Surrender, Book 3 The Elfin Series (27 page)

“Hm, there must still be something for you to do,” Cassie suggested. “Something we’ve missed in all our running around.”

“Well I don’t—”

Cassie let out a shriek, interrupting Trik as she was yanked backward off the bench. She flew through the air and landed hard. Rocks and grit dug into her hip. She opened her eyes and tilted her head back until she could see who it was that towered over her. She stared up at one very haggard looking dark elf. His disheveled appearance was matched only by the hatred plastered across his face. Bleeding from several cuts and scrapes along his hands and face, his breath coming in rasps, he reached down and yanked Cassie up by her hair. Her scalp stung and she was pretty sure if he held her any tighter he would rip her hair from its roots. Wrapping his left arm around her neck, he held her fast. The dark elf raised his right hand, which was glowing with black malice, to her face. The spell was only inches from her skin. Trik was up in a flash, facing her attacker—Lorsan.

“Don’t come any closer, assassin,” Lorsan hissed, holding the waiting spell even closer to Cassie’s face. She bit her tongue to keep from whimpering and enraging Trik even more. “You know I’ll do it.”

Trik let out a low, dark chuckle. “You are a dead elf.”

“Like my Chosen?” he said, bitterness dripping with every word. “We shall see.” He paused, and when he spoke again Cassie could hear the longing in the dark elf king’s voice.

“Why did it have to happen like this, Trik?” he said. “We had such a good thing, you and I. You were always so good at what you did. And I
know
you enjoyed your work. You may have all these other simpletons fooled, ready to follow you off a cliff, but I know the
real
Trik. The real Trik is a killer, plain and simple, ruthless, heartless, and malicious. You were never meant to be king, Trik. You were always meant to be an assassin.”

Cassie watched as Trik stood, rooted to the spot, considering Lorsan’s words. She could tell the minute that Lorsan’s words began to affect him. As though a veil suddenly fell over his face, all the evil things he’d done seemed to wash over him. Cassie knew he was thinking about all the people he’d hurt and killed and all the lies he’d told. Trik had told her once that he could see the faces of those he’d wronged, and that there were so many of them that they began to run together. He even saw Elora’s father, Steal. He had died like a warrior. He hadn’t begged; he’d simply asked Trik one time to show him mercy so that he could be there for his kids and his Chosen. When Trik denied him, Steal had simply nodded and awaited for the blade to pierce his heart. Did Trik even consider the consequences before he took the dark elf’s life? Even after Elora’s father had mentioned them, did he even consider that he would leave two children fatherless? He knew the answer to that question.

“Don’t listen to him, Trik,” screamed Cassie. She had to get through to him to keep the memories from drowning him. Even though they were not touching, she could see all his thoughts written on his face. Even after all they’d been through, all the good he’d done, he still couldn’t let go of his past. “You’re not that person anymore.”

“Shut up!” spat Lorsan, tightening his arm like a noose around her neck.

Cassie continued to struggle, but she could no longer speak. Lorsan was cutting off her airway.

“You should let her go now,” Trik said through gritted teeth. Cassie saw him clench and unclench his jaw as he inched ever so slowly toward her and Lorsan.

“Is this really what you want, Trik? This human? How many humans have you killed? You used to brag about how easy they were. About how you loved toying with them, especially the females. How many have you put under your spell, Triktapic, and taken your pleasure from them, only to slip a dagger into them when they least expected it?”

Cassie had stopped fighting the elf. She hung limp in Lorsan’s arms, attempting to stifle the whimpers that kept slipping through her lips. She knew any sign of pain from her and it would only cause Trik to lose focus.  She saw his hands fisted at his sides. His entire body shook as he stalked closer to Lorsan. His eyes narrowed on them. He was a predator in every sense of the word and he had his prey in his sight. He was waiting for the perfect moment to attack. She knew first hand just how patient a hunter her elf king could be.

“You want this human, Trik? I can give you
every
human. It can be like old times again. Now that we have the book it can be so much better. With you by my side and the book in my hands, we can conquer this realm by next week.”

The last few words Lorsan spoke were drowned out by a booming noise that had all of them ducking. A flash of light lit up the darkened sky and a gush of wind slammed into them, nearly knocking them all to the ground.

Cassie had no clue what was happening, but she used the distraction to her advantage. In the next instant, Lorsan let out a howl that could have awoken the entire swamp. His grip had loosened enough that Cassie was able to lower her chin under his arm. She clamped her teeth down on Lorsan’s forearm biting as hard as she could. He jerked his arm away and she fell to the ground. The bolt he had been holding went flying outward. At precisely the same time Trik had made his move lunging toward them. The dark power Lorsan had been holding hit Trik square in the chest. There was an explosion of darkness that temporarily blinded Cassie. When she could see again, Lorsan was nowhere to be found and Trik lay on his back staring at the sky, black smoke wafting from his chest.

She heard an ear piercing scream, not even realizing it was coming from her own mouth, as she saw Trik lying on the ground. He was still, too still. She ran to him and threw herself on top of him; huge tears cascaded down her cheeks showering his face.

“Trik, Trik, are you okay?” The words stumbled out of her mouth as her lips trembled. Trik was silent. His eyes closed. He looked as though he was sleeping. She cradled her love’s face, but he remained motionless. Cassie placed her ear against his chest but she detected no breath.

“No, no, no, Trik,” Cassie sobbed, holding Trik’s face. Her thumb ran across his lips and images of his kisses filled her mind. They were all she would have because he wouldn’t be kissing her again. Every memory she had of him would be all that was left and it wasn’t enough. Their time together had been much too brief. She felt robbed of her future. Lorsan had taken many things from her, but now he’d taken the one thing that she couldn’t live without. “Triktapic, you can’t do this. You can’t leave me, not now.”

Suddenly a thought hit her like a bolt of lightning as she recalled the things Lorsan had reminded Trik of.
He’s going to die thinking I believed all those ugly things that Lorsan was saying about him
, Cassie thought.
But I don’t, Trik, I promise. I know the man you have become
.
I love you.
Truer words had never come from her lips. She loved him with every fiber of her being. Her soul had found its other half when she’d bumped into Trik in that office at her father’s workplace. Cassie had never even realized that there was a hole inside of her until Trik was there to fill it. Her chest constricted and her stomach rolled with nausea. It was becoming increasingly harder to breathe and she gasped for air. Cassie wasn’t sure why she was bothering to try to suck in air It wasn’t as if she wanted to go on if Trik was not going to be by her side. She could feel her soul reaching for him and, when his didn’t respond, Cassie felt a fresh flood of grief pour over her. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Trik was supposed to have handed Lorsan his backside on a platter. He was supposed to stand victorious over the enemy. Evil was not supposed to prevail. Her fist pounded on his chest as a cry rose from her throat.

“Noooooooooo!” She pounded his chest again. “Not like this! Dammit, Triktapic, I love you. Do you hear me? I. Love. You. I don’t want to do this without you―live this life. You’re supposed to be with me. Please, please don’t go.” Her rant ended in a soft whisper as her head fell forward pressing against his forehead. Cassie’s head swam and her vision blurred. The agony of losing him was wrapping around her leaving her breathless. Before blackness overcame her, she heard these words in her head.

I’m none of those things anymore,
A'maelamin, because of you.

Trik’s voice broke through the fog that was beginning to fill her head. She opened her eyes and found she was staring directly into his shining silver ones.

“No matter what Lorsan said, I simply looked at you, Cassandra. You are my light. You are what rescued me from that life. Without you I am nothing, and with you I am everything.” Trik pressed his lips to hers, his hand wrapping possessively around the back of her neck. It was quick, but filled with promise. When he pulled back, his eyes were swirling with passion and need. Trik closed his eyes briefly and then opened them back again, seeming to have gained control of himself.  “And as much as I want to continue this conversation, right now we still have work to do. But rest assured, beautiful, we will pick up where we are leaving off.”

C
ursing the insolent human girl, Lorsan ran to the picnic table and snatched up
The Book of the Elves.
A quick glance toward the swamp and his feet stumbled as he saw the result of the power that had hit them only a few moments ago. He continued forward and it took effort to pull his gaze away from the destruction. He didn’t have time to wonder at its cause. Pain in his forearm helped distract him from the swamp, and he glanced down and saw that his arm bled from where she’d taken a chunk out of it. He should filet her for that little stunt. But he didn’t have the time right then. He wasn’t going to wait around to see how much damage his bolt of dark magic had done to Trik. How lucky it was that his spasm at feeling the girl bite him had sent the magic directly into the impudent King. He probably would have missed the shot under ordinary circumstances. Lorsan was quite certain that blow would have killed any other elf on the planet. But Trik wasn’t just any other elf. Lorsan could stop to finish the job, but if Trik wasn’t severely weakened, Lorsan knew that he would have no chance in a fight against the King. Not today, anyway. But later, after he’d had time to study the Book properly, after he’d increased his own magical power to a level Trik couldn’t even dream of, well…then he would be back for his former servant.

Slowed slightly by the lingering injuries from his bout with the humans in his office, Lorsan still moved like a feline predator. In a flash he was speeding across the parking lot, book in hand, headed back to the motel room, back to the mirror.

Crack.

As he stepped across the threshold, his face encountered Tony’s fist. Lorsan had been in such a hurry that he hadn’t seen the human hiding just inside the room.

W
ith a primal scream, Tony put everything he had into that punch. He knew that he was no match for Lorsan, but he had to do something. Though he’d been shocked by the wind and pulse of magic that had knocked him on his butt, his head had been clear enough for him to think to take advantage of the distraction. He’d jumped to his feet and made a run for the open door of the room he assumed Lorsan had emerged from. Just as he’d turned around to lean around the edge of the doorway to make sure he hadn’t been seen, Tony saw Cassie clamp down on Lorsan’s arm and had to hold back a shout of praise for her quick thinking. He saw the bolt of dark magic hit Trik in the chest and saw Cassie running to him across the parking lot. Finally, he saw Lorsan snatch up the book and head directly for the room in which he was hiding. When the dark elf king paused, his head turned toward the swamp, Tony had turned to see what had caught his attention. He was pretty sure his jaw had hit the ground when he saw the destroyed forest. The land had been leveled. Like a bad wreck, he had a hard time pulling his eyes away, but the sound of footsteps had him turning back to Lorsan who was once again making a beeline for the room where he hid.

He could have let Lorsan speed right on by, never revealing his presence. He could have followed the dark elf king, pledging to work for him once again. Lorsan might have been angry that he had sided with Trik, but Tony knew Lorsan’s greed. The dark elf king would take him back if he came back groveling. Anything would have been safer than what he did. But as he watched the dark elf speeding toward him―knowing that he would disappear into the portals, lying in wait until he could come back stronger―Tony knew that he must do something. So he closed his eyes and he swung his fist as hard as he could.

Lorsan staggered backward. Tony guessed that it probably wasn’t from any pain, but more because of surprise. He knew that it probably hadn’t crossed Lorsan’s mind to worry about the human who had once worked for him. Tony hadn’t even been a blip on his radar.

He shook his head and looked around, locating Tony.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my old employee,” Lorsan chuckled. “Finally grown a spine, I see. But I’m afraid your bravery is misplaced. You didn’t think you’d actually betray me and get away with it. And now you’ve saved me the trouble of actually having to hunt you down. I really must thank you for that.”

Lorsan stepped into the room, grabbed Tony by his throat, and flung him down on the motel floor. His back hit with a thud knocking the wind out of him.

“Such a waste. You were the only human I could ever tolerate for longer than a few minutes. Oh well, Vegas is full of pretty boys that can run a casino. I’ll find another one. And now, Tony, this is goodbye.”

Tony watched as Lorsan raised his hand with sparks of dark power building around him. He drug himself to his knees and looked up at the elf. He stared directly into Lorsan’s eyes. There was a time when he would have been cowering, groveling, begging the dark elf to spare his life. Actually, he’d had to do that a few times in the past, but no longer. He, too, was not the person he once was. He’d chosen to do what was right. He’d chosen to make a stand, and he was finally proud of who he was, even if he wasn’t going to be that person much longer.