Dragon Sword (The Dragon Lord’s Bride #2)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Was it wise to let her go?” Will asked the general.

Terve set his hands on the edge of the pedestal and a bittersweet smile slipped onto his lips as he stared at the body of his soldier. “Would you have me so defy the king’s orders that I would hold his high priestess hostage? I have disobeyed him enough now to get me thrown into the dungeons for a hundred years.”

“But all we want to do is help,” I insisted.

The general pushed off from the pedestal and turned to face us. “I am not sure anyone can help us now. The gods have ignored our pleas and our ancestor does nothing to alleviate the suffering of my man.”

Ancestor? I thought as I studied the ring of stones that surrounded us.

Will smiled at the despondent elf and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Patience, general. We only just arrived and haven’t had time to assess the problem.”

Terve lifted an eyebrow. “Then you believe you can find what ails the woods and my man?”

“Don’t you believe we have a chance?” Will countered. “Why else would you risk your reputation by telling us all this if you didn’t believe we could save him?”

The general studied him for a long moment before a ghost of a crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “‘Hope’ would be a better word than faith.”

“Then continue having hope and you carry your man back to the capital,” Will suggested as he half-turned to me. “My wife and I will inspect the area where the monsters have been most prevalent if you would tell us where they were seen.”

Terve stretched himself to his full height. “I will tell you where it is as a last favor.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Last favor?”

“His Highness will hear of my treachery and upon my return I expect to be thrown into the dungeon, or worse,” he explained as he looked between us. “Thus I leave my man’s life in your hands to help find a way to save him.”

Will bowed his head to the general. “We will do everything in our power to find a quick solution to this tragedy.”

A genuine smile appeared on the grim general’s lips. “That is all I can ask. You will find the source of the troubles southwest of here near the old forest road. There is a blackened spot where the blood of the creatures killed the grass. The mark is impossible to miss.”

Will nodded. “Thank you. We’ll go there now to see it.”

The general took a step back and bowed low at the waist to us. “You have my eternal gratitude, Lord Thorn.” The rest of the contingent of soldiers also bowed.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Will promised before he took up my hand and led me away.

Relief washed over me as we left the oppressive circle of stones, but the heavy scent of the woods was hardly better. The tight circle of ancient trees meant we were forced to walk down the aisle between the soldiers and out onto the path. Will then took us at a sharp right off the path and into the thick trees.

I looked over my shoulder as the clearing disappeared. Terve gently lifted his ailing soldier in his arms and walked down the aisle where his men followed behind him, silent and grim.

I really hoped we would be able to help them.

The silence between us was oppressive as we ventured through the dark, heady woods. Now was a good time to start asking the questions that bounced around in my head. “Who was that Lady Akka person?”

“A most powerful sorceress who answers only to the king,” he explained. “Her family has always been strong with magic, and her elder sister was most especially powerful.”

“Why isn’t she the king’s high priestess?” I pointed out.

He pursed his lips. “She was banished from the city five centuries ago for defying the will of the previous king.”

“How?”

“She attempted to use forbidden magic she discovered in the archives. The spell she tried to cast at the ring of stones would have drained the forest of its energy and placed it within her.”

“Ring of stones? The place we just left?” I guessed.

“The very same.”

I recalled the strange chill I’d felt and shuddered. “That’s not a very nice place, is it?”

“Holy places tend to have a strange air about them,” he agreed as he looked me over. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “I’m fine except for all the questions bouncing around in my head, like what were Terve and the priestess saying about their ancestor.”

“According to legend, the ring of stones is the body of the first king of the elves,” Will explained as he helped me over a fallen log. “The king fought a great battle against a terrible evil and was victorious, but he was mortally wounded himself. He instructed them to seal his body in stone and once a year a solemn prayer would be spoken over them in commemoration of his victory.”

“So this ancestor can heal peoples’ wounds, too?” I guessed.

Will paused still holding my hand and shook his head. “I’ve never heard of that working.”

I cocked my head to one side and blinked at him. “Then why were they doing that ritual back there?”

“Desperation,” he explained as he led me onward. “The ancestor has never been called upon to perform any miracles, much less to help a wounded man. What we witnessed was the last attempt of a people without ideas.”

“Do you have any?” I asked him.

He stared ahead as he sighed. “Unfortunately, no. I’ve never seen such wounds as were on that soldier nor do I know of any magic that creates such putrid beasts.”

“So we’re hoping to find some clues at the spot along the, um-”

“Old road,” he finished for me. “The capital of the elves is now their only settlement, but four millennia ago these woods were dotted with their settlements. Many of the small towns were situated along the old road that ran between their land and the land of the humans.”

“When did they abandon all those places? When they stopped trusting people?” I guessed.

He nodded. “Just so, and now they have only their capital in which to live.”

I wrinkled my nose. “It’s a pretty place but I wouldn’t want that to be my only option.”

Will smiled down at me. “Do you not like their marbled halls and gardens?”

I shrugged. “It’s nice, but, well, it’s all the same. The only place that’s different is Alisa’s house.”

My companion nodded as we diverted around a pile of mossy rocks. “The elves are very proud of their lineage and customs, and they live long enough that change is abhorrent to them.”

I shuddered. “I hope I don’t get like that. . .”

Will squeezed my hand. “I will give you sights you have never seen and many adventures that will keep you preoccupied for a lifetime, even one as long as ours.”

I grinned up at him and nudged his arm with my shoulder. “Is that a promise?”

He nodded. “That’s a promise.”

“Then I’ll keep you at your word for that long,” I teased as I looked around us. “Speaking of a long time, why are we walking? Can’t you fly us to the old road?”

“The magic barrier around the elf kingdom prevents anyone from flying into and out of their lands. The old road lies outside their current boundary so flying is impossible until we pass through the wall.”

“Won’t we get lost, too, if we don’t have an elf leading us?” I wondered.

He shook his head. “You have Alisa’s blessing with you now. The road will always be open to us.”

I cocked my head to one side. “Her blessing?”

“An elf may cast their magic over a human and that blessing grants them the ability to venture to the city,” he explained. “I already had that blessing but you didn’t.”

“So can that blessing be revoked?” I asked him.

“At any moment.”

A sly smile slipped onto my lips. “Has Alisa ever revoked yours?”

He grinned. “Once. We were visiting the city when she was still a child and she threw a fuss over my not buying her a treat, so she revoked the welcome.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “What happened?”

“The protection magic in the elven realm threw me out.”

My mouth dropped open. “Threw you out? Like out of the city?”

“Out of the realm,” he told me as he winced at the memory and rubbed his posterior. “It was quite interesting to be physically pulled out of the city and across the vali, through the woods, and onto the road. My muscles still ache at the memory, though that was several millennia ago.”

“Remind me not to make her mad. . .” I murmured as we continued our trek through the woods.

I was very glad when Will stopped us and looked to and fro. Nothing was visible to my eyes but I felt a strange vibration in front of us. “This is the edge of the elven territory,” he explained as he nodded ahead of us. “The road is just ahead.”

We made to move forward when a scream echoed all around us.