Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (44 page)

"I don't know." Brody frowned, watching as the giggling group continued to scamper about happily. "They couldn't be no more than twenty or thirty years old. They shouldn't be out here playing alone."

They watched as the children hurried up to an elven man who was walking alone across the platform, and then gasped in surprise as the children suddenly swarmed all over him and dragged him down, still giggling in maniacal glee. The elf released a single scream of horror which was cut short as a dozen tiny daggers flashed in the moonlight.

"Dear gods!" Raven's eyes were wide with disbelief as the giggling elven children hurried on, leaving their victim in a pool of his own blood. "What kind of children are they?"

"I don't know," Damion frowned, watching as the elven children dragged down another elf who had appeared to investigate the disturbance. "but they don't appear to be very friendly."

The giggling children quickly finished butchering the helpless elf, then began to hurry across another hanging bridge towards the platform where the companions stood watching.

"What should we do?" Shirk asked as they charged forward with maniacal smiles, their tiny faces dripping with the blood of their victims.

"Kill them!" Brody exclaimed in panic, struggling to notch an arrow in his bow.

"We can't kill them!" Raven cried in horror. "They're only children!"

"Do you have any other suggestions?" Shirk asked as several of the elven children rushed towards him armed with tiny daggers. He nimbly skipped backwards, then drew one of his heavy broadswords and began to wave it back and forth to keep them at bay.

"These are not normal elven children." Brody told her, firing an arrow at the closest of the giggling children, who easily avoided the skillful shot.

"Normal or not, we don't slaughter kids!" Raven told him fiercely, snatching the bow from the elven ambassador's hands with an angry expression.

One of the elven children suddenly sent their dagger whirling end over end through the air, narrowly missing the young woman's face.

"Hey!" Raven exclaimed with a furious expression. She ducked as another dagger sailed towards her, then tossed Brody his bow and reached for her own. "Forget what I said! Just kill the little monsters!"

One of the elven children, a tiny boy with wild eyes and shockingly blond hair, gave an insane laugh, then charged forward with his tiny dagger poised to strike, but Shirk forced him back with several skillful swipes of his broadsword. Another child, a young girl with long brown hair arranged into adorable looking pigtails, launched herself forward with a screech of laughter, but was hurled violently backward as one of Brody's arrows slammed into her chest. She fell limply to the platform and was immediately trampled by the other elven children, who merely continued to giggle madly.

Damion skipped backwards away from the elven children, his expression doubtful. "I'm not so sure I feel entirely right with striking a child." An elven boy suddenly scrambled nimbly up the huge warrior's leg and attempted to drive his tiny dagger into Damion's chest, though it failed to penetrate the dwarven armor. "Stop that!" He swatted the boy away, causing him to crash to the platform with an angry snarl. Two more elven children latched onto his legs, while a third boy sank his teeth into Damion's hand. "Ouch!" He shook the boy loose from his hand, then snatched a hold of the two children who were trying desperately to drag him down, and heaved them both back into their giggling companions, sending them all crashing backwards in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Vicious little beasts, aren't they?" Shirk growled as the children scrambled to untangle themselves and renew their attack.

"These children have been corrupted by Hetris!" Brody snarled in disgust as he notched another arrow. "They are completely insane!"

"But they're still children." Damion told him, his expression still conflicted. "I don't know if I..." He let out another bellow of pain as an elven boy sank his teeth into the huge warrior's ankle. "Get off of me!" He snarled, trying to shake the boy loose. The boy ignored him, and instead, sank his teeth even deeper with a vicious snarl. Damion let out another a roar of pain, then jerked his leg free from the boy's grip, and lashed out with a powerful kick which caught the elven boy on the point of his chin, sending him somersaulting backwards over the edge of the platform where he disappeared to the forest floor below.

Everyone froze as they watched the boy disappear over the edge of the platform, and then turned to stare at Damion in surprised disbelief.

The huge warrior held out his hands helplessly. "Oops."

One of the elven children let out a roar of rage, then they all charged towards the companions, their eyes blazing with murderous intent.

Damion let out of snarl of frustration, then drew in his magic and focused it onto the platform beneath the elven children. There was a sudden groaning sound as the wooden planks beneath the children began to twist and sag, knocking the tiny killers from their feet, then they suddenly vanished as the boards disintegrated, leaving a large gaping hole in the platform.

Brody hurried over and looked down through the hole in the platform. "I don't think they're going to be a problem anymore." He informed the others blandly.

Shirk inched his way over to the hole and glanced over the edge. "I think you're right." The old bandit grumbled with a snort of amusement. "Unless they sprouted wings as they fell, they'll not be causing any more mayhem."

"Do you think we alerted the blood elves in the manor house?" Raven asked in concern.

"Almost certainly." Brody murmured, staring up at the manor house with a worried expression. "If we want to have any chance of catching Yrinn, we have to move now."

"What are we waiting for then?" Shirk asked in exasperation.

They quickly made their way up to the gates of the enormous manor house, expecting an attack at any moment, but none came.

"What now?" Shirk asked as they approached the huge carved doors leading into the manor. "Should we knock, or just kick the door in?"

The front doors to the manor suddenly burst open, causing them all to jump nervously and reach for their weapons.

"What is going on out here?" An elderly elven woman wearing a long flowing nightgown and a heavy woolen shawl around her frail shoulders, demanded with a troubled expression. Her eyes narrowed as they fell upon the companions. "Who are you people? What are you doing here?"

"Helena Oakenshield!" Brody gasped, staring at the elderly elven woman in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." The old woman told him with a frown. "Who are you? You seem to kn..." She stopped as she peered a bit closer. "Brody? Brody of the House of Maple? I-Is that you?"

"It is, my lady." Brody told her with a nod. "I'm rather surprised that you remember me. It has been many years since we last spoke."

"Has it?" The elderly looking elven woman frowned again, a slightly confused expression on her face. "It seems like it was only yesterday that I saw you and your brother scampering through the city, upsetting just about everyone that crossed your paths."

"That was nearly three hundred years ago, Helena." Brody told her with a frown.

"Really?" The old elven woman asked in a vague tone, staring off into the distance as though they were no longer there.

"My lady," Brody started, glancing back at the others uneasily. "We've come here looking for someone."

"Who?" Helena asked curiously. "I'm the only person here, other than the servants, of course. My husband, Vlane, has been in Celestia with the queen and the other elders for the last several weeks, and Yrinn and his friends left to join him a few hours ago."

"Yrinn?" Brody asked in surprise. "Yrinn was here?"

"He was." The old elven woman nodded, her expression still distant. "He arrived a few weeks ago, and has been staying here in the manor ever since." She dropped her voice to a more confiding tone. "I think he has fallen upon some hard times as of late. Yrinn once owned a number of estates across the island, but, from what I understand, they are no longer available to him anymore."

"That's because Yrinn was banished from the island over a century ago, Helena." Brody reminded her gently.

"Banished?" The old elven woman shook her head. "I think that you must be confused. Yrinn is known throughout the island as a good and honorable elf. He would never do anything that would deserve banishment." She suddenly blinked, then looked around in confusion. "W-Who are you people? What do you want?" Her tone had grown irritated.

"I-It's me, Helena," The elven ambassador reminded her hesitantly. "Brody. Remember?"

"Oh yes," Helena smiled dazedly. "Brody of the House of Maple. How are you, young one? Are you and your brother here looking for sweets again?"

"What's wrong with her?" Raven asked, staring at the elven woman worriedly.

"I think she may have lost her mind." Shirk murmured quietly. "She doesn't really seem to understand what's happening around her."

"You said that Yrinn has been staying here with you?" Brody persisted, trying desperately to get the elderly elven woman to focus on his question.

"Yrinn?" She asked, her expression growing more confused, then she suddenly smiled. "Oh yes, Yrinn! He was here not long ago. He and his friends needed somewhere to stay before they hurried on to Celestia for the Spring Dawning celebration."

"They've left for Celestia?" Raven asked the old elven woman, who smiled a sweet smile and nodded.

"They did. They were eager to reach the capital city so they could celebrate the Spring Dawning. I guess they have a big surprise planned for Petra's faithful." She smiled again. "That is just like Yrinn to plan a surprise for the people. He has such a kind heart. It's a shame that he never bothered to marry."

"Do you know what kind of surprise that Yrinn and his friends are planning?" Brody asked intently.

"No," Helena told him, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders to help ward of the cool breeze. "though I believe it may have something to do with the queen. I overheard Yrinn and his companions mention her several times while they were busy planning their surprise."

"The queen?" Brody gasped, his expression suddenly becoming panicked.

"Oh yes," Helena nodded with a distant smile. "He said that he was sure that the queen and the rest of Petra's faithful would never expect what he had planned, and was quite eager to be off so he could make certain that everything went off without a problem."

The elven ambassador turned to Damion and the others. "We've missed them." He told them in disappointment. "Yrinn and the other blood elves have already departed for Celestia."

"How can you be certain that she's telling the truth?" Shirk asked doubtfully. "Shouldn't we search the place and make sure that Yrinn isn't here?"

"He's not here." Damion murmured, watching the older elven woman sadly. "He probably fled the instant that he heard we had reached Oakenvale."

"Which means that he has a considerable head start on us." Shirk growled with a sigh of exasperation.

"We can't help that now. We're just going to have to try and chase him down before he and his blood elves are able to set whatever plans they have devised for the Spring Dawning into motion."

"W-Who are you people?" The elderly elven woman asked suddenly, staring at the companions in confusion. "Why are you here? W-What do you people want?"

Brody looked to Damion and the others for a moment, then turned and gave the old woman a tight smile. "We seem to have gotten confused, and come to the wrong place. Our apologies for bothering you."

"Oh," Helena smiled a slightly confused smile. "N-Not a problem at all. I-I sometimes find myself losing my way here in Oakenvale too. The city can be quite confusing sometimes."

They bid the elderly elven woman a quick farewell, then they followed Brody as he quickly made his way back towards the platform that had brought them up into the treetop city.

"I had heard that Helena had begun to lose touch with reality," The elven ambassador murmured as he hurried across yet another hanging bridge. "but I hadn't realized that it had gotten so bad. She seemed to have trouble separating past and present." He shook his head sadly. "She didn't even remember that Yrinn had been banished. She's been allowing him to stay in the manor with her, not knowing that he and his companions were busy planning to slaughter Petra's faithful during the Spring Dawning."

"Do you think that her husband knew that Yrinn was staying at the manor house?" Raven asked curiously.

"I don't know." Brody frowned. "Helena said that Vlane has been in the capital with the queen for the last several weeks. He may not know that Yrinn has been staying in his home while he has been gone."

It was a couple of hours before dawn when they finally reached the platform which brought visitors up to the city. A single solitary elf dozed on a nearby bench, obviously waiting to work the controls which allowed the platform to descend to the forest floor below.

"Excuse me, brother," Brody murmured to the elf, who shook himself awake as they approached. "Has anyone left the city in the last few hours?"

"Aye," The elf told him, glancing at Damion and the others with unfriendly eyes. "A group of elves departed the city a few hours ago. There was nearly a dozen of them. They seemed in quite the hurry."

"Did they say where they were heading?" Raven asked in an urgent tone.

"Why, yes, they did."

"Where?"

"They were heading to Celestia." The elf murmured quietly. "Yrinn said that he had a surprise in store for the worshippers of Petra, something that the elven people would never forget!" He suddenly withdrew a dagger and lunged at Brody, who narrowly avoided the strike. The elf raised his arm to strike once more, but suddenly stiffened as one of Raven's arrows thudded deep into his chest. He stared at the arrow in disbelief for several long moments, then collapsed to the platform.

"Damned blood elves!" Brody snarled, kicking the dead elf in the ribs. He stared angrily at the corpse for a long moment, his eyes blazing with fury, then he looked to Raven. "Thanks for that."