Taylon (10 page)

The rain hit them when they were still a mile out
from the marketplace. At first it wasn’t much of a hindrance, but
once the heavens opened up with chaos, the six riders quickly took
shelter. Main roads were lines of mud, and the thunder spooked the
horses.

They were fortunate to find an empty house they
quickly broke into. Kerlick and his men made themselves at home,
raiding the food storage. They found a barrel of mulberry wine
tucked away, and the rebels tapped into it.

Rain poured down outside while the men ate anything
they could find. Even if the owner had come home early, Kerlick had
no fear. He had Da’Lynn’s approval to do this sort of thing.

As the barrel drained and the food cupboards were
left only with a few crumbs, some of his men drifted off to sleep.
Two others ransacked the house for anything else worthwhile.
Kerlick remained perched at the window.

He was ready to strike back at the wizard. Da’Lynn
convinced him the magician had bewitched the members of the
council. Nothing he saw implied anything more than the council was
dead.

Humans had been the cause of his trouble from the
very beginning. There was nothing noble about the race. Soon the
runaway councilman would pay for his brother’s death.

Even though he had been there and seen it, Da’Lynn’s
version spoke true to him.

“Kerlick?”

His thoughts of revenge broke and he turned to face
his man. It was Zipic, a newer recruit. The group chased Zipic out
after he tried to
befriend
a female elf. On his escape, he
accidentally impaled her father on a pike.

“I may know of a contact that could lead us to his
home. She is not far from here.” Zipic was a mixed elf, part
Opi’Chi and part Wuiltrea. His skin was a dingy brown that made him
look very dirty.

“She?”

“A contact, not a consort. There would be nothing
left of me if I tried my claim to fame on her.” He smiled
crookedly. The female elf he had raped left him with a present
during their struggle. Three jagged scars ran from under his eye
across his mouth. It resembled that of a stitch work doll.

“When the rain lets up, you will lead. But we have no
time to dawdle. If this doesn’t pan out, you won’t have to worry
about your claim to fame for very much longer.” This time, Kerlick
smiled.

They only needed to wait another half an hour before
the rain subsided enough to begin the journey. As a thank you to
the owner of the shelter, they lit the house on fire.

***

The rain wasn’t good for the marketplace. Aisles
became muddy swamps and some of the booths’ roofs collapsed with
the weight of the weather. Chele and Queig stayed undercover,
watching all the patrons flee in different directions. Farther
down, the nymph salon thrived under the torrent, and even during
the storm pulled at customers’ desires to come near.

Chele hadn’t said much on the ride in. She had let on
about her true intentions last night and Queig was still a little
uneasy about them. He trusted his mistress’s skill, but a surprise
attack could easily leave Katrena wounded.

As the storm raged on, Queig busied himself with
straightening and rearranging inventory. They had not been busy
before the storm, so it really wasn’t a task high on the list, but
the goblin was anxious. He needed something to occupy his time.
Chele stared out into the rain, lost in her own world.

But the thunder started to break a half hour later.
Katrena soon returned.

“Mistress!” Queig was first to notice. Chele
physically stiffened at the word as the dark elf brushed by
her.

Katrena looked over the wares, ignoring the goblin.
She passed him by without so much as a nod. Queig’s eyes went wide
looking from Chele, who slowly approached, to Katrena.

“Queig, do we have any more midnight core pieces?”
The silk and seductive qualities seemed to have left his
mistress.

“Um…” But he was too preoccupied watching Chele. The
human drew a dagger from her boot—one Katrena used for
practice.

“Goblin, yes or no?” The dark elf said from over her
shoulder.

“No,” Queig answered, but it was not very convincing.
Chele charged the dark elf.

A warning cry stuck in Queig’s throat as the human
ran, dagger rose at the unsuspecting Katrena. Chele’s face coursed
with rage and revenge. This was the end for the dark elf.

Wham!

It was all over in a matter of seconds. Queig watched
in awe as Katrena sidestepped, grabbed Chele by the back of the
head, and slammed her face-first into the nearest table. The dagger
flew from her hand into a puddle, and the human crumpled, out
cold.

Katrena turned back to the jewelry as if nothing but
a minor disturbance had occurred. The goblin stood rooted to the
spot, mouth open. It was a few minutes more before the elf finished
her perusal. She turned and walked over to Queig.

Bending down, she closed the goblin’s open mouth with
a finger. “Make sure you clean up the mess.” She stood and began to
leave.

Queig found his voice. “Y-you’re leaving? Again?”

This made Katrena stop, turn around, and bend down
again. “You are doing fine. Just don’t teach the human any more
combat skills. You never were any good as a fighter.” She patted
his head and was gone.

Rain still fell, but in softer sheets as Queig
watched the booth flaps close.

***

Kara woke feeling cramped and achy. Her head hurt,
but found when she went to try to comfort it, her hand would not
reach the back of her head. She was in a box—no, a cage—of some
sort. Panic began to rise, but her mind did its best to hold it at
bay.

Wherever she was, it was very dark; Kara could hardly
see her hands in front of her. With her fingers, she felt along the
sides to try to create a sensory picture of it. There were five
long metal bars in the front, with a latch that held what felt like
a large key lock. The roof and floor were made of a dense wood.
Behind her, from what she could feel, seemed similar to the front
without the lock.

Dread increased slowly, as Kara came to terms with
her new home. There would be no physical exit out of this box.
Trapped and alone again. She held back the tears as long as she
could, but a few sobs shook themselves out. Once those released,
her resolve just gave up and she wept.

“Tears only get you so far.” A tiny voice came from
her left.

Startled, she looked into the darkness and called
out. “Hello?”

The voice didn’t return. Kara thought about calling
out once more, sure she had heard something, but started to
question her hearing. Maybe she was becoming delusional.

“Sadness never got me out of this place.” When the
voice came, she did her best to listen and concentrate on it. Kara
knew she definitely heard the voice.

“Who are you?”

At first she thought the voice had gone, but it
answered back. “Just a nobody, probably like you.”

Rude. Hopefully this isn’t some relation to Ynob.

“Where are we?”

This time the voice did not answer for a minute. She
was about to ask something else, when it spoke. “It is a metaphor
of life. Trapped in a cage in a cave with limited ability to do
anything. How lovely is that?”

Kara finally realized what was strange about the
voice. It said it was sad, but the tone held no emotion whatsoever.
Anything it said was flat, monotone, and gray.

“So we are in a cave?” Kara was anxious to keep it
talking.

“You must be one of those humans.”

“What…what do you mean by that?” She did her best to
keep her own emotions out of her words.

“The kind that think there is hope of escaping. The
cells are built to last, and magically enhanced so even a strong
ogre could not escape. Someone is always guarding the entrance of
the cave. Plus, there is Melina. Escape is not possible, human. No
one has, and no one will. Just accept your life now.” And the voice
faded into the engulfing darkness.

Kara’s temper was booming. The voice was more
irritating than convincing. Ever since her ordeal with the shard,
she conditioned herself not to be weak. No silly voice was going to
bring her down. But she took a minute before speaking, calming
herself down. She needed to learn more, but anger wasn’t going to
help.

“Melina? Who’s that?” When the voice didn’t reply at
once, she thought their conversation over.

“You do ask a lot of questions.”

“Yes, well I need to know more about all of
this.”

“Why?”

It was the first time her unknown companion had asked
a question. She paused, considering how much she should
divulge.

But before Kara could answer, light ripped the
darkness. A torch progressed from the right and down into the cave.
She squinted.

“This is Melina,” said the voice.

A large obese creature led the way with the torch,
followed by a woman, or what Kara thought was a woman. She was
green. A memory suddenly flashed for Kara…cave…pain in her
head…green glow.

“You…” But she was still putting together the
incident.

Melina laughed. The sound was that of a trickling
waterfall and a singing bird. Deeper into the cave, the green woman
went. Torchlight echoed in the cavern casting shadows upon the
walls of multiple cages.

Kara did her best to look around. There had to be at
least fifteen crates of different sizes in the cavern. Next to her,
from where she suspected the voice had come from, was a small cell.
The light wavered so much she couldn’t get a good view of the
occupant.

“Humans. Aren’t they just a treat, Warren?” Melina
prodded the little one with a long fingernail. Warren did not
reply.

From the folds of her dress, or what looked like a
dress, Kara saw the green lady bring forth a set of keys. The small
cage was unlocked and she reached inside. There was no sound from
inside.

Warren turned out to be a creature that could barely
be a foot high. Melina held Warren in the palm of her hand. Kara
watched in amazement. She had never seen anything that little. Then
she remembered Grace. Her heart whimpered for a moment, with the
memories of the sprite. But she shook it away.

The small man stood on the green lady’s hand. His
rumpled clothes appeared too big for him as they sagged around his
waist. On his head, he had a little hat that resembled a sewing
thimble attached to some cloth for a brim.

“I need you for a task—a task that I know you can
perform for me.”

Kara quickly saw a possibility and spoke up. “I can
do the task.”

“Quiet, stupid human! This is only a task the brownie
can do because he can do it quickly. No more talk from you.”
Melina’s eyes were fierce in the firelight. Kara wanted to fight
back, even though she was in a cage.

“What do you say, Warren?” Melina’s tone softened.
Kara suspected her eyes had done the same.

The little man stared as if considering the offer.
“You wish me to locate someone. I presume it would be Van.”

Kara saw the green lady hide her surprise. “Warren, I
underestimated you. Maybe you are cleverer than you let on.”

Warren again stared back not saying anything in
return for the moment. “Can I go back in my home?”

Back
! Kara held in her surprise. If she had
gotten out of her prison, there would be no stopping her from
running away.

“My task?”

“He is nowhere in the vicinity. He hasn’t been for
most of the day.”

“B-but…” Melina stopped herself. This was clearly not
the answer she sought. She took a moment to compose herself.
“How?”

The brownie didn’t answer her. Panic and hysteria
crept into Melina’s face as the silence ticked by. As her emotions
were close to the breaking point, Kara spoke again.

“Maybe the army got him.”

Kara flinched when Melina’s head spun toward her.
Those eyes were filled with anger and worry, fear and rage. “What
did you say?” Her hand tilted and Warren fell into the
darkness.

“Maybe the humans got him.” She wished she could
shrink back in her cage, disappear from those eyes.

“Ha! Pathetic….”

Kara suddenly understood that this creature, this
lady, did not know about the attacking army. “You don’t know?”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that!” Her green
hands wrapped around the bars, pure emotion taking over.

“The wall is gone. The humans are invading. Van is
probably dead.”

“No!” The dryad tried to shake Kara’s box. Kara
braced herself, yet it hardly moved at all. The assault only lasted
a minute before the green lady ran out of steam.

Quickly, Melina released her grip. “Come, we have
plans to make.” She strode to the exit. The ogre grumbled something
before following. “He will climb back in his own cage.” And within
a minute, the cavern was dark again.

Chapter Eleven

The rain eventually extinguished the fire, but not
before doing considerable damage. Everything at the camp was
drenched. Soldiers were busy drying off their gear, getting
campfires relit, and water off tents. Taylon remained out in the
downpour watching the flames grow smaller and smaller.

He hoped Kara had been nowhere near the blaze. Or any
of her friends for that matter. This whole campaign was ridiculous.
Sooner or later, they were going to come up against a strong force
of races in the Territories and be wiped out. Not that he didn’t
have faith in his men, but under Euphoria’s leadership, one strong
gale wind could blow them all over.

Water dripped from every part of Taylon. It added to
his feeling of being helpless and lost. He had barely a day left to
find Kara, before the assault on the marketplace. Even if he found
the girl, he wasn’t sure if she had the power anymore. Maybe she
could lead him to the wizard.