Children of the Sun and Moon (5 page)

The closer she
got to the stable, the more Koral felt something was wrong. It was
not something she could place, and that unnerved her even more. As
she neared, Koral heard voices arguing. She recognized the louder
of the two to be Brin and after a few moments realized the second
was Eric. Koral slowed her pace as she neared the barn and was able
to make out some of the argument.

“I just cannot
believe you would betray your family so easily,” she heard Brin
yell.

“I am not
betraying our family,” Eric hollered back.

“Running off to
do who knows what days before the celebration and you do not see it
as betraying anyone?”

Koral slowly
moved into the stables. All she could do was stare at Eric.

“I am glad you
are here,” remarked Brin, turning towards her. “Maybe you can talk
some sense into him.”

Before Koral
could even respond, Eric jumped up onto his horse. “No one can
change my mind,” he spat. “Maybe you should change yours.” Then he
turned Blade and rode off.

“Koral, go
after him,” said Brin. “I am going to inform father of this.”

“Fine,”
responded Koral, angrily. “I just hope I can catch him.”

Brin did not
respond as she ran passed towards the castle. When Koral looked
back towards the direction Eric had gone, she noticed her horse was
out and ready. Robyn, the stable boy, came out of a stall. “I had a
feeling you'd be needin him,” he stated flatly.

“Thank you,”
she muttered, more concerned with finding her brother. Kicking her
horse into motion, she set out.

The path Eric
had taken was not well used, and although it should have been easy
to track him, Koral had to stop many times to find his trail. After
stopping for the twentieth time, Koral gave up. The path looked as
if no one had been down it in months, let alone a few moments ago.
There was no way she would ever be able to determine which way he
went. Dumbfounded, Koral began yelling Eric’s name, although she
knew it would be in vain.

“What am I
going to do,” she said to herself. Confused and frustrated she
decided to turn around and go home. As she turned Swift, she saw
movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head back, she
saw a creature, which almost made her fall off her horse. Standing
in the pathway was a being Koral thought to be long dead. An
elf.

The elf smiled
and moved towards her. “Do not be afraid, Princess Koral Traven,”
came his musical voice. “I am here because I need your help.”

Koral just
stared. He was easily six feet tall with long blond hair and violet
eyes. He looked exactly as the history books described his race,
tall, lean, and graceful. “Who are you?” she asked, trying to
regain her composure. “And how is it you know who I am?”

The elf smiled,
and she immediately felt at ease. “Please excuse my rudeness. My
name is Glavlin. I am king of the Cyprian Forest elves. I have come
because of the prophecy concerning you and your brother. I know you
were following Eric but you will not ever catch him. His companions
have a magic item with them. It is erasing all traces of their
passing.”

Companions?
Just like his letter had mentioned, and this worried Koral even
more.

“What do you
want from me?” she asked.

Glavlin smiled
again. “There are many things we can discuss, but not here. Please,
return to Castle Klayhern and I will come to you there.” He paused,
as if contemplating saying more.

“You must tell
no one we have had this meeting, save Gillock. He will not be
surprised to hear this news. Until then, Princess Koral,” he
finished then stepped behind a tree, and was gone.

For many
minutes, she stared at the spot where the elf king disappeared. So
much had happened in just three days. Gillock had been trying to
prepare her for years and she had thought herself ready. She had
been wrong. Things were moving too quickly and it was becoming
quite overwhelming. First the book, then the test which showed how
powerful Eric’s magical abilities were, and now an elf. “Magic is
not as dead as we all thought,” she mumbled to herself. Wanting to
get back and talk to Gillock, Koral kicked Swift and headed for
home as fast as she could.

Magic may have
blocked Koral from following Eric, but the two elves on their trail
were not so easily fooled by it. Having been out on a routine
patrol of the area, the elves were surprised to come across goblin
tracks. “They appear to be travelling east,” stated Darly.

“Yes, their
trail is quite odd,” answered her brother, Mekken. “Why do they
keep switching directions?”

“They must know
we are tracking them,” she replied.

They followed
their trail for a few more miles before Mekken noticed something
odd. “Look, they are no longer hiding their trail with magic. They
must have thought someone else was tracking them.”

Darly studied
the ground. “Yes, they have slowed their pace as well. They will
probably be making camp soon.”

Both elves
thought it would be prudent to move off the trail to continue to
follow the goblins. It was not long before they came upon their
camp. There were fewer goblins than they thought, but both did not
expect to see a human boy with them.

“They must be
joining up with a larger group,” said Mekken.

“Perhaps, but
why is there a human with them?” questioned Darly. “It appears he
is not their prisoner.”

“It is odd, but
he may be under a spell. We must track ahead to see if there is a
larger group.”

Darly shook her
head. “The boy may be in trouble. You go on and see. I will stay
with this group and we will meet further up the road.”

Mekken agreed
and headed off. Darly watched as her brother disappeared into the
trees. Turning her attention back to the camp, she hoped she would
learn why the human was with a band of goblins.

Darly watched
the camp well into the night, but no one really said anything. It
was the oddest band of goblins she had ever seen. They actually
appeared to be protecting the boy. Darly knew they would be leaving
at first light so she took a quick nap in a tree, in case someone
decided to come her way. She awoke to the sounds of the camp coming
down. Climbing down from her tree, Darly noticed they were heading
south again. Wanting to make sure Mekken found them, she left a
marker showing him the way she went. Darly followed them until they
made camp again. By this time, they had switched their trail back
to the east. The constant changing of directions made her think
this really was no ordinary band. Goblins were definitely not
welcome in this area, as was seen by the villagers responses when
they drew too close. However, this group appeared to be avoiding
something else altogether.

It was four
more days before Mekken finally returned. “Did you find anything?”
she asked him.

Mekken just
stared at her. “No,” he answered, flatly. “There was nothing.”

“Then we must
return and report our findings to the king.”

Mekken laughed.
“Report there is a boy with some goblins. It will be of no interest
to the king.”

“He will want
to know,” she responded, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“If you
insist,” said Mekken moving away from Darly. “Off we go.”

Darly did not
understand why her brother was trying to bait her into an argument
but decided not to dwell on it. He always had to be difficult.
Turning away from him, she decided it best to just forget about it
and head off home.

Moments after
Koral had ridden off to find Eric; Brin was bursting into the
throne room. A look of surprise crossed her face when she saw both
her parents and Gillock there, apparently waiting for her.

“Eric has
gone,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

The queen’s
face paled. “Where is Koral?” she asked.

“I sent her
after him, but he had a good lead.”

Both the king
and queen looked at Gillock. Returning their look he said, “They
will be separated by betrayal.”

“But it cannot
be,” stated Jeremy.

“But it is,”
Gillock shot back, his voice fierce. “I told you and you wouldn't
listen. Now all may be lost because of your foolish honour to a
ridiculous law.”

“It was in
their best interests,” Jeremy started, but could not finish his
thought. He knew Gillock was right and it may cost him his
children.

“All is not
lost,” remarked Elizanne. “We still have a few days to try and
teach Koral.”

Gillock was
about to respond, when Brin interrupted.

“What do you
mean?” she asked, not following the conversation.

They had all
forgotten she was even in the room.

“Nothing,” said
the Queen quickly. Too quickly, Brin thought.

Everyone was
silent, not knowing what to say. Jeremy broke the silence. “Where
is Koral now?” he asked his wife.

Queen Elizanne
closed her eyes and concentrated. Sighing, she opened them and
looked at Jeremy. “She is returning to the castle, and she is
alone.”

King Jeremy
sighed. They all knew what that meant. Koral was unable to catch
Eric. “We must get back to the festival planning,” he said. “It
must go on no matter what. We cannot let anyone know what is
conspiring here.”

They all nodded
in agreement and went their ways. Brin, who was feeling very
confused, went to her room.

It was
disturbing to see her mother use magic to find Koral. At least, it
looked like she was. It also dawned on her, that they had been
discussing the prophecy. Her siblings were not supposed to be the
twins, but Gillock’s remark made her wonder if maybe they were.
Magic was forbidden, and anyone who used it was to be reported to
the Maget immediately. Brin’s loyalty to her family was strong, but
stronger still was her need to uphold the law. Confused, she
decided to get ready for the evening meal.

Koral arrived
at the stables, very tired, an hour later. Robyn informed her she
had missed the evening meal. Feeling more confused than hungry she
thanked him and headed to her room. Both of her parents stopped by,
but once they saw how exhausted she was neither wanted to press her
about Eric. She had heard about this prophecy her entire life, and
now it is actually happening. It was all too much, but before she
retired, she wanted to tell Gillock about meeting King Glavlin.
Unfortunately, exhaustion overtook her so she lay down and was
asleep instantly.

“The betrayal
has begun, and I must make sure things go my way,” thought Malena,
letting her scrying mirror cloud over. She had just witnessed Eric
leaving the stables, thanks to Robyn’s mirror. Raising herself up
from her throne, she summoned her bolamer. Stupid creatures, one of
her first experiments, but they still did her bidding. “Find me
someone who will help me further my plans,” she stated to them.

Two days later
Malena sat across from her captive in the dungeon. “I hope your
trip through the void was not unpleasant,” she commented. The
prisoner did not respond. Slowly rising, she turned to her
companion. “No answer?” she remarked.

Moray smiled,
which was an unnerving and evil looking movement. “It would appear
having ones heart ripped out cause’s difficulties in answering
questions,” he said.

Malena smiled,
and hers was no less cold and evil. “That is too bad. Would this
form please you?” she asked the demon.

“Yes, I believe
it would suit our needs,” he responded.

Malena moved
over to the body, and began chanting. Quietly at first, then
growing louder and the spell became more intense. She shouted the
final phrase needed to allow Moray to enter the dead body, and
collapsed onto the floor. Moray raised himself up, then went, and
helped Malena off the floor. “Now, go and find the princess,” she
said breathlessly.

CHAPTER FOUR

During the next
few days, everyone threw themselves into the festival planning. No
one discussed Eric, and if brought up, you were expected to change
the subject. Rumours had begun to spread throughout the town, but
no one would openly discuss it. With it being the twins sixteenth
birthday, as well as the Festival of the Moon, the town of Klayhern
would be bursting with people. Already caravans of musicians and
farmers were pouring in. The priests from the three temples were
setting up booths to preach from and of course, directly across
from the Temple of Ademorna tavern tents were going up. Koral
smiled at the sight. The Temple of Ademorna hated taverns, so it
had been a joke at many festivals to set up tents near their
booths.

Koral could not
believe all of the sights and sounds. Off to the side Koral noticed
a carriage and knew it would be carrying a noble from somewhere. If
she were seen, she would have to escort them to the castle, as was
custom. Quickly she darted down an alley, and ended up in the
section of town, which held the actual temples for the three
religions. As she approached the Temple of Allorethna, goddess of
the moon, she thought of a part of the prophecy. “The twins of sun
and moon” and her mood darkened. This was to be the Festival of the
Moon, beginning of spring, their sixteenth birthday, and she had
not heard a word from Eric.

“Is something
troubling you princess?” came a voice.

Koral turned
and saw Meechie, the head priest at the Temple of Allorethna. “You
look as if you need to talk to someone.”

Meechie was the
only other person who knew the truth about the twins. The Temple of
the Allorethna did not believe magic was evil. Being a religious
temple put them somewhat outside the law, so they often harboured
those with magical abilities. Magima Tower would never openly
attack the temple, but it was an uneasy relationship. Meechie had
been a part of her life for as long as she could remember.

“Eric is gone,
and no one knows where. How am I going to be able to do this on my
own?”