The Blade Heir (Book 1) (22 page)

"What are you doing here? I told you to leave me!"

"A pleasure to see you too, brother," Lucius replied.

"Stop right there, ground-treader," a faerie brandishing a sword yelled. He flew in front of Lucius' face and pointed his tiny blade at the bridge of his nose. Ten other faeries holding swords and wearing breastplates surrounded his head.

"Let my brother go, you pest!" Lucius remained still, locking eyes with the faerie directly in front of him.

"You will be silent in King Klik's court, ground-treader," the faerie replied.

"At ease, Brom," the faerie sitting on the throne commanded. "Tell your guardians to stand down."

Brom frowned, but followed orders and sheathed his sword. The other faeries followed suit and flew back to the glittering mushrooms.

Klik studied Lucius with his glowing silver eyes. "So, you are a kinsman to this murderous elf? You appear human to me."

"He is my adoptive brother. He is no murderer and I demand that you release him!"

"Demand?" Klik chuckled softly and quickly frowned. "You have intruded my court and trespassed into the faeries' forest realm, ground-treader. I will make demands, not you."

"Excuse his ignorance, your Majesty. He is unlearned in the customs or culture of faeries," Siegfried said.

"Be silent!" Klik said with lips pulled back, baring miniature fluorescent teeth. "Was it not enough that you murdered my father? Must you also display your arrogance in my presence, Silverhart?"

Siegfried's shoulders hunched slightly and he stared at the ground. His deferential demeanor surprised Lucius. The confident, stubborn elf he knew was nowhere to be seen.

"You don't seem to understand the reason your brother is standing before me, ground-treader," Klik said.

"I am aware of my brother's crime," Lucius said. "He made a mistake long ago when he killed your father, Blik. He was foolish in his youth, like many tend to be, and he is genuinely remorseful for his deed. Please have mercy on Siegfried, your Majesty. If you knew him as I do, you would know this crime was not borne of hate or ill will, but of folly and ignorance."

"Folly and ignorance?" Klik said, pursing his lips. "Yes, I suppose folly plays a significant role in the killing of innocent life. Ignorance must also be prevalent in one's mind when the consequences of murder are wholly ignored—when a royal family and kingdom is torn apart by the death of their king."

"Your Majesty, I did not mean—"

"Silence, ground-treader!" Klik lifted a finger at him. "Siegfried Silverhart has been judged here tonight. He is guilty, and he will die for his crime."

Siegfried remained silent, his gaze concentrated on the sparkling faerie dust littered on the ground.

"As for you, outlander," Klik said, glaring at Lucius. "I have no quarrel with you, despite your insolence. Leave now and my guardians will not cut you to ribbons."

Lucius suppressed a laugh, unconvinced the faerie warriors could do much damage. "I will not leave without my brother, your Highness—even if I must fight you all to free him."

He lifted his sword in a defensive stance prompting Brom and his guardians to unsheathe their blades. King Klik gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Brom eagerly awaited the king's command to attack, but it never came.

"Wait, your Majesty! Please wait a moment!" a yellow faerie shouted and descended from the multitudes perched on the trees. The male faerie flew toward Klik's throne, close enough where Lucius could discern the small creature's appearance. The faerie did not wear armor like Brom or the other guardians, but only a simple tunic made of hemp and leaves sewn together. His hair glowed an intense yellow, which matched the color of his eyes and near-translucent skin.

"What do you want, Syl?" Klik said, tapping his fingers on the throne's armrest.

"Your Majesty, as your chief royal advisor, I must protest against any course of action that might create needless bloodshed," Syl replied.

Klik rolled his eyes. "And what alternate course of action would you advise?"

"Well, my lord, it is evident that this outlander wishes to free his kinsman—"

"Obviously!" Klik roared.

"Erm, yes," Syl said, clearing his throat. "Might I advise that we exonerate the criminal, Siegfried Silverhart, in exchange for a favor from the ground-treader?"

Klik stood up from his throne and crossed his arms. "And what favor could possibly atone for my father's murder?"

"The loss of King Blik was grievous, your Highness," Syl said, flapping his wings quicker than before. "But as you know, our kingdom is in great peril ever since we lost our fiercest warrior—the golem, Tok. The banshees are taking more of our precious woodland, and many faerie-folk have died battling the Screech Sisters and their kind these past six years."

"I am well aware of the troubles posed by those wretched banshees, Syl. What is your point?"

"My point, your Excellency, is that we must retrieve our golem champion—who defended us against those shrieking wretches," Syl said. He spread his arms wide, motioning to the thousands of faeries in the trees. "The will of your people is to see Tok restored to life and freed from the banshees' control."

"Free Tok!" One of the faeries in the crowd yelled, inciting a chant that reverberated throughout the clearing.

Klik listened to his subjects' chants with bemused annoyance then raised his hands to silence them. The faeries did not hesitate to obey the motion, and Lucius noticed Syl's wings flapping quicker again—anxious to hear Klik's reaction no doubt.

"I know our kingdom has suffered greatly these last few years," Klik said, pacing slowly on the mushroom's surface. "Tok's absence has created an irreplaceable hole in our defenses, and I do wish for his return. So it is with severe reluctance that I will acquiesce to an accord with you, ground-treader."

"I'm listening," Lucius said. He glanced at Siegfried, who now looked on with renewed interest in his fate.

"Just as a faerie's inner light burns, so does my hatred for Siegfried Silverhart. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to bring forth his demise." Klik's nostrils flared, and he sneered when he glanced at the elf. "Be that as it may, the prosperity of my kinsfolk and kingdom must come before my vengeance. I will allow your brother to be released if you retrieve Tok from those screeching specters in the South Passage. What say you, ground-treader?"

"I do not know the way to the South Passage. And how will I retrieve this golem of yours? Surely, you don't expect me to carry him back here?"

"Tok must be revived with the Bezalel sigil, which you can write on his head," Syl said with a wide grin. He turned to his king, who grimaced at his advisor. The yellow faerie slumped his shoulders and hovered lower in the air.

"The South Passage is not far from here, but do not worry about finding it. Syl will guide you there," Klik said.

Syl's eyes widened, turning to Lucius with terror visible on his luminous face. Klik crossed his arms and waited for any protests from his advisor, but Syl merely nodded his head in resignation.

"What assurance do I have that you will let Siegfried go free once I have completed this task?" Lucius asked.

"You have my word as a sovereign ruler. Unlike your vile kinsman, I am no criminal and worthy of your trust," Klik replied, jutting his chin. "Now, do we have an accord or shall I execute this filth you call a brother?"

Lucius clenched the hilt of his sword. He grew tired of the king's arrogance and self-importance. Part of him longed to plunge his sword into Klik's minuscule chest and rid Azuleah of the ruler forever, but his Father would never condone such an act, and neither would Siegfried. The faeries also proved to be quicker than his fastest strokes with the sword. Freeing Siegfried and escaping Klik's forces would likely be a futile attempt. He bit his lower lip and exhaled slowly—he had no choice. Going to the Southern Passage and retrieving the golem is the only way to restore his brother's freedom.

"We have an accord," Lucius said, sheathing his sword.

"Excellent," Klik said, smirking. "I hope you realize that if you die on this errand, ground-treader, our accord is nullified and your brother's life is forfeited."

"I'm sure you won't be disappointed once I return alive with your golem, your Highness."

Klik's eyes disappeared beneath a harsh squint, but Lucius ignored him and turned to Syl.

"Shall we go?" Lucius asked.

"Oh my, no! Not in the middle of the night," Syl said, flapping his wings faster than ever. "Banshees are more powerful in the darkness. Let us wait until morning to set out and face them."

"Fine. May I speak to my brother?" Lucius asked turning to Klik, whose scowl persisted.

"Yes, you may speak with the condemned."

Lucius walked up to the Siegfried, who held a stony expression on his face.

"You should have left these woods, Lucius. You are risking your life on a fool's errand! Your focus should be on the Requiem Sword, not on my life," Siegfried said.

"I'm not going to leave you here to die, Siegfried. We need each other to finish what Father entrusted us to do. You may have given up on your life, but I haven't."

Lucius stuck his torch in the ground and hopped onto the stump, surprising Siegfried with a tight embrace. As Lucius loosened his grip on his brother, he deftly placed a hand in his brother's belt pouch.

"What are you—"

"Diaphanousphere," Lucius whispered, retrieving the translucent object and tucking it into his belt.

"Brom, take the prisoner away now. I tire of seeing him," Klik commanded.

Brom bowed and flew toward Lucius with his entourage. He watched as the faeries drew their swords and motioned for Siegfried to follow Brom into the Burning Woods. Siegfried complied without question. When they reached the tree line, Siegfried glanced at Lucius and mouthed, "be careful", before disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

Lucius felt a sudden loneliness for the first time since leaving Evingrad. He let out a long breath and bent down to pull his torch from the ground. Klik watched him from his mushroom throne, saying nothing, but conveying contempt through his icy stare. Lucius ignored the monarch and called out to Syl. The yellow faerie flew over to him, but abruptly stopped a few feet away from his face.

"What do you want?" Syl asked, raising a brow.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to ask a favor," Lucius said.

"Oh?"

"Could you please come find me in the morning? I'm going back to my campground to rest before our little excursion."

"Oh, yes, I suppose I could do that," Syl said, shrugging his shoulders. "But surely you can sleep here?"

"On the sparkling ground with lights flying all around me?" Lucius frowned. "No, thank you. Come find me in the morning, Syl."

Syl nodded and then flew away into the mass of faeries now hovering above the clearing. The faeries conversed in hushed whispers, watching Lucius all the while—their disdain evident in their grimacing looks. He marched out of the faeries’ haven without looking back and felt relieved to be in the darkness of the woods again. With his torch, Lucius searched the ground for the main path to his campground. He followed a narrow trail of faerie dust until it joined with the larger path. The night sky had cleared and streaks of moonlight fell through the forest canopy onto Lucius' path. When arrived at the campground, his head hurt from lack of sleep. He put out his torch and settled on the ground for the night, hoping to rest for a few hours before the dawn.

EIGHTEEN

The Southern Passage

Sleep did not come easy to Lucius. He tossed and turned on the grass throughout the night—his thoughts centering on Siegfried and the banshees in the Southern Passage. The reddish dawn pierced the sky above the clearing, prompting him to surrender the futile attempt at a pleasant slumber. He roused his groggy body from the ground and started a fire to warm himself from the chill morning air. Rummaging through his sack, he pulled out a loaf of bread and chomped into it. He washed down the doughy morsel with some
bywydur
, which counteracted his exhaustion.

Lucius watched the sun rise slowly into the clearing, glad to see its light dispel the cold and dark of the woods, but also dreading the errand he was expected to complete. His last attempt at slaying a banshee in the Evingrad tournament had been a pitiful showing. The banshee's screeches interrupted his concentration too much and his aim with a bow suffered incredibly. He hoped the diaphanousphere would remedy the problem. If he infiltrated the Southern Passage invisibly, he might be able to kill a few of the specters before they knew what was happening. Of course, he wasn't sure how many banshees guarded the area. Syl mentioned the Screech Sisters, which meant there were at least two, but Lucius anticipated more.

After finishing breakfast, Lucius packed up all of his and Siegfried's belongings. He grunted when he picked up Siegfried's pack, underestimating its weight. How did Siegfried carry all of this and not collapse? Carrying two packs would certainly slow him down in combat against the banshees, so he chose to leave the packs behind and carry only his weapons. Lucius hacked off a few branches from a nearby tree and arranged them around the bags, hoping to camouflage them from any wandering travelers or animals. The finished work looked like a dilapidated bush, but it was convincing enough. He spent the rest of the early morning practicing his archery skills in the clearing by loosing arrows onto tree trunks. A bright speck of light entered the clearing when he nocked his final arrow.

"Are you ready to venture to the Southern Passage, ground-treader?" Syl asked, hovering over Lucius.

"Yes, I am ready. But before we go, there is something you must know," Lucius said. He retrieved his arrows from the trees while Syl watched with head tilted to the side.

"Oh? What is that?"

"My name is not ground-treader," Lucius said, tugging an arrow out of the tree bark. "You may call me Lucius."

"Lucius? What a peculiar name." Syl placed a finger to his lips. "Well, Lucius, it is a pleasure to formally meet you despite our current circumstances. I say, have you ever fought banshees before?"