Eternal Forest: Savage Rising (26 page)

             
Killika smiled. “It was never meant to be this way,” he said. Azalea only gave him a puzzled look in response. “My dear dryad, my dream for you was to make you greater than the Lady herself. With your power at my side, we will rule the forest. We will be an unstoppable force, and the rewards will be limitless.”

             
“You call me your slave,” she responded coldly.

             
“Only because of your lack of reverence,” he responded. “I freed you, dryad. I gave you a body and a voice. I pulled you from the spirit world and made you real.”

             
“Stop it!” she shouted as she covered her ears. She still didn’t truly understand what a dryad was, and the thought of owing Killika her life made her stomach turn.

             
“You’ve been fighting your destiny all this time when you should be embracing it,” Killika continued. “Your power makes you great, and I will help you realize it. Entire tribes will cower at your feet.”

             
With her lips closed, Azalea ground her teeth in anger. She wanted to protest, but fighting him would only lead to more abuse and torture. Besides, if she were going to turn on him, it would be easier if he thought her to be on his side. “Yes,” she said meekly. “I suppose you did give me life.”

             
“Indeed,” the Balisekt Lord responded. Killika was no fool. He knew keeping control of Azalea was like trying to tame a tornado. Without crushing her spirit, she would eventually find a way to overpower him. “This is your destiny. You will become greater than your Lady ever intended you to be. This is
your
forest now.”

             
“My forest,” Azalea repeated, though the words tasted awful in her mouth. “My world.”

             
Killika smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. “Come with me,” he said as he led her towards the door. “A new world begins now.” Two of Killika’s soldiers entered the hut as he reached the tapestry. “Burn the tree and the hut,” he said to them in the balisekt tongue. “Form my summoning circle.”

Chapter 26

“Gaze upon this tree, for it has seen more years than all of us here combined. It has stood proudly over this land since long before elven feet tread upon it. In honoring it, we honor Her, and we are blessed.”

Rosewood’s dedication of the high priestess’s home.

              Things were starting to feel eerily familiar. Zehlyr, Viyana, Sunrise, Heeska, and Firefly arrived in Moon-hollow silently and stealthily. The entire village was crawling with balisekt soldiers. The savage army had agents posted at every door in the settlement, with many more patrolling the worn, dirt paths running between the old trees. Up above, more soldiers walked back and forth across the bridges. More still were perched high up in the branches, their bows at the ready to take down any elf foolish enough to flee. Killika had full occupation.

             
“I don’t see any elves,” Firefly said. Afraid flying would leave her too exposed, she’d grounded herself on Sunrise’s shoulder, holding tightly to his collar as he moved.

             
“But I don’t see any elven bodies either,” Zehlyr added. “They’re likely hiding in their huts.”

             
“They’re not hiding,” Heeska pointed out. “Look at how the guards are stationed. They’re being held inside like prisoners.”

             
“It’s like Stonemouth all over again,” Viyana said softly.

             
“Lady, be with them,” Sunrise said. They were crouched down low in the bushes on the northwestern edge of the village. A small slope rolling down from Moon-hollow towards a rushing creek provided them extra cover as they scouted the area. A trio of soldiers passed the bushes only a few yards away, but didn’t take notice of the unwelcomed guests.

             
“Where is Killika?” Viyana asked. She poked her neck out as far as she was brave enough, but quickly retracted it before a nearby soldier turned in her direction.

             
“He’ll likely be towards the center of the village,” Sunrise answered.

             
“And Azalea will be with him,” Zehlyr said through gritted teeth.

             
“We need a higher vantage point,” Heeska suggested.

             
Zehlyr looked down the hill behind them and then up towards the canopy. “There are plenty of entry points into their network of bridges, but the trees are crawling with soldiers.

             
“Let Firefly and I take the canopy,” Sunrise suggested. “I’m a swift tree climber and should be able to make my way into the village undetected.

“But what about the rest of us?” Viyana asked.

Heeska poked his head up and eyed a lone guard that had paused by the shrubs. His back was turned to them. “I have an idea,” he whispered to Zehlyr. “But you’re not going to like it.”

~~\*/~~

             
At the center of the village, the scene began to take on a haunting familiarity to Azalea. Maple-leaf’s hut had been raided, with all of its treasures piled in the mud at Lord Killika’s feet. Around the hut, and the tree it surrounded, eleven balisekts, along with Lord Killika, were spaced out in a large circle. These were not soldiers. Instead of crude, rusted armor, they wore elegant robes of a deep crimson. Their necks and wrists were adorned with golden trinkets. One held an old, leather-bound book in its hands. Three more, spaced equidistant from each other, held blazing torches. These were Killika’s Shadow Chasers.

             
Many of the elves stood in their doorways or watched on through their windows. Their captors wouldn’t let them venture out into the village, but curiosity compelled them to see what was happening. Their priestess was down on her knees just behind the circle. Guards were posted around her, but they weren’t necessary. Having seen the tremendous and dark power the Balisekt Lord could wield, she had no intention of fighting back and subjecting her people to further harm.

             
Standing reluctantly at Killika’s side, Azalea watched as the Shadow Chasers began their ritual. Shamefully she hung her head, letting her eyes fall upon the golden necklace Killika had placed around her neck. Her continued obedience made her want to vomit, but now was not the time to act. Her betrayal of Killika would have to come at a crucial moment when his victory hinged on her cooperation. She could take him now, but Zehlyr and her friends wouldn’t be the only ones sacrificed. The army would rise up, and many more innocent elves would perish. She didn’t know what Killika was up to now, but it didn’t seem to involve further bloodshed, and she intended to keep it that way.

             
In truth, there was more than improper timing that kept her anger at bay. In the Wilds north of Moon-hollow, she’d seen the balisekt’s capacity for more than savage warfare. Her conversation with a scared soldier had shown her that many in Killika’s army fought for him out of fear. They despised their ruthless leader as much as she did, but knew such feelings would have to remain a secret if they were to stay alive.

             
Even now, with so much going on in the once quiet village, Azalea could pick out of the face of the balisekt she had spoken with before the battle. Clad in armor and weapon at the ready, he stood in formation with the rest of his platoon. Only she seemed to notice how his eyes darted around nervously, how his feet scraped back and forth anxiously in the mud. Killika could easily see that not all of his army was truly with him. He had only to open his eyes, and she hoped he never would.

             
There was a hush over the village as Killika turned to the Shadow Chaser on his right. The cloaked balisekt held the leather book against its scaly chest. With a small nod from its Lord, the balisekt opened the book and began to chant. Its words were indiscernible, but carried a low and resonating tone like the blow of a ram’s horn.

             
As the balisekt chanted, the rest of the circle closed tighter around the hut and the old tree. Slowly, their voices joined in the chanting, mirroring the lead balisekt’s words perfectly. The Shadow Chasers with empty hands reached deep into their robes and extracted small, black pouches. Continuing their chant, they tossed the contents of the bags towards the center of their circle. Clouds of white salt crystals were hurled into the air from the bags as the chant grew louder and faster.

Azalea watched the salt clouds fall towards the muddy ground, but not one tiny crystal made contact with the forest floor. To her astonishment, the salt began to float through the air in a circle around the base of the tree. As if caught in a magical wind, the salt spun through the air like a snowstorm. The chanting grew louder still, and Azalea heard the elves of Moon-hollow whimpering in fear.

As the salt-storm danced around the circle, the torch-bearing balisekts lowered to one knee. In perfect unison, they touched the flaming ends of their torches into the mud, but the fires did not extinguish. Instead, the flames shot out in straight lines across the ground, burning no natural fuel that she could tell.

As the lines of fire shot across the ground, they split apart repeatedly, forming a web-like pattern on the ground around the tree. The balisekts left the torches on the ground and stepped away. The flames reached out towards one another, creating a flaming circle in which the web and the salt-storm carried out their sinister mission.

The large hut ignited with unnatural swiftness, becoming an enormous bonfire that sent fifteen-foot flames into the canopy of the old oak. Down on the ground, Maple-leaf’s fists beat against the mud as her face twisted in silent anger. The hut had housed generations of Moon-hollow priestesses. It had been built for the great priestess Rosewood, who aided Shimmer in ending the Blight. To see it and the mighty tree engulfed in flames was a testament of her failure to protect the elves.

The center of the magical circle was now a blazing inferno. The flames engulfed the old oak, towering high over the forest and into sky. Black smoke billowed up towards the few clouds passing by. All the while, the chanting continued. The terrifying chorus of voices rang through the air louder than the crackling flames or the crying elves. Then, in an instant, it stopped. The flames extinguished as fast as a smothered candle and the swirling salt fell naturally onto the ground.

As Azalea stared into the circle, a haunting familiarity washed over her. It looked just as the forest had behind the storehouse in Stonemouth. The land was black and lifeless. The tree was a burned-up husk with no leaves to block the sunlight. Killika’s sinister magic had robbed the land of all life as well as the capacity to produce any more growing things. Her feet locked in place. She knew what taking even a single step into the circle would mean for her.

She sighed. Desecrated ground was no place for her…no place for a dryad.

~~\*/~~

             
Up in the canopy, the patrolling balisekts had all stopped moving. The Shadow Chaser’s ritual was quite a spectacle, and the soldiers couldn’t help but stop and watch its awesome fury. Otherwise distracted, Sunrise and Firefly were able to sneak through the branches without being detected. They didn’t know what was going on in the center of the village, but as evil as it was, it was providing them exactly the distraction they needed.

             
As the fire blazed, Sunrise parted a cluster of branches in front of him. He was suspended above a small hut built atop the thick branches below him. A bridge of rope and vine trailed off over the empty space between the trees, right past where the ritual was taking place. There were two guards standing watch only three feet below him. The balisekts stood guard on a small porch made from branches woven together and suspended from above with thick, sturdy vines. A simple spell would dispatch them easily, but would also attract attention.

             
He slowly reached into the folds of his robe, extracting a small dagger he’d found amongst the elven corpses. With his targets distracted by the ritual, Sunrise dropped from the branches and onto the porch. As he fell, he thrust the knife into the top of the left balisekt’s head with a hammering motion. Its impacted skull slid from the blade as it fell. The other balisekt was barely able to turn around before Sunrise swung the bloodied dagger in an arch in front of him. It sliced across the soldier’s neck, silencing the creature as it died.

             
With his post secured, Sunrise looked out over the village. The ritual was nearing its completion when he finally noticed Zehlyr and Viyana amongst the crowd. They were walking out in the open, though little attention was paid to them, for a balisekt soldier walked behind them with a spear in hand, pushing them along as though they were prisoners.

             
At least, that’s how it appeared.

             
With his head down to keep his identity hidden, Heeska shoved his friends through the crowd to the edge of the magical circle. He was dressed in rusted armor, with a mangled helmet covering his head. It wasn’t a desirable plan, but pretending to hold the two humans as captives was the only way of reaching the center of the village. Their rouse wouldn’t last for long, but if they could make contact with Azalea quickly, it wouldn’t have to.

             
Heeska pushed his spear hard against Zehlyr spine, nearly sending him to his hands and knees. “Watch it,” Zehlyr mumbled under his breath.

             
“Do you want to get away with this or not?” Heeska asked in a whisper. A nearby soldier suddenly stepped in front of Heeska and his human captives, blocking their journey to the ritual circle. Zehlyr and Viyana froze as the soldier began speaking to Heeska in the balisekt tongue. As voices raised and became steadily angrier, they feared their cover had been blown. Finally, Heeska took the side of his spear and slammed it into the back of Zehlyr’s head, knocking him to the ground.

             
Zehlyr rubbed at the knot forming under his hair as Heeska spoke again to the soldier. The soldier laughed in return and let them pass.

             
“I don’t know what you said, but it must have worked,” Viyana said.

             
“I told him I found you two sneaking around outside the city,” Heeska explained. “Thought I’d go and see if Lord Killika wanted to throw you in the fire.”

             
“Fantastic,” Zehlyr grumbled sarcastically. The ceremony was nearing its end by the time they reached the edge of the circle. The sight was horrific. The charred husk of a once might tree stood black and bare in the center of a barren patch of land. Nothing of Maple-leaf’s hut remained. Even the finely crafted furniture within was reduced to small lumps of charcoal.

             
Gazing across the destruction, Zehlyr finally caught a glimpse of Azalea. Standing at Killika’s side with her hands folded in front of her. Her eyes stared blankly off into nothing and her face seemed as lifeless as a corpse. Even at a distance, he could see her soul was crushed, but she was alive. “There she is!” Zehlyr said in an excited whisper.

             
Viyana and Heeska followed Zehlyr’s eyes to where she stood on the opposite edge of the circle. “Lady’s grace, she’s okay,” Viyana said softly.