed their way through the orphans until they reached the four Dragon Gates that were nestled, side-by-side, against the rear wall of the cave. Doogal and Tessa had already retrieved the pearls from the ground, as they had been instructed to do by the Elf Lord. Landis pointed to the nearest gate. It was a stone archway about a man’s height, with two stone beams crisscrossing in the center. At each of the four corners, where the beams connected to the arch, was an indentation in the shape of one of the pearls. Landis observed that the slots were positioned differently on each of the four gates.
Landis spoke softly, “I hope this works.”
“Trust the Elf Lord.” Seth said, as he placed the green pearl at the top of his staff into the corresponding slot on the upper left side of this gate. Seth’s eyes widened as he felt the magic of the gate grip the pearl, pulling it into the socket and holding it securely so that Seth could not withdraw it if he tried.
“Next.” Seth spoke as he released the staff and backed away.
Landis motioned for Tessa to use the red pearl. Tessa knelt in front of the gate, cautiously placing the red pearl against the matching opening. As her fingers neared the stone, the pearl leaped from her hands, slamming into the slot. Tessa gasped and backed away. A colorful midst began to swirl inside of the arch as she made way for the next person.
“It’s working.” Katryn observed.
“Your turn.” Landis said to Doogal.
While Tessa had moved with caution, Doogal stepped forward quickly, slamming the black pearl into its matching opening and retreating immediately. The swirling midst began to grow more colorful and rapid. Now it was Landis’ turn. He took the Sword of Alexon and reversed it, pressing the cross-shaped white pearl adorning the hilt into the remaining slot. The sword latched onto the stone, becoming part of it. The crossbeams vanished and the swirling lights came to a halt. The archway glowed with an amber hue.
“The gate is open.” Katryn announced. “Everyone go inside!”
Landis pulled the sword from the gate. “The pearls can be freed, now that they have all been used.”
As Seth, Doogal and Tessa retrieved their pearls Landis continued, “Everyone inside now!”
Jaylen and Seebaul stood at the entrance of the cave. Seebaul had picked up another staff; this one with sharpened steel tips at each end. Jaylen held both of his swords ready. “Looks like it’s you and me against the world.” The elf spoke.
“We are not alone.” Seebaul retorted.
Jaylen detected movement in the trees on either side of the clearing. Dryads stepped into the open; the elf counted at least three dozen of the petite female fairies.
“They are my creation, and they have chosen to stand and fight with us to hold the enemy back, so that our friends and the children can reach safety.”
Jaylen saw tears in the Elf Lord’s eyes, and understood that these beings were sacrificing their lives in this effort too. The Elf Lord would see his own creation fall with him.
Two elven-wolfhounds ran to their side. Jaylen recognized one of them as Shadow, Tessa’s dog. He had failed to notice that the animal was not with her when she had entered the cave.
Seebaul scratched the elven-wolf-hound’s neck. “Good girl, Shadow. I knew that you would return. I see that you have been visiting your friend again. Tessa would not be pleased by that.”
Shadow snarled, sensing the approaching soldiers.
“Go take care of Tessa.” Seebaul ordered.
The wolfhound turned and entered the cave. She stopped and looked back, as if waiting for the larger male dog to follow.
“He has chosen to stay with me.” Seebaul spoke.
Shadow whimpered before trotting into the cave.
Jaylen was impressed, “Even the animals choose to fight with you.”
The trees burst open and nearly two hundred soldiers broke into the clearing. At their front charged ten ferocious trolls.
Trian let out a deafening roar as he circled overhead. Seeing the cave, the dragon knew that he had to land and shift back into his other form. He dared not permit Alistar Marlow to go in alone. Trian had planned this too carefully to risk giving the Supreme Commander the opportunity to take charge of the pearls on his own. The dragon dove through the trees, repositioning his body at the last moment to land in the clearing. He did not care about the two soldiers that he crushed in the process. Reluctantly, Trian unleashed the magic necessary to transform him into the half-elf form that he had chosen to use to achieve his purpose.
As Jaylen and Seebaul stood their ground, the male elven-wolfhound snarled and rushed to meet the attackers.
Seebaul laughed, “So this is what it is like to face death. I often wondered how I would handle it.”
Jaylen readied his twin swords, “We may die, but we will die well, with the blood of many washing our feet before anyone enters this cave.”
As he took his position alongside of Alister Marlow, Trian feel the presence of the Pearls of the Elf Lords. He sensed that the Dragon Gates were inside the cave. Trian snickered as he saw Seebaul and Jaylen standing in front of the cave, ready to meet them. Even with the Elf Lord’s magic, this was going to be a slaughter. Today Trian would have all the tools he needed to re-open the portal to the Dragon Realm.
Dryads rushed from either side to meet the soldiers. Trian watched as a large wolf-like dog lunged at the fighter. The wolfhound bit into the man’s throat, ripping his neck open before unlocking its powerful jaws and jumping at a second fighter. The hound bit this man in the groin, locking its teeth into place and shaking its neck violently as the man screamed and fell to the ground. A sword severed the animal’s head, but not before the dog had done enough damage to where the soldier on the ground would slowly bleed to death.
