Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians Read online

  “I’m sorry you caught me in a panic.” Aryaunna looked down at her sword, ashamed to look at him.

  “You’re embarrassed?” he guessed accurately. She shrugged, not looking up. “Ary, look at me.” Hesitantly she did. “To kill without remorse is to be without heart. I hope you never find yourself taking a life without it hurting your heart.”

  “Is it wrong, that if I were faced with the choice again, I wouldn’t change anything?” He shook his head no. “It seems like it should be… wrong, I mean.”

  “This is a world of things that should be that are not.”

  The two of them sat in silence for a moment as she let herself absorb his words, as well as what all had happened. A heavy sigh let out from her lips as she sat back, her exhaustion was catching back up to her, but this day would see no soon end. “You know, this means we have to go to Kenan.”

  “At your ready,” he assured her.

  Elizabeth woke slowly; more relaxed than she thought she’d be hearing a soft snore that she’d not expected. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t alone, and it wasn’t Aryaunna sound asleep on the floor. It was Allos. She also realized then that her hand was hanging down from her bed against his chest, which rose and fell steadily with heavy breath. She would have moved, but his hand laid over hers.

  As her eyes adjusted, she looked around for her sister. Aryaunna was nowhere to be seen. Since they’d come to the Hollow they often shared a room, but there were many nights Aryaunna never made it back from whatever training she was undertaking.

  This was not the case that day, though. It was slow to come back, but she remembered Allos coming to get her in the middle of the night, taking her to see Aryaunna in the arena. She remembered her sister telling her that Derric had found them. Allos had walked Elizabeth back, but he’d gone again not long later.

  He’d argued with her when he insisted Raif stay outside her door. “Elizabeth,” he’d said, placing his hands upon her forearms to force her attention. “I cannot know for certain no one else is looking for you this night, which means I cannot in good mind leave you alone, unprotected. Aryaunna calls for my aid, I ask that you don’t make me choose.”

  He’d stood very close to her, longer than he should have before he left at her sister’s call. She’d not heard him come in the night, but she’d woken once and knew he was there. It seemed that he’d chosen to stay. At least he was finally resting, she thought.

  A light groan rumbled through his chest as his body stretched out and flexed. Dark circles shadowed his eyes. Even in sleep, he seemed exhausted. She wondered how long he’d been back.

  As soon as his hand moved, she pulled back. He sat up slowly, running his hand back and forth over his head as if to wipe the sleep away. She sat up behind him, keeping her legs curled up under her beneath the heavy blanket. There was a small fireplace burning the remnants of a heavy log. Allos had cared for the fire before lying down. Judging from the size of the fire and amount of coals, it had been burning for about three hours. “You don’t sleep much,” she noted accurately.

  “Sometimes I do.” Without turning his body, he looked back over his shoulder at her.

  “What happened last night?” Elizabeth wanted to know why Aryaunna had needed him.

  “The boy will not be bothering anyone again, if that’s what you mean.” Slowly she nodded. Her head was pounding. Sitting up had made it worse. Leaning back into the wall she stared at the dwindling fire. “You don’t seem the type to relish in the death of anyone, but I thought you may still be relieved.”

  Elizabeth didn’t answer him. Her hand came up, rubbing her forehead. Slowly her fingers worked into her hair, massaging slowly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Aside from the fact that my sister killed a man last night? Nothing you need to worry about,” she didn’t sound snide or angry, just incredibly weary. “Where is Ary?”

  “You don’t have to worry. Lena’s been with her all night.” As he turned to face her, Elizabeth’s eyes closed. “Elizabeth?”

  “Find her. Find my sister.” Lying down over onto her side, she clutched her head tighter in her hand. Allos stood over her. Reaching down, he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “Please, Allos, just go get her.”

  The touch of his hand fell away. A moment later she heard her door open and shut.

  Elizabeth woke to her sister and Mayla seated on the familiar straight-back chairs. They were sitting quietly, watching her. “What did you see?” Aryaunna questioned.

  Being a Seer was both a blessing and a curse. Though usually, it was just a curse. The visions were always accompanied by headaches, but as the years had carried on they’d become much worse. Since coming to the Hollow, and first being touched by the Drow blood, her visions were fewer and further between. They were also more intense, vivid, and debilitating.

  The first vision she’d seen when coming to the Hollow had been the worst physically. The blood had sent her over the edge. Elizabeth had told her sister that she’d seen the Church, riled over the death of one of their priests. It had been a lie.

  “I saw the death of a woman, and two others. They were being burned at the stake. I can still taste the smoke.” Still feeling dizzy, she hadn’t sat up yet. Aryaunna stood and went to the small table by the door that held a pitcher of water. Pouring a cup full, she took it to her sister, kneeling in front of the bed.

  Holding Elizabeth’s arm, she helped her sit up, and placed the cup in her hands. Rather than drinking all she could do was stare at the cup in her hands. “This will be soon…” After a moment she looked at her sister pointedly. “I couldn’t see you, but there was a distinct knowledge that you were close, and that this will happen soon.”

  Standing, Aryaunna folded her arms over her chest. In just weeks Elizabeth’s sister had changed a lot already. It wasn’t how she looked, though she was dressing differently in their borrowed clothes, and her sickly thin body had filled out with defined muscles, but the look in her eyes. She understood all too well what she’d become, what she’d have to do and what would be expected of her. Elizabeth had kept herself blinded, preoccupying herself so heavily with Mayla’s teachings when Aryaunna wasn’t training for battle that she’d not let herself see the changes. Looking up at her sister just then though, it was impossible to deny.

  There was the given knowledge that hours ago her sister had at least aided in the death of another, no matter how horrendous that other had been. It wasn’t that alone though. The young woman that was her sister was growing into something much more. A part of that was quite simply terrifying to Elizabeth.

  “We learned something from him.” Him being Derric. Elizabeth looked down to the cup in her hands and finally took a long drink, though she was careful to look at nothing at all. “There is a woman in Kenan. She’s telling stories of a prophecy… The prophecy of the Emissary. The Guardians’ Emissary.”

  “Then it’s her that they’re going to burn. The other two must have aided her in some way.” It was easy enough to make the leap. The woman would be labeled a heretic. Any heretic would be punished by death somehow, and it would be as public as it would be gruesome.

  “I don’t suppose there’s some way to talk you out of this?” Aryaunna answered the question with a knowing, but apologetic look. “I didn’t think so,” Elizabeth said with a sigh.

  “What else did you see? Was there light in the sky? Pitch of night?” Aryaunna questioned. Any guidance at all could help them save the three. She wanted to speak to this woman about the prophecy.

  “It was pitch of night, the only light came from the three pyres. I saw no light of moon.”

  Aryaunna graced her sister’s cheek with a light kiss. “Thank you, Elizabeth. I have to go speak to Allos.” Without pause, she made a swift exit of the small room.

  Mayla leaned forward once Aryaunna had gone. She’d not said a word in all this time. “I think it’s time we put to work a stop for these visions. Your body cannot continue to take this abuse for much
longer, child. You feel this. You know this to be true. It’s killing you.”

  “Yes, I fear this truth.” Elizabeth looked to Mayla, pleading. “Please don’t tell Ary. She has too much that burdens her now.”

  “I would never willingly add to the weight upon your sister’s shoulders.” It was a vague declaration at best.

  In little time, Allos had become more than her trainer but Aryaunna’s mentor as well. He was her guide, her steady hand, and he was fast becoming a real friend. They stood together inside a storage room filled with weapons. It was too empty to be called an armory.

  “You’re making a mistake,” no affliction was in his voice as he warned her.

  Her brows pinched together as she looked at the sword in her hand. “We have to be armed. I know it’s unwise for it to be obvious, but what else would you suggest?”

  “I don’t mean the sword. While you’re right, that is unavoidable. I mean that you don’t want anyone else to come tonight. Most all of the guard will be on alert. The three of them will be under constant guard. You’ve no idea how the villagers will react. As horrible as the thought is, you cannot forget that there are many people in Kenan who will be there just to watch them burn,” Allos lectured.

  Aryaunna laid the blade onto a high table carefully. Eyeing its surface closely, she counted the scuffs she’d added to the simple blade. It had been cleaned of Derrics blood thoroughly so that it would not rust. Still yet, she remembered the crimson stains so vividly it was almost as if they were still there. “I understand you don’t know everyone here very well yet, with all your time spent training, but you have to trust them, Ary.”

  “You think I don’t trust the Drow?” Surprised by his statement, she looked over to him. He said nothing. “It’s not that I don’t trust them, Allos. It’s quite the opposite.” Turning her back to the table, she braced her hands on the surface and lifted herself up onto it.

  “Yes, I train nearly every waking moment. I train with you, Lena, and Raif has been good to help me learn the woods. Young Veyn has taught me to better care for Sita. Ballos has taught me how to hunt, and how not to.” Allos chuckled. “Mayla, how to treat the sick and care for wounds.” She’d been looking at her feet as she’d been talking, thinking about the many people who’d become her friends.

  As she took pause she looked up at Allos. “It’s not that I don’t trust them. I do. I trust them with my life, as I can only hope they will come to trust me with theirs. I am the Guardians’ Emissary but it is my purpose to one day free these people, and thousands of others like them. I must protect them. The purpose of saving this woman and the two that are set to die with her, whoever they may be, is not completely unselfish. She speaks of the prophecy. She may know something that can help me. Not only that, but she is set to die because of me. Me, Allos! How can I ask these people to risk their life for me, when there is no benefit to them? It’s bad enough I’m dragging you along.”

  “Dragging me?” He chuckled as he picked up a long knife and examined it. “Hardly.” Satisfied with his selection, he slid it down into its sheath and pushed it down into the mouth of his boot. “They do trust you, Aryaunna. They trust that you want to do the right thing, and that is precisely why they want to help you.”

  He looked up at her pointedly. “Did you hear me? They want to help you. However, they can’t do that if you won’t let them. Raif has already asked when we’re leaving. He wants to be there. He wants to be there for you, Aryaunna.”

  Raif had bid himself to take care of Derric’s body, but Aryaunna had insisted it was her task. She’d caused his death. He’d been a gruesome excuse for a human being, but he’d been made that way by men much worse than he. He deserved the respect to be put at rest. Though perhaps nothing else. Raif had helped teach her which wood would last the longest but burn hot enough to render Derric to nothing but ash.

  “From what I understand, Lena is preparing as well,” he continued.

  “Lena cannot come,” she snapped vehemently. “She’ll be recognized. If we’re caught, if Lena is caught, they will torture her in ways I don’t wish to imagine.” The Drow could disguise their appearance to seem human. However, their human façade was distinct to the individual and couldn’t be altered.

  “The same could be said for all of us,” Allos kindly reminded.

  “She will be easily recognized. She worked in the fields for a time. Many of the villagers would have seen her.” Without saying a word, his eyebrow arched as he gave her a look that spoke more than needed to be said. With a sigh, her mouth puckered into a frown. “Most of my years were restricted to the Church. Elizabeth could leave because they knew she would come back if they kept me there. Still yet, I’ll cover myself.”

  “She cannot do the same?” A stern, admonishing look set about him. As his chin pointed down, his brow rose up in question.

  “Not this night.” Easing herself from the table, she stood at his shoulder. “We’ve gathered supplies. We have hours till dusk. I need some time to prepare, and you’ve not slept much if at all. I ask that you do so before the dusk comes.” With nothing more to say, she strode from the room.

  A soft knock rapped Elizabeth’s door. Mayla had bid her to rest for the remainder of the day, refusing her aid with preparing a special castor oil she’d been working on.

  Elizabeth had been sitting in her bed, leaning back against the wall so that she could watch the fire. Drawn by the sound, her head turned to the door. “Come in,” she beckoned. Though she was now dressed, she remained wrapped in a fur throw that usually lay folded at the foot of her small bed.

  Darkness filled the halls. Korena had yet to light the lantern. Pitched into darkness, she couldn’t see him even once the door opened. Her fire had burned down to coals despite the ready logs. After opening the door, he hesitated to enter. “You can come in, Allos.” She hadn’t seen him with her own eyes, but an entirely different sense she possessed.

  As he stepped inside, he eased the door shut behind him and reset the latch to keep it closed. Turning to face her, his head bowed in greeting. “I came to see if you were you feeling better?”

  Bringing his hand up, he pushed back his hood as he kneeled beside the fire. Carefully he stacked more wood. When it was placed just so, he leaned forward and blew gently against the coals.

  Elizabeth watched this without answering him. Like magic, the embers caught the logs and caught them to a steady blaze. “Magic…” she whispered, with just the slightest of smiles tugging at her lips. He looked up at her from his kneeled place. “It’s everywhere here, yet it’s not so often one even realizes what it is they’re seeing.”

  A tug pulled his mouth up to one side as he warmed his hands, rubbing them together near the burning gold flames. “Life is magic. It’s not just here. It’s everywhere. The world is filled with it.”

  “Maybe it used to be. Or maybe Kenan is just a void.” Her shoulders shrugged heavily, as if weighted by some great, unseen force.

  “It’s there. It’s just been buried into darkness.” Their eyes remained locked on one another. “She’s going to be fine. I will keep her safe.” He wasn’t a Seer, nor a mind reader, but he could read people. It was easy to see the worry in her eyes. The strain of a life time of worry, with the assured knowledge that such stress would never give Elizabeth a day of peace. “You don’t trust me?” He stood slowly, still rubbing his hands together.

  “I do. I trust you. I trust Mayla, Korena, and everyone else here that I’ve met. While I believe that you will do everything in your power to see her back safely, I cannot trust it to be enough. Nor can I trust that you would return with her.” Her eyes closed for a minute. She was focusing on something.

  “You’re trying to see,” he guessed accurately.

  She didn’t answer, but waved him to come closer. Reaching her hand out for his, she kept her eyes closed. “Sit.” Warm fingers pressed into her palm. Feeling her cool fingers, he wrapped both of his hands around to incase her hand inside of his. He
started to kneel but she shook her head. “Next to me.”

  Mild surprise widened his eyes as he sat on the edge of the small bed beside her. Watching closely, he saw her eyelids flutter. Her lashes seemed to dance as if in a dream, though she were very much awake. “You wouldn’t hesitate to give your life for my sister. For your Emissary.”

  “She is also a friend,” he amended.

  “She will be more than that though. More than your friend, more than the Emissary.” Elizabeth’s hand clutched his tightly. Her eyelids were fluttering furiously as the vision took her. “You will travel by her side for years to come. And others. Close to her. She is your sister, not by birth but still by blood. Spilled blood. The blood of thousands, more.” Her shoulders began to shake as her body trembled, strong tremors wracking her to the core. “So much blood. Blood will spill for a great peace. A great peace that she knows she will never see yet will never stop fighting for.”

  Suddenly Elizabeth began gasping for air like she was choking. “Elizabeth, snap out of it!” He let go of her hand to grab her shoulders, pulling her to him. A hand slid up to her cheek, leaning her over forward with his support. His other arm wrapped around her, his hand rubbing her back slowly. “Deep breaths.” Her hands clutched onto his arm tightly.

  They sat like that until she had stopped coughing. Once she was able to relax, he leaned back, pulling her closer. His back braced against the wall as she lay down against his lap, still holding onto his arm, keeping him close to her. The hand at her back tangled up into her hair, spinning tendrils of crimson red curls round and round his fingers as they sat there watching the fire. Silken blood.

  “I’ve been pushing them all day. Trapped in this room, unable to help her, unable to think about anything else. I let them come. It wasn’t until I touched you that I could see her at all.” His palm lay face up in her hands as she traced the lines and scars lightly.

  “Should you be touching me then?” He was weary, but didn’t pull away.