The Elf King (54 page)

Looking up to the moon,
still hanging just beyond the hill’s peak, he whispered, “I wish
you were here, Tane.”

He stepped into the lagoon
then with purpose, and pressed on with no further delays, no more
reflections and second-guessing, no more thinking of anything other
than what he was sent to do. The present was going to be difficult
enough as it was. No need to pregnate the troubles with thoughts
that were now irrelevant.

He began thinking then of
how he could reclaim the staff. The Faerie creature would surely
possess it now, and by what he saw of it, it would not likely just
hand it over to him. He would ask, of course. Probably beg. He
might have to break down and tell it everything, the purpose of the
staff and of his mission to save everyone. But for an eternal
creature, what care would it even have for the world’s troubles? It
would endure no matter what was happening outside the Pikes. He
decided then to come forth with the truth of his visit. It could
see his thoughts anyhow. A lie would only get him
killed.

Qenn sighed deeply. Even
if he went through with that plan, and it gave him the staff, he
still had no idea how to use it. Surely he would have to tell
the
LifeWaters
what it was going to do, warn it before the staff attacked
it, or else it would feel threatened and react violently. It might
even do so once it was informed of the staff’s purpose. Qenn was
not sure. He had no idea what to expect. No real plan of action,
other than walking up to it and asking it for help.

Qenn reached the end of
the tunnel and stepped onto the flat rock and hesitated, staring
out to the pool of water where he first saw the
LifeWaters
. He took a deep breath to
steady himself. Then he saw it. Lying on the stone next to the pond
was a slender piece of wood. The staff. He could not help himself
but to smile. With no further hesitation, he left the rock and
walked forward to the staff.

Once he was within a few
feet from it, he looked up and around, admiring the size of the
cavern. It was huge, he thought. The strange blue-light glow cast
across the stalactites in a shimmering fashion was mesmerizing.
Magical. Immediately he felt another presence watching him. It made
him feel small and uncomfortable. He slowly turned to the pool next
to him, expecting to see a set of eyes, but there was none. He
turned to his other side and stared at the pond there as well. But
nothing showed. Swallowing hard, Qenn reached down then, and slowly
picked up the staff.

“
I need to talk to you,”
Qenn said nervously, not knowing what else to do. He waited for a
few moments, but when nothing happened, he called out again.
“Please. I know you can hear me.”

“
What do you want?” a deep
voice belled out.

Qenn turned around in a
circle. He saw no one. “I need your help.”

“
You are not one of
mine.”

Qenn was not sure what it
meant, other than he was an outsider to the village. He didn’t know
what to do. “No. But I still need your help.”

The water in the shallow
pond next to him began to swirl. Slowly a form began to
materialize, taking the shape of a man his height. Qenn could see
right through him. He impulsively stepped back.

“
How do you know of
me?”

It spoke with such sincere
curiosity that Qenn was briefly confused and stuttered his
response. “Your people speak great things of you. I need a great
favor.”

Its voice boomed out like
thunder. “Do you know of my kind, mortal?”

Qenn nodded. It move close
enough to Qenn’s face that he could make out all the features that
a person would have, only it was made of water. As it studied Qenn,
he saw it blink.

“
I can read your
mind.”

Qenn nodded. A response was
not necessary.

“
You do not approach me as
the others have. Are you not afraid?” It spoke to Qenn with an
interest.

“
I am.” Qenn held his
breath. It was within mere inches from him. Then quickly, it moved
back away, standing over the water once again.

“
I know why you have chosen
to come.”

“
I have to ask you for your
power,” Qenn began, instantly afraid he had said the wrong choice
of words. “To save my people.”

But the
LifeWaters
merely
laughed. “Go back to your dying world.”

“
I have come a very long
way. I will be leaving here soon.” Qenn held up the staff. “But not
before you help me.”

The
LifeWaters
stood silently for a
moment, staring blankly at Qenn. Then it began to recede back into
the water. “Go.”

Qenn’s heart sank. “Wait! I
was sent here—”

“
Your problems are of no
consequence to me, mortal. Leave me.”

Qenn was stunned. He had
no idea what to do. The
LifeWaters
slowly sank away into the pond, and all he could
do was watch in disbelief. It was not supposed to be this way, he
thought. He had expected something to happen.

The Faerie creature was
gone now. The water settled, calm again. Qenn stood looking at his
own reflection. His face was pitifully sad. The weight of the
world’s fate had rested on his shoulders, and now he could not help
them. The journey had been a waste. So many people were going to
die.

He became angry then,
furious. He shook his head and squeezed his staff so tight that his
knuckles turned white. “No!”

Qenn turned to face the
pool of water again. His thin eyebrows slanted down to his eyes
angrily. “I am not leaving until you help me!”

He called out loud and
strong, but nothing returned. He looked around the massive cavern,
calling out again. But nothing answered. For a brief second, he
became scared that it was never going to show again. But that
feeling only fueled his anger further. He swept his arm up to the
sky and spoke loud and demanding. He was not going to just walk
away.

“
Show yourself to me!” He
turned and repeated his demand in every direction. Each time his
voice lost more of its innocence. He was suddenly aware now of how
warm his staff had become. It was not an illusion; it was not just
a heat wave from his boiling rage. It was the staff.

Qenn smiled. It was
magic.

K
andish
stirred in her sleep. Her
body ached. She awoke with the fear that something was terribly
wrong. Her magic was coming alive within. And it had never done so
without her being in harms reach. She sat upright in her bed,
trying to push the magic back down. She looked around the dark
space, noticing Qenn’s bed was empty. Deep in her heart, she knew
he was in trouble.

“
Wake up!” Kandish yelled
from her bed, trying to wake Kamen Ode slumbering next to her. Her
face was washed in panic. “Something’s wrong! Qenn needs us! He
went to get the magic!”

Kamen was a jumble of
grunts and groans as he moved quickly out of bed, still half lost
in his dream. Prevost sat up, rubbed his face, and ran with them
out of the hut. Already Kandish could feel her stomach churn. Her
magic was vibrating. It was anticipating release.

“
We have to
hurry!”

Kandish felt her magic
rolling through her then in waves. It would overcome her, she knew.
But this time she didn’t care. She would do whatever it took to
make certain he was safe.
Hold on, Qenn.
I’m coming!

T
he
water behind Qenn exploded
skyward, and as he turned quickly, he saw the
LifeWaters
emerging ten times larger
than previously. Qenn drew a deep breath. He held his ground,
thrusting the staff out in front of him for protection. He had no
idea what it would do, but he could not ignore its
presence.

“
Fool!”

The
LifeWaters
rose to the height of the
cavern. It bent down violently then, bringing its head down over
Qenn. Its words sprayed mist across Qenn in violent roars. “Why
would I care about your world’s problems? I do not breathe as you.
I do not think as you. I do not
care
, as you! If your Race dies,
another will replace it. But I and my people will endure. You have
no respect for that. Your Race, your world, full of greed and lies,
would struggle to destroy each other. My people live in peace. They
know love—”

“
Your people are slaves!”
Qenn was tired of listening to it talk. “You want to talk about the
truth? Your people don’t love you! They don’t love the life that
they have! You’ve allowed them to live forever, but they are
killing themselves to get rid of you!”

“
Lies!”
The
LifeWaters
hiss and coiled.

“
Read my mind! The truth is
there, and you can see it yourself!”

It screamed again. Its
mouth opened wide enough to swallow Qenn without effort.

Qenn should have been
terrified. It appeared as though the
LifeWaters
would simply swallow him
whole. But the anger still burned within the elf. The power of the
staff was pulsating now, the magic was awakening.

“
My world that you care
nothing for is in danger and I was sent to help it. To destroy the
evil that will conquer us, I need a great talisman. So I was sent
here to take power from you. But I don’t believe in taking, so I
tried to plead with you to help me. But you would not listen. I
will not ask you again. My staff is magic. It will do as I
say.”

The
LifeWaters
laughed. “Your stick is
useless here boy. You cannot take what is mine.”

“
I will, if that is what I
have to do.” Qenn held his stance, waiting.

“
I am too powerful for you,
mortal.”

“
I am done warning
you.”

The
LifeWaters
screamed then, growling
so hard that the wind from its mouth sent Qenn off his feet.
“Mortal! You cannot fathom what I am. My power, my life, cannot be
contained by your stick, or anything else. I am constant. I am
restless. Alive for all of time. I take root in the earth and
water, growing and giving life, nurturing and healing. I am not of
your kind, so I do not pay heed to your demands, mortal. I have
read your mind and you have chosen unwisely! You will share the
fate of your filthy world!”

“
No!”
Qenn yelled, watching the
LifeWaters
flare white. He knew what
was happening. Kev Wah’s face flashed before him. Then the cavern
was lit so bright that Qenn had to shut his eyes. He cringed,
waiting to feel the other’s magic rip into him. It never came. With
caution, he opened his eyes.

The
LifeWaters
stood above him, its arms
stretched downward spewing white magic from its hands in an attempt
to kill him. But the staff was intercepting the light. It was
absorbing it.

“
Your
staff is not strong enough!” The
LifeWaters
cried menacingly. It
mustered more power then, pushing its heated light down to crush
Qenn’s staff.

Then Qenn heard it scream
anew. Peering through the light, Qenn saw its face change. “No!” he
heard it cry. Yet the magic still sped forth. Qenn saw it reel
away, thrusting itself backward, appearing to flee. But the magic
held intact. The
LifeWaters
could not escape it.

“
What are you?”

Then Qenn realized what
was happening. The
LifeWaters
was not attacking him anymore. His staff was
stealing its power. The
LifeWaters
could not stop it.

“
You tricked me,
mortal!”

“
All I wanted was your
help!”

It swirled around the
cavern then, running like a chained animal. Qenn watched it
closely, the white magic still drawing from the
LifeWaters
to his staff in a steady
beam. And then it slammed down into a pond across the cavern and
its magic stopped. Qenn’s heart was racing, his staff glowing and
warm. Then he watched it rise up again directly in front of him. It
came within feet from Qenn’s face. He waited for it to crush the
life out of him. But the look on its face was not anger.

“
You love your people. You
would offer your life to save them.”

Qenn shrugged. “Yes. That’s
what love is. It’s given freely, with risks and with
rewards.”

The
LifeWaters
face was emotionless. It
stared blankly. “My people die, as you have said. But they have
love.”

Not everyone wants to live
forever, Qenn thought, but said nothing.

-But they have love.
Forever-

Qenn heard its response
loud and clear. But it was wrong. It would never see life the way
he did. The way its people did. It was immortal, eternal. He
wondered how it could care for its people at all.