Chapter Sixteen
Unexpected Deliverance
A dreamless sleep should have been a blessing. Unfortunately, Alex had woken up after a few short hours and her mind would not let her fall back asleep. After tossing back and forth, for what seemed like an eternity, she gave up and decided not to let the day go to waste. Adaro was not going to just sit around and wait for her to defeat him.
Splashing cold water on her face, she felt her muddled senses clear and she became more alert. She filled the rest of the basin and soaked a cloth, washing over the important parts. Finished, she picked up the small bowl to toss the water out and was startled when she saw an image flicker across the top of it.
Placing it back down on the stand, she sighed. Glad that she had not dropped it, she leaned over it hesitantly, afraid of what it might show. She stood there perplexed. There was nothing. Only a few ripples showed that there had been any disturbance. Shaking it off, she dressed quickly and set out to find Fello. Sometimes weird things happened. It did not always mean there was a force of evil out to get her she reminded herself.
It didn’t take long for her to spot Fello. He was sharing a bowl of berries with a young boy when she approached him. They greeted each other warmly. The little boy grabbed the rest of the berries and left them sitting outside a small shop.
“Would you happen to be busy today?” Alex asked.
“Alta has cleared my schedule to assist the three of you in any way that I can.” Fello explained.
Smiling she replied, “Great! I need your help with something.”
He looked at her expectantly, she was about to show him the book and then became aware of the bustling village around them.
“Is there somewhere a little more private we could go?” She asked hopefully.
Smiling he motioned for her to follow him. He stopped a few times on the way, grabbing a large basket and shoving a few things in to it, and then he picked up the pace. It wasn’t difficult to keep up with him, but she noticed how far they were from the city and wondered aloud where they were going.
“Almost there.” He said.
They stopped at a large clearing. It was beautiful, full of golden grass and wildflowers. A large willow tree sat alone in the middle of the field. They made their way to it and spread a blanket on the ground.
“Private enough?” Fello asked amused.
“I’d say so.” She laughed, then added, “Are we still protected here?”
He nodded, “Yes, I would never take you outside of the city’s enchantments.”
Relief settled over her. She pulled out the battered book and laid it in front of him. His reaction was difficult to judge, he looked a bit angry, but mostly surprised.
“You shouldn’t have taken this from the Great Hall.” He said bluntly.
“It wasn’t intentional. I did not even realize I still had it, until I had already gotten to my room. This is very important. I need to know what it says.” She explained.
He hung his head in his hands for a while and she was afraid that he was going to refuse.
“The incubus in the tale is no longer alive. I don’t see why it is of any importance now.” He stated.
“He may be dead, but his child is very much alive, and he has decided that he wants me. For whatever reason, and I do not know how to fight him. I didn’t even know it was possible for an incubus to procreate. How do you fight something so magical, half elf half incubus?” She knew she sounded as desperate as she felt.
Fello stared at her, contemplating, for a long while, “I will help you, but I don’t think the information you are looking for is in that book.”
Alex started to protest and he stopped her, “This is a tragic story, there are truths and there are lies. One of the elders of the city wrote that. You only have one side of the story unfolded in this book. A condemnation of a woman, seduced by an evil spirit.
“She received no help from her own kind. A woman who had no choice in giving birth to a monster’s child, and then was forced to give her baby away. Our community shunned her when they should have helped her. Set to live out the rest of her days alone.”
Alex was surprised at the pain and anger in his voice. It was as if he knew the woman personally.
She must have looked confused because Fello confessed, “Her name was Lelona, and she was my betrothed.”
It was hard to remember that the elves were much older than they looked. She had never asked Fello how old he was. Unsure of how to respond, she remembered something he had said about Lelona living the rest of her days alone.
“Is she alive?” Alex asked.
“Yes. She lives alone in the woods, far from the city.” He replied sadly.
“Alta implied that she had died some time ago.” She said.
“They would rather her stay forgotten, than remember the mistakes they made.” He replied.
“Can we go see her?” Alex asked.
Fello looked at her as if what she asked were impossible. “No.”
“Please, she must know something that would help me.” Alex begged.
“Even if she did, she doesn’t trust anyone. Especially me.” Fello exclaimed.
“Why? Did you turn your back on her as well?” Alex regretted it as soon as she said it.
Enraged, Fello yelled, more out of frustration than at her, “NO. I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO CARED ENOUGH TO HELP HER!”
He calmed a little and despair filled his voice, “Even after she told me she loved Abeteth. Even after his demon child ripped open her womb and she almost died. They wanted to kill it. I convinced them to let her give it away, to save her from killing herself out of grief.
“Even after all of it, I still wanted her. I wanted to make her happy. I thought she would just need some time to heal, but then I found out she was still letting him come to her. After all that, she still allowed him to ravage and feed off her soul. I could not understand it. I knew the only way that she would really be free is if I killed him.
“So that’s what I did. It was not easy, and it took me a long time. By the time I freed her of him she was so weak and frail. Barely alive. When I told her, what I had done, she screamed at me and told me she would never forgive me. I tried so many times to see her over the years, but still she turns me away.
“I still take her supplies now and then, but I only leave them at her door. I think she still waits for him to return to her.” Fello said nothing more, just sat in silence.
The pain on his face looked fresh, as if he had just lived those memories all over again. She did not want to push him, but she needed more information. Intuition went hand in hand with the gifts she possessed. It was not a power per se, but it was something that she used quite often and most of the time unintentionally.
Sort of like the way that some people sensed someone was staring at them. She reached for it, to get a sense of where Fello was. Allowing herself to connect with him, she felt a wave of anger wash over her, followed by intense sadness. It was overwhelming at first, but she pushed it aside and went deeper.
Grief over the love that was lost between them. She moved past that as well. She needed to get to the bottom, the root of his feelings. There it was, nestled between a bit of self-pity and resentment…hope. He still had hope that one day she would love him again. Why else would he continue to help her? That was her ticket in.
“I can only imagine what it must be like, to watch the woman you love fall prey to a fiend like Abeteth. To be rejected repeatedly. I do not know how you killed him, but in her mind, she must feel connected to him still. I can help you sever that connection. Take me to her and I can help her forget him.” Alex said calmly.
She could see the hope come alive in his eyes. He was hesitant, she wanted to insist, but she knew he needed to agree on his own. Patience was difficult for her, but she mustered the strength to stay quiet.
Finally, he gave in, “Okay, we can try. I don’t know if she will let us in, but we can try.”
If there
were ever a time for her powers to work correctly, that would be it. Unsure if she could really get through to Lelona, Alex began to feel anxious. She wanted to talk about how Fello killed the incubus, but she knew he was not going to help her until she did what she promised.
They reached a small hut built against the side of a large oak tree. Then again, it could have been made of that very tree. Most of the homes of the elves seemed to be an extension of the trees themselves. Whatever made it up was dilapidated and rotting. It did not even look habitable.
“Are you sure this is where she lives? This place looks old and abandoned.” Alex said unsure.
He just nodded and approached the hut slowly. Catching a small shimmer out of the corner of her eye, Alex called out to Fello but it was too late. He walked into the force field before she could stop him. Alex just barely caught him before he collapsed to the ground completely.
Laying his head in her lap, she felt relieved when he opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Yeah, she’s definitely here.” He winced, then shouted, “Lelona, please come out. This is Alexandra. She understands about Abeteth, and can help you.”
At first, there was no response, then the wooden door creaked open and a small fragile woman stepped out. She looked nothing like the pictures in the book. Long stringy grey hair fell around the woman’s face, and as she hobbled closer, Alex noticed that she leaned on a cane. That could not be Lelona.
She stopped a few feet away from them, obviously depending on the force field for protection. Fello leaned against Alex as they stood.
“You shouldn’t have come here.” The old woman said.
Her voice was sad and weak, but did not sound like the voice of an old woman.
“Lelona please…” Fello said as he stretched his arms out toward her.
He stopped when the woman stood straight and motioned to the invisible field between them with her cane.
“I will speak with her. Alone.” Lelona said and retreated in to the hut.
Something about the woman didn’t sit right with Alex, but Fello motioned for her to go inside.
“What and get fried like you did? No thanks.” She exclaimed.
He huffed impatiently, “She invited you in, so you can go through the barrier.”
Nervously, Alex inched forward. When she was about a foot from the door, she relaxed slightly and hesitated before entering. Jars of herbs lined the shelf on the wall to the immediate right of the entrance. Leafy stalks filled the pots placed on either side of the doorway.
Alex had noticed the same type of plants in the yard just outside the hut. They gave off a strong odor, spicy and sweet, with a bitter after note.
“It’s fennel.” Lelona said as if that explained everything.
She motioned for Alex to sit down at a small table. As she made her way over, Alex observed the rest of the one room home. A fireplace took up an entire wall, with the table positioned right in front of it, a bed tucked away hidden in the back corner behind another bookshelf. There was small circular window, but Alex was not sure what good it did, seeing, as it was not any bigger than the size of her head.
Positioning herself across the table from Lelona, Alex sat in silence, unsure of what to say or where to begin. The woman stared at her intently. Now that she was closer, Alex could see more of her. She was still quite beautiful, in a haunting sort of way. Dark circles sat under her bright green eyes, and her full lips were pale and absent of color, but there were remnants of her beauty underneath her deteriorating shell.
“So Fello has told you of our past has he?” Lelona smirked, “That I am a poor victim of a lascivious Incubus?”
Alex nodded, unsure of what she was getting at.
“The only thing I am victim of, is my own lust.” She added harshly.
“I don’t understand? You act as if you were to blame.” Alex said.
“Oh I was. When Abeteth first came to me, I’ll admit I was a bit frightened. Then, he gave me pleasure I had never known. Showed me what was really inside of me. When I began to yearn for his visits, he came less often. That is what they do you know, incubi, they twist you up inside and make your desire for them unbearable.
“They have more power over you that way. I found a way to summon him, and he was angry with me. He said that it was not my place to summon him, that I did not have the power to control him. Oh, but I was smarter than he was. I found his hydria. He couldn’t refuse me after that.” Lelona paused.
Her mannerism had changed, her eyes were unfocused and distant, and her speech had become more passionate and manic. Alex was not sure if she should ask was a hydria was, or let her finish her story.
Before she could say anything, Lelona continued on, “When Fello walked in on us one night, I had no choice but to tell him that I no longer loved him. He did not understand what I had with Abeteth. How could he? By the time, I was with child the council had already found out about him. I pleaded and begged for their mercy, but they shunned me, afraid of the power that my unborn child would possess.
“They wanted to kill him, but sweet Fello convinced them not to. I sent him to live with my cousin, who was also a sorceress. I knew she would make sure that my son grew into powerful magic. I was weak from the constant interludes, because even though I controlled Abeteth, our lovemaking still drained me little by little.
“Fello didn’t understand. When he stole the hydria and killed Abeteth, he thought he was freeing me. It only made me hate him.” She stopped, as if there was nothing else to say.
It wasn’t how Alex had imagined the conversation would go.
“I guess…that there is nothing I can do for you then.” Alex said reluctantly.
She stood and headed toward the door.
Lelona reached for her hand, “Wait!”
Alex turned back to her.
“Perhaps there is something I can do for you. Take this. It should keep him at bay for now.” She untied a string from around her neck and handed it to Alex.
It had a large oval locket attached that was obviously stuffed full of something.
“It is a talisman. It will protect you from my son. For now. I may have chosen my fate, but you have yet to decide yours.” Lelona said oddly.
Could she trust her? There was only one way to find out. Placing the locket around her neck, she stood there and waited. When nothing happened, Alex thanked her and left. The walk back to the city was long and draining.
“What is a hydria?” She asked.
“It is an item, which houses their soul.” Fello explained. “They cannot take on physical bodies, so they must place their soul inside of something else.”
“Do you think Adaro has one, a hydria? Even though he does have a body?” Alex asked.
“I think that he would want to ensure that if something happened to his body, he could come back. So my guess would be, yes.” He answered, a bit distracted by something.
“How do you find it?” Alex asked.
He shook his head, “I got lucky, I found Abeteth’s by accident. It could be anything, a crystal, a trinket, or necklace of some sort.”
She was closer than she had been to figuring out how to get rid of Adaro, but she still had much to contemplate. Fello asked her again what Lelona had said to her, but did not want to accept what Alex told him. He headed back towards Lelona’s once they reached the outskirts of the village. She tried to call him back, but it was obvious she could do nothing to convince him.
People would believe what they wanted to believe she supposed. An orange skyline welcomed her back just as she reached the guesthouse. Fatigue washed over her quickly and she felt the same pull that she had the last time Adaro had pulled her into one of his dreams. Panicked she ran to her room quickly and tried to concentrate on staying awake. She failed and fell into a deep sleep.
She was drenched when she awoke, and ran to the great hall to speak with Alta. There was some sort of meeting taking place, but she did not care about interrupting it.
“Alexandra? What is the meaning of this?” Alta asked surprised and a bit angry.
“I was pulled into another dream” She started to explain, before Alta interrupted her.
“That is hardly an excuse to barge in here, we are discussing important events. Leave us.” She waved her away and several armed female elves stepped toward Alex.
“But it wasn’t Adaro!” Alex said.
“It was Lillian!”
Part Four
Lillian