Taylon (6 page)

“How’d it go?” The innocent question stopped
him dead in his progress. Ynob wheeled around, a strange look in
his eyes—anger, yet maybe fear.

“I’ll tell you how it went. The council’s no
more. All dead.” He threw out his hand like tossing a dust ball
away. “Well, except for him and what used to be the female
member.”

As he spoke, Snow’s face changed into one of
bewilderment and shock. “But…?”

“How? Remember when we had a little encounter
with the wraith that killed your brother and almost killed me?
Well, that stupid human helped bring it back.”

Gantha came forward, a fire in his eyes, but
Ynob simply held his hand up. “Don’t, elf boy. There is really no
time to argue. We have to go.”

“What are you talking about?” Snow was still
confused.

“Go? Go where?” Gantha asked.

“Away from here and that thing, that wraith.
I thought even you with your limited elf brain could manage
that
.”

“We’re running away?” Gantha remained
perplexed by this idea.

“Again, can someone please explain it to me?”
Snow looked on the verge of screaming. Things were getting
tense.

“I can.”

The three turned to see Fret standing there.
He snapped out of his wonderment.

“Go on,” Snow said, breaking the brief
silence.

“Yes, by all means, enlighten…
oof
!” As
the wizard began, Snow backed up a step and shoved her elbow into
his gut.

“It is my fault. I stole the glass, or
whatever the thing was. I helped it across the river. It is my
mistake. But I’m not running. I’m tired of being a slave to it, and
if I run, it is making me do that. I may not have any means to
defeat it like you might, but I am staying put.”

Eyes turned back to the wizard, who seemed to
be taking it all in. “We better get packing.”

“What?” Gantha exclaimed.

“Really? You thought just because of some
speech that I would say, let’s stay and fight this thing
again?”

Gantha shook his head. Snow glared up at the
wizard. “What about Ra’na or Hambone?”

“They can come too I guess, but they would
have to be quick.”

“And…?”

“The human girl? Why would we take her
along?”

Snow let loose. “Oh, I don’t know. Because
she was involved with that thing too! If it is coming for you, then
it would definitely be coming for Kara—who imprisoned it
again.”

Ynob’s expression twisted to that of having
mud splattered over him. “That was just luck on her part. Crystal
and midnight core…” But he trailed off. Snow’s anger dissipated and
concern crept in.

“What is it?” Her question was left there as
he brushed past her and headed toward the library. Fret sat as
Gantha tried to console him. When he heard the wizard coming, the
elf turned to say something but the wizard kept going to the
bookshelf.

Snow followed and stopped next to Gantha as
they watched the wizard. In less than a minute, he had opened his
secret alcove and entered it, grabbing a light from the wall. They
thought to follow, but he suddenly reappeared, pointing at
them.

“Stay.”

All eyes watched the secret passageway for
the wizard’s return. He came out as quickly as he went in. Ynob
held something in his hand, but he approached them rapidly.

“Gantha, the tome.”

“Uhh…what?”

“The book, remember. The one you stole from
me. The one I still need to punish you for.”

The elf quickly ran off. Fret stared up at
the wizard and then at Snow who held a questioning look on her
face. Ynob moved to a table, sweeping its contents off and on to
the floor with a few beakers shattering. Gantha returned with the
tome.

He took the book roughly from the elf and
leafed through it. All watched him vigorously turn the pages. It
took Ynob another three minutes to find the section. When he did,
he examined the text and the corresponding picture.

Fret stood up as Snow moved in closer.

“What is it?”

Suspense was building. The wizard did not
answer at first, but kept examining what was in his hand.

“A possible answer.” The wizard finally
looked up. He turned to Fret. “The book I have here is a wizard’s
diary. The same wizard that trapped that wraith in the mirror, or
in your case, pieces of the mirror.”

“Oh.” Fret nodded, understanding some of
it.

“What I have here is the ring that he made to
try to capture it. Wrong materials, gold and midnight core. So he
made the mirror, midnight core and crystal.”

Fret nodded again, but was still confused.
The wizard gave an annoyed grunt and turned to Gantha. “You get it,
right?”

Gantha smiled weakly, and was about to speak
when the wizard went into his rant. “All I ask is for some
intelligent friends to have a conversation with!” He had thrown his
arms up. When he looked back at Gantha, he was smiling even
more.

“What?”

“You called us friends.”

The wizard stopped a moment. He then turned
away. “Well, don’t get used to it. I grabbed this now because I
remembered a picture drawn of this….”

“Oh yes…I remember it. And then there is
another one later in the book where he added crystal to the ring,”
Gantha piped up, came forward, and was pointing into the book. When
the elf looked up, Ynob was staring at him, his mouth agape. “What?
Is that important?”

The wizard took a moment to compose himself
before talking. “Let’s just say you took the fire out of my
revelation.” As he turned away, Ynob stopped in thought. Before
anyone could ask, the wizard went into a trance and repeated
verbatim both prophecies:

“
In the mist I see fire, flames of never
foretold.

They spread as quick as sickness, and devour
all.

At the center, a human princess, a queen
become.

Three but one, meshed in crystal and
core.

Devastation and war on the horizon, led by a
darker evil, than purest gold.

Warlock of races, and sister of dawn.

Salvation but a ring, lost upon the
shores.”

“
There comes a blackness of fetid rain led
by two.

One is of three and the other is one.

Mighty is the ring that holds the spirit.
Mighty in that it brings war and perhaps salvation. In three cycles
of the moon, doom shall reign.

On the first, birth. On the second,
resurrection. On the third, death.”

Ynob shook his head and glanced around the
room. They all had a stunned expression. “I figured using my memory
was quicker than watching elf boy fumble around for his piece of
paper.”

“Is the ring mentioned? That ring?” Fret
asked, finally adding something to the conversation.

The wizard looked like he would say no, but
then stopped himself. He looked at the ring again. “Umm…I hadn’t
thought about that.” His voice sounded unusually perplexed. “But
that’s not my point. Crystal and core. That could be the link to
the dark elf’s entire power.”

“Just like when Kara took the necklace to
shatter the mirror. So we need something crystal to shatter the
midnight core piece,” Snow said excitedly.

Ynob let her have the moment before he
squashed it. “Not entirely correct. We also need a vessel to
contain the wraith spirit. To suck it up while its magic is broken.
We may need to go see this human queen since she has the necklace.
It may be the key to stopping this wraith.”

Silence pervaded as they all looked at the
wizard. Gantha was in thought, taking all of it in. Fret wasn’t
sure how to feel: ashamed, guilty, or happy to be free. Snow, on
the other hand, was taking a long look at the wizard. He caught her
eyes and asked, “What?”

“One minute you are ready to run, flee, and
leave everything behind, and the next you are gathering a plan to
save possibly the whole realm. It’s just funny.” She smirked and
winked.

Ynob fought down a smile and regained his
snobbish attitude. “We wizards are fickle beings. Never
underestimate us.”

Chapter Seven

Reggie led them true, straight to Hambone.
Kara followed anxiously, but lost all sense of apprehension when
she realized they had been lead to the hidden bungalow. Quickly she
knocked upon the door. Frantic sounds were heard from inside as
someone stumbled over things. Kara listened, not sure if she should
just burst in. It sounded as if she had caught someone by
surprise…maybe a robber.

Eventually the door opened. Hambone appeared,
shocked and wide-eyed. He blinked a moment and his eyes widened in
surprise all over again. The Dwarc’s big arms encased Kara and
lifted her off her feet.

“Kara!”

“Hamb--” But the last was squeezed out of her
as he twirled on the spot. Jesset watched from a far.

Once the reunion hug released and Kara was on
her feet again, Jesset waved to Hambone.

“How did you find me?” The Dwarc asked.
Reggie cawed from a tree.

“We found this crow, and Jesset helped
negotiate a trade with it,” Kara said, looking up at the bird.

Hambone squinted at the crow. “And what does
this guy want?”

How you hurt an ol’ friend like
that…assuming I want something? I’d never wrong you like that.
Reggie squawked outraged.

“He wanted a pie. One made by Ra’na,” Jesset
stated, matter of fact.

Suddenly somebody appeared behind Hambone. A
dark elf… Kara took a step back startled.
No! What is she doing
here?

“Everyone seems to want a piece of the pie.
Don’t worry, Reggie, I’ll make you some pie.” Ra’na came from
behind Hambone and made a sign to the crow. It gave a loud cry and
flew off. It wasn’t until Ra’na looked down that she noticed Kara
looked scared stiff.

Hambone came forward. “No, no! This isn’t
Katrena. This is Ra’na.” The Dwarc grasped her shoulder and tried
to comfort her. Kara drew her hand away from her dagger.

“I-I know. She startled me. That’s all,” Kara
said shaking her head. Ra’na stood still, looking the human over.
It looked as if the elf didn’t believe Kara was fully convinced
that she was not her sister.

“Kara, I don’t know what my sister did to
you, but we are complete opposites. I only call her sister because
we are of the same birth.”

The girl nodded and then turned to Hambone.
“I think there’s trouble with Euphoria.”

“Things have been odd around here. The elf
council had two prophecies made. We think Ynob was mentioned and
maybe your queen.” Hambone’s tone was uncharacteristic of him, very
glum and dower.

“But Ynob’s sick or sleeping….”

“No, one of his own magic spells triggered
him out of it. He’s back to his old rotten self again.” The Dwarc
winked, making Kara smile. “They went off to address the council,”
Hambone continued.

A disturbance farther off in the forest
caused them all to look, but it was nothing they could see.

“Why are we all standing around? Come in,”
Ra’na said after a moment. Jesset and Kara gladly came inside.

After Ra’na fixed them some wonderful dryad
tea, they all sat in Hambone’s main room. Kara asked about Snow,
and made other simple conversation, but talk drifted back to
Euphoria.

“You say the queen is acting strange.” It
seemed like Ra’na didn’t know much regarding Euphoria’s background.
Hambone evidently hadn’t told her anything about the incident
almost a year ago. Kara really didn’t feel like getting into the
whole story, but gave a short rundown on the necklace and
Euphoria.

“And her army blew a section of the wall away
just a couple days ago,” Jesset added.

“But why? Humans never liked anything to do
with the other races. Dante and I would sometimes go up and taunt
the guards on duty. Kara was the first human I really came into
contact with,” Hambone stated.

CAW!

Reggie appeared at one of Hambone’s secret
windows. His cry startled everyone.

Soldiers near!

Jesset translated, Kara instantly stood.
Reggie flew off, but they heard voices shortly afterward. The crow
cried out once more.

Hambone stood, brought a finger to his lips.
Everyone else in the house froze, ears alert. The voices came
closer. They were very human sounding.

***

Taylon’s scouting party came back
empty-handed from Willow Haven. They reported the Mordock’s house
was empty, but were able to track their quarry. The trail ended at
the wall, which on further investigation revealed a secret door. A
few in the party went through to the Territory side to see if they
could track the humans. The rest reported back to him.

This news helped brighten his mood a bit, but
other parties had returned with varied stories. One raiding troop
had demolished several houses and killed any creature they had come
across. Blood lust was evident in this group of men, as one wore
the fresh skull of what looked to be a gnoll on his head.

Another party came back with three men. It
originally consisted of ten. The story goes that they took a mass
of ogres by surprise. Monsters ripped off arms and used them to
club soldiers, while others simply grabbed the warriors and ripped
them in half. Taylon knew most of the tales were embellished lies,
but they still had lost seven good soldiers.

He told his men to be back before nightfall.
The wolves that plagued them the night before might return, and he
didn’t want to risk his men to foolish behavior.

Euphoria stayed in her carriage, safely
behind the army buffer. Taylon was at least thankful for that.
Out of sight, out of my mind.

“Sir!” A man ran up from behind. The captain
turned and saw it was another from a returning party.

“Yes, lieutenant, what is it?”

“We captured one of them.”

This took him by surprise. “Um…good work.
Where is…the prisoner?” But as he spoke, two other soldiers led a
little figure in chains. It was a gnome, if he remembered his
Territory research correctly. The creature resembled that of an old
human man, yet very much shorter. His white bushy brows and long
white beard gave this creature a cheery look. He also was dressed
fairly nice, as if he were late for a ball.