The Destroyer Book 4 (40 page)

“May we speak now?” Nyarathe stood in my doorway, Relyara behind her.

“I have too many chores to do.”

“Your chores don’t matter anymore.”

“I know why you are here.”

She crossed her arms and I tasted the anger in my cottage. “We will help you with your chores and then we will talk.”

“I need someone to milk and feed the goats, and then I need my pigs fed. I have fishing nets down at the river that need to be inspected. Eggs must be retrieved from the duck coop. I have a garden and orchard behind the cottage, but I will take care of that if you can manage the rest.”

“You have quite an operation here.” She smiled. I nodded but didn’t return her smile on my way out the door.

Nyarathe gave orders to her warriors and a few of them asked me detailed questions about the tasks she assigned. I did my usual survey of the vegetable garden. The chores would normally have lasted until midday, but with their help everything was completed in a few short hours. To celebrate the short work day, we smoked four salmon my nets had caught, fried twenty eggs, and opened a few more bottles of mead.

“Will you speak with me now?” My sister asked after the meal had been cleared.

“You came all the way out here. I suppose I should.”

There was something strange about the warriors who accompanied Nyarathe and Relyara. They wore my mother’s colors, but spoke very little. They did not carry any strange scents, still I sensed something was wrong.

“I was speaking earlier in the morning about my search for you.”

“I recall,” I said simply. “Perhaps you and Relyara should speak with me in private?”

“No. My warriors are briefed on the situation,” Nyarathe said quickly, and I knew for certain that the guards were here to ensure that I returned with them. Their earlier apprehension was a dark foreboding they must have been working hard to suppress.

“As I explained earlier, I spent many years searching for you. Finally, I gave up, assuming you dead or hidden so well that there would be no chance of finding you.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Do you realize how many years have passed since you left?”

“It took me eight years of wandering to find this little valley and build my cottage. I’ve been here a few years. I have not kept accurate track of the passage of time. I am happy here, Nyarathe. I’ve found a peace that I didn’t think could exist for me. I don’t have to worry about mating, or politics, or petty scuffling between the tribes. I take care of my home and myself and feel fulfilled.” I sighed when I said the words. It was partially true. I thought of Kaiyer, my sister, Relyara, Grednil, my father, and even my mother. Mostly, I thought of Kaiyer and longed to see him again.

“It has been twenty-two years.”

“Then I have enjoyed my solitude more than I previously believed.” I smiled at her and then took a drink from my bottle of mead.

“Do you know what is happening in the world?” She was angry and I tasted the bitter pepper of her displeasure.

“No, I don’t care to involve myself in it. I am content, despite how angry that seems to make you.”

“Our world is in ruins, Iolarathe. Our race faces extinction.” Her face was grave and the scent of anger faded. She paused to see my reaction, but I only raised an eyebrow. My sister was not dramatic or prone to hyperbole.

“The humans have formed an army and attacked us. Their intention is to wipe us from the world,” she continued.

“So, destroy them. I don’t see how this justifies you coming here to disturb me.”

“These are not mere humans, Iolarathe. They wield our magic with more power and skill than our best warriors. They heal quickly and are nearly impossible to kill. They call themselves the O’Baarni.” I felt a chill descend my spine and I fought against the fear.

“Was that not the old name for the humans that killed the Dead Gods?” I asked. History had never interested me, but I had heard our legends. Every Elven knew the story. My head started to ache as if my brain was swelling.

“Yes. But these humans are not the same. They can be killed, and our warriors are not compelled to serve them.”

“Then kill them. Even if they are powerful, we are Elvens and should be able to handle the animals.”

“Your words are familiar, Sister. I said the same when I returned from my initial quest in search of you. Countless chieftains have said them. The tribes felt no need to organize. We could not cooperate and unite against this threat as no one took it seriously. At first, they were nothing but a nuisance, attacking small tribes, interfering with trade, picking off caravans and travelers. With their success, they grew bolder. Their numbers grew. Larger tribes were attacked and fell, their humans joined the army. Four years ago, Mother finally began to appreciate that they were a threat and made a hasty alliance with the Bornit, Houiuru, Operwti, Juquiti, and Cornitl tribes.”

“That sounds more far-fetched than a human army.” I snorted and shook my head. My mother would sooner eat a plate of her own feces than consider spending any time with the chieftains Nyarathe had listed.

“I wished you could have seen it. The irony would have impressed you. But there was hope that we could defeat the humans, so the other tribes joined our mother. Soon we had an army of two hundred thousand warriors. But there were struggles internally; we had too much posturing amongst the tribes and not enough training or strategy. Mother couldn’t organize them properly and the other tribal leaders were more interested in glory than uniting for success.” The men and women sitting around the campfire nodded solemnly at my sister’s words, but none glanced at me. Even Relyara stared intently into the fire.

“So she sent you here to seek my help organizing this army? You can tell her to fuck herself.” I exhaled sharply. It was just like the woman to send Nyarathe to beg for cooperation from me. I tried to release my anger, but it coiled in my stomach and I knew that the gathered men and women at the fire could smell my emotion. I thought the years of isolation had cured my frustration, but they had not.

“No, Iolarathe. Mother is dead. The entire army was destroyed by these humans. Their tribal lands were raided and their inhabitants butchered like animals. In the last year, millions of our people have died. The air of the North burns brown with the smoke of corpses and cities. Refugees have fled to the West. Your father and the last remaining Elven tribes are desperate. That is why we are here.”

Her words struck me like a slap across the face. My mother was far too clever and bitter for death. She had survived countless assassination attempts and outmaneuvered hundreds of attacks from other tribes and elders seeking to claim her land. How could humans have killed her? How could they have killed millions of my people?

My sister never lied, especially to me. I licked my lips and tasted the sadness in the air. It mixed with the smoke of the cooking fire into a strange, burnt despair. I could not imagine what the stench of the horror she described tasted like.

“The last chieftains have argued about our defense strategy. They finally acknowledge the threat the humans pose. They do not wish to repeat the mistakes of our mother, yet they cannot agree on a general. And each day that passes brings the O’Baarni closer to devouring what remains of our world.”

“They want me to lead the army?”

“Yes. There is no one better suited than you. You are the most powerful of our kind, have studied battle strategies, you know combat, and the chieftains all agree to follow your orders. You are our last hope, Iolarathe.”

I looked into the fire and digested her words. It had been so long since I considered the needs of my people. I had never cared for politics or the traditions of our tribes. Their way was to force me to fuck men I did not love so that I could create children to be sold and traded like animals.

But it was not their choice. My family, my suitors, they were all just part of a system put into place thousands of years before we were born. They were as helpless to change the system as I had been and did not deserve to be left to die at the hands of humans.

I stood up and walked to the rear of the cottage where my garden lay. In the raised beds the first of the season’s bounty was beginning to come in, fresh tender shoots of green fought their way through the rich earth. Soon the trees would bloom with flowers and fruit would come into season. I had raised each tree and carefully maintained and nurtured them. What would happen to this place if I left? The wild would take back the orchard, weeds would fill the garden, vines would rip apart the stone of the cottage, and the thatch on the roof would rot and fall away.

I wandered down to the river and sat on the grassy slope of the shore. I had a well a few dozen feet from my cottage, but felt it was wise to have another source of fresh water and fish nearby. Combined with the other herd animals, chickens, and ducks I maintained, I could support myself or even a small tribe of my own.

“This is the opportunity to do what you always wanted.” I had not heard Nyarathe’s approach. “You can change things for yourself and our people. Your rule will be absolute. You will be an empress with an army to obey your every command and fulfill your every desire.”

“This is what I want. I am the ruler here. This land fulfills all my desires.”

“So you will leave us to die? How long do you think you will be safe here? They won’t rest until every one of our kind is gone.” Her anger returned and filled the air.

“They will not seek me out here. Stay with me. We can start a new tribe. I can provide for you all.”

“Iolarathe, you are wrong. You will never be safe here. They will search for you forever.”

“The humans don’t even know about me.”

“They do know about you. How do you think they came into existence?” She stood angrily and moved to block my view of the river.

“How should I know? I don’t care for the humans or their ways.”

“You lie to your own sister. Relyara and I have spent too many years together. If you really wanted to keep your secret safe, you should not have sent her to me.” Her black eyes burned with malice and the anger of her scent mixed with the bitterness of rotten fear.

“I don’t see what my past has to do with this army.” I wanted to ask her to tell me what she knew but assumed Relyara had told her of Kaiyer.

“Who do you think leads this army? Do you think it is just a coincidence that Laxile has not yet been attacked?”

I stared at her and the world seemed to collapse into my vision. For a second it was if my heartbeat and the air hung still. Scents became tasteless and my head spun and my skull ached.

“No. That isn’t possible.”

“It is. The man that leads these O’Baarni is named Kaiyer. Our spies know little of his past but there are rumors that he used to be a slave to Laxile. Relyara told me of your history with this human, she told me how you killed his family. Millions of our people have died by this man’s army and he won’t stop until he kills every last one of us.” Her voice had been rising in volume and anger until it reached a screech. “You caused this. They are all dead because of you and you just want to hide? No. I won’t let you. There is only one person who can defeat this monster and it has to be the woman who made him. So get the fuck off the ground, get your weapons, and do what the Dead Gods intended for you. Protect your fucking people or die trying.” She seemed to vibrate in place and I didn’t know if it was because of her actual anger or because the news of Kaiyer made my vision spin. I still thought of him every day, but I never expected him to come seeking revenge.

How could I have known that he would become so dangerous?

“I get the feeling you’ll run me through if I say no.” Her hand clenched along the handle of her blade. I had left my own back by the fire. I couldn’t even fathom fighting against her and I briefly wondered if she actually had the resolve to attack me.

“No. I’ll order one of the other warriors to take you by force.”

I sighed and stood up. My legs shook, but I didn’t think my sister noticed. I looked over the valley again and then back to her. Her scent betrayed her fear that I would say no. She did not want to stand against me, but she really believed she needed me. They all needed me.

“I’ll prepare my things. We can leave tomorrow morning.” She smelled surprised, then she cried and threw her arms around my shoulders in an embrace I did not expect.