“You do not seem to care,” she said flatly.
“You mistake my focus on important matters for apathy.” I gestured around the mountain and toward the cave. “Perhaps I caused all of this, but the genesis was my conception. I never asked to be the Singleborn. I never wanted to have offspring, let alone for the profit of my father and our mother.”
“But now you can do what you want, Iolarathe. Your womb is your own.”
“No. I can’t.” My eyes rested on the entrance of the cave and the last pangs of my fear finally fled my body. “This is my last chance to save our race. I don’t even know if we are worth saving.”
I walked away from my sister and toward the mouth of the mountain. She followed behind me but said nothing. I finally reached Relyara and then turned back to Nyarathe.
“Your plan is sound. If I don’t return, attempt to make peace with Kaiyer.” My sister nodded and her mouth set into a firm line. The air tasted of lemons and salt instead of pine.
I regarded the two women for a moment. The terror surged in my stomach and I fought it down again. I was Iolarathe. The Singleborn. I was afraid of no creature on this world or any other.
Save for Kaiyer.
I wanted to thank them for their love, loyalty, and friendship. I wanted to tell them how much I loved them. But voicing this would be an admission of fear. An admission that Nyarathe was right, that the dragons awaited me in the deep. That they would devour me.
I told myself this was foolish. These dragons were dust now. These dragons had never existed. I would enter the cave and return with nothing. Return with my life, but no more options to save my people. Return unharmed to face Kaiyer.
So I said nothing. I faced the black hole of the cave and walked toward it. The wind moaned again across the frigid mountain peaks and my breath filled the air with the scent of lilacs. I tasted freshness and pine again, and the faint remnants of the scent of my sister, of my people.
All these pleasant scents began to fade within a few hundred feet of the cave. I was overwhelmed by the scent of death, algae, fungi and emptiness. I paused for a few moments to steady my breath, regretting my choice not to bring a torch. I almost turned back to ask Relyara or my sister for one, but decided against it. I had to commit to my original plan.
I did not need to fear these creatures. I was Iolarathe. The Singleborn. I was afraid of no creature on this world.
I stepped into the cave and was immediately enveloped in a darkness so profound it was palpable. The black seemed to seep out of the cave and smother the light beyond its borders. I used the World to create a small fire, but it was too dim to help much against the weight of this darkness. The rocks of the walls were smooth and polished so that the light bounced off of every surface as in a mirror. I glanced over my shoulder and could no longer see the light of day through the opening of the cave, a curtain of black silk had been drawn to enclose me in the lair.
The creatures lived. I sensed their power.
I pushed my shaking legs a few steps forward and continued to study the inside of the cave. Columns of granite supported the high ceiling above me, so smooth they looked as if they had been melted. Shades of gray glinted as I crept forward, my light growing ever more dim and inadequate.
There was a soft and distant movement farther into the cave and I turned my eyes away from the rocks toward the noise. The cavern bent downward to the right; I continued on my journey and inhaled slowly to taste more of the air. The stench of decay seemed to dissipate, but the air still tasted empty, as if nothing lived here.
The stalagmites and stalactites came down like teeth and created hidden nooks of deep darkness I could not see into. I heard movement again, but saw nothing.
“I am Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people!” I meant to sound confident, but my voice came out a shaky gasp. I had walked five hundred yards into the cavern, but it felt like miles. I began to feel the oppression and weight of the earth above me.
“
Have you come to mock us?
” The voices filled the air in all directions. They spoke at different volumes and tones. Their tempo and pacing was slightly off, so the words hit my ears at different times. I spun around and the reflections off of the walls danced like light through a waterfall.
“
Perhaps you’ve come to punish me for my betrayal?
” There was venom in the voices. Raw hatred. But also sadness and loss, even fear. I realized that the voices were in my head as well, as if a group of men and women whispered in my ear. My blood froze and I could only smell my own terror. It was a stink of rotten cabbage and broccoli. I knew the stench well from all the Elvens who were terrified of me.
“I seek your help,” I managed to gasp out. I still could not smell or hear where the voices came from.
There was silence for half a minute and I was able to catch my breath and calm my scent to something halfway close to normal. I waited for another length of time, but there was no response. I debated speaking again but my tongue would not form the words.
Then the laughter of a thousand voices filled the cavern and rang throughout the walls like chimes. It started softly, as if the ghosts were slowly understanding a joke, then grew in intensity until it felt as if my eardrums would burst. I fell to my knees and my flame extinguished. I covered my ears with my hands, but it did nothing to dampen the sound and I screamed in pain.
As soon as I shrieked the voices stopped.
I opened my eyes expecting blackness. Instead, a purple glow lit the cavern a hundred yards ahead, illuminating the walls, floor and ceiling clearly. I rose and walked toward the violet light.
I had to proceed slowly, the ground grew rough and uneven as it sloped ever more steeply downward. I came to a wall of jagged columns that extended from the floor like teeth. There a doorway was carved into the rock, leading to another room. I forced myself inside.
Then I saw my mother.
She sat upon a throne atop a pile of polished stones. The glow emanated from her body and I struggled to comprehend what I saw. The woman was dead. This could not be her. But it was her. Everything about the figure was my mother, save the strange violet luminance that made her glow like a Wisp.
“
You were fools then. You are a fool now to come here.”
My mother’s mouth did not move, but the voices seemed to emerge from where she sat on the throne. She wore a tight fitting evening gown with a slit down one side, revealing her athletic body. I remembered the dress, she had often worn it to entice males and females to follow her wishes.
“Are you Recatolusti’catri?” I forced myself to question the creature’s identity instead of asking the obvious question about her appearance. I knew what my eyes were telling me, but my nose told a different story. There was no scent from whatever sat on top of the throne.
“You have not forgotten my name. Why have you forgotten everything else?”
The woman turned her head slightly and looked down at me. The purple glow was coming from her hair. It was hard to determine the color of the long mane, but it seemed to be as black as the cavern. My mother’s hair had been bright platinum.
“I found small stones at a temple on a nearby mountain. The stones told of your cave.” I realized the stones beneath her throne were skulls. Elven skulls. My stomach turned to ice.
“The O’Baarni,”
the voices stated.
“They threaten our existence. I came to beseech you to help us in the war against them.” The glow had intensified and I could now see that the throne was crafted of bones. The stench of my fear had returned.
The howling laughter formed the crescendo of an ear-splitting symphony. I found myself on my knees again clutching my head in agony. The laughter continued and the pain was too much. It was the agony of losing Kaiyer over and over while my mind replayed the murder of his family.
“Please stop.” My words were a whimper and I hated how weak I felt when faced with this creature that resembled my mother.
“You want us to kill the O’Baarni? Again?”
A growl filled the cavern. It sounded like an avalanche of rocks.
“Yes.” Cold sweat poured out of my skin. “Their leader is too powerful. We face extinction. My entire race will be destroyed if you don’t help us.”
“Who is Kaiyer?”
“He is the one I speak of, the leader.” I didn’t know how she knew Kaiyer’s name. My head was beginning to ache from the sounds of all the voices. It felt as if my brain was trying to push against the inside of my skull. I had never felt such a pain before.
“No. Who is Kaiyer?”
the voices repeated the question.
“He was my lover. Now he is my enemy,” I answered quickly. Did this creature know that I killed the human’s brother and father? What did she want me to say?
“What will you give us, Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people?”
The laughter came again, but it was much softer this time.
“What do you wish? My people will grant it to you.” I felt relief flood into my aching body and head. They were willing to help. I would pay any price.
“We wish to destroy you. To feast upon your flesh endlessly until you tell us again that we are your Star Children, your favorites, the blessing you gave to the universe. Then we wish to destroy everything living and remake it in our vision.”
Instead of disappointment, I felt anger. I expected to die here, I was willing to die to save my people, but I did not know how to grant her this cryptic request.
“You wish to kill me?” I tried to keep the terror out of my voice and scent. I was successful.
“No. That will not help. You will return again. We require your offspring.”
Something had changed in the creature’s voice. I only heard a single female voice now. My headache had increased.
“I do not have any offspring.”
“You will give us one.”
This was spoken by a male voice and I turned around, expecting to see someone standing behind me, but there was nothing but darkness.
“What if I never bear a child?” I fought against the anger building in my stomach. Why did everyone want control of my womb? If it wasn’t my own people it was a band of omnipotent dragons.
“You will have a child. We have foreseen it. You will give us the offspring and your debts will be repaid.”
The chorus of voices returned with their nightmarish symphony.
“You will destroy the O’Baarni and I will give you my child?” I wanted to clarify the deal.
“We will fight one battle in your pathetic war. If Kaiyer is like you, it will be an easy victory.”
The voice was a single woman’s again, but she sounded as if she stood next to me and whispered in my ear.
“If Kaiyer is like me? He is human. What do you mean?”
“Do you agree to our terms, Iolarathe, leader of the Elven people?”
The voices seemed urgent. Demanding.
“What if I don’t need you for the battle? What if I can convince the humans to parlay peace?” I remembered my sister’s plea. I wanted to use Recatolusti’catri only if everything else failed.
“The O’Baarni will never agree to peace. They were created to seek more. Always. We have learned much from them, while you have forgotten.”
It was a single voice again and there was unspoken sorrow to her words. I didn’t know how to respond, so I contemplated my next question.
“You hesitate. I will alter the agreement to make it more to your liking.”
She sounded desperate, as if she needed the deal more than I did.
“We will be present. If a battle occurs, we will act. The child will be our payment. If you make peace with the O’Baarni, then we will return to our nest and wait for you to visit us during your next war.”
I couldn’t believe my luck and that gave me pause. This had been too easy. I was still terrified of the creatures, but something was strange about this dealing. I had expected them to ask for food, or riches, perhaps sacrifices. I had never imagined they would want my child. I would never take an Elven lover, and therefore never create this child.
“What do you want with the child?” I asked one of the questions that lurked in the back of my mind.
“What is one life in exchange for millions? Would you die to save your Elvens? We know the answer. You already have.”
The voices filled my mind with urgent whispers. She had not answered my question, but her logic was sound. And I would never have a child to give them. I made that decision long ago.
“How do I know you are the creatures I seek? The dragons?” That was the only other explanation for why these negotiations had gone so smoothly. Perhaps I was dealing with something else other than the flying serpents of legend.
“We will show you. Then you will agree?”
The voices were urgent now. They tasted my approval.
“Yes. If I have proof, then I will agree.”
It was as if the sun suddenly rose in the cavern. The light burned my eyes and I covered my face with my hands to keep from crying. My eyes adjusted to the blindness and I removed my palms from my eyelids.
Then I knew true terror, for I gazed upon evil so pure and diabolical that all my senses reeled in horror. I made a mistake coming here, it was a horrible choice that perhaps justified Kaiyer’s desire to exterminate me and all of my kind. I never should have spoken to the monster, nor promised her one of my offspring.