The Elf King (64 page)

Kandish looked away,
staring idly across the sea of stars. She drew her legs up against
her chest, wrapping her arms around them to keep the cool air from
stealing all her warmth. “It’s not like that with me,
Qenn.”

Qenn slid over to sit
against her. “I’m sorry, Kandish. I don’t want you to be afraid. I
don’t want you to have to do something that hurts you in any way.
Maybe when the time comes, you won’t have to. I can use the
staff—”

“
You don’t even know what
the staff will do, Qenn.” She turned her head to look into his
eyes. “The Seer told me that you would fail on your own. That I
needed to be with you to save you.”

Qenn swallowed hard. “She
did?” He watched Kandish nod. “Did she say that you needed to use
your magic to protect me? Because you don’t have to. I have the
staff now. Maybe she didn’t see that.”

Kandish sighed. “I believe
her, Qenn.”

Qenn stared into her eyes
with a burning passion. “I would do everything I could to protect
you. I don’t care what the Seer said.”

“
Qenn, it’s not like that.
Don’t be mad. But something might happen that you and your staff
will not be able to prevent. That’s all.” She could see the hurt in
his eyes, hearing it in his words as well.

“
The only thing that could
stop me from saving you, is if I die. I don’t know what else to
say, Kandish. That’s just how I feel. I would give—”

Kandish kissed him. The
feeling came over her and this time she did not fight it. She acted
on her love, pressing her lips against his, feeling his tighten in
surprise before relaxing. She never thought anyone would care for
her the way he did. It was overwhelming to hear his words spoken
out loud, with undeniable sincerity. She squeezed him close to her,
wishing the moment was held in different circumstances.

Qenn’s heart pounded so
hard against his ribs that he thought for sure he would simply die.
It was so unexpected, and as he tried to calm his breathing, he
thought how wonderful the moment was. He opened his eyes as he felt
Kandish slowly backing away. He stared at her smooth face for a
second before her eyes opened and he locked on them.

“
Thank you,
Qenn.”

Qenn was still smiling when
he responded. “I meant it. Every word.”

Kandish nodded, smiling
back. He sat closer to her then, putting an arm around her, keeping
them both slightly warmer. They were quiet then, both staring out
across the swamps to the darkening horizon, both lost in separate
thoughts that raced back to their conclusion. The road ahead was
scary and uncertain for both. Qenn was thinking that the Seer had
told Kandish something about their journey that she did not want to
reveal, but he was confident that he could protect her from
anything. Almost as confident that her magic could save him, if
need be.

“
I’ve been thinking about
something,” Qenn said quietly. He waited for her to look at him; he
wanted her to see that he was serious about it. As their eyes
locked, he continued. “I’ve been thinking ever since we left
Prevost, that maybe we should leave Kamen, too.”

“
What?” Kandish was
dumbfounded.

“
Hear me out. This is a
very dangerous journey. Kamen’s been through a lot. I don’t see how
we can ask him to continue. Look what happened to Prevost.” Qenn
turned away from her, staring at his staff. “We have magic to
protect us. Kamen is a good fighter, the best I’ve ever seen. But
the evil we are fighting can only be defeated by magic. I think we
should leave—”

“
Qenn, Kamen is
here—”

“
Kandish, I know. I know
why he’s here. I know that he would never leave us; I know he would
die to protect us. I just don’t know if I can ask him to do that
any longer.”

Kandish looked away then.
She could not believe what she was hearing. A lot of the reasons
they were even alive now was due to Kamen. “He has lost everything,
Qenn. I think this is giving him a purpose. I think he needs to be
with us right now.”

Qenn sighed.
“Maybe.”

“
We’re all he has, Qenn. I
think you should reconsider.”

The sounds of something
moving through the grass came abruptly. Qenn and Kandish stood
suddenly as Kamen Ode walked out of the night carrying the water
canister and a dead animal. “Let’s eat,” he said, tossing it to the
ground at their feet, offering them water.

“
He stays,” Kandish
whispered to Qenn.

Qenn agreed, knowing
already that his mind was made up.

Kamen Ode butchered the
fawn-like animal he killed and told them that he found a narrow
stream a ways back that had drinkable water. He convinced the other
two that cooked meat was necessary to keep their strength. Qenn and
Kandish agreed and a small fire was made. Kamen rotated the meat on
sticks balancing between flat rocks. Normally they would not risk
it, but Kamen told them that all the
Takers
were gone from the area,
traveling south for the war. Qenn and Kandish both asked how he
could be so sure. Then he told them what he found.

“
A mile or so west there’s
a trail. The ground is trampled, pummeled. It was at least a
half-mile wide and runs straight north. To their home.” Kamen Ode
looked away, back to where he had saw the trail. “I would say there
are thousands.”

Qenn and Kandish looked at
each other right away.
Thousands
. The word echoed through
both their minds.

“
The good news is, that is
the way out of this swamp. We follow their trail.” Kamen seemed
unaffected by his own words and began eating. “We should rest a
bit. A few hours, at least. We’ll leave again after
dark.”

The other two were quiet.
Qenn’s thoughts of leaving Kamen began to change then. Now his mind
was running off with a new plan. They ate their small meal in
silence, watching the sky overhead, watching the stars slowly
brighten as the night lengthened. When they were finished, Kamen
suggested that they try and rest. So they did, lying close to one
another on their backs, trying to block out all their worries so
sleep would claim them.

Qenn tried for a long time
but could never settle his thoughts. Once, he looked over to
Kandish, only to find her eyes shut and her breathing peaceful.
Good, he thought. As he stared at her, he began to think even
harder on his new idea, how important it was. He noticed then that
Kamen Ode was staring at him. He closed his eyes and tried not to
think about anything. But he couldn’t. He gave in finally and sat
upright.

He turned to Kamen. “It’s
pointless. You should sleep. I’ll watch for a while.”

Kamen Ode did not appear to
have heard the elf. He sat with his eyes focused on the dying
embers and his fingers slowly peeling a blade of grass in
strands.

“
Kamen? Do you want—” Qenn
tried again, but was cut off.

“
Qenn,” his deep voice
began gently, “when I was a young boy, my mother told me of her
power. She could see things before they happened, she explained.
Later, she told me how she was going to die and why. I told you
before how I felt, and how I ran, hoping it would change things. In
Skadar Port, she told me something else.”

Kamen tossed down the grass
and stared over to Qenn. He neither looked sad nor at peace, but
someplace in between. “She told me that no matter what, I stayed
with you. You would need me to help find the evil. She told me that
it might kill me, but I could not run anymore. I did not want to
believe her. I did not want to believe that she was going to die
that very night either. But she was right, Qenn. She was always
right.

“
After losing Prevost, her
words stung. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about everything she
has told me. I spent so much time running, hoping that I could
change her visions. But not any more. I don’t want to prove her
wrong, Qenn. This time, I want her to be right.”

Qenn said nothing. He
didn’t have the words. Kamen Ode just admitted that the trek
further would most likely kill him. He wished that Kandish had been
awake to hear it. She would see things his way then, so he thought.
“It’s late, Kamen. You should try to get some rest,
too.”

“
I will get you there,
Qenn. After that, you’re on your own.” Kamen Ode turned away and
laid next to the small fire pit he had built. He was asleep in a
matter of seconds.

Qenn stared at him for a
long while. His thoughts drifted from everything in his life, to
all he knew of Kamen Ode’s. Sometime during the process, his mind
relaxed and sleep overcame him.

It was a few hours before
dawn, when Kamen Ode brought them out of their deep slumber and led
them out to the trail he had found hours earlier. Qenn and Kandish
both thought that Kamen’s description of it was undervalued. The
trail was unmistakable, muddied to the point of believing there had
been no grass to begin with. They followed it north with no
hesitation; but with no real burning desire to find what awaits
them at the end of the road.

It was just after the sun
had risen, pushing away the darkness across the sky and land and
shedding a yellow and purple haze in its place, when Kandish asked
Qenn if he had changed his mind about leaving Kamen behind. Qenn
thought about it for a moment, then nodded to her. “I could not
leave him alone.”

They spent the remainder of
the day swatting the bugs that found them, talking little to each
other, and a whole lot in their minds. Kamen walked a few yards
ahead of them, his posture perfect; one hand with a fist, the other
with his long sword ready. His eyes were sharp and focused; he was
already accepting the death he knew was coming. But it would not
claim him easily, he swore. Kandish and Qenn walked together, and
yet so far in their thoughts. Kandish’s drifted ahead to what she
thought would be the end of the journey. What it would be like.
What it would cost them. Qenn on the other hand, kept his thoughts
focused now on the plan to leave them both. Leave them, he thought,
before they both die. It was the only way to make certain that they
were kept safe. Kandish had her power, he knew. But she was afraid
to use it. It was too high of a risk to let her carry on into the
darkness awaiting. The staff would be power enough to finish the
journey. He could manage alone.

He tightened his grip on
the staff, feeling slow throbs against his palm and fingers. He
enjoyed the sensation. It was the staff communicating with him, he
knew. It was the magic within the staff affirming his
premeditation. It was looking after him, he thought.
It wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

Midday passed on into
evening with no further sights of birds or anything else for that
matter. The land began to dry, though there were several small
swamps littering the area. As nightfall came they turned off the
beaten path and found a suitable place to rest. As Kamen went off
to do his usual scouting, Qenn laid on his side and announced that
he was tired. Kandish sat down next to him, stating that she would
wait for Kamen to return, when she caught the look Qenn was giving
her.

“
Qenn, are you
alright?”

Qenn closed his eyes and
tried not to think of the terrible ache in his heart. He remembered
the vision Shadox showed him and Tane. He was carrying Kandish, who
looked lifeless. The image terrified Qenn. It haunted him. “I love
you, Kandish. I would do anything for you.”

“
Qenn,” Kandish asked,
emphasizing each word, “are you alright?”

“
Yeah,” he said
unconvincingly. “Just tired.”

“
If you want to talk about
anything...” She stopped, watching the elf shake his head and roll
away so he was not facing her.

“
Get some
rest, Kandish.” He said it with deep regret. It hurt saying the
words. He knew what she wanted. But his mind was made
up.
It’s for the best. You’ll
see.

Kandish stared at him in
the dim light, unable to see his tears. She couldn’t get rid of the
feeling that something bad was happening to him. But she couldn’t
help him if he didn’t let her. In the morning, she thought, she
would do what was necessary to help him. She would not let him
simply slip away.

“
Goodnight, Qenn.” Kandish
said softly. “I love you, too.”

When Kamen Ode returned,
Kandish fell asleep next to Qenn. Kamen said nothing, resting down
next to them. He would wake one of them in a while so he too could
rest. They were close to finishing the mess, he knew. The air was
thick with decay and a foulness so plagued he could not begin to
imagine the darkness that created it. But soon he would find out.
Good, he thought bleakly.

A few hours later, Qenn sat
up and relieved Kamen Ode.

Minutes after, he walked
off into the night.