Whistlestop (24 page)

The girl walked over and kissed Brad
on the forehead. “There will be no punishment, Mr. Lincoln. May I
sit with you?” He had the expression of a doomed man and said
nothing, so she sat next to him and put her hand on his knee.
“Please don’t be afraid, Bartok.”

“
Don’t ever use that name,
Lilian. That isn’t who I am now!”

She took his hand in hers and held it
against her. “You don’t know the truth, Bartok. The Evil One has
clouded your mind with his lies in order to make you do his
bidding. Your true father did not sell you into
slavery.”

Brad was now crying and trembling in
fear. “That isn’t true! I was there. I know!”

“
Do you know where you are
right now, Mr. Lincoln?”

“
No, but please don’t kill
me and leave me here.” She laughed and her laugh caught him
off-guard. “I don’t understand.”

“
Have you heard of the
Upper Realm?”

“
Of course, it is a place
of unspeakable horror.”

“
That is another lie placed
in your mind by the Evil One. This is the Upper Realm, Brad
Lincoln. If you wish, you can leave this temple now and you will
find nothing but love and acceptance here.”

“
If I leave here, monsters
will slaughter me and eat the meat from my bones. You said you
would send me back to the camp. Prove your honesty and do that
now!”

“
I will do as I promised,
Bartok. But first you need to rest.” He fell asleep and leaned
against her. “Rest well, Bartok.”

Brad woke in a crib. He was an ogre
again, but just an infant. He stood and leaned over the railing of
his crib. He could smell smoke, but all else seemed normal. He
climbed over the side of the crib and slid down to the floor of the
modest farmhouse. He hurried on all fours over to the door and
pulled it open. A dozen beasts were outside his home. His pregnant
mother stood on her toes as her hands were tied above her head to
the limb of a large tree. The beasts were laughing. Linger
Bartholomew Breakneck walked into the clearing and approached the
female ogre. He pulled a long dagger from his belt and plunged it
into Bartok’s mother’s chest, and then pulled downward. She groaned
in pain and gasped for air. A dead fetus fell to the ground from
her split womb. Blood poured from her wound and her mouth. Then she
gasped one last time and died. Bartok began to cry. A beast charged
the infant with his axe held high.

“
Stop!” Linger demanded. “I
think this one may come in handy one day.”

Brad woke suddenly and sat up in bed.
He was back at the prison camp in his plush king-sized bed. He
looked around desperately for Lilian, but she was not there. “It
was only a dream,” he said out loud, but then began to have
doubts.

Mordechai the elf, the elder Jeremy,
the Foreboding of Asterpast, and his wife Sadie rode horses down
the wide boulevard leading toward the Whistlestop capital city of
Ravenhead. They had left Marblehead after Jeremiah and Lynn
departed for Bastion. Along their way, they had recruited fifty
elves to join their mission to defeat the empire once and for all.
Each elf carried either a long sword and bow or a staff, depending
on their particular talents. The wizard elves huddled around the
Foreboding, eager to learn anything new from such a great seer.
Sadie was enjoying the attention her husband was getting. Clearly,
none of the locals knew her genealogy. “Foreboding, can you see our
victory over the empire?” an elf seer asked.

“
It is much too early to
know such things, young Castor,” Arthur noted. “We have no army, no
plan and few supplies. Arrows will have to fly before any possible
futures become visible.”

The elf moved over to Sadie’s horse
and asked, “How wonderful it must be for you to be married to such
a great man, milady?” Arthur flashed a horrified look at
her.

“
It is more wonderful than
you can imagine, Castor,” she smiled. “Someday a woman will be as
lucky to have you too.”

“
You are too gracious,
milady.”

“
Castor, you can be certain
that I am more fortunate to have Lady Sadie than she is to have
me,” Arthur cooed.

Ahead, trees lined both sides of the
roadway and the walls of Ravenhead were visible stretching to each
horizon. The massive gates were open as usual now that the memory
of the imperial invasion had faded. Between them and the city,
several horse-drawn carts carried goods to the city from other
villages near and far. On the opposite side of Ravenhead, just
outside the walls, the port village of Narwhal hugged the
coastline, home to dozens of fishing boats and several wharves for
trading ships from around the planet. In the distance, three elves
rode horses out of the gate toward them. Two were wearing long
hooded robes, while the third wore armor and carried a pike. “Our
reception committee approaches, Foreboding,” Mordechai
said.

“
Who do you think it
is?”

“
Word travels fast on
Whistlestop,” the elf continued. “They are probably representatives
of the trehbor, Wizard Master and Mayor. Word of your presence and
that of the Lord Knight has certainly reached the
capital.”

Arthur looked to his wife for a clue
and she frowned back, saying, “Things are not as we would have
hoped my husband. We should be on our guard. Mordechai, please warn
the others.”

“
Madam, there is no need
for concern. This is a peaceful planet.”

“
Just do as she says, my
friend,” Arthur suggested. Mordechai went to tell the other elves
to be prepared. Each expressed dismay, but put their hands on the
hilts of their sword or held their staffs at the ready as
ordered.

As the three elves passed the other
wagons, the horses became agitated and some even reared back. The
drivers looked back at the riders in disbelief.

“
What do you think is
happening, Sadie?” Jeremy asked.

“
Be prepared, Jeremy. There
is nothing else I can say now.”

The riders were almost upon them now
when Jeremy noticed a large contingent of soldiers at their
defensive positions on the wall. Several others stood in the open
gateway to scrutinize those entering the city. When they were
twenty yards away, Mordechai recognized the armored elf as General
Aida Emmanuelle Constantine, the great champion of the battles at
Marblehead and the Forgotten Wood during the campaign against the
empire. In both battles, her forces overcame superior odds to
defeat the enemy. After the war, she was made supreme commander of
the elven forces of Whistlestop and relegated to an office in the
military headquarters. The faces of the other elves were in shadows
cast by their hoods. The general pulled ahead of the others and
stopped in front of the group, blocking their path. “May I ask your
business in the capital, foreigners?”

“
My lady general,”
Mordechai interjected, “it is my honor to present Arthur Simple
Truth, the Foreboding of Asterpast and Jeremy Davis Iron-heart, a
Knight of Winterpast.”

“
You should not have come
here,” she replied in a hushed voice.

“
Nonsense,” one of the
hooded elves said. He pulled off his hood to show the heavily lined
face of a very old elf. “It is always a pleasure to greet a fellow
seer. I am Aster Betancourt Narfrides, and I suppose I could be
considered the Foreboding of Whistlestop, although no such title
exists here. On elven worlds, we prefer the title of Wizard
Master.”

A chill ran down Arthur’s back when he
saw the wizard. There was something very sinister about the man. He
seemed nothing like an elf, more like a human or demon in an elf
costume. “It is my pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Master
Narfrides. My given name is Arthur, and I would be honored if I
could call you Aster.”

“
Of course Arthur, that
would be wonderful.” The last hooded elf touched Aster’s arm to get
his attention. Everyone noticed the elf wore gloves and no skin was
exposed. “Excuse me,” Aster said and then leaned over so the other
could whisper something to him. After a moment, he nodded and
turned to Arthur again. “My apologies, but my colleague advises we
should return to the city and share a cocktail to celebrate our
meeting.”

“
That is a wonderful idea,”
Arthur exclaimed. “May I know your friend’s name and face, Wizard
Master?”

“
Uh, perhaps later,
friends, she is of no consequence,” Aster countered. “Let us travel
to the Central Temple together then.”

“
I know your assistant
well,” Sadie offered. “It has been a long time, Cousin.”

A scratchy, gravelly voice replied, “I
think the lady has me mistaken for someone else.”

“
Merihem Slaughter
Breakneck, daughter of Linger Bartholomew Breakneck, beloved
cousin, I think I know you after so many years.” The hooded elf
hissed, turned her horse and headed back toward the
city.

“
Please come back, my
darling,” Aster called after the other. “She is obviously mistaken.
Come along, General!” He turned his own horse and headed after
her.

“
Whatever you do, do not
come back to this city!” the general shouted and turned her
horse.

“
Wait!” Jeremy shouted.
“General Constantine, please come with us.”

She looked around and stared back at
the city walls, where several hundred archers stood at the ready to
attack. “It’s too late for me, Lord Knight. I am already lost.” Her
horse began to trot toward the gates.

“
No!” Sadie exclaimed.
“Aida, please be reasonable. I swear I will protect
you.”

“
And how will you do that?”
Suddenly the elves fired a volley and a thousand arrows took to the
sky and arched toward them. “Now we are all lost. . .” The arrows
reached their zenith and began to head toward the group. The convoy
broke and the elves hurried away in every direction.

Sadie jumped from her horse and stood
in front of the group as the arrows neared their targets. She
thrust her arms outward and a dark cloud formed around them,
absorbing the incoming projectiles. The cloud rose and moved back
toward the city, with lightning strikes and thunder filling the
air. A bolt of lightning shot from the cloud and stuck the hooded
elf, knocking her off her horse and to the ground, just as she was
about to pass through the city gates. Aster jumped from his horse
and ran over to where she lay. He held her in his arms and tried to
comfort her. Tears streamed from his cheeks.

A moment later, Merihem opened her
eyes and grabbed Aster by the neck and began to squeeze the life
out of him. He struggled but could not overcome her strength, and
soon fell dead by her side. She dissolved into smoke and
disappeared.

“
What just happened here?”
Mordechai gasped.

“
Linger Bartholomew
Breakneck just lost his only friend,” Sadie replied.

“
Perhaps there is some hope
for us,” the Foreboding said.

Aida rode her horse up to Sadie and
dismounted. She knelt before her with her head bowed and said, “You
have saved our city and my life, milady. My life now belongs to
you.”

“
Please rise, General.
There is no need for humility. Do you know if there are others who
may have been impacted by the demon?”

Aida stood and replied, “No, but I do
not spend time in the circle of the leadership.”

“
When did the demon arrive
in Ravenhead?” Arthur asked.

“
I don’t know,
milord.”

“
I’m not sure it’s safe to
venture into the city now,” Mordechai noted. “They already attacked
us once, and now the Wizard Master is dead.”

“
I agree,” Aida said. “I
would not be surprised to see a mass attack on our position at any
moment.” As soon as the words left her mouth, a large contingent of
soldiers emerged from the city with swords drawn and charged toward
them. “It looks to be about two thousand soldiers, milady. Shall we
retreat or prepare to fight?”

“
I will handle this,” Sadie
said as she moved toward the advancing force. The enemy was
screaming and waving their swords. Sadie giggled.

“
This hardly seems like a
moment for levity, my dear,” Arthur shouted over the
din.

Sadie yawned and then yawned again.
The soldiers were slowing down. She stretched her body and the
soldiers stopped and began to yawn and stretch. Within two minutes,
they had all lain down their weapons and got onto the ground and
began to nap.

“
Such things are not
possible, milady,” Aida said as she held her pike menacingly. “It
stands to reason that you are a demon as well since you knew the
other. Are you here to kill us all?”

“
General, you are
mistaken,” Jeremy announced. “My sister-in-law is an
angel.”

Linger Bartholomew Breakneck sat on
his golden throne watching his young daughter pace angrily back and
forth in front of him. She was startlingly beautiful with long dark
hair and her father’s luminescent turquoise eyes. “Darling, please
do not be upset. I do not blame you for this.”

“
Oh, don’t worry, Father, I
don’t blame myself. I blame you!” She pointed at him and hissed
with rage. “First, you make me give myself to that old elf. Do you
know how repulsive that was? The only positive part of the
experience was strangling him to death! And now this, my darling
cousin pays me a visit. You told me the angels would not dare
involve themselves with these matters.”