Euphoria Page 12

  “Don’t even think about it, short stuff!”

  “Snow!”

  The rabbit lady looked up, her white hair falling in Lourak’s face. Ra’na came running from behind her tree.

  “Ra’na?”

  Gantha, bewildered, watched the scene as the rabbit woman and Ra’na hugged. Lourak remained in awe, apparently surprised he’d been bested by a girl.

  ***

  Queig shuddered in a corner. The goblin busied himself with getting things ready for market, which really had been ready an hour ago. He was now waiting on his mistress’s word to go. Chele had woken up weeping. Her husband, her appearance, her situation…blah, blah, blah. Queig had managed to get her settled down when Katrena slapped Chele across the face for getting in her way.

  But now all was back in order. Chele in a manageable state, wagon loaded. Katrena needed to give the go-ahead.

  A knock came.

  “I’ll just see who is at the door,” Queig called out.

  Da’Lynn stood outside, her face solemn. She said nothing to Queig and walked right in. Queig was used to rudeness from elves, for they thought themselves the superior race. He closed the door and bounded after the councilwoman.

  Chele came from the kitchen and almost bumped into Da’Lynn. The elf stopped abruptly and stared at the human, a look of disgust upon her face. Again, without a word she strolled deeper into the house and seemed to admire the décor. Katrena entered from a back door. Blood speckled her clothing. Her face held annoyance, and her aura was still an angry red.

  Until she looked up and saw her mother in her house.

  “Mother.” She took a moment to compose her thoughts so she didn’t sound surprised.

  “We need to talk.” The words were cool and showed no hint of the discussion to come.

  “Didn’t we do that enough already?” Katrena passed by Da’Lynn, barely ruffling the councilwoman’s robes. She approached a table that held a rag and an assortment of bottles.

  “This concerns nothing of your sister or the prophecies.” The woman turned as she spoke. Chele and Queig ducked into the kitchen. He peered around the corner, watching the formidable women in a battle of wills. Tension and anger pulsed in the air.

  Katrena busied herself cleaning up the blood splatter from her recent stress reliever. “Like we have anything else to talk about.” She did not even bother to turn around.

  “It is about Kerlick, your mate.” Da’Lynn paused, dramatically adding the last part. When she heard the name, Katrena stopped all movement. She slowly turned to face her mother. Eyes locked, and no one blinked.

  “He is no longer my mate.” Katrena spoke slowly and enunciated the last word. Da’Lynn did not show any change in emotion.

  Da’Lynn stepped closer, now only five steps separating mother and offspring. “Yes, I know, dear. But I think you still know where to find him.” Her face broke into a smile, one often seen by a defeated foe.

  Katrena mimicked that demonic smile. “And what do you have up your sleeve this time, Mother? You think I’ll hand him over to the council? Wash my hands of him completely?”

  Smiles stayed unshaken as silence floated between them. “No,” Da’Lynn said in her cool tone. “With his help I plan to take down the council of fools.”

  ***

  Taylon and Hazel tracked the blood for at least a mile before traces disappeared. The captain became very leery going farther into uncharted territory, especially after hearing about the beasts Hazel described to him. The old woman also appeared nervous and skittish.

  Late morning broke and the sun was warmer. The roar of falls faded, distant now. Taylon drained the last of his waterskin, wishing for more. Soon the horses would need nourishment as well.

  “So what now?” Hazel asked.

  “That’s what I was going to ask you. This is foreign land for me.”

  Hazel looked out farther in the direction they were headed. He followed her gaze. Nothing seemed to be different from the last mile. She looked at Taylon, who stared at her intently. “I don’t know.”

  Taylon looked behind them. He could almost make out the small bump that was the horse carcass, or maybe it was a rock. “How far to Zediah?”

  It took the old woman a moment to think, and to look back in the direction they came. “An hour…I think, at most.”

  Taylon knew she wasn’t entirely sure, but it was the best course of action that they had since the blood trail dried up. The horses could be pushed for an hour, and maybe water was ahead. “Then that’s where we’ll go. You lead.”

  Hazel nodded, appearing anxious to be anywhere but here. She kicked her mount and galloped off. Hopefully Zediah would have the answers.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Underground was not as bad as Gantha imagined it. They were taken inside the wizard’s home by a Werehare named Snowbell. Ra’na knew her from somewhere. He was still unclear on that relationship. But whatever the connection, it did get them in to see the wizard.

  The home, cast in an eerie, dim light, held nowhere near the illumination of a house on the surface. Gantha found himself amazed by everything—bubbling liquids and tables with strange, foreign-looking objects. One wall was made entirely of books. Even the council spire did not have that many written tomes.

  Lourak did not seem to be as amazed by it all. He strode in with his cocky dwarf attitude. He appeared to be still miffed from being taken down by a girl but tried to shrug it off for appearances’ sake. One thing seemed to catch his eye—the huge skull above the fireplace. Flame light danced off the old bone, etching a creepy, lifelike façade on the face. Gantha didn’t care for it.

  “So where is the old wiz?” Lourak turned to say to Snow. The woman looked at him, and then at Ra’na and suddenly burst into tears. Ra’na instantly wrapped her arms around Snow and shot the dwarf a nasty look. Lourak raised his arms in a defensive gesture.

  Snow calmed down after a minute. “Ynob is ill. Six months ago, he battled a wraith. It took everything out of him. He has been asleep since.” Ra’na hugged her closer, offering soothing pats to her back.

  “Oh,” Gantha said, a bit taken aback but then quickly added, “I’m sorry.” He looked away from Snow and tried to find something to occupy his time. Weeping women were not his forte. Lourak didn’t offer much encouragement either.

  “Ahh, that’s a shame. Well then, aye guess we’ll be going.” The dwarf barely took a step toward the door when Ra’na stepped in front of him.

  “No. We are staying, at least so we…I can comfort my friend,” Ra’na said sternly. Snow smiled weakly.

  “It’s all right. I’m used to people coming by and wanting the wizard’s help. They don’t care about his condition, only their own well-being.” Snow sniffed.

  “But we are different. It is not about us. Come, let’s talk.” Ra’na led her over to another part of the underground home, leaving the other two standing, looking at each other, not sure what to do.

  Lourak sat down in a big armchair. On a side table was a long pipe with a tobacco tin sitting next to it. “The wizard wouldn’t mind at all since he’s been takin’ a snooze fer so long now,” he whispered loud enough so the elf heard.

  Gantha decided to roam around, looking at the wizard’s possessions. He really had never come in contact with a true wizard. Magic people were always a bit weird and aloof. Elves possessed some magic, but nothing really of legend. This Ynob looked to be one of the real deals.

  The wall of books drew his interest first. He wasn’t much of a reader himself, but he was always fascinated by books—their covers and pages, the languages they were written in. The content really didn’t change his appreciation of the tomes much. A pretty cover scripted out on old parchment was far more interesting than a fabulous legend, type set on a plain piece of paper.

  Most of the books were placed vertically on the shelves, and all appeared to be in their correct order. His eyes marveled at the spines and sizes of each; some were huge volumes that had probably take
n years to put together, while others looked disheveled, organized by a deranged goblin.

  He let his finger travel over the spines as he moved down the line. Dust came from most of them. Toward the bottom, a few books were missing and some of the volumes were slanted, having fallen over. Gantha bent down to adjust them. One tome was being particularly stubborn. With a twist, he corrected it. He heard a clicking noise. Suddenly the adjacent case swung outward.

  Gantha jumped up with a yelp. The girls perked up from their fireside chat. Lourak, hidden among puffs of blue smoke, looked up as well. The bookcase swung out to a forty-five degree angle, enough to show a secret passage way.

  Ra’na and Snow came forward as Gantha peered behind the case.

  “It’s a passage.”

  Snow looked and shook her head. “I never knew this was here.” Ra’na’s hands were on her friend’s shoulders.

  Lourak managed to stand up, still with the pipe. The tobacco clouds wafted around him as he slowly made his way over to the women.

  “Should we go in?” Gantha asked, looking back at Snow. The Wererabbit shrugged.

  “Yea, why not?” Lourak said in spurts of smoke. Ra’na coughed and waved the smelly, blue vapors away. Snow turned a sour look to the dwarf.

  Gantha freed a dark lantern from the wall and pushed the bookcase a little farther open to reveal the whole tunnel. Extinguished lanterns lined the walls as they curved to the right and descended. The elf held out the light to see if it would illuminate more of the dark recess.

  Lourak set the pipe down after a deep intake. “Aye’ll go with you, Elf Boy. Dark places don’t scare me.” The dwarf smelled of the smoke, which reeked of rotten blueberries. Snow and Ra’na held their noses as he passed by them. Lourak grabbed the torch from the councilman’s hand, wobbled a bit, and then stepped forward into the unknown.

  Quickly, Gantha followed after, making sure to light the wall lanterns as they went. The women disappeared as they turned the bend and descended even deeper into the ground. With the darkness disbanded, Gantha saw a chamber ahead of them. Firelight danced off shiny objects in the room, but all held a shadow of mystery and intrigue.

  The dwarf entered the space first, holding the flame high in the air. Unlike the rest of the wizard’s domain, this felt like a cave. Curved walls led down a narrow passage. Gantha took the light from Lourak and held it even higher, lighting a gutter, which ran a flame around the entire room.

  They both saw the ring first. In the middle of the room on a pedestal by itself was a man’s gold ring. the thick band was decorated with deeply carved runes. The ring’s centerpiece was a dark blue stone. Gantha and Lourak stared at the ring, entranced.

  Before they got a chance to look around the room again, a scream rang down the hall. Gantha quickly turned back up the tunnel. Ra’na’s and Snow’s backs were to them as they looked out into the room. Gantha soon saw what had startled the girls. Lourak squeezed in between the women, who stood motionless.

  “Who opened my safe room?”

  Wizard Ynob approached them, angry, looking like he got up on the wrong side of the bed.

  ***

  Baeloc cradled his prize as he made his way through the forest. He knew exactly who he would take this to, and then who he would pawn it to. Thinking of selling, his heart ached for a moment. He had already connected with his find. But in his mind, he knew he must take it to market if he wanted to have good things to eat.

  Last month he had found a shiny button on the shore. At market, someone wanted to give him a good price for it, but Baeloc had bonded with the piece. Eventually he lost it on his way home.

  Aladedas was still a distance away, but the kobold didn’t mind. It was turning out to be a pretty nice….

  Sha-Ving!

  His foot triggered something, and suddenly he was lifted into the air, feet-first. He clung to the fragment as he swung upward about eight feet off the ground. It took five minutes for the rope to stop swaying and the kobold to stop panicking.

  Baeloc’s world was upside down. He had never fallen into a trap this way before. A tear rolled from his eye. How would he get down? Would he be here all day and then be food for the Lire wolves tonight?

  During his mental anguish, someone approached from behind.

  “What do we have here?” When the stranger spoke, it scared the kobold even more, causing him to drop the fragment.

  “Noooo!” His cry sounded pitiful as he watched his prize fall to the ground. The stranger also saw it. A large, muscled arm reached down and snagged the item.

  Baeloc’s eyes followed his treasure. “That’s mine.” His strong tone drifted off as he took in the stranger. Panic rose, and fear joined in.

  The stranger was a six-foot, muscular Opi’Chi elf. His head was shaven, and the tip of one ear was missing. A battle scar ran his jawline, appearing pale in contrast to his dusky skin.

  “What is this, kobold?” The fragment turned carefully in the big hands.

  It took Baeloc a moment to find his voice. “I-It is just my…t-treasure.” The elf’s eyes looked straight at the kobold as he said this. One eye was ringed in silver, but the other had a milky haze over it. With a glance, the kobold’s fear went to instant terror.

  “Your treasure, do you say?” The gaze drifted back to the object. “I’ve heard that before from your kind.”

  Forest sounds filled the silence as the elf decided what to do. Baeloc shook where he hung, wanting to say something, but fearing those eyes, and those hands, and the knife the elf had strapped to his belt.

  Finally the elf spoke. “I think I’ll keep your treasure. It might be worth something.”

  Baeloc watched as the elf put it in a satchel. Something inside the kobold broke through the terror as his prize went away forever. “No….” Again it came out strong and then whimpered out. The eyes were back on him.

  “Oh, it will be okay.” Once the mirror fragment disappeared, the elf grabbed his knife quickly. “Shade didn’t forget about you.”

  Eyes went wide as the blade came toward Baeloc’s throat. He gulped.

  “Pleaaaassseee!” The whine caused a few birds flying to miss a beat and drop toward the ground. The sound cut short as the elf smiled and let the knife drift upward, away from the neck.

  The grin of the dark elf showed a botched job filing his incisors. One was to a point but it pointed out, and the other one had a jagged, broken look to it. Up past the kobold’s chest the knife went, until it stopped midpoint. It made a single cut, superficial, yet messy.

  “Ahh!”

  “Calm down, runt. I needed a little blood dripping to attract your new friends tonight.” Shade sheathed the knife. Blood oozed out of the wound and started to form small drips. He laughed before giving the kobold a big shove. Back and forth the creature went like a pendulum, drops spattering across the ground.

  Baeloc whimpered and cried out as the elf left. All he wanted was his beautiful treasure, and now he wouldn’t survive the night.

  ***

  Katrena pushed her horse hard through the dense trail, not caring if her mother followed or not. Betrayal, Katrena had to laugh. She never expected that from her mother.

  Queig and Chele stayed at the house. The horses were needed for a task today, so there would be no market. Katrena was sure both had heard parts of the conversation but did as good servants often do and stayed out of sight. Queig knew not to object to anything his mistress said, and Chele still was coping with a lot. She wouldn’t be any trouble.

  After finding out that her mother’s intentions were true, to bring down the council, Katrena agreed to lead her to a known associate of Kerlick. She had not seen Kerlick in some twenty years—part of that time he’d spent in an elf confinement cell. Even when he had broken out, Kerlick had not come in search of her. She really didn’t care.

  Shade was Kerlick’s second-in-command. A disturbed individual, even in Katrena’s eyes, but her mother wanted the commander himself. Shade could lead them to Kerlick.
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  Ducking an overhanging vine, she pulled hard on the reins for the next tight turn. Some of the vegetation and forest in this part of the woods could be deadly tricky. The gulch area extended farther, but it really didn’t matter since no one visited the place.

  Riding with one hand was a bit difficult, but she was able to fashion a crude metal claw that helped guide the reins. Too much had been going on to worry about her missing hand. She would have to deal with it later.

  As her horse slowed so she could avoid another overhang, Katrena glanced back, expecting not to see her mother. But she was surprised to see the black mare was still behind her with Da’Lynn grinning fiendishly. Her face twitched in disgust as she kicked her horse onward.

  Katrina started to despise her mother early on, even before the arranged marriage to Kerlick. Ra’na, on the other hand, always saw the good in everything their mother did. Katrena believed it was because of the home mothers she had lived with. Deep down, Katrena believed Ra’na was groomed for the arranged marriage instead of herself.

  But in the end, Kerlick had chosen Katrena, and in the end, Katrena only married the elf to spite her mother’s plans. With the joining, Da’Lynn sealed the next council spot when it came available.

  The horse brushed too close to a thorn bush. Sharp needles ripped along the dark elf’s skin as she came out of her rumination. To hell with the past. Katrena shook her head and focused on her riding.

  Maybe in the whole scheme of things to come, a little revenge, a little matricide might be possible. She would keep her mind open and her mouth shut.