B006T5JMRC EBOK (29 page)

“Neelan, please do not place me in such a situation. You know I am a guard of the kingdom. I was ordered to escort you directly to the gates upon leaving your family’s home. You know very well what will happen if I disobey.” He looked down, avoiding her eyes.

“Why must you always obediently listen to everything they tell you? Have you no will or desires of your own? Is this kingdom truly worth living bound by such tight restrictions?” Neelan’s voice grew agitated.

“I am so sorry, I just cannot help you.”

“Very well, then.” Neelan sighed. “I suppose it was reasons such as this why you and I could never be close friends. You would always do as they wanted, despite the best interest of others.”

Lorin looked as though he had been the one slapped across the face.

“Now, it is my turn to be sorry,” Neelan spoke softly as she suddenly gripped Lorin by the arm and pulled him into a secluded nook between two homes.

“What are you doing? Tell me this moment,” Lorin commanded.

“I said I was sorry.” Neelan repeated as she withdrew a small, golden, worm-like creature from within her cloak.

Lorin’s eyes immediately widened. “Don’t do this. You know I am bound by laws to do my job—I have no choice.”

“That is where you are very wrong, Lorin. Everyone has a choice.” She held the golden glowing worm on her palm.

“
Aluneya,
” Neelan whispered as the tiny creature began to twitch with life.

The worm leapt from her palm as it danced gracefully in the air, leaving a golden trail drifting in its path. Kale and his friends remained frozen in place as though caught in a trance-like state. Lorin seemed incapacitated as well while the worm progressed its way closer toward his face.

Neelan hissed another command and the worm slid between Lorin’s lips. His silvery eyes twitched and his body quivered as though a chill had run down his spine.

Once the worm disappeared from sight, Kale, Thomas, and Illadar regained bodily function as their focus returned to normal. Lorin however, remained stationed in place as if he had become a doll-like statue. His eyes and mouth were all that seemed to have the ability to move and he frantically glanced from side to side.

“Neelan, why have you done this to me?”

“I have already told you, our mission is in the best interest of Ravondore. Any true follower of Enya should sense the truth in what I say. Farewell, Lorin.” As Neelan turned to walk away, Kale couldn’t help but feel selfishly good inside.

“Wait!” Lorin called out. “You cannot do this!”

“Someone is bound to hear that ruckus,” Illadar warned.

“Indeed. Allow me to rectify the situation.” Thomas turned toward Lorin’s direction. “
Silant devorda
.” He grinned. “A gift from a mere
human
.” Thomas winked.

Lorin’s mouth continued to move, yet no sound emerged from his lips.

“The spell’s duration is random, although, I presume we have around an hour before he makes full use of his vocal abilities. It would be wise to make haste.”

“Agreed. My enchantment will wear off as soon as the worm dies within his body,” Neelan stated.

Illadar cringed. “Sounds pleasant.” He wiped beads of sweat from his wide ebony forehead. “What is our course of action?”

“Follow me quickly, and try to refrain from appearing suspicious.” Neelan briskly made way around to the temple, leaving the three men baffled. She had fully regained composure and was back to her usual bossy, determined, and nearly fearless self.

Kale smiled happily.

“Pardon my interruption—however isn’t it a poor idea to enter the temple after what has just happened? I somehow do not believe your father is prepared to welcome us with open arms.” Thomas cautioned.

“Shh.” She held a finger to her peach lips. “We are not going in, we’re going around. It is important for us to remain quiet. The other elves, much like myself, have heightened senses and are able to hear and smell from a distance. Now that they are aware of your human scent, we must make haste,” Neelan whispered as she led them through the landscaped surroundings.

And she was the one who said not to look suspicious
. Kale rolled his eyes as they weaved through the tall circular bushes.

Upon reaching the side wall of the temple, Neelan knelt down beside a mass of tangled, thorny vines and overgrown grass. She immediately glanced around with caution before tugging carefully on the vines.

“Allow me, dear.” Thomas chuckled at her miserable attempt to remove the vines. “Please step aside.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” Kale crossed his arms. “Had we waited on
her
, we’d never get out of here.”

“Ugh.” Neelan scowled. “I didn’t see
you
helping.”

“
Kruedia esonek
.” Thomas’ eyes widened as a red glow illuminated from his palm. A sphere of flames shot forth into the tangled web. It incinerated everything in its path, leaving the remnants of plant life to singe and shrivel. A loud sizzle could be heard from the direction where the fireball collided and a thick puff of grey smoke rose to the sky.

“Nicely done,” Kale praised Thomas, though slightly jealous. He could still clearly recall how easy it once was to conjure fire as a dragon.

“Lovely—now we are sending up smoke signals to alert the guards of our whereabouts.” Neelan’s sarcasm was thick.

“What is this?” Kale disregarded Neelan’s concern, distracted by the burnt hole through a wooden door that had been previously concealed. As he peered down he could see that the hole was completely dark.

“This is a passage my mother told me about while we were alone in her home earlier.” Neelan lowered her voice. “It should lead us directly to the Catalythe district, near Brig’s home.”

“Well then, why are we standin’ around? Let’s get movin’.” Illadar gripped an old rusted handle and lifted the burnt door upward.

Inside they could see an uninviting rusted ladder that led down into the darkness. Without hesitation, Illadar began to climb down, carefully resting his weight upon the delicate steel. They watched from above as he descended until the short black curls upon his head could no longer be seen.

“Illadar? Hello?” Kale called down again as his own voice echoed back at him.

They continued to wait impatiently as more time passed in silence.

“I’m going in after him,” Kale stated.

He placed his feet upon the ladder which flaked and slightly crumbled beneath his shoes. With each cautious step on the unsteady ladder, he moved deeper into the unknown darkness. Finally, he sunk below all traces of light and could no longer see his own hands before his face.

“Watch the last step kid, it’s about to snap.”

Kale nearly lost his grip in surprise as he struggled to catch his balance with one arm. “Why in Pan’s name did you do that, Illadar?! I nearly fell! And why didn’t you answer me before?”

“I was investigatin’.”

As Illadar spoke, Kale could hear him chuckling to himself.

“It’s completely dark in here. What could you possibly be investigating?” Kale replied with agitation.

“Didn’t anything I’ve taught you sink into that thick head of yours? You don’t always need to see in order to know somethin’ is there.”

Kale knew that arguing with Illadar would only add to his irritation.

“Kale, are you all right?” Neelan anxiously called down.

“Yes, I’m here with Illadar. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to come down.”

Thomas shook his head, “How foolish of me, I should have conjured us light from the beginning. It would be wise to see what we are getting ourselves into.”

“Don’t even think about it, Thomas. We don’t need to risk drawing further attention to our location. You should be grateful many families are preparing supper, so your previous mishap that sent smoke into the air hopefully will not cause alarm. Wait until we are down inside the tunnel before utilizing any more of your spells,” Neelan scolded.

“Very well.” Thomas chuckled at Neelan’s feisty demeanor.

“You may go down next. Please make haste; if Lorin breaks from his enchantment and alerts the others we will have a very difficult time making contact with Brig, let alone getting out of here safely. We aren’t even aware of what he looks like, so finding him may prove to be a time consuming challenge.” Neelan gestured for Thomas to climb into the hole.

Thomas nodded, not wanting to waste further time arguing with the spunky and all too stubborn elf. The old sorcerer took cautious steps as he made way toward the bottom with ease.

“I’m coming down, now,” Neelan softly called out as she gripped the rusted handle of the wooden door, pulling it shut as she dropped lower into the darkness. With the sun setting and a small hole being their only source of minimal light, she was quickly engulfed by sheets of black in all directions. As Neelan’s foot came down upon one of the final ladder steps, the sound of clinging metal chimed. She yelped in fear.

Kale immediately knew a bar on the ladder had snapped.
You don’t need to see in order to know something is there
. Illadar’s words ran through Kale’s mind. He allowed his sense of hearing and smell to dominate, and suddenly, through the will of his mind, it felt as though time slowed. Kale took a step forward, listening closely to the whooshing of Neelan’s body as she fell. He inhaled, capturing her lavender scent as he reached out his palms.

“I’ve got you!” he exclaimed as her body collapsed into his arms. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” She slid her feet to the floor. “Thank you, Kale—for saving me.” She pressed her tender lips to his cheek, kissing so softly no sound could be heard. No one could see what had happened—a moment shared by only them.

“I—well—uhm...” Kale fumbled with his words. He was grateful for the surrounding darkness so the others could not see his fiery red cheeks.

“You all right, kid?”

“Y-yeah, let’s get going.”

Kale felt confused by Neelan’s actions and unsure if this was simply a friendly gesture of thanks, or if what Lorin had told him was true.
Now is not the time to think of such things
. Kale told himself. Though Kale could not understand the reasoning, when he thought of her kiss, it caused his insides to flutter. He knew, however, the most important task at hand was to find Brig and not dwell upon such emotions.

“How do we get out of here?” Kale managed to focus on their mission.

“My mother told me that following the flow of water will lead us there,” Neelan replied as though nothing happened between them.

They stood in silence, each listening closely to the faint trickle of water to their side.

“This way.” Neelan pulled on the cloth of Kale’s tunic.

Thomas lifted his palm, no longer heeding Neelan’s warning. They were secure beneath the earth, and he mumbled softly. A small glowing orb immediately appeared to brighten their surroundings. “We don’t need any further accidents occurring,” He spoke with a smile as he glanced toward Neelan.

Kale blushed at the thought of his words, hoping the old sorcerer didn’t know their secret.

The four could now see the long, arched tunnel made of slick algae-covered bricks. Centered between two thin ledges was flowing water that, despite the small glowing orb, appeared black as night.

They continued on for many minutes before seeing a faint light in the near distance. As they moved closer, it became apparent what they saw were flames within hanging lanterns. They came to a large gated drain which opened into what Kale assumed must be the Catalythe district. Completely dark, aside from the dangling oil lanterns which hung before each building, there were no vibrant flowers or wide array of colors; everything appeared bland and neutral. The whole area seemed dreary.

“We’ve come to a dead end. How are we supposed to get out of here?” Kale gently tugged on two of the iron bars set firmly in place.

“Thomas, can you cast something to get us out of here?” Neelan narrowed her eyes. “Something that
won’t
cry out to the kingdom we are here?”

“I apologize, but that will not be an option. Casting anything so close to the homes nearby will surely draw attention. Which reminds me...” He pinched down on the glowing orb. “Lights out.”

Neelan bit her lower lip as she tried to come up with an alternate plan. Her mother had not warned her of this; most likely because she wasn’t aware of what was down the old, closed off tunnel.

As time passed, they each grew more frustrated with the situation—losing hope of ever finding a way to get past the sturdy drainage gate. Kale pressed his forehead against one of the iron bars as he released a frustrated sigh. Then, it struck him—he could use his ability to melt through the iron and quietly break them free. There was no time for discussion; he needed to act with haste. He closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth which ran deep within him. Kale quickly began to feel the moisture from sweat building up within the cup of his hand. They were rapidly heating.

Suddenly, Kale felt something cold and firm press against the flesh of his face. He leapt back, throwing his hands up defensively in front of him.