At first I try to tip-toe around Julia before remembering it is Julia. Unless I physically wake her, she will sleep through any noise I make.
I find the doorway and step out into a cold night. I am standing in an open hollow cave looking out at a landscape of tangled forest so dense I can’t see the ground. It is like a heavy green tarp placed upon the land to protect everything under it from the pelting rain. I breathe in the cool, fresh air and when I exhale I feel like my lungs have been cleansed and my head cleared.
I walk to the edge, still protected by a stone overhang. I reach my hand out, trying to catch the rain, to taste it; but the overhang protrudes out farther than my arm can stretch. Before I know it, my foot slips over the edge and I find myself flailing my arms trying to catch my balance and pull my body back into the cave.
A strong arm catches me at the waist and pulls me back in. Alorn. He holds me close and spins me into safety.
“Lily, what the hell…” he says, annoyed.
He puts me down but continues to hold me. I laugh, trying to cover the fact my heart is stuck in my throat. I look up to see a frown on his face; he is definitely not happy with me.
“I’m sorry,” I say, laughing shakily.
“Are you all right?”
I take a step back but he keeps his hands on me, looking at me with concern. I look up into his green eyes and suddenly this feels like déjà vu. Alorn drops his gaze and continues to look me over worriedly with his…his green eyes.
“Alorn,” I say hesitantly, unsure what to say as if something is missing or just out of reach. Feeling awkward, I ask instead, “Where did Tharin go?”
He takes a step back, nodding absently with a small smile. “Your betrothed is here.”
He says it so softly that without thinking I step up to him, asking “What?” I place my hand on his arm, “Alorn, are you all right?”
He doesn’t look at me. First he couldn’t stop staring now he is trying hard not to look me in the eye. What gives?
I grab at his coat, softly asking, “What’s wrong? You know you can tell me, right? I’m here if you need me, Alorn…I’ll always be here.”
I am surprised when he groans and tilts his head up, shaking it slowly. Looking back down at me, he reaches up and takes my wrists, gently pulling them from his coat.
“I know, Lily.”
I don’t know what else to do, but stare up at him with a reassuring smile. Something is wrong, I know it. I squeeze his fingers, trying to give him some comfort. After a moment, a crooked smile forms on his lips, then he turns and walks to the opening, disappearing down a side path that will take him to the bottom.
“Lily,” I turn to the opposite side of the opening and see Tharin standing there with a hard look on his face. Did he just get here? Then it was a dream.
“Tharin,” I say, still confused about Alorn.
I push aside what just happened. I rush over but slow my pace the closer I get. Huh, he doesn’t seem happy to see me. I am about to ask him what the problem is when I see Mellis behind him. Between them, they are carrying a makeshift stretcher with Ziri on it, and he is barely breathing. Tolan is straddling him with his hands focused above Ziri’s chest. I see the white glow from his hands, but it's fading. Tolan is exhausted, his energy almost completely drained.
I quickly move out of the way and head toward the inner cave area. They follow closely and I can feel Tharin’s eyes on me. I glance back at him and that hard look is still there.
“Julia,” I call as I rush to her and shake her awake. She is up quickly, and as always, reaching for her blades.
I stay her arm. “You need to move.”
It only takes her one look and she is up, moving the blankets out of the way. Once Tharin and Mellis place the stretcher down, Julia is at Tolan’s side, but she doesn’t touch him. She has learned not to do so when he is in his healing mode.
I place a hand on his shoulder, pulling energy from the rock beneath me and from the rain outside, passing it to him. He looks up at me, some color returning to his face, and he nods gratefully. Tolan releases himself from Ziri and falls into Julia’s waiting arms. She throws a blanket around his shoulder, pulling him away, to get him warm. After she settles him near the fire, she takes two more blankets, throwing one over Mellis and the other on Tharin. Once done, she rushes back to Tolan.
I sense Mellis moving to the fire as well, but feel Tharin standing, hovering above me as I place my hand on Ziri’s chest seeking the poison.
I shut everything and everyone out, focusing only on Ziri’s wound with the blade still in it. I feel the golden energy of the dragon slip from my fingers and into Ziri, following the trail left by the poison. It takes a minute, but I finally find the poison’s end near Ziri’s heart, kept at bay by Tolan’s white energy.
I open my eyes and turn to Tharin. “Remove the blade slowly,” I instruct, knowing he has done this before and trusting him to do as I ask.
I refocus on the poison, now bubbling like an angry pool of acid as it tries to eat its way past the white barrier. I breathe in deeply and the cold air travels along the gold and red trail to the pool of acid. There it lingers and waits as the gold and white energy start to turn and whirl like a cyclone. The combined energy spins faster and faster until it becomes a whirlpool sucking the red poison up and away from the heart. Once trapped, I exhale forcefully; pushing the acrid air out, spewing red dust from my lips. When I feel remnants of the poison try to latch onto my throat, the gold energy of my ancestors vibrates within me. It burns any poison remaining and my skin heats up, glowing as the remaining poison seeps from my pores and is released into the open air, disappearing harmlessly.
I feel the fatigue come quickly, but I still need to heal Ziri’s wound. With a final calling, I gently move my fingers on his chest, massaging the damaged tissues to reconnect and allow his natural healing to work on its own.
I release myself from him and see color returning to his cheeks. I wait for a moment before reaching for his face, calling his name quietly. In response, he gives a loud snort, before breathing heavily in a deep sleep.
Exhausted, I look up at Tharin, who is now kneeling beside me. I smile tiredly and his eyes soften, the hard look now gone. I lean into him and he takes me in his arms, helping me up.
“Wait,” I say.
“What?”
“Ziri, I have to cover him, keep him warm,” I answer.
We turn back to the fire and see Mellis in the process of pulling off Ziri’s boots.
Tharin looks down at me. “He’s taken care of. Your turn.”
“I’m okay, Tharin. Alorn took good care of me…he always does.”
~ * ~
Chapter Sixteen
~ Tharin ~
I sit close by watching Lily sleep. An hour has passed and I have not moved from my seat, lost in thought at Lily’s last words. They wouldn't have made a different, another tribute to Alorn’s dedication to protect his future queen, if not for what I witnessed upon entering the cave.
Alorn had his back to me so I couldn’t see his face, but I did see Lily’s. Maybe I’m making too much of this; granted, I know there is nothing between them, but the look on her face before he left was…I don’t know. My worries and doubts are groundless, I know. I run my hand through my hair, frustrated by where my thoughts are taking me. Perhaps it is because she still has not come out and said “I love you”.
Alorn has always been faithful and still is. He is one of my most trusted who never fails to stay true to the crown and his king. I can’t speak enough of his loyalty, and the bond between us as warriors, cousins, brothers is unbreakable. But something did happen between them. For the third time I send my senses out, searching for my cousin, and again he is nowhere to be found. He is either out of reach, or he has shielded himself from me. And that concerns me more than I want to admit.
When Tolan is rested enough, he heals the bump on Lily’s head.
He looks her over and says, “I wonder if she
realizes that she can heal herself? She either forgets she has the ability to heal, or she doesn’t want to use it on herself.”
I concentrate on Tolan’s words and make a note to speak to Lily about self healing. I am so lost in thought about Lily that I startled when Alorn finally reaches out to me.
“Tharin, you need to see this,” says Alorn, a tinge of concern behind his thoughts.
“Where are you?”
“A quarter mile from the cave, but I’m heading to Lias Path. You may want to bring Mellis with you,” he answers.
I move next to Lily, gently moving a fallen lock of her hair aside. She moans and her eyes open slowly.
She smiles at me, whispering, “Hi.”
“Hi,” I answer. “Something is going on outside, a few miles from here. I have to go.”
She sits up on her elbow. “You’re going alone? I’m coming with you.”
I stop her from throwing off the blanket. “No.”
“Tharin...” she starts.
“I need you here, Lily. Ziri is still out and Tolan isn’t fully rested. If anything happens, it will be up to you and Julia to take care of them.”
I see her struggle, but she finally gives in. “Okay. But you keep me posted, understand?”
“Yes, my queen.”
She reaches up and kisses me. I make it quick because the longer I linger, the more difficult it is for me to leave her. When I pull back, her face holds a concerned, worried look. I kiss her again quickly and rise to leave, but she holds onto my hand.
Looking up at me, she asks, “Are you all right?”
I help her up and pull her close. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
She shrugs. “You seemed distant, worried and quiet earlier. It worries me when you’re like that.”
“Alorn wants Mellis and me to meet him and it’s probably nothing. You know how he is, just being cautious. I promise to keep in contact.”
“Alorn? Is he all right? Where is he?”
“Last time I checked, he was. Why?”
She is quiet for a moment and then shakes her head.
I wait to see if she changes her mind, but she doesn’t. I give her another kiss and head out. My mind is still on Lily and Alorn when I find Mellis facing the scenery before him. When he hears my approach, we waste no time and speed our way down the path and into the jungle.
“What am I looking at, Alorn?” I ask, as we settle next to him.
Below us is an open trail that leads to a fork in the road several miles up. One path will take you to the southern parts of the realm, the other north. If you take the south road it will fork again. You can continue to take the south, or you can take the other leading to the eastern part of Velesi. You will find a similar fork going north, only the second road there leads to the west. By using these roads, you will run into any of the thirteen clans.
“Just wait,” he answers.
In a moment, at the far side of the trail among the trees we see movement, then farther down more movement. In a span of half an hour over twenty hidden figures move just off the trail, heading toward the fork. There are other ways of getting to the clans, but the trail allows them access since most of the gates, with the exception of the Oak and the Willow are unguarded and opened.
“Who are they?” asks Mellis.
Alorn points to a movement just east of us, near an open grove. We watch as a hooded figure moves stealthily among the tree line and pauses to look around for any sign of danger. When his face is temporarily exposed, Mellis hisses and I curse under my breath. The blue tinge of his skin gives him away; a niul – a demon from the UnderRealm; a low ranking demon of Kabba’s forces. Having the demon out in Velesi is one thing, but to have so many is completely another matter. And, we don’t know if the others are of the same race. Somehow the doorway to the UnderRealm has been opened.
“I felt a brief shift in the energy earlier,” says Alorn as if reading my mind. “That must have been when it was opened.”
“But how?” asks Mellis.
I close my eyes not believing what is happening. Damn it.
“We opened it,” I say. “We opened it when Tolan killed Nameth.”
Alorn turns to me. “Nameth?”
I nod. “She was the traitor we were searching for. Not only that, but she was Sithide. Kolinest must have strengthened her powers to close the doorways to the other realms. Once she died, all of the doorways were released at the same time, including the one to the UnderRealm, if only briefly. Even so, hundreds may have escaped.”
“I counted over forty in the past hour. Not all were demons, there were also witches and wizards,” says Alorn, confirming my worst fears.
We remain quiet for a moment, each lost in our own thoughts as we continue to watch them work their way up steadily.
Finally, Mellis asks, “So what are we doing? Do we fight and take out as many as we can, or do we head back?”
“I am always for a good fight, but I think this time we should head back to the tower,” replies Alorn.
I look at both of them and agree. There is no doubt we can take a few of them out, but I won’t risk leaving Lily and the others outside the safety of the Oak Tower alone should we fail to return. Not to mention Harlu and his Ange are still out there, somewhere. “We head back for the others, and get to the tower as fast as possible.”
“I’ll scout ahead,” offers Alorn.
“Stay within range,” I reply.
“Hmm,” interrupts Mellis. He stares at an area a few yards ahead from our location.
“What?” both Alorn and I ask together.
“I believe we have company,” he answers, pointing ahead.
Emerging from the trees is a familiar figure, Glynnis. She is in her human form and running as if being chased.
“What is she doing here?” asks Mellis to no one in particular.
“That’s the least of our problems,” replies Alorn, as he points several yards above Glynnis’ location.
Without another word, Alorn and Mellis move out, taking off to position themselves between the oncoming attackers and Glynnis. I head straight for her.
The closer I approach Glynnis the more I note the way she moves – erratic, as if drunk or dazed. She stumbles forward as if unable to see where she is going, or even if she knows where she is. I reach her just in time to catch her when she trips, falling forward head first.
“Glynnis,” I say, holding her up by the shoulders.
She collapses against me; she is out cold.
“Alorn, Mellis – I have her. Head back to the shelter, we leave as soon as we get the others.”
Glynnis should have been able to teleport herself to where Lily is. For her to wander aimlessly in a jungle full of demons and not in her golden form is a bad sign. What has happened? A twisted, uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach is the only answer I get.
I almost missed the two demons coming toward us from the opposite direction and I take to the trees, finding a high perch until they pass. A minute later Mellis rests beside me and we watch as Glynnis’ pursuers come face to face with the two demons.
“Alorn?” I ask and Mellis points his chin to the tree on the right. I nod and he disappears to find his own branch on a tree to my left.
The three pursuers consist of two orcs and a woman; at least she looks like a woman. Dressed as a mercenary she appears to be either a Sidhe or human; the scarf on her head prevents me from seeing her ears. And her essence is so tainted with evil from centuries of living in the UnderRealm that I can’t read her true nature. I do know this; she is a witch – that’s all we need, another damn witch.
We sit and watch the scene below us. For good measure I call a shield around us and I feel my cousins’ energy strewn throughout my own helping to reinforce it.
“How can you miss one girl?” demands the witch, anger seething with each word. “She’s only human, you idiots.”
“There’s something about her, Mistress. She’s no ordinary human,” replies one of
the demons. I recognize his kind – a low ranking minion. Minion or not, he is deadly, evil and worse – a tracker.
“What are you saying?” she threatens, stepping toward hm.
The demon cowers before her. “I...I mean she was there, then she wasn’t and then she’s there again. But now...”
“But now what?” She towers over the cowering, shaking lackey.
“Mistress,” interrupts one of the orcs. “We need to hurry, the master is expecting your return.”
The witch turns to the orc and I get a full view of her face. I feel the tension from both Alorn and Mellis as we are in shock to see the face of E’leiana, fully grown.
I stare at the woman with my young sister’s face and there is no mistaking the family resemblance. Tall, superior, fair and beautiful; if she were alive today, E’leiana would be the spitting image of this witch before us.
For a long moment my sister’s doppelganger says nothing, staring at the orc in front of her. Just when it looks like she will strike the orc, another group appears from the jungle. Harlu, and what remains of his Ange.
“Aureinia,” greets Harlu.
Aureinia? The daughter of Kolinest and once future queen of Eirrell? At least that was her father’s goal.
“Harlu.” Her face softens at the sight of Lily’s brother.
It is obvious the two have known each other for some time. And even more so when Harlu pulls her to him and gives her a hard kiss. Nearby I feel Alorn tense when Dorlan enters the opening. He walks up to stand between Kalis and Morlo, all eyes on their leader and his witch.
“Be calm, cousin. Soon enough you’ll have your time with Dorlan,” I assure Alorn.
We watch as Dorlan and Kalis break away from the others, walking toward our location. We fall back further into the cover of the leaves and pull them in around us like a blanket.