Taylon (8 page)

The first week had been a killer, because Queig found
it almost impossible to motivate Chele to do anything. Eventually
though, she helped out. And now, after about a month of no
mistress, things were running quite smoothly.

Today had been especially profitable. Their inventory
was beginning to run low; so much so that Queig might have to try
his hand at designing a few pieces. Katrena usually provided all
their wares, but maybe the goblin would get the chance to show
off.

Chele also attracted customers. Her unique appearance
drew in the crowd. At first, she was shy, even seemed fearful of
the attention. Strange creatures were ogling her. But just like her
work ethic, she started to thrive on the attention. Queig sat back
and watched.

During the evenings, Queig tried to teach Chele a
little about everything. It first started with the jewelry, moving
next to the races, and then eventually on to weapons. She took the
most interest in weapons.

All her life, she’d said, she hadn’t even held a
dagger. “You are a girl and have no need for those things,” Chele
had relayed her mother’s ideas. But here in the Territories, Queig
taught her about the uses of a wide variety of weaponry.

She, of course, was clumsy at first, but quickly
caught on. Before coming to Katrena, Queig had worked at a
Minotaurian training camp. While not being able to wield the
weapons himself, he watched and learned as the recruits did. Now he
was passing that information to Chele.

Her aptitude was more toward bladed weapons. The
maces and the morning stars looked awkward in her hands. They did
try to do long range target practice with the bows, but Chele found
it difficult to aim correctly. Several of her arrows were lost and
one slightly injured a squirrel that happened to be watching from
the sidelines.

But put a sword in the human’s hands, and she was
remarkable. The two would fence whenever there was a free moment.
Queig usually bested her, but recently the tables were turning.

“The market was busy today,” Chele said collapsing on
a nearby seat. Queig was busy making a snack in the kitchen.

“I think I am too tired for any training tonight.”
The goblin’s voice echoed his sentiments.

They sat in silence, Queig eating.

“Has she ever left you this long before?”

Queig looked over at Chele. “Feeling a little concern
for Katrena, are you?” Instantly he knew it was the wrong thing to
say. Chele’s face went from passive to angry.

“If she stayed away forever, I wouldn’t care. But the
moment she is back, I am taking a sword across her throat.”

“You mustn’t.”

“Why else do you think I learned about the weapons?
She kidnapped me, killed my husband…ruined my whole life!” Tears
broke through and Chele covered her face. She hated to cry now. It
made her feel weak and like a freak because of her black tears.

“Mistress Katrena does do horrible things, and I do
not deny that you have a claim against her. But she is a skilled
assassin. You have only been training a few weeks. You
cannot
best her.” Queig tried to reason with the human. His
mistress would not die, even if he had to intervene. But the goblin
preferred to keep both women.

Chele dried her tears before giving Queig a long hard
stare. She stood, not saying a word, and then exited the room. The
goblin watched, worried what he might have done by teaching the
human how to use the weapons.

***

It had been another restless night for Taylon. There
was too much going on inside his head for his body to sleep. He sat
on a rock as the day was starting to break.

The rest of scouting party had come back empty
handed. No girl. The trail disappeared in the Territory woods.
Taylon thanked the men, still unnerved Euphoria knew his plans. Was
it a trick?

The wolves had not been bad last night, but there had
been a casualty among the soldiers. One cocky recruit thought it
would be funny to challenge one of the night beasts with a sword.
Needless to say, the wolf won, dragging most of the soldier into
the woods.

Taylon half-heartedly scolded the other men on night
watch, but his resolve was broken. It was not his guard anymore,
not his army. Euphoria controlled them all.

Taylon. Come.
A voice rang in his head, a
haunting tone of death and misery. Euphoria was calling him. He
stood, looking out over the broken wall, forests showing through
the leftover rubble. His heart felt like the wall.

Euphoria’s carriage, stationed farther back and in
the center, found protection among the maze of tents and fire. Some
soldiers were up, cooking a morning meal or tending to their
possessions. Most nodded to the captain as he passed by. Taylon
kept his head down to avoid their eyes. He wanted to get this
meeting with the queen over with quickly.

Next to the carriage, a large tent was set up. She
needed no guards because her tigers acted as her sentries. Nothing
passed by the beasts without permission from the queen.

Figaro lay curled up by the entrance. As Taylon
approached, the big cat’s head lazily lifted to track his every
move. It silently tracked him with its eyes as the captain came
forward. Taylon had to step around it to enter.

Come.

The cat eyed the captain, before laying its head down
again. With the demon in control, he didn’t know how the tigers
would react to him.

Inside the queen’s chambers, Daisy lay close by the
door. This tiger didn’t even bother waking up. Euphoria was at a
table, studying the maps. Her usual black dress hung in the corner
by a makeshift bed. She wore a robe of silver and violet.

“Your Majesty?” Taylon remained by the entrance,
hoping this would be short.

Euphoria continued to look down at the maps for a
full minute before looking up at Taylon. Her eyes were black, the
soul of the wraith peering through.

As you can see, we are not progressing like I
would have hoped.
Her voice was chilling and hard. Taylon did
his best not to let it affect him.

“We have destroyed the wall and scouted a fair amount
of the surrounding area….”

But that is not enough. I need magic and
sustenance if we are to conquer. These silly raiding parties are
bringing me nothing but petty race creatures. That gnome you so
desperately wanted to save was hardly worth the trouble of
devouring. I need more.
She crept from behind the table, her
eyes peering deep within Taylon. The necklace beneath her robe
glowed a dim blue light.

“What should our next move be, my queen?” He didn’t
care about her need. Maybe if her power lessened, then more of the
army would see the folly of this misadventure.

Euphoria came within feet of him. She reached out a
hand, caressing his cheek with a finger. He shuddered at her touch,
which brought a smile upon the lips of the creature. “Oh,
Taylon….”

“No!” And quickly he batted away her hand. He thought
he heard her cry out in pain, but as his anger simmered down Taylon
realized she was cackling.

So there
is
some fight left within you. The
self-pity hasn’t swallowed you up.
Euphoria turned her back on
him and went to the table.
Here is where we should plan a major
attack. It should cripple the races plus provide enough sustenance
for me until we can attack the elves.

Taylon could not see where she pointed and had to
come farther into the tent to see. “The marketplace? But from all
we have gathered, it would take most of our force to attack and
surround. Plus we have no idea what the response would be from
these creatures.”

Euphoria turned to him, still close.
I’ll give you
another day on intel, but tomorrow we march on Aladedas.
Her
breath was hot upon his neck.

A growl came from Figaro outside. Taylon turned to
look, but Euphoria gave the word to enter. A small, frightened boy
of twelve entered carrying a large pail of water. His eyes
nervously watched Daisy, who quickly sat up upon his arrival.

Instantly, Taylon’s heart went out to the boy, for he
knew the queen’s intentions. But before he could say anything, he
was escorted out by Euphoria. Her hand grabbed his shoulder and
ushered him toward the door.

Remember, one day. Then we take the prize.
And
Taylon was out. He had to act quickly because Figaro still blocked
the entrance. The captain made a move to go back in the tent, but
the big cat growled.

He gave up, knowing the boy was beyond his help. As
he stomped away in frustration and anger, Taylon hoped that
something new would come of this day.

Chapter Nine

“Wake up!” Ra’na urgently pulled at Jesset. The
Mordock slowly awoke to the image of the dark elf. He was startled
for only a moment.

“Wha…What’s wrong?”

“Kara. She’s gone!”

“What?”

In a matter of moments, the whole house was stirring.
Jesset quickly dressed and began searching outside. Hambone was
busy checking every place inside. Ra’na didn’t know what to do.

“She’s not nearby. Couldn’t find any animals to help
yet either.”

“Didn’t find anything except some old clothes of
mine.” Hambone said as they regrouped in the house.

“Who saw her last?” Ra’na asked.

“I think she was still here after we sent Reggie on
his way. But we were all sleepy,” Jesset recalled.

Hambone thought. “She did seem somewhat upset that
the soldiers were out there. I remember her saying it was her fault
or something.”

“Oh, no…you don’t think.” Ra’na trailed off, but the
other two just looked at her. “You don’t think she was going to
turn herself in to the queen?”

“Why would she do that?” Jesset asked.

“Maybe she went to look for Snow,” Hambone said
uncertainly.

Ra’na was at a loss, but knew they had to go and
search for her. Quickly they scarfed down some leftover biscuits,
and then headed out. Hambone brought his club for protection, while
Ra’na had a hidden blade on her.

Kara left no obvious trail, so they decided to head
toward Snow’s house. From there, they would try the wizard’s tree.
Off in the distance they heard a loud explosion. Ra’na climbed a
nearby tree to get a better view of what was going on.

About two miles off, toward the wall, black smoke
billowed from the trees. Someone had set the forest on fire.
Damn Kara, where are you?

***

Ynob, Snow, Fret, and Gantha started the morning off
quickly. The previous night had seen some complications. Ynob
wanted to do more research on the ring before he left. The elf
decided to assist and soon the two were deep in an argument.

Fret talked with Snow. He was amazed about her race
and ability to shift into an animal. Snow seemed to like the
attention and actually flirted with Fret. The wizard was still her
love, but she thought it was fun to be the center of attention.

Before the group knew it, it was dark. They conceded
on leaving first thing in the morning. Gantha and the wizard stayed
up late, as their argument wasn’t resolved. Snow turned in early,
while Fret went exploring. There was so much he wanted to touch,
pick up, fiddle with, but he recalled the wizard’s warning. Fret
wasn’t sure the magic man could turn him into a goose, but he
really didn’t want to press his luck.

Finally, sleep overcame the charm and wonder and Fret
collapsed on a nearby chair. In the morning, that is where he found
himself still. Snow had come out and covered him up sometime during
the night.

After a small meal, the four of them found themselves
outside in the forest. Ynob had packed a few things, the tome and
ring, away in a pouch that easily fit into his pocket. The wizard
winked. “I like to travel light.”

Before Lourak left, he took the horses to a stable in
Aladedas. Since Snow’s house was closer than the market, they
decided to make it their first stop.

CAW! CAW!

Reggie landed in a nearby tree next to Gantha. The
party looked toward the crow that held out its leg.

“Really…the council needs to get a better method of
sending a message.” Ynob sneered as Gantha retrieved the note.

“It’s not from the elves. It’s from Ra’na.” Snow came
forward to read the note. The crow watched them impatiently.

“Human soldiers in the Territories? Euphoria?” Snow
said aloud. The wizard’s face instantly went stiff at the name.

Fret came forward. “The queen is in the
Territories?”

“Ra’na says the wall has been breached and the humans
are attacking. But that doesn’t make any sense,” Snow said, looking
at the rest of the group. She then noticed the wizard. “Ynob?”

“It’s back.” Two words that instantly resonated fear.
Fret stared between the two, unsure of what was going on.

The crow cawed, but everyone ignored it.

“Um, what’s back?” Gantha asked, shooing the crow
away as it tried to peck at his hand.

It was Snow that spoke, but not in answer to the elf.
“But, how? Kara drove the wraith out of Euphoria.”

Ynob finally shook out of his shock. “I don’t know,
but this definitely complicates things.”

The crow tried to get someone’s attention by cawing
and flapping its wings. Gantha finally turned around and yelled at
the bird. “What do you want?”

“Ra’na promised it some of her biscuits,” Snow said
softly. She then spoke to the crow. “I’m sorry; I don’t have any
with me. If you meet us at my house later I can give you some.”

With a disgruntled squawk, the bird flew off. Fret
watched it go up and then disappear among the trees. That was when
he noticed the odd smell.

“Does anyone else smell smoke?”

***

Taylon was with a scouting party when he heard the
explosion. He was much closer to the blast, and felt some of the
heat from it.