The Demon's Blade (6 page)

"Jorg, what are you doing?" the leader yelled, obviously somewhat perplexed by the odd predicament of his frozen companion. “What’s with that stupid look on yer face? Quit playing around.”

Suddenly, the other man let out a howl, then turned and ran, screaming something about being bewitched by elf magic. The leader turned to stop him and Darien moved away, shoving the sleeping man to the ground with a thud. That left the leader, who had missed seeing his attacker in the darkness and was now looking down at his fallen comrade with an utterly befuddled expression. The shade circled behind and tapped him on the neck as well. He too fell asleep, slumping to the ground with a quiet thump. The one who had run was already out of sight, but could still be heard screaming, mad with fear.

“Well that's that, three unconscious not even knowing why, and one running off screaming nonsense,
”
Darien said aloud. He walked to the young half-elf, who appeared to be frightened, but unhurt. The boy didn’t move, and showed no signs of even being aware that his attackers had been dispatched.

"Well, are you going to get up, or just lie there in the street and wait for them to wake up?"

Still, the lad made no move and spoke no word, so Darien continued to prod him.

"You don't look to be injured and I've no intention of carrying you, so get on your feet, or I may just take that stone around your neck and leave you to your fate."

That was enough to elicit a response and the lad leapt to his feet with a furious look on his face.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Is that really important right now?" Darien replied. "Whatever trouble you're in, I doubt those four will be the end of it. You need to come with me. Then again, I suppose if you'd rather stay here and wait for more to come..."

"Fine, fine", the boy interrupted, in frustration, "but where are we going?"

"A better hiding place than a well-known inn on a main thoroughfare," Darien scoffed, in answer. "Don't ask foolish questions. In fact, just stay silent. I've taken an interest in that stone you have. That's why you're still alive, why I'm offering to help you, and all you need to know at this moment. Leave it at that and just follow me for now. We'll talk later, where it’s safer."

"Will you at least tell me your name?" the youth protested.

"It's Darien. And what shall I call you?"

"Jerris... it's Jerris."

"Well, Jerris, stop stalling and come on. There will be time for pleasantries later." Darien turned and headed off into the darkness. Jerris followed.

Chapter 7: The Hidden Room

Darien walked along the dark street, paying no mind to the darkness or the rain that continued to fall. After going only a little way, he noticed a dim bluish white light coming from behind him. He turned and saw that Jerris was using the amulet to light the way. The stone was glowing and he got his first look at the young man's hidden treasure. It was a large, clear stone, roughly circular in shape and cut with many facets, set in the middle of a golden circle, golden strands like rays of light emanated from the gem to the edges of the circle. The stone itself was perhaps three inches across, with its golden setting having a diameter of about six inches.

The last time he had seen such a stone was when he had taken the Demon Sword, and it had flashed and disappeared, but that one had been tiny, barely more than a pebble. Darien's thoughts drifted back to the words he had spoken years before, to that mysterious old man, Ezra. Ever since, he had devoted considerable thought to whether the Master might try to construct a new crystal to block the effects of the Demon Sword once again. If so, a stone like this would certainly attract his interest, and even if not, anyone who understood the power of a starstone would recognize that this object was worth a fortune. It was rather incredible this boy had managed to avoid losing it. It was fortunate that the boy lived in this backwater, where even the most powerful magical objects could pass unnoticed. After all, that’s why I hide in this area, Darien reasoned. Still, it won't do to have this young fool parading down the street with it held up like a lantern, for all to see.

"Put that away!” he hissed. “You don't want to attract attention, do you?" 

"Well, what am I supposed to do? It's pitch black and I can't see anything!" Jerris protested.

Darien huffed and reached into a hidden pocket, pulled out a short, reddish-brown rod, which narrowed to a point at one end. It was a magical smokeless torch, of a type he often used when light was necessary, but ordinary fire inconvenient or impossible. Its light could still attract attention in the darkness, but that was still better than having the stone out in plain sight.

"Here," he whispered, and tossed it back to Jerris.

The youth fumbled and missed the catch, then spent several seconds scrambling around on the stones to find the object. Finally, Jerris managed to grab the torch, and as he wrapped his hand round the pointed end, it burst into flame at one end and then dimmed to a steady glow akin to the light from an ordinary torch’s flame. To Darien’s considerable relief, Jerris then put the stone away and continued to follow him down the street.

"Thanks," he heard the boy say, but he did not reply. They needed to move quickly, to get to his hiding place. He led his charge south, toward the southern entrance of the city and the main gate. Within sight of the gate, he turned right onto a side street between two old houses, then proceeded back and forth through the alleys and streets, checking behind him every few seconds, to ensure Jerris had not gotten lost. After a series of turns and side street detours, Darien saw the abandoned house where the passage to his lair was located. He circled around the back, to a large hole in the crumbling structure. He crept through, checked again to make certain if Jerris was still following, led the boy through empty rooms, then down a staircase to the basement, where he had camouflaged the door to his hideaway.

"This is hardly a safe place," Jerris remarked, upon entering the room.

"Quite right," Darien responded, "but it's still safer than yours, isn't it?" He remarked coldly, and waved his hand over a section of the floorboards. A yellowish light appeared in a square pattern on the floor and the boards flipped up with a loud snap, revealing a ladder angled down into the well concealed passage.

"You really should think before you speak. Blurting out whatever comes into your head just makes it obvious what a great fool you are."

"I'm not a fool and you know nothing about me," Jerris crossed his arms in front of him, and stomped on the floor. "Do you have nothing useful to say, or do you enjoy being an insufferable ass?"

"The latter perhaps, but certainly not the former," Darien replied nonchalantly, unmoved by the insult. He then climbed down the ladder, followed by his young companion. It ended in a narrow, earthy tunnel tall enough for an ordinary man to walk through without stooping, but neither of these two were ordinary, being half elven, and their height made it necessary to stoop slightly to keep from banging their heads on the irregular ceiling. The tunnel led toward the south wall of the town, and ultimately ended at another cleverly hidden exit outside the wall, a useful feature for coming and going unnoticed. About midway between the entrances, Darien had used his magic to hollow out a small cavern. As he entered the sizable space, he touched a torch sconce on the wall and the place lit up with an orange glow as the torches arranged around the curved walls came to life. A simple wooden chair sat near the opening at the far end of the cave, a wood-framed cot sat a few feet to its left. To the right stood a chest of drawers, with several books scattered upon it.

"Do you live here?" Jerris asked Darien, in apparent disbelief.

"More or less. I live here when I have business in this town. I have such rooms in a number of cities and know of many natural caves and other safe havens where I can stay hidden when necessary. I apologize for the primitive accommodations, but as you might imagine, I seldom entertain guests." 

Darien hung his cloak on a long nail that protruded from the wall by the cot and since there was only one nail, Jerris simply tossed his on the floor where he stood. The two then saw each other clearly, for the first time. Jerris was slightly shorter than Darien, but still taller than all but giants of men, approximately six feet in height. Quite thin, he had a narrow body and lithe limbs, common in those with elvish blood, and accentuated by his youth. His body obviously had yet to grow into his considerable height and his face too, gave away his immaturity. Beyond that, he had a more decidedly elvish appearance, with narrower shoulders and sharper features and, in particular, his longer, more narrowly pointed ears. Darien found himself feeling somewhat envious, as he recalled how he had always wished to look more like his elven mother.

The boy’s hair was golden-hued, too, though in truth it was difficult to tell, as much of it was still encrusted with dried greenish brown muck. Darien guessed that Jerris never needed to shave, in contrast to the dark stubble that always crept onto his own face after a week or so had passed. Pure-blood elves lack facial hair of any type, and it seemed perhaps Jerris would be fortunate enough to inherit that particular trait of the elvish race. Jerris’ clothing was an unremarkable drab brown leather jerkin with slightly darker brown pants, while Darien was clad in his usual thick black leather garb, which served as both clothing and light armor.

"You're an elf!" Jerris exclaimed, in an excited and somewhat shocked voice.

"Half-elf, to be precise. My mother was elven… and what did I say about thinking before you speak? Loudly declaring the obvious as if it is some great revelation makes it obvious that you are just saying whatever odd thought comes into your head."

"Sorry." The boy was at least somewhat apologetic. "It's just I've never met another one before… you know, a half-elf like me."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't, living this far north." Darien went to the chest and selected one of the books, an old tome on the ancient Elves. He leafed through it to find the passage about the starstones, completely ignoring his young companion for the moment, wanting to carefully consider what questions he ought to ask of him. Unfortunately, Jerris, apparently too disturbed by the quiet, interrupted his cogitation with further conversation.

"Did you dig this all out yourself, then?"

"Some of it. The tunnel was just something I happened to find. It runs further on to the south and emerges on the other side of the south wall. I suppose whoever built it needed a way to get into the city undetected and it works well enough for that purpose. I used earth magic to expand this part of the tunnel into a cavern. Simple enough."

"You are a mage, then? I thought as much, when you handed me this thing." Jerris held up the torch, which still glowed just as brightly as when it was first lit.

"So, you're not a complete imbecile," Darien lifted his eyes from his book just long enough to give the younger half-elf a condescending glance. The boy was nearly correct, for though Darien the Executioner no longer served the Demon King, he still preferred to think of himself as a Shade, not just an ordinary mage, but of course the boy didn’t need to know that. "Yes, I'm a mage. I would have thought you would know that without me having to say it."

Jerris fell silent at the rebuff and Darien returned to his book, finally finding the part he had been looking for. He read it to himself.

#

The elves kept with them sacred stones of magical power. Starstones they were called, clear crystals which glowed with their own light for those of elven blood. With the power of the sacred light of the starstones, the ancient elves built their great kingdom. When their ancient kingdom fell to the armies of the demons, the elves destroyed most of their starstones, to prevent the demons from possessing their awesome power. The few that remained were entrusted to the last guardians of the elves, who were charged with keeping them hidden and safe.

#

He had read this passage many times, wondering how much of it was true. It appeared in several books on elvish lore and he suspected it had been copied from some original source which might or might not still remain in the world. Jerris had by now sat down on the cot. He appeared somewhat dejected and Darien suddenly felt an unexpected sense of sympathy for this half-elf boy.

"May as well come to the point," Darien said. "The stone in the talisman you wear. Do you know what it is?"

"My mother gave me this talisman," Jerris said. "She told me it was a magic stone and that I should keep it with me always and show it to no one except those of elven blood. She said that it would protect me, and guide me, if I held it and concentrated."

"Hm-m, well, perhaps she knew no more than that herself. That's a decent description of what it is, I suppose," Darien said thoughtfully, then continued, "but it isn't the complete answer. That stone is very, very rare. It is a starstone, and it responds to your elven blood, as it would to anyone with enough elven blood to awaken it. Let me see it." Jerris hesitated and an uncertain look appeared on his face, so Darien reassured him. "I'm not going to steal it. You know that you're no match for me and I could have taken it at any time if I wanted to."

With a look of resignation, the boy sighed and slowly took out the talisman. As Darien moved his open hand toward the jewel and focused his energy, it glowed brightly.

"You see, it isn't only you it responds to."

"Yes, I see," Jerris said, more than a bit awed.

"It is my understanding that it responds in different degrees to differing amounts of elven blood. Only pure-blood elves can draw the full power of the stone, I believe. Half-elves, like you and I, can generate a strong reaction, though still not the stone's full power."

"How did you know I was half-elf?"

Darien paused a moment, struck by the perceptiveness of the question. "Well, your pursuers named you as such, but I put little faith in their wisdom," he said, with the hint of a chuckle. "To tell the honest truth, this is not the first time I have seen a starstone and I judged the reaction almost equal to what I was able to generate."

"Oh," Jerris replied, looking down at the floor. "I wish I was a pure-blood elf. I wish I could purge my human blood.”

"You'll get no argument from me, on that account," Darien said. "I suppose I would do the same, although I've never thought of it quite like that. Pure-blood elves fare no better among humans than half-elves. They are both persecuted. It doesn't make much difference in the end."

"I hate my human blood," Jerris said, angrily. "I hate them and everything about them. I want nothing to do with them."

Darien sighed deeply and looked away, shutting his eyes. Jerris’ angry words reminded him of the day his own hatred of humanity flared violently to life. Even after so many years had passed, the awful memory of the day his mother died was still as fresh as it ever had been, an open wound that would never heal. He grimaced and banished the memories. The silence lasted a minute or two, until it was again broken by Jerris.

"Have you met any other elves, or half-elves?" he asked.

"Just a few. Pure-blood elves are exceedingly rare. They live in hiding, fearing all the other races. True half-elves, who have one elven and one human parent, are rarer still, but the term half-elf is also used by humans in many places to designate those known to have any trace of elven blood, or even those who simply have an elven appearance." Darien shook his head in disgust. "In some parts of the world, these are not altogether uncommon. I have known a few and they have no more love for humanity than you or I. I have known only one other true half-elf before I met you, and I have never seen a full- blooded elf other than my own mother."

"My mother is a full-blooded elf," Jerris stated with pride. "She told me she is one of the last, east of the Endless Forest. She said that when she was very young, she lived in a small village with other elves, but that it was destroyed by men and she wandered the world for many centuries, before she met my father."