The Blade Heir (Book 1) (7 page)

"Do not worry, brother, you will be restored once the diaphanousphere has been removed from your tongue," Siegfried promised. "Once I have disappeared, I will go down to the door of the Tower, while you stay here. Keep your eyes fixed on the door. When it opens, run quickly and enter."

Lucius nodded his head, forgetting Siegfried could not see him.

Siegfried placed the diaphanousphere inside his mouth and in seconds disappeared from sight. The bush they hid behind suddenly moved as Siegfried ran through it, making his way through the last stretch of
egini
and into the open square of the Evingrad.

Lucius watched the empty square, searching for any trace of Siegfried's flight, but found none. He looked up at the sentries inside the Great Tower. Their pale faces showed no sign of alarm, and they continued to watch the cityscape in complete ignorance. Lucius smiled mischievously. He steeled himself and darted across the darkness.

He looked up at the sentry watching the main square. The elf didn't flinch in the least as Lucius reached the green seal and hurried inside the opened door. The door entered into a large chamber inside the Tower. A spiral staircase at the center of the room climbed up to the guard room where the sentries kept watch. Small torches were placed all along the circular room, which gave it a warm, inviting light despite the fact they were unwelcomed visitors.

Suddenly, the door closed behind Lucius. He turned quickly and saw a diaphanousphere appear from thin air. It hovered in the air for a few moments and was quickly swallowed up by Siegfried's right hand. The rest of the elf's thin figure soon reappeared.

"You may release the diaphanousphere, Lucius," Siegfried said as he tucked the small sphere in his pouch and approached him.

Lucius grabbed the transparent sphere from his mouth and, to his surprise, found it was neither wet nor warm to the touch. The prickling feeling, which had emanated from his insides, began to fade and his entire body came into view.

"That's quite a tool." He handed the diaphanousphere to Siegfried, who slipped it in his belt.

"We must go down the east tunnel, through that door," he pointed to an arched door nestled at the rear of the chamber.

"Where are all the guards?" Lucius looked around suspiciously.

Siegfried walked past him to the door, "There are none assigned to this room since the door is always locked, but I managed to pick it with relative ease."

"Do your skills know no bounds, brother?" Lucius shot him a wry smile.

Siegfried ignored the witty remark, "If Father is correct, there will be one or two elves guarding the exit of the tunnel below, but we must not tarry any longer."

Siegfried opened the arched door slowly and crept inside, motioning for Lucius to follow. He looked up at the spiral staircase, wary of any sentries who might descend or look down. When he saw none, he ran to the door quietly and followed his elf companion.

They entered a small room with two large holes in the floor. Unlike the last room, the interior of this room was not marble, but entirely wood. A small torch hung on the far wall past the holes and flickered as a breeze blew from the openings. The top rungs of ladders stuck out from each tunnel, allowing passage to the descending hollows of
Breninmaur
.

"Which is the east tunnel?" Lucius asked.

"That one," Siegfried pointed his slender index finger toward the tunnel on his left. He grabbed the small torch from the wall and began to climb down the wooden ladder.

Lucius followed him and peered into the dark pit. He swallowed hard, fears pouring into his mind. What lies at the end of this dark tunnel, I wonder? His hands clutched the topmost rung, and he began to descend into the darkness.

The descent was shorter than he had expected. The tunnel was humid and filled with the smell of wood and tree sap. In the torchlight, he saw the knotty walls of
Breninmaur's
trunk. Beetles and other small bugs crawled in and out of crevices in the wood. The wind howled inside the tunnel from the entrance hundreds of feet below. It would take them about a half hour to get to the forest floor, but Helmer had told them to make it out of Verdania before dawn lest they be caught.

Siegfried led the march down. The tunnel descended in a spiral, but at some points leveled out. It was a dreary walk due to all the bugs and sticky tree sap Lucius kept stepping on. They both remained silent as they walked. Lucius' thoughts were scattered most of the time. For a while, he thought about Aldron and the great kings who had reigned in the legendary city. Would he ever be accepted as a king? He seemed so insignificant and unfit to sit on the throne of Cervantes Nostra, but if it was Yéwa's will for him to do so, then perhaps the role of authority would come naturally.

Lucius ... the time has not yet come for you to enter the door.

He recalled the words of the light in his dream, who he understood to be Yéwa. When would the time come for him to assume the kingship as the prophecy foretold? Perhaps the elven seer, Lumiath, would know the answer. Helmer had been very discreet in revealing any details about the D'aryan exile; a fact that raised questions about Lumiath and whether or not the seer could be trusted.

"We are nearly there," Siegfried said, interrupting his thoughts.

"How can you be sure?" he peered ahead, seeing no change in the winding hollow they'd traversed for the last few minutes.

"I can smell the grass and humid air in the forest below. A few yards more and we shall be at the bottom." Siegfried quickened his pace, and the torch flickered wildly, casting eerie shadows along the tunnel walls.

Lucius followed in suit with a sudden surge of adrenaline. He was excited to see the world below Evingrad and perhaps meet another human for the first time in Sylvania.

As they hurried onward, the tunnel walls began to widen around them, and the ceiling rose above them. Lucius saw a dim light forming at the end of the tunnel. The torchlight quickly became useless as the wooden walls were swathed in the fading moonlight coming from
Breninmaur's
large entrance. Siegfried muttered something in the elven tongue, and the torch's flame immediately dissipated, leaving a small trail of smoke.

The elf stopped a few steps before the entrance, peering through the fading darkness outside. Lucius crept beside him, seeing nothing but trees and shadows.

"What do you see, Siegfried?" he asked quietly.

"There are two Protectors in the forest, ten paces south and twelve paces east," his eyes twinkled in the dim light

"Should we use the diaphanouspheres?" He cringed at the thought of the prickling sensation the small sphere caused on his body.

Siegfried remained still and quiet for a moment. "No. The diaphanouspheres will not aid us."

"Why not?" Lucius looked out into the forest, thinking he saw a flicker of movement.

"They already know we're here."

Lucius searched the forest, looking for any sign of the Protectors. How had they spotted them so easily? And while they still stood inside the dark tunnel?

"We must go, Lucius—now!" Siegfried dashed outside in a split second, heading for the nearest tree.

Lucius quickly ran after him, adrenaline pumping in his veins. They ducked behind the nearest tree as an arrow whizzed by them, hitting the soft grass near their feet. Lucius grabbed his dagger, but Siegfried grasped his wrist.

"These are my brethren. They are merely serving Evingrad and protecting this sacred place," Siegfried tightened his grip as he said it.

Lucius snapped his hand free. "Well, who's going to protect us?"

Another arrow flew by them, landing a few inches from Lucius' torso into the tree trunk.

"We must flee to the Marble Gate. It is a few miles from here. The darkness can aid our escape, but not for long—the dawn is nigh. Follow my pace, brother." Siegfried ran from behind the tree and into the gray forest ahead before Lucius could protest.

He followed his elf brother, trying hard to keep up. Trees and dense foliage whipped past him, leaving small cuts on his face and arms. He looked behind him a few times during the chase, searching for their pursuers. They remained hidden in the shadow of the trees, but he heard the sound of arrows piercing the cold air and smacking on the barks of the trees all around him. Siegfried was swift, ducking to and fro in a zigzag pattern. Several times he lost sight of his brother's flittering green cloak among the trees, but seconds later he would reappear in front of him.

The sky overhead was beginning to illuminate with the coming dawn. The verdant colors around him burst into view, and for the first time, Lucius saw the beauty of the forest of Verdania. He wished he could sit and marvel at the landscape, but it would have to wait for another day.

A few yards ahead, he saw a small clearing rapidly approaching as they ran full speed. He looked behind him, fearing to spot an elf with a bow fixed on him, but he saw no one. They reached the clearing, and Lucius stopped abruptly. His knees ached, and he took labored breaths, feeling as though he might collapse at any moment. Siegfried continued to run through the clearing, but stopped a few feet away when he noticed his brother stooped over at the edge of the clearing.

"Have you been hit?" He ran over to him, keeping his eyes on the trees they had run through seconds before.

"I'm alright; I just needed to catch my breath." Lucius continued panting and looked up at the sky. The stars and moon had disappeared, and the sky was erupting with the sun's orange glow just below the horizon.

"The dawn is approaching, Lucius. Let us fly." Siegfried sprinted through the tall grass of the clearing.

Lucius, still out of breath, followed, despite the immense toll the chase was bearing on him. He hoped such long distance pursuits would not become common on this journey. The ability to sprint over long distances without experiencing fatigue was a natural gift endowed only to the elves, but he sorely desired it right now.

As he and Siegfried approached the center of the clearing, a sudden jolt struck Lucius in the back. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground. He realized he'd been shot with an arrow, but no pain accompanied it. The arrow was lodged in his backpack and hadn't pierced all the way through to his back. Siegfried helped him up, pulling out the arrow in one quick motion. Lucius looked toward the edge of the clearing and saw the shining armor of two Protectors. He could not make out their faces, but one was unusually short for an elf. Lucius immediately recognized him; it was Kiret.

He ran hastily, with Siegfried leading the way once again. They entered the claustrophobic space of the forest once more, hoping to gain some distance from their pursuers. Protruding roots from the ground and dense thickets were more abundant on this side of the forest, and Lucius found himself stumbling many times over them. He continued to follow his brother at a breakneck pace, afraid another arrow would find its mark more accurately than before.

"How much more?" he puffed at Siegfried, who did not seem tired at all.

"A mile or less," the elf said, avoiding a low branch in his path. "They will not continue the chase once we've reached the doors. Their concern is only for Verdania, not the lands beyond it."

"That's a relief." Lucius glanced over his shoulder again.

The sun suddenly came into view in the east, and its light splintered through the forest canopy. Lucius knew they would be easy targets for the Protectors now if they chose to slow their pace or stop before reaching the Marble Gate. A horn sounded behind them.

"What was that?" he gasped.

"More Protectors have joined the hunt, probably from the North." Siegfried pulled an arrow from his quiver and nocked it.

"I thought—"

"If it comes to it, I will only wound them," Siegfried cut in, darting his head from side to side.

Lucius hoped it would not come to that. His lungs burned from labored breathing, and his leg muscles ached tremendously. He worried he might collapse at any moment. A glint of white light became visible through the gaps of the trees. At first, he thought it was the sun, but as they raced closer to it, he realized it was the gleaming white marble of the Gate of Verdania. The Marble Gate was about a quarter of a mile away, and it joined with a great marble wall surrounding the southeastern border of the province of Verdania. The Gate stood on a hill just outside the forest's edge.

Lucius sped his pace, nearly matching the swiftness of Siegfried. "We are nearly there," he shouted excitably.

"Yes, but ascending that hill may prove treacherous. We shall be easy prey to the Protector's arrows," Siegfried said.

Lucius wanted to glance back and see how close the Protectors were, but he decided running as fast as his tired body could take him would be a better option.

The forest finally came to an end and poured into a small meadow before the hill. Wild daisies and corn poppies adorned the grass of the meadow—a tranquil scene immediately disturbed as they raced toward the hill. The incline of the hill was steeper than Lucius thought, which caused him to slow his pace as he ascended to the top. Siegfried climbed the hill without losing a step. Lucius clambered up to meet him, breathing hard and completely exhausted when he finished his ascent.

While he stood hunched over, attempting to catch his breath, he gazed at the splendor of the Marble Gate. They were around twelve feet in height and equally wide. Leaf shapes and elven runes were carved on the Gate's doors along with the crest of Evingrad, which was divided symmetrically where the Gate split in two. Two spherical posts rested on the top of the Gate where each side joined with the marble wall.

As he stood examining the structure, Siegfried was crouched at the foot of the wall, fiddling with something. Lucius limped beside him and saw he was tying a noose on a silver rope. When the knot was finished, Siegfried quickly lassoed the noose over one of the posts. He tugged on the rope to make sure it was secure.

"We must make haste. Climb the rope, brother," Siegfried cried.

Lucius didn't hesitate. He grabbed the rope and began to hoist himself onto the stone door. But he easily lost his footing on the smooth marble and struggled to climb up.