Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords (6 page)

Doogal nodded, “Yes, I suppose it would be. But why should I help you?”

“We have a common enemy; McRawl. He is one of those who is in possession of that which we want you to steal.”

Doogal’s mind was made up, “You get me out of here and I will steal whatever it is you want, as long as I get close to McRawl.”

Seth turned away from the cage. “He is full of talk, but none of it informative.”

Harper grinned, “Looks like you wasted your time.”

As they watched Seth speaking with the prisoner, the Ranger had casually guided her horse beside of Harper’s. Without warning, she raised her hand, producing a dagger that she placed against the constable’s throat. “Then we will just have to take him with us for further questioning.”

Harper’s deputy reached for his sword. As he did so, a ferocious growl caught him off guard. He turned his head in time to see the largest black wolf that he had ever imagined, charging out of the trees. His horse began stomping about as the beast advanced. From the cage, Doogal watched as the large black creature leaped into the air, slamming into the deputy and sending both man and beast toppling to the ground. The deputy screamed as the creature’s jaws closed in on his neck.

The driver reached for the loaded crossbow that sat on the bench beside of him. As he began to raise it, Seth grabbed one of the bars with his left hand and effortlessly swung up onto the wagon. He kicked the driver, causing the man to fall off of the wagon. His crossbow dropped to the ground between the two draft horses.

“Call your men off and drop your sword belt.” The female Ranger ordered. “I have two elf archers in the trees, ready to cut your men down if necessary. All we want is the thief. Let us have him and you and your men will live.”

Harper was a brave man, but he was not a fool. He knew when the odds were against him. “Drop your weapons!” He slowly unlatched his belt to allow it—and his sword—to fall to the ground.

The two guards behind the wagon did as instructed. Doogal sensed that both men were pleased with the decision.

“Shadow, release him!” The female called to the animal.

The animal sprang away from the deputy, who quickly scrambled to his feet, rubbing his neck as he backed away from the creature. The crotch of his pants was wet. “Please get that wolf away from me.”

“She’s not a wolf, at least not exactly.” The female replied, “Who has the key to the wagon?”

“I do.” Harper reluctantly admitted, as he eyed the large animal warily as it came over to stand beside the woman’s horse. “What is
that
if it is not a wolf?”

“Shadow is an elven-wolf-hound.”

From his cage Doogal looked at the animal in awe. He had heard of elven-wolf-hounds, but had never seen one before.

Seth pointed to the deputy and the driver. “Go join the men on the side of the wagon!”

Harper reached into his pocket and removed a cord with two keys. Following the Ranger’s instructions, he tossed the keys to Seth, who snatched them out of the air and rushed to the back of the wagon.

“Get these shackles off of me.” Doogal insisted after Seth opened the cage door.

Seth used the second key to undo the locks on the thief’s hands and feet. Doogal hurried out of the cage as soon as he was released.

“Inside!” Seth ordered the other men.

“You should kill them, Doogal suggested.

“We only kill when necessary.” The female replied. “Your turn.” She said to Harper.

The constable slid down from his horse. “You will pay for this, half-elf bitch.”

Doogal punched Harper in the jaw, knocking the constable to the ground.

“Enough!” The Ranger ordered.

The elven-wolf-hound growled, as if enforcing the Ranger’s command.

Doogal picked up Harper’s discarded sword belt and strapped it about his waist. He pulled Harper’s sword and held it in the constable’s direction. “I will take my boots back, if you do not mind.”

Harper sat up and began unlacing the boots. The released thief addressed the female ranger as he waited for the return of his property. “Missy, if you leave these men alive, they will provide your descriptions to McRawl’s men.”

Seth laughed. “It is not like McRawl will not know that it was us anyway. We have been at odds for quite some time now.”

“Agreed.” The female ranger added.

Harper tossed the boots to the ground at Doogal’s feet. The thief used the sword to point at the wagon, “Go join your men.”

Doogal sat down and began putting his boots on as Seth ushered the constable into the back of the wagon. When the young man locked the cage Doogal said, “You will not kill them, but you will leave them to starve to death.”

“We will leave their rations with them,” Seth interjected, “that will hold them over. Besides, someone should find them no later than tomorrow, if not sooner.”

Doogal watched as Seth tossed wineskins and food sacks into the cage. “I know
his
name, but who are you?” He asked the Ranger.

“My name is Tessa.” She replied.

Doogal grinned, “Well, it most certainly is my pleasure to meet you.”

Tessa motioned for Doogal to mount Harper’s horse. “I cannot say the same. Your reputation precedes you. If it were not for Seebaul’s insistence that you are the best person for this task, then I would be more than willing to allow these men to take you to Ducaine to be hanged.”

“I can see that this is going to be a fun trip.” Doogal said as he approached Harper’s horse. He opened the constable’s saddle bag and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for. Doogal removed a blackened, deer-bone choker, which he fastened around his neck, covering the scar left by the hangman’s noose that had forever altered the direction of his life. As he did so, Shadow walked over to the thief’s side and began sniffing his leg. Doogal absentmindedly scratched the hound behind its ears, then climbed up into the saddle of the constable’s horse.

Tessa watched with interest as Shadow examined the thief. When the dog turned away she shouted, “Come on out Reldoor!”

A shaggy haired, olive skinned young man carrying a short bow, made his way out of the bushes. Doogal guessed that the boy was younger than Seth. “That is your backup? He is only a kid.”

“I am seventeen, the same as Seth.” Reldoor proclaimed.

“They are all kids.” Tessa informed the thief. “Seebaul runs a sanctuary for orphans and escaped slaves.”

Reldoor mounted one of the horses. “At least I won’t have to ride behind you on the way back.” He said to Tessa. Doogal believed that Reldoor’s expression was perhaps one of regret, not pleasure, for the prospect of not riding behind the older, attractive, Ranger.

“You three have stones,” Doogal complimented, “taking on five armed men to rescue me. You boys together probably do not equal Harper’s age. Yep, you’ve got stones, or the three of you are just plain stupid.”

“That’s not the half of it.” Seth put in, “Reldoor can barely shoot that bow. If he had to shoot, then he had just as much of a chance of accidentally hitting you as he did of hitting one of those men.”

When Doogal observed Seth releasing the pair of horses from the wagon, he suggested, “We should take those horses with us, so they will not be able to ride after us when they are freed.”

Tessa shook her head. “They will not follow us. I will take us through the Tilsaw.”

Doogal was surprised, “I may be from up north, but even up there we have heard of the legend of the Tilsaw Forest. People who ride in, often never ride back out.”

“Only when they ride in uninvited.” Tessa explained. “We have free access through the Tilsaw. Even if these men get free within the hour, we will reach Ducaine a full day or two before they will.”

Doogal whistled, adding, “Like I said, you people have stones.”

“Enough talk, let’s get out of here.” Tessa instructed.

Doogal bowed his head, “Lead on, Ranger.”

“If you are the son of Landis, then won’t you be able to use the sword?” McRawl asked.

Trian smirked, “My lineage is not as pure as claimed.”

“What good is the sword, if you do not have the rest of the Pearls of the Elf Lords?” McRawl inquired.

Trian glared at Captain McRawl through the glass, “We will locate them. Seebaul may have been able to hide everything from me, including his very whereabouts, but we will find him. Our charade will see to that. Enough people witnessed a prisoner being delivered to Llerodak that word will surely reach Seebaul. He will no doubt believe that Megan Sergius is being held there in preparation for her exchange in Cathaar.”

“Are you certain that Seebaul will attempt to rescue the princess?”

Trian grinned, “Absolutely, Seebaul was a loyal servant to the Sergius family for three centuries. I doubt that he will sit idly by while we hold Queen Petra’s daughter captive. He will, at the very least, send Seth to attempt to rescue her; if he does not come himself. Even if he stays behind, once we capture Seth, I will force him to lead us to Seebaul’s hideaway. There we will find the remaining three pearls, and probably the stolen gates. We can kill off the last Elf Lord and enslave his followers. Once I open the gate, we will destroy this empire. Then we will restore order on this forsaken planet once again.”

“It will be nice to be rid of the elves.” McRawl said, then quickly added, “present company excepted of course.”

Trian dismissed the comment. “What have you heard about Landis?”

“I received word by carrier pigeon that he was seen debarking a ship in Durma earlier today. He got away before anyone could confirm it, but our people there are positive that it was him. He is no doubt on his way to Cathaar. He has not tried to seek passage up the river.”

Trian rubbed his hands together. “Nor will he. The risk of being on a riverboat with the sword is too great. Landis will travel by horseback or on foot. That means that he will arrive in Cathaar in two or three days.” Trian leaned back in his chair, “I just hope that Seebaul or Seth try to rescue the fake princess before I have to move on to meet Landis. Keep me informed if you hear anything more, Captain.”

The crystal ball went black. McRawl looked at it for a few moments before returning it to the black cloth bag that he kept it in. He leaned back in his chair and inhaled deeply. He held his breath for several seconds before exhaling, as he did every time that he used the crystal ball. Something about this magic made his skin crawl.

McRawl looked at the piece of parchment sitting on the table. He had read it before. It was a notification from the Constable of Latan, detailing the transport of the prisoner he had long feared. This was something that Captain McRawl could understand. He read the communiqué once more, then said, “Alas Doogal, I will have no reason to fear you anymore.”