The tide of unmaking, p.22
The Tide of Unmaking, page 22
part #3 of Berinfell Prophesies Series
“I’ll go,” Charlie said. “Ain’t no Drefid never scared me.”
Grimwarden laughed nervously. “Maybe so, Charlie. But this is a nest of Drefids.”
“I won’t go alone,” Charlie said. “I’ll take a few of the Fletmarshalls with me, to watch my back.”
“You are to gather information, Charlie,” Goldarrow said. “Not engage the enemy. It is not wise to strike the nest while you are still inside.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie said.
“That leaves Asp,” Kiri Lee said. “Oh, and tens of thousands of enemies.”
Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. “I guess we’d better be the ones to take care of Asp. The Drefids stole us from Allyra and dumped us on Earth. It’s time we return the favor.”
“There’s a certain poetry to it,” Charlie said. “Don’t ya think?”
“Something else,” Tommy said. “Before we go back to Earth, we need to visit the Gnomes.”
“The Gnomes?” Grimwarden said. “Whatever for?”
“Asp somehow has their invisibility paste,” Tommy said. “We need some too.”
“That’s right smart, that is,” Jimmy said. “Fight fire with fire.”
“I like the sound of that,” Johnny said.
“Perhaps, Mr. Charlie and his team should visit the Gnomes as well,” Goldarrow suggested. “A little invisibility might be of use to your team in a Drefid Coven.”
“It might at that,” Mr. Charlie said.
“But,” Kiri Lee said, “what about the Seven becoming Seven again?”
Johnny piped up, “Maybe Taeva? She has gifts, right?”
“I wondered the same thing,” Tommy said. “Did you see that lightning she tossed around?”
“Aye,” Jimmy said. “Where is Taeva anyway?”
“With Bengfist and the remaining Saer,” Goldarrow replied. “Securing the enemy prisoners.”
“What do you think, Grimwarden?” Kat asked. “Could Taeva be our new Seventh Lord?”
“But Jett,” Kiri Lee said. “We still don’t know about Jett, not for certain.”
Grimwarden did not reply.
“I don’t think ya’ll need to worry about ole number Seven,” Charlie said. “You just let Ellos sort that out.”
“Agreed,” Grimwarden said. “But that is far from our only supernatural need. We must hasten back to Berinfell. Every aspect of our mission could change, depending upon what the scouts discover. The sooner we set them to the skies, the better.”
“But, Olin,” Goldarrow said, “The Nightstalkers? All of Berinfell will know, and the Conclave…”
Grimwarden snorted. “I care not for the Conclave’s misgivings,” he said. “And, though I may be sorely mistaken, I hope that the Elves of Berinfell will not begrudge the outstanding legion of warriors we bring for her defense. Once they learn of Asp and the threat he poses, I suspect all will be forgiven.”
“Lords,” Tommy said. “Spread the word. Feed and water the mounts, take such food as you can, and make ready for a long ride home. And…instruct each Elf to lift our needs to Ellos. Without His aid, we are doomed.”
22: Silvertree
“I THINK WE’VE GONE FAR ENOUGH west, Khali!” Flet soldier Scout Irethor yelled across the open air to his flying partner. The Scarlet Raptor screeched as he banked her a little closer to the other.
“Just a bit more!” Khali called back. “Look at that up ahead. It’s a beautiful sun shower.”
“We’re not here to sightsee, Khali!” Irethor growled. “Come on! We’ve plotted dozens of portals, and Grimwarden told us not to go past the western Gray Mountains. We’ve got to turn ‘round!”
Khali ignored him. As usual, thought Irethor. He gave his raptor the knee signals that would send her into a speedy, shallow dive. He did have to admit that the sun shower up ahead was rather breathtaking. The crimson sun was setting on a low mantle of gray clouds, but its rays had blasted into a storm front at just the right angle. The nearly horizontal cloud bank became almost purple in the sun. And the rain curtain beneath it sparkled like diamond prisms, yielding light of every color. Irethor was actually glad to get a little closer. He had fond memories of sun showers, of dancing with his mother on the cobbled stone streets of Berinfell. It was a warm time, a—
Irethor got a sudden chill. There was an odd burning smell in the air. The storm front was only a few hundred yards distant. And Khali was pulling away.
“Khali!” Irethor shouted. “Khali, come back!” He drove his raptor forward as fast as it would fly and banked her hard to try to cut down on the distance to Khali. It wasn’t until the bird tilted that Irethor saw.
His mind could not at first comprehend what he was seeing. Down on the peak of the foothills where the rain curtain drew a stark line across the ground…things were burning.
Trees, earth, streams, even rock—it was being consumed in blue fire wherever the rain band touched.
“Khali, NO!” Irethor screamed.
But it was too late. Khali drove her Scarlet Raptor right into the rain. There was a bluish flash, a sickly crackling sound, and she was gone.
“We have a decision to make before departing to the Gnomes,” Grimwarden said, gazing up into the cavernous Ailianthium ceiling. “Or perhaps, I should say, you and the other Lords have a decision to make.”
“Taeva?” Tommy asked.
Grimwarden nodded. He reached up and snapped a dark green apple, one of many dangling just above their heads. He took a monstrous bite that left his beard glistening. The Ailianthium’s apples had become legendary and were sought by all who called Berinfell home. “She is quite…gifted.”
“But she’s not Elfkind,” Tommy said.
“Don’t be too certain of that,” Grimwarden said.
Tommy grabbed an apple. “I thought she was Taladrim…she’s their Princess, right?”
“She is their Princess, but if there’s one thing she is not, it’s Taladrim. You saw the Taladrim survivors. Did you not note the differences?”
“Skin color, for one,” Tommy said. “Taeva’s frame…she seems more sturdy somehow, quite a bit more athletic.”
“Yes,” Grimwarden replied. “There is much to wonder about Princess Taeva. If my eyes are not deceived, I believe there is more than one race in her blood. Perhaps…several.”
“She might be part Elf?” Tommy said, his voice becoming higher and more enthusiastic than he’d meant it to.
After a bite that nearly split the core in half, Grimwarden said, “I think it’s a possibility.”
“Then you think we should invite Taeva to become a Lord of Berinfell?”
“Lord Felheart,” Grimwarden replied. “I gave you no such counsel. There may be many reasons why she should not become a Lord, but her race may not be one of them.”
Tommy rubbed his tired eyes. “I’m too exhausted to think about this kind of stuff,” Tommy said. “The marathon journey back from Thynhold Cairn just about ruined us. I don’t think I ought to be making important decisions right now.”
“I did not advise you to make the decision,” Grimwarden said. “At least not without inviting a greater intellect than your own. Take the matter before Ellos. Advise the other Lords to do likewise. Then, summon a council. And do it quickly. The minutes that slip by already feel to me like opportunities lost.”
An hour before the council, and Kat stood in her chamber staring at herself in the glass. Mirrors had once been her mortal enemy. They told a hard truth and, for many years, Kat could not bear the sight of her own reflection. On Earth, the bluish coloring of her skin had made her different, a monstrous curiosity. People never looked beyond the flesh to know the person she was. They just couldn’t get past the surface.
With a wave of her fingers, Kat brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Then, everything had changed. Someone told her she was an Elf. An Elf! Every once in a while, she still giggled at images of Keebler or Santa’s workshop. She wasn’t just an Elf. She was a Lord of Berinfell, called by Ellos, by…
God.
Those years on Earth, she’d thought she had a disease. All that time, she’d thought she was nothing. Worse than nothing. But Ellos had awakened her. He’d shown her that she was beautiful just as she was. He’d adopted her into His family and given her a mission. And now, another had come.
Taeva.
She’d arrived in Berinfell a refugee. Everything she’d ever known had been destroyed. She had become…different. Her exotic looks, while entrancing to the guys, were peculiar…otherworldly. Kat wasn’t sure, but Taeva didn’t look Taladrim. She didn’t look wholly anything. Taeva was an outcast standing outside the door looking in…wanting in. Kat thought she knew exactly how Taeva felt. Not that Taeva would ever admit it. No. Taeva would not knock. She needed an invitation.
Kat looked away from the mirror. She whispered, “An invitation I don’t think I can give.”
There was something about Taeva that didn’t sit right with Kat. And she had almost convinced herself that it wasn’t just petty jealousy. Taeva wasn’t part of the Lordly bloodline. Never in Berinfell’s six-thousand year history had the bloodline been broken. That alone would disqualify her, wouldn’t it?
But she has a gift. Kat couldn’t dispute that. Lightning bolts were pretty hard to ignore. And no one was supposed to have Lordly gifts unless born to the Lordly bloodline. So, if Taeva wasn’t part Elven, of the Lordly line, how did she get a gift? And the way her gift manifested itself…that thing she did with her arms, hands, and fingers. There was something creepy about it, like two spiders constructing an intricate web. Even now, it made Kat shudder.
And then there was the impact Taeva had on they guys. Sure, Johnny fell in love once a week, but Jimmy? And…Tommy? They just about tripped over themselves trying to gain Taeva’s notice and approval. Kat laughed quietly. Jimmy better get his head on straight, she thought. Or he might wake up one day with arms and legs tied to two different pack beasts, and Regis holding the whip. No, Regis would not abide Jimmy’s wandering eye. And…
Tommy! Kat growled as she stomped across her chamber and threw herself onto the balcony couch. Looking up at the descending moon, she whispered, “You and your stupid curly hair and those big puppy dog eyes. I thought you…I thought we, ah! Never mind.”
She stood straight up. “What am I doing?” she asked the Berinfell night. “The world is coming to an end, and I’m a Lord of Berinfell. I don’t have time for this high school…prom Princess…nonsense.” She wiped the tear from her cheek as if it was a drop of acid and stormed from the room.
She took the back stairs, a spiral that meandered down a wide castle turret and eventually led out to the Berinfell marketplace. Kat left the stairs and cut across Oak Narrows, a beautiful, tree lined gallery of paintings, carvings and sculptures. It also led past Taeva’s quarters.
Kat didn’t know how to ask what she was going to ask. But it seemed the only way to know about Taeva for sure.
The artwork called out to Kat, especially the seascapes. Kat thought of her mother back on Earth about the trips to the shore. Kat wanted to stop and look at the paintings, but need drove her on.
She found the row of small cottages along the east wall. Taeva’s was the fourth one in. The door was shut. Kat knocked. Taeva didn’t come. Kat knocked once more. Still nothing. Kat shrugged and started away.
A glimmer and a flash.
Kat turned and found herself staring through a high round window in Taeva’s quarters. Taeva was there, sitting on the end of a table. She had her legs crossed Indian style. Her eyes were closed. And she was doing that weaving thing with her hands. Arcs of electricity—some white, some dark red, some a ghostly green—danced between her fingers, stretching, leaping, intertwining with others.
What is she doing? Kat wondered. The only time Kat had ever seen Taeva perform those movements, it was directly before she cast a lightning bolt. Kat backed away from the window.
Kat knew she could do it, knew she could read Taeva’s thoughts. Maybe she should. It might give some answers. No, she thought. Taeva is a guest in Berinfell. I won’t do it without her permission.
Kat moved on. As she walked, she couldn’t help thinking about Taeva’s hands.
“And, ‘Behold!’ says Ellos. ‘I will not suffer their deeds forever. I will not hold back the Tide.’ And all the venom of eternity will rise up in a Tide of Unmaking. All that was, all that is, and all that might be—will be swept away…consumed utterly. Unless the Tide is turned, those living who wander return, and the Seven be Seven again.”
Tommy lowered the book and gazed from face to face, his fellow Lords seated on the thrones and then down to the cabinet seats where Grimwarden, Goldarrow and the Fletmarshalls were seated. No matter how hard he tried, Tommy found he could not keep his eyes from the empty throne seat between Kat and Jimmy. He took a deep breath and said, “The word of Ellos makes it clear that the Tide of Reckoning cannot be turned back…unless Berinfell’s Lords are restored to Seven. Are we agreed on this point?”
He waited, watched until he had affirmation from each Elf present. The Lords sat in hand-carved, wooden seats that had been stained to preserve the natural grain of the wood while enhancing it with a pearlescent shimmer. Before each Lord, stood a very old candle stand. A pristine white candle sat in the center of a tree canopy cunningly wrought of very pure silver. As it melted, the wax of the candle ran across the branches, here and there, following the curving boughs and glistening on the faux leaves. Some of the Lords stared curiously at these candle stands, but eventually all nodded agreement.
“So then, we are left with few options and little time. What do we make of Princess Taeva of the Taladrim?”
Johnny spoke first. “I don’t know about the rest of you,” he said, “But I say she’s it. She’s the Seventh. Have you seen her draw lightning between her hands and throw down bolts like that Roman myth god, what’s his name? Sleuth?”
Autumn said, “Zeus…and he was a Greek god.”
“Right,” Johnny said, frowning. “Right. Anyway, Taeva’s gift is as powerful as any of ours.”
“Powerful, yes,” Kiri Lee said. “But we have seen other powers at work in Allyra. The Spider King alone harnessed powers that almost defeated all of us…together. Almost.”
“Are you saying that Taeva’s powers are from the Dark Arts?” Tommy asked.
“No,” Kiri Lee replied. “Only that it is possible to have unique powers outside of what Ellos intended.”
“Guardmasters?” Tommy asked. “You’ve dealt with Drefids and Dark Arts since long before we returned to Berinfell. What do you say on this matter?”
Goldarrow leaned forward. “I have seen Dark Arts enchantments, and they often seem to rival the Gifts of the Lords. But there is always a difference…often felt in the heart rather than seen. The energy seems to drain rather than empower. It inspires fear, not awe. And generally speaking, the Dark Arts are not used for good.”
“That settles it, then,” Johnny said. “Taeva used her lightning for good at Thynhold Cairn.”
“That she did,” Jimmy said. “Saved me bacon, more ‘an once, she did.”
“We have, however, seen the Dark Arts used to masquerade as good,” Grimwarden said. “Meaning no disrespect to you, Goldarrow, and know that I agree with you wholeheartedly. But Wisps are a creation of the Dark Arts. We have all been fooled by the Dark Arts before.”
“Is she even an Elf?” Regis asked. “The Line of Lords demands that Elven blood flow in her veins.”
“I asked the same thing,” Tommy said. “But we don’t know. She’s not Taladrim, not pure Taladrim anyway.”
“Joost look at her,” Jimmy said. “Looks like she’s got a bit o’ everything in her. Broad-limbed like the Gwar, a little bit of their colorin’ too. But there are touches o’ Elves there. See her ears. They’re pointed like our—er, well, like ours would be if the blasted Drefids hadn’t gotten all scissor happy. Sure they slant back a wee bit more, but she’s got Elven blood, no doubt in my mind.”
“At least our ears are growing back,” Autumn said, fingering the arched projection of her right ear. “Not growing very fast, but still.”
“Have any of you asked her?” Goldarrow inquired.
“What?” several Lords asked at once.
Goldarrow tilted her head and frowned. “Have any of you actually asked Taeva if she’s part Elven?”
Silence filled the Throne Hall of Berinfell.
“What about you, Kat?” Grimwarden asked. “Have you used your gift on Taeva?”
Kat stiffened in her seat. “We are not at war with Taeva,” Kat said. “She is an ally. I will not read her thoughts without Taeva’s permission.” She swallowed. “I meant no offense, Guardmaster,” she said. “But I do not want to abuse the gift Ellos gave me.”
“I understand,” Grimwarden replied. “But it may be that we must know…depending on how you rule here today.”
“And that is what we must do,” Tommy said. “We must rule. Either Taeva joins us or she does not. If you have anything else to say on the matter, now is the time for it.”
“Her abilities compliment ours well,” Johnny said. “Especially mine. With the two of us on Scarlet Raptors, we could provide cover from the air twice as good as we’ve ever had before.”
“But she has not trained with us,” Autumn said. “She doesn’t know Vexbane or Nightform.”
“She fights well enough,” Jimmy said.
“But will she be content in Berinfell?” Charlie asked. “She may not have much Taladrim blood in her veins, but she loves her people. Wouldn’t she want to rebuild Taladair?”
“I don’t know,” Tommy said. “I guess we’ll have to ask that too.”
“She’s hot tempered,” Kiri Lee said. “She reacts rather than responds.”
