A Dark Tide (Book of One) (28 page)

"You have our thanks, Lady Ehlena," Borrican said.

"Now I must be going," she said. "There is a group of winged Darga that has made it past the elven lines and they will soon arrive at the elven city."

"I have heard nothing of this," Quenta said and he began scanning the forest. "I will send a group of elves at once to defend the city."

"Worry not, Prince Quenta," Ehlena said. "There are only seven of the creatures and I will deal with them, but first I must deal with the elven court."

"What do you intend to do with the court?" Quenta demanded.

"The elves of the court, led by an elf named Rolan, seeks to depose the House of Solari from the thrones of Elvanar," Ehlena told him. "I can hear them debating the matter now."

"What nonsense is this?" Quenta could not believe what he was hearing.

"While the forest is under attack, the court has fallen to bickering," Ehlena said. "Worry not, Prince Quenta. Keep your focus on defending your land, and I will give your mother your regards."

Ehlena smiled and disappeared, dissipating with the gust of a slight breeze.

"She will just as likely be turned away at the gates of the city," Quenta said, feeling very skeptical about the strange girl and the things she had said. "What foolishness that she would fight seven Darga on her own."

"I suspect that if she says she can do something, then she likely can," Borrican said. "She is the Lady, after all."

"You call her the Lady," Quenta said. "I do not understand the significance of this."

"She is the Lady Goddess," Lexi answered. "She is Ayra, become Ehlena. She is the wind."

Quenta stared at the girl with the blue skin, absorbing her words, and now he understood why even the arrogant Kandaran and his dragon friend had been so deferential to the small girl who looked as though she could barely defend herself. The confidence of her words and the effortless and graceful way she moved had resonated with subtle power and if she truly was the Lady goddess, then he was somewhat relieved. The court could wait, and the Darga that were heading for the city would be stopped, but the forest was crawling with Darga, and an even larger army was moving deeper into the forest with every passing moment. He lifted his mask and stared at the blue, lizard girl.

"If she is a goddess, then what are you?" he asked.

"I am nothing," Lexi replied with a frown. "But I can kill." She slid the elven mask over her face and drew her sword, then, with a crack of thunder and flash of light, she disappeared.

"She is a dragon," Storm said. "But she is unlike any dragon I have ever seen. Her rage is more powerful than any I have ever felt, yet her thoughts are barely a whisper."

*****

"I move that the court rescind its support from House Solari," Rolan said and the court elves began to whisper amongst themselves.

"On what grounds?" Laurana demanded, seated alone upon the dais and struggling to maintain calm in the court.

"Cowardice and abomination," Rolan responded. "Quenta's repeated failures in battle have shown that he is unworthy of our respect. As for your niece, she is a half-blood, an affront to our people, and worse, her very presence in the city threatens us all with her uncontrollable fire."

"And what do you have to say about me, Rolan?" Laurana asked, her gaze fixed upon him and her face now expressionless as an elven mask.

"I say your actions are not those of a queen," Rolan replied. "You do not command respect, and your lack of faith in our warriors is proof that you do not belong upon the throne. You dishonor their courage, creating alarm throughout the city, as though these foolish invaders would dare to threaten us here, at the heart of the forest."

"And you would leave our city defenseless should these invaders slip past those brave defenders?"

Rolan laughed. "If such a things were to occur, it would be entirely due to Quenta's poor leadership. If he cannot defend the forest, then he does not deserve to sit upon that chair."

"And what of you, Rolan?" Laurana asked, looking around at the assembled elves of the court. "I do not see you fighting to defend our land, yet you would disparage those who risk their lives as we speak, debating this nonsense."

"You consider matters of the court to be nonsense?" Rolan asked with a rhetorical sneer.

The doors to the court chamber flew open with a clatter and a strong wind blew inside. The elves all turned at the noise of it and when they turned back, they saw a young woman in white, standing in the aisle, before the dais, looking up at Laurana, with an elven mask upon her face and five jeweled swords at her waist. She lifted her mask, and before anyone could move, she drew one of the blades and held it out, hilt first toward the elven queen.

"Queen Laurana," Ehlena said. "Please accept this gift in honor of the sure and steady reign of House Solari."

"What is the meaning of this?" Rolan yelled and the elves of the court began to whisper. Ehlena turned her head and looked at him, and Rolan suddenly felt as though he could no longer breathe. She looked at the court elves, who suddenly ceased their whispering.

"I can hear your every word," Ehlena said, her voice echoing with power. "You misuse the power that I granted to you."

"Whatever you are doing, stop it at once!" Laurana said.

Ehlena let go of her power and Rolan fell to his knees, coughing and spluttering as he gasped for air. The rest of the elves rose to their feet, but they were unsure of what to do.

"Now tell me who you are and what are you doing here," Laurana demanded.

"I am a friend of the court," Ehlena said. "An old friend, and a new one."

"You do not act like a friend," Laurana said.

"I offer you a godsword, a powerful weapon of the gods," Ehlena said. "It is a sign of my trust in you. You may take it or you may refuse, it is up to you, but this blade comes with a warning, for it can bring you great power, but it may also consume you."

"I will consider your offer," Laurana said. "Why are you here?"

"I bring news of the battle," Ehlena replied. "While this coward named Rolan attempts to reassert his house over the throne of Elvanar, the forest is under dire threat."

"I will not stand for such disrespect," Rolan said.

"I could remove the air that you breathe once more, if you would like," Ehlena said. "Then you could lie down on the floor while I show you how little respect you deserve."

Rolan's eyes went wide with anger and he looked as though he might fall into an apoplectic fit right on the spot.

"Rolan, enough," Laurana said, then she turned to the young woman who stood before her, emanating power that filled the entire court chamber. "You still have not said who you are."

"I have many names," Ehlena said. "In this form, I am Ehlena of house Valamyr, daughter of King Toren of Aghlar, and I am also another, for I have become one with the Lady Ayra, the mother of your people."

"That is a bold claim," Laurana said.

"These are bold times," Ehlena replied. "You are aware that the shadow has returned to the world."

"We have heard of this." Laurana glanced at the elves of the court.

"The gods have also returned," Ehlena said. "It has been a thousand years since we departed from the world, hoping to take the shadow with us forever, but we failed, and we were weakened by that failure."

"You do not seem particularly weak," Laurana commented.

"It was never my way to be forceful, but I am different than I was," Ehlena said. "More importantly, there are six winged Darga approaching this city, and they will kill as many elves as they can, for they have learned the secret of these weapons, and for every one of you they kill they become that much more powerful. The Darga army has already killed half the elves defending the forest."

"You know this how?" Rolan asked, having regained his composure and in disbelief at the outrageous claims by this pretender of a girl. Ehlena turned and looked at him and the rest of the elves.

"I hear every scream and every cry," she said. "I hear Prince Quenta ordering teams of elven warriors to chase down the invaders that have slipped past. I hear the boots upon the ground of tens of thousands of soldiers, who march into the forest, under the spell of the shadow. A short while ago, I heard one of the enemy commanders speaking with the Xallan Queen, the dark god, who intends to use poison to destroy this entire forest. There are many things on the wind this day. Would you like to hear as I do?"

Ehlena closed her eyes and echoes of sound begin to fill the chamber, the clash of swords, the shouts of death and dying screams, all became an unbearable din and the elves began to shift uncomfortably in their rows, some of them putting their hands to their ears, trying to block out the ear splitting cacophony. Ehlena opened her eyes and the sound abruptly stopped leaving nothing but silence in the court.

"That is but a small portion of what is on the wind in this very land," Ehlena said, then she held up the sword to Laurana again. "Will you defend your home?"

Laurana looked at the sword, then she stood from her throne and took it in her hand. Ehlena drew another sword from her belt and turned to Rolan next.

"Will you?" She held it out to him. "Your words may have been false, but your actions may prove your truth. Will you defend the forest and its people?"

Rolan stared at the blade, then he reached out and took it. "You called me a coward," he said, glaring at her as though he was considering whether to use the weapon to attack her, but Ehlena simply stared at him.

"Prove me wrong," she said. "There is a group of winged Darga, very powerful creatures, nearing the city as we speak. Will you defend your home or will you attack the throne?"

The sound of shouts and screams began to filter in through the open doors of the court, and an elven guard appeared a moment later.

"Forgive the intrusion!" he yelled. "The city is under attack!"

The court was silent and all eyes turned to Laurana, who looked at Ehlena.

"Will you help us?" she asked, and Ehlena smiled.

"I did not come here, merely to hand out swords," she said.

"Then you have our gratitude," Laurana said, then she turned to the court. "Let us defend our home!"

*****

Ariana awoke in a sweat, her hair matted to her cheeks and the bed sheets soaked through. It was hot and she cracked open her eyes to find the room filled with steam that was like a thick fog. Two healers hovered over her, each of them holding basins and their worried expressions turned to relief when she looked up at them.

"You are awake," one of them said, lowering the basin to her hip.

"Why am I drenched?" Ariana asked, realizing that the healers had soaked her bed on purpose.

"Your flames, highness," the other healer said. "You fell unconscious and your fire began to burn, but do not worry, we have doused the flames and there has been no harm from them."

Ariana was mortified and she pushed herself up in bed, wincing at the pain that wracked her body and how tight and bloated her stomach felt. She looked down and was shocked to see how big her belly had become, and she felt as though she might burst open at the seams. Ariana felt something strange, an odd feeling that she recognized. It was in the air, a kind of madness, like what she had felt when she had found Borrican, chained by the dragons to protect him from the wild, killing rage that had nearly consumed him. This feeling was not as powerful, but far more menacing, for it was not simply the madness of rage and sorrow of a lost dragon losing his mind to the beast, but something more intense and deliberate. It was bloodlust, and her keen senses caught the sound of steel upon steel.

"Something is happening," she said. "Please, help me up."

"You must rest," the first healer said.

"I cannot rest," Ariana told her and she pulled off the wet covers that clung to her naked body and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Please help me stand."

The healers put down the basins and each of them stood next to her and helped lift her off the thick, mattress that was now soaked through. Ariana stumbled a little at first, from the drastic change in her balance and the healers helped to steady her on her feet. She looked at the small table and chair near to the bed and saw her clothes, her armor and the jeweled dagger that had once belonged to her mother, which had become almost like a sword when she had fallen into the lava flows.

"Is there a robe I might wear?" Ariana asked, her memory suddenly flashing with the scandalized looks she had received the last time she had ventured from the room. It seemed like it might have been a dream, but she was not sure, and part of her knew otherwise.

"Please wait a moment," one of the women said, and she walked over to the doorway and took a long piece of light colored fabric from an ornate hook on the wall. "Queen Laurana brought this earlier, while you slept. She said if you insisted on leaving your room, that you should at least wear something."

"Then I really did wander into the elven court?" Ariana asked, her memory something of a blur, and when the two women barely stifled their smiles, she knew the answer. She shook her head and put her arms through the loose sleeves of the robe as the healers held it open for her. Even the light fabric, which was so thin it was almost sheer, felt constrictive against her tender skin, but she supposed it was better than offending the sensibilities of the elves, especially considering the troubles she had likely already caused for Laurana. With some effort, Ariana bent over and picked up the jeweled sword and with its cool weight in her hand, she felt a little steadier on her feet.