The Eridanian Oath

Around the Internet I have seen the Warrior Cat Oath, evidently an oath that those crazy about Warrior cats take. Here is the Eridanian Oath. All these names are from books and stories I have written that take place in the world of Eridan. (List of books: The Arbinite Dagger, Blackheart, Diary of a Corian Girl, Diary of a Dark Elf, Unnamed Story, and the Unknown Book).

I'll remember Halana,
When I see a scar on someone's face.
I will think of Zar,
Every time I lose a race.

I'll remember Edaltha,
When someone disappears.
I'll remember Säol,
When I must face my fears.

I will remember Gerril,
When a king loses his throne.
I will think of Evilyn,
When I am far from home.

I'll remember Taradrin,
When I find it hard to believe.
I'll be reminded of Ardin,
 When someone seems naïve.

I'll always think of Efelas,
When someone wants to be friends.
I will think of Amaren,
When I am near the end.

I will think of Nirel,
Whenever I am avenged.
I will think of Ulenil,
When somebody wants revenge.

I promise to remember Castar,
When someone rescues me.
I'll remember Einnir,
Whenever I'm at sea.

I'll remember Taradris,
When I must follow my heart.
I will think of Raen,
If I ever fall apart.

I'll remember Zira,
When I must prove myself.
I will remember Stël,
When I'm suffering from bad health.

I'll remember Rhist,
When I am full of wrath.
I'll remember Sariel,
If I follow the wrong path.

I'll remember Nirion,
When I hear of something far away.
I'll remember Sneostyria,
When everything seems gray.

I'll remember Thirinel,
Whenever I must choose.
I'll remember Vareth,
When the one I love, I lose.

Revë will be in my mind,
Whenever I must be brave.
And I'll remember Windlost,
When I'm in a cave.

I'll remember Vhenya,
Whenever I must depart.
I'll remember Ellahníus,
When my family is far apart.

I'll remember Asalyn,
Whenever I am blessed.
I'll remember Radern,
When I'm put to the test.

I'll remember Irdistël,
 If someone abandons me.
I'll remember the Seven,
If I ever have to flee.

I'll remember Felrös,
When my friends are in need.
I will think of Eonaca,
When I take the lead.

I'll always think of Nesrhyna,
When I seek to end a war.
I'll remember Runi,
When I am free no more.

I'll remember the many battles,
When I see conflict or strife.
I promise to remember all these heroes,
 For the rest of my life.

Aria - Sequel to The Song That No One Heard (Title Temporary)

All right, you get your wish. Here is the sequel to The Song That No One Heard. There will be plenty of new characters and places, of course, but you will still meet some characters from The Song. If you have any ideas for the name, please tell me! Enjoy!

Aria

Brikenya Jackson

There is ever a storm and an enemy fierce

And ever a blow that would hearts pierce

Though ever is yet the sorrow and wrath

Never forget Who has marked out thy path.

Cast of Characters

Humans

Aria Amity – a young Halfelven, daughter of Symphony and Veil

Echo – a young man, wanderer and pathfinder

Ever Asteria – a young girl, maid at the Scarlet Serpent inn

Illuminati – a noblewoman of Chrysoberyl, former owner of Fleet Strike

Jade – owner of the Scarlet Serpent

Radiance Honor – a young girl, maid at the Scarlet Serpent

Symphony Amity – Aria’s deceased mother

                                                                     

Elves

Bright Mist – a young female Sea Elf, a healer of the Clan of Sea Echoes, engaged to Fleet Strike

Fleet Strike – a young male Seatree Elf, prince of the Clan of Sea Echoes, nephew of Sea Flight, twin brother of Onyx

Gray Sky – a male Sea Elf warrior, prisoner of the Wild Dwarves

Lapis Lazuli – a female Sea Elf, sister of Sea Flight, mother of Fleet Strike

Onyx – a young male Seatree Elf, twin brother of Fleet Strike, king of the Elves

Raven – a male Night Elf, father of Shadow

Sea Flight – a male Sea Elf, Sea Lord of the Clan of Sea Echoes, uncle of Fleet Strike and Onyx

Shadow – a young male Nighttree Elf, son of Raven, slave of Jade

Veil – a male Fire Elf, Aria’s father

Zenith – a male Sun Elf, slave of Jade, formerly a spy

Dwarves

Storm – a female Wild Dwarf, matriarch of the Wild Dwarf tribe

Chapter 1

Ever Since the War

       Mother named me Aria, but Ferocity would have been better. She taught me how to sing, but I taught myself how to be free. She always said I was the cause of her gray hairs. She wanted me to contain myself, to learn patience and self-control. She told me that she was a stranger to these when she was a girl, and it led to near disaster. She did not want it repeated in me.

       I didn’t care. Not so much. But I did have to admit – I missed her and Father sometimes.

       Now, memories of the green forests and white mountainsides of my hometown of Dale seemed like a long-forgotten dream as I gazed at the weather-stained, old-timbered, looming building before me. Above the door hung a sign with a red snake painted on it. The Scarlet Serpent. This was the right place, though it looked discouraged – sort of like how I felt. No. I straightened, tossed my loose red hair over my shoulder, and drew back my shoulders. I was ready.

       Shaking dust from the skirt of my too-short kirtle, I opened the scarred door and stepped in. It was my first day on the job, and I needed to make a good impression.

       A smoky fire in a fireplace at one end of the great room illuminated the tavern, which took up nearly the entire lower story of the Scarlet Serpent inn. Ignoring the glances of the patrons, barmaids, and slaves that filled the room I sauntered over to the innkeeper and said, “Well, it’s me. I’m ready for whatever you need me to do.”

       The innkeeper, a tall dark-eyed man, raised his eyebrows and said, “So you are. The maids’ room is at the back. You’ll get a cot and a chest there. Once you’ve installed yourself come back here and I’ll give you something to do.”

       “Thank you, sir.” I turned on my heel and marched to the doorway at the back of the tavern. The Scarlet Serpent might be notorious for attracting criminals and vagabonds, riddled with brawls and rats, but I could do this. I would beat it. No other inn was willing to hire a Halfelven as a cleaning maid, but I had a place and job and home at last.

       Home. Yeah, right. It was hardly home. Three weeks ago I had left Father in Dale and traveled over mountains and sailed over the wide sea to the capital city, Chrysoberyl. Dale was so far behind, so long ago. Ever since the plague took Mother, Father hadn’t the slightest idea what to do with me. He could hardly earn enough to support us – humans have been reluctant to hire Elves ever since the war. Mother used to tell me about the war. It ended ten years before I was born, but I wished I could have walked in Mother’s footsteps, gone where she had gone, seen what she had seen, but I couldn’t. We were desperately poor and grief-ridden, what with all my infant brothers and sisters that had died as infants, and we had no money and no food, so I had to take it upon myself to do something. Father would be heartbroken – but he would get along better without having to provide for me. I left him a letter explaining it all. He would understand.

       I hoped he would.

       The maids’ chamber was long, and furnished with many beds, each with a small chest at its foot. A window hacked into the eastern wall sent pale shafts of early morning sunlight beaming in and falling on the rough wooden floor. Four other girls, all about my age, were inside, brushing their hair and hurriedly tying their aprons on. They all fell silent and turned to look at me when I entered. Their gowns were nothing fine, but I became very aware of my rough brown kirtle that fell short of my ankles by three inches, the homely leather satchel with my meager belongings, and my tangled, undressed hair.

       But I wouldn’t let them get me down. I drew myself tall and said, in the rich ringing voice I inherited from Mother, “My name’s Aria Amity. I’m a new maid here. Which bed is mine?”

       One of the girls, lanky and brown-haired with freckles and a bruise on her cheekbone, said, “Pleased to meet you, Aria. I’m Ever Asteria. Your bed’s at the end of the row. You can put your things in the chest.”

       I sighed in relief. I had thought all city girls would be stuck-up snobs – even maids in dangerous inns. Ever seemed to be possible-friend-material. I took my satchel from my shoulder and made to put the contents into my chest. However, as I was thus occupied, another girl sidled over. Her golden hair was put up in a very grownup fashion; a braided crown circled her head, the rest held in place by a bronze and carnelian comb that she obviously had brought from home – wherever her home was. No sane-minded parents would let their daughters run off to such a place.

       “Welcome, Aria.” She looked down her pointed nose at me as I unpacked my hairbrush, my moon-linen scarf (also Mother’s), a carved wooden comb, my diary with its scuffed leather cover, and other small necessities and keepsakes. “We’re so glad to have you here.”

       Judging from her cool, flat tone, she didn’t mean it. What was she – some sort of overseer?

       “Thank you,” I replied with equal frostiness.

       “Oh, don’t mention it. By the way, I am Radiance Honor (did she make up that name just to impress me?) and I’m the head of the maids here, you might say.”

       I didn’t say anything. What could I say?

       “I would keep my hair over my ears if I were you. If anyone here found out you’re an Elf, they’d tear you to pieces.”

       My hands flew to cover my ears. “I’m not an Elf! I’m a – Halfelven.”

       Radiance shrugged. “Close enough. I’m just telling you for your own good. If anything goes wrong with the maids it’s up to me to see it’s all straightened out. There’s been talk of thieves and rogues coming here – even murderers. Just stay on your toes, Aria. It’s dangerous out there.”

       With that, she turned and sauntered to her own bed, where she began to poke and primp her hair, ignoring me. Ever watched her, then turned to me and whispered, “Don’t mind Radiance. She’s a bit of a bully, but not really harmful. Just stay out of her way and do as she says. Here you’ll want to cut back on things to worry about.”

       “Thanks,” I muttered. How much danger had I put myself into by coming here? I rose with more than a little caution, half-expecting a man with a sword to jump through the doorway and start swinging. He didn’t come, but I felt just as nervous as before.

       When I came back into the tavern, the innkeeper (his name was Jade) was reprimanding one of his slaves, a sullen male Sun Elf, judging by his golden-brown skin and golden eyes, though his hair was blond instead of the usual golden-brown. He kept fingering the iron thrall ring around his neck and an angry red mark on his cheek showed clearly in the firelight. I shuddered. Mother had told me what it was like to be a slave and of the widespread oppression of Elves – yet another aftereffect of that wonderful war. Almost without thinking I flicked some of my hair over my ears.

       Jade took no notice of me and went on talking. “If you keep cutting corners and neglecting your work, Zenith, I’ll sell you. I didn’t buy you to give you a home. I bought you to work. I need the work done around here and I’ve no place for lazy idlers. You’d better shape up and start doing as you’re told or you’re in for a whipping – and possible sale to the stone quarries.”

       Zenith scowled and looked at his feet.

       “Well, go on, you. Go clean out the latrines, and don’t go sneaking around and skipping places. I know you used to be a spy, but you’re a slave now.”

       Could he have said it any louder? A few nearby patrons snickered as Zenith, flushing, hurriedly made his way across the tavern. I rolled my eyes. Unaware that he had just completely humiliated Zenith in front of the thirty-odd people in the tavern, Jade turned to me.

       “Ah, there you are. As you must have known when I hired you, I don’t really need barmaids at the moment, but I am rather hard up for cleaners. I don’t have enough slaves to keep this place reasonably clean, and it’s so hard to find good slaves.”

       I shuffled my feet, feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

       “Radiance can tell you what needs to be done. Do a good job and I’ll pay you two silver each night, as well as room and board.”

       Two silver was hardly a great sum, but he was feeding and lodging me, so I guess I couldn’t complain. Besides, I was one girl who didn’t eat a lot and didn’t need a lot of clothes, so it was enough to support me. I suppose.

       But Radiance – not only was she telling the truth about her name, she was really the head of the maids. Great. Mumbling ‘yes, sir’, I turned and walked back the maids’ room.

       I placed myself in front of Radiance, the only maid in the room by now, and placed my hands on my hips. “Now what?”

       “Now you are going to come and clean the rooms with Ever and the other maids. Here.” Radiance thrust a dusting rag at me. “Get cleaning. Oh, and don’t stop to talk with any of the patrons. If Jade catches you at it he’ll turn you out without a moment’s hesitation.”

       “It’s not like he can keep an eye on every single maid as well as all the patrons and barmaids and slaves,” I muttered as I strode out of the room and made my way to the stairs.

       The work was very hard. Dusting and bed making and sweeping and scrubbing left me with aching muscles and bleeding knuckles at the end of the day. The hem of my kirtle was more frayed than ever, and I wished I had something to tie my hair back. It lay hot and heavy on the back of my sweating neck.

       As I made my way one night through the upper story to the staircase, ready to drop on the floor with weariness, I heard a commotion break out in the tavern. Exhaustion forgotten, I ran to the stairs and peered over the railing. In the now-empty tavern Jade lashed a black leather whip across the back of a long-legged young man crouching on the floor. Jade yelled his head off, cursing the young man, who threw back equally ugly insults. I felt rage rise within me. The young man was so small and skinny (he couldn’t be older than fourteen) he had to be a slave. Cruel! It was all so cruel. I gripped the railing until my knuckles turned white.

       The young man’s tunic, already stained and ragged, tore apart in long strips beneath the lash, the pale blue cloth turning red. I had to do something! But what? If I ran down there and yanked the whip from Jade’s hand, I would find myself out on the street, fired and homeless.

       The young man broke off cursing and let out a pain-filled cry. I was jerked back to the reality of the situation. I might lose my job and my lodgings, but this man was a slave. He was in a far worse predicament than I was or would be. I didn’t care what would happen to me. Straightening my shoulders, I marched down the stairs and across the tavern. When Jade failed to notice me, I stepped up to him and put my hand on his arm, staying the whip. He turned and stared at me, his expression one of disbelief. “What?”

       “I believe this young man has had enough.” I shot a glance at the young slave, who looked up at me with surprise. “There is no further need to beat a lesson into him.”

       Jade straightened a little and looked about to say something. Nice working with you. I’ll start looking for another job tomorrow.

       But he didn’t fire me. Instead he started coiling his whip and said to the slave, “Go to the slaves’ quarters. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”

       The young man slowly stood up, nodded, and made his way to the room where the slaves slept. Jade gave me a strange look and left to put away his whip and, I assumed, go to bed. I felt weak in the knees all of a sudden. How had I managed to do that? I went after the young man. I didn’t know why, but something about him intrigued me…

       I peered in through the doorway of the slaves’ quarters. There was the young man, easing his tunic off his torn back and shoulders. I could see he was an Elf, but I knew of no Elf that looked like this. Near the roots his long hair was golden, but the lower half was black. He was paler than most humans, though it was hard to tell because his skin was so dirty. With his large green-gold eyes, pointed chin, and small nose he looked rather like a cat. I wanted to know who he was.

       “What’s your name?” I said.

       He jumped about five feet in the air. He whirled around and stared at me. “What do you want?”

       “I want to know your name.” I stepped into the room.

       He sighed, continued taking off his tunic, and said, “Shadow.”

       “Shadow. Hmm. I’m Aria Amity.”

       “Nice to meet you.” His tone implied otherwise.

       I took another step forward. “If you don’t mind my asking, what – what are you? I’ve never seen an Elf that looked like you.”

       Shadow blushed. “Well, I’m not one of the six main kinds of Elves. I’m – I’m a hybrid, you might say. My mother was a Tree Elf.”

       That explained the golden hair. But the black hair, the green-gold eyes, the unnatural paleness… “And your father?”

       He didn’t answer. He just flung his tunic on the floor, sat down on one of the sleeping pallets that covered the floor, and gingerly dabbed at his back with a cloth that lay in a nearby bowl of water. “None of your business.”

       “What, is your father dead?” I know, I know, it wasn’t my business, but I had to know.

       “No.” Shadow straightened. “Unfortunately.”

       Unfortunately? Was he ashamed of his father? “Oh, he can’t be that bad, Shadow. What did your father ever do that you would seek to disown him?”

       “He was born, that’s what.”

       I sighed. That wasn’t an answer. “And why do you think he was bad even when he was born?”

       “Because he’s a Night Elf!” Shadow flung the cloth on the floor. For a moment I thought he was going to slap me, but he didn’t seem to notice me.

       Wait. Did he say ‘Night Elf’?

       “I’d find myself in prison if people knew my father was a Night Elf! And if that isn’t bad enough, he has to be the most disgraceful excuse for a father in the world! He never married my mother, and once he found out about the little whelp that resulted he just ran out. He’s cursed me by being my father but I don’t mean a thing to him! I couldn’t find a home or work anywhere. No one wants to hire the bastard son of a Night Elf! Now it’s too late! It’s too late!”

       He sank down to the floor and his face in his hands. I stared at him. Wow. I had no idea. “I – I’m sorry.” Biting my lower lip, I crouched down by him and whispered, “And how did you become a slave?”

       I don’t know why I kept talking. It had nothing to do with me, but Shadow had already opened up, and he didn’t hesitate to tell me.

       “My mother raised me in Ensorcel, the Elven capital, for twenty-two years. Then I decided to leave, to go out into the world to see what it was like. Stupid decision. My mother didn’t speak of the war at all, so I had no idea of the humans’ prejudice against Elves. I wandered over to Firth, a human coastal town, and there slave traders seized me and took me to Chryoberyl. Jade bought me and I’ve been here ever since, for three years.”

       “But that would mean you’re twenty-five years old. You look only fourteen.”

       “Elves mature slower than humans. In human years I’m fifteen. I just haven’t had much opportunity to grow.”

       “Oh.” This was getting pathetic. Wait a minute. “I traveled to Firth to sail to here. Maybe if I had looked… no, no, I’ve only been here a few weeks. That was three years ago for you.”

       Shadow made only a hmm sound in his throat that could mean anything.

       I became aware that I had probably said the wrong thing again, but I didn’t let on. “So, you’re sort of a Nighttree Elf?”

       He shrugged.

       At that moment, a brilliant, ridiculous, horrible little plan sprung into my mind. “I’ve got to go now,” I said, “but I think I know what to do. Do you have any outside chores?”

       “Yes. I clean windows and get water and cut wood.”

       “Good. Meet me behind the inn tomorrow night. I’ve got a plan that will help us both.”

Chapter 2

In the World of Night

       The next night, I waited all evening. Shadow didn’t come. Where is he? I leaned against the weather-stained wall, looking up at the star-studded sky. The stars were so free – couldn’t I do anything to free Shadow? Some were born into slavery, some were slaves as punishment for some crime, but Shadow had done nothing to deserve his thrall ring. Speaking of which, how on earth were we supposed to get that thing off?

       It was getting late. With a sigh I walked around to the front of the Scarlet Serpent and entered. Maybe tomorrow night.

       I didn’t see Shadow the next day. Nor the rest of the week, for that matter. Radiance kept me busy with sweeping and scrubbing and dusting, so I had no chance to go to the slaves’ quarters. I did get to know Ever better, though. It appears she ran away from home – just like me. (Though, of course, her father wasn’t an Elf.) It was early spring, but Chrysoberyl lies farther north than Dale, so it was much colder than it should have been. I took to tying Mother’s moon-linen scarf around my head, both to keep my head warm and my hair back.

       I was sick of the Scarlet Serpent. Sick of Jade, sick of Radiance, sick of slavery, and sick of Chrysoberyl. I wanted to go, be free, go home even, but I didn’t have very much money saved up, and besides, I just couldn’t leave Shadow (wherever he was) with Jade. I had to help him.

       And help him I did.

       “Aria!”

       Radiance’s shrill cry grated on my ears. I clenched my dusting rag. Now what? Storming off in her direction, I twisted the rag around in my fists, wanting to tear it to pieces in my frustration. Why couldn’t I learn to contain myself?

       “What is this time, Radiance!?” I spat.

       She gave me a look that a mother would give an insolent child. “You forget yourself too often. Remember, I’m in charge here, and if you don’t do what I say…”

       She launched into the all-too-familiar lecture. She turned away from me and paced the room as she spoke, and I started imitating her, counting off reasons on my fingertips, rolling my eyes, mouthing her words, perfectly mimicking her every motion. I stopped my pantomime just in time as she finished and began to say something new.

       “You didn’t shake out the rugs properly. Go and do them over again.”

       Without a word I spun on my heel and stalked from her presence.

       Shake out the rugs, I thought. I snorted. She couldn’t even shake a stick. Why did I wonder why she never shook rugs out? I dragged the first rug out to the back of the inn (the thing was heavier than I was) and draped it over the back fence. Running back inside, I grabbed one of the sticks we used for ironing and rushed back to the rug, where I started pounding and whacking the daylights out of it. Dust rose into the air like mist. Coughing, I continued chastising the rug until, swinging the stick back for a particularly strong stroke, the end of the stick connected with somebody’s head behind me, judging by the “Ow!” and the thud that sounded behind me. Oops.

       “I’m so sorry!” I cried, dropping my stick and whirling around.

       Shadow, with his hand pressed to his forehead, eased himself off the ground. “What in Chrysoberyl are you doing!? Cudgel-fighting!?”

       “I was – er – ‘shaking’ out the rug. Er, I hope you’re not hurt.”

       “You didn’t kill me, at any rate,” he muttered, lowering his hand and scowling at the blood on it.

       My memory rushed back to me. “Why didn’t you meet me outside the inn when I told you to?”

       Shadow let out an exasperated breath. “That idiot Zenith dropped the coal scuttle and I had to clean up the mess. Then every night after that it seemed there was always something I had to do. Sorry I couldn’t tell you, but Jade’s been in a really bad mood lately for some reason and hates to let me out of his sight. And another thing – Jade chains his slaves to the walls at night. I thought you knew. He does it right before he goes to bed. There’s no way I’ll be able to get out at night. Right now I’ve only a few minutes.”

       “Oh.” I looked around. We were alone. All of a sudden, another horribly clever plan hit me. “We’ll have to wait a bit longer, Shadow, but I know what to do. Are there any herbalists or healers around here?”

       “Goldenseal sells herbs and remedies only a few streets down. Hers is the shop with the willow tree on her sign. Jade always buys herbs from her.”

       “Good.” I allowed myself an audible snicker. “I’ve quite a few silver saved up. Just stay on your toes till at tomorrow night. I’m getting us out of here.”

       “Thanks.” He looked down at the ironing stick on the ground. “Shouldn’t you get back to your rug?”

       “Oh, right.” I picked up the stick and coughed again.

       “Just don’t start swinging ‘till I’m out of the way.”

       I smiled. “Will do.”

       The next day, at noon when we maids were supposed to be eating lunch, I slipped away from the inn and made my way down the street. I looked from side to side, searching for the sign of the willow. Ah, there it was. I looked around me to make sure no one was watching, but I had left the Scarlet Serpent streets behind. I walked in.

       The shop was dim after the sun outdoors. The air smelled dusky with the heavy secrets of the many herbs and plants and grasses stocked in bins and on shelves. I breathed in deeply and walked over to the counter, where a tall woman was grinding dried basil leaves, the heady scent rising about her like fumes.

       “Excuse me?”  I asked.

       Goldenseal (for undoubtedly that was who she was) looked up. “How may I help you?”

       I cleared my throat. “Um, I’m looking for something to induce sleep. Some sort of sleeping herb. Do you have any?”

       “I certainly do.” Goldenseal left her grinding and stepped out from behind the counter. Beckoning me over to some jars on the shelves, she began going through them, listing off the sleeping herbs. “Valerian is the most popular these days, and it also serves to soothe stress and abdominal cramps. There’s also passion flowers, which is good for general insomnia. If you’re looking for something a bit gentler, you can try chamomile; it doubles as a treatment for wounds.”

       “Hmm.” I pondered my choices. “No, not chamomile, I’m looking for something strong and fast-working, a remedy for severe sleeplessness.” Close enough, as obviously the exact truth would not do.

       “Something strong, hmm? Well, I think I’ll have to mix up something special for that. Good bit of valerian, lavender, motherwort, marjoram, fennel seeds…”

       I had one more question. “How much is this going to cost?”

       “Depends on how much you want, my girl. Eight silver for five doses is the usual price.”

       Eight silver. I had been working at the Scarlet Serpent for a week – I could afford the herbs, but it still cost more than half my savings. “I only want one dose.”

       “In that case, I’ll let you off at one silver. Doesn’t cost me much to mix these up, and I daresay you’ll need them.” She let out a little laugh. I appreciated her kindness, but I knew what the reason for that was – I looked hardly better than a street urchin and she guessed I didn’t have much money. Nevertheless, I said, “Thank you,” as she handed me a tiny linen bag with a couple pinches of the strong-smelling herbal mixture inside. I handed her one of my silver coins before turning to leave.

       “Thank you,” Goldenseal called after me. “Take care of yourself, now.”

       I gave her a smile and went on my way.

       Night was falling. Shadow was outside extinguishing the lantern that hung outside the inn door. Jade was behind the bar bent over his ledger with a tankard at hand, from which he often took a drink. I knew from the past week that he would soon retire – after chaining Shadow up. I studied Jade. It was time. Looking as inconspicuous as possible, I picked up the coal scuttle and drew near to Zenith, who was taking out the ashes. I threw the coal scuttle on the floor and darted to the other side of the room just before Jade looked up.

       “ZENITH!” Jade roared. “I swear, if you dropped the coal scuttle again –”

       He didn’t finish. He left the bar and stormed over to the coal scuttle and the unfortunate Zenith. I hated to get the Elf into trouble, but I had to take the suspicion away from me. I flew to the bar, fumbled in my pocket for the little linen bag, and with trembling fingers tore it open and shook the contents into the tankard. Not a moment too soon. I didn’t wait to see what Jade was doing to Zenith, nor if he had seen what I had done. I ran to the maid’s chamber and went to bed – at least, pretended to.

       For good measure, I waited twenty minutes before venturing out, tiptoeing so as not to wake the other maids. The tavern was deserted, save for Jade, still at the bar. His head was on his ledger, his eyes closed. Fast asleep.

       I stifled a giggle. Running to the servant’s quarters, I prayed that Jade hadn’t already chained Shadow to the wall. If he had, I had gone to all the trouble and expense of the sleeping herbs for nothing. The whole point of the herbs was to drop Jade off before he chained Shadow, because neither the young Elf nor I was skilled in the art of lock picking.

       In the shadows, I managed to discern Shadow lying on his pallet. Near him a chain swung gently from the wall, the open shackle at its end winking at me like spreading claws. I breathed a sigh of relief. My plan had worked. My eyes fell on the dark blotch on his forehead – the biggest bruise I had ever seen. I felt another giggle rise in me, but I managed to press it down. Well, I wasn’t going to go whacking people on the head with ironing sticks where I was going.

       “Shadow!” I hissed. He was awake. Sitting bolt upright, he whispered, “Is it time?”

       “It’s time. I drugged Jade and the tavern’s empty. Come on!”

       We tiptoed out of the room. I halted for a moment, then ran back to the maid’s room, threw my things into my satchel, and darted back out. Shadow was already on the street. I tore after him, but eased the door shut after me.

       The city was deep in the world of night, the quiet whisperings and shifting shadows all swirling in the cadence of the moonlit realm. I imagined wind-born spirits whirling around us in their silent dances, shades of the night. The witching hour was upon us.

       Shadow was leaning against the wall. He didn’t say anything but shot a glance at my satchel. As we started walking, he seemed to melt into the shadows, the black in his hair becoming darkness, the gold hair and pale skin becoming beams of moonlight. His ragged tunic blended into the scarred timbers of the houses we passed. There was more of his father than his mother in Shadow.

       “So where are we going?”  he suddenly asked. I started a little at the sound of his voice, then considered his question. “Well, I for one would go back to my hometown, Dale. Where would you go?”

       “Where would I go?” he repeated. He let out a small laugh. “I can go wherever I want now. I can do whatever I want. I’m free now! I’m free!” He looked over his shoulder and I followed suit. The Scarlet Serpent was far behind us now, lost in the twisting labyrinth of buildings that made up the less prosperous section of Chrysoberyl. All we saw where unfamiliar crooked houses and streets in the moon and shadows.

       Shadow quickened his stride, swinging his thin legs out. “I don’t want to go back to Ensorcel. Mother can’t protect me anymore. I’ve outgrown home. Besides, I’m pretty sure that’s where Father is. He’s out of my life. I don’t have a family now and I don’t want one. I just want to go where I will, do what I will, with whom I will. Wherever you go, Aria, I’m going with you.”

       Side by side, without a word, we set off down the street, walking the road to freedom, adventure, and God knew what else.

Chapter 3

Down the Path of Life

       “So, do you know where we are?”  Shadow asked me.

       “No,” I admitted. “Not a clue.”

       Shadow sighed. We had passed out of the lower quarter of Chrysoberyl and now were taking a rest next to a river that cut through the city, buildings rising high on both banks. Willows grew along its banks, providing us shelter from the sun and from passersby who might take interest in us for the wrong reasons. I looked at the fast-flowing water and said, “I don’t know how to get out of here. Maybe we should ask someone for directions.”

       “Not a good idea.” Shadow folded his arms across his chest and gazed directly into my eyes. “The sun is up now, and as soon as someone sees pointy-eared me wearing a thrall ring, it’s back to the Scarlet Serpent, and that’s if we’re lucky.” He peered out from behind our willow to look at the street. “I don’t think we even have a chance of leaving our hiding-spot.”

       “Hmm.” I bit my lip. “Ha! I’ve got it!”

       A few minutes later, I strolled importantly down the street with all the air of a high-and-mighty rich girl taking a walk, attended by her Elven slave. True, my clothes were hardly rich, but no one could mistake me as Shadow’s mistress. He looked like a slave, so why not use this to our advantage? People barely glanced at us as we went by.

       “Aria!”

       “There’s no need to shout, Shadow, I’m right –” I stopped and whirled around. That wasn’t Shadow’s voice. The Elf bumped into me with a small “Ow!”  but I hardly noticed. A girl was tearing down the street toward us, her too-short skirt flapping around her long legs.

       “Ever!?” What was she doing?

       “Aria!” She barreled into me, unable to stop herself. Untangling herself from me, she brushed her hair away from her face and said, “Aria! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

       “Looking for me?”

       “Yes! Why did you leave? Things were so lonely without you…” she trailed off as she noticed Shadow. “Why’s Shadow here?”

       “Uh, well, um, you know Shadow used to be Jade’s slave, but we ran away. We want to be free.”

       She nodded, then gripped my shoulders. “I want to be free too. I ran away from home, thinking I was free, but instead I got stuck at the Scarlet Serpent. The problem is, I have no other way of earning a living.”

       “I’ve some money saved up, and we can find some odd jobs here and there. Do you want to come with us?”

       “Yes! Oh, thank you, Aria!” She hugged me tight, then turned to Shadow and said, “If you don’t mind.”

       “N-no,” Shadow stammered, blushing and looking down at his feet. Ever smiled, but I noticed she also blushed. I looked from one to the other. How long had this been going on?

       “So,” I said to break the awkward silence, “we’re trying to get out of Chrysoberyl so we can make our way to Dale. Dale’s the town where I was born. So Ever, you don’t happen to know how to get there?”

       She shook her head. “I was born and raised in Chrysoberyl. I’ve never left it before. I don’t have a clue of where to go. But,” and her eyes lit up, “I can get us out of the city, at least.”

       “Well, that’s a start.” I looked up at the sky. “If we keep walking until sundown, we ought to be able to cover a lot of ground. Oh, and Ever, we need to pretend that Shadow is our slave. That way we won’t be stopped and questioned.”

       “Good idea. Follow me!” and she took off down the street.

       That night, we all snuggled up in a deserted alleyway. The cold of early Chrysoberyl spring cut through our thin ragged clothes and bore its way to our bones. I thanked my lucky stars there was no wind or rain, or things would be really miserable.

       The gentle touch of weak sunlight on my face woke me up. My eyes opened sleepily, then jerked open. Ever still leaned on me, fast asleep. In the shadows of the alley and the rubbish piled there, there was no sign of Shadow. I jumped to my feet, sending Ever sprawling on the ground. “Ow! What are you doing, Aria?”

       “Shadow’s gone!”

       “Oh no.” She scrambled to her feet. Looking about her wildly, she said, “I could have sworn he was fast asleep! Do you – do think someone could have – you know – captured him?”

       “They could have taken him back to Jade!” I thrust my head out of the alley. No one was in sight. “Or they could have kept him as their own slave, or sold him, or put him in prison –”

       “What are you two girls freaking out about?”

       Shadow leapt down the back wall of the alley with the practiced ease and grace of one used to climbing walls. He wore an amused smile on his face which grated on my nerves. “And where were you, you horrible little Elf!?” I snapped.

       He let out a small laugh. “Getting breakfast, of course.” He handed Ever and I each a loaf of bread. Ever eyed hers suspiciously. “Where did you get this?”

       “Where do you think?” Shadow produced a third loaf and began tearing into it like he had survived a ten-year famine. I took a bite of mine and said, “You stole them, didn’t you.”

       He shrugged. “So what if I did? Humans steal from Elves. They even steal Elves!” He gestured to himself, his smile becoming more rueful than amused. “We’re trying to escape from this rotten city. Why not use it to our advantage while we’re here?”

       “It’s not good to steal,” Ever insisted.

       “Do you have a better idea of survival? You know we have to avoid showing ourselves as much as we can. If we stop to buy food, we’ll be leaving a trail. We have to be as swift and silent as shadows.” He raised his eyebrows significantly.

       I sighed. He was right, of course.

       We walked all day, following Ever’s lead. She took us up fine paved streets bordered with tall silver-barked trees and down dirt roads crammed with rundown houses and crawling with mangy dogs and dirty children. We must have looked right at home. Around mid-afternoon we stopped for a short rest, during which Shadow slipped off again to do a little raiding. As dusk fell, and we took shelter in the shadows of a tumbledown shack, I asked Ever, “Are we almost out of this accursed city yet?”

       “Almost.” She yawned, grimaced, and crouched deeper into the shadows. “We should be out by midmorning tomorrow – providing we don’t run into any trouble.” I wondered what she meant by that, but I decided not to press the issue. We all needed our sleep.

       True to Ever’s word, we passed through the city gates at midmorning, though the mist that hung about us made it feel like midnight. Armed guards stood at the gates, but they paid us no heed. Doubtless they had seen stranger folk pass by. For good measure, though, I cuffed Shadow on the side of his head as though he had stepped on my foot. “Watch it!” I snapped. “You’re supposed to walk behind me, not on me!” He gave me a beautiful scowl and stalked on.

       The countryside was green and hilly, as though the wind had carved the land when it was new. I turned my eyes to the sky, shrouded in clouds and torn by the wind.

       “Shadow,” I asked, speaking off the top of my head, “why did those slave traders capture you in Firth?”

       “What do you think?”  he snorted. “They were looking for likely young slaves, whom no one would miss, particularly Elves, and I met all their standards. Why else?”

       “So you mean they just grabbed you?”

       “Yes.” He gave me an odd look.

       “What were you doing?”

       “Just what we were doing last night.”

       “Sleeping in an alley? And they just walked in and captured you?”

       “Yes! They always keep their eyes peeled for homeless children and young adults. What are you getting to?”

       “Don’t you see?” I looked into both my companions’ eyes. “We’re homeless young adults! Perfect slave material! By tomorrow we could be on sale in a slave market!”

       “Oh no.” Ever bit her lower lip. “How do we avoid slave traders?”

       “Well, for one thing,” Shadow said, “we’ll need to post sentries whenever we sleep. We’ll take turns.”

       “It would also help if we were dressed at least somewhat well.” Ever looked down at her dusty, off-white tunic and short, ragged skirt. Neither my kirtle nor Shadow’s tunic were much better. “Then we would be less likely to be branded as homeless vagabonds.”

       “We are homeless vagabonds,” I reminded her. “But we’ve no way of getting nicer clothes. I’ve only thirteen silver. How much do you have, Ever?”

       “Twenty-six. I’ve been working at the Scarlet Serpent for a while, but I have to buy my own clothes and shoes and anything else I need. I also sometimes give silver to, well, homeless vagabonds.”

       “If only we found someone like that.” I looked up and down the road, but we were alone. “So altogether we have thirty-nine silver. That ought to support us for a long time, but we must never use them unless we absolutely need to. Like Shadow said, we can’t afford to leave a trail. And we stay together at all times. Safety lies in numbers. And make sure our self-defense is top marks. In case of any attacks.” I punctuated my words with a swift punch to the air.

       Ducking my fist, Ever straightened a few feet away from me and said, “So that’s settled. Be on our guard, stay together, don’t stand for any negative moves. Simple.”

       I sighed. “How can people be so evil?  Capture other humans and Elves and force them to work? It’s – it’s –”

       “An abomination,” Shadow finished. “Have you noticed that you never saw any young vagrants in Chrysoberyl or Firth? The slave traders got them all.”

       I sucked in my breath between my teeth. My fists clenched. “The worthless scum, they put one slimy finger near me and I’ll –”

       “Look!” Ever said. “We’re not lost anymore! Here’s a signpost.” She ran a short distance down the road to a weather-beaten signpost with several arrows. “Let’s see, north is Chrysoberyl, south is the mountains, east is the borders of the Elvenlands, and west is the coast. Umm, any ideas?”

       I studied the signs. “Well, Dale’s in the mountains. I say we go south.”

       “But wait,” Shadow put in, “You and I both came to Chrysoberyl by ship. It’s a lot faster and easier to go the roundabout way by sea than to toil over the plains and mountains. Shouldn’t we go by ship?”

       “That might be another way of ‘leaving a trail’, but you are right. We don’t have enough food to survive a long hard trek over the mountains. Besides, I’m probably the only one of us who has actually climbed a mountain before.”

       “I did to get out of Ensorcel. But that was a long time ago.”

       Ever put her hands on her hips in a decisive way. “So, this is the plan. We go west till we reach the coast, then we’ll take a ship to Firth, and then…”

       “Then we walk to the mountains and climb over them into Dale,” I finished, feeling not-so-happy. “Dale’s in the middle of the northern mountains so we won’t have to climb so far. But whatever we do we’re stuck climbing mountains.”

       “Can’t we go around the mountains?”

       “The mountain range is shaped like a circle. There’s only one gap in it and that’s far to the south. We’d have to go around almost the entire circle before we reach the gap, and then we’d have to walk across endless miles of grassland, and end up having to do a bit of mountain climbing anyway.”

       “Okay, okay!” Ever raised her hands as a signal for me to stop. “I get it.”

       We started walking east. We had no idea how far away the coast was so we rationed our food as frugally as we dared. We were hungry. And tired. And dirty. But we couldn’t amend any of these problems. We just had to reach the coast in one piece.

       After a long, painful, and trying journey of several days, we reached the coast. We staggered into the port filthy, starving, and exhausted, and all-around looking like wild savages. Light-fingered Shadow relieved several men of their hardtack and this we gnawed at as we crouched behind barrels and sacks in a forgotten corner of the port.

       “Now what?” Ever asked around a mouthful of the hardtack, which had the hardness of a rock and none of the flavor.

       I spat out a tough bit. “Yuck! How do sailors live on that stuff! What? Oh, what to do. Um, well, we need to get a ship to Firth. It’s only a few days’ journey to Dale from there. The voyage isn’t that bad, but let me see if I remember how much it cost…” I drummed my fingers on my forehead as I thought. “It cost me ten silver to take the voyage from here to Firth.”

       “Ten silver!” Ever choked. “Ten! That’s – that’s –”

       “That means thirty silver for all of us.” Shadow calculated a moment in his head. “We would have only nine silver left.”

       “That is way too expensive.”

       “Maybe, but it’s the best way,” I argued. “With nine silver we can get supplies for the voyage and our trek to Dale. We’ll have to ration it all very carefully, but we should make it.”

       “All right.” I could tell by his voice that Shadow didn’t like the plan, but did he have a better one? I didn’t think so.

       By midday I had secured passage on a small but relatively clean and sound ship named Stormbright. Then I strolled around the docks (alone) and returned to our corner with some dried fish, a few apples, and hardtack. Ever and Shadow both groaned at the sight of those semi-edible rocks called hardtack, but there was nothing else. We hung around until the next morning when Stormbright set sail.

       “How long will it take to reach Firth?”  Ever asked as we walked up the gangplank.

       I thought a moment. “Well, I had been gone from Dale for at least three weeks when I reached the Scarlet Serpent, and I know it took quite a while to go overland, especially over the mountains… Oops!”  Shadow caught me as I tripped over the top of the gangplank and almost went sprawling across the deck. “Sorry.”

       “Look where you’re stepping,” he reminded me, then checked himself. “I mean, mind your feet, my lady.”

       I drew myself up, gave him a curt little nod, and flounced after Ever. “One and a half weeks!”

       We found ourselves stuck in a dark little cabin below deck that we shared with all the other passengers. It was getting hard to pretend Shadow was our slave. Ever could easily pretend to be my sister, but we were both tired of smacking and scolding Shadow.

       “I’m sorry we’re giving you such a hard time,” I whispered to Shadow that night, as all three of us squeezed into one bunk. “But we’ve got to keep up appearances. Even if you didn’t have the thrall ring, there aren’t many free Elves wandering around human lands.”

       “It’s all right,” Shadow muttered. His voice implied otherwise. He rubbed the fading red mark on his cheek, scowling a little. I bit my lower lip. We had better get to Firth soon and out into the wilderness. This was harder on Shadow than he was letting on. I just hoped he didn’t think I meant to be harsh.

       The next day dawned clear and bright, a scarlet sun rising in the east. I went above deck at dawn to walk about in the clean fresh air. Looking at my dirty hands and kirtle, I wished I had some water to wash up in. I must look an absolute fright. I braided my hair as I leaned over the gunwale looking at the swift dark water receding from the smooth wet hull. No one was near me. I softly sang a song Mother had taught me long ago.

The scarlet banners rise

Upon the shaft of a spear

All eyes are set on the battlefield

Fraught with spirits of fear

The horses paw the ground

They know the end is near

A red dawn is rising

Silent, grave, and clear.

       “Silent, grave, clear,” I repeated. I looked up. The sunrise rose red and silent, grave and clear, sending fiery ripples across the sea. The sea. The sea was so wide and deep, it was hard to imagine land existed anywhere. The world was of water, and I was set adrift upon it, alone and wondering.

       “Hey, Aria.”

       I jumped. “Oh. Hi, Ever.”

       She smiled and stepped up beside me. “What’re you thinking about?”

       “Nothing.” I turned to look back at the sea. “I was just – I was just wondering how we’re going to pull this all off.”

       She laughed a little. “Me too. It’ll be a miracle if we don’t starve to death, or die of exhaustion or exposure, or get eaten by wild animals, or run into slave traders or marauders, or –”

       “Okay, okay! I get it!”

       We remained silent for a while, watching the sun climb into the heavens and illuminate the world. I shivered in the early morning chill. Mid-spring was cold this far north.

       “I was talking with Shadow earlier,” Ever said unexpectedly. “What makes Night Elves so bad?”

       “Night Elves,” I echoed. “He told you his father is a Night Elf?”

       She nodded.

       There was no way out. I had to tell her. “Well, many people believe Night Elves can do magic, like black magic. They also have a reputation for being sneaky, deceitful, dangerous – pretty much everything that people detest in others. Many conflicts have arisen between Night Elves and humans, and sometimes even other Elves. Elves are not welcome in human lands, but a Night Elf runs the risk of attack in any lands other than their own. Humans call Night Elves nightlings, in mockery of their dark origins.”

       Ever winced. “That’s terrible.”

       “I know. My mother once met a Night Elf during the war. She was scared to death of him – and for good reason. She called him a nightling once but never did again. At the end of the war he was captured and enslaved, but he and Mother made up and she actually got him his freedom.” I paused. “But don’t think they married! My father is a Fire Elf, not a Night Elf.”

       “I wasn’t thinking he was your father.” Ever raised her hands in appeal. “You don’t look like a Night Elf’s daughter. Your mother was very adventurous, wasn’t she?”

       “Yes. Very. She was practically the one who ended the war.” I paused again, then let out a small laugh.

       “What’s so funny?”

       “Oh, I was just remembering a story my mother told me that she learned in Ensorcel. She said that she heard that once that Night Elf tried to drink his sweetheart under the table.”

       Ever stared at me for a moment, then asked, “Who won?”

       “Oh, the girl.”

       She winced. “You shouldn’t tell stories like that.” But she laughed all the same.

       I laughed along with her, then sobered up with a sigh. “I’ve wanted so much to follow in her footsteps and go where she went, to see and meet everything and everyone she did, but my own adventure has turned out to be quite different.”

       “Don’t regret where life had led you, Aria. You know we’re not alone in this world. There’s always Someone watching out for us.”

       “What do you mean?”

       She looked into my eyes, hope shimmering in her own. “There’s a God in heaven, and He knows what He’s doing. He has a special plan for everyone. We may not always understand His ways, but in the end, it all works out. This path is the right one for you, Aria. God is leading you down it and you’ve no choice but to pursue it to the end.”

Chapter 4

Wilderness Survival

       “Why were you telling Ever about my father?”

       “What?” I jerked my head up to look at Shadow. I cringed at the dark look on his face. “What are you talking about?”

       He looked out of the space we huddled in, all around the hold. The storerooms where barrels and crates and such things were kept made wonderful hideaways if you were small enough and wanted to be alone. Satisfied that no one was near us, he drew his head back in and glared at me. “You were talking to Ever about how bad Night Elves are and how horrible my father was to your mother.”

       “What!? I don’t – Shadow, if you’re thinking that the Night Elf I was talking about was your father, you’re crazy!”

       “No, I’m not!” I felt my heart clench at the look in his golden eyes as he continued. “I know all about it. I know everything my father did. And then you have to go and tell Ever!”

       “Shadow, I swear, I did not know that Night Elf was your father. It never even crossed my mind. And I didn’t mean to portray Night Elves as being evil. I just said why people didn’t like them. I didn’t say all those things were true!”

       “Still…” He looked down at the floor.

       “You don’t like it when people talk about Night Elves or the war, do you?”

       “No.”

       “What was – I mean, is – your father’s name?”

       “Raven.”

       I nodded. “That was the name of the Night Elf my mother met. That pretty much proves the connection. Where is he now?”

       “I don’t know. Probably somewhere in Ensorcel.”

       “The Elven capital?”

       He nodded.

       I sighed. “Well, I’m sorry. Like I said, I didn’t know, but I’m still sorry I caused you grief.”

       “It’s all right. You didn’t know.”

       I still had one more thing to say. “Why is it your hair is both black and golden? Why isn’t it one or the other?”

       Shadow didn’t answer for a few minutes. He took a strand of his hair between his fingers and looked at it. “It’s odd, but when I was born it was completely golden. Once I was captured and sold to Jade, it suddenly started turning black. It’s spreading, like – like a poison. I don’t know why.”

       I studied his hair. It seemed to me that more of his hair was black than when I had first met him. The black slowly crept upward, swallowing the gold, like the coming shadow of night. “It’s your Night Elf side. All the hate and pain you experienced as a slave – it’s coming out. It’s spreading.”

       Shadow gave me a slightly alarmed look. “What does that mean?”

       “I believe you are more Night Elf now than you were in Ensorcel. The dark power grows. If this continues, you may end up being all Night Elf.”

       “All Night Elf,” he whispered. He twirled the strand of hair around his fingers, then flung it over his shoulder. “Maybe Night Elves really are evil.”

       At the end of one and a half weeks of water, waves, and wishing, Stormbright sailed into the wide beautiful harbor of Firth. I ran down the gangplank, whooping to be alive and across the gorgeous but dangerous sea. As soon as my feet hit the shore, however, I felt myself spin in one direction and the world in another. My sea legs didn’t cope so well on land.

       Shadow, whose legs could instantly adapt to anything, grabbed my arm to hold me steady. Ever staggered against him as we walked away from the ship. We had used up all our meager supplies, and dirt and salt caked our clothes, skin, and hair. Shadow’s thrall ring was dull and tarnished, which made it harder to see, especially with his hair covering most of his neck. I felt happy despite all the negatives that pressed down on us.

       “So, how long will it take to walk to Dale?” Ever asked.

       I didn’t feel so happy anymore. “Another week and a half.”

       Ever sighed at the same time as Shadow. “That sounds fun.”

       “Don’t worry,” I assured them. “I’ve made the journey before. It’s not that bad.”

       “But you had supplies,” Shadow pointed out. “We have nothing and no means to secure any, except for stealing. But I can’t get enough supplies for a week and half of travel without someone noticing.”

       Ever had an idea. “We’ll just have to live off the land. There’s plenty growing between here and Dale, isn’t there?”  She looked expectantly at me.

       “Yes, there is, and wild animals too. I mean the small kind you can trap and eat.”

       “Wouldn’t doubt it if the big dangerous kind is there too,” Shadow muttered, but I didn’t answer him. I don’t think he wanted one.

       In spite of his previous misgivings, Shadow did manage to swipe a good amount of food and an empty wineskin which we filled with water for our journey. We didn’t dare spend the night in Firth. We walked as fast as we could out of the town and onto the wide open plains. Clouds spanned the sky, concealing the sun, and cast a pale gray light over us, playing over the green grass that reached halfway up our lower legs. Ever ran ahead, glad to release all the energy she had kept pent up on the ship. “Isn’t it wonderful to be alive?”

       At that moment, I didn’t care about anything. What did it matter if you were a slave, a captive, a runaway, if you were alive? None of these seemed to matter so much as just being alive. I jumped in ecstasy and threw my head back to look at the sky. “Dale, here we come!”

       We kept walking. No burning sun bothered us, nor tearing winds, nor the threat of pursuers. The plains never ended, but I didn’t care, just so long as Firth and Chrysoberyl and the Scarlet Serpent were far behind. As we went Ever sang a song that I had never heard before, but was as high and clear as the sky.

Wander with me to Dale’s hills

From lonely Firth by the gray sea

Hoping for the end of the road

As we cross the plains so free.

Journey across the wilderness

Under the paling dawn

No knowing where the end may lie

Not a sound to lead us on.

Venture with me to Ensorcel

The mountains awaiting us there

Danger leading us ever on

And to heaven speeds our prayer.

Voyage o’er the wild sea

Chrysoberyl to wondering shores

As rain falls over the thund’ring lands

‘Till we journey nevermore.

Wander with me to hidden Dale

From lost lands o’er paths that still wend

I walk with you through this wilding world

We search ever for the end.

       I could only wonder what that end would be.

       “Stop!”

       Shadow’s urgent whisper struck me like a sudden wind and I halted. We were five days into our trek and not until now had we run into any problems.

       “What is it?”  Ever whispered back.

       “There’s someone up ahead.” Shadow pointed off into the distance.

       About forty feet ahead stood a young man stringing a bow as tall as he was. He had suntanned skin and wild light brown hair and an odd tattoo on his chest. He wore nothing other than dirty ragged leggings, the ends frayed and stretched and falling short of his ankles by at least ten inches.

       “He looks half wild,” I whispered.

       “I’d say all wild,” Shadow hissed back. “He looks dangerous. Approach cautiously.”

       However, the strange young man heard us before we had a chance to properly approach him. He whirled around, pale gray eyes flashing, his body gliding into an attack position. He flicked several arrows from the quiver hanging from his belt and nocked one to his bowstring, waiting for us to make a single move. He looked wild and dangerous.

       No one moved.

       Finally the strange young man lowered his bow and demanded, “Who are you?”

       I looked at my friends. Ever shrugged, but Shadow shook his head. Turning back the young man, I asked, “I think you should tell me who you are first. Then I’ll tell you who we are.”

       His eyes narrowed and he drew his fingers over the flights of his arrow, like a warning.

       “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Ever said, exasperated. Stepping forward, she gestured to me and Shadow as she spoke. “I’m Ever, and these are my friends Aria and Shadow. What’s your name?”

       The young man relaxed visibly. “Echo.”

       “Nice to meet you, Echo.” Ever turned back to us and whispered, “All right, now we walk away.”

       “Wait.” Shadow pushed past her and walked straight up to Echo. Focusing his eyes on the other’s, he hissed, “You didn’t see us. You don’t know us. Got it?”

       To his surprise, Echo laughed and returned his arrows to his quiver, slinging his bow across his chest. “Calm down, nightling. Who am I going to tell?”  He laughed again.

       I felt my insides twist at the word ‘nightling’. That was just about the worst insult Shadow could receive. I could see the righteous anger surging through his body as he stepped back, evidently not wanting to have anything more to do with this wild young archer. I gave him a sympathetic glance before turning my attention on Echo. “If you want to keep your limbs you’ll kindly refrain from using that word around my friend. He gets kind of sensitive.”

       Echo raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

       When I made to go back to my friends he called out, “Where are you going?”

       I hesitated. He might want to follow us, but harm would that do? And, like he said earlier, who would he tell? We were probably the first living beings other than animals that he had seen in a long, long time. He was wild. “We’re going to Dale.”

       “Dale?” He sounded incredulous. “You’ll never make it.”

       I let out a huffy breath. Turning round once more, I placed my hands on my hips and demanded, “Why not?”

       The smug look on his face raised in me the desire to slap it off, but I maintained my peace as he said, “Last week an earthquake hit Dale. Wiped out the road. Those mountains are now impassable.”

       “What!?” He couldn’t be serious. “You can’t mean that Dale is now cut off from the rest of the world, do you?”

       “Of course not. There are still roads leading out of it, but only to other mountain towns. If you want to get to Dale, your only choice is to go south to the gap in the mountains and take the road north from the town of Sierra.”

       “The southern gap!?” I felt desperation rising within me. “That’ll take months! We don’t have that time!”

       “Well, it’s the only way. Do you really have to reach Dale that quickly?”

       “Well, no, but we can’t just hang around the wilderness for months and months. We aren’t so skilled at surviving in nature as you are.”

       “True.” He cast a casual glance at the sky. “It’s getting late. Around six-thirty, I’d say. You’d better get a move on if you’ve got months of travel ahead of you.”

       I focused my gaze at the horizon, stewing silently in my wrath. Ever tapped me on the shoulder. “What choice do we have, Aria? If we want to get to Dale we’ve got to take the long way.”

       “But – but –” This couldn’t be happening. Just a moment ago everything was right in world and now this crazy feral boy was telling us that we couldn’t get to Dale. I was dreaming. I was so dreaming.

       “Or you could take me with you,” Echo put in.

       “What?” Did he just say ‘take me with you?’

       “I’ve been over the Dale mountains dozens of times, with and without the road. If you let me go with you I can guide you through the mountains – and I can help you survive in the wilderness.”

       His self-congratulatory pose might have infuriated me at any other time, but right now all I noticed was what he said. “Well – um – uh…”

       Ever spoke up again. “He has a point.”

       “True.” I pondered the situation for a moment, but not for long. I sighed. “Very well, Echo. We will allow you to lead us through the mountains and verse us in the art of wilderness survival.”

       “Are you going to demand anything out of this?”  Shadow snapped.

       Echo looked offended. “What would you have that I would want? I don’t need anything.”

       “Hmm,” was all Shadow said in reply.

       I was still a little baffled by this turn of events. “So, uh, how long should it take to get to Dale, then?”

       Echo looked up at the sky again. “We’ve five days of hard walking to reach the mountains first, and then… well, when I go by myself, I can cross in a day or two, but with all you amateurs, it might take a week.”

       I bit back a sigh of exasperation. Shadow muttered, “Amateurs?” under his breath, but Ever said, “Thanks so much, Echo.”

       “Not a problem.”

       Shadow glowered at him. “You’d better not cause any problems.”

       Ignoring that last comment from Shadow, I felt it was my duty to remind everyone that we couldn’t stand around talking all day. “Shouldn’t we get walking now?”

       Shadow pointed at Echo. “He goes first.”

       Echo drew back from him. “Why?”

       Shadow put his hands on his hips and glowered at Echo. “So we can keep an eye on you. If you make any funny moves we can easily get you back in line.”

       “Stop it, Shadow!” Ever yelled at him. “Why can’t you just trust him?”

       “Give me one good reason why I should trust him.”

       Echo’s hands played toward his bow. Shadow raised his fists. I didn’t think he would succeed against an arrow with just his fists, but I didn’t care how they fought. The point was, they were about to fight. “Stop!” I shrieked. “Just listen to yourselves!” I whirled on Shadow. “You! Stop being so darn suspicious and rude! You’ve no reason to be so mean to Echo. If he proves himself untrustworthy then you can slaughter him, but until that happens, and if it happens, you behave yourself! And you!” I continued, turning on Echo. “What’s the point of being so high and mighty!? We’re lost in a strange land, but that gives you no excuse to take advantage of our ignorance! If you want to come with us you’d better change your manner before I let Shadow get to you!”

       The only sound was my heavy breathing. I looked from Shadow to Echo and back again. “Well!?”

       “Sorry, Aria,” Shadow muttered.

       “Yeah. Sorry.” Echo scuffed the ground with his bare feet.

       “Good.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and gave them both a stern gaze. “Now that you’ve learned your lessons, we will be going on our way. If you want to come, Echo, you may do so, but the next time you and Shadow start having problems…” I didn’t finish my sentence. I didn’t need to.

Chapter 5

Free… No Longer Free

       “Look here,” Ever said to Echo the next day, “You can’t go wandering all over the place in nothing but your… your leggings.”

       “Why not?” Echo looked at her like she was crazy. “I’ve never needed anything else in my life.”

       “Well, that’s about to change.” Ever searched her small satchel she had brought from Chrysoberyl. She pulled out her spare tunic that she wore under her skirt. Echo reeled backward in horror.

       “Come on now, Echo.” Ever advanced, a slightly malicious expression on her face. Echo slowly walked backward, looking ready to bolt. I decided Ever needed some help. I leapt on Echo, tackling him to the ground and pinning his arms down. He let out a yelp of terror as Ever thrust the tunic at him. “Now, Echo, you are going to put this on and you are going to put it on now!”

       He struggled like I was killing him, but I didn’t loosen my grip once. Dragging him to a sitting position, I yanked his bow off. “Do as she says!” I released his arms but kept his legs pinned down. He gave me an imploring look. “Do I have to?”

       “Yes!” Ever and I yelled at the same time.

       Still he hesitated. Shadow wouldn’t stand for any nonsense. The young Elf came forward, tossing a rock into the air and catching it again. “If he hasn’t put on that tunic by the time this rock hits the ground, it’s going to knock his head off.” He flung it up to the sky.

       Echo grabbed the tunic and yanked it over his head faster than I thought possible. I let go of his legs, and he stood up, grabbing his bow. “There. It’s on.” Ever stifled a giggle behind her hand. Echo gave her a dark look and straightened out the hem of the tunic. Then he reached under, unfastened his belt, and retied it around his waist. Glaring daggers at us all, he stalked ahead of us, evidently not wanting to have anything more to do with that particular spot. It was my turn to giggle. Shadow snorted.

       Five days passed. Our feet were blistered and our limbs aching by the time we reached the mountains, and that did not bode well. Looking up at the high rocky slopes, with only a crude road to follow, I began to have my doubts. “And we’re going to have to climb over those things?”

       “Indeed we are,” Echo said. He started up the path. “Well, are you coming or not!?”

       “We’re coming!” I ran after him, though not with much enthusiasm.

       In single file we walked along the narrow path, a sheer cliff rising on side, a sickening drop-off on the other. I tried not to look down as I trailed behind, not eager to rush ahead in these treacherous mountains. Here we walked in the realm of the birds, the clouds before us like endless white plains. The cries of eagles rang through the peaks, echoing off the mountain walls, and flinging themselves up to the cloudy sky. This was a world of eagles and clouds and the sky. I found my breath had stilled as I wandered farther into this unknown land, a realm detached from the rest of the world. It was a virgin world, untainted by the presence of the higher races, whose progressions mean the end of the first, untouched, natural world.

       I looked back to my friends in time to see Echo tear Ever’s tunic off and fling it on the path. Ever sighed as she picked it up and stuffed it back into her satchel. We just couldn’t persuade him to anything he didn’t want to do.

       “Do you hear something?” Shadow asked.

       I stopped walking. All I heard was the wailing wind that coursed through the high reaches of the mountains. “N-no. Why do you ask?”

       “Shhh!” He held up a hand for silence. We all stopped walking. Waiting, listening, we stood on the narrow path with tense muscles, ready to bolt.

       “I hear it,” I whispered. A deep, steady rumble resounded through the earth and shook up our legs. I looked up, fear in my voice. “Earthquake?”

       Echo shook his head. “No. Too regular. It’s like – like something’s approaching.”

       “And, what would that something be?” Ever asked as she took a few steps backward.

       “Shhh!” I said this time. “Voices!”

       We all heard it, a constant chant that filled the air like dark birds. The voices that chanted sounded strange and wild, voices of the wind and wilderness. “Kill, slay, and conquer! Kill, slay, and conquer!”

       “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ever asked, but Echo was already answering. His eyes grew huge as he drew his breath in sharply. He turned and sprinted down the path like a hind.

       “What is it!?” I called after him.

       “Run!”

       I obeyed, still wondering. “From what!?”

       “From them!” Echo threw me a stricken glance as he wildly pointed back the way we’d come.

       I risked a peek over my shoulder. Short, wiry figures holding long spears and chanting the fearful unknown words came leaping and tearing down the mountainside after us. Their long tangled hair flew behind them, long tawny eyes glittering, spearheads glinting in the sunlight. I let out a shriek of terror and shot forward, my feet pounding the ground, my breath tearing in and out of my lungs.

       “What are they!?” Ever screamed.

       “Wild Dwarves!” Echo plunged ahead. Obviously he had run into these savages before and he was not anxious to get reacquainted with them.

       Wild Dwarves, eh? Sounds fun. I had never run so fast. My feet grew wings from my fear and I flew over the rough dangerous path like the shadow of a falcon. Shadow ran next to me, Echo several paces ahead, Ever – I hoped she was behind me. On and on, as the wild chants and laughter of the Dwarves followed us.

       “Look out!” Ever screamed. A Dwarf slid down into the path right in front of me. I screamed, tried to stop, and instead slammed into the Dwarf, hurtling us both to the ground. The Dwarf let out a “whoosh!” as I knocked the wind from him. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled on. More Dwarves came running down the slopes ahead of us. One leapt off a pinnacle of rock and landed square on Echo’s shoulders, felling him. The Dwarf let out a wild laugh of triumph and stabbed at Echo with his spear. That brave young man twisted underneath the Dwarf, seized his spear hand, and jerked it back. They grappled on the ground, one for his prey, the other for his life.

       I reached them all too soon. I didn’t know whether to stop and help Echo or to jump over them and keep running. I chose the former. I hurled myself at the Dwarf and knocked him off Echo, then found myself struggling for my life. Somewhere behind us Ever screamed, but I couldn’t see her. The Dwarf hissed and jabbed at me with his spear. Wriggling like a fish, I avoided any fatal injuries, though I received several nasty cuts. “Help!” I shrieked. Someone’s fist flashed out and connected with the Dwarf’s face. He fell back with a groan and Shadow hauled me to my feet. “Run!”

       “But what about you!?”  I couldn’t leave him. A bruise showed black and ugly on his jaw, a livid wound festered on his left shoulder, and blood dripped from a cut above his eye. “It doesn’t matter!” he yelled. “Run! It’s better that you escape than all of us die!”

       Under normal circumstances I would not let him get away with a remark like that, but as these were not normal circumstances I offered no argument. I sprang away and ran. Where was Echo? And Ever?

       A hard yank on my hair sent pain shooting through my scalp and up my spine. A Wild Dwarf jerked me backward by my hair. “Not so fast, girl!”

       I tried to struggle, but I could hardly move through the crippling shroud of pain that engulfed me. The Dwarf gave one last yank before thrusting me to the ground. For a moment I lay paralyzed by fear, then my senses returned. I surged to my feet but he kicked me down again. He slammed his spear down. I shut my eyes, awaiting the end.

       The end didn’t come. I opened my eyes to see the spear point sticking in the ground an inch from my face, through the thick black fibers that surrounded my vision. Wait. What? I lashed out, but my hands and feet hit some sort of barrier. The Dwarf had thrown a net over me. Wildly I struggled, but this only seemed to wrap the net tighter around me. Still I fought. I had to get out. It couldn’t end this way.

       The Wild Dwarf grasped the net and began to haul me off. “No!” I screeched, clawing at the net.

       “Aria!”

       I saw Shadow, fighting to reach me, a Dwarf hanging onto each of his arms. He fell to his knees, received a whack on the back of the head with a spear shaft, weakly struggled to his feet again, and still he came on. At last he broke free of the Dwarves and flung himself at my captor, who promptly let go of the net and stabbed at Shadow. The young Elf grabbed the spear, twisted it out of his enemy’s grasp and tossed it aside. “Get away from her!”

       Two more Dwarves came to the rescue of the foe. I kicked inside the net as Shadow fought against all odds, but they slowly pushed him down, forcing him to yield…

       “Noooo!” I kicked again and struck a Dwarf on his shin. He collapsed and Shadow brought down another with punishing blows. I had never thought Shadow had so much strength in his gaunt body.

       The Dwarf I kicked struggled to his feet. “This ‘ere’s a wild un!” he snapped at the other. “Do away with ‘im!”

       I attacked the net like a wildcat, but the horrible thing would not release me. The two Dwarves, slowly but surely, pressed Shadow to his knees and dragged him to the edge of the path. He still fought, on and on, but his strength flagged. One of the Dwarves struck him between the eyes and he pitched backward over the side of the cliff.

       I let loose a wordless cry. I tried to grasp at Shadow, tried to save him, but I could do nothing. He was going, going… gone. Sobbing into the dust, I allowed the Dwarves to take the ends of the net again and drag me away. To where, I didn’t care. All that mattered was that Shadow was dead.

       “Is this all ya got? Pathetic. ‘ardly any muscles on ‘em. An’ from wha’ I unnerstand ya lost one.”

       “Well, there weren’t any more’n these, an’ it was ‘is own fault ‘e we ‘ad to kill ‘im. Feistiest liddle wretch I ever seen.”

       I groaned through my throbbing headache. I didn’t even remember passing out. My eyes slid open to reveal two Wild Dwarves, one female and one male, leaning over me. I gasped and tried to stand up, but my aching body protested so violently I lay still. However, I wouldn’t be able to go far even if I could stand up. I was secured to the wall by a short chain attached to the manacles locked over my wrists. Turning my head to get a better glimpse of my surroundings, I saw Ever and Echo lying unconscious next to me, similarly bound. Cavern walls loomed above me, dark striped stone, solid and impenetrable. The extent of the cavern remained unknown to me at the present, but at that moment I didn’t really care.

       The female Dwarf, who wore a long red leather cloak, straightened and looked at the male. “This ‘un’s awake.” She nudged me with her toe, then snapped at her companion, “Well, what’er ya ‘angin’ around for? Go find sommat to do an’ make yaself useful!”

       When the male had gone, she grabbed me by the collar and hauled me to a sitting position. I coughed a little on her breath, but she wasn’t bad-looking, as Dwarves go. Her sun-dark face bore over-broad cheekbones, thin lips, and deep-set eyes that glowed like golden-brown jewels. Her wide, calloused hand felt rough against my skin but I did not resist. “Now,” she said, looking me in the eye, “what are we goin’ to do wi’ ya?”

       “That’s what I want to know,” I muttered under my breath. If the Dwarf heard me, she gave no sign. Twisting her mouth a little, she placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t know why ya were tresspassin’ in our mountains, but it don’t matter. Sad truth is, ya an’ ya friends are pris’ners of the Wild Dwarves now. Hate for it to be this way, but life ain’t always fair.” She shrugged. “I ne’er asked to be a Wild Dwarf, but ‘ere I am. As fate will ‘ave it, ya three are slaves of us now, so ya better know ya place.”

       Slaves? Of the Wild Dwarves? I felt my heart sink into my boots. Goodbye Chrysoberyl, hello Wild Dwarves. I almost felt as though I would prefer Jade to these wild folk. The Dwarf went on talking.

       “Just do as ya told an’ ya won’t make no trouble for yaself. If ya lazy or rebellious, well, I’m ‘fraid it’s no vittles and the whip for ya, though I can tell ya, it won’t be me who’ll do it.” She shook her head. “Do ya think I can unchain ya, or do ya need a little more lyin’ time?”

       I guessed she meant, “Can I trust you to do as you’re told, or do I have to leave you chained up like a criminal?” I sighed. “I don’t mean any disrespect, but I’m not quite ready to be a slave yet.”

       I had expected her to strike me or something, but all the Dwarf did was shrug. “’ave it ya way. Call me Storm. I’ll do ma best to make ya stay ‘ere less miserable than it ‘as to be, but I ‘opes ya come to ya senses soon.” With that, she turned and vanished into the dark recesses of the cavern.

       I stared after her, then burst into tears.

       Ever opened her eyes. “Are they gone?”

       I started, sniffed, and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. “Y-yes. Were – were you pretending to be asleep?”

       She nodded, then gestured to Echo. “He’s not. He took a nasty beating back there in the fight.”

       Echo lay motionless, eyes closed, his lean body scarred with bruises and cuts covered in congealed blood. The Dwarves had taken his bow and quiver, and he looked quite forlorn.

       Ever sighed. “He’s not going to have an easy time. He’s wild and restless. Lived his whole life in the free wilderness. It’ll be worse for him than for us. They also took our satchels and my knife.”

       Great. My stomach growled. “I’m starving.”

       “Me, too. But in a place like this we’re going to have to earn our food. What sort of work do you think we’ll have to do?”

       I shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably digging and carrying and dragging rocks here and there.”

       “They have metal spearheads and manacles, so they must dig some.”

       “Hope they don’t make us do any digging.”

       I swear the Wild Dwarves let us lie and starve for a full day and a night before they deemed our spirits broken enough to start slaving away. Storm gave me a sympathetic glance as she unlocked the manacles from my wrists. “Rise ‘n shine. Though the sun don’t come into our nice caverns much. Don’t worry, I’ll start ya off slow. Ya can go an’ cut some firewood.”

       I rubbed life back into my stiff and chafed wrists. “Um, okay. Where’s the woodpile?”

       “I’ll show ya.” Storm took my arm and half-dragged me out of the cavern. I found myself in a sort of open chamber formed from the living rock of the mountain, surrounded by high walls on three sides. I noticed how well the chamber blended into the mountainside, concealing the entrance to the cavern. Storm pointed to a ramshackle heap of wood, most of it looking like small tree trunks. “There ya are. Axe is right over there.” She gestured to a steel-headed axe leaning against one wall. I looked at it, then at my puny arms, then at her formidable biceps. Turning on her heel, she left me.

       With a sigh, I picked up the huge heavy axe and made a chop at a piece of wood. It splintered beneath the blade, and both halves went skittering away in opposite directions. “Oh, for the love of –” I stopped mid-sentence as I went after the pieces.

       My back and arms burned, my lungs ached, my eyes felt hot. The axe got heavier the more I worked, and I soon found myself longing for a drink of water. Sweat dripped into my eyes, stinging them. I wiped away the sweat with an angry growl and tried to lift the axe. The ungainly thing crashed on the stone between my feet and refused to move. I let out a scream of frustration and kicked it. Who cared what the Wild Dwarves would do to me? If they called this ‘starting off slow’, I did not want to see what they called real work.

       A loud cry of rage and pain – Echo’s voice – rang out in the cavern. I winced. Ever was right. However tough it would be for me and her, it would be even worse for him.

       A young male Dwarf sauntered out of the caverns. The first thing I noticed about was that he wore my mother’s moon-linen scarf as a belt. The first thing he noticed about me was that I was not a Dwarf. “What are ya doin’?”

       “What does it look like I’m doing!?” I shrieked. “Wolf-hunting!? If you think a fifteen-year-old human girl can split tree trunks with that hatchet, you’re crazy!” I shoved him to the ground and stormed into the cavern.

       What am I doing? I’m insane! I wandered aimlessly around the cavern, trying to find Storm. I bumped into Ever, who carried a bucket of water in her arms. “Oof!”

       “Aaah!” She just managed to stop her bucket from tipping. “Oh, uh, hi Aria.”

       “Hi, Ever.” I looked at the bucket. “What’s that for?”

       “Oh, this is for cooling things in the forges. By the way, Storm’s the tribe matriarch of the Wild Dwarves, so she’s in command. Lucky for us, huh?”

       I nodded. “Very. So, uh, are they making Echo work in his state?”

       “You can bet your boots they are. I don’t know how anyone can get into trouble as fast as he did.”

       With that, she continued walking. “Sorry. Got no time to spare.”

       I gave her a little nod, then called after her, “Where’s Storm!?”

       “At the forges. First cavern to the left!”

       Well, I couldn’t expect all these Dwarves live in one cavern, could I? I ran to the left-hand cavern and looked around. Torches in scones on the walls illuminated the cavern, casting flickering shadows everywhere. The pounding of hammers and roaring of furnaces struck my ears. These Dwarves may be wild, but they weren’t primitive. They knew how to work metal. I caught a glimpse of Storm’s deep red cloak and made my way over to her, receiving several shoves along the way.

       Storm turned around when I said her name. “Ya done wi’ the wood?”

       I swallowed. “Er, no, but I – I’m too weak to chop firewood. It was too hard. It would have taken me all day just to do a little.”

       She let out a sigh and placed a hand to her forehead. “Why is it that they allus ‘ave problems wi’ that?” she muttered, as though to herself. “Well, I don’t blame ya. Last slave we ‘ad was so skinny a breeze coulda knocked ‘im off ‘is feet. Got only three blows in wi’ the axe afore ‘e split ‘is foot near in two. Wretched thing wouldn’t ‘eal, so we ‘ad to do ‘im in and take ‘im outta ‘is misery.”

       I felt chills run up and down my spine with every word she said.

       At last she remembered me and looked up. “Well then, go – go and keep the fires goin’!” She pointed to an unattended bellows stuck with its nose stuck in one of the forges. I let out a deep breath, swiped my sweaty hair from my forehead, and stalked over to the bellows.

       Night had fallen outside when at last I was allowed to stumble back to our little corner of the caverns with our daily allotment of food. I thought we would only get the typical prisoners’ ‘stale bread and a little water’, so the scones, however coarse, and clear cold water the Dwarves gave me pleasantly surprised me. The Dwarves didn’t chain us back up, and I soon saw why when four or five of them pulled levers in the walls near the entrance. A great wall of rock slid out of the ceiling and right over the entrance, halting with a shuddering boom on the floor. No way out.

       I yawned and flung myself on the dirt floor. Ever and Echo were there before me. Ever had a bowl of herbs steeping in water that she dipped a cloth into and dabbed at Echo’s right eye, swollen and discolored. Dirt covered Ever’s face and skirt, and Echo looked sullen and distressed. His eyes were red and he winced as Ever pressed the cloth to his eye. She also winced. “Sorry.”

       He scowled a little but made no reply. Ever looked at me. “You should see his back.”

       I started to stand.

       “No, no, don’t!” Echo pleaded. “You – she didn’t mean it.”

       I sat back down with a huff and looked at the floor. “We have got to get out of here.”

       “How? This place is teeming with Wild Dwarves, and besides, there’s the blocked entrance to get through.” Ever, in her anxiety, applied too much pressure, causing Echo to flinch.

       “I don’t know,” I muttered. “I’m too tired to think.”

       “Me too.” Ever flopped her cloth down and leaned against the wall. “Things can’t get much worse.”

       Echo lay down on his side. “At least Shadow doesn’t have to go through this.”

       We all fell silent, save for an occasional sniff from either me or Ever.

       “Rest in peace, Shadow,” I whispered, my face turned to the floor. “You’re not a slave any longer.”

Chapter 6

Not of the Clan

       A week passed in the lair of the Wild Dwarves, all work and no rest. Well, almost no rest. Ever, with her quiet spirit, had things easy, while the strong wills of Echo and I often left us badly worsted.

       As I worked mostly in the forges, the Dwarves often sent me to get water from the river in which to cool their newly-made implements. I staggered backward as a Wild Dwarf thrust a bucket into my hands. “Go an’ git some water from da stream,” she snapped. My fingers clenched as I whirled off to the stream.

       I blinked sleep from my eyes as I went off in search of the wide underground river that the Dwarves got all their water from. Running up the wide hole in the cavern floor, I removed its wooden cover, picked up the rope that always lay nearby, looped it around the bucket handle, and lowered in into the fast-moving black water.

       As I hauled my bucket back up, I glanced into the water. It murmured in a soft voice as it rushed from the shadows and plunged once more into unknown depths. I wondered where it went. I put the bucket aside and leaned it a little for a closer look. What was the river saying? So many voices, so many visions, always just beyond my reach…

       All at once I found myself plunging headlong into the dark water, having overbalanced without even realizing it. I hit the water with a splash, a whirling moment in the crashing underwater darkness, then my head broke the surface. My lungs tore at the air to get a breath. The river no longer murmured; it roared, spitting and seething and frothing as it careened deep into the netherworld that lurked far, far below the earth and the sunlit lands. I screamed and water filled my mouth. Choking, I strove to keep my head above the water, but the mighty strength of the current and the skirt of my kirtle, which twisted about my legs, threatened to drag me under again at any moment.

       Darkness and sound filled my world. Terror gripped me as hard as the icy water. I imagined at any time the water to smash me against the rocky walls. It took me on and on, rushing faster and faster, deep into the bowels of the mountain. My energy, sapped by exertion and the cold of the water, failed me utterly. I stopped trying to stay afloat and let the river take me where it would. It didn’t matter where. It would only end one way for me.

       The roared exploded into a thunderous rumble and seething and frothing as sunlight burst into my vision. I let out a wild yelp as the river shot out of the mountainside and flew in a high waterfall over the rocks, carrying me with it. A great lake, rippling deep green like agate, awaited below. I crashed into the greenness, stinging pain shot up my body, and – darkness.

Nëë assa liuannayü

Aya näsee uinessü

Sili sayäsa näseeyel

Nala säle uasesay…

       Low, rippling singing rolled over me like silver-tipped sea breakers. I felt relaxed and serene, a strangely chilling warmth like that of the newly risen sun flowing across me. I stirred, my lips moving as I sought to speak. Quiet voices as though of the sea whispered through the air, but their meanings evaded me. A sudden desire to escape – whatever there was to escape – took hold of me and I struggled feebly in – whatever held me.

       “Still, still,” someone whispered in my ear. “You are with friends.”

       My tortured mind let go. I ceased struggling and listened.

Nala sayäsa elia

Sui assa uyisana…

       Sunlight flooded onto my face. I opened my eyes to see silvery walls rising high around me to meet a domed roof of glass that seemed to touch the sky. Great arches opened in the walls through which pale sun and salt-tinted sea breezes streamed through from a distant gray sky. Far off I heard the roaring and crashing of the sea.

       Exploring with my senses, I found I lay upon a low bed like a cot, though the word cot seems hardly to do it justice. The soft bed covering almost glowed with warmth and comfort after days of sleeping on the rocky ground. With a small sigh I turned my head to see a young woman crouching by me, dabbing at a cut on my arm with a bit of cloth soaked in sweet-smelling water. Her head bowed over her work, her dark hair streaming down her back and shoulders like silk curtains. At the sound of my sigh she looked up. I caught my breath. An unearthly, sea nymph-like beauty arrayed her features. Her hair fell loose about her high broad cheekbones, straight narrow nose, delicately formed lips, and large deep-set black eyes. Long white eyelashes ringed those eyes, like white caps cresting dark waves. A noble power, yet gentle, lay upon her face, glowing beneath her white, almost transparent skin. I took all of her in, then my eyes roved to her pointed shell-like ears between the locks of smooth dark hair.

       “A Sea Elf,” I breathed. A legend, a myth, here in the flesh.

       She gave me a small smile. “You have awoken.” Looking down at my arm, she resumed cleaning the blood from the cut. For the first time I noticed more cuts and bruises all over my body. The Sea Elf nodded a little. “The water from the mountains was not kind to you. But here you are safe.”

       “Where is here?” I could only imagine.

       She smiled again, a wider smile, as she stood and spread her arms out. “Welcome to the Clan of Sea Echoes.”

       “Clan of Sea Echoes? There are… more Sea Elves?”

       “Ah, yes.” She crouched down again, dipped her cloth into a black lacquered bowl of water on the floor next to her, and resumed cleaning my wounds. “We all live by the sea. We do not make ourselves known to the other races, for we wish to dwell in peace, following our own ways. But you are welcome here.”

       My mind whirled. The river in the Wild Dwarves’ caverns must have carried me clean through the ring of mountains. But I didn’t know the sea lay so near to those mountains. “I – I never knew that the sea was so near the mountains.”

       “It is the Secret Sea. The swift water from the Sky Ring took you to the Lake of Deep Circling that lies at the northern edge of our mountains, by the sea.”

       My bewilderment must have shown strong on my face, for she laughed a little. “The Sky Ring is our name for the circle of mountains in which lie so many human towns, as well as the capital of all Elves. Our mountains,” she stood again, pride surging through her voice and body, “Our mountains we call Touched by the Waves.”

       Such names. A mist lay over my mind as I lay still and let her tend to me. Then all of a sudden, it all came back to me: the mountains, the Wild Dwarves, Ever and Echo still slaves, Shadow falling to his death –

       “No!” I sat bolt upright. “My friends – they’re still with the Wild Dwarves! They’re in trouble!” I jumped to my feet, felt my head swim, and sat down on the edge of the bed. The Sea Elf placed a hand on mine. “Still, now. You are weak. Lie here, and let the wind and the sound of the water cure you. I will go and bring the Sea Lord to you. He will wish to hear your story. We are friends. He will wish to help you.”

       She turned to go, but I pressed her hand a little harder. “Wait! What – what’s your name?”

       She smiled one last time. “My name is Bright Mist.” And she left, gliding rather than walking across the swirled marble floor. I watched her gown float after her: deep blue silk, like water – rippling, translucent water.

       I fell into a light sleep, taking Bright Mist’s advice – letting the wind and the sound of the water cure me. I felt myself becoming one with the world by the sea. The sea. I had sailed twice upon the sea, but never had it meant to me as it meant to the Sea Elves. Their life was tied to the sea. I never wished to leave the sea, to leave the seastrand ringed by Touched by the Waves. I felt as though I, myself, had been touched by the waves.

       Soft, slight footsteps awakened me. I sat up to see Bright Mist returning, with two other Elves. The one who strode before the others… I could not look away from him. Tall, proud, with all the nobility and grace of the water, his hair falling in black waves. He wore a circlet of abalone shells that caught the light of the early sun and created an aura above his brow. His eyes glowed deep as shadows in his pale face, deep as the sea under the night sky, deep as wells that echoed to a stone thrown in, wells of dreams. A half-smile hovered about his lips. He went down on one knee next to my bed so he might look me in the eye. I never wanted to look away from his eyes.

       “Welcome to the Clan, Wave Flame,” said the Sea Lord, for undoubtedly this was he. His voice sounded like the echo of the sea in a conch shell.

       “Th-thank you,” I whispered. “Who – why do you call me Wave Flame?”

       He took a strand of my hair in his long narrow hand. “You have been kissed by fire. Fire as well as water lies on the horizon of the sea.”

       “What does that mean?”

       He let out a small laugh. “Have you never seen the sun set into the sea?”

       I had seen the sunset many times as we sailed on the Seabright, but only now did I think of fire and water mingling. Wave Flame – my Sea Elven name. As long as they called me by it, I had no need to tell them my real name. “Thank you for caring for me, Sea Lord.”

       “That is only my title. It does not say who I am. Please, call me Sea Flight.”

       I nodded. “I will, Sea Lor- Sea Flight.”

       A small, mocking laugh rang in my ears. Startled, I looked up at the other Elf whom I had failed to notice before, so spellbound had Sea Flight held me. The other Elf, tall, young, and slender, stood just behind and to the side of Bright Mist. A smile, almost a smirk, flickered on his fine-boned face, his arms hanging at his sides. His loosely curling dark hair hung down his back to his waist, save for one long slim braid draped over his right shoulder. A small shell-shaped mark painted on his forehead shimmered sea-green, and he wore a band of polished malachite stones around his neck and long silver chain earrings. His large dark eyes rested on mine, and for some reason I felt as though I had seen those eyes before. Something about him felt so familiar… something about those eyes…

       “Who – who is this?” I asked, unable to raise my voice about a mere breath of a whisper.

       Sea Flight looked over his shoulder at the young Elf. “This is my nephew, Fleet Strike, to whom Bright Mist is betrothed. He will one day take my place as Sea Lord of the Clan.” I caught the faint shadow of – anxiety? Distress? – whisper in his eyes. I wondered why.

       Fleet Strike’s smile grew a little wider. “Call me Fleet.” My spine crawled a little, and I looked over at Bright Mist to see how she liked her husband-to-be. With downcast eyes she avoided meeting his gaze and mine, her lips pressed together as though biting back something she wanted to say. She didn’t look happy.

       As I looked at them, a ray of the rising sun slanted through the pillars and fell upon Fleet’s hair, and a long strand shimmered golden in the light, like fairy dust amidst the black of his hair. Black and gold.

       “Shadow!” My voice fell like a death knell to the floor. “No, Shadow –!” I hid my face in my hands, soft sobs escaping me, but no tears.

       “Why do you call to shadows?” Sea Flight lifted my head with gentle fingers so I looked into his eyes.

       “Shadow – h-he – he’s dead!” I choked.

       “He was a friend of yours?”

       “Yes! I – I loved him, in a way. We were attacked – in the mountains – Wild Dwarves, and they killed him! Threw him from the mountainside!”

       Sea Flight looked at Bright Mist. Her eyes grew wide as she gave him a small nod. I noticed the significance in their glances. “What is it? What do you know about Shadow?”

       Sea Flight stood, no longer smiling. “All will be revealed in time. Now, Wave Fire, we will go to the Hall of a Thousand Wave Lights. If the Wild Dwarves have been ravaging the Sky Ring, there is much work to be done.”

       Before we went to the Hall, Bright Mist led me into a spacious chamber, its walls and ceiling covered in crystal paneling. A tile-lined pool spread across one half of the floor, steam rising from its surface. On one of the low benches of black marble that stood near the edge of the pool, Bright Mist placed a folded towel and a small sea-green dolphin. Two words rang in my mind: a bath. Oh, blessed relief. With a sigh, I kneeled and stroked the dolphin, which proved itself to be carved of soap.

       “Do you require assistance?” Bright Mist asked.

       I started a little. “What? Oh, no, no thank you, I can manage on my own.”

       She smiled and left the chamber, shutting the door behind her.

       I almost rubbed my hands together in pleasure. Throwing off my ragged, filthy, stained kirtle, I plunged into the pool.

       A quiet knock at the door reminded me that I couldn’t spend all eternity in the luxury of hot water and cleanliness. I sprang from the water, splashing the floor, and grabbing one of the lovely soft fluffy towels. “I’m almost done!” Reaching for my clothes lying sprawled on the floor, a shimmery gleam caught my eye. I turned my head and saw something of dark blue silk neatly folded on one of the benches. I let out a sigh of pleasure as I slipped into the clean, soft, light gown, so unlike anything I was used to, but a very pleasant first experience. Now properly attired, I opened the door to see Bright Mist standing outside, waiting to escort me to the Hall of a Thousand Wave Lights.

       “Are you ready, Wave Flame?” she asked.

       I nodded. “Quite.”

       The Hall of a Thousand Wave Lights proved the greatest of the wonders of the Sea Elves. Sunlight beamed in colored shafts through the walls made of stained glass, forming designs of flowers and patterns of wind. The floor, made of white sea-washed marble, bore a crystal-clear pool in the center, and when I looked close into it, I could have sworn I saw small, semitransparent, long-finned creatures quietly circling the waters. A ring of chairs, thrones more like, of black marble stood in a ring around the pool. Sea Flight, Fleet, and several other Elves occupied the chairs. My eyes once again wandered over to Fleet. Why did he unnerve me so? What could be wrong with him? As far as I knew, he was a Sea Elf like the rest of them. What secret did he hide that I did not know?

       Sea Flight smiled when he saw me. “Ah, Wave Flame. Come and join us.” He motioned to an empty chair on his left side. I hurried over and sat down, trying not to stare at Fleet, who sat at Sea Flight’s right, his legs crossed.

       “Now,” Sea Flight said, “there is much to be done about these Wild Dwarves. Wave Flame, would you please tell us your story that we may understand what action we must take?”

       “Yes,” I said, a little absentmindedly. Clearing my throat, I began the story I knew by heart, starting from when we first met Echo on the plains.

       As I talked, I stole more glances at Fleet, who also stole glances at me, though I couldn’t help but notice. Once more his eyes transfixed me, but why? Large, black, with white eyelashes – like all the other Sea Elves. But no – the black was different. The other Sea Elves had eyes the color of the deep soft night sky, like the eyes of a hart in the forest. But Fleet had eyes the color of obsidian: dark, cold, beautiful in a severe way. Almost without knowing why, I looked to his hair and for the first time noticed it too looked hard. It shone black like the rest of the Elves’ hair, but it seemed a stiff, fake blackness, the sunlight shining on it like it had upon the black lacquer bowl which held Bright Mist’s cloth and water. I took him in as a whole, and all of a sudden I knew. I had never seen him, but Mother’s words as she spoke of the war echoed through my memory: shining chestnut brown hair, huge eyes black as obsidian, long pale eyelashes, not a flaw marking his finely chiseled face. Whom had she described so?

       In a rush, three words more flashed into my mind: the Elven king.

       I stared at him, unable to comprehend what I had just realized. Fleet was at least partially Sea Elf, but he was royalty – more than I realized at first, more than just the heir of the Sea Lord. I didn’t know how, or why, or when: all I knew was that Fleet did not belong in the Clan.

Chapter 7

Vengeance in the Night

       “Where are we going?” I asked as Sea Flight led me by the hand through the halls of the Clan of Sea Echoes. The council had dissolved with the unanimous decision to go and save my friends. I was all for swooping in with an army, but Sea Flight told me that Sea Elves did things in much more subtle ways. I spent a wonderful night listening to the rolling waves, and now, with a new day dawning over the sea, Sea Flight had something to show me.

       “Not much farther now,” he said, half to himself.

       At last we came to a door of silver studded with abalones. He released my hand and said, “You may go in. This is for you alone.”

       Wondering what he meant, I turned the latch and opened the door. It swung inward noiselessly, and at first all I saw was a quiet, almost overgrown garden of willows and ivy, with an old path of white stones leading into its depths. I stepped inside, closed the door behind me, and stood a moment breathing it all in. A great peace filled me, mixed with a kind of awe. This garden was apart from the world; here, one forgot the meaning of time. I never wanted to leave the garden, and I sang.

Shadow was his name

Aria was mine

Our destinies align

Mortality and flame

Night and trees the same

Searching for a sign

A lingering design

And still he bore the shame

His life the mortals claim

So we fled across the plains

Then his golden eyes did shine

We fought and overcame

I freed him from his chains

And about his heart did twine.

       “I always wondered when you would sing about us two,” a quiet, slightly amused voice said.

       I jumped. Dashing around a twisted willow, I came upon a tall young Elf in a sea-green tunic, a single golden strand glowing like the sun within his dark hair. An ugly scar showed jagged above his eye and another scar as though from an absent thrall ring around his neck, but he was still more beautiful than anything or anyone I had ever seen. With a cry of joy I flung myself at him and sobbed into his hair like my heart would break.

       “You’re alive! You’re alive! Oh no, you’re dead, they pushed you off a cliff! You’re dead, but you’re alive!”

       I spoke nonsense in my passion, but who would care? Shadow lived. He lived. He stroked my hair and hugged me as I hugged him, his breath steaming down my neck.

       “How, how!” I sobbed. “How did you live?”

       He drew back from me a little so he could look into my eyes. “The fall was not high enough to kill me, though I thought I was dead. All I can remember is lying on the desolate mountainside for countless days, on the edge of death, till the Sea Elves found me and took me to their Clan. I had broken my leg, but it’s better now – I only limp a little.”

       “You broke your leg!?” I jumped back and stared down, aghast. His right leg was thinner than his left, and if I looked closely, I could detect the faintest misalignment of the bones. Shadow took a few steps around me. His movements flowed gracefully, but his leg hesitated ever so slightly.

       “The Sea Elves found me when I had already lain there for a long time. If they had gotten to me earlier they probably would have been able to heal my leg perfectly, but it was just a little too late.”

       I started to laugh, then cry, then I began shouting at him, half in pain and half in joy. “Oh, you horrible little Elf! Giving us all a dreadful scare, letting us think you were lying dead on the mountainside! Leaving us in the grip of the Wild Dwarves for a whole accursed week while you hung out in these sea-washed halls milking the attention and hospitality of these Elves for all they were worth and not even letting us know you were alive!” I stopped for breath.

       Shadow laughed. “Well, I’m sorry for not telling you. But what could I do?”

       “Oh, Shadow, just you being alive is more than enough.” My eyes and mouth hardened. “But don’t ever die again.”

       “I won’t.”

       We stood there, in the calm and quiet and magic of the garden, not speaking, just being with each other. Outside, I heard the music of the waves crashing against the shore, on and on, forever and ever, ever on in the song of the sea. Shadow began to sing in the voice of the Sea Elves. I could not make out the words, but I knew they spoke of us.

       My fingers clenched his tunic. “Shadow, what’s with Fleet?”

       He stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

       “I’m talking about the Sea Elves’ prince! What is the matter with him!?”

       “You mean he’s creepy? I don’t know. You can’t really protest him being a creep.”

       “That’s not what I mean. What’s with the hair!?”

       “Oh.” He touched his own hair, a black part. “You mean… it’s not really black.”

       “Yes! He dyes it black! What color is it really, and why does he dye it?”

       Shadow shrugged. “I don’t know.”

       I folded my arms across my chest. “I think his hair is chestnut brown.”

       “Where did you get that idea?”

       I was overexciting myself. I took a deep breath and explained. “During the war, my mother saw the Elven king, and she described him for me. I’ve never seen the Elven king, but Fleet so resembles him it’s almost scary.”

       “You mean Fleet’s the Elven king!?” Genuine astonishment and horror blazed in his eyes.

       I let out an exasperated breath. “No! That’s not what I mean. Well, maybe. I don’t know. It’s highly unlikely, but still possible. Maybe Fleet is the Elven king, but if not, he is almost certainly related.”

       Shadow narrowed his eyes. “If Fleet is related to the Elven king, how did he find his way here?”

       “That’s what I don’t know. As soon as I can meet Sea Flight alone, I’m going to ask him about this nephew of his.”

       As it turned out, Shadow and I didn’t leave the garden until the shadows began to lengthen. Running down the hallway, I crossed the paths of slanted beams of late sunlight, moving between the archways to send dancing flecks of fairy dust through the air. I hiked up my skirt and slowed my pace. Where would I find Sea Flight? More by luck than by design, I found myself at the great stained glass door that led to the Hall of a Thousand Wave Lights. I studied the scarlet sea dragon and swirling glass skies on the door, then opened it and walked in.

       The Hall was deserted. With slow, silent steps I moved toward the circle of throne-like chairs around the central pool. The faint note of a song fell upon my ears, and I made a small jump in surprise.

Hear this aria, this aria of mine

Drawn from the cresting main

‘Cross the sea

Where shalt be

My seastrand where I reign.

Hear this aria, this aria of mine

Set in my abalone crown

Hear me sing

The prince, the king

All sea, sky, to me bound.

       It sounded so lonely. Walking as quietly as my Sea Elven sandals would allow (which was very quiet indeed), I went up to the chairs, peering around the side of one. Fleet crouched on the marble floor next to the pool, his loose hair falling down his back and around his face, throwing in a few crumbs for the fish which rose from the deep waters to take the offering. He sang softly, in a low sweet voice, his eyes half-closed as though dreaming some vision.

       I didn’t move – hardly breathed – but at once Fleet half-leapt to his feet, startled. He turned to me, his eyes wide and accusing.

       “S-sorry,” I stammered, stepping back a little. “I didn’t know you were in here.”

       He relaxed, but seemed to be waiting for something. “What do you want?”

       I hesitated. If Fleet was keeping a secret, he would hardly tell me. I needed Sea Flight. I opened my mouth to say, ‘Nothing’ and instead said, “I want to know where you come from.” How did that come out?

       His obsidian eyes flashed. I made to turn around and leave, but he seized my arm and drew me into the circle of chairs. I felt afraid. What did he mean to do?

       “Sit. Please.” He gestured to the nearest chair. I deposited myself on it and waited till he walked around the pool and sat down across from me. “So,” he said, crossing his legs and folding his arms across his chest, his hair curling down around his slender neck and shoulders. “You have sharp eyes for a mortal. Not many notice I am not of the Clan.”

       Stop telling me what I already know and get on with it, I snarled in my mind.

       The look in his eyes made me feel he guessed at what I thought. He let out an amused laugh and settled himself. “I’m going to tell you a little story. Keep your ears open, because it concerns you as well as me.”

       He closed his eyes, and I felt as though I could actually see what happened long, long ago, in the past of a young Elf named Fleet.

       “Sixty-one years ago, twin sons were born to the king and queen of the Elves, in their capital city of Ensorcel. As the firstborn and the crown prince, my brother Onyx basked in the attentions of his parents, the court, and the city, while I, Silhouette then, yearned that someone would at least notice me. As we grew, and our father taught Onyx the ways of a ruler, declaring him the heir to the throne, I couldn’t bear it any longer. I demanded why Onyx should inherit the crown, and what would become of me. Onyx drew his sword on me for that. I still bear the scar of the wound he gave me.”

       Fleet paused and, with a hideous smile, ran a finger across a thin raised line of a scar across his left cheekbone. Involuntarily I shuddered.

       “I drew my own sword, and we fought, knowing that we fought for more than a crown – we fought for our lives. I might have been his inferior in many ways, but with sword and bow I was superior. I wounded him, almost to the death. The sentence for murder – or near murder – is death, but my father could not bear to kill me, however little he thought of me. Instead he banished me from Ensorcel on pain of death. My every chance of inheriting the throne was gone, and I left with no love lost between me and my family. I was only fourteen years old, in the years of humans.

       “I had nowhere in the world to go to for refuge and safety. I wandered to the human town of Steppe, where a few other Elves lived. I got a job as a shopkeeper’s assistant, though my degraded station never ceased to stab me. More than one person commented that I looked to be of royal blood. For two years I labored, a worthless nobody with no hope and no future.

       “And then my brother, who three months before had ascended the throne after our father was assassinated by rebel Fire Elves, foolishly began his war against the human lands. I remember his spies passing through Steppe, trailed by a young naïve human girl.”

       I gripped the arms of my chair until my knuckles turned white. Fleet studied me for a short while, as though once more reading my thoughts, and continued.

       “As soon as the news came to Steppe that Onyx had declared war on the humans, everything changed. Elf-hunters bent on finding Elves and ridding the human lands of them stalked the town. The shopkeeper, a decent sort for humans, told me run, and I did. But the hunters caught me anyway. I was literally dragged onto the street and beaten till I was nearly half-dead. As they dragged me away I watched other Elf-hunters break down doors and haul out the inhabitants, chase their quarry down the streets, and near slaughter those who resisted. I especially remember two men murder a Sun Elf trying to defend his family, then drag off his hysterical wife and infant daughter.

       “They arrested me and all the other innocent Elves they could find, each thrown into a dark, lonely cell, closed to all knowledge of an outside world and other living beings. They kept me there for months, while Onyx waged his war beyond the close walls of my cell, ignorant that his young brother Silhouette languished in prison.

       “I remained where I was for the entire span of the war. By then the world had forgotten I existed. At thirty-four years old, seventeen in human years, I could imagine my life slipping away from me, my youth and strength eventually fading. But there was still hope. Though my father was a Tree Elf, my mother was a Sea Elf.”

       I gasped. Fleet let out a grim laugh and tossed a shining black curl over his shoulder. I stared at the fake blackness, almost seeing the rich chestnut beneath the dye.

       “You may have noticed, Wave Flame, that Sea Elves are masters of song.”

       I had certainly noticed, all right.

       “Throughout the war, the prison guards did not let the prisoners make a single sound. Should they speak – or sing – the guards would pound on the cell doors and command them to be silent. If the prisoners persisted, the guards threw open the doors and gave them less pleasant reminders. But near the twilight of the war and the days beyond, they relaxed their vigil, for the prisoners had indeed become silent. Eventually they forgot the silence was commanded, because nothing ever broke it.

       “But I broke it.”

       Fleet paused for a moment, then fixing his eyes upon mine he began to sing a deep, terrible, haunting song, his voice high and laden with power.

You know not who I am

You know not whence I came

You will regret the day

When you put me to shame

All the torment, fear, and pain

You will pay for with your tears

Soon one day I shall arise

 You know your doom is near

You will one day curse your birth

And curse me ever more

But it shall all be in vain

For long ago your death I swore

Run from me, hide from me

You can ne’er escape revenge

I will find you in the night

And my wounded soul avenge.

       I lost all control of myself. I buried my face in my hands and poured out raging tears. I felt as though my own doom was near as I wept for the Elves and for Fleet and for Ever and Echo and Shadow and Father –

       Fleet threw his head back and laughed. I hated the laugh. He sounded like a demon. He had what he wanted.

       Fierce anger arose in me. I stood, clenching my teeth. “Shut up!” I roared. Rushing around the pool toward Fleet, I did the last thing I would have done with a sane mind. I slapped him.

       He stopped laughing and looked very startled. Then red rushed into his ears and cheeks, and he stood, towering above me like the skies above the earth, and gave me a hard shove that sent me sprawling on the marble floor. I stepped on the hem of my gown, ripping it, but at that moment I didn’t care. I clapped a hand over my mouth and stared at Fleet. He was evil!

       Fleet remained standing for a while, looking off to the side at the pool, his chest rising and falling as though he fought for breath. As I struggled back to my chair, I noticed the Hall had grown dark. Night fell outside. Gradually Fleet’s face returned to its normal color and the wild look in his eyes faded. Brushing back his long bangs with one hand he sat back down and began playing with his hair, winding a long curl around his fingers. At last he looked up at me and smirked. “You have spirit. No one has dared lay a hand on me for quite a while now.” He let out another laugh, a short rueful one this time. He laughed too much. He crossed his legs and shifted himself in the chair a little to make himself more comfortable. “Now perhaps I may continue my tale.”

Chapter 8

Searching in the Darkness

       Cold penetrated the glass walls and ceiling of the chamber. I began to shiver in my thin silk gown, but I couldn’t leave. I needed to hear the rest of Fleet’s tale; besides, I don’t think he would have let me leave. I sat spellbound by the words of the terrible story that threw off the shadows of the past to reveal itself at last.

       “The prison guards reacted to the song much as you did. One fled screaming from the prison, and I imagine he soon met his end at the point of his sword. Two fainted, and several more broke down into tears. One, the one who guarded my cell, did as I wanted him to. Terrified of my vengeance, he dropped the keys thrice before he could unlock the door and set me free. As soon as I stepped from the darkness into the light, I seized the guard’s sword and killed them all – every guard I saw and met. Then I ran.

       “I knew I was in terrible danger. With Elf-hunters on my heels, I fled from the town of Steppe and across the great plains. I lived off the land and slept under the sky. In time I became little more than a wild animal. I had no sense of direction, and I ran into the mountains at last. Perhaps it was the great noble freedom of the mountains that drew me to them, or perhaps fear of my pursuers. In any case, I went in the wrong direction.

       “One night I crawled behind a boulder to escape the raging winds that tormented the mountains at night. I had no shoes, no cloak; I wore nothing over my body except shreds of a ragged tunic. I looked like a savage, half-naked with wild eyes; my hair matted and tangled, and my skin scratched and filthy. I hardly dared to close my eyes for a moment’s rest, but weeks of being chased across the wilderness took its toll on me. I fell asleep on the mountainside, and that night it happened.

       “Screaming pain in my scalp awakened me, and I found myself hauled from my crack by two strong hands gripping my hair. I had been discovered by Sierran slave traders.”

       I turned my eyes to the ceiling. From my mother’s account of how Shadow’s father, Raven, had been treated as a slave in Sierra, I almost felt pity for Fleet.

       “I struggled the best I could, but starvation and exhaustion had weakened me. The Sierrans bound me and riveted a thrall ring around my neck and took me to their revolting village perched on the side of the mountain. I bear the scar of the ring also.”

       Fleet stopped speaking and reached behind his neck, unfastening the malachite necklace which clasped his throat. Drawing it away from him, he revealed a red, chafed scar, like the one around Shadow’s neck. I stifled a sob as he went on.

       “The Sierrans actually did take the time to clean me up somewhat and give me a decent tunic to wear, but I don’t suppose my hideous appearance would have attracted many prospective buyers. A wealthy lady from Chrysoberyl looking for attractive young slaves bought me. You may be wondering what Chrysoberyl nobility was doing in a place like Sierra, but it is widely known that if you want good quality slaves that don’t seem to be anywhere else, the Sierran slave market will have them. At any rate, this lady, by the name of Illuminati, took me back with her to her ridiculously expensive estate in Chrysoberyl, though I literally kicked and screamed the entire way.

       “Illuminati treated me decently enough, but other humans are no so quick to forget a grudge. Humans have despised Elves ever since my idiot brother’s ill-fated war, and I was no exception. It was even harder for me because I was the only Elven slave on the place. Illuminati treated all her slaves well, but as for the rest of her household – not so much. These others harassed me to no end, though never when Illuminati was around. They called me ‘elfling’, ‘freak’, ‘evil eyes’, and on one occasion the steward called me a ‘pointy-eared misbegotten guttersnipe’. I am thankful, however, that Illuminati was not married and had no children, or they certainly would have made my life even more miserable.

       “I must admit my behavior did nothing to improve my circumstances. Illuminati wanted me as a servitor, but I would not do a thing her household asked me to, not even smile. I got several slaps and smacks for that, but even though in the end I would carry out my duties, I wore a face like thunder.

       “But one day things came to a head. Rumors had been flying around Chrysoberyl, secret political rumors. There were rumors that my brother Onyx was planning another war against the humans, out of spite for his failure and humiliation of the first. Elves once more became hunted, believed to be spies. Before, during my sheltered life in Ensorcel, I never would have believed humans to be capable of such cruelty. But after my experiences in the world, I was not fully surprised when the steward dragged me through the streets and turned me over to a royal official for interrogation.

       “Interrogation meant simply torture. The accursed official’s lackeys ripped my back to pieces, snapped the bones in my arms, held my head underwater till I thought I’d drown, dislocated my fingers and toes, half-stoned me to death, stretched every bone in my body out of joint…”

       A wave of nausea swept over me. Only with great effort did I manage to keep from throwing up. As Fleet reeled off his horrible list of tortures, a crooked grin spread across his face, growing wider as he spoke on, as though he enjoyed upsetting me. I clapped a hand to my mouth and made a strangled sound.

       “I understand your discomfort,” Fleet said, his voice high and mocking. “Imagine what it felt like for me. I knew I was innocent, and I held fast to this, even when they applied their most dreadful tortures. They tried to force me to confess my guilt, but I would not. Eventually they chose to kill me, and so free the world of yet another wretched Elf.

       “But I had come too close to death in the past. I refused to let it near me again. I escaped the dungeon of the official and fled into the wilderness. I knew I was running from one death to another, but it was better to die in the wilderness than perish at the hands of those who hated me. I ran, and they chased me. Eventually I collapsed on a barren hillside, my body too weak to run any farther.

       “I do not know how long I lay half-conscious on the plateau. Those who chased me assumed I would die in the cruel wilderness, starved and ill-covered, with both my arms broken. I should have died then, but I vaguely remember arms lifting me from the darkness of near-death and carrying me somewhere; hard, thin arms, but with a sort of gentleness about them. Then sharp pain in my own arms woke me, and I found myself lying in a shallow sheltered cave in the side of the rock, with someone cleaning and splinting my broken arms. I had seen this person before, passing through Steppe at the beginning of the war. It was a Night Elf, with the scar of a thrall ring around his neck.”

       “Raven!” I shrieked. I jumped to my feet, then sat back down again. “What – what was Raven doing in the mountains? I thought after the war, and his – er – captivity, he went back to Ensorcel.” Then I remembered that Fleet would have no clue of what I was talking about. This was Fleet, not Shadow.

       Fleet’s eyebrows arched. “Oh? And what do you know about this – Raven?”

       I hesitated. “Just that he was a spy for your brother Onyx during the war, and that after the war he was made a slave, and my mother freed him.”

       “Mmm-hmm.” He didn’t sound as though he believed me.

       “Really. Just please – go on.”

       He smirked at me. It struck me that he really was very handsome, and that he might be the kind of man who enjoys playing with women’s hearts. I pressed back in my chair, trying to get at least a little farther away from him.

       “Anyway, this – Raven – told me his back story – a little more than you told me – and I told him mine. We stayed there on the lonely hillside for weeks until my arms were healed. He said he was going to the Dwarven valley of Blackland for – personal business, but I was perfectly welcome to join him. However, as we wandered farther south and entered the mountains of the Sky Ring, my heart turned elsewhere.

       “The sea. I heard the sea calling to me, whispering for me to come and dwell on the seastrands. I had forgotten my Sea Elven heritage, and now it remembered me. At the southernmost edge of the Sky Ring, I left Raven to go on to Blackland and traveled south to the Secret Sea. I had learned how to survive in the wilderness, and I avoided civilization at all costs, though not many humans live to the south of the Sky Ring. I entered the mountains of Touched by the Waves, and there I met Sea Flight, my mother’s brother. He had no child of his own, his beloved wife having died years ago of a mysterious malady, such a one that Elves may fall victim to. I told him of my birthright, and he accepted me into the Sea Echoes as his nephew and the prince. At last, I was home: free, happy, with none to plague or torment me, finally receiving my right to rule.”

       Fleet said no more. He did not smile now. He looked at me with a strange mixture of happiness, anger, and pensive thinking on his face. I did not know what to feel. We said nothing, just sat as the whispering night winds touched the glass roof outside. I shuddered, only partially from the cold.

       Biting my lip, I asked, “Can I go now?”

       In a flash, Fleet crossed the floor and, gripping my arm, jerked me out of my chair. I froze as he whispered in my ear, “Breathe a word of what I have told you here today and you will wish you’d never been born.”

       And with that, he swept out of the chamber.

       I collapsed back into the chair as though suddenly exhausted. Then I sprang back up. I needed to talk to Sea Flight. No – I would not directly tell Fleet’s story – but I had to ask some questions.

       I found Sea Flight in a long arcade overlooking the sea. The cool sea breezes sighed through the pillars, streaming through the Sea Lord’s long dark hair and touching his abalone crown. The memory of Fleet’s song struck me all of a sudden, and I got the feeling the prince liked his title a little too much. “My lord?”

       He turned his head, and smiled when he saw me. “Greetings, Wave Flame. What do you wish of me?”

       “Sea Flight, I –” I paused, uncertain of what to say. “Sea Flight, tell me about your nephew Fleet’s mother. Please.”

       A shadow seemed to pass over Sea Flight’s face. “Where did you hear of this, young maiden?”

       I flushed. “From – around.” Not quite a lie, but not the full truth either.

       He looked troubled. “I will tell you what you wish to know, but I warn you – it is a sorrowful tale.”

       I had heard enough depressing stories for one day, but I couldn’t wait. “I’m sure of that. Please, just tell me.”

       “Come.” Taking my hand, Sea Flight led me to a low alabaster bench between two pillars where we could sit and watch the night and the sea. I breathed in deeply the salt-tinged wind and let the low rolling melody of crashing breakers ease my heart.

       “I once had a beautiful sister named Lapis Lazuli, about ten years younger than I. She was as fair as the white caps upon the far sea. One mid-spring near fifty years ago, she set sail upon the sea with others of our Clan to a distant island to visit our kin, the Clan of Sea Elegies. But ill fortune befell them. A great storm from the north drove their ship off course and cast it upon the northwestern shores of the human lands. None but my sister and two of her companions survived.

       “Lapis Lazuli and her friends were weak from the shipwreck and did not know the ways of the strange new land. Therefore they were helpless when a roving band of rogues and bounty hunters came upon them. They killed the only male survivor and made my sister and her female companion their hostages. The rogues traveled over the human lands, making for the mountain town of Sierra, where no doubt they planned to sell my sister and her friend.

       “However, the leader of the bounty hunters became enraptured by Lapis Lazuli’s beauty. As they neared the Sky Ring, he attempted to violate her, whereupon she attacked him and left a scar upon his face. At this he became full of wrath and immediately sold her to a passing Elven slave trader. This trader took her to the Elven capital city of Ensorcel and, seeing that she was indeed very beautiful, made a gift of her to the king. The king, a kind-hearted man who did not wholly approve of slavery, fell in love with her, granted her freedom, and made her his wife. She in turn was not fully unwilling to wed him, but she grew to love him and soon bore him twin sons: Onyx, the present Elven king, and Silhouette, my nephew. We of the Sea Echoes mourned her loss, but became glad for her upon learning of her marriage and happy circumstances, though we still longed for our lovely Lapis Lazuli. All this I have learned of Onyx’s father, for Lapis Lazuli imparted her full tale to him.

       “When I and others of the Clan found my nephew Silhouette wandering in Touched by the Waves, I knew that he was indeed my sister’s son, and I wept to hear of the cruelty inflicted upon him. I welcomed him into the Clan of Sea Echoes, gave him his Sea Elven name, and crowned him the prince, giving him the right as my heir. Only I and a few others know of his true origins, or of the true color of his hair.”

       “You know he dyes his hair?” I asked, utterly fascinated by Sea Flight’s story.

       He nodded. “He does not wish for others to know him as the outcast prince of Ensorcel. But how did you learn such a thing, Wave Flame?”

       I felt myself flush again. “He did not tell me, nor did anyone else. I looked at him as I told my story in the Hall of a Thousand Wave Lights, and I just noticed that his black hair looked kind of – not real. I also learned from my mother what Onyx looks like, and I saw that Fleet looks an awful lot like him. I just wanted more facts.”

       Sea Flight leaned closer and looked into my eyes. I wondered if he could look into my mind and guess at what I left out. But he just smiled. “Fleet Strike has yet a part to play in your story, Wave Flame. Be wise, and trust in God.”

       He stood up and walked away down the arcade, his knee-length hair floating behind him. I watched him go, and wondered at his words.

       The night was still young, but sleepiness gripped me. I felt exhausted, as though all the fear and pain and tension of the stories of Fleet and Lapis Lazuli had drained my own energy. Before I retired, however, I went to go wash my hands and face before I went to bed. I found the bath chamber I washed in earlier, but the door was closed. Hesitantly I reached out and tried the handle – not locked. Well, they closed doors all the time here. I opened the door softly – and froze.

       By one wall in the bath chamber stood a great marble basin, which I had meant to wash in. I was not prepared for the sight of Fleet crouching bare-chested over the basin, his head bent and neck arched, all his curling hair, the black showing rusty chestnut streaks, flung over his face, and pouring black liquid from a large flask over his head. I gaped. Fleet must not have heard me, for he now set down his flask and began massaging his scalp, working the black dye into the roots of his hair. The black, dull before, transformed once again into the rich shining color of midnight, with faint silvery highlights. Then he froze, and slowly turned his head to look at me. I felt my insides freeze at the sight of his deep, accusing eyes.

       “Sorry!” I yelled, and slammed the door. I ran away as fast as my legs would carry me. He looked so vengeful, with his wild hair gleaming black, his eyes smoldering darkly within his pale face. He looked like some phantom of darkness.

       “I think I’ll kill myself,” I muttered as I slumped down on a bench. “I know too much about him already, and then I have to go and burst in on him while he’s half-naked and dying his hair! I’ll just go to bed now.”

       With that I stood and slowly walked down the hallway. The day pressed on me, everything whirled within me. The never-ending sea roared beyond the halls, and it seemed to me that the breakers tried to tell me something, warn me of someone.

       “But who?” I whispered the shadows. “But what?” I felt as though enemies surrounded me, waiting in the darkness. I sought to see a single star, but the sky hid itself from me. I stepped into darkness, calling to Shadow, searching, seeking, hoping, waiting. I knew then what I had to do. Fleet would soon strike, make his move. He would use his secret to gain what he wanted, and if he had to use me as well, what reason had he to hesitate? He had forced the pledge of secrecy from my lips, and he alone would reveal all in time. That I knew. And I would die before that would happen.

Chapter 9

The New Lord

       A few days later, I found Sea Flight polishing a long silver sword. “What’s that for?” I asked. Then I gasped. “Are you – are we going to rescue my friends now!?”

       He smiled. “Indeed we are, Wave Flame. You might want to change into a shorter kirtle. We will be venturing far across the wilderness to the Sky Ring. We have some unsettled business with the Wild Dwarves.”

       I smiled back at him as I dashed to the bedchamber the Sea Elves had given me. Really, the only ‘short’ kirtle I owned was my old ragged brown one, but the Elves had washed and mended it, and I felt a little closer to home when I put it on. We go to the Wild Dwarves, free Ever and Echo, and then get to Dale. Nothing too complicated. I couldn’t help feeling like something was going to happen, though.

       “What do the Sea Elves call you?” I asked Shadow when I saw him next.

       “Night Lost. It’s an interesting name, and I think I know why they gave it to me.” He sighed. “Do you really think the Sea Elves will be able to rescue our friends?”

       “They’ve got to. We have to try. Those Wild Dwarves were terrible.”

       “I’m sure they were. I wonder how they’re holding up.”

       “Well, Ever’s probably doing all right, but they might have killed Echo by now. I just hope we’re not too late.”

       “Me too.”

       Something told me we were too late, but not in regards to Ever and Echo. We had missed something else, that very soon would reveal itself…

       Sea Flight gathered together a force of about twenty Sea Elves, including Fleet, of course, and Bright Mist, for we might have need of a healer. I had expected more, but, then again, the Sea Elves did things much more differently than I would. Each Elf carried a long sword, half of them also with slender white bows and white-flighted arrows, and rode a black, slim-legged horse. I almost squeaked with delight when Sea Flight led two beautiful dark stallions over to me and Shadow for us to ride. I could ride fairly well, a wealthy friend in Dale having given me lessons, but Shadow became one with his steed the instant he mounted. We also got long silver daggers for protection, with beautiful silver sheaths engraved with swirling designs and knots, and a band of small white jewels around the top edge. I gasped when Sea Flight told me they were diamonds. Just one of these gems would set Father and I up for years. Father. When would I see him again?

       I tied my woven dagger belt around my waist and mounted my horse, whom I named Essence. Shadow named his horse Gloaming. The Elves rode in single file from their great halls, the sound of the sea in their ears. I closed my eyes and let Essence follow the others. I did not know if I would ever dwell among the Sea Elves again, and I wanted to grasp one last memory of the roaring of the tides and the whisper of the breezes.

       As the Sea Elves left their silver and alabaster halls behind, they raised their ringing, rolling voices high in song that bored down in the corners of my soul and filled my heart.

We leave our halls

Beyond the main;

Turn to the north,

Walk through the rain.

We were all born

To do this quest;

Away! Away!

No more shall rest!

Our white shores call;

The world ahead,

We do not falter

Till foes are dead.

Our seastrand far

Ever awaits,

For our return

Through mighty gates.

Though many fall,

To darkest sleep,

Our quest shall stand,

Our oaths we keep;

We may not live

To see the day,

But on we go;

Away! Away!

       I cried then. I don’t know why.

       Days flew by. We walked, galloped, sang, and slept beneath the sky that rolled with graying clouds and high wailing winds. The world grew dark about us, dark as in the depths of winter even though high summer was upon us. The last golden gleam in Shadow’s hair faded, and became dark; we both knew he was a full and true Night Elf. I lost sense of time; I placed all my trust into Sea Flight’s hands. Wherever he led us, there I would follow.

       As the last weeks of our journey drew to a close, Sea Flight revealed all to me. “We will enter the caverns of the Wild Dwarves by the same river which took you from them.”

       I gasped. “The river? But – but – it’s a river! How will you breathe? How will you push on against the current?”

       He laughed then. “You have yet to see more of the magic of the Sea Elves, Wave Flame.”

       We came to the Lake of Deep Circling soon after moonrise. The waterfall from the mountains kept plunging into the deep green depths of the water, on and on, though I felt chills run up and down my spine as I remembered my journey down the river. But Sea Flight dismounted his tall black stallion, lifted his hands to the sky, and said something in the beautiful language of the Sea Elves. To me it seemed something shattered, and something breathed, but I couldn’t tell what had changed. Then Sea Flight stepped out upon the water. Ripples spread out from his feet, but the water bore him up, and he walked across it as graceful as the circling water. I gasped and gripped my reins. He looked over his shoulder, and though he spoke no word, I knew we must follow.

       All the Elves and Shadow and I slid off our horses. We took off their saddles and bridles and stowed them behind boulders and in gaps in the mountainside to protect them from the weather. I felt a small pang of loss when the horses coursed down the path and across the hillsides. “They will return,” Shadow whispered. “They are Elven steeds.”

       I hoped he was right.

       One by one, the Elves followed Sea Flight across the waters of the lake, every one walking upon the darkness as though born to. They were. Shadow and I both hesitated, but we found the water bore us up as well. I could imagine the ripples we sent out, spreading rings traversing the still waters, and echoing to the depths of the underwater world.

       Sea Flight walked toward the frothing waterfall. He set one foot upon it, and mounted it like a staircase. I can only pity those who have never seen the Sea Elves walk upon the water.

       And so we mounted the waterfall and passed into the darkness and roaring of the underground river. The torrent surged beneath our feet and the spray lashed at the hems of the Elves’ cloaks, but not for a moment did they pause. It was like quiet in the storm, us walking in peace amid the darkness of the underground and the might of the river. I forgot the Wild Dwarves, I forgot Fleet. I even forgot Father and my distant Dale.

       On we went, till the Elves suddenly stopped. I knew Sea Flight had halted. I wished myself near the front of the force so I could see what he did – providing I could tell in the deep blackness that surrounded us. The Elves silently shifted, and a fiery flicker of light flashed into the dark tunnel of the river. Then the Elves moved forward again, where I knew not, until I found the water swelling beneath my feet and lifting me high so I might step from the river out of the gap of the cavern floor into the lair of the Wild Dwarves.

       The familiar pounding of hammers on anvils, the groan of the forge machinery, the wild speech and laughter of the cavern – all ceased. All eyes, tawny gold in dark faces, riveted themselves on the score of Sea Elves and the Nighttree Elf and human girl that had emerged as if by magic from their river. Then a wild scramble for spears and axes, and the Elves drew their swords and nocked arrows to their bows.

       With an uncanny savage cry the Wild Dwarves leapt forth. They thrust their long spears at the Elves’ faces and whirled their axes. I drew my dagger. I didn’t know how I could help, but I was prepared to give it all. The Elves moved like water. They stepped forth, swung their shining silver blades, their limbs flowing with all the grace of rolling waves, and severed spear shafts and deflected axe blows. The Dwarves howled with rage and charged over and over, but the Sea Elves kept holding them at bay with hardly any effort, it seemed. I longed to strike a few blows, but I had no opportunity to do so. I restrained myself and let the Elves handle things.

       At last the Dwarves fell back, panting for breath and dragging their weapons, faces flushed with exertion and frustration. Then a loud “Outta ma way!” was hurled from the ranks of the Dwarves, and Storm shouldered her way through the masses till she gained the front. She placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the Elves. Her scarlet cloak swirled about her as she turned to look at the Dwarves. She shook her head. “Ya let twen’y-odd Elves defeat a full fifty an’ more of ya? And ya call yaselves Wild Dwarves!” She turned back to us. “So, what do ya mean by slidin’ up our river and burstin’ in on us lawk dis?” Her eyes flashed as she awaited a reply.

       Sea Flight stepped forward. His sword was drawn, and his face was stern, but he did not look aggressive. “We do not wish to make war upon you and your kin, but the Wild Dwarves have committed a great wrong, and they must answer for it.”

       The Dwarves stirred and started whispering among themselves. Storm’s eyes narrowed, but she said only, “Go on.”

       Sea Flight obliged her. “More than two weeks ago, you attacked four innocent young travelers making their way through the mountains. Three you took captive to serve as your wretched slaves, and one you cast off the mountainside to fall and die. Such cruelty you have showed to those who have done you no harm, and only children at that, must be answered for. By the grace of God, the one you believed dead has lived through your murderous attempt on his life, and one of your ill-gotten slaves has escaped to those who would help her.”

       A young Wild Dwarf raised his voice. “An’ what gives ya stuck-up Elflings the rawt ta tell us wha’ ta do!? We jest stays in our mountains an’ mind our own business, and ya ought to stick at ‘ome on yer flippin’ sea ‘stead of comin’ pokin’ into things that are none of yer business!”

       “You all know the law of the wilderness!” I started to hear Sea Flight raise his voice. “No matter how wild you may be, it is the unspoken law of the Sky Ring and all the wild lands beyond that if no harm comes to you, you have no right to bring harm to innocents! We have had many bitter struggles in the past due to the violation of this law as time and time again you murder and kidnap harmless wayfarers! Now, for the last time I warn you once again: keep yourselves to yourselves, as you so claim, or the fury of the Sea Elves will descend upon your heads! Release your two mortal captives or suffer the consequences!”

       I never thought Sea Flight could get angry. But the black flames leaping from his eyes, the rigid lines of his body, the ringing knell of voice throughout the caverns, could be born only of anger.

       Roars of rage from the Wild Dwarves were flung to the cavern roof and weapons bristled throughout their ranks. Storm’s eyes blazed tawny gold. “So ya think yer the righteous saviors come ta strike us black’earts an’ free our wrongf’lly taken slaves, do ya? I never could abide you conceited Elves, allus thinkin’ yer so ‘igh an’ mighty. We’re keeping our slaves, an’ if ya don’t like it, then go ta blazes!” She shifted her gaze ever so slightly. “Come on, Elf princelin’,” she said, with a hint of scorn. “Time ya made good yer promise to us.”

       Every head among the Elves was turned to look at Fleet, the only ‘Elf princeling’ Storm could possibly be addressing. I expected his face to be dark with anger at her taunt, but although annoyance did flash in his dark eyes, he looked unnervingly calm. Then the full impact of Storm’s words hit me. Promise? What promise? I looked at Storm, then back to Fleet. His mouth slowly curved into a small smirk as he avoided our eyes, his expression a strange mixture of satisfaction, anticipation, and a hint of anxiety.

       Sea Flight turned his eyes from Storm to his nephew. “Fleet,” he said, his voice cold, “what is the meaning of this?”

       Fleet lifted his head, looked at the Sea Lord, and his smile grew larger. He stepped forward out of the midst of the Elves and stood before his uncle. Looking up into Sea Flight’s wounded eyes, he smiled apologetically. “I am truly sorry, Sea Lord, but I knew the laws of the land would not be kept by the Wild Dwarves. So I started working with them, parleying and flattering to gain such a pact as to keep us both satisfied…”

       I stared at Fleet in open-mouthed horror, unable to comprehend what he was saying. The other Sea Elves looked at their prince with all their shock and disgust written upon their faces. Sea Flight himself betrayed no emotion, though the stony mask of his face seemed to tighten into sharp angles as his beloved nephew went on.

       “And now, with the last details worked out, our little quest to come here seemed heaven-sent for all that Storm and I have been trying to do.”

       “And how long have you been –” Sea Flight paused, then forced himself to say the word. “– conspiring against the Sea Elves with those who hold no respect for our kind?”

       Fleet let out a small laugh. A dark aura seemed to hang about him, and I wanted to do nothing more in the world than to slap him again. Was there no end to Fleet’s hideousness and treachery?

       There wasn’t. Fleet shrugged in answer to his uncle’s question. “Oh, about four years.”

       “Four years!?” Sea Flight whispered, as though unable to raise his voice higher for shock and despair.

       “And I didn’t waste a single day of them. It’s all worked out. The Dwarves get to rule the Sky Ring, let whom they pass will, slay or enslave those they wish, and dwell in peace with us Sea Elves. We, on the other hand, then flourish from friendly relations with the Wild Dwarves, sharing in the profits they gain from their mountainous kingdom, with we assisting them as they need and they giving us aid when we require it. And with this newly-founded peace, the future of Elf and Dwarf alike is assured, and there be no further need for violence or dissention among our two kinds.”

       Sea Flight went white as a ghost. He looked over at Storm, who shrugged nonchalantly and gave him a bland expression. Sea Flight almost crumbled under the horror of it all. The bonds of fear and despair of the new lawless era wound about us all, and gripped our hearts, and crushed our souls.

       But Sea Flight was not the Sea Lord of his Clan for nothing. Every fragment of his dignity and authority he know drew from his soul as strength to uplift himself. I found myself marveling at the sight of him, defeated, mocked, under attack; and yet unconquered, unashamed, unscathed. He looked into his unworthy nephew’s eyes and said, in a voice that he must have exerted tremendous effort to keep level, “You forget yourself, prince though you may be. Only the Sea Lord of the Clan may make such serious decisions. You are not yet the Sea Lord of the Clan of Sea Echoes and as such have no rights to do such things, though you are putting your inheritance in grave danger.”

       “You flatter me, uncle,” Fleet shot back in a high, light voice. I fought to suppress my loathing. His right hand moved behind his back and slipped behind his cloak. “But you are right. I am not the Sea Lord of the Clan of Sea Echoes… yet!”

       With the deadly speed and grace of a serpent, Fleet whipped out a curved dagger hidden in his cloak and struck. The blade plunged into Sea Flight’s side. He fell without a sound.

Chapter 10

Through Darkest Despair

       A cry of rage and sorrow rent the air. Several Elves leapt toward Fleet, seeking to end his unworthy life, but his skill with the sword, attained from the greatest sword masters of the Elves in the city of Ensorcel, outmatched them. His sword slid in a silver arch over his head and flickered like a serpent’s tongue through the air. Each of those valiant Elves fell, slain by the hand of a traitor and a murderer. Tears ran down my cheeks as I stood rooted to the spot. Fleet laughed again, that horrible demon laugh of his. Bright Mist, frozen next to me throughout the whole scene, rushed forward toward her fallen Sea Lord. With one smooth motion, Fleet grabbed her arms and thrust her back into the Sea Elves. Then he turned to me.

       I raised my dagger, all my wrath and hate and grief written on my face. He strode toward me, a purposeful look on his face. With a small cry I flung myself at him, but I didn’t manage to strike a single blow before he caught my arms, wrenched my dagger from my grasp, dragged me away from the Elves, and flung me at Storm. I stumbled forward, but she latched onto my wrists. “Thank ya fer returnin’ this ‘un,” she said, and I shuddered at the grim satisfaction in her voice. Two Dwarves ran up to me and took me from her. I snapped out of my stupor and fought them wildly, screaming, “Lay one hand on those Elves and I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you, Fleet! You hear me!? KILL!”

       He just laughed again and flung my dagger down on the pile of weapons. For him, life had just become a lot better. For the rest of us, though, life had become a living death. Fleet placed his hands on his head and drew his fingers through his hair. The black dye in his hair faded, as though evaporating, and disappeared entirely as though by some Sea Elven magic, exposing the rich natural color of his hair. He had no need to pretend to be a full-blooded Sea Elf now. He let his hair fall down in all its curling chestnut glory as he did his bloody deeds.

       Another Sea Elf started forward with drawn sword, tears streaming openly down his face, but his eyes alight with vengeful fire. Fleet gave him a patronizing look. “Don’t even think about it, or you’ll be joining my uncle and these fools here.” He contemptuously gestured to the bodies of the Elves he murdered.

       “You are no Sea Lord of ours,” the Elf said, his voice low and hard. “I will fight to the death to rid the world of you.”

       Fleet shrugged. “As you wish.” With one stroke of his terrible sword, he slew the Elf. “To the death you go,” he said, smiling.

       How could he? He just slaughtered half a dozen Elves, including his own uncle, and he thought nothing of it. Black, burning hatred arose in me for the cold-hearted murderer.

       Fleet now turned to the other Elves, who were petrified. “Surrender your weapons, or die.”

       One by one, none willing, each of the remaining Elves stepped forward, laid his sword or bow on the ground by Fleet, and retreated. Bright Mist came forward, laid her long dagger down, and straightened. She stood still a few moments longer, then flashed out her hand, slapped Fleet across the face, and fled with terrified speed to the other disarmed Elves. Fleet stood still with wide eyes and let out a deep breath. I couldn’t laugh, though.

       Last of all, Shadow came forth. He dropped his dagger on the pile of weaponry. He clenched his fists, and Fleet saw it too. He struck out with his own fist, and Shadow staggered back. Fleet’s eyes went hard. He spoke again, addressing Storm. “Tell your kind that these Elves, loyal to Sea Flight and thus traitors to me, are now their prisoners, and they may do what they wish with them – save Bright Mist, the female.” He pointed at her. “My own betrothed.”

       “No!” I screamed, but my voice was lost in the roar of fiendish delight that rose from the Wild Dwarves. The Sea Elves and Shadow froze at Fleet’s words and the terrible uplifted voices of the wild ones. The Dwarves rushed forward. The fourteen doomed Elves fought as best they could, unarmed and outnumbered, but it could only end one way. Though Bright Mist also hurled herself into the fray, the Dwarves beat her off, and dragged and wrestled the other Elves down on their knees and snapped their accursed manacles over their wrists. Then they hauled their prisoners, Shadow among them, off into deeper darker caverns, far from their white seastrands, down into the darkness of an evil ancient world. I could not cry. I was beyond crying.

       Fleet strode toward Storm. “I have done my part. I thank you for doing yours.”

       Storm shrugged, not looking pleased or upset; in truth she showed hardly any emotion other than a mild indifference. “Ya jest remember the priv’leges ya gave us’ns, and we’ll leave ya alone. Ya goin’ to be ‘eadin’ off now?”

       “Not yet.” Fleet glanced at the bodies strewn on the cavern floor. “First direct your kind to throw these corpses from the cliffs.” He kicked Sea Flight’s unmoving form contemptuously. Bitter bile rose in me at his lack of respect for the dead – though he had been the messenger of death.

       Storm turned to the Dwarves. “Well, ya heard wha’ ‘e said. Get rid o’ those things!”

       Several Dwarves ran off and lifted the bodies, two Dwarves to each. Fleet looked at the pile of weapons at his feet. “And you may take these as well.”

       A mad rush ensued as Dwarves whose own weapons had been destroyed by the Sea Elves ran forward to claim new arms. I wanted to throw up, and I didn’t care who I did it on. I expected the Dwarves latched onto my arms would drag me off now, but they seemed spellbound by Fleet. Most of them did.

       “This ‘un’s still alive!” exclaimed of the Wild Dwarves as he wrapped his short arms around Sea Flight’s chest.

       My heart throbbed in my own chest. Still alive?

       Fleet thought for a moment, then his eyes went harder and colder than obsidian ever was. “Then let him bleed his life away, and when he is spent, leave him out on the desolate mountainside, where the beasts and the weather will clear any trace of him. I want his memory forever erased.”

       Sea Flight, lying at death’s door as he was, let out the smallest sound, a tiny whimper of pain and struggle to hold on to life as the Dwarves half-lifted, half-dragged him away. I gazed upon the bloodstained ground, the trail of red the bodies left as they were taken away. A veil of gray seemed to have fallen. I saw, bright and terrible as the dawn over the sea, scarlet blood spreading across the dark stones, flowing from the bodies of two Elves, one with chestnut hair, the other with yellow eyes…

       Something snapped. I felt it across the cavern, from where the trembling form of Bright Mist huddled against the wall, now freed from her dark petrifaction. She rushed toward Fleet, crying, “Fleet Strike, please, stop!” She stopped before him, her stricken face pale as death.

       Fleet looked at her with a half-smile on his face, then let out a mocking laugh. “It’s gone too far, Bright Mist. Don’t you see? Sea Flight’s reign has ended. Mine has now begun.”

       “Sea Flight was twice the ruler you’ll ever be.” Bright Mist’s voice was low, but she poured her heart into every word. “I can’t believe I was engaged to you.”

       Fleet’s eyes flared. He raised a hand as though to strike her, then lowered it. He smiled again. “Don’t tell me you still believe in him. He was weak, indulgent, and didn’t know the first thing of being a powerful Sea Lord. Let his memory go. You are too young and fair to weep long over anything. You will find yourself much happier with me…”

       He reached out and caught her arms. She let out a small shriek of fear and struggled, but she could not escape him. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Her eyes shone dark and bright with terror.

       Revulsion rose within me. With two sharp twists of my wrists I freed myself of the Dwarves who held me. I charged toward the two Elves and punched Fleet in the eye. With a gasp he staggered backward, releasing Bright Mist, who took her chance and fled to the other side of the cavern. He looked at me, and I started to see dark flames leaping from his eyes. Without hesitation I punched him in the other eye. He let out a sound halfway between a gasp and groan, then with a shrill cry of rage hurled himself at me. I was ready for him.

       But he never reached me. An uplifted cry, pounding footsteps, angry shouts – and someone slammed into Fleet, and they both crashed to the ground before they disentangled themselves. Two Wild Dwarves ran toward them, fighting for breath, bruises and small cuts covering their faces. “Stop ‘im! It’s the wild ‘un…!”

       “SHADOW!” I screamed.

       Shadow scrambled to his feet. Though manacles still hung from his wrists, he was holding his long dagger – he must have grabbed it from one of the Dwarves. He pointed it at Fleet. Fleet drew his sword. “All right, nightling,” he spat, “let’s end this. You and me.” His hair hung in loose wild strands over his eyes, sweat trickling down his face, a new wildness burning in his dark eyes. He made a gesture to the Wild Dwarves. “Stay back! This is between me and him.”

       Shadow took a deep breath and readied himself. Taking a few steps backward, he kept his weapon pointed at Fleet’s heart. I felt my own heart lurch. Fleet was a master with the sword. As far as I knew, Shadow didn’t have any sword training. Moreover, Fleet’s long sword gave him a deadly advantage over Shadow’s much shorter dagger, as well as the heavy restricting manacles over Shadow’s wrists. My friend was doomed. I bit my lower lip and breathed a prayer for him. Seeing Dwarves edging toward me out of the corner of my eye, I whirled on them and screamed, “Don’t!”

       They didn’t.

       At that moment, both Shadow and Fleet darted forward, and steel rang on steel. Fleet almost immediately gained the upper hand. Wounds opened up on Shadow’s face and arms as he desperately strove to defend himself. In another few moments Fleet would kill him. Looking at Fleet, the savage look on his face, enhanced by two swelling black eyes, I did not doubt it. I snatched up a rock from the earthy floor and hurled it. It smashed into the side of Fleet’s head. He yelped, clapped a hand to the side of his head, and struck out.

       Shadow fell, his side bleeding, his eyes great and terrible, but as he did, he took a wild swing with his dagger, laying open a long bloody slash across Fleet’s abdomen. With a strangled cry Fleet dropped his sword and doubled over in pain as blood ran down his legs.

       Bright Mist and I both screamed.

       Both Elves crouched gasping on the ground, arms pressed up against their wounds. Shadow writhed a little and let out an agonized groan. My heart throbbed for him. I wanted to rush forward and try and save him, but I didn’t trust Fleet. Now on his knees, he had both arms wrapped around his lower body, but his eyes were fixed on Shadow.

       But Shadow was ready for him. Simultaneously they crashed into each other and fell to struggling on the ground. This time all odds were in Shadow’s favor. Fleet probably never realized how much he used his abdominal muscles until that moment. With the wound across his abdomen he could hardly defend himself, let alone fight back. He may have been unbeatable with swords and bows, but when it came to the rough-and-tumble, rolling on the ground and punching and kicking kind of fighting, Shadow was the champion. Ever the savages, the Wild Dwarves raised their voices and cheered them on, glorying in the sight of the two Elves tearing each other to pieces.

       Shadow showed no mercy. He kicked Fleet onto his stomach and drove his face into the ground, then pinned his arms down with his legs, wound a long curling strand of Fleet’s hair around his neck, and yanked. I held a hand to my mouth in horror as I watched Shadow strangling Fleet with his own hair. He was going to kill him! My limbs froze. I couldn’t let him, but –! But!

       At last, almost screaming for air, Fleet wrenched one arm free, seized Shadow by the throat, and dragged him off of him. Shadow gasped as Fleet’s grip tightened. Now the tables were turned, and I started forward. But before I could intervene, Shadow lashed out and kicked Fleet in the groin. Fleet let out a ripping scream and released Shadow. He clasped his wound and curled up in the fetal position, sobbing for breath and practically crying with pain. I felt sorry for him, in spite of myself.

       Shadow sat, breathing hard, catching his breath and striving for more strength. His eyelids drooped with exhaustion, and blood flowed freely from his side. He was going to die. But he didn’t see Fleet. Fleet slowly uncurled, reached out, and took his sword from where it lay. Gasping with pain, he crawled forward, making to finish Shadow off.

       I snapped out of my daze. I had already lost Shadow once. I wouldn’t lose him again. With a scream of rage I dashed toward Fleet and barreled into him. I knocked him over and wrenched the sword from his grasp. Pinning his arms down with my knees, I latched my hands into his beautiful hair and knocked his head against the ground. And then I went mad.

       I don’t know what savage demon had taken a hold of me. Grief and rage clashed together inside of me, black hate boiling in the depths of my soul and shooting out through my hands. I hated Fleet. I wanted to kill him. Over and over I drove my fists into his face, over and over I struck him, delighting in opening wounds and shedding blood and feeling him caught within my grasp. He was helpless now, helpless in my power.

       “Aria!”

       Shadow’s weak voice struck my ears. Arms dragged me off of Fleet and still my fists. Fleet lay motionless before me, unconscious, his face covered in blood. Shadow’s arms wrapped around me and I started to weep. “Oh, Shadow, why? Why?”

       “Forgive him, Aria.” Shadow’s voice was no more than a whisper. His hold loosened, and I watched as he keeled over next to me, his eyes closing. “No,” I breathed. “No!”

       All at once, rough hands wrenched me from him. Wild Dwarves hauled me away from Shadow as I cried, “No, no! NO!”

       But I had no strength left. I surrendered myself to them and let them take me where they would. Looking around, I saw Storm make a few gestures. More Dwarves picked up Shadow, who groaned and struggled feebly. They clenched their large hands about him and harshly dragged him off, though he cried out weakly in pain. My heart was now in my mouth, but I was powerless. Two more Dwarves, taller than Wild Dwarves usually go, lifted Fleet not much more gently than Shadow. They followed me and my captors as dark waves of weariness rolled over me, and I felt myself fall into the deepness of unconsciousness.

       My eyes fluttered open and were greeted by the all-too-familiar sight of a rough cavern wall and a chain connected to manacles about my wrists. I sighed. I dragged myself to a sitting position. My eyes widened. It seemed that the Wild Dwarves did not have a cavern set aside for an infirmary. Here they were treating Shadow and Fleet right in the main cavern.

       The prone forms of Shadow and Fleet, wearing only dirty loincloths around their middles, lay sprawled on animal hides thrown over the ground. A couple Dwarves swiped at the dirt and blood on their bodies, with not much call for hygiene, and wound less-than-clean strips of cloth around their wounds. Shadow, now unconscious, looked as well as could be expected, with his arms and side bandaged. I cringed when I looked at Fleet.

       Though the blood was mostly washed away, I could see every cut I had inflicted on his face, as well as those swollen black eyes, and his bruised ribs and the top edge of a bandage around his abdomen. He was only partially unconscious, and kept writhing and making small sounds of agony that made me feel sick. He clawed himself onto his side, his face turning a sickly gray. Realizing what was about to happen, a Dwarf grabbed a wooden bucket and got it to him just in time, apparently valuing the cleanliness of the floor above that of the invalids. I winced and looked away.

       With a sigh I lay my head back down. Now what? What would we do? Despite all we did, Ever and Echo were still in the grip of the Wild Dwarves, and Shadow and I had rejoined them. Fleet, though a little handicapped at the moment, was the Sea Lord of the Clan of Sea Echoes. Sea Flight was – would be – dead. What hope did we have?

       “Is he alive?” I gasped out, my eyes wide and beseeching as I looked back at Shadow. One of the Dwarves gave me an odd look, but he obliged me. “’E’s alive, though ‘e ain’t gonna be much use as a slave in dis state. Gotta give ‘im a while yet. As fer that ‘un,” he gestured to Fleet, who had his face in the bucket, “once ‘e’s better we’ll jest send ‘im back to ‘is seastrand where all Sea Elves belong.”

       “Good for him,” I snarled and rolled over.

       Fleet was lucky. Once he was healed he could go back home and do whatever he wanted, though the Sea Elves would suffer for it. Shadow? The instant he could walk the Wild Dwarves would enslave him and force him to labor for them until he died. Just like me – and the captive Elves, and Ever and Echo. We had gone through all this trouble just to rescue our friends, but we could not have seen the dark threads of conspiracy that spread where they would. But I saw. I knew Fleet was evil, that he was planning something, but did I tell anyone? No. I had kept it all to myself, awaiting the perfect time to tell, but now I knew there was no perfect time. I could either speak or not speak, and I chose not to. This was all my fault. I was glad Sea Flight never found out how I had brought about his death and the fall of his Clan. I lay on the hard ground, thinking, wishing, despairing. What could we do? Nothing. The world fell dark around me. So dark.

                                                  Chapter 11

Many Lessons

       And thus, three weeks went by.

       Many times I argued with Storm. “Please, PLEASE, let me and my friends go! We can’t stand it here in these dark caverns!”

       She would sigh, put her hands on her hips, and say, “Yer not ‘ere ‘cause ya lawk it. Yer ‘ere ta work. I’m sorry yer ‘avin’ sich a tough time wi’ it, but the sooner ya get used to it, the better.”

       On the second day I saw Echo. I started at the sight of him. His suntanned skin had turned pale from lack of sun and light; his gray eyes looked large and empty, and sharp bones stuck out of his wrists and elbows and ankles, his collarbone and ribs standing out sharply. His white leggings had turned a filthy brown with dirt; long white scars covered his back, and his brown hair was dirty and tangled with split ends. He was dragging a sack of charcoal over to the forge chambers, and when he saw me he dropped it and stared at me with those huge wounded eyes. I stifled a sob and went about my own tasks.

       Ever didn’t look much better. She still clung to her age-old habit of braiding her hair every morning, but her clothes looked terrible. It turned out she had torn her spare tunic into bandages, which she mostly gave to Echo, who needed them. Her face was so dirty I couldn’t tell which were dirt stains and which were freckles.

       This second captivity by the Wild Dwarves was much more painful than the first; for I knew I should have no chance of escaping now. I saw my entire life before me, endless years of toiling in the caverns, far from the outside world of sun and sea and free air. I could see myself slowly forgetting the touch of the sun, the whispers of the wind, the voices of the mountains. I would live and die here, and never again see the misty vale of my beloved Dale, and Father’s flame-red hair, and a thousand other things. Darkness lay ahead. I cursed myself for ever running away, but then I would not have been able to free Shadow, or help Ever, or meet Echo, but the Scarlet Serpent and the open wilderness could hardly be worse than what we struggled through now. Shadow was nearly recovered, but still unable to stand up. Fleet was mending faster, unfortunately – though his upset stomach did not settle until the end of the second week. You can guess who had to empty the bucket during those two weeks.

       Visions of Sea Flight flashed through my mind. Had he finally bled to death? Had the Dwarves left him out on the unprotected mountainside, for weather and wild beasts to ravage? If he died, there would be no one left to stand up to Fleet once he returned to the halls of the Clan of Sea Echoes. But it was almost certain he was dead.

       Shadow and Fleet both eventually healed. Without so much as a word of thanks, but certainly with another of his hideous smiles, Fleet took his leave of the Wild Dwarves and returned to the Clan of Sea Echoes, taking Bright Mist with him. I hoped he would break his previous betrothal to her. She would live in mortal terror were she wed to him. However, he did not leave without a few scathing remarks to the Dwarves who had tended him, for he and I had both noticed the disappearance of his malachite necklace and silver earrings ever since his ill-fated fight with Shadow. In the end, though, Fleet was obliged to leave without his jewelry. But as soon as Storm saw Shadow on his feet, she dragged him off into farther, deeper caverns, where I could not see him. I wondered what she would make him do.

       “Where are the Sea Elf prisoners?” I asked Ever the day after Fleet left. Ever, as the mildest and most obedient of the slaves, had a lot more freedom than Echo and I, the wild ones, did, and thus found out many things.

       She shook her head. “They’re slaves also. But not for work. They’re slaves for sport.”

       “What does that mean?” I asked, already guessing at the answer.

       “Whenever the Wild Dwarves feel like being cruel, inflicting pain on others and laughing to see them suffer, they just go to where they have the Sea Elves all chained up and helpless, and then beat and abuse one of them until they’re satisfied.”

       I stared at her in horror. “That’s – that’s horrible! How can they do that!?”

       Ever shrugged sadly. “They’re Wild Dwarves. They detest the other races. They like to see such proud, beautiful, perfect beings as the Sea Elves weep and suffer and cry out for mercy. It’s disgusting, really. I heard a couple of Dwarves talking to each other, saying that they would have a lot of ‘fun’ with the Elves. I really feel sorry for them – both the Elves and the Dwarves.”

       “The Dwarves?” I asked, confused.

       “They’re lost souls. They’ve never heard of God. I pray for them, hoping that they will be saved. Their salvation means ours, doesn’t it?”

       “True.” Still, how could she pity them? “It seems the Wild Dwarves are a lot worse now than they were when we were first captured.”

       “They’ve been like this ever since you escaped. They were livid when they found you gone, and they took it out on Echo and I. Echo got the worst of it, though, because I think they were expecting him to try and escape next. They’ve been driving us harder, giving us less food, and beating us even when we haven’t done anything wrong. They’re also keeping eagles’ eyes on us, making sure we don’t get away. If we even look like we’re thinking of a getaway, they retaliate – swiftly and severely. I can only imagine what will happen to us.”

       “Me too.” I paused. “It’s too bad about the food. I really do eat a lot, and their earlier portions were pretty satisfying.”

       Ever sighed. “Yeah, they’re kind of pathetic now. But as little as we get, the Sea Elves don’t get anything. I sneak some of my rations to them sometimes. It means I get even less to eat, but I don’t really need a lot to keep me going, and I have to try and keep the Elves alive somehow.”

       “You’ve been where they are?”

       She nodded. “It’s terrible. They’re kept in a pitch-dark cavern, so dark you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. The Elves are all lying on the floor, their hands chained to the wall. They’re so weak they can hardly sit up. And there in the darkness the Wild Dwarves come in and lash them with whips or pound them with their spear shafts, though they sometimes use the pointed end. The Dwarves stole their tunics and cut their hair short to humiliate them, and occasionally take them from the dark prison cavern and abuse them somewhere else where the other Dwarves can watch and laugh at them. Their sense of pride and dignity is being destroyed, and that can be just as deadly as beating and starvation.”

       I couldn’t find words to say at first. Then I could think of only one thing to say. “How much longer before they die?” I muttered as I went about my own tasks.

       But then I met Gray Sky.

       I wanted to cry out when I first saw him. I had been taking newly-made weapons from the forges to a medium-sized cavern where they stored such things. But on the way, I found exactly what Ever was talking about earlier. A gaunt, pale Elf lay sprawled on the ground, his once-beautiful black hair now hacked short, cruel ugly manacles binding his hands behind his back, trying desperately to shield his face and body from the assaults of one of the taller brawny Wild Dwarves I had seen carrying Fleet when he was wounded nearly three weeks ago. The Dwarf held a long leather whip in his hand, and this he used to open long stinging wounds on the wretched Elf’s body, the ugliest curses and verbal abuse I had ever heard pouring from his mouth. I could see the Elf struggling not to cry out as the whip bit into his bare arms and chest and lashed around his poor head. Bitter bile rose into my mouth at the monstrosity of it all.

       The Dwarf bent and grabbed the short hair at the back of the Elf’s head, hauled him to a partial sitting position, and yanked his head back. Dropping his whip, he took a wicked-looking curved knife from his belt and held it under the Elf’s chin, pricking the skin on his neck. “Ye won’t be pretty no more, pixie!” he snarled with a hideous half-scowl, half-grin spreading from ear to ear. He laughed at the terrified expression on the Elf’s face. Tightening his grip on the poor Elf’s hair, he raised his knife as though about to cruelly slash at the face of his prisoner.

       All my innards clashed. I dropped the weapons I carried with a crash, grabbed a rock from the rough floor, and flung it at the Dwarf. I had practiced throwing rocks many a time during my childhood in Dale, and now I never missed. It struck him on his hand, and he dropped his knife with an angry growl. Flinging the Elf down, he gave him a few contemptuous kicks and gave me a look that would have curdled ale. “Once I’m done wi’ dis one,” he said, pointing at the Elf, “then I’ll fix ye. Don’t let me catch ye in’erferrin’ wi’ the Eflin’s, now, ye ‘ear!?” He rubbed his hand and picked up his knife, then seized the short chain attached to the manacles about the Elf’s wrists and began to drag him off, cursing. The Elf offered no resistance to this treatment, but I wanted to cry as he looked at me, his eyes so huge with fear and pain that I could see myself in them. His eyes were not black, but gray – the gray of the sea after a storm. Gratitude and a ray of hope shone from those beautiful eyes, and I could not dispel their memory from my mind.

       I did not wait for the Dwarf to return and ‘fix’ me. I scooped up the fallen weapons and half-ran to the storage cavern. The Elf lingered in my mind the whole way, and did not desert me even long afterward.

       I nonchalantly gave the floor a few more sweeps with a broom, then glanced up. I was near to where Ever said the Sea Elves were being held. Looking around, I didn’t see any Dwarves watching me. I leaned the broom carefully against the wall and slipped through the small opening into the prison cavern.

       All that Ever told me pounded in my mind, but still seeing those horrors before my very eyes was still a shock. The Elves lay pressed against the wall, thick heavy chains lying like symbols of their doom on their slender wrists. Some lay stretched out, others curled up, but I could feel the misery stalking through their midst. Their pale skin glowed in the darkness, and I cringed to see their visible ribs and their stomachs hugging their backs, their stick-like limbs and pinched faces and large, hungry, wounded eyes. Dried and congealed blood clotted their countless wounds, bruises showing darkly on their bodies, with silent tears running down the faces of some. Part of me wanted to turn around and run from the cavern, but a still, small voice inside of me whispered for me to go on. Hardly even knowing what I was doing, I stepped forward. My eyes roved the prisoners, searching for the gray-eyed Elf I had seen earlier.

       At last I saw him, at the end of one wall, curled up in a corner with blood running from his whip wounds. He looked about to start licking the wounds and I hoped he hadn’t gone so far as to give up his Elven spirit and fall to the state of a wild beast. As I approached the Elves, some of them gasped and most tried to press themselves deeper into the shadows, and so perhaps escape notice and another savage beating. I felt my soul let out a sob. I didn’t want to hurt them. Quietly I made my way over to the gray-eyed one. He let out a small sound of fear and edged away from me. I extended a hand and laid it gently on his shoulder. He started and looked at me with eyes full of pain and wonder. I could tell he had been crying.

       “It’s all right,” I whispered. “It’s me, Wave Flame.” I reached down the front of my kirtle and drew forth a crude stone flask of water and half a scone – half my daily rations. His stormy gray eyes widened as he whispered in a small, weak voice, “Why are you doing this? You will be in terrible trouble if you are caught.”

       “Not as much trouble as you are in. Here” I tore off a bit of the scone. “Eat this. I’m sorry I can’t unchain you.”

       He opened his mouth willingly and let me feed him. “The other girl Ever also helps us. The boy, though, is in near as much danger as us.”

       “Echo. Yeah. I can believe that.” I stopped, the echoes of my voice quietly rustling in the dark cavern. “What is your name?”

       He looked at me then, with those beautiful gray eyes. “I am called Gray Sky, for the color of my eyes.”

       “Gray Sky,” I whispered. All of a sudden I choked, and I bit my lip to keep back my tears. “I – I’m so sorry! If it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t be here. You would be back in your halls, by the sea, free as the air…” I broke off with a sob and hid my face in my arms.

       His bony shoulder pressed comfortingly against me, as he could not put an arm around my shoulders. “Do not lay the blame on yourself, Wave Flame. No matter who it was, I would do all I could to save those in the grip of the Wild Dwarves. What is happening to us now can only strengthen my resolve to free their captives, now that I know their boundless cruelty.”

       I wiped my eyes on my dirty sleeve. “Why do they have to be so cruel!? Why!? I don’t understand!”

       “Nor do I. I only know that if it is God’s will that we suffer like this, I will bear it to the end. We can only follow the path He has marked out for us.”

       I stopped crying. Follow the path He has marked out for us. I remembered Ever saying that to me, so long ago, when everything was right in the world. Follow the path God has marked out for us. I knew that the path ahead was stony, full of twists and rocks. I did not always know where it would lead, and I doubted I walked the right path, but in the end, it would prove itself straight, narrow, and true. No matter where it wended, it always reached one destination. My spirit lifted, and the clouds of darkness and despair that had closed over my heart lifted, and I raised my eyes to the sun and sky.

       Loud clanks and hard laughter sounded outside. I gasped and started. “I have to go. But I’ll be back – sometime.”

       Gray Sky gave me one last smile as he drew back into his corner, chains clinking. “No matter what happens, Wave Flame, I will be eternally grateful to you. Just the presence of a kind and loving soul is all I need.”

       I smiled in return and left.

       The next day, I slipped back into the prison cavern. Making my way over to Gray Sky’s corner, I noticed with some distress that he was gone. I turned to the closest Elf. “Where has Gray Sky gone?”

       The Elf’s face was expressionless, but his eyes glowed dark with pain, both of the body and of the heart. “He has died. The Wild Dwarves took his body and cast him from the mountainside.”

       I left the cavern in a daze. A deep gray mist of sorrow whispered in my heart, but also a golden glow of peace. Gray Sky had passed out of his suffering, and now dwelled with God. Tears ran down my face, tears of pain and love. I had only known him for a day, but I was glad to have met him. Even in the midst of the darkest torment he still was so full of – love. He loved God, loved Sea Flight, loved his sea, and loved – even me. Somehow my captivity lessened, became freer and sweeter. Gray Sky had taught me how to love.

Chapter 12

The End of the Road

       And so I lived in captivity and tranquility, knowing the day of judgment would come, but living in peace under God’s hand as I waited.

       But the Wild Dwarves did not reckon the coming wrath they had evoked by their simple conquest.

       I had run miles and miles that day, back and forth between caverns, never resting as the Dwarves continuously heaped tasks upon me. I did them all without complaint, though my body begged for a respite. I would get none.

       I never saw Shadow. I did not know where the Wild Dwarves had taken him, nor what they were doing to him or making him do. I only prayed that he was alive.

       And alive he was.

       A great rumble resounded through the caverns. The ground shook as the walls glowed, and Wild Dwarves stiffened where they stood and listened. Ever and Echo, also nearly run off their feet, drew close to me as they looked around. All fell still and silent. I looked to the ceiling, then at all the passages into other caverns, as though hoping to find the answer there. Then another rumble, a distant explosion, and all of a sudden fire rolled from the mouth of one of the caverns, roaring as it poured out across the ground. Dwarves leapt from the flames, which flickered and disappeared as suddenly as they had come. Then Storm came barreling from the cavern, chased by a ragged gaunt Night Elf with fire blazing from his hands and leaping from his feet.

       “Shadow…” I breathed.

       With a wild unearthly scream, like some sort of ancient war cry, Shadow hurled himself into the center of the cavern and sent waves of fire streaking out in all directions. I bolted out of the way, but the flames whispered and died before they reached me. But they licked hungrily at the ankles of the Dwarves, and many of them fell.

       Shadow straightened, his night-black hair whipping about his face, his golden-green eyes flashing, fire crackling about his clenched fists. Storm, having recovered her dignity, straightened her singed cloak and, placing her hands on her hips, assumed her usual pose, though her chest rose and fell as she sought for breath after her mad flight from Shadow. She pointed accusingly at him. “Ya – ya jest got yaself in ‘eaps of trouble, Elflin’.”

       Shadow drew himself tall. Never before did I see any Elf such as this. All the utter power and – yes, majesty – of the Elves burned within his breast like a furnace in a dragon’s heart, and shot out from the centers of his eyes. “I am no slave of yours, Storm,” he thundered. “None of us! We are free, free to live our own lives, free from the hands of you and the Wild Dwarves!”

       Storm folded her arms across her chest. “All rawt, so ya wanna be free. Ya gonna ‘ave to get through us’ns first.”

       The right side of Shadow’s mouth twisted upward in a grim smile. He whipped both hands before him and sent a tumult of blinding flames rushing toward Storm. I lost sight of her, and, in spite of myself, I prayed she was not dead.

       Shadow then whirled about and bolted for the shut stone gates of the cavern. “Come on!” he yelled.

       I snapped out of my daze. I started forward, hesitated, began running again, thought of the Sea Elves, and stopped again. Several Dwarves started toward us. At that moment, something snapped inside of Echo. With a shrill scream of rage he shot into the Dwarves’ midst and attacked them like some savage animal with only his fists and teeth.

       “Echo!” Ever screamed. She ran toward him and tried to drag him off of the Dwarves.

       “Come!” Suddenly Shadow was there, taking my hand and running to the gates. Ever succeeded with Echo and they followed us.

       “But – the gates – they’re –”

       Shadow raised his free hand, and more flames of his Night Elf magic catapulted from his palm and struck the gates. They exploded in flying shards of stone. I screamed and threw my arm over my face. They rained on the ground like a thousand shattering crystals. Sunlight poured in from the outside world, and a knifing wind. I gasped in shock, unable to move for a few seconds. Then we were running: running out the gates, out of the dark oppression of the caverns, out into the wild world. We sped out along the mountains, and then I noticed Shadow was not with us.

       “Keep going! I’ll be right back!” I yelled to Ever and Echo as I turned around and ran back inside. “Shadow! Where are you!?”

       Flames engulfed the caverns. The uncanny smokeless fire of the Night Elves devoured the stone, raging and laughing. I couldn’t see anything. The heat crushed down on my body as I struggled through the deathly chaos. Shadow. Shadow.

       A screamed war cry rang out, and a Wild Dwarf came plunging from the flames, a battleaxe held high above his head. And then I saw Shadow, in an aggressive stance, still sending fire from the depths of his soul into the air. The Dwarf landed on Shadow’s shoulders, felling him. The battleaxe flashed blood-red in the light of the great and terrible flames. My feet grew wings. It was as though my mind had stepped out of my body and stood aside, watching my body act without its control. We are all going to die, my mind said. How strange.

       My mind watched as my body shot forward and hurled itself on the Wild Dwarf, seizing the shaft of the battleaxe, and twisting it around. The blade sank into the Dwarf’s shoulder, and my body leapt up from him and turned to Shadow. All of a sudden my mind came rushing back into my body, and I yelled, “Shadow! We’ve got to get out of here!”

       He did not argue. Together we ran through the flames and out through the shattered gates. Ever and Echo stood fifty feet off, waiting for us. Without a word we all turned and leaped down the mountainsides like hinds.

       “We did our best, Aria. You know they wouldn’t have gotten far in their state.” Ever tried in vain to console me. After the raging joy I felt at being free, I soon broke down into a flood of tears when I remembered the thirteen Sea Elves still in the power of the Wild Dwarves. All around us the pale glow of weak sunlight fell, torn by the wind crossing the world. Crouching on soft turf out on an open mountainside, I buried my face in my arms and wept. Weak sun streamed down from the overcast sky upon the misty world, whispering to me so many things my heart ached to know.

       “All those poor Elves! We just ran! Ran, and left them behind! They will suffer even more now, now that we have escaped! How could I have done this!”

       Shadow lay stretched out upon the turf, unmoving, eyes closed. After his wild burst of magic, he had exhausted himself. Echo sat next to him, his eyes far beyond us, wandering over the mountains and across the wilderness. He did not speak. It seemed as though the world was speaking to him, in a language only he knew.

       Gradually my sobs and tears subsided, and I took a deep breath of the chilly misty air. “But we are free,” Ever went on. “Someday we can go back and free the Elves.”

       “There are other Elves in bondage, too,” I answered. We all knew of whom I spoke. I stood and walked over to Shadow. The wind passed through his dark hair, long strands fluttering, and touched his pale face. Without thinking I reached out and stroked the scar of the thrall ring around his neck. His eyes opened, glazed and weary, but he was awake.

       “Shadow. Thank you.”

       He turned his head a little to look at me. He smiled a little.

       “How – how did you do that? I didn’t know you could do Night Elf magic.”

       “I never could before. I can only do it now, now that I am a full Night Elf. I did not realize that until all the rage and grief and despair of our captivity finally reached its peak.” He raised his hand to his face and looked at it, then looked back at me. I started to see the fearful expression on his face. “I don’t want to be a Night Elf. I don’t want all these powers. I’m just like my father now.”

       I drew my breath in sharply. “Shadow, I never told you, but – earlier, back at the Clan of Sea Echoes, Fleet told me his back story. I really hate to say it, but I do feel kind of sorry for Fleet, the same way Ever feels sorry for the Wild Dwarves.”

       “He what!?”

       “Fleet told me about his past. He’s lived through an awful lot, considering how young he is. I can sort of understand his behavior, a little, though it seems he was born with the notion that he has this divine right to rule. But at any rate, at one point in his life, he said he was stranded in the wild mountains near Sierra, half-dead, with both his arms broken. And he said that a Night Elf named Raven – your father – saved his life. Your father isn’t evil, Shadow. He has done some terrible things in his past, but he’s changed. Just because he’s a Night Elf doesn’t make him evil. And just because you’re a Night Elf doesn’t make you cursed or anything. There is good and bad in every race. Can’t you forgive your father and accept him?”

        Shadow did not answer for a few minutes. His green-gold eyes looked troubled. “He doesn’t love me, Aria. If he could truly feel love he would have married my mother and not have abandoned her and me.”

       “Wait till you meet him, Shadow. I think you’ll be surprised. He may love you now, and be wondering where you now are. Just give him a chance.”

       Shadow looked at me, then turned his head away. I did not speak to him further. I knew he needed time to struggle with himself.

       “So what do we do now?” Echo asked suddenly.

       Ever placed her hands on her hips in a decisive manner. “Now we go the Clan of Sea Echoes and topple Fleet from his throne.”

       New energy and purpose surged through me. “Of course! We’ll free the Sea Elves! I can’t wait give Fleet a piece of my mind.”

       Echo pounded his fist into his hand. “And once you do that, I’m going rip out his heart and –”

       “Please don’t.” Ever winced a little. “I don’t want to kill him, or beat him up. We just need to get rid of him.”

       “How can we get rid of him without killing him?” I asked.

       “I don’t know. Banish him or something.”

       “Think he’ll honor that?”

       “Not really. I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

       “I don’t really care what we do to him,” Echo said, standing up. “But right now the question is: how are we going to get down to the sea? I don’t know the way.”

       “I do.” Shadow stood. “I studied the location of the Lake of Deep Circling, and worked out where the river inside the mountain would lead. I think I can find the lake from here, and then it will be easy. I made note of our route when we and the Sea Elves came up here into the mountains, so I think I will be able to trace the path back down to the sea.”

       I stared at him with wide eyes. “Wow. You can do that?”

       “I’m certain.”

       I looked at my other companions. They all smiled, and I smiled back. “Look out, Fleet Strike. Here we come.”

       Weeks rolled by, like the wind-driven clouds in the stormy sky. The sky always hung over us, gray and cold and windy. It often rained, but we kept going. Our filthy ragged clothes did not offer much protection from the weather, and we had no weapons to defend ourselves from what may attack us. After draining himself with his magic, Shadow was, in Ever’s words, weak as a newborn kitten, and we took turns supporting him as we went, and as he slowly regained his strength. We just went on and prayed to God to see us through.

       But as the sun rose the pearl-gray sky, streaked with bloody scarlet, its rays touched upon the glass and alabaster halls of the Sea Elves. I felt a deep hollowness in the pit of my stomach as I thought about what we were going to do. What if Fleet murdered us all? Then he would be unconquerable, supreme – nothing would stand in his way. My Fire Elf spirit rose within me. No. We would do this. Too much depended on this. We had no choice.

       As we made our way down the path of carved white stones that led down to the seastrand and the Elven halls, I went over it all in my mind. So, all we had to do was slip unseen into the halls, find Fleet, somehow get rid of him, and then… Yeah. We were doomed.

       It wouldn’t be so hard to get into the actual halls. Most of the halls were open and arcaded with great archways. And the Sea Elves would certainly try to help us. After all, they would hate Fleet by now. They wouldn’t mind conspiring against him behind his back, even though his revenge would be horrible if he knew.

       Shadow led us as we silently ran to a long pillared hall open to the air. We hid behind the tall pillars set with shells, looking around for any sign of observers. “I can’t see anyone!” I hissed at Shadow. He peered around his pillar, then motioned to us. “Come on!”

       We tiptoed through an open archway into a more enclosed building, its walls made almost entirely of glass. I couldn’t enjoy the stained glass pictures now, though. There were more pressing matters at hand.

       All of a sudden Shadow stopped and I bumped into him. “Oof!”

       “Shh!” He stood still, listening. “There’s someone coming.”

       Before we could scatter and find hiding places, a male Sea Elf emerged from a branching passageway and caught sight of us. He froze, then walked quickly over to us. “What are you doing here?” he whispered. “If the Sea Lord catches you…” He shuddered and began rubbing his upper arms as though cold.

       “The Sea Lord’s the reason we’re here,” Echo said. “We’re going to get rid of him. Can you help us?”

       Faint distress flickered on the Elf’s face, but he quickly composed himself. “I would, but… I don’t know how he does it. He has no spies but himself, but the Sea Lord can see through closed doors, around corners, into minds. He can see what happens within these halls, and he has already dealt with a few who have slandered him – swiftly and severely.”

       “Will you at least tell us where he is?” I beseeched him. I didn’t blame him for being afraid.

       He eyed us a moment, his dark eyes glowing with a faint whisper of hope. “Do you know what you are doing?”

       “Not really. But it’s most important. If we fail things can’t get any worse, I’m sure.”

       He laughed a little. “All right. I will tell you. Down this hall straight ahead lies the throne room, where the Sea Lord is. But there is a secret way in, as there are secret passages leading wherever you will throughout the halls. Sea Flight never told his nephew of them for reasons known only to himself, but it seems he was right to do so.”

       “A secret passage? Cool!”

       “Follow me. But be swift and silent.” The Elf looked around to assure himself that we were alone, then walked down one of the branching passages, a small narrow one. In single file we followed. My heart pounded against my ribs as though striving to break free.

       The passage led us to a door of dark wood elaborately carved. Paintings of hippocampuses set with gems adorned the walls on either side of the passage. The Sea Elf ran his hand over the left-hand wall until his fingers came to one small silvery blue hippocampus, half-hidden by a larger one. He pressed the polished golden jewel of the hippocampus’s eye into the door. There was a tiny click, and the whole painted panel slid to the side, leaving a dark opening like a sepulchre. The Elf stepped inside. I admit I hesitated for just a moment at the darkness of the passage. It reminded me too much of the dark caverns of the Wild Dwarves. But I willed myself to go on as I reminded myself of why we did this.

       “What is your name?” I asked the Sea Elf as he led us through the twisting maze of the secret passages. So many passageways intersected and branched off in unknown directions that without a guide, we would be utterly lost.

       “I dare not tell you,” he answered. “The Sea Lord will hear of this, and from me I fear he will learn of you. It is better if we maintain utter anonymity.”

       I admired him for being able to get his tongue around such a word as ‘anonymity’, but I still wished to know his name. But he was right: it was safer this way.

       Suddenly he turned around. “Wait here. I will return.” He strode down a side passageway and disappeared into the shadows. We waited. “What’s he doing?” Ever whispered.

       “Shh!” I didn’t think this was really the time and place to be talking.

       Soon the Elf returned, carrying some long implements in his arms. “You will need arms.” He handed Shadow and I a sword apiece, and a longbow and a full quiver to Echo. To Ever he gave a long knife, or rather a short sword. The Elf gestured to it. “That is a dirk. These will all serve you well.” He pointed off down one of the passages. “Follow the passage until you come to a wall. Press the center of the carving and you will enter the throne room. I will depart now, but I will never forget what you are doing here. God will bless you for it.” And he turned and ran back the way we came.

       Our footsteps echoed hollowly in the darkness and silence of the passageway as we walked down it, wondering how it would all end. Shadow, walking in front, suddenly stopped with a small, “Ow!”

       “I take it we’ve reached the end of the passage,” I commented. Ever giggled. Shadow rolled his eyes and began running his fingers over the wall, searching for any carving. My eyes had gotten accustomed to the darkness, and I thought I saw darker lines running across the wall. But I couldn’t tell what it was, let alone where the center was.

       A tiny spark of light flickered to life in the deepness. Quiet flames glowed about Shadow’s fingers, growing stronger as they illuminated the dark passage. The curving lines of a carved beast appeared on the wall, long and serpentine with an open toothed mouth and a mane of feathers. I had never seen such a creature, and I am inclined to believe it is a thing of myth. Shadow’s hand flew to the center, where the creature’s body coiled about a carved abalone shell. He pressed the shell, and the wall panel slid silently outward and to the side.

       We found ourselves facing the whole of the throne room. Fleet slouched on the great throne of silver and black marble, his legs crossed as he usually did, and all his curling chestnut hair cascading loosely over his shoulders. On his head rested the circlet of abalone shells, the symbol of royalty which seemed to mock the dead Sea Flight. On either side of the throne stood two Sea Elves wearing silver armor and holding spears with long sword-like heads, and neutral expressions on their faces, though I could see resentment and rebellion smoldering darkly in their eyes. Kneeling before the throne was Bright Mist, in a disheveled black gown, as though pleading with Fleet for something lost. All motion and sound halted at our appearance. I felt all eyes upon us, every heartbeat jump, every breath caught. Fleet’s eyes rested directly on mine as we stood, at the end of the road, where it would all end.

Chapter 13

From a World Dark and Shining

       Fleet slowly, almost casually looked up at us and, as usual, smiled, though for a brief second I saw dumbfounded astonishment flicker across his face. Then he stood, and I saw he was now wearing a long silk tunic the color of sunlight filtering through shallow green water, through which the lines of his slender body were faintly visible. To replace the malachite necklace as the concealment of the thrall ring scar around his neck, long since stolen by the Wild Dwarves, a band of small dark sea-smoothed stones now circled his throat. He was terrifyingly beautiful, and I felt myself shudder at the sight of him.

       He began twisting a long curl around his fingers when he saw us. “You little vagabonds don’t know when to give up, do you?” he said, his high mocking voice and mirthless smile grating on my nerves. Bright Mist stood and whirled around with a small gasp, and slowly edged from the center of the room to the more inconspicuous walls.

       “And you don’t know when you’ve gone too far, do you!?” Shadow shot back. His hands clenched, and I feared he would unleash his magic again.

       Fleet’s smile grew wider. “Look around you, nightling. What can you do?”

       What could we do? We were only four teenagers against the craftiest – and, I must admit, the most charming – villain I had even heard of or encountered. He was the Sea Lord. He could do anything, and command the Sea Elves to do anything. And they would obey. They had to.

       Would they?

       “Want to go at it again?” Shadow growled. I suppressed a smile. Doubtless Fleet had not forgotten the result of his last encounter with Shadow. The Sea Lord’s smile froze a little. “I would not attempt something so foolish if I were you. The results will be entirely different if you do.”

       Someone snickered, and I looked at one of the guards in time to see his face revert from an insolent smile back to expressionless. I stifled a giggle of my own as Fleet dropped his smile and shot a hateful glance around the room, searching for the culprit.

“And why would that be? Shadow’s more powerful than you think. The last time you and Shadow fought, he left you lying wounded and crying on the ground.” With these words I advanced, holding my head high. I drew my sword and pointed it at Fleet. The day of judgment had arrived. Addressing the entire assembly, I said in a loud voice which resounded throughout the throne room, “I’ve got a couple of things to say to that stuck-up spineless scapegrace.”

Gasps of horror went around the room. Fleet stiffened, and his eyes and mouth went hard. Bright Mist clapped a hand to her mouth, but I could see her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Ever tittered behind me. But I hadn’t started yet. Not hardly.

“Tell that self-centered mongrel princeling that if he doesn’t get out of that throne and make himself scarce…” I paused, letting my words sink in as I gathered my best insults and verbal abuse ready for hurling in Fleet’s face. “… that I’m going to hack his incredibly cute head off his shoulders and stamp all over his pretty face!”

Fleet drew himself up and walked down the shallow steps that led up to the throne. Before he could say anything, I went on. “And before I do that, I’m going to rip his pointy excuses for ears from his head and stuff them down his throat!”

Black flames shot out of Fleet’s eyes. He advanced a few more steps forward. Echo whipped up his bow, an arrow fitted on the string. “Take one more step, and this goes between your eyes.”

Fleet stopped.

“How did you escape from the Wild Dwarves?” he asked, seeming indifferent, but his glittering eyes and the slight edge in his voice belayed his false nonchalance.

Shadow raised his sword slightly, the palms of both his hands glowing. “Want to find out?”

He didn’t.

At that moment, Bright Mist left her spot by the walls and ran over to Fleet. “Please, Fleet,” she half-gasped, half-whispered, pointedly failing to address him as Sea Lord. “Please end this – now. Harm can only follow what you do here now. If you stop what you are doing, you will live. I can see you, mortally wounded, imprisoned, dying. It will all come to pass unless you surrender without a fight. Please, Fleet, leave us and live!”

After all he had done, after all he would do, still she cared about him. Tears stung my eyes as I watched Fleet turn on her. He reached out with one hand and shoved her away from him. “Little Bright Mist the prophet you now are? You do not command my fate. I command yours. After what you have said, you are very close to meeting yours for the last time. When I have dealt with them,” he pointed at me and my friends, “you will be next.”

“She’s right!” I called out. He looked over at me as I went on. “If you just get out of here, we won’t harm you. Things will get pretty messy if you stay where you are. This is not your throne, not your crown, not your place. You lost all right to the throne the instant you let evil into your heart. The Sea Lord, the king, or any royalty is not who he is because he is above and apart.”

He let out a harsh laugh. “You know nothing! You are nothing but a commoner. Royalty are lofty and lonely. We do not expect the low to understand. They have no right. They exist only to serve those above them.”

“That is where you are wrong, Fleet.” Bright Mist stepped closer to him. “The Sea Lord exists to serve the people. None who do not know that remain enthroned for long.”

Fleet said nothing then, just looked at her with half-closed eyes. His long white eyelashes hid his eyes, making him look eyeless. Cold sweat ran down my back, but I betrayed no feeling. “You will regret your words.” His voice caused an icy finger of fear to run up and down my spine.

Bright Mist drew back from him, her eyes wide with fear, but also a sort of – defiance, almost, something strong and undefeatable, something that she drew not from her own heart, but by the power of Another. “You may do what you wish to my earthly form, Fleet,” she whispered. “But you can never take my soul from me. I am not yours. I belong to only One.”

Fleet studied her with narrowed eyes, then smirked. “As you wish.” He looked away from her and studied the wall panel behind us, which had slid back into place when we all stepped into the throne room. Finally, he turned to the guard on his right and held out his hand. Distress flickered for an instant on the guard’s face, but at last he drew his sword and handed it to the Sea Lord. Bright Mist stood strong and stoic, prepared for the end. All my muscles froze, but Shadow sprang to life.

He wasted no time. He bolted forward and shot a blast of white fire from his left hand. It exploded on the left side of Fleet’s face. With a small cry Fleet staggered a little, his hand hovering over his face as though unsure of whether to clasp the wound or not. In an instant he made up his mind. As quick as a fleeting shadow, he darted toward Shadow. I knew how it would end. This time Shadow would fall. I moved as if in a dream. I got the sensation again of my mind drifting from my body, setting itself apart to watch. I clasped onto it, not willing to lose myself. I needed every conscious thought focused on the here and now.

Our three swords clashed, Fleet’s and Shadow’s and mine. I willed Echo to fire his arrows, but he might have feared hitting me or Shadow. I didn’t know what everyone else was doing. My world was swinging silver blades and fiery eyes. I knew that at any moment Fleet’s sword might bite into my body, wound me, or worse.

A slash, a cry, blood dripping into my eyes, whose I could not tell. I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand and struggled to break free. I managed to stagger backward and steal a respite. Echo fired three arrows in rapid succession at Fleet, but with three swings of his sword they fell harmlessly to the glass floor, severed in two. Ever hurled her dirk at him, and though he cast it aside with his own weapon, he was thrown off his guard momentarily. The point of Shadow’s sword caught him on the shoulder, and blood ran from the wound and down his arm. Instinctively Fleet clasped a hand to his shoulder, then turned on Shadow. The blade went up, and I saw a death blow coming, aimed at Shadow, who half-crouched with his sword loose in his hands, his sweat-darkened hair hanging over his face, his breath pounding through his lungs. My feet struck forward. I threw caution to the winds as I went on, to one I would lose forever. Shadow meant too much to me to die, too much to fall. All the power of love surged through me as I came forward with shining blade, and I screamed. “Yeeeaahaaaarrrrr!”

Another scream, high and ragged, cut through all my senses. A sword fell to the ground, ringing like a thousand shattered crystals on the floor. My own sword slipped from my hands as I staggered, all of a sudden exhausted. Shadow stood still, his mouth open and eyes wide and shining. Fleet was on his knees, his arms pressed close to his body, his face screwed up in pain, his left hand gripping his right wrist. I could only stare at the bright-red blood pumping from the severed wrist stump of his handless right arm. All the color drained from his face as I watched him, my gaze wandering to his sword, his hand still clenched around it. My vision blurred and I felt as though someone was wringing all my innards. My stomach slid up my throat, and I managed to get a few feet away from the scene before I lost my cookies.

“Come on!” I heard Echo yell. “We’ve got to do something!”

My body heaved one last time, then I scrambled to my feet in time to see Echo drop his bow, grab Ever’s fallen dirk, and rush toward Fleet.

“NOOOOOO!” I flew from where I crouched. I slammed into Echo and we both fell crashing to the floor. “No! Don’t – kill him!”

“He’s trying to kill us”! Echo protested, starting to get to his feet. I pinned him down. “No – killing. We can’t kill him, not now that he’s helpless. No killing.”

“Say that to him,” he growled, but he stopped struggling.

I released him, then turned to Fleet. He was now lying on his back, groaning and writhing. Ever crouched over him, holding him down firmly but gently. Bright Mist came running over. Taking up Ever’s dirk, she cut a good section of black silk from the hem of her gown, exposing her legs almost up to her knees, but that didn’t matter at the moment. She took hold of Fleet’s right arm and held the wrist up. His entire lower arm was drenched in blood, and he had turned as white as a ghost. Bright Mist crumpled the black silk into a ball and pressed it to the stump. He let out a small shriek for that, but she kept the compress in place till it had turned a dark rusty color. She cut off her long sleeves this time and managed to clean his arm and bandage the bloody wrist. I helped where I could, but she mostly worked alone.

“Why are you helping him?” I asked Bright Mist. “He was going to hurt you! He might have killed you, or violated you, or – or – I don’t understand.”

She shook her head with a sad smile as she continued her work. “I do not quite understand myself. I know that if it were I who were lying wounded on the floor, he would make no move to help me. He puts himself before others always, and thus he needs more help than any other. I will do whatever I can to heal him, body and soul. It is not for us to be cold and cruel, to deny aid to others no matter how evil or repulsive they may be. All we can do is help and hope. There are as yet many great doings in this world, and we have parts to play in their being wrought. I will play my part through to the end, for good and hope and truth. One day Fleet will see the light, and mayhap repent.”

“Good luck,” I heard Echo mutter, but I took Bright Mist’s words to heart.

Footsteps rang on the glass floor, and I looked up to see the two Elven guards walked toward us. One got down on one knee and looked intently at Fleet, then at Bright Mist. “If you heal him, he will once more rise to power.”

She only shook her head again and went on. She would not do an evil deed, and had no concern for herself. She would do good to the end. At that moment I wished to be like her.

All of a sudden, Fleet started straining under Bright Mist’s hands, trying to get to his feet, though he was still deathly pale, and his muscles seemed weak as water. He reached up with his left hand and gripped the guard by the throat. The guard gasped and tried to pull away, but Fleet’s hand held with an iron grip. He began whispering words fiercely, in words I could not know, something truly terrible in the Sea Elven tongue.

The guard struggled weakly, but for some reason froze, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, then he closed his eyes and a long breath escaped him, the last fleeting breath of one dying. Fleet wrenched his hand from the guard, and the Sea Elf collapsed over on his side, motionless. With one strong movement, Fleet thrust Bright Mist from him and got partially to his feet, eyes shooting black flames.

“H-how did he do that?!” I shrieked. Even mortally wounded, with one hand slashed off, he was still deadly. He had truly let evil into his soul. I couldn’t grasp Bright Mist’s moral code any longer. He had sold his soul to one who would use him, and she was trying to save him! Battles raged within me, and I cried at all the world. There was no stopping him. He was a demon. He would prevail. We would all fall. We could do nothing. Nothing.

Fleet seized his sword from where it lay, breaking his limp right hand’s hold on the grip. Casting the bloody thing aside, he drew himself up, somehow undefeated. Utter terror crushed down on me. With trembling hands I picked up my own sword. “Do what you will, Silhouette,” I said, and though my voice cracked I saw him draw back just the tiniest bit. “Do what you will. I am not afraid. You will have to answer for all your deeds eventually. And then, what can you do?”

I knew at that moment that I would die. But all my fear vanished, all my grief disappeared. I knew Who I belonged to. I would only get to see Him sooner if I died.

And Fleet came.

Echo shot arrows at him, but he deflected them. Shadow sent wreaths of fire darted about him, but the flames did not touch him. Ever even threw herself upon him and beat him with her fists, but he shook her off. The end had come, the end of the journey, the end of freedom and peace and light, the end of my short life. But I was ready. Ready to face that end.

But the end never came.

All at once a great sound filled the halls, and though it was not loud, it was deep, deep as the sea, deep as the sky, deep as the mountains, deep as the world. It filled one’s whole being and echoed through their soul.

Then the great doors of the throne room were flung wide, and pale lights of the rainbow shot through in misty streamers, the light of the rising sun through the clouds on the horizon. A deep white light glowed without, and I thought I heard singing. Fleet looked up, his eyes wide. Through the great whiteness and flowing light and song a figure came, as from a world dark and shining, tall as a son of the sea.

Sea Flight.

Chapter 14

However High and Far

With a cry of pure terror Fleet sprang backward, wild-eyed. I let out a shrill yelp, but whether from fear, astonishment, or utter joy I could not tell. Sea Flight strode forward, wan and drawn, but alive. His eyes met all of ours, but he did not check his stride. Fleet kept slowly edging backward, fright written on his face and in every line of his body. Halfheartedly he partially lifted his sword, but let his arm fall again. Sea Flight came on, past us all, till he stood not three feet from his nephew, looking down at the one he had so loved who had yet so betrayed him. As we watched, tears streamed silently down Fleet’s face as he stood paralyzed, gazing at the one whom he had thought long dead. Sea Flight said only one word: “Fleet.”

Fleet let loose a terrible cry as he threw his sword from him and collapsed onto his knees. He buried his face in his arms. I couldn’t tell if he was crying or screaming, but Sea Flight just extended a hand and laid it on Fleet’s shoulder. He stood there for a few moments, then turned to face us, and it was as though the walls fell and all the great and terrible glory of the sun and sea and sky blazed forth. He stood tall and proud, yet bowed his head a little to us as though in homage, and he said, “I have returned.”

I do not remember fainting. But the next thing I knew I was waking on a low bed covered by mist-thin sheets, the roar of the sea in my ears. I felt fine, save for a pain in my forehead which I hadn’t noticed before. I was alone, as far as I could see, and I brought myself to a sitting position, dangling my feet off the side of the bed. I reached up and touched my forehead, and found a bandage around my head. Then I remembered blood streaming into my eyes during the fight.

The fight.

Energy surged through my veins, and I hurled myself from the bed. My bare feet hit the floor and I sprang a few steps away, then slowed, remembering. Through my mind flashed Fleet, the crown, the sword, the screaming, the falling, Sea Flight. Sea Flight. How could he be alive? Fleet killed him. We all saw.

“No,” I whispered. “He was still alive. Fleet said to let him bleed to death, then abandon him on the mountainside. But he lived. He escaped. He returned. He lived!”

Where was he? I half-ran through the sea and sun-washed halls, searching. “Sea Flight!” My voice echoed throughout the marble walls and shimmering pillars, flung from the high arched windows into the air.

From the mountains to the sea

Such a lovely sight was she

From the sunset to the dawn

Such a warrior now gone

Though all is said and done

And the victory is won

The journey does not end

Ever yet the road does bend

The maid with hair of fire

Quick to mirth and ire

The Elf with black and gold

And a fire fierce and cold

The girl of quiet strengths

Who sees to hidden lengths

The wanderer of the wild

Ever the warrior’s child

And the outcast prince now lost

Who must pay the final cost.

I saw him, standing out upon the silver seastrand, his face turned to the wind and the sea, his dark hair flowing like wings, the lord of all that was his own. He held his sandals in one hand, the small pearl-crested waves breaking on the shore and streaming around his bare feet. Perhaps it was he who sang; perhaps not. Perhaps the wind bore the song to me from lands beyond the great waters, from the land beyond the sun.

“My lord Sea Flight,” I said.

He turned to me then, and smiled, and I saw once more the circlet of abalone shells, shimmering with silvery light and all the colors of the rainbow, on his brow. “Ah, Wave Flame. There is much to thank you for.”

“Yes,” I answered, dropping a curtsy. The waters swirled about my ankles and drew the sand from under them, and I lost my balance momentarily before I regained my composure. “I must also thank you, my lord. The rightful rule of the Clan of Sea Echoes is yours once more.”

He looked me in the eye. “That is due only to the fearlessness and self-sacrifice of you and your companions, young maiden. I thank you for all you have done. If in any way I may repay you, name it and it shall be yours.”

I blushed happily, but also rather sadly. “Thank you. I – I must admit I am confused right now. How did you survive? How did you come back in time? There is so much I don’t know, and I can’t – I don’t –”

He lifted a hand, gesturing me to stop. I did so gladly before I could embarrass myself. “It was due to the loyalty and bravery of one whom I had not believed to hold such hidden reserves of strength and resourcefulness.”

“Who?” I breathed.

“To the Sea Elves she is known as Falling Star. In your own eyes she is called Ever.”

“Ever!? But – but – but how?”

He did not answer for some time, still and silent, watching the sea. At long last he turned and, motioning for me to follow, walked off along the strand. We went on, under the late sky, the never-ending sea calling far off and yet so near. I stopped to pick up a conch shell as large as my two hands and held it to my ear, listening to the hollow echoes of the sea.

Sea Flight stopped near to where large pale gray boulders jutted their way out of the sand above the tideline, like the backs of some great creatures sleeping in the sand. He sat down on a low one, set his sandals on the sand next to him, and took the circlet from his head. I sat down next to him and watched his hands as he spoke.

“So much fighting, so much bloodshed, and for what? A crown of shells. A throne and a crown, however precious they may seem, are naught but objects and titles; life is far more precious and beautiful than even the most priceless shells of the sea, than even the most shining silver. A crown is but a crown. A king’s duty is to his people, to care for and protect them, and this he does not forget.” Sea Flight’s fingers lingered a little longer over the circlet, then resolutely he stood. Walking down to the where the waves broke on the shore, he stood ankle-deep in the water, then lifted his face to the horizon. Drawing back his arm, he flung the circlet far beyond him, the gleaming crown sailing through the salt-tipped air before it dropped like a falling star into the sea. The waves roared over where it had disappeared, and took it down into the darkness of the deep.

I gasped as I saw this, but Sea Flight turned to me and smiled. “There is no need for such symbols of pride and royalty. I am what I am. Though some may call me Sea Lord, I will always remain Sea Flight, and dwell under the wing of the One.”

I smiled then. “Please, Sea Flight, tell me how Ever saved you.”

He walked back to me and the gray stones and sat down.

“When my nephew Fleet ordered that I be taken away to die and at long last cast out upon the mountainside, I had no doubts that I had met my end. The Wild Dwarves took me to a great abandoned cavern, littered with scrap metal, broken pottery, and even several old bones. I lay there, void of conscious thought save one: I was dying, and I felt both joy and grief to hear my mind speak those words.

“But it seemed it was not be so. The girl Falling Star, as she had helped my imprisoned kin whom the Dwarves tormented for sport, she came to me and did all she could to save me: dressing my wound and feeding me secretly, far from the eyes of her captors. We both knew that what she did put us both in grave peril, but she never once thought of herself. Knowing that the Dwarves would return when they thought certain I was dead, she even took me into a farther, deeper cavern, where they should not venture. The Dwarves made no issue of my disappearance, no doubt assuming that others had already come and done the deed.

“And so it was there that I recovered and gained my full strength once more, and walked unhindered from the caverns of the Wild Dwarves after you and your friends made your escape, for the fire and magic of Night Lost had so overwhelmed them as to make no move against me. I released my kindred from the darkness and despair of the caverns, and they are now within these halls as yet restoring themselves. We came down from the mountains with all the speed we could muster, knowing the danger the Sea Elves to be in, but God alone knows what may have happened had not you and your companions arrived first, and already struck Fleet down from his throne.”

It seemed to me that a tear ran from his eye, but he quickly wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. I ventured to ask a question. “Where – where is Fleet now?”

His eyebrows raised a little. “He is in the dungeons.”

“Dungeons!?” I gasped. I hadn’t thought something so dark and cruel as dungeons to lie hidden within the quiet glory of the halls. “You have dungeons here!?”

“They are not what you think of as dungeons, no hard black stone, no scant rations or beatings. They are far removed from the rest of the halls, but you will find little difference between them and your own bedchamber.”

“Oh.” I thought about this. “If they’re so nice, then how effective are they as punishment?”

Sea Flight took another deep breath and closed his eyes, as though to breath in the scent of the sea a little better. After a little while he opened his eyes. “Because, Wave Flame, there are no windows. Aside from being denied his freedom and will to roam, a Sea Elf cannot abide a chamber, however grand, that is completely cut off from the sea. A Sea Elf needs to feel the seaward breezes on his face and flow through his hair. He needs to hear the endless crashing of waves upon the shore and the lonely cries of the seabirds. He needs to smell the salt in the air and the heat of the sand. If his senses cannot connect with the sea, if all ties between him and it are cut off, he is as restless and miserable as those in any dark, damp, nightmare-filled prison cell.”

I sat still in silence for a small while, then tears began to well up in my eyes. All of a sudden they broke, and I buried my face in my hands. “That – that is so s-sad! P-poor F-Fleet!”

The gentle touch of a long light hand fell on my shoulder. “I know, Wave Flame.” Something in his voice compelled me to look up, and my soul sighed to see that Sea Flight was also crying. “I know.”

The silver light of the full moon beamed into the halls through the pillared arcades. I walked the long silent hall, passing from shadow into moonlight and back into darkness, my gown of white silk blending into the light like a pale spirit. I could see the dark sky, blazing with a pale sweep of stars, blue and white and silver. I could almost hear them singing, harmonizing with the sea.

“Aria.”

I had not ago passed being startled. Slowly I turned around. From the shadows came an Elf, pale as the moonlight, his long tunic shimmering silvery blue, his eyes glowing pale yellow. But most of all I saw his hair. It fell loose about his shoulders and down to his waist in a storm of gold which the moonlight touched and turned as pale as his eyes. I drew my breath in slowly. “It is good to see you again, Shadow.”

He stepped close to me, and for the first time I noticed how tall he was, the graceful blend of his slender form and hard muscles, the fineness and perfection of his Elven features. I reached out with one hand and took a long strand of his hair in my hands. It blazed pure, untainted golden. I looked into his eyes, and we shared the same unspoken thought: You are a Night Elf no longer.

In a heartbeat, we flung our arms around each other. I pressed my lips to his and he let me. We stood the shadows and moonlight, as though in a dream, one we never wanted to end.

And yet we had not reached the path’s end. Still more was yet to be done.

I sat alone in the same hallway where Shadow and I had kissed, hands folded on my lap, biting my lip, waiting. They were coming, I knew. Shadow came from the main halls and quickly crossed the floor to the bench where I sat. He seated himself next to me and waited.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally came. Sea Flight walked with long strides, and behind him came Fleet. He looked pale and reserved, his eyes downcast, his clothes looking like he had slept in them, but his hair tangle-free and shining. I knew what was to happen and I sat up a little straighter.

The two Elves stopped before us. Sea Flight faced Fleet and placed his hands on his shoulders. Fleet looked up into his face, his eyes trembling. He also knew. They said nothing, only stood looking into the other’s heart. Sea Flight looked grave, but I could see him trying to hold back tears. But there was no other way. For what Fleet had done there was only one way, one choice for Sea Flight to make.

The Sea Lord placed his hands on either side of Fleet’s face under his ears and partially on his neck. He took a deep quiet breath and closed his eyes. Fleet stood motionless, then his eyes slid shut and he collapsed with a fleeing sigh into his uncle’s arms. Sea Flight held his unmoving form for many moments, letting tears run unrestrained from his eyes and fall onto Fleet’s head. Then he reached his arms under Fleet and carried him to another bench across from Shadow and I and gently laid his nephew down. He crouched by him, and I could feel the silence of his heart.

Shadow and I stood and walked over to Sea Flight, whose head bowed over Fleet’s body. “Is he gone?” Shadow asked.

Without looking at us, Sea Flight answered in a low, quiet voice. “Yes. He will never be seen again among the children of Elves or humans or Dwarves, as long as this world breathes. It was his lasting fate, but I know that now at long last he is at peace.”

“How – how did you do that?” I whispered. “No, don’t tell me. Sea Elf magic.” I gazed Sea Flight for a moment longer, then my heart clenched. “But,” I cried, and my voice cracked. “All those he slew, they are with their Maker. Fleet – he’s in the other place.” I bit my lip. “Isn’t he?”

Only then did Sea Flight look up at us, his dark eyes shining with pain and hope. “An hour before his time, Fleet Strike was on his knees, begging the forgiveness of me and God. And I believe neither of his prayers went unanswered.”

“So he is home at last.” I looked down at Fleet. Utterly still, he lay as though in a deep sleep, the wind passing through his hair. “What is there to do now?”

Sea Flight stood, and the wind sailed through the hall, his hair flying about his head like dark wings. “Now, there is much to be done. The tribulation has ended, and I can see still more trials and adventures beyond the horizon. The time has come for you and your friends to depart from our halls and make the long journey to Dale. The road will be rough, but you have a reliable guide with you, and God’s blessing will keep you from harm. There are still the Wild Dwarves to be reckoned with, but their time is ending. The Sea Elves will be ever at your backs, walking with the wind.

“Never forget to Whom you belong, and your paths will be straight. There is ever yet another storm to conquer, another mountain to scale, another loss to battle, but nothing happens in this world of ours without a purpose. God’s purpose for you has yet to be fully revealed, and I bid you follow whatever path He marks out for you.

“And never forget: there is ever joy in the midst of the darkness. You are always welcome back at the Halls of the Clan of Sea Echoes.”

I let his every word sink into my heart, and there rest and whisper on. He was right. A long road lay ahead of us, but we would follow it, every one of us, till we reached the great end. For who can say what path we each shall follow?

At the year’s end, we came at last the misty vales and deep forests of Dale.

I ran straight to my house with my boots crunching in the snow; the big old weather-beaten house passed on to Mother by her parents, but as fine a palace as the halls of the Sea Elves in my eyes. I flung the door open and shrieked, “Father! I’m home! It’s me, Aria! I’m back!”

And Father, still as fresh and fair as any of the Elves though he was over fifty years old, his fiery-red hair flying about his shoulders like flames, ran from the house and I flew into his arms. I don’t know why, but Shadow and Ever and Echo also threw themselves at him, and we all stood on the doorstep, hugging and laughing and even crying.

After a long moment, we untangled ourselves and got down to business. Ever stepped forward and dropped a curtsy. “I’m Ever Asteria, Mr. Amity. I’m from Chrysoberyl.”

No one ever called Father Mr. Amity. He laughed. “I’m glad to meet you, Ever, but please call me Veil.”

“A-all right, Veil.” She giggled. “I’m just so glad to be here!” She shoved Echo forward. “Well, go on!”

Echo suddenly lost his tongue. “Uh, my name is – um – Echo and – uh – well…”

I cut him off before he could embarrass himself. “Echo’s our guide. Without him we never could have made it over the mountains to Dale.”

“That’s good to know.” I caught a hint of sarcasm in his voice, and I realized just how worried he had been about me. I broke in. “And this – charming young Elf is my good friend Shadow.”

Golden-haired Shadow walked slowly forward and gave a little nod of respect. I couldn’t keep from saying, “Shadow? My father Veil knows your father.”

Silence fell. Shadow stood stock still, and I wondered if he was going to chew me out. Father looked perplexed. “I do?”

“Father,” I said, all of a sudden feeling very serene. “His father is Raven.”

Father’s pale blue eyes grew wide and he caught his breath. Then he turned to Shadow. “I believe there is someone here to see you.”

“Wha…” was all Shadow could say.

He gave us all a very significant look. “A little before you came, I had a guest.”

He turned and walked into the house. We all followed without a word.

The parlor was large and very bare, but a few chairs and a low table remained, and one small painting on the mantelpiece of the big old fireplace of Mother: beautiful, dark-haired Mother, whose green eyes and ringing voice I had inherited. On the lower edge of the painting were written in gold the words: Symphony Amity. Slouched in one of the chairs, with a bored, slightly impatient expression on his face was a tall male Night Elf.

We all gasped. At the sound the Elf turned his head sharply, a look of mild surprise lingering on his face. He was thin, almost gaunt, as though he had never filled out again after a long starvation. I immediately identified the red chafed scar circling his neck as from a thrall ring, which stood out sharply against the stark paleness of his skin, which in turn contrasted with his waist-length raven-black hair. His large yellow eyes fairly burned; his narrow jaw, pointed chin, and small nose and mouth made him look rather like a cat. His gaze flitted over us all, but froze when it came to Shadow. Slowly, the Night Elf stood and made his way over to my friend. Shadow drew back the tiniest bit, and fear, hope, pain, reluctance, and even elation shone in his eyes.

“Who are you?” the Night Elf asked. His low, sibilant voice matched his feline appearance.

Shadow’s mouth opened, and I could see him trying to form words. “I – I am your son. Shadow.”

Raven (for undoubtedly that is who he was) gazed at him for a moment longer, then backed away, his face ridden with guilt. “I – I’m sorry, I just – I can’t.” He turned away, his shoulders hunched, his head bowed.

My heart cracked. Raven was truly sorry for what he had done, and now he couldn’t bear to face his son for his misdeed. After all, he was probably thinking, who would want to meet the man who had made him a bastard? Who caused his mother so much pain?

But I did not expect Shadow ever to do what he did next. He ran across the room and threw his arms around his father. Raven started, but whirled around in Shadow’s grasp and returned the gesture. Shadow was almost sobbing into Raven’s tunic. “I’m so glad to see you! I – I used to hate you, for – for everything, but now, now I just can’t live without a father!”

Raven bit his lower lip as though to keep from crying as they embraced. At last Shadow released him, and they stood looking at each other, faces so full of sorrow and guilt and yet of joy and relief. Raven reached out and stroked Shadow’s thrall ring scar, and his face instantly became dark. “Someone has been cruel to you.”

“There are always those who are cruel to others.” Shadow managed a sad smile. “We all experienced cruelty and kindness. But it is all in the past.”

Raven also smiled, a truly happy smile. “I confess I did not know you existed until this moment. After your mother and I – well, you know – hooked up, I never saw her again. Had I known of you, I would have tried to find her again and marry her.”

“It’s not too late,” Shadow said, his face so hopeful it almost glowed. “We can still find her. We can go back to Ensorcel.”

“But wait!” I cried, snapping out of my trance and dashing forward. I caught hold of Shadow’s arm. “You can’t go back to Ensorcel! I’ll – I’ll never see you again!”

Raven looked up at Father, and they both laughed. Father surveyed us. “You too are in love, aren’t you?”

I looked at Shadow, he looked at me, and we both looked at Father and nodded. “Yes. And… we want to get married.”

Father really laughed then. “You too are just like me and Symphony. Hardly home from the adventure and already making plans. Well, I don’t see why not.” He gave Raven a questioning glance. The Night Elf shrugged. “I don’t mind him marrying or not. It’s a sight better than what I chose to do.”

“Next year.” Father gave me a stern look as I started to protest. “No, don’t give me that. You each belong with your fathers. Once you’re sixteen you can marry when you like, but for now you’re staying right here.”

I let out an exasperated breath, but it soon turned to laughter. Shadow and I hugged, and from the corner of my eye I saw Ever give a whoop and catch Echo in an embrace. He struggled, unused to such intimate gestures, but at last gave up.

Here ends the tale of Aria Amity, which is told with the voice of adventure in the highest expanses of heaven, and echoes in the farthest reaches of the sea.

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

– Proverbs 3:5-6