Outcasts of Velrune (28 page)

“If we get some of those large leaves from the trees, we can use them as bedding. I know I could easily take a nap on them.”

Melody laughed. “Something tells me you could easily take a nap anywhere. Come on, let’s go get Eve and Alexandra.”

They stepped back outside where Max noticed Lysander missing. “Hey, where did Lysander go?”

“Who knows? If we’re lucky he got lost.”

“He’s not that bad, at least compared to some of the others I’ve met recently.”

Melody crossed her arms. “I suppose not. I mean, he does seem to be listening. That’s more than a lot of them do.”

Max heard light footsteps from the side of the building. Eve and Alexandra rounded the corner, surprising Melody.

“Oh! Max and I were getting ready to come for you two.”

“That is all right. I am feeling a little better.”

Max saw that a little color had returned to Alexandra’s face - not that she had much to begin with. On the other hand, Eve seemed a little pale.

“Let us go inside, there is more I would like to tell you before we rest.” Alexandra looked around. “Where is Lysander?”

“That’s what Melody and I were wondering. He left before we came back out.”

Eve giggled. “Maybe he had to go pee, in which case we should let him be.”

Max rolled his eyes. “Eve.”

“What? We all have to go eventually.”

Melody rubbed her head. “I’m going inside.”

Max happily followed, with Eve and Alexandra coming after him. Each found a log in the main room to sit on and removed their backpacks. Spook climbed out of Eve’s satchel, scurrying over to Alexandra and up onto her shoulder. The two had become friends during their trip. Everyone had settled when Lysander walked in.

“Did I miss anything?”

Max looked over his shoulder. “Where did you go?”

“I wanted a better look at this place, that’s all.”

Alexandra stared at Lysander. “Is that all?”

Lysander returned the stare as he sat down. “Yes.”

Alexandra focused on the others. “Everything else I have to tell you comes from my own experience or from what my parents told me directly.”

Lysander crossed his arms and leaned back. “And why should we believe what you have to say?”

“Because it is the truth. In time, you will see that. I only hope that it is soon enough.”

Alexandra took a deep breath then let it out. “My tale begins after the appointment of a new judge to the Protectors. I was eight.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“Alex, why don’t you go play with Emma while we talk with Cassiopeia?”

“Ahh, daddy, I want to hear about Cassy’s adventures.”

“Later, Alex. Now run along.”

I held Emma, my doll, close to my chest as I slid off of my father’s knee. I walked over to a corner of the building where I had been enjoying a nice pretend lunch before Cass, a lacarnian woman, arrived. I served Emma a bowel of berries while I listened to my father question Cassiopeia.

“We did not expect you back so soon, Cass.”

Cass stopped pacing and sat across from my parents. “It seems the Protectors no longer welcome us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Egan has kicked me and the other lacarnians out. He claims we have aided those on the outskirts of the woods in their attacks on the humans.”

My father slammed his fist on the table making me jump. “That is ludicrous. The lacarnian members of the Protectors have done no such thing!”

“It does not matter to Egan. He hates us.”

On cue, I heard my mother try and calm the two. “Now I am sure ‘hate’ is going a bit too far, Cass.”

“No, Maddie, it’s not. I’ve seen the way he looks at us and our children of mixed blood. We are disgusting to him. I have no doubt he would rid Velrune of all of us if he could.”

“He showed no such signs before we elected him as leader of the Protectors. I can assure you of that, Cass.”

“I know, Maddie, you would not have put him in charge if he had. However, he is a sly one and hid his true feelings well.”

Father stood and paced as he spoke. “We can speak to him, Cass. Get him to reinstate the lacarnian members.”

“No, Julian, do not put yourself in his line of sight. We will withdraw for now. The chiefs of the forests have agreed it is best for the lacarna to return to the deep woods. We have never relished holding a position of enforcement. Perhaps he will let us be if we are out of his way.”

Father nodded his head. “We will go along with the chief’s wishes, Cass. Those of us in the forest want to do everything we can to remain in harmony with the lacarna.”

“I know, Julian. You, and those like you, will always be welcome among us.”

Cass scooted her chair back to stand. “Now then, where did that curious little daughter of yours go?”

I popped off the floor and ran to Cass. “Right here, Cassy!”

She grabbed me when I neared, flinging me into the air then catching me. “So you want to know what I did in the big city, huh? Well, let me tell you about all the things I saw.”

Max raised his hand. “So there really were lacarnians in the Protectors?”

Alexandra nodded. “At one time, yes. After that day, however, the lacarna stayed clear of the humans, allowing only the Immortals to live with them. Unfortunately, that did not satisfy Egan. He wanted full access to the forests, something the lacarna would not allow. To that end, he tried to find a way to force the lacarna to follow his commands.”

“After several failed ideas he, learned of the Lifestone. Using deceit, he was able to locate the holder of the stone and take it from him. Then, without knowing its full potential, he tried to create something that could control the lacarna. The resulting surge of energy ripped a chasm through one of Velrune’s largest forests, killing dozens of humans and hundreds of lacarnians.

“Egan attempted to hide, but the lacarna hunted him down. They gave him to the Immortals so they could pass judgment on his actions. All of the Immortals attended the sentencing, even the children. It took place in a flat, grassy area outside of this forest, not far from a small lacarnian community. I remember it well. The five council members of the Immortals stood in half-circle around Egan, who faced them on his knees. The rest of us stood in a large half-circle behind Egan. We, the children, were let up front so we could see the proceedings. It was the eldest of the council who addressed Egan.”

“Egan, you stand accused before your fellow Immortals of misusing the Lifestone, causing the death of many, and the destruction of a great forest.”

“I swear I intended no harm. I only wanted to find a way for the humans and the lacarnians to live peacefully together.”

“By creating living stones that would be forced onto the lacarnians in order to control them?”

“I only meant them for the lacarnians who wished to live in the human villages. It gives the humans peace of mind without any real damage to the lacarnians.”

“And what of the destruction you wrought?”

“I knew the stone required material to create, but I had no idea it had such power. I would never have used it if that had been the case.”

“If you were unsure of the stone’s power, why did you choose the mountains by the lacarna’s home forest instead of an uninhabited area? There are those that believe you had another motive in mind.”

“Please, I beg of you, I truly had no idea of the destruction the stone would cause.”

“Egan, your actions, foolish or planned, cannot go unpunished. Many lacarnians died in the chasm created by the stone. We lost several of our fellow Immortals as well. You will be…”

Alexandra shuttered. “I heard a woman in the crowed scream in horrible pain. Then, someone screamed my mothers name and I knew it had been her.

I left the other children, shoving my way through the crowded circle of adults. At the center lay my mother, her face and hands had withered, all color had drained from her body. She wasn’t moving. I heard a thump close behind me and a woman shouted in panic.”

“William? William!”

More shouts rose from the crowd as other men and woman fell to the ground. I searched frantically for my father.

“Daddy!”

Not able to find him I rushed to my mother’s side, bending down next to her. I carefully touched her hand, but she was so cold I yanked it back.

“Mommy?”

“Alex, there you are!”

I was crying so hard I could barely see father so I reached out for him. “Daddy!”

He scooped me up and held me tight against him. “Come on darling, we need to go.”

“What about mommy?”

“We will have to come back for her.”

A man came running towards us. “Julian, what’s going on?”

“Have you seen Egan?”

The man shook his head frantically. “No, he’s gone.”

“I am sure this is his doing.”

“But what is it, Julian?”

“I don’t know, and now is not the time to figure it out. We must take the Lifestone and run.”

“Julian, we can’t leave our friends.”

“Until we know what is going on, I am afraid it is our only option. Maddie had the stone. Please, get it and follow me.”

“Daddy, where are we going?”

“Far away from here, darling.”

Alexandra gave a heavy sigh. Eve leaned forward, speaking softly.

“Did you go back for you mother?”

Alexandra shook her head. “Afraid of what Egan had in store for us, we scattered, going into hiding. Unfortunately, most never made it. Over the next few days, several more Immortals died. Others, like my father and I, held on longer, though we grew weaker every day. If we had not run across a pair of humans within that first week, I would not have lived either. The humans let us join them for a meal. In thanks, my father shook one of their hands. In stunned horror, he watched the life flow out of the man and into himself. When my father let go, the man fell to the ground, barely alive. My father, on the other hand, felt as strong as ever.

“Afraid, we fled a short distance before stopping to try and understand what had happened to us. Only one thing came to mind, the Lifestone. William brought the stone out and upon examining it we found that the ends had been filed. Egan had to have done this while he had the stone. His original reason, I do not know. He may not have originally planned to use it against us, but in the end, the fine powder chiseled from the stone, had been mixed in water or food at the meeting.

“After we had ingested the powered, our bodies absorbed it and it began feeding on our spirit energy. Why it acted slower in some of us, we never knew, but it allowed us to live long enough to find another source of energy. That is why we, the Spirit Leeches, feed on people.

“We tried to spread what we had found to others as best we could, but many never received the information in time. A few chose to die rather than harm another, even if that person eventually recovered. A small group; however, committed themselves to protecting the stone at all cost, unsure of Egan’s plans.

“Over time, an alternate story of what happened that night spread among the humans. It told of how we had betrayed our own and were cursed for it. Egan wanted us marked as outlaws, giving the Protectors a reason to hunt us down. He wanted the stone. While he waited, he used the living stones he had created, what you know as the Controller Stones, to enslave the lacarna. He worked hard to turn the Protectors and the people against them.”

Lysander shoved himself off his stump. “You’re saying a leader of the Protectors murdered most of the Immortals, then led the Protectors to hunt the remaining ones down so he could have this stone. I have a hard time believing that. Our goal as Protectors is to protect the people, all of them.”

Melody crossed her arms. “You keep saying that, but I’ve seen little to back it up. You’ve certainly shown your distaste for Eve and me.”

“I may not like the Children or the lacarna, but I would never resort to the acts that she says happened.”

“I’m curious, Lysander, why don’t you like us?”

“The lacarnians are violent, dangerous beasts and the Children go out of their way to support them.”

Alexandra gestured towards Eve. “You really think Evangeline is a violent, dangerous beast?”

Lysander stood silent as he looked at Eve. After a moment he turned away. “She hasn’t been in our presence, but I’m sure she is capable of it.”

Alexandra snickered. “I could say the same of you. You are well trained in fighting after all. Tell me Lysander, how many violent lacarnians have you actually had to deal with?”

Lysander began to pace the room. Without an answer, Alexandra turned her attention to Max.

“Do you see what Egan has done? The humans are afraid of or even hate the lacarnians even though nothing has happened between them for centuries.”

“I don’t understand. Didn’t all this happen centuries ago? If these are lies, why have they persisted long after Egan’s death?”