Outcasts of Velrune (29 page)

“Because Egan is still alive, and he still leads the Protectors. I believe he calls himself Lord Avram now.”

Lysander froze. “Now you go too far, Spirit Leech! Not only do you accuse the original Protectors of hideous crimes, but now you say our Lord Avram is the one that committed them!”

“Stolen identities and staged funerals, Egan has done much to conceal his identity. Only a chosen few ever enter into his presence, but I do not need to see him to know who pursues me. I have become well attuned to his vile presence over these centuries. That is why I am still alive.”

“You tell quite a story, Alexandra, but do you have proof?”

Alexandra stood. “Not for all of it, but there is one thing I can show you. Maxwell, your father’s box.”

Max dug the box out of his backpack and handed it to Alexandra. She opened it and retrieved the pieces of bark. She then, in turn, walked to the four corners of the room. Each had a tree with a small hole carved in the trunk where she would placed one piece of bark. With all four placed, she returned to the center of the room, the roof rustling above her.

Max had not bothered to pay attention to the ceiling until he heard the movement above him. Looking up, he saw that the roof consisted of a thick patchwork of tree branches and leaves which were now separating from each other. A small object fell from the center, dropping into Alexandra’s waiting hands. Carefully holding it, she raised the object for them to see. Max stared in wonder at the clear, blue tinted oval stone. It was completely smooth except at the ends where it had been crudely filed.

“My father was the first to swear he would protect the stone. I was the last. I have carried it with me for longer than I can remember. I only hid it after your father warned me of the planned attack on our village.”

Melody studied the stone. “If the stone was damaged so easily, why not simply destroy it instead of risking Egan obtaining it?”

Alexandra grabbed her backpack and shoved the stone deep inside it. She pushed between them, heading for the door. “Lysander’s gone.”

The others spun in surprise. After a moment’s hesitation, they followed Alexandra. Outside, they found her fifteen feet from the door facing twenty armed Protectors led by Tyco.

Tyco sneered. “Well, well, you must be Alexandra.”

Alexandra jerked her head towards Eve. “Run!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Max reeled at the unexpected sight of the armed men in the deserted forest. Melody and Eve stood frozen next to him. Alexandra’s command didn’t even register until Eve bolted to the side, only to slide to a stop in front of four more guards. Tyco shouted to the guards in front of Eve.

“Don’t let her get away.”

The four guards readied their weapons, causing Eve to take a step back.

Alexandra yelled pleadingly at Eve. “Evangeline, you must do as I instructed!”

The guards moved towards Eve. She looked at Alexandra then Max. The mixture of fear and sadness in her face made Max’s stomach knot. Eve closed her eyes as she faced the guards. In disbelief, Max watched as she changed into a large panther in a matter of seconds. A deep growl emerged from her throat. The guards stepped back.

Tyco took a step in Eve’s direction. “What are you waiting for? Grab that beast!”

Eve charged forward. The terrified guards dropped their weapons and dove out of her way. Eve ran between them, disappearing through the vine wall a short distance later.

“Worthless fools!” Tyco turned on Alexandra. “You’re lucky she wasn’t our main objective.”

Tyco moved forward. “You’re the one we need to worry about.”

Alexandra raised her arms; the grass around Tyco began to grow. “As well you should be.”

Lysander ran out from beside the building. He charged at Alexandra, wrapping his arms around her in a tight bear hug.

“We’ll have none of that. You know you’re too weak to do much anyway.”

Alexandra squirmed in his arms. “Let me go!”

Max took a few steps forward. “Lysander, what are you doing?”

“Turning her in per the law, like I said I would.”

Tyco stood directly in front of Alexandra. “She is one of the cursed, Max. She’s also a thief.”

Tyco bent over, peering into her face. “Where is the stone?”

Alexandra stopped moving. “What stone?”

Tyco straightened and backhanded her across the face. “You know what I want, brat.”

Alexandra smiled. “Maybe I do, but I am not telling.”

Tyco struck the other side of her face. “Do not play games with me, Spirit Leech.”

Alexandra tilted her head towards the ground, lifting her hand as much as she could in Lysander’s tight grip. A vine tried to wrap itself around Tyco’s ankle. He shook his foot free.

“Oh no you don’t.”

Reaching back, he balled his fist and struck Alexandra in the stomach. She cried out in pain. The knot in Max’s stomach grew tighter.

“Tyco, wait, I know where the stone is, I’ll get it.”

Alexandra gasped. “Maxwell, no!”

Max ignored her, running inside the building. He emerged a moment later with her backpack. He took it over to Tyco who snatched it away.

“Good job, Maxwell. I was worried she might have confused you with her lies.”

Tyco rummaged around in the bag, pulling out the stone a moment later, a cruel smile forming on his lips.

“Good job indeed.”

Tyco tossed the backpack to the side. He pointed at two of the guards behind him.

“You two, bind the girl. And you,” he now addressed the four guards Eve had ran past, “grab the acolyte.”

The two guards took Alexandra from Lysander and bound her arms with rope. Max stood in a daze.

“What’s going on, Tyco? How did you find us?”

“I’ll explain on our way to Moenia. Lord Avram is anxious to get the Lifestone.” He walked back to the group of Protectors. “Let’s move out. Keep an eye out for the lacarnian, she may come back.”

The guards paired up and headed for the vine wall. Max stayed beside Tyco.

“Why are you worried about Eve, she won’t hurt anyone?”

Tyco stopped and faced Max. “I was afraid of that. She has you fooled, boy. Even after you saw her true form.”

“Her true form? I’ve never seen her do that before. What is she, exactly?”

“A killer.”

Max gave a nervous laugh. “That’s not Eve.”

“Really, I believe I heard a report about a large panther killing several bandits in the dead lands about the time we passed through.”

Max shook his head. “Eve was either with us or Mr. Penna the whole time.”

“Lacarnians are fast in their panther form. She could easily have left and returned while he slept. I suppose I should be grateful though. If those bandits had killed you, they would have ruined Lord Avram’s plans.”

Tyco looked past Max. “Come, Sgt. Harris, we don’t have all day.”

Max turned to find Lysander kneeling on the ground by Alexandra’s backpack. He finished examining an object on the ground before picking it up and placing it in the pack. Standing, he slung the pack over his shoulder and walked over to them, head down. Tyco patted him on the shoulder.

“You may get a promotion out of this, Sgt. Harris. You should too, Max. You’re quickly following in your father’s footsteps.”

Tyco led them to the vine wall where the other Protectors, with Alexandra and Melody held captive between them, waited next to a cleared opening. Max paused to talk to Melody, but Tyco grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him along.

“You’re with me, Maxwell.”

They stepped through the opening with the column of Protectors following behind them.

“You did well, Max, tracking down Alexandra and the Lifestone.”

“You knew about her?”

“Yes, in fact it was your father who discovered her existence by gaining the lacarnian’s trust.”

“How did he know she had the stone?”

“He didn’t at first. Lord Avram knew the stone would be in the hands of a Spirit Leech and sent your father out to find one. He just happened to get lucky that the one he found held the stone.”

“Why does Lord Avram want the stone?”

“Because, Max, that stone presented a great danger in the hands of the Spirit Leeches. After all, they had already betrayed their own kind, who knew what else they would do with such power. If, instead, Lord Avram possessed the stone, he could use it to improve all of our lives.”

“If my father was trying to retrieve the stone, then why did he help Alexandra lock it away?”

“Despite her appearance, Alexandra is quite powerful. He could not simply take the stone. He had to convince her to give it to him. Unfortunately, the bandit attack on the village interrupted his plan.”

“But Alexandra said that the bandits were sent by the Protectors.”

“After the attack, Alexandra figured out what your father was trying to do and believed the attack was part of his plan.”

“If she knew my father was after the stone, why did she let me get so close?”

“Enraged at being tricked, she swore vengeance on your family. That is why Lord Avram sent you and your father across the dead lands. We thought the two of you would be safe. Alexandra proved us wrong; however. She found you and hired the bandits to kill both of you. She believed they had succeeded until recently. When she found out that you still lived, she wanted to finish you off herself. Lord Avram decided to use that against her to draw her out. He sent Lysander with you to keep us informed of all that transpired.”

Max shook his head. “Her story is completely different. She says it was Lord Avram that betrayed their kind after accidentally causing a great disaster by misusing the stone.”

Tyco chuckled. “Max, I know Lord Avram is old, but he is no Immortal. Don’t be fooled by her, Max, she’s had many years to perfect her lies. If all else, just remember she’s only survived by stealing the spirit energy of others. Would anything good do that?”

“I don’t know. None of it makes any sense.”

“We will arrive at headquarters soon enough, Max. There you can ask Lord Avram yourself about all of this.”

Tyco refused to say anything more, leaving Max to his own thoughts.

What really happened Dad? Were you trying to get the stone for Lord Avram or did you betray them to help Alexandra? I wish Mr. Penna was here to explain things, but, then again, he never said anything about any of this. I always believed the Protectors were just in their actions, but I haven’t seen much of that. Eve seems to believe Alexandra’s story and she’s never been wrong. I just don’t know.

Max took little note of their passage. Tyco kept them at a forced march until reaching the edge of the forest where the sun had long since set. There, Tyco had them stop, ordering them to bed down for the night. Max sought out a spot away from everyone else, noting Lysander doing the same. Laying down he struggled to find sleep. When at last it came, he dreamt only of his father’s death.

At first light, they set out across the plains towards Moenia. To clear his mind, Max focused on the rhythmic sound of their footsteps. It did help to an extent, but the fuzzy idea that he had forgotten about something kept nagging at him. Finally, in the afternoon, it came to him.

Eve! Where has she gone? It’s not like her to run off. Although, Alexandra told her to run. She even mentioned she had instructed her to. I have to go talk to her, but how? Hmm, I know, Melody.

“Hey Tyco, I would like to check on Melody.”

“The acolyte? No, you should stay with me, Max.”

“But I promised the head of her church I would watch out for her. What harm is she anyway? She was only delivering a message to the village.”

Tyco remained silent as he stared at Max, thinking. Slowly he nodded.

“Fine, she isn’t really a threat, but be quick about it.”

Max stopped, letting the column pass until Melody and Alexandra reached him. Alexandra looked at him in surprise.

“Maxwell, I did not expect to see you. Does the Lt. know you are back here?”

“Yes, I came to check on Melody.”

Melody managed a weak smile. “Thanks Max, I’m fine. I don’t think they are concerned much about me.”

Melody held her wrists in front of her. The rope was snug but not overly tight. However, a quick glance at Alexandra’s revealed a courser rope that had begun to rub her skin raw.

Alexandra smirked. “The Children are an irritant at most, Spirit Leeches on the other hand are considered worse than lacarnians.”

As much as Max wanted to untie Alexandra to treat the wounds, he knew he could never do such a thing. The guards behind them already watched him suspiciously.

“Alexandra, did you know they would come for you?

“Yes.”

“Is that why you warned Eve? Why her and not the rest of us?”

“They would have treated her worse than me. You, on the other hand, had nothing to worry about. Melody I did not know enough about to trust her.”