Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords (14 page)

“You know Katryn?” Landis felt his heart skip a beat at the mention of the woman he had searched for after she vanished with the Elf Lord, following their victory in Sedau over the traitors who had stolen the Pearls of the Elf Lords. “Where is she?”

“Come with me to meet with Seebaul and he will answer your questions.” Tessa pointed to Natis, “Although
he
may not be received with a warm welcome.”

Weslocke chuckled, “I share your feelings, lassie, but I can assure you that he is one of the good ones.”

Natis smirked, “What a reassuring approval.”

“Maybe so,” Tessa responded, “but wizards are not welcomed at the sanctuary. The children are frightened of them.”

“Smart kids.” Weslocke commented.

“Seebaul is a magic user.” Landis remarked.

“But not a wizard; especially not one from the Tower of the Magi.”

“Aside from tales told to frighten children, why would there be any concern?” Jordan asked.

“Wizards from the tower have been known to steal children away from their families.” Tessa accused.

Jordan was appalled, “Wizards are kidnapping children?”

Tessa frowned, “Since the
waning
began two decades ago, the Tower’s numbers have been dwindling. About a dozen years ago they began bribing slavers to test the children they have taken, to see if any of them exhibited signs of magical abilities. Those children are sent to the Tower. To save on paying the slavers guild, they have taken to sending out seekers of their own. Sometimes they buy children from their families. There are also rumors that when families are not willing to send—or sell—their children to the Tower, that those children vanish during the night.”

Jordan looked to Natis, “Have you heard of such a thing?”

Natis looked downward, “There have been stories of such things. We have Seekers in the Tower of Lonia too, but we do not kidnap children, although there is truth that some are sold by their parents.”

“You see why the children fear wizards.” Tessa charged.

“Think what you will, but studying magic beats the abyss out of performing slave labor.” Natis snapped.

Landis put an end to the discussion, “Our debating the issue is useless. The sooner we get to Seebaul, the sooner we can return Megan home.”

“Not while riding hard and trying to avoid low branches.” The mage returned.

“Maybe we should stop and prepare to defend ourselves.” Trevor suggested.

“I would not recommend it.” Tessa finally spoke.

“The dragon is gone!” Jaylen declared.

Jordan’s horse stepped into a ditch and tumbled to the ground. The Prince-Regent barely jumped away in time to avoid having the heavy animal roll over him. As it was, he struck a tree and had the breath knocked out of him.

“Jordan!” Landis gracefully leaped off of his horse and ran to his friend’s side.

Everyone came to a halt. Jaylen and Tessa climbed down from their horses and went to the fallen animal.

“I am okay, I think.” Jordan said, as Landis helped him to his feet.

“The horse has a broken leg.” Tessa announced.

“That is just great.” Jordan spat.

“It does not matter!” Trevor yelled, as he jumped down from his horse, readying his sword for battle. “Whatever they are, they are here!”

Landis left Jordan and retrieved his bow. “How many?”

“I see only three.” Jaylen observed.

Weslocke raised his battle axe. “Three, that barely constitutes exercise. We have been running from three adversaries? Have we become frightened old men?”

The trolls appeared out of the trees behind them. The foul creatures screamed manically as they spotted their prey. Weslocke regretted his previous comments, “Never mind the ramblings of an old fool.”

“Trolls!” Jaylen warned.

Weslocke cursed loudly at the elf’s announcement. “Trolls do not die that easily.”

The elven-wolf-hound raced after the oncoming trolls. “Shadow, no!” Tessa called after the dog.

Landis fired an arrow, striking the closest of the three beasts. The arrow struck the creature in the chest, barely slowing it down. Before Landis could release a second arrow, the dog lunged at the beast striking it full on and sending both rolling on the ground. Landis adjusted his aim and fired at the second creature.

The troll wrestling with the dog leaped to its feet, tossing the massive dog aside as it turned to follow his fellow creatures. Shadow rolled to a stop, then scrambled to her feet and began chasing after them.

Natis stepped forward, holding his hands outstretched as he mumbled something that sounded like gibberish to those around him. He cried out, just as a burst of fire launched from his hands. The fire struck in the midst of the three trolls, setting the nearest one ablaze. All three were pushed back for only a moment before regaining their senses and resuming their hunt. Even the one on fire ran as if it felt no pain.

Tessa shot an arrow into the burning creature, striking it in the face. This time when it fell, it remained down, its limbs kicking wildly as the fire consumed it.

“Here goes nothing!” Weslocke yelled as he stepped forward, swinging his axe into the nearest creature. The strike severed the troll’s left arm just above the elbow before burying into the troll’s side. The blow staggered the creature, but did not stop it. The troll knocked Weslocke aside and lunged at Landis. The half-elf met the troll with a thrust to the chest from the Sword of Alexon. The troll stopped dead in its tracks and fell.

“The sword can kill it!” He called out.

The third troll jumped upon Natis, wrestling the exhausted mage to the ground. Natis grabbed at its head, trying to hold the wild creature back as it tried to sink his teeth into the wizard. The dog jumped it from behind, grabbing it by the neck with her massive jaws. Landis ran over and swung his sword downward. As if the dog understood what the half-elf was doing, she released her grip and backed away, just as Landis’ sword sliced into the creature in the neck, severing its head from its shoulders.

“Thank you.” Natis said as he sat up, wiping the blood of the dead creature from his face.

“Well done, Father!” Trian called out to them. The dragon had landed and shape shifted into his half-elven form.

Everyone spun about to face the stranger.

“Very well done, indeed,” Trian complimented, “I was certain that they would have taken some of you down. I am impressed.”

“Who are you?” Landis asked.

The man offered a look of disappointment, “Why father, do you not recognize your own son?”

“What is the meaning of this?” Landis demanded.

Trian bowed, “Permit me to introduce myself. I am Trian, son of Landis Half-elven, and Triana, the granddaughter of the White Elf Lord.”

“He is the one who kidnapped Megan.” Jordan said, as he began to rush forward. Weslocke and Trevor held him back.

“That is impossible.” Landis answered the man who claimed to be his son.

“Surely you remember your first encounter with my mother,” Trian continued, “how she gave of herself to save your life. It was not so long ago that it would have slipped your mind.”

“That was not real.” Landis insisted.

“Oh, it was real all right, it just was not in this dimension. You and mother made love in between your two worlds, and I am the product of that union.”

“Do not believe him.” Natis warned.

Landis did not know what to think. “If you are really the son of Triana, then how did you get from the Dragon Realm to this world?”

“I am the son of both worlds, father. I came here seeking you.”

“Why did you kidnap my daughter?” Jordan interrupted.

“
Your
daughter,” Trian retorted, “she is Landis’ daughter; and my sister. I brought her here in order to get my father to come and reunite our family. Together we can use the Sword of Alexon to free the Eastland from the grip of the Roolemian Empire.”

Jaylen sidled up beside of his son. “You do not believe him, do you?”

Behind them the elven-wolf-hound growled.

“I do not know what to believe anymore,” Landis answered, “perhaps he is somehow my son, but that would make him Triana’s son as well, and we both know that she was pure evil.”

Landis sheathed his sword. Trian opened his arms in a show of peace, just as he took Landis’ gesture to be. As Trian began to come forward, Landis reached for his bow.

“Father, no!” Trian shouted as Landis drew back on an arrow and fired it at him.

Trian cried out as the arrow pierced his chest. He stumbled several steps backwards as pain tore through him. “You will pay for this!” He bellowed, before rushing into the trees.

“Let’s get out of here!” Jaylen ordered.

“The injured horse!” Tessa cried out, “We must put it down first.”

“We don’t have time, lady!” Jordan informed her.

As the men scrambled for their horses, Tessa pulled her sword and walked over to the injured horse. She could not permit herself to leave the suffering animal behind. Tessa used the sword to put the animal out of its misery before running to her own horse. She motioned for Jordan to climb onto her horse behind her then led the other riders into the forest in hopes of escaping before Trian could attempt another attack. They had not ridden far when flames launched through the trees from above them. The woods caught fire, causing the horses to panic.

“Was that magic?” Weslocke yelled.

Natis did not look back. “Worse, it is dragon’s breath!”

Flames tore through the forest a second time. Everyone could feel the dragon-fear as the mythical beast flew overhead.

“We’re going to be burned alive!” Jordan cried out.

“Keep going!” Tessa ordered, “I know a place where we can hide out.”

The black dragon broke through the treetops, sending branches flying in all directions. There was no use in attempting to control the horses any longer. The animals reared up and jumped about until everyone but Natis had either been thrown or leaped from their backs. The mage struck his head against a low hanging branch and fell forward as his horse began to run through the forest with the dragon in pursuit.

“Natis!” Landis cried out, as he watched the dragon catch up to the mage. The dragon grabbed Natis with one taloned foot and lifted him into the sky.

“Come on!” Tessa yelled.

They followed the Ranger into the brush as the fire grew behind them. She led them down a sloping hillside, steep enough that—other than the dog—only the sure footed Jaylen, Landis and Tessa were able to stay on their feet. The others stumbled and fell, rolling to the bottom of the hill.

“We have to keep moving!” Tessa warned, as they reached the bottom.

Jaylen could hear the dragon’s wings flapping in the distance. “It’s coming this way!”

Something caught Landis’ eye. He looked ahead and saw a dryad standing amidst the trees. The frail looking female fairy creature was pointing to something off to her left. He turned to look in the direction that she was motioning and gasped at what he saw. A greenish light was gleaming in a small thicket. Standing in the midst of that light was Katryn; the fairy bread, former druid that he had fallen in love with years ago, who had left with Seebaul following their victory over Twaller Oakleaf and those who had attempted to open the Gate of the Dragon beneath Sedau. Landis had failed for years to locate Katryn; now here she was, appearing as unexpectedly as she had disappeared.