To Claim the Elvin Princess: Apprentice (6 page)

10

Rasten’s response would have done much to prove him worthy of being Sayarin’s son, had any been able to witness it. Not even thinking, he plunged the tip of his sword into the animal’s chest as it leaped at him, skewering it handily. He had reflexively thrown up his arm to protect his face, and ended up elbowing the animal’s head away from himself. The animal landed, twisting and trying to bite at the hard metal which had impaled it.

Rasten pulled the sword out, and hacked down hard on the beast’s neck, almost severing the head from the body, This discouraged any further attack, and he spun rapidly, to see what Amein was faced with, He was stunned to find her killing a her third attacker, kicking the animal’s body from her weapon with her boot. She spun to check on Rasten, and was delighted to see the dead thing beside him.

“Not bad! You killed your first na-wolf! That’s very sexy, just so you know!” she laughed.

“And I didn’t even piss my pants, although I have no idea why! What the hell are these things?”

“Well, they don’t make good pets! They’re a type of wolf, half real and half enchanted. They were created by the Miushca-Elidari thousands of years ago, to guard their enchanted fortresses. We destroyed their masters during a long war, nearly a thousand years ago, but many of these had escaped and gone feral, in out of the way places like this. They can be quite nasty, but at least they die with just the application of Elvin steel! Some creatures require magic to destroy.”

“Great. I’ve got myself into a lot bigger mess than just having lustful Elvin babes wanting me, haven’t I?!”

This delighted Amein, who stepped close for a kiss.

“Much worse. I just hope our naughty attention is adequate to make amends for your...difficulty,” she sighed.

“You were going to say suffering, weren’t you?” Rasten demanded. Amein looked both guilty and cute.

“Yes I was, I won’t lie. Your road will be hard and difficult. I pray you might forgive me for making it yours!”

Rasten gave her another small hug. “Now what?” he wondered, noting that it was daylight where they were standing.

“We must wait for night, when we will be able to open the gate to make the next transit. We must keep alert and watch...there will likely be more of these accursed things around. They have keen eyes and noses, and could detect us from a long distance. It will be very dangerous when the sun sets!”

“This is why you said we wouldn’t get much sleep?”

“Of course. There are only three of the ten stops where we will be able to safely take turns sleeping.”

“How did you cross by yourself?!”

“I hid in trees, where I’d know if something was trying to climb up to eat me! I don’t think you’d do so well at that!” she suggested. Rasten merely shook his head. Looking around, he tried to figure out what made this spot special; there were no structures or stones to mark it as any different from the rest of the landscape. Seeing his furrowed brows, Amein asked what was bothering him.

“Shouldn’t something like a Gate be...I don’t know...marked out so you can find it?”  Amein tried not to laugh, but failed.

“Sorry! It was, long ago! The Gate lies several feet underneath us; time and erosion filled this area in. Fortunately, the Gates work just fine, even being hidden,” she explained, while looking around warily.

“What will we find on the next crossing?”

“A world called
Mierinoc ar Darin
, the Place of Death!”

“I assume it isn’t a big tourist attraction?” Rasten teased.

“Hardly! It was once a place filled with good and honorable beings, who were friendly to the Elvin kind. But then several thousand years ago, something made them turn away, and become evil. They mostly destroyed themselves. Because they understood the Gates, and tried to spread forth, we and others came there to...finish them off. It was a long and bitter struggle, and many of our people died in that place. All that remains are the wild creatures. Of course, some of those are dangerous! I saw none when I passed through, but we won’t take any chances.” she sighed.

“How long must we stay there?” Rasten wondered.

“A few moments...just long enough for the Gate to realign. It is the next transit that will be much more dangerous. We arrive at one gate, and must hike over two leagues to a second Gate!” Amein sighed.

“What’s there, that we need to worry about?”

“Fire demons.”

“You’re kidding?!”

“You won’t think so, once you get there and see one!” she scolded.

While they waited, Rasten unslung his backpack, which he had filled with protein and energy bars. He also had stashed several bottles of water. They ate sparingly, and only drank a partial bottle of water, sharing it.

“Keep them...we can find good water in a couple of places,” she instructed.

They waited impatiently, keeping themselves positioned so the could jointly watch all directions. They glimpsed several Na-wolves in the distance, but none approached. Rasten thought this good, until Amein burst his bubble.

“They’ll wait until dark to attack!” she sighed. “Once we activate the gate, you don’t dare step away to hack at one, or worse, let one leap into the gate circle!”

“If I stepped out, I’d get left behind?”

“You’d get ripped in half!” Amein declared harshly. “I’d not be too thrilled to see that happen!” she added, and giggled at Rasten’s shocked look. “Just stay put, with your butt against mine! Then be ready to fight like a wild man when we appear on the other side.”

Dusk brought no sign of any Na-wolves, and they waited, hoping they might get lucky. Amein watched the emergence of the stars, privy to signs she felt disinclined to advise Rasten of.

“Need to pee?” she asked finally. “It’s almost time!”

“I’m good...how about you?” he asked, having trouble seeing her expression in the near total dark.

“No...get ready...here...get your butt against me!” she instructed.

“What do I do if we have something waiting for us?”

“Chop it like it’s a piece of firewood, but don’t stray! We have less than a hundred heartbeats before we transit again!”

They stood ready, touching firmly. Amien again chanted something incomprehensible to Rasten, before he felt a slight lurch. They were blind for what seemed many moments, before they had a trace of light greet them. Rasten scanned wildly, seeing something moving off to his left, but he could not make out what it had been. He felt Amein make a swift contortion, as if she was ducking from something, and simultaneously heard the tortured scream of a wild beast, likely struck by her sword.

“Watch out!” she shrieked, as a dark and large animal sailed over his head, to land a half dozen paces in front of him, The creature seemed to make a u-turn, and leaped straight at him, before he could even think. He swung his sword as hard as he could, like he was batting a baseball, and he hacked halfway through the animal, which seemed to have an impossible number of teeth in its large and open mouth. It landed awkwardly beside them, and Amein drove her sword through its neck, before turning her attention to Rasten.

“Get ready!” she screamed, before repositioning herself, and beginning her chanting. Rasten vaguely saw another of the creatures running at them, but it disappeared mid-leap, when everything went black.

His sense of relief was short lived. Their new location looked mostly like what Rasten imagined hell might appear like. He beheld a landscape bathed in a dim, reddish light, which illuminated a landscape that was rocky and where small fires burned sporadically, bursting forth to flare as a blazing plume, before suddenly disappearing.

“What the hell...” he sighed, shocked by this vista.

“Come on...watch out for the fire demons!” Amein called, grabbing his arm and jerking him around. She pointed with her sword. “We’re going that way...toward the large hill...the gate is on the left of it!”

“Remind me not to book a vacation here...” he sighed, cynically, stunned by the landscapes tortured and forbidding appearance.

“I’ve seen worse!” Amein snipped, as they headed off at a fair jog. Rasten made a note to avoid such a fate, if at all possible, swallowing his snide comment; the air was acrid and harsh, seeming to be what he imagined brimstone might be like.

Amein guided him, jerking harshly at times, to get him to quickly move either right or left. He could not decide what she was trying to avoid with these evasions, until he at last noted  a craggy pile of rocks to his left, as she jerked viciously on his arm, dragging him right. The pile of rocks suddenly lunged toward them, and a blast of flame shot straight at the spot he had just vacated a second before.

“Fire demon!” she yelled, giving him a swift glance and seeing his astounded look.

“What the hell are they? Are they alive?!” he gasped, then descended into a fit of coughing.

“No...they’re a demon...a creation of an evil sorcerer, being an enchanted form of energy. They will attack anything living. At the moment, we’re the only such thing here! Hurry, they can sense living flesh, and will all be drawn towards us! If we don’t leave the moment we get to the gate, we won’t get a second chance!” she yelled. There seemed to Rasten to be a constant rushing sound that assaulted their ears, and made talking difficult. Even worse, he glanced over his shoulder, and noted a growing mass of flaming things moving behind them.

“Shit...this is a pain!” he gasped.

“It gets worse...sorry!” he heard from Amein. They said nothing else, trying to cover as much ground as possible, and avoid breathing in the fumes and foul air.

Rasten’s legs felt like lead and his lungs were ready to explode by the time they neared the second gate. They had resorted to sipping water to ease their burning throats, while still running. They had managed to pull ahead of the main mass of fire demons, but continued to pass and evade new ones, that fell in behind them, mindlessly following, intent on frying them. They had started up a small rise, when Amein jerked hard on Rasten’s arm.

“Here! Quick, help me get ready. Watch for anything moving! She ordered, sheathing her sword. Rasten nervously scanned around them, as she prepared her magic. When she was ready, she glanced at him. “Get in position! We’re most vulnerable once I start the charm. I can’t stop or we’ll end up lost or dead! If one of them comes at us, you’ll have to kill it, or break its intention!”

“How do I do that?” he asked, having seen how far the creatures could shoot flames.

“I have no idea! Here...Toss this powder on it if you can...it’s supposed to make one of them temporarily unable to sense a living thing! It will take me almost a full minute to do the full chant...you have be in position when I’m done, or you’re stuck here!” she advised, speaking too rapidly to give him a chance to object or even think.

Amein set to work, concentrating all her effort onto her task. Rasten tried to watch in all directions at once, and when he again peered over her shoulder, he saw a single fire demon rapidly approaching at a fast pace. The thing seemed to glide over the rocky ground silently. Terrified, he went around Amein, and ran straight at the thing, and at the last possible moment, he tossed the powder on it, He was nearly singed by a burst of flame for his efforts.

Keeping a silent count of Amein’s chanting, Rasten turned, intending to get back in position. Instead he noted the demon again starting to move, heading straight at Amein. In his sudden burst of rage, he ran at it, intending to strike it with his sword. Instead, suddenly having what he thought was a crazy inspiration, he used the weapon to slice off the top of the plastic bottle of water he was holding in his left hand, and he tossed the contents fully on the creature.

Rasten stumbled as he turned to flee, there being simultaneous with the water hitting the creature, a sharp and hard concussion, as the being exploded into vapor. His mind was too overwhelmed, scrambling to regain his footing, and to run at Amein as fast as he could. He collapsed at her feet as she uttered the final word, and she screamed as they disappeared in a flash of complete blackness.

11

When Shocara’s warriors finally landed it was at the approach of dusk; they had flown nonstop all night and all day, too afraid to stop and risk being caught by pursuing Elvin. The men were exhausted and their terranaks were at the end of their ability to fly. They had steadily lost speed over the final two hours, and had they been attacked by fresh forces, they would have been badly overmatched and doomed.

As it was, they were grateful to climb down, and be able to go sleep. Shocara was quickly greeted by Garen, who had leaped up to see to her needs.

“How did it go, Princess?”

“Well enough! The sorcery did much damage, and we lost only two or three men. The Elvin were well surprised by our visit, I’m sure!” she said, a rare smile gracing her face.

“Are you hungry?”

“I am exhausted...We will eat after we sleep a time,” she declared, turning in to her small hut, knowing Garen and her guards would keep any at bay. 

She was eager to strip off her sweat soaked leathers, delighted to be naked. She had no need to pee, having sweated so much, and availed herself of a long drink of water, as she let her skin dry.

When she finally lay down, she spent time idly caressing her skin, and playing with her breasts, while she considered their night’s effort.

The Elvin were caught completely by surprise!
she thought, excited.
We did more damage with our small group of men, than we normally accomplish with hundreds! Perhaps this is the best way to wage war against a stronger foe? Hit them swift and hard, where they least expect it, and then disappear, so as to reduce our losses?! Why has no one else ever tried this? Is it only tradition that sends us in mass against a stronger foe, trying to overcome their advantage in skill and numbers by fighting more viciously? All we do is lose more warriors! Perhaps we need to be smarter, and seek to kill many of them, while losing only a handful?
This seemed an amazingly astounding idea, and she was eager to present it to the others.

She was eager to sleep, but her touching of herself had quite aroused her. She touched her womanhood, found it wet and hot. In spite of her embarrassment, she began rubbing her self, and was soon rewarded by a strong orgasm. Fearing discovery, she bit down on her covers, to hold in any sound, and when the last of the delightful spasms had passed, she turned over, and snuggled into the furs, spent.

Why is that so forbidden?”
she dreamily wondered, before slipping into a deep sleep.

Shocara returned to consciousness slowly, hearing the normal noise of the village. She finally managed to sit up, and get dressed. Sticking her head out her door, she waved for Garen, who ran as fast as his bad leg would allow to reach her.

“I want to eat! What time is it?” she mumbled, still sleepy.

“Morning, Princess. The food is ready, and most of the men who went with you are up. Where will you eat...here?”

“With the men...we have things to discuss,” she sighed. She soon discovered that the men seemed less dour and more pleased than usual, when she sat down with them to eat. 

“You look content!” she said to no one in particular. “Eucarik, why the sad face?” she asked, seeing one who seemed less happy than the rest. The man shrugged.

“My brother Tamaca was one of those lost, Princess. I will miss him!” he said simply. That death was routine did much to make all of them numb to such loss.

“I am sad...he was well worthy, and will be missed. We lose too many!” she observed.

“It has always been so!” another replied.

“But should it be? Did not last night’s raid prove much better? We lost only three, and killed dozens, besides doing much damage! Why should we not make all of our efforts end so well?!” Shocara suggested.

“How so...to attack and then run away? Warriors should stand and fight!” the one called Hacarim insisted.

“And they stand and bleed, dying in huge numbers! The Elvin out number us, and could afford to lose ten to our one. We would run out of warriors long before we killed them all! We must fight smarter, using mobility and surprise more to offset their advantage in skill and numbers!” Shocara hotly replied.

“You suggest they are better than us?” one of the tribal leaders suggested ominously.

“The facts are plain, and only a fool refuses to see them! The Elvin spend years mastering the sword and bow. Our losses force us to field green boys most often, who have trouble living long enough to master their weapons! The Elvin are said to be immortal; they can afford a level of patience we will never know! Their swords are better too, the Elvin craftsmen having thousands of year’s experience, and sorcery we can only dream of! I have no wish to belittle our people, but we die for nothing, if we don’t find a better way to fight them!” she declared. They group ate in silence a time, each one considering this. 

When they were mostly done, Hacarim tossed a bone to the village dogs, and spoke.

“I have considered your words, Princess. I believe you have discovered something that might be helpful to us! I too am tired of watching our warriors bleed and die. I wish to see the Elvin bleed and die instead. Last night was the best battle I’ve seen; we need more of those!” he sighed. This seemed to inspire the others as well, and Shocara soon had the firm support she needed.

“We must plan to conduct more raids. Perhaps if we strike at a remote location, and then at a more central city, we can keep them off balance and unsure where we might attack next! Surprise and darkness will be good for us, bad for the Elvin. If they fear our unannounced arrival, they will at least sleep less sound. Tired people seldom make good decisions!” Shocara suggested, and yawned, before laughing, the irony touching her.

Shocara was less thrilled to have to face the family of Koharilla, the warrior woman having been lost on the raid, her fate, whether captive or killed unknown. They seemed angry, that she had been abandoned, and no amount of discourse was likely to persuade them otherwise. Amein finally tired of this, and angrily dismissed them.

“Do you think I am pleased that we lose our people?! That we easily abandon them to their fate? We took only a few warriors into the Elvin’s greatest city and did them great harm, but all who went knew there would be no hope for any who failed to hold their own. I am sorry that we can not tell you her fate, but there is little difference, whether she died or is captive. Honor her and move on!” Shocara declared, angry and hurt to be questioned.

She went to see her father, to give him a brief recounting. He too was critical, but in a different way.

“You should have had more men! There will never be such a chance again, to harm them!” he complained.

“And why do I not have more men? Perhaps it is because some of the Tribal leaders fear me having too much power? They hold back their forces, preferring to squander their warriors foolishly on insignificant attacks, when we might do far more, if all were properly allied under one leader!” Shocara loudly proclaimed.

“If you were more forceful, perhaps they might follow you more? Or more successful? If you would gain support, then give them more reason to follow you! You aren’t brutal enough to gain their respect!”

“It makes little sense for me to hack down our own men! I’m sure the Elvin would find much humor in such a thing!”

“I have little care for what the Elvin wish!” Karturic insisted. “You must find more ways to harm the Elvin. This raid was a good start...now go do more of the unexpected! You might even surprise me!”

Shocara stood, seething, before turning and walking away. It took will power not to slam the door. She went looking for Hacarim, one of the leaders most inclined to resist her ideas.

She found him sharpening his sword with a stone, sitting cross legged on the ground. Shocara squatted, facing him.

“What might you suggest for our next raid?” she asked, and then waited. He seemed inclined to ignore her, but she waited, trying not to fidget. Finally, he looked up.

“There is a small settlement of Elvin across the border from our lands. It is well defended and much secure. Unfortunately, for the Elvin, there are large areas of forest near by. If those guarding it could be persuaded to hastily depart, leaving a small garrison, we might pounce, from out of the forest cover, and take many captives!”

“And what might draw off the warriors guarding them?”

“An attack on Alarinad...they will be expecting such, and seeing what they expect, they will find that reasonable, although it isn’t.”

“We should lose many men in such an attack!”

“Ah, Princess, that would be true if we actually intended to attack!” Hacarim laughed.

“A feint? You would hope to draw off a substantial force, to pursue us? We would be at a severe disadvantage, mounted on tired terranaks!”

“Not if they had rested at night, and were well ready! Should our force scatter, we would make a less inviting target. By the time the Elvin abandon their pursuit, the warriors will have taken captives from our real target, and well made their escape, also on well rested creatures. By the time the Elvin understand what we have done, they will be faced with pursuing us on tired mounts, and we will be far ahead!”

“That is wicked! I must persuade the others that this will work! We need to have the area scouted first, and not rush. The Elvin will be on edge for a time, but the longer we wait, the more complacent they will become. We should raid other places far removed, to aid them in their distraction!”

Hacarim though this also wise.

When Shocara presented this idea to all the leaders, while eating the evening meal, there was more silence than agreement, still, with Hacarim apparently in favor of it, others became more enthused. Atrucin, who had been one of those to scout for the raid on Alarinad, had a more mundane concern.

“How shall we get that many Terronaks to hide in the woods. We had great difficulty getting even three to go in! They prefer the open! All we did last time was to get them under low hanging branches, at the forest edge, not actually under the trees!””

“We have time...start devoting much time to training them to do so! We can’t afford to take any that won’t co-operate with such a critical thing!” This made the men sit up and begin muttering among themselves. The terranaks were huge and difficult creatures, easily capable of attacking their rider if annoyed. Trying to coax or drag one under the tree cover was likely a good way to get eaten.

“I thought you were brave?” Shocara asked, eyes gleaming.

“We are, but we aren’t stupid!” Atrucin declared, likely speaking for many.

“Being eaten by a terranak may be less evil than what the Elvin can do to you!” she reminded them, and laughed.