The Elf King (41 page)

“
Wix!”

Heads turned in confusion,
but none could see him. He was gone.

“
He was after that staff
all along!” Prevost yelled.

“
He couldn’t have gotten
far!” Kamen cursed, his large frame already moving towards the
fleeing sound of Wix.

They ran through the dark
woods as fast as they could manage when they heard Wix scream
somewhere far ahead of them. The sound was terrifying. He was
injured, dying perhaps. The group slowed their pursuit. Then they
noticed the field of bones. Whatever they had escaped from earlier
had found Wix, they thought. They nearly came to a halt then as
they listened for any sounds of a battle. The silence was
deafening.

“
Where is he?” Prevost
asked very quietly. No one could answer.

“
Stay close to one
another,” Kamen whispered, taking the lead with his sword raised
out in front of him. In a tight line they walked, bones crunching
underneath their feet. And it felt like hours before Kamen broke
the silence. “Look. Over there.”

One hand pointed off to
their right. Wix’s body lay motionless, sprawled across ground,
face down in a pile of bones. The group looked around carefully.
Nothing moved. Nothing was heard. For several minutes they waited,
then Kamen moved towards him. The staff was clutched tightly in
Wix’s left hand, his face frozen in terror. Kamen checked out his
body. There were no signs of an attack. The others slowly joined
Kamen. Kandish removed the staff and handed it to Qenn.

“
What happened to him?”
Qenn was puzzled.

“
There’s no blood. No
wounds.” Kandish replied in the same fashion.

They each stood in wonder,
staring at his body. The woods were still all around
them.

“
I know how your friend
died,” a young girl’s voice called out to them suddenly.

Instantly the group turned.
The girl stood less than twenty yards away. She was wearing a white
dress, her blonde hair was curly. She stood unmoving, unafraid,
waiting. Kamen and the others slowly moved towards her.

“
Did you see what attacked
him?” Kamen asked the girl.

“
You cannot see it. Not
really.” The girl responded with a smile. “Come with me. You cannot
help your friend.”

“
What happened to him?”
Kamen pressed.

“
I am not allowed to speak
of it.” She paused, then added, “Will you come with me?”

“
How do we know we’ll be
safe?” Kandish asked.

The girl chuckled. “You
would already be dead.”

“
What is your name, girl?”
Kamen asked.

“
You can call me
Aless.”

“
Aless, I am Kandish. Nice
to meet you.” Kandish moved in closer, the rest followed. She knelt
down beside the girl. “Why are you out here?”

“
Where is your family?”
Qenn added.

“
Here. There. It
depends.”

“
Depends on what, Aless?”
Kandish kept the conversation going, hoping to get enough answers
out of her before Kamen got mad.

“
Depends on where you’re
standing.” Aless’ face never changed. She looked neither happy, nor
sad.

“
You mean these bones?”
Prevost pointed down to the bones scattered along the
ground.

Aless nodded.

“
Where is your home?” Kamen
asked, a hint of wonder in his tone.

“
Come with me. I will show
you.” She paused as Kandish stood. “You don’t really have a
choice.”

“
Why is that?” Kandish
asked softly.

“
Because no one leaves. No
one can.” Aless pointed to the line of bones. “No one makes it any
farther. Never have.”

“
I don’t like the sounds of
that,” Prevost whispered to Kamen. “I can only assume that we are
being watched right now. If we run, maybe they kill us,
too.”

Kandish and Qenn joined in,
moving close to Prevost and Kamen. Kandish whispered, “We can’t
just leave her out here alone.”

“
She might be better off
out here than us,” Prevost snapped back. “I don’t want to know what
killed all these people.”

“
I don’t think we should be
afraid of her,” Qenn offered. “I sense no danger from her. I think
we can trust her.”

Kamen thought it over, then
agreed with Prevost. “We’ll ask her for a way around this death.
But we can’t stay.” He turned to Aless. “Can you tell us a way
around this...whatever is killing everything?”

Aless looked confused.
“There is no way. Everything outside the circle dies.”

Kandish smiled at Aless,
brushing back her blonde hair. “We are on a very important journey,
Aless. We don’t have a lot of time. Can you tell us a safe way
around?”

“
Important? Where is more
important?” Aless stared obliviously.

“
We are
seeking the
LifeWaters
.”

“
Yes.” Aless nodded
jubilantly. “I can take you to my home.”

Now Kamen was confused.
“Where is your home, girl?”

“
The
LifeWaters
, silly man.”

“
That’s your home?” asked
Kandish. “Can you take us there?”

Aless nodded, taking
Kandish by the hand. “Follow me.”

Chapter 23

“
F
or the Prince! For
Cillitran!” Ern Dwull shouted thrusting his broadsword skyward with
over a thousand men shouting his words back to him. He sat upon his
black horse facing the army of Cillitran as it spread out across a
small rise looking down at the southeastern tip of the Lyyn Forest.
Daybreak was still another hour away, fading the sky from black to
a dull grey far to their right. Thin sheets of mist blanketed the
grassy plains like rolling steam. The army had massed only a short
time ago, preparing to attack quickly, while still under the
twilight. They would hammer the forest with fire, catching the
Elves while they slept, handing them the repercussion from the
Queen. Bowmen lined the front of the mass, notching arrows in their
bowstrings, feeling an adrenaline rush as they awaited the command.
Men with burning torches stood ready for the word to light the
arrow tips, for the word to burn the Elves from their hiding. Men
with swords stood ready to avenge their fallen King and
Prince.

“
Let them remember the day
the house of Andelline came knocking on their doorstep!” Ern
shouted with vengeance. Then with a swing of his sword he motioned
for the arrows to be lit.

“
Let them hear our
knocking! And let them quiver in fear as we burn their house to the
ruins!” A roar from the army followed before Ern gave the order.
“Fire!”

The first wave of arrows
flew into the air in a high arching sweep. In a second, the
peacefulness of the early morning was invaded by the thunderous
wave of bowstrings releasing. The sky above the Lyyn Forest was
shredded with streaking yellow dots, covering the night sky in a
canopy of burning flame. The Elves would not have time to defend
themselves. They would not have been prepared for an assault so
early, the Men thought. The army watched with anticipation as the
arrows began to descend down to the dark outline of the treetops.
The yellow flickering lights rained down like a tidal wave sent to
wash the forest clean from its roots.

But something else
happened.

Just as they reached the
leafy branches, the burning arrows disappeared. It looked as if
they were simply swallowed in by the dark. The men took a few
seconds to stand in utter confusion, whispering their disbelief,
before Ern Dwull was screaming at them to fire another
volley.

“
Again!”

Instantly arrow tips were
ablaze and shooting into the sky. Silence hovered over the army as
the mist hovered over their feet. They stood watching the flames
rise then arch, falling down now with a look of certain
destruction. But before any part of the Lyyn was burning, the
yellow fires disappeared again.

“
It’s magic,” Lon Ruell
cursed as he hastily made his way through the bowmen to stand next
to Ern Dwull. “They have a shield of some sort.”

“
They knew we were coming,”
Ern spit. “But we are not afraid of their magic! We will knock
until they answer!”

Lon looked into the
commander’s dark eyes and saw bloodlust. “Coordinate the attack as
planned. Test their shield.”

Lon retreated back through
the bowmen, the lines of swordsmen, back to where the giant
wooden-framed catapults awaited. He signaled to the men stationed
there, and immediately they scrambled around to begin pushing the
towering weapons to the head of the line. Massive wheels creaked
and groaned under the heavy strain as several groups of men pushing
grunted with exertion. Oil was poured across the giant rock
projectiles sitting in a deep wooded box at the end of the long
arm. As the catapults ponderously made their way to the front of
the army, the ropes and triggers were checked, set to
fire.

Lon arrived back to stand
next to Ern, who smiled wolfishly. “Their magic would be strong
indeed if it could prevent even this.”

Ern shook his head and
growled loud enough for his army to hear. “Magic is for cowards! We
will smash them into the dirt before the sun rises!”

A roar from the army went
up, echoing deep through the Shyl Plains. The catapults were
aligned at the front, the fleet of them spaced about fifty yards
apart, at a length close to half a mile. Calls were given down the
line, each station confirming they were ready. Lon gave the word to
ignite the oiled boulders. As the catapults stood with burning
projectiles, Ern gave the word to fire.

“
Death to the Elves!” Ern
shouted. “Fire!”

All together, the locking
pins were pulled, releasing the latch that held the long arm down,
and the flaming rocks were airborne. Within seconds the massive
fireballs were raining down towards the forest like a meteor
shower. With high hopes, the men of Cillitran’s army watched the
burning shower fizzle away with no more success than the arrows.
Their stomachs churned in depletion. Whatever hopes they had clung
to about winning a war against the Elven nation disappeared with
the arrows and the boulders.

“
Again!” screamed Ern
Dwull.

“
Archers! Ready! Fire!” Lon
ordered as well.

Immediately the long line
of bowmen strung flaming arrows and shot them into the early
morning sky, raining down upon the shield protecting the Lyyn
Forest. But before the projectiles could reach their mark, Lon was
ordering another volley, and still another. Within seconds the sky
over the forest was lit with a soft yellow glow. Ern yelled his
vengeance, screaming to the men to reload the catapults and fire at
will. But the arrows and burning rocks from the previous round were
now disappearing into the darkness. The Lyyn showed no sign of
damage; nothing was burning. Their attempts were all in
vain.

Commotion filled the plains
now as the army voiced their disbeliefs. Ern yelled to silence his
men, Lon working on his men as well. But the men of Cillitran saw
firsthand what they could accomplish, and they didn’t like
it.

“
Quiet your fears,” Ern
demanded. “Remember the King! His death will not go without
vengeance!”

At the very back of the
army, the men began to quiet down. The hush worked its way towards
the front. But it had nothing to do with Ern’s demands. Whispers
floated between them of someone’s arrival. Ern saw from atop his
horse the army was splitting a passage for someone walking towards
him. In the morning gloom, it was too dark to tell who it was. But
the voices whispered, and Ern heard a name.

“
The Queen.” Ern gasped as
Sienna’s body broke from the line of men to stand between himself
and Lon Ruell. Ern shivered.

Lon immediately bowed in
respect. “My Queen.” Sienna said nothing. She looked a wreck, Lon
thought. “You need not be present, my Lady.”

Sienna’s body was heaving
as if she was exhausted and her breathing was very unnatural
sounding. Lon assumed it was due to her flight from the castle. Ern
thought it was something else altogether. She remained silent,
standing between them with wide eyes that were filled with
unpleasantries.