Children of the Sun and Moon (11 page)

Jeremy, having
arrived in time to see her destroy the creatures, was there
waiting.

“It worked,
darling,” said Jeremy, soothingly. “Now, I will take you to lie
down.”

“No,” she
whispered. “You must take me to Gillock.”

Jeremy nodded
and carried her to Gillock’s room. He had apparently been expecting
them, for he already had a potion to give Elizanne to help her
strength return.

“This was
Malena’s doing. She sent those things to draw me out,” stated
Elizanne. “And I must leave because of it,” she added,
despondently.

“I know,”
responded Jeremy.

“You must do so
immediately, my queen,” remarked Gillock. “The Magima are already
in the castle and are planning to take you into custody. Payton and
Korben are stalling them, claiming parts of the castle are unsafe
to travel, but it is only a matter of time.”

“I understand,”
she said, standing. “I must get some things and then go.”

Jeremy escorted
his wife to their quarters. There, he helped her pack.

“I will not
need food, I can make my own,” she remarked. Turning to him she
said, “Do not look so sad. I will not be away too long and it is
for the safety of the entire town. You will need to assure them of
things before the Maget start spreading rumours. I am sure that as
soon as I leave, the two Magima in the castle will follow. You will
then have to deal with the general, and with Brin.”

Jeremy sighed,
“I know, but it feels like my entire family is leaving me.”

Elizanne
smiled. “Brin is not happy about the latest revelations. You will
have your work cut out for you with her.” Then she gave the king a
goodbye kiss and was gone.

King Jeremy
stared at the door for a while and then decided to go and find
Brin. There was going to be much to explain.

Watching from
his window, Gillock saw Elizanne sneak off into the night. Moments
later, he watched Glavlin and Koral ride in another direction. “Now
things are getting interesting,” he remarked to himself. He had
sensed Malena’s magic and knew there was more here than just the
creatures, but he did not have the time to dwell on it. He would be
leaving as well, but was unsure as to what to bring with him or
where he was going to go.

With Elizanne
headed southward towards Eric and Glavlin and Koral headed east,
the Magima will be having all sorts of problems trying to figure
out which way to go. Gillock decided

he would head
south as well, after going west for a time, to confuse the Magima
even more. He knew they would send for reinforcements, but it would
be a while before they would pick up the separate trails. Looking
down at what he packed, Gillock decided he was not going to take
anything. “That should give Malena and the Magima something to
think about.” He then changed into dark green robes and headed out
of the castle.

Elizanne’s
assumptions were right. Malena did send the creatures to draw her
out. It had been the plan Lakin and she had come up with. She knew
Lakin would have the king placed under house arrest and put the
town under martial law. This would make it easier to keep an eye on
everyone. Everything was going perfectly. Lakin was sending out his
most powerful Magima, with General Traug in tow. The twins were
going to find each other soon, seeing as how her bolamer slowed
down the goblin troupe quite a bit. Things should work out perfect
for her.

“Well, Moray,
things are going quite smoothly, “stated Malena into her
mirror.

Moray, in his
new form, smiled. “Yes, my queen, they appear to be going quite
well. When shall I join the princess?”

Malena turned
towards him. He did look so convincing in that form. “She has left
the palace and will be in the elven lands soon. You must join her
before Elizanne does. I am positive she will try to join up with
her children and we cannot let that happen.”

Moray
nodded.

“Do not fail
me,” she hissed.

“Everything
will be done as you wish.”

Satisfied,
Malena waved her hand over the mirror and it returned to normal.
Everything needed to be accomplished her way. The prophecy must be
fulfilled, but not with the twins. If Gillock succeeds, then her
magic will most likely weaken. “So many things you did not tell
them about the prophecy, Gillock,” she thought. “You should have
made certain they would not fail, for if they do, it will be easier
for me to take over Melarandra.” Laughing to herself, she decided
to finish one of the spells she was developing. It was going to be
quite useful for what she had in store for the goblin she had
captured.

Hours of
scouring the castle had passed. There was no sign of the queen or
Gillock. This did not surprise the general. He recognised the
stalling, but could not prove it so he had let it go. Now, finally
at the entrance of the throne room, it was clear what needed to be
done. Olrond approached King Jeremy, and could not believe what he
was about to do, what he had to do.

He stopped in
front of the king and bowed. “Your highness, it’s with great regret
I must place you under house arrest for knowingly harbouring a
person who possesses magic. I will also be placing the town of
Klayhern under martial law. More Maget troops will be arriving
within the next few days.”

The king
stepped down from his throne and faced Traug. “I know the law, but
please let me know when the town is to go under martial law so that
I may tell them myself.”

The general
nodded. “I'll do this one last thing for you, Jeremy. But I should
warn you, if the Order finds you guilty of more heinous crimes, you
will lose everything.”

The king,
saying nothing, left the throne room and headed to his quarters.
Now, he just had to deal with Brin.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Koral had never
ridden so hard in her life. She had seen the elven king give
something to Swift to eat, but had no idea it would have this
effect on him. They were moving so quickly she had felt like she
was flying. Within a matter of hours, they were in the Cyprian
Forest, a trip which normally would take at least two days.

Koral knew when
they were getting closer. The trees began to take on more vivid
colours. It was as if nature itself was coming alive in the
presence of the elves. It was not long before Koral felt eyes
watching her. Having read all about elves, and how easily they can
blend in with their surroundings, she knew it must be them. She was
about to ask Glavlin, just to be sure, when they came to an abrupt
stop. Looking around, she could see nothing, but Glavlin did not
move. For minutes, he did not move or talk. Suddenly a figure moved
from the brush, and stood facing the two. It was an elf. From his
stance and build, it was clear he was a soldier. It was odd to
Koral to see him. He wore a tunic, which did not have sleeves and
pants which were form fitting, showing his muscular tone. His hair
was white and tied back. He turned his deep brown eyes to the
princess, causing her to blush.

“How do you
expect me to do my job with you gallivanting about the
countryside?” he asked forcefully, turning his gaze to the
king.

“Things were
moving too quickly for me to alert you, Auroram.”

“I am aware of
the situation. I will meet you in the village.” He said, then
turned and was gone.

Glavlin spoke a
word and the horses were off again, but at a much slower rate.
After a few minutes of riding, they burst through the trees and
stopped right before what looked like a village.

“Welcome to my
home,” said Glavlin, reining in his horse.

Koral looked
around, and was going to comment about the incident with Auroram
when she suddenly felt ill, and fell forward on Swift.

“The feeling
will pass princess. There must have been a tracking spell on you.
No one who enters our realm can have spells on them. It is a
precaution.”

The elf king
was right, and after a few moments, she felt fine. Not wanting to
dwell on who could have placed the spell on her, she decided to ask
about the unusual elf.

“Who was
that?”

Glavlin smiled.
“That was Auroram. He is head of the

Protectors.
They are in charge of the safety of the royal family. However,
here, he is the only Protector.”

Koral was
confused, but felt asking more questions would be rude. Instead,
she decided to look around, and was surprised at how small the
village was. There looked to be just a scattering of dwellings. “I
had expected it to be much bigger,” she responded, disappointment
apparent in her voice.

Glavlin, amazed
at how quickly she pushed aside the tracking spell, laughed. “You
are only seeing what we want you to see. Look into the trees and
tell me this is a small village.”

Koral raised
her head and almost fell off her horse. Hidden within the trees
were at least a hundred houses, with rope bridges attaching them
all together. Koral never would have noticed them had she not been
told to look.

“This is
amazing,” she said with awe.

“We have only a
few houses down here, and living in them are our guards. It is a
way to protect the actual village,” declared Glavlin.

“Village,”
remarked Koral, laughing. “It looks more like a city. Even Klayhern
is not this magnificent, and it is one of the biggest towns in the
Central Lands.”

“I would get
used to seeing large cities if I were you. Where we are going, you
may have to go through one.” Glavlin stated, then jumped off his
horse and motioned for Koral to follow.

It confused her
as to why he would say such a thing. Klayhern was home to the king,
there wasn’t anywhere larger than her town. Sighing, she let
herself be led towards a large tree, and was amazed to see the bark
move aside and reveal a lift. “This is how we get up to the
village,” explained Glavlin.

“I can see this
is going to be a very interesting visit,” replied Koral.

The elf king
just smiled and closed the door, activating the lift. When they
arrived at the top, it opened up onto a landing area. From this
point, Koral could see just how vast this village was. From the
ground she could see about a hundred houses, from here, it looked
like three times that amount.

“I wish I could
show you everything,” whispered Glavlin, “but we must catch your
brother.”

Glavlin’s
remark pulled Koral out of her state of awe, and she knew he was
right. “Yes, we should get down to business.”

They walked for
some time and when she saw the structure rising up before them.
Judging by the size of it, Koral knew it had to be Glavlin’s home.
The tree molded to create doorways, hallways, and rooms. It was
magnificent and fascinating. They went inside and straight to his
throne room, or at least she assumed it was. Inside it there were
many elves waiting to speak with the king. “Koral, could you please
go into the room on your left. I will join you as soon as I am done
here.”

Koral nodded,
not wanting to speak in the presence of these creatures. She was
still in awe when a guard approached her and asked her to follow
him.

The guard took
her into what appeared to be a library. The room astounded her. The
books were unlike anything she had seen before. Their coverings
were aged, but everything was neat and tidy as if put together that
very morning. Running her fingers over some, she noticed they were
not all written in elven. Gillock had shown her books of the
different languages of Melarandra, so she was shocked to see there
were books in languages from every creature that once lived in the
Central Lands, and some were in a language Koral did not recognize.
Her curiosity got the better of her and she pulled a book from a
shelf. As she flipped through the pages, she could sense the magic
within.

“That one talks
about the prophecy, and many other things,” said a musical
voice.

Koral turned to
face the stranger. The elf before her was as tall as the king, but
his features were very different. Where the king was fair-haired
with violet eyes, this one had short brown hair and eyes, very
plain looking for an elf. At least compared to the ones she had
just seen.

“My name is
Mekken,” he said, taking a step towards her. “My sister Darly and I
tracked your brother and the little band for some time. It appears
they are trying to elude someone, or something. We will have no
trouble catching up with them.”

Koral felt
quite intimidated by this elf’s presence. She was going to ask what
he meant by little band when Glavlin and a female elf, obviously
Darly by her features, entered.

“I see you two
have met,” observed the king.

“Yes,” answered
Koral. “I assume these two will be accompanying us on our
trip?”

The king moved
over to what looked like a desk. “Yes, they will be. They are my
best trackers and will have us at your brother’s position within a
matter of days.”

Koral was a bit
stunned. A matter of days? Eric had a week’s lead on them. Glavlin,
sensing her question, smiled. “We will be travelling rather
quickly. Once we are past the borders of the Cyprian forest, we
will have to travel without the aid of magic. Your horse will be
fed some of our food and fitted with a special type of shoe.”

Koral did not
know what to say. “When do we leave?” she asked, looking at the
king.

“We will be
leaving at first light,” replied Darly. “Do not worry about your
things, they will all be ready for you when we leave.”

Koral was going
to thank her, but she turned, motioned to Mekken, and left.

“Elves are very
unusual,” stated Koral after the two had left.

“They have just
seen much horror, and wish to see the prophecy fulfilled,” replied
Glavlin.

“How will the
prophecy affect your people? You appear to be thriving here?”
questioned Koral