Lost in the Light Ch. 12

"My lady has grown cold hearted," Valel whispered to Iala in Elthairin as they ran along at a brisk pace behind the others. Rollis led the way with his crudely restrung bow, and Lysia guided him in the direction the creature went. Tamain, however, brought up the rear and was barely able to keep up with them. He was still mentally exhausted from channeling excessive amounts of magic saving the Harpai woman. But his instructions had been understood; if this was a demon spawn, he was their only weapon against it and he needed to be ready. So he lagged behind, and rested his senses.

Iala clenched her jaw and did not respond. Valel thought that perhaps it was the embarrassment of earlier, or his own defiance against her, or the fact she was traveling with two Zecairins and a traitor, but she hadn't said a word since their joint venture began. Valel glanced behind him to find Tamain still there. He could tell by his vacant gaze that Tamain was off in daydream land.

"Before today, I think. I first noticed it after the princess returned with Father." Valel added.

"How do you expect me to accept a declaration of war against our own people?" Iala hissed back at him angrily. Valel had no immediate answer, he had suspected her feelings, but had hoped not to have to have this argument.

"How did you expect me to accept the orders to end Lysia's life?" Valel countered calmly. "A Knight follows orders. Even such orders that he does not see the reasoning in. Yet despite my feelings about it, you had a justified reason for it. You did not want her to suffer alone in this land after we were gone." Valel added. Iala almost stopped running when she looked at him in confusion. She had been set up and was just now realizing it.

"You will make a fine Captain," She sighed in exasperation. "I concede."

"My lady is most gracious." Valel smiled.

Tamain glanced up from the back of their heels to regard each of the Elthairin elves in turn. His bloodshot eyes and perpetual scowl were more due to the burning headache than his mood or the consideration he was giving these two and their secret conversation.

The group burst through the tree line and into some outlying farmsteads. The squealing of terrified hogs drew their attention and Rollis made a straight line for the disturbance. They closed in, and much to their reluctant delight, they found their winged prey as it took flight from the hog pen it had been feasting in.

Iala froze in shock when she saw as there was no denying the legendary horror that it was. The monster had grown. Its leathery wings were massive and twice as long as it was tall. A long barbed tail swished about with half a skewered carcass still attached. Its gangly arms ended in claws longer than most knives. Its head was humanoid but with a slightly elongated maw full of fangs. But it was the skin coloring that showed it for what it was; it was covered in reddish skin, blackened by a splotchy leathery hide. She had secretly hopped this had been a fool's quest, or at best a Zecairin trap. Instead she stood frozen in panic. Rollis shot it out of the air with two arrows through its wings right at the shoulder muscles. It shrieked and plummeted to the ground.

"I'm not ready." Tamain instructed, exasperated, his voice weighted with weariness. "Leaf Knights! Use elements on your weapons and keep it down!" Iala was bristled out of her shock at being commanded by a Zecairin, but she could not argue his tactics and Valel was already well ahead of her with two flaming swords at his sides. She drew her own blades, charged them with cold magic, and followed him. But pulled up short when she spotted Lysia joining the fight with her own knife.

"No!" Iala commanded. "Support him!" She pointed at Rollis. "If it gets past us, then engage it." She gave as concession. Lysia followed her orders.

Valel was upon it a moment later, slicing off bits of wings and limbs. But it had grown, and now matched him in size. Its regenerative ability was quickly regrowing limbs and flesh faster than Valel could cut them off despite the charred wounds. The Elthairin knight was losing the fight as it scored a nasty wound on his forearm, and then followed up by shredding big chunks from his shoulders. His own muscles did not work so well after being rent and severed, and Valel collapsed to his knees. Despite the pain, he set himself to healing just as Iala took over the battle.

Truly a master of her art, her body twisted acrobatically through the air to dodge the monster's blows as she scored her own gruesome hits. Bits of the creature flew through the air and splattered the landscape. But for every blob of gore that landed another had regrown in its place before the former had dissolved into an acrid pool of yellow goo. The charred flesh where Valel's blades had scored their hits were regenerating more slowly, but not enough to tip the fight in their favor. An arrow streaked between them to puncture an eye, blinding the creature. Iala was grateful for the support, despite its questionable source, and committed herself completely to the joint task. She worked off of the incapacitation Rollis provided, and severed legs and arms from its blinded side, until the arrow fell away, dissolved by its own blood.

Frustrated at a stalemated fight, the creature roared, and from its mouth spewed more of the dark yellow acid. Iala back-flipped out of the way, but not before getting her legs coated in the caustic slime. It burned through her leather leggings and sizzled her skin quickly and she shrieked. In proper riposte, she threw a blade at its head and plugged the spewing mouth with her own steel. It did little but to diffuse the spray to the sides, and Valel had to scramble to avoid getting covered. But the damage had been done, and Iala was now out of the fight. The acid had burned the flesh off her shins and she had to stop to work healing magic on them before she could stand again.

An arrow struck it in the cheek, exploded, and half the creature's head disappeared in a red mist. It howled horribly as its flesh quickly reformed, and fled the battle by flying off.

"Fuck, that worked?!" Rollis hooted and slapped Lysia's shoulders. "Do it again!" He said as he took aim with another shot. Lysia focused hard and magically packed compressed air into the metal arrowhead. Rollis let the shot fly, but at the last minute the creature dove, and it struck its tail instead of its back. The arrow exploded and half the tail blew off. Unfazed, it hastened its retreat by climbing higher into the sky.

"Tamain!?" Rollis howled, hoping for instruction. But he found his leader's body locked rigidly upright and twitching uncontrollably with his head thrown back. Lysia ran to him, but the static magic around him made her pull up short and grab her temples in pain. Whatever he was doing, it was massive, and massively taxing to his body. As she backed away Lysia suddenly wondered what this would do to him when he was finished, as weak as he was.

"Stop it before it gets to the town!" Rollis shouted. "If it feeds again it'll only get bigger!" Iala had crudely healed her legs and was working her magic on Valel's rent arms.

"Go!" Valel shouted. Iala locked her jaw and stopped his bleeding, and he rewarded her for her efforts by him thrusting his blades into her hands. Hers had been so coated in the monster's blood and ichor that even the one that hadn't been dissolved in its throat wasn't of much better use.

A dark shadow fell over them, and Iala looked skyward to find dark clouds had suddenly formed in a concentrated area directly above them. She didn't give it a second thought and the Knight Captain sped after the creature as fast as her feet could carry her. As fast as she was she wasn't gaining on the creature, and the walls of the town were already fast approaching.

"Drop it!" She yelled back as it started to dive for the other side of the walls. But no arrows flew overhead. With a grunt, she sheathed her blades and pulled her own short bow out from under her tattered cloak. Her garment along with her quiver had also taken a splash of the monster's acid, but she was able to pull a few quality arrows from it. Two pinpoint shots in quick succession and she had it plummeting to the ground. She winced when it fell on the other side of the town walls to the crash of splintering wood timbers and a plume of dust and debris. The humans could do nothing against something like this but feed it. She rued letting it get that close to them.

Iala scanned the wall's length. It was too high to jump over and the stonework looked too slick with mildew and moss to climb. Worse, she couldn't see an opening on this side – she would have to go around.

Someone grabbed her from behind, and a terrible rush of wind yanked her off her feet before she could react. She only caught a glimpse of his dark skinned arm, and the swirling air vortex that pulled them up and over the wall before he gave out and they crashed to the ground on the other side.

Tamain had somehow carried her over with his magic. The two tumbled across the dirt part along the wall and into the side of a house. Iala stood and staggered uncertainly in the direction of her prey before the stars and white dots faded from view. When she rounded the corner, it wasn't hard to tell where it had fallen from the ruin in front of her. She found it half-buried in a crumbling stone foundation of the nearby house. That entire wall was in danger of collapsing and already there were shouts of alarm from the occupants inside. A quick assessment of the structure and she knew how to bring it down on top of the creature. But not yet.

Human soldiers had come to investigate the commotion. They found themselves unprepared and uncertain of how to handle an Elthairin woman demolishing buildings. Their surprise and irritation was premature as a leathery monster broke through the building's damaged side with a shriek. The men that had startled at seeing an Elth, panicked and fled upon seeing the monster emerge. Iala looked up to the sky in exasperation; she was exhausted, wounded, and hoping these black clouds somehow held the key. Black clouds like this usually preceded a storm.

It started to rain.

The creature was trying to wrench its still buried wings free when Tamain emerged, clinging to the side of a building woozily, panting heavily and trying desperately to stand upright. Iala looked at him pityingly. Her harsh judgment of him had been a terrible injustice.Never again.Came her Queen's harsh instruction. And she couldn't help but snort derisively at her own nearsightedness. They had been right all along – all of them. And she owed them all a great apology. If they survived the day, tomorrow would be all the sweeter now. But she knew that was not going to happen. This monster needed to be stopped, and there was a certain way she would apologize to them and redeem her honor without having to say a word.

"Tamain of The Discarded," she called out. Tamain groggily looked up. "Strike it with all your might. I will hold it still for you." And with that she leveled one weapon, flipped the other to a backhanded grip, and charged at it. Severing both the creatures arms at the shoulders before it could turn its attention to her. Without pausing, she threw her shoulder into the foundation's cornerstone and her strength behind it. It broke free, and the wall shuddered. She had only a second to react and get free before half the wall collapsed on top of the creature. The din was horrible, and the dust blinding.

"Now! Destroy it!" She shouted and started to retreat from the devastation she knew was about to happen. But nothing happened. She looked over and found the Zecairin half collapsed to the ground with a hand outstretched to the heavens, his body wracking with convulsions as he was focusing his power.

Then there was a shriek of terrified horror. Iala looked up to see three human girls huddled in a corner of the upper floor of the house. The floor, and their escape, had collapsed below. The rubble stirred below them, and a grotesque face protruded and eyed the girls hungrily.

"Now Zek!" She screamed and bounded over the rubble, skewering the beast in the head with one blade, pinning it, and reaching the girls in one leap, landing gracefully on the structurally unsound floor. It creaked and gave way under her added weight and all four of them slid down the breaking floor boards to the ground below.

"Go!" she coughed through the dust and pushed the girls away. It took them a moment to realize what was happening, but they followed instruction. But much to Iala's wonderment and fear as she realized what it was, the hair on all three of their heads was starting to stand on end. Lightning was about to strike. She could taste the charge in the dust choked air.Good. Kill this abomination.She thought relieved.End our misery once and for all. You have my gratitude Zek, my respect, but also my hatred. I am not that noble a lady anymore.Iala closed her eyes and waited for destiny to strike.

The monster's tail broke free of the rubble and speared her through the thigh. She screamed. "Damn you Zek!" She wailed as it crawled towards her with a hungry look in its eyes. With her remaining weapon she severed the tail and turned to crawl away.

There was a blinding flash of light. Iala braced for the earsplitting boom of thunder. But all she heard were the gasps of surprise of the humans nearby, an eerie silence, the horrible smell of something burnt, then a thunderous roar of celebration.

Helping hands pulled her up and free of the rubble. She had hoped it to be Valel, Lysia, or perhaps even the other Zek. But it was the guardsmen in their panic stricken, yet grateful expressions that welcomed her back to a calmer reality. They helped her to her feet, pulled out the creature's spiny tail, and bound her wounds. All this took long painful moments, but her dazed state of mind was blanking out. The rain was starting to cease, and a clearer sky was returning.

Valel and Lysia appeared sometime later. Iala had lost track of the time. She was content to collapse on her haunches, seated on the ground as the guardsmen inspected the rubble for traces of the monster. They spoke to her, asked her things, but she stared blankly off into the distance for now. What exactly was that magic he had used? She wondered. She was not widely versed in magic, but she understood the general principles. It seemed as if he was calling a lightning strike – no small feat – but there was no thunderous boom, and a strike that close should have killed her as well. She looked up to where Tamain lay. His body was face down in the dirt, and he was very still.

"Help him," She managed to say and gestured to the still Zecairin. Lysia squeaked in surprised and rushed over Tamain. She found him still alive just unconscious with a face full of mud.

"Mother," Valel said as he tended to her leg. Iala's blank bewildered stare slowly turned to regard him.

"Hmm?" she said.

"There was an incident here recently with a Zecairin. We need to get him out of here before they arrest him, or us." Valel said in Elthairin. Iala scowled and looked around. Whereas she and her son were being regarded in a friendly manner, the guardsmen had weapons at the ready and were giving Lysia and the shadow elf she struggled to carry a cautious, almost threatening distance. They wore chain shirts and held metal spears and swords. Iala snorted and shook her head – if they threatened him it would only take one spark and he'd have them all on their backs, she mused. If he was awake that is.

"I'll handle it," she sighed and rose to her feet.

Some diplomatic conversations later with her arms sternly crossed over her chest along with her fierce scowl and she had negotiated the Zecairin's release into her custody. Service to the town be damned, they were ready to hang him for simply being a shadow elf. But during the course of the conversation she gained some valuable intel – recently a Zecairin masquerading as a brother from Riyarra's Monastery had killed a few people. Her Queen would be eager to hear that.

The townsfolk were grateful for the slaying of the creature, but aggravated that it had been steered their direction in the first place. Yet when she regaled the guardsmen of what had happened in the fight outside of town – accented by the nasty looking scars over Valel's arms - they dissuaded the farmers from demanding compensation for the hogs. The magistrate, whose home had been half destroyed, was a different matter. This man was clever and unscrupulous in the face of personal loss, and when he expected to be compensated by the Elthairin crown for the loss of his house, Iala turned a steely gaze on him that made his face turn pale. It was the guard-captain's suggestion to the Magistrate that settled the matter honorably and amicably by declaring the reward to the elves for saving the town equal to the losses incurred during the battle.

Many offers were made to host and toast the town's saviors, but the Knight Captain thought it best to escort their "prisoner" to his "dungeon" before he woke. And all were immediately understanding.

Three Elthairins and one unconscious Zecairin soon left Hornsdale and were grateful for the company of Rollis who waited patiently well out of sight. Iala found she preferred his grumbling company over the irksome, squabblesome, fawning humans.

****

Riyarra was putting her new combat leathers through their rigors when the delegation returned. She was now wearing the same green vest, arm bracers, and leather leggings as the rest of the unit. Those Knights not on duty or not in their tents resting were helping her break them in with a round robin spar session. Each combatant eagerly joined in the fray, but once she landed a critical blow they were tagged out and had to retreat to the ring's edge. Thus far, only a few had managed their own blows. However, because the purpose was to allow Riyarra to regain her skills, she remained in the fight. It was clear from the scowls of frustration and the rubbing of bruised muscles that these handful of Knights were not expecting such a challenge from the princess. They studied her movements as they waited their turn. Some so intently they passed on their opportunities to rejoin. When someone discovered a weakness in her technique, they all exploited it, hammering her hard and pressing the advantage until she worked the kinks out of her movements and became more fluid, or adapted her tactics.

Iala and Valel's return had gone unnoticed until Iala broke through the ring. Riyarra and Jayrill paused, they both recognized the Knight Captain with her stern look and crossed arms, and broke off the session. Each of them sat on her knees and placed her hands on her hips, a sign of respect to the Knight Captain and their way of awaiting instruction. Jayrill looked over at the red face, panting Queen with an incredulous look as if she had forgotten something and tried to signal for her to rise. The rest held looks of mixed amusement and shock at her behavior. Apparently the Queen should bow to no one. Even Iala's stern expression was taken aback as she struggled to hide her sudden embarrassment, and her back involuntarily hunched over as if she couldn't decide if she should kneel as well.

With the captain's permission.Riyarra signed in their silent hand language. Iala nodded quickly and Riyarra stood. Her heavy breathing was slowly calming down and she gathered up her borrowed swords and sheathed them at her hips.While I am here, I am one of you.She signed.Elsewhere, not.The Knights gave each other a long look. Some did not think it appropriate, some thought it too appropriate – she had earned her position as Leaf Knight after all, and it was not as if they had a crown for her to wear as it was.