The Elf King (45 page)

Within ten feet, the figure
stopped and slowly removed his hood. Ern stopped his horse, sword
drawn, his face nothing but twisted lines of anger.

“
What is your business?”
Ern barked.

“
I’ve come to your aid,
commander.” Ankar Rie replied. “Can we go someplace and speak in
private?”

Ern was unsure. “Who sent
you?”

“
King Andelline asked for
assistance. I am here.”

Ankar Rie looked past Ern
Dwull to the assault on the Lyyn Forest just beyond. Men scrambled
around frantically, loading the catapults with heavy rocks, pouring
a black liquid on them, then setting them ablaze before launching.
The sky over the Lyyn Forest was blotched with lines of smoke and
falling flames.

Ankar looked back to Ern.
“Come down from your horse and take me to your tent, commander. We
do not have time for you to decide whether I can be trusted or not.
There is more to this war than you can see, and we need not have
lives destroyed carelessly.”

“
The Elves should have
considered that before assassinating my king!”

“
There is something far
worse to blame for his death. Let us talk, before it is too
late.”

Ern felt threatened.
Something in the other’s tone made him believe that he was more
powerful than he appeared. Reluctantly, he sheathed his sword and
jumped off his horse, motioning for Ankar Rie to follow.

They made way through the
army to a small clearing, next to the cooking implements and the
medical shelters, to a large tent where Ern led the way in. Tables
and chairs filled most of the space, with maps and drinking cups
filling the table tops. Ern offered a chair to Ankar, who sat and
poured himself a drink from a water pitcher in front of him. Ern
Dwull moved around the table to face him, putting one foot on a
chair and leaning over the table.

“
Who are you?”

“
I am Ankar Rie, from
Illken Dor.”

Ern’s eyes sparked with
hope. “You’re the sorcerer? You’ve come to destroy the
Elves!”

Ankar shook his head
slowly. “I’ve come to tell you that you must stop the war with the
Elves.”

Ern’s forehead wrinkled
with lines of confusion that twisted down to the corners of his
eyes. His nostrils flared. “My orders come from the Queen herself.
I’ll take none from—”

“
A threat approaches that
would annihilate Elves and Men alike. Please, sit.”

Ern stared into Ankar’s
eyes and only found truth. He moved the chair a foot back, then sat
across from the sorcerer. Ankar Rie looked around, making sure no
one was in hearing distance, then leaned in further. His voice was
hushed. His tone was firm. “First, let me tell you of what
comes.”

Ankar Rie began at what he
knew to be the beginning of the end. He spoke quickly of the power
the Dark Elves unleashed and the danger that now approached because
of it. He watched Ern’s face turn pale, his mouth sagging open in
utter disbelief. Ankar then went on with what he knew to be the
demon he was chasing in Cillitran. He told Ern Dwull everything he
knew, everything he saw, and all that he suspected; from the
history books to the lineage to the fabled sword, he left nothing
out. He enforced the belief that Men and Elves would only stand a
chance if they fought together. The war must cease. They must
prepare for the
Takers
.

“
A dark cloud will settle
over the land, and nothing will survive it.” Ankar
finished.

Ern Dwull said nothing. His
normally dark complexion was ghostly. He poured himself a drink and
swallowed hard, remembering what Ankar Rie had said about the Queen
and the castle room he found full of dead bodies. “You think the
demon was living inside the Queen, using her to fill out its
wishes?”

Ankar nodded. “Using the
Queen, it would be able to start the war. If Men and Elves fought
to the death, the demons would be able to overrun the land
unchallenged. I believe that somehow we are still a threat to them.
I believe that threat lies within a sword hidden in the castle. The
Queen could search for it, and no one would suspect
anything.”

Ern was deeply troubled.
“How long do you suppose that the demon lived inside the Queen?”
Ern shifted uncomfortably within his chair. His hands were folded
together across the table, his fingers fidgeting without
control.

Ankar shrugged. “It would
be hard to tell. A few months maybe.”

Ern looked up from the
table, out of his dreamlike trance, to stare into Ankar’s eyes. “I
was in the castle, just before departing, I ran into the Queen in
the secret tunnels. She didn’t seem surprised to see me, but
instead asked me where this sword was. I knew nothing about it, and
told her as much. She was angered by that, and I noticed her body
moving in ways it should not. The look she gave me sent chills into
my soul. I’ve told no one. No one would have believed me anyhow.
She gave the order to march to the Lyyn and so we did.”

Ern watched Ankar nod. He
was beginning to feel ill. “Then she arrived here. The Elves had a
shield over the entire forest. We could not penetrate it. Somehow,
she removed it. They attacked her immediately. Her body was filled
with arrows. She died hours ago. Her body is being transferred back
to the castle.”

“
Arrows would not kill the
demon.” Ankar was skeptical. “Did you see her body, commander? Was
there life in it?”

“
It appeared as though she
had died weeks ago.”

“
The demon has fled her
then. It could be in anyone.” Ankar Rie began to rise from his
chair. “I must find it.”

Ankar threw his hood over
his head, completely covering his face as he sat on the floor, legs
crossed, head lowered towards the ground. Ern Dwull stepped back,
paying close attention to what was happening. He had never been in
the presence of a sorcerer before; magic was all new to him.
Ankar’s body emitted a soft blue glow to the air, strangely moving
in a rhythmic pattern. It lasted but a few minutes, then
disappeared. Ankar stood to his feet as though nothing had
happened.

“
The demon is not here.
It’s heading back towards Cillitran.”

“
Lon!” Ern’s eyes grew
wide. “I know where it is, sorcerer!”

Before they could go
further, a man dressed in chain-mail carrying a long sword and a
circular shield came rushing in. “They’ve put out the fires! The
Elves are coming!”

W
hite
clouds settled
down into the burning fires like soft blankets,
smothering the flames and absorbing the black smoke. They clung to
the burning foliage until the fires were gone. The eastern edge of
the Lyyn Forest was now nothing more than a charred scar. But that
too would clear. Within minutes, the sky above the forest was as
clear as the sky over the Caltar Mountains. Sunlight was creeping
its way through the leafy canopy to where the Elven army stood
waiting.

“
Nicely done, Dorn.” Lord
Estrial nodded to the magic’s maker, who stood next to him, smiling
in satisfaction, and fingertips white with smoke rings.

Dornawee smirked. “Let us
see if the demons think the same way.”

“
They are of a different
fire, old friend.”

“
All fires can be put out.”
Dorn blew his fingertips and the remaining traces of his magic
disappeared, along with his smile.

Terill smiled sadly. He
looked across the stations of Elves preparing to depart their
separate ways and felt a terrible ache in his heart. None of them
had gone into a battle on a scale as this one. They will have to be
brave and fight hard. With no talismans, he thought grimly. “It is
time. Fight strong, fight valiant, fight for our lives.”

Elves filed out of the Lyyn
heading north, leaving Terill behind. He was to meet with the Men
of Cillitran and delay their efforts long enough for them to see
what the war was really about. Dornawee pleaded with him not to go
alone, but he knew their plan would stand a better chance this way.
Men were weak. They would feel less threatened if he went alone.
Shadox had warned him to spare their lives as they would need them.
Terill began wondering how large the enemy army could be if the
Elves did indeed need the help of Men.

As he stepped out of the
concealment of his Forest and into the Shyl Plains, Lord Estrial
stood in awe at the line of Men from Cillitran massed on the knoll
before him. Impressive, he thought. But not nearly enough. Not for
what comes. He cloaked himself within his shield of magic and began
walking away from the Lyyn, moving steadily towards the army. He
could hear men yelling right away, warning someone of importance of
his approach, reading themselves for their orders. Men scrambled
around, possibly making room for a leader to reach the front and
see for himself. He would ride out and meet with Terill. They would
speak shortly; Terill would convince him of the real danger facing
them. It would be short. It would be swift.

And then they
fired.

A cloud of arrows suddenly
shot into the sky over the Lord of the Elves. But his approach did
not slow, his steps as steadfast as when he had first left the
woods, his face showing nothing of what he was thinking. They would
not see him slow. They would not see him retreat. They would quiver
in their boots, shaking in the presence of an Elf Lord.

The whistling of the arrows
came rushing down quickly around Terill, who waited until they were
close, before raising one hand slightly and sending the arrows
falling off course. The army of Cillitran began shouting then, he
could hear the concern in their shrieks, the panic in their voices.
They would be afraid now. They would know that his magic could not
be countered. Not by arrows, at least.

But before Terill had a
chance to second guess their strategy, another volley was
unleashed. This time Terill immediately turned the arrows into
dust, raining down upon their own wielders. No reason to give them
hope that a third attempt would be necessary, he thought. Better to
let them know where they stood right away, let them know they were
wasting their time.

Then he could see them
panic.

A man screamed. Another
volley of arrows sped into the sky. And then they froze,
motionless, suspended a hundred feet into the air. A new kind of
commotion filled the army then, Terill heard. A single man reached
the front of the bowmen, waving off their assault. Terill stopped.
The cloaked man moved down the hill towards him.

“
Lord of the Elves,” Ankar
began, slowing his approach as he met Terill, “I do not wish to
harm you. I am Ankar Rie, of Illken Dor, and I bring news to
Cillitran’s men, and to the Lyyn Elves.”

Terill cocked his head
slightly. “I am Terill Estrial, of the Lyyn. If you are a pupil’s
of Shadox, then I presume we share the same news,
sorcerer.”

Ankar nodded, extending his
hand. Terill grasped it firmly. “My arrival is just in time, I
see.”

“
Shadox?”

“
In search of the heir and
wielder to a lost magic, a talisman for the war.” Ankar noticed
Terill looking skyward. With a wave of his hand, he sent the arrows
in flight safely away. “Excuse the Men of Cillitran. They do not
know the whole story.”

“
The dark army is coming
from the north, Ankar Rie. It will reach us by sundown. That is
something they should know.”

Ankar Rie nodded. “Misled,
the entire city was. But no more. I’ve just arrived,” Ankar
motioned back to the army, “and I’ve warned their commander. But
from what I have seen, they will need to see for themselves though.
I will show them what I can, Lord Estrial.”

Terill agreed. He looked
beyond Ankar to where a black bearded man was approaching on foot.
He looked angry. One of the King’s men, Terill assumed. “You are
right, Ankar Rie. The demons approach from the north and will be
here today. It will take more power than the Elves have to offer to
defeat them. We need to unite.”

Ern Dwull arrived and stood
next to Ankar Rie trying best to hide his loathing for the Elf
Lord. “This sorcerer has spared your life. But if what he has told
me is wrong, I’ve brought a thousand reasons with me to make sure
you do not live.”