The Chronicles of Lumineia: Book 01 - Elseerian (29 page)

She laughed out loud and released his hand. "And it's good to know the two of you are
together
as well."

Taryn’s mouth opened but no sound came out while Liri began to sputter a protest, but she cut them both off, "Oh well, if not now then soon enough." Then she changed the subject before they could respond. "Come, let's have a seat and something to eat, shall we?"

Taryn nodded, relieved when she turned around and walked to the bar, calling out for someone to take over. She was too beautiful to look at, and it made him extremely uncomfortable. He was well aware of his difficulty in talking with women, but it had been a while since he had felt so utterly frozen. Not since the first time he’d met Liri in fact.  Just then Liri caught his eye in a way that suggested she could guess what he was thinking, causing him flush.

She fought to hide a smile. "She has that effect on most males, so don't feel bad."

He laughed off his tension, relieved that she couldn’t read his mind, and followed Aléthya into a back room furnished with a table and a few chairs.

"I'll get some food," she said, and a moment later returned with three plates of steaming soup and hot bread that smelled delicious.

Sitting down, they began to eat while Aléthya bombarded Liri with questions about Sri Rosen and her life there. Taryn found himself impressed at how skillfully she talked and ate at the same time. Then he realized she must have had training in etiquette and again wondered how a healer had ended up here.

When the conversation shifted to him, her first question was how he'd gotten into the city. Although her eyes were innocent, her mouth twitched, so he suspected she already knew. Avoiding eye contact, he explained how he'd managed to cross the waterfall and enter the storeroom, secretly pleased at her expression. He found himself feeling glad at how easy it would be to
try
to impress her, but one look at Liri's knowing smile and he quelled the urge to embellish the story.

When he finished, she leaned back and blew out her breath. "Unbelievable, Taryn. If I didn’t know Liri so well, I would have doubted your tale."

"Er . . . it seemed the only way in—but I am curious about you. How did you end up here? Especially since you're a healer, right?"

 She made a face, "
Was
a healer—no more."

His expression begged her to continue, so she settled into her seat with a frown on her lips—which were slightly more full than an elf’s—
By Skorn, get a grip, Taryn
, he told himself.

"Do you know anything about healing magic, Taryn?" Aléthya asked.

"Just that it is the only magic that can be found in any race, and that it uses the healing ability of the person’s own stored energy, weakening the sick or injured person but healing them earlier than the person would over time," Taryn responded, using almost the exact phrase that Daiki had taught on the island during his short lessons on magic.

"Correct," she said with a sigh, and he realized she was reluctant to tell her story.

"It's OK, Thia, you can trust him," Liri said, her expression soft.

Aléthya nodded and her smile returned. "There is a school of healing called the Sheleiam in the southern human kingdom of Talinor that many of the healers are sent to. I was sent at an early age because I showed an aptitude for the art. Excelling quickly, it wasn’t long before I'd mastered all of the healing skills they had to teach. One of the reasons I learned so much was that
I
have a natural healing ability. Disease has no hold on me and wounds would knit and disappear in seconds. The leaders of the Sheleiam tried quite hard to duplicate it, but to no avail."

"When their experiments started to become more . . . desperate, I escaped and returned to my home in Azertorn, and although my mother was a human I was accepted here. Soon after my arrival the queen got sick, and no one was able to heal her. I was asked to come. I was still young, and I wanted to remove the queen's disease so much that something awakened within me. In that moment I found that I had the ability to transfer the sickness to myself. I chose to do so, hoping that my own ability would destroy the disease. Despite the tremendous pain, my body healed and I survived. Everyone was more than grateful, and many began to come to me . . . but something had changed. I could no longer heal someone else unless I took their ailment upon myself. With all the pain and suffering I had to endure to help others, I . . . I decided to quit—to give up healing others."

She paused and Taryn realized he'd become lost in the tale. After a moment she sighed. "I haven't healed anyone in many years, although I do teach and help other healers frequently."

Silence returned until he asked, "So how did you end up with an e
lven
bar?"

Chuckling she said, "At one time this was my father's house, and after he died I decided to ask the Oracle what I should do with my life, live in Azertorn as an elf, or live as a human. She was very wise, but must have had a sense of humor. She told me it would be good to bring some human . . .
culture
. . . to the elves. I took her advice and turned my father's house into a pub." Then she laughed out loud. "The elven high council didn’t approve and tried to stop me, but I had healed the queen, so I had too many supporters." Her eyes lit up when she talked about the disapproval of the governing body.

Liri laughed with her and after a moment Taryn joined in. It was just too much to imagine the high council of the elves trying to stonewall the formation of a drinking establishment within their city.

Liri suddenly stopped. "Oh, before I forget, I was wondering if you'd mind helping my sister. She needs to heal someone who broke their leg, but it seems to be a complicated break. Do you mind assisting her?"

Already nodding, she said, "For your family, anything. I'll stop by this afternoon."

Liri thanked her and stood up. "I'm going to show Taryn the rest of the city. I'm sure we'll see you later."

The beautiful bartender stood up and embraced her warmly. "It was good to see you, and you had better believe I want to see the
two
of you again." Her eyes narrowed at Taryn. "I think you owe me a drinking game."

Liri laughed. "Now that I would like to see, although you might have met your match, Thia."

Taryn smiled and nodded amicably, hoping such a contest would never occur. "Thank you for the meal, Aléthya."

"Call me Thia," she said. "All my friends do."

With that they departed, leaving her to tend to other duties. As they walked through the door, Liri leaned over to him. "Well, what did you think?"

"Of Thia or the bar?" Taryn asked with a grin.

"Of both."

“The bar is nice, and I would love to come back . . ." Taryn trailed off, letting her fill in the blank, but she refused to bite.

"And her?" she asked with a smile, but he could tell there was something else she wanted to know.

"She was great, and
very
pretty." He paused for a second. "I'm sure she'll be like a sister to me." The subtle tension in her body evaporated at his words, but Taryn couldn’t figure out why.

"That's what she's like to me," she said, and then began walking briskly back to Le Runtáriel. "Come on, I want you to see the view from the top of the tree."

Her humor was infectious, causing Taryn to grin as he hurried to catch up. Reaching the trunk, they began to climb. For a few moments she pointed out features of the tree or the city that were visible, but after they passed the next tier she fell silent, allowing him to look at the view unhindered as they ascended. For three hundred feet they worked their way up the wide spiral staircase, passing quite a few elves that hurried past. At some point between the third and fourth tiers—fifth and sixth tiers, Taryn corrected himself, he kept forgetting the two sub levels—an elf racing behind them caught up and exclaimed breathlessly, “Lady Liriana, your presence is requested by the queen—
immediately
.”

Liri hid her confusion well, only twitching her eyebrows in a manner he knew well. “Inform her I will be there directly.”

The messenger bowed and hurried across a northern branch. Watching her response, Taryn was just beginning to understand certain nuances about her that he’d never really understood before. She’d always been adept at hiding her emotions and it finally made sense why.

Liri sighed deeply. “We are going to have to cut this tour a little short.” Then her face brightened. “Do you want to come with me? You could see the palace.” 

He smiled wide to let her know he wasn’t disappointed. “That would be great. I’ve wanted to see it since last night—but I can’t imagine it surpassing the House of Runya.”

She grinned. “Perhaps, but I think you will enjoy it, nonetheless.” Turning, she led the way down the same giant limb that the messenger had taken. 

Following in her wake, he fell to pondering her change in behavior. She had been so open and . . .
personal
with him before they arrived at Azertorn. Since they had arrived, he’d watched her shift from the Liri he knew, to the Lady Liriana. It was odd, seeing the other side of his long-time friend that he’d only caught glimpses of. At the same time it felt revealing . . . and unsettling. Something about the way Liri reacted to her role led him to believe she disliked her position. Glancing back to ensure the two guards following them were out of earshot he decided to voice his thoughts. “Do you not care for your status in the city?”

She glanced at him and sighed. “No,” she admitted. “In the thirty years of my youth here, I never felt free. Training on Sri Rosen with you and Trin and Mae was . . .
liberating
, and it is difficult to try to be myself with you here and also be the person everyone expects me to be.”

She leaned closer to him as she walked. “Don’t let me forget myself, will you Taryn?” She looked at him with her beautiful blue eyes full of the desperate pleading in her voice.

He felt his heart flutter, but did his best not to let it affect his response. “Of course Liri, what else would I do?”

She flashed him a dazzling smile, and Taryn saw some of the old Liri in her eyes. “Forever, then?”

He responded with a lighthearted laugh. “Deal. Now let’s go see what your queen wants of you. Then you can finish showing me your city.”

“It shouldn’t take long,” she said, an oddly triumphant expression on her face as they strolled down the massive branch.

Taryn nodded, but something about the way her lips tightened when she said it gave him a different impression. Whatever the reason the queen had summoned her, it wasn’t good . . . and Liri knew it.

Chapter 17:
The Queen and the Quest

The two of them soon arrived at the palace on the ninth level of Azertorn, not stopping to view anything else. With Liri preoccupied, Taryn said little, unsure of what to say. Instead of leading him to the massive and intricate doors at the front, Liri turned toward a small side door, relatively hidden behind strategically grown trees. Without hesitation, she slipped down the thin path and through the door. If she noticed the several hidden guards in the brush, she gave no sign.

Entering, she led them through various corridors and up several flights of stairs. As in the house of Runya, vines, plants, and trees grew everywhere, but it seemed that there were more flowering plants here.

“Why all the flowers?” Taryn asked.

“The queen likes them, and requested for additional flowers to be grown throughout the palace.”

Taryn nodded and allowed her to return to her thoughts. As he followed her soft footsteps, he compared the two homes. The sweet smell of different flowers hung thick in the air in the palace, and although it looked nice, he preferred Liri’s ancestral home. The House of Runya looked more
natural
, and felt more comfortable as a result.

Liri finally stopped at a door guarded by another couple of sentries. Bowing, she exclaimed, “Liriana Alasse Tel’Runya, and guest, to see the queen, as requested.”

With an openly hostile expression, one of the guards responded, “You may enter, but your . . .
guest
. . . must wait outside—and surrender his weapons.”

“Out of the question,” Liri snapped with no trace of softness. “If the queen wishes to see me, then my
friend
comes as well.”

“Liri I—” Taryn started to protest, but she cut him off with a fierce glance. He’d known her a long time, so he understood by her look that she
wanted
him to be with her when she met with the queen—with his weapons.

The guard shook his head and scowled. “I shall request the leave of the queen.” Striding down the hall and through another door, he left the second elf looking disgruntled at the situation. Taryn suppressed a laugh; one elf would be no match for him and Liri if it came to a fight. He caught her expression, and the glint in her eyes revealed she was thinking the same thing.

They waited for several minutes until the guard returned and said stiffly, “I ask your apology, my lady, you may now enter. She has been expecting you.” He seemed to hesitate and then added with a pointed look in Taryn’s direction, “You will be held personally responsible by the guards for his actions.” Liri nodded with a sly smile that only succeeded in infuriating the guard even more, but he opened the door without another word.

Following her into the room, Taryn took in his surroundings. They appeared to be in a sitting room large enough for several people. Just as in the House of Runya, trees had been bent as they’d grown to form living chairs in a circle. Gurgling water flowed in several small channels around the room, and countless flowers grew from the floor, walls, and ceiling.

“This is the personal receiving room for the queen,” Liri said. Then her lips twitched into a smile. “Be on your best behavior.”

“I will behave as well as I always do,” he replied, uneasy at the prospect of meeting the queen of a city he’d just snuck into.

She chuckled quietly in response but fell silent when a secret door on the opposite side of the room opened to allow three elves to enter. Ornate blue armor and two short swords identified the first man as a warrior. Even without the weapons, Taryn would have seen him as a fighter. The elf’s eyes were gray rather than blue and set in a lean and pointed face that appeared weathered by time and elements. His gaze never left Taryn as he strode into the room.