The Demon's Blade (29 page)

An illusionary wall, Darien had already realized, hid the cave entrance. With the current flowing so quickly the other direction, no one would ever discover it by accident. It might have been passed a thousand times without anyone noticing, even if there were ever that many people traveling this Nameless River.

“What happened?” Rana cried. “Maya what was that?”

“I told you the path was hidden,” Maya explained as she hovered just a foot or two in front of the boat. “This is the only place the hidden city can be entered from the outside.”

“The opening in the canyon wall was concealed by an enchantment,” Darien added. “This tunnel can’t be seen from the outside. I assume Maya found it by watching for subtle differences in the water current.” Maya turned and nodded as they proceeded slowly into the gloomy shadows.

The cave was dim, as only a bit of light shone in from the entrance. Darien shuffled in the supplies until he was able to get to one of his torches. He handed it to Jerris, and Jerris lit it, shining its red light all around the boat. Maya could be seen a few feet in front of the boat, her pale green wings bobbing in the darkness ahead. The watery cave was just barely large enough to accommodate the boat, and every so often, the high bow loudly scraped the cave roof.

A short while later, after proceeding perhaps fifty yards or so into the tunnel, Maya slowed to a stop in a somewhat larger round cavern. When the boat caught up with her, it gently grounded itself against a gravelly bottom. The travelers got out of the boat, and peered into the darkness ahead, where the tunnel floor sloped continually uphill. “Where does this tunnel end up?” Jerris asked.

“The tunnel goes many miles under the mountains,” Maya explained. “At the end of this tunnel is a doorway that will only open for the bearer of the Star of Kings. Beyond the door is a device that will carry you far upwards. It too, will only respond to the Star of Kings. Now we must part ways, as my part in your journey is now ended.”

“You will not travel with us in the vial then?” Rana asked with a disappointed tone.

“Was there something else you required?” Maya asked. “You have found the one you were searching for, and I have brought you all to this place as I said I would. What more is there?”

“Why leave now?” Rana asked, sounding more frustrated. “You’ve been with me since I was a child.” The hurt and confusion in her voice matched the look of anguish on her face. It was a bitter parting.

“You didn’t really expect to carry me around with you your entire life, did you?”

“Well, no, but… will I never see you again?”

“You may summon me so long as you stay in the hidden city. There is a lake in the valley where the city lies. Call to me there, and I will come.” Maya answered. “However, eventually we must part. I have fulfilled my people’s duty to your family, and I must return to my kind, just as you must return to yours. You were so young and vulnerable when we met. It is unsurprising that you cling to me as a child to its mother. Indeed, I have come to care deeply for you as well, but you must live your own life. I shall always consider you a friend, and wish you well, but I cannot stay with you.”

“Alright, I understand, but first there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”

“We don’t have time for this, Rana,” Darien spoke forcefully, already guessing what she would ask. “Knowing the truth won’t do you any good.”

“No, I can’t just let it go,” Rana’s desperation echoed in the empty cavern. “This has been bothering me for days now. If this is really to be the last time I will see her, I have to know the truth.”

“Do you really expect her to tell you anyway, if she’s hidden it for all these years?” Darien said.

“I don’t understand what this is about,” Maya said, confused. “What is it you want to know, Rana?”

“Did you know my family was going to be killed? Did you know what was going to happen? Did you make me watch, so… so that I’d see Darien leading the Demon King’s armies, so that I’d see him kill my brother, my family? Did you need me to see him, to hate him, and to spend my life chasing him, just to fulfill some prophecy that I may have nothing to do with?” Rana cried out in exasperation.

Darien shook his head and looked off to the side. “Stubborn woman, no good will come of this,” he muttered under his breath.

Maya’s expression changed from confusion to genuine pain. “I’m… so sorry. There was no way to save your family, as I told you before. I couldn’t take them with me.”

“What’s going on?” Jerris asked. “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Just be quiet Jerris,” Darien growled. The lad mumbled something in frustration, but remained silent.

“Why didn’t you take me away from there immediately, like my mother wanted? Why did you make me wait? Why did I have to watch them die, right in front of me?” Rana cried, fighting a vain battle against her own tears.

Maya did not respond immediately, and a hush fell over the group. The tunnel was utterly silent. Darien sighed inwardly and stared over at the blank wall, waiting for the interminable silence to end with the unpleasant revelation he knew must be forthcoming. He no longer needed to look at their faces to know what they were feeling. Darien sighed to himself. The powerful and clever use the weak and foolish for their own purposes. Toying with the fates of others does not earn their trust or loyalty, however well-intentioned it may be. Kings and prophets pull on the strings of men and women as if they were puppets and then expect them to be grateful to their puppet masters. This is part of the reason I tried to kill the Master, and the reason I have spent so many years running. I hate it… this arrogance, this game of power and influence, this way people use each other. Would that I could escape it, or use this wretched sword to erase it from the world. A cold piercing chill ran down his spine as the thought of the sword gripped his mind, but it was gone in another instant, so quickly that he could not be sure of the reality of it.

Finally, mercifully, the silence was broken as Maya spoke. “I did not mean to hurt you. You were a child and I thought I was doing what was best for you,” Maya stammered. “I am not so powerful as my sisters, or my queen. She sees much that I cannot, and that I do not wish to. She said that I had to wait for the proper moment to save you, and that in that moment, you would run to me. She told me that if I did not wait for that moment, then you would follow a dark path from which you could not be saved. I did not know what would happen. I swear it. I only wanted to help you.”

“So, then it’s true,” Rana said. “You faeries had all this planned from the beginning, years before any of us were even born.”

“I believe it is Darien who first came to our queen’s attention. He was the one that she was always watching, but I have said too much already, the rest you must hear from the queen herself.”

Rana sighed and then let out a grim chuckle. “Wonderful, so now I have something else to hate him for. How else can he ruin and destroy my life, I wonder?”

“I am sorry, Rana,” Maya said quietly with miniscule tears sparkling in her eyes. “I can see how this appears to be a deception. I have nothing to offer but my word that I only ever did what I thought was right. You may speak to our queen soon enough, and decide for yourself what to do. Follow the tunnel until you reach the stairs. Climb them and you will see the hidden city. Farewell.” Maya then spun around, and disappeared down into the water in a flash of green light.

“Excuse me, but what is all this about, and why does it seem I’m the only one who doesn’t already know?” Jerris asked.

“It’s a long story, Jerris, but I suppose we do have time for it,” Darien replied. “Do you want to explain the situation to Jerris, or shall I?”

“I will,” Rana said. “He should hear it from me. I’m the one that lived it. I’m sorry for all that, but I had to know.”

“Alright. Let’s hear it then,” Jerris said.

The trio then set out up the tunnel leading their horses by the reins. Rana explained to Jerris all about how she had first met Darien, a story he had not yet heard. Darien did not pay much attention to the conversation, however, as his mind was focused on the path ahead. Whoever this faerie queen was, she was powerful, maybe powerful enough to rival the Master himself. He prepared himself for all the possibilities he could foresee, including the possibility he would have to use force to escape, so great was his suspicion.

Chapter 26: The Hidden City

After an hour or so of walking, they reached the end of the tunnel, and the doorway stood in front of them, a single ebon door, made of some type of stone, shiny, and adorned with reliefs of elves battling terrifying creatures.

“Well, here is the doorway Maya mentioned,” Darien said. “It’s supposed to open for you Jerris.”

“So what do I do?” Jerris asked tentatively. “Does the stone fit into it somehow?”

“I doubt that, just hold the crystal up to the door. I suspect it will react immediately.” So Jerris took the talisman out and held it in his hand. The stone glowed white, lighting the empty cavern. Almost immediately, ribbons of light snaked out from the starstone, lighting up the gaps around the door and highlighting the reliefs upon the door’s surface. A clicking sound followed, and the door swung away from the three travelers, revealing a chamber the size of a large room, but without any visible ceiling.

Occupying the rear two thirds of the chamber was a large platform, raised just a step off the cave floor, light blue in color, made of some strange unrecognizable metal. A five-foot balustrade, made of the same strange blue metal, bounded the platform on all sides. A small opening wide enough for two horses walking side by side provided the only means of getting on or off the platform. At the center of the platform stood a cylindrical pedestal topped with a translucent red crystal.

“Well, what do we do now? I don’t see any other doors out of this room,” a befuddled Rana declared.

“I think I know what this is,” Darien answered after examining the platform. “The faerie said there was a magical device here. I’ve seen similar devices in the dwarven mines. I believe this is a mechanical lift of some kind, and it probably responds to the starstone just as the door did.”

“So what do we do?” Jerris asked, staring questioningly at the platform.

“Just get the horses up on it and use the starstone on that crystal on the central pedestal, just like you did on the door.” So the travelers led their horses up onto the platform, and Jerris held the still glowing stone close to the red crystal. Ribbons of light trailed out of the starstone once again, filling the red crystal with light. The red light spiraled down around the pedestal, as if the metal itself were alive with magical light. Then, a loud clang broke the silence of the chamber, followed by a regular clicking and the low hum of machinery in motion. The door to the chamber slammed shut with a bang.

A moment later, the platform left the ground and ascended into the darkness. Rana suddenly lurched toward the pedestal, gripping it firmly with both hands, and shut her eyes tight. Darien laughed inwardly to himself at the sight of the lady knight displaying more fear of a rising platform than the powerful foes she had fought. The platform rose steadily for what seemed a very long time. It must have gone several hundred feet upward before it finally stopped, rising up into a chamber very much like the one below, but with an open passage instead of a stone door. The platform fit so perfectly into this second chamber so that barely a crack was visible between the platform and the stone floor. The platform stopped there, the light disappeared from the red crystal, and the sounds died away, leaving the travelers in silence once again.

They led the horses off the platform and out the opening. Bright light shone into the underground passage some ways ahead of them. The older half-elf looked over at his young companion, who was fidgeting at a frenzied pace.

“Your mother spent her life searching for this place. Are you ready?”

“I can’t believe we found it so quickly. I mean, I just wish my mother could have been here to see it with us.”

“Be sure you ask the faerie queen why she didn’t see fit to guide your mother to this place as she did us,” Darien scoffed and shook his head. They hadn’t found their way to this place as much as they’d been deliberately led here, and the jaded mind of the Executioner did not trust in such convenient coincidences.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Jerris said. “After all, if she had found this place, I might never have been born. I know she wouldn’t give me up, even to see this place, just like I couldn’t leave her with Duke Parham. I think she would say it turned out better this way. It… just wasn’t her destiny.” The boy paused a moment as if lost in thought, then asked, “You don’t believe in destiny do you, Darien?”

“I don’t know whether I believe in it or not, but I know that it is easy for the powerful to speak of destiny when manipulating others to serve their own ends. For a long time, I believed I was destined to be the greatest shade the order had ever seen, and to sit at the Master’s right hand when he ruled all the world, but it was all lies and deception. I was meant to think those things, led to believe them so that I would serve him blindly. Now my eyes are open, and I will not so easily be blinded again.” Darien looked over again at his young companion, but the lad still seemed unsatisfied with the answer, so he continued. “You need not trouble yourself further about me. This is the end of your journey with me. Hopefully, whatever else happens, you have found a place to call home.” Jerris managed a weak smile, then stared down at his feet, and continued his fidgeting.

“I believe in destiny, Jerris,” Rana added, flashing the boy an encouraging smile. Darien only rolled his eyes at the naiveté of his companions.

A few minutes later, the travelers emerged from the dark passageway into the light. As their eyes adjusted to the light, the travelers first beheld the valley of the elves, a place hidden from history for thousands of years. The travelers stood within a walled mountain valley, roughly circular and bounded on all sides by high stone cliffs.

Giant trees rose up throughout the valley, like gigantic pillars holding up a green sky. The trees lacked branches near the ground, instead concentrating their efforts at the very tops, where they branched out incredibly wide. Where one tree’s limbs ended, another’s began, so that the limbs intertwined, weaving a spider web of green that blocked the entire sky. The canopy even grew up the side of the cliffs, so that even from the air, spotting this valley would be all but impossible. The lush canopy filtered the incoming sunshine and blanketed the valley in warm green light.

Long vines intertwined with the tree branches of the canopy, here and there hanging far down toward the valley floor, where they produced bright pink and purple flowers. Brightly colored butterflies, blue, orange, and yellow, gathered round the flowers, awaiting a chance at the nectar within.

Many stands of fruit bearing trees could be seen off to the left and right, well-tended groves no doubt meant to feed the inhabitants of the valley. Tiny purple flowers mingled with patches of moss, clover, and low creeping vines to form the forest floor. Darien was immediately curious where the inhabitants of the valley dwelt, for no residences could be seen, nor could any of the other buildings one expects to see in cities and towns. In fact, the only visible structure was a large white building off in the distance toward the opposite side of the valley.

The air was filled with the sound of buzzing insects and chirping birds, who seemed oblivious to the season. Winter seemed to be banished from this place, and while the Craglands below were beginning to chill and freeze, this place seemed to remain locked in perpetual spring. The smell of flowers and fruit filled the air, like the aroma of an orchard.

For a short while, the three of them simply stood outside the entrance to the passage, taking in the beauty of the hidden valley. Soon, Darien caught sight of a woman, tall and thin, riding towards them on a white horse, from the direction of the white building. She wore a matching forest green shirt and pants with sky blue trim, clearly a uniform for an officer of some sort. Her long auburn hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail. Unquestionably a pure blooded elf, she bore the unmistakable traits of the race, pale unblemished skin, long pointed ears, thin eyebrows and sharp angular features. She rode straight up to them, dismounted, and unexpectedly fell to one knee.

“I am Ceres Arloran, Captain of the Sentinels of Kadanar. I bid you welcome to our city. Your coming has been foretold to us.” Then she raised her head, and regarded each of them individually, turning to each as she spoke. “Rana Geruda, friend of faeries. Jerris Tolmirran, keeper of the Star of Kings, and crown prince of elves.” When she turned last to Darien, her expression changed, from one of respectful greeting, to something else. Fear, wonder, and suspicion mixed together on her face. Her eyes, he noticed, fixed immediately upon the Demon Sword, and did not waver from it, as if she expected the sword to leap suddenly from its sheath to do battle. “Darien the Executioner, keeper of the black blade. Lorekeeper Galen has instructed me to bring you to him. He awaits in the Ivory Hall.” Then, without pause, she stood, returned to her white horse, and waited.

“Um, thank you.” Jerris stumbled over the words. The woman did not respond, nor even acknowledge that he had spoken.

“I believe she’s been instructed not to say anything else Jerris,” Darien said. “This lorekeeper probably doesn’t want anyone to speak to us before him. Let’s just follow”

So the three travelers followed Ceres as she led them under the trees towards the white building, presumably the Ivory Hall. A short while later, it became apparent why no other buildings had been seen. Deeper in the valley, thick brown and yellow vines grew up around the trees, coiling up around the massive trunks. They spiraled up high into the sky, forming natural ramps up to buildings, platforms, and walkways high above the forest floor. All these structures seemed to be made of coiled and tangled masses of the thick vines, bearing no cuts or signs of woodwork. It appeared that the entirety of the arboreal city had been grown in place from the strange vines. Now that he had become aware of the true nature of the city, Darien could see that it spanned most of the center and the far side of the valley. The passage where they had entered was far enough away that the whole of the city had blended seamlessly into the forest background.

A few minutes later, they came to the stark white building they had seen from far away. It was a massive structure, larger even than the keep of Shade Castle. A central dome towered at the center of the structure, with five wide halls, radiating outward from the central dome like beams of light from a star, each a giant in its own right, obviously housing several floors and many dozens of rooms. Tall, ornate colored glass windows glittered in the green sunlight, which seemed to filter down somewhat brighter on the building. The Ivory Hall lacked both brick and mortar. The walls were solid and unmarred, as if they had simply always been there, and always would be, a timeless part of the land itself.

They approached a set of double doors, black, like the one in the underground passage, at the center of the building. The doors opened as they approached, pushed soundlessly open by a pair of silent guards, arrayed the same as their elf guide. Ceres got down from her horse, and led onward, not hesitating, and the travelers followed through the open door, leaving their horses outside. Inside, they found an open rotunda with a raised platform in the center. They walked down a wide aisle which ran directly to the center of the room, upon floors decorated with black and white mosaics, polished to a glistening shine. Long tables, curved to match the arc of the rotunda, surrounded the platform on all sides, forming nearly a dozen narrow aisles. It seemed that there were enough seats for hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, and most were filled on this occasion. Elves, many arrayed like Ceres, and many also wearing simple garb, sat with their eyes fixed upon their guests. All were utterly silent.

Atop the platform at the center of the rotunda, stood a single, tall, silver-haired elf. He possessed the youthful appearance of all elves, but his deep eyes and stern countenance gave Darien the impression that he must be extremely old. The long silver hair, thin and airy like wispy strands of pure light, flowed over his shoulders and halfway down his back. He wore sky blue robes trimmed with silver, tied at the waste with a silver cord. He carried a staff, a deep burgundy colored rod, five feet long with a clear crystal at the bottom, and a fixture at the top, a ring with rays projecting outwards, but empty in the middle.

Ceres led them up a few short steps onto the platform, bowed to the lorekeeper, and hastily departed. The elf looked at them a few moments without speaking, his face both gravely serious and welcoming at the same time. At last, he finally spoke.

“First, welcome child of prophecy, and rightful heir to our kings of old, Jerris Tolmirran. Have you the Star of Kings?” His voice was loud, carrying all across the large open room.

Jerris stood there open mouthed for a moment, frozen like a statue until his older companion gently nudged him and whispered quietly. “He wants you to show the talisman, Jerris.” Jerris fumbled around in his shirt for a bit and finally drew forth the talisman, and as he did so, it glowed brightly. Hushed whispering could be heard all around the room, and awed looks appeared on the faces in the crowd. Some appeared near to tears, while others appeared ready to leap for joy. A moment later, all had left their seats and fallen to one knee.

“Well met, Jerris Tolmirran,” the elf spoke once again. “I am Galen, the lorekeeper of Kadanar. I welcome you, our future king, to the last sanctuary of the elven people. Be at peace, for you are among friends.” The crowd then rose to their feet with a thunderous applause.

Jerris appeared to be uncomfortable, and more than a little embarrassed. And why not? For until this moment, the boy had thought himself nothing more than an ordinary half-elf. The reality of his heritage had suddenly been made real, and the boy was hardly prepared. Darien felt somewhat sorry for the lad, for his life would become quite difficult now. Being a king meant having duties, expectations, responsibilities, all of which the lad would likely find himself unready to face. He also realized that now the boy would be more alone than ever before, for these people would be subjects, not companions.