Alew || A Short Story Anthology

The Traitor of Vuur {Round Three}

    The camp was quiet, or as quiet as one could get in the Fire Fields. Crackling embers and animalistic howls and grunts of the Lurkers filled the air.

    Despite all the noise I had grown accustomed to in the few days I've been here, tonight felt different. A fog of uncertainty and unease clung to the air so tight that I could almost feel the strain on its knuckles.

    Yet, I remained the only one to sense this. Fraiser slept soundly beside me, Nikan hid in the folds of his tent, and Grendal-

    Panic flared to life. Grendal was no where to be seen.

    I raced towards the sounds of the Lurkers. Vuur was nowhere to be explored, even I knew that. The risks of being boiled alive by the geysers of molten hot lava and, of course, the fear of getting bitten by Darkness itself was too great. With the knowledge that Grendal possessed about the Fire Fields of Vuur, I presumed that he knew the dangers. That his recklessness wouldn't shine through here.

    As the Lurkers came into view, I realized that Grendal would not be tamed.

    I crouched down behind a large rock of basalt. Once I looked over the blackened edge, my worst fears could be confirmed.

    Grendal could be turned or roasting over a spit. Even worse, he could be nothing more than mangled pieces of flesh and cleaned off bone. 

    I peaked over, and I could feel all the blood drain from my face.

    Lingering around an open fire were the Lurkers, and lingering among them was that red haired son of a bitch.

    The only life on his skin was the fire light. Besides that, Grendal's skin was pale and lifeless.  

    Grendal's humanly existence was gone. Now, he belonged to the Lurkers.

    Salty tears ran down my face, despite how hard I tried to keep them in. Grendal looked much, much happier than he had ever before. He wore a smile of true happiness instead of the cocky smirk he'd wear around us.

    Part of me felt hurt, betrayed. Another part of me was confused. Why was he so happy to be mingling with those mindless undead freaks? No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't come up with a possible solution. My mind was an endless void plague with sorrow.

    "Zillah."

    Grendal's low, musky voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I directed my attention into his golden eyes. Nothing of them showed an ounce of remorse.

    "Why..." Against my will, my voice wavered. My eyes clouded with new tears.

    "It wasn't a matter of why, Zillah. It was a matter of when."

    "When..?"

    A smirk spread across his face like wildfire.

    "Yes, when. Perhaps to help you understand better, I'll take on a form that's more familiar to you."

    "Wha-"

    Before my eyes, Grendal's paper white skin and golden eyes melted away and were replaced with more humanistic features. Peach skin that coursed with life, emerald eyes that gleamed with malice.

    Sirens blazed to life in my head. The form I knew best, his human form.

    "Lurker." It barely came out above a whisper, my brain barely had time to comprehend. Grendal always has been a Lurker.

    "You're a smart elf, Zillah. I'll hand you that. Although, one thing you failed to realize is that us Lurkers can shapeshift."

    The fear that had blazed to life inside me was replaced by a fiery hot anger.

    "So you're just here to kill us then, huh? You just brought us here to turn us into another member of your mindless army! You didn't care about finding a cure after all then!"

    Grendal shrugged. "Honestly, I'd thought that you of all people would be smart enough to realize that no mere elf would have as much knowledge about the Fire Fields as I."

    "How could you!" At this point, I was in Grendal's face. I felt his hot breath against my own. "How could you betray your friends like that! We gave you a home, and all you did is stab us in the back!"

    "It's not a matter of right or wrong. Our lines are too blurred for that nonsense."

    "I need to warn the others..."

    A deep chuckle escaped Grendal's lips. "Oh, that won't be necessary. By the time you make it back, my army will have your whole camp turned."

    I traced a circle in the shadow that was cast by the rock. The ring glowed a light purple. In the ring, a portal formed.

    "In case you forgot, I can shadow travel," I mocked.

     Without a second thought, I leapt into the portal.