Ellas

Alex

‘So what does this line mean, then, Mr know-it-all,’ I asked Jain.

‘Know it all? That is a phrase I have not hear before, though its meaning and the insult it contains is quite obvious,’ Jain replied, testily. ‘But then, perhaps it is close to the truth, for after all I have studied —’

‘Stop there, old man. You try our patience at the best of times… answer my sister or I swear I shall teach you something that you do not know,’ Carthia said.

‘Yes, friend Jain. Answer Alex, I, too, find this line rather obtuse,’ Jalholm added

‘What was the line again?’ Jain asked, a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

‘You know full well, Jain. Carry on like this and I shall begin to treat you just as my sister does!’ Then, exaggerating my movements I held the book before me and ran my fingers along the words as I spoke, ‘‘To defeat him, you must first know what it is that he will do.’’

I didn't need to read the words, of course. I knew them all; every word was burnt into my memory. I even remember writing much of it, and watching Sarah write as her hand glided over the paper, her beautiful writing appearing behind her fingers as if by magic.

‘Know-it-all or not, I must admit, Alex, that I have no —’

Jain's words were cut off as a large object – a rock it first appeared to be – landed in the centre of the fire that we all sat around, a cloud of smoke, ash and burning embers almost covering poor Jain who sat the closest.

‘What the hell?’ I shouted, as we all jumped to our feet.

Carthia, Jain, Jalholm and myself stared at the quickly blackening object, an object that gave off the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh.

‘Kane!’ Carthia bellowed, even as he appeared amongst us, Tomas at his side, and others of our group spreading out around us in a defensive circle.

Kane stamped out the fire, and then, gingerly, prodded with his foot at the object that still smouldered in its centre.

‘A Nargu head,’ he said, questioningly, just as out of the darkness that was the bleak desert that surrounded our encampment, a cold and emotionless voice spoke out.

‘Our gift from our master, Kanteth. The head of the one who first took my arm. Fitting is it not? He sent me for you, Kanteth. I come for you… and all yours.’

Two knives flew from Kane's hands before the echo of those so very cold words had even begun, streaking towards where the voice had come from.

‘Luke,’ Kane said. ‘He has trained him quickly.’

‘How can you know that —’

‘It is he, Alex. Trust me, no other would dare come near as he has.’

Laughter, humourless laughter, echoed out of the darkness. ‘Knives? Really, Kanteth. Can you do no better?’ Then, over the sound of a horse's hooves clattering into the distance, the voice came again. ‘Remember, Kanteth, I come for you… Oh, I almost forgot. I believe that these are yours.’

Instantly, Kane leapt forward, shoving Jain to the floor as he snatched a knife from the air where, but for his push, Jain would have stood. Spinning he grasped me in his arms and pulled me close.

‘What?’ Was all I had time to say before I saw the agony on his face. ‘David, Kane are you okay?’ I said, even though I knew then what had happened.

‘I will be,’ Kane answered, his voice and agonising whisper.

‘Ah, that tells much, Kanteth. Much indeed,’ the voice said, and then the cold emotionless laughter took up again, slowly receding into the distance with the sound of the horses hooves.

Jalholm rushed forward to take Kane's arm, even as Thomas took the other. ‘Jain, help him. Heal him!’ He shouted, as Jain laboriously struggled to his feet.

‘He will heal himself,’ Jain replied, testily. ‘He will not let me near him… not unless his centuries of life have blunted his stubbornness.’

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

‘The knife, the knife is gone. It cannot be… where… where is the knife?’ Jalholm said.

‘It is his,’ Carthia said. ‘He has sheathed it. For now he needs to heal… he needs to rest. Set him down carefully. Jalholm, you come with me. We will end this pretender.’

‘No! That is what he wishes. You all stay here with me,’ Kane said, and then louder he continued, ‘Even wounded as I am, he fears me… as well he should!’

A chill went through my whole body as laughter again erupted from the darkness.

‘Fear makes one strong, Kanteth. A lesson you would do well to remember. Think on it Kanteth, for you will need all your strength when I come for you.’

Morning brought a cloudless sky, the sun again baking the already hard and barren landscape. Luke, if it was Luke, had not been heard from again, and slowly a watchful calm replaced the fear that had filled so many faces in the night.

Kane sat upright by the remains of the night’s fire. Sweat beaded his brow, and though I knew he tried to hide it, his pain showed in his every movement.

‘Was it really Luke?’ I asked. ‘It's only been two months since he was taken. Can he have been changed —’

‘It was Luke,’ Kane said, a finality in his voice that said there could be no arguing the point.

‘What then was it that he did last night? What was his purpose?’ Carthia asked, as she sat by my side drawing a whetstone along the length of one of her many knives.

I shivered at the sight, remembering how close Kane's very own knives had come to killing both Jain and myself.

‘What he did, he did at Dar'cen's bidding. All of it. He will keep a tight rein on that one.’

‘So again I ask, what was his purpose?’

‘A test? A warning? Who knows? It was the first move in what is to come. Now he knows now how much I value you all. And to one such as Dar'cen, who knows no such emotion, that is a great advantage indeed. A weapon to be used against me… to be used against us all.’

‘So what do we do now?’ I asked. ‘Surely we cannot just wait?’

‘Perhaps now is the time to again think on the meaning of those words you spoke so eloquently last night, Alex. ‘To defeat him, you must first know what it is that he will do.’’ Jalholm said.

Kane

‘You can each ponder the words as you ride, then,’ I said. ‘Tomas! Break camp.’ I pushed myself up to standing. God, now I know how Jain must feel, I thought. I ached everywhere, and the pain in my back was excruciating.

But that same pain, I knew, was quickly repairing the injury that he did with my knife. My own bloody knife I thought, angrily.

‘We run from this Luke?’ Carthia said, exasperation clear in her voice. ‘He is but one man, Kane. One man!’

‘One man, that had he been free to do so last night, could have killed you all. Only my presence stop that from happening. Dar'cen does not wish to risk his new weapon. He does not yet known Luke's capabilities. He does not know how he would fare against me. That is the only reason that we live this day.’

‘Ha! You could have defeated him. You know you could.’ Carthia blustered.

I met her eyes. ‘I honestly do not know, Carthia. Perhaps, that in creating this new weapon, I believe that Dar'cen has only one purpose in mind… to destroy or recapture me. And so he will have spared nothing in the changes he wrought in Luke. Nothing!’

I hesitated a long moment, my eyes still locked with Carthia's. ‘But I intend to find out,’ I said, quietly, for her ears only.

Carthia's eyes widened, and a scowl crossed her face. ‘No! No, Kane. You cannot!’

Heads turned to look at her.

‘Can't what, Sister? David... Kane, what can't you do? What is it you were planning? What did you say to my sister?’ Alex asked, as she leapt to Carthia's side, a protective arm enveloping her sister’s shoulder.

Strange, I thought, how soon I have accepted such a strange and unbelievable… miracle. ‘I do not ride with you. I will confront the creature Dar'cen has made of the poor boy, Luke,’ I said, attempting to fill my voice with confidence.’

‘You cannot!’ Carthia said, again, this time even more forcefully than her first outburst.

‘Carthia… but moments ago you regaled me with how I could easily defeat him. Last night you, yourself, were going to chase after him. It cannot be both… you either believe that I can defeat him, or you do not. Take your time with your answer, but regardless of what you say, this is something that I must do.’

‘No!’ Carthia said. ‘Anna bid to me watch and advise you, Kane. And this is foolishness. She… she would not allow you. She —’

‘Always, she said that I was stubborn, Carthia,’ I said, gently. ‘Many times, I relented and did as she said. But when my mind was made up, it was she who, if not gracefully, agreed with what I planned. So in this, take Anna's part if you must, but know that I will not be dissuaded.

'You ride today… all of you!’ I said, as I turned from Carthia.

‘Jalholm, I would have words with you in private, please,’ I said, as I walked to the rise that was our makeshift lookout post.

All night, the agony of the wound and that of the healing, had kept me awake. And, as I had done so many times before, I had used that time well. I had a plan now, well a glimmer of a plan anyway. One that, despite Carthia's words, was a plan that Anna would be proud of – a plan that was not a charge, fight, and then charge back out again.

I could not fight Luke; he would win, of that I was sure. Even worse, Dar'cen himself would come while we fought, and then… that would be the end. The end of everything. No, I could not fight him. But there was one chance, a slim chance, but one that would bring a smile to Anna's face.

‘Hurry, Jalholm. We do not have much time.’ I laughed as I said that last word. ‘Come, we must be away from the others. Carthia's hearing is good, but Tarnia can hear a deer's heart beating.’ I laughed again at my exaggeration, but in reality it was not too far not too far from the truth.

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The time with Jalholm was well spent. It was something that I should have insisted upon as soon as he and Alex came to Ellas. But then, I did not know that I would need the knowledge. I didn't even know that what my glimmer of a planned relied upon was even possible.

Would Jalholm guess at what I would do with what he had told me? After all the man was no fool.

But then, as long as he did as I had asked, and told no one, it did not matter.