Prophecy of Power: Quarry

Chapter 6

Trying to control his trembling hands, Elias drew and released from cover, the night hiding him as much as the forest. The faspane across the gulley grunted and fell to his knees, clutching the arrow buried deep in his stomach.

Elias glanced around, expecting an alarm, but the warrior only stared at the fletching as if trying to make sense. Elias moved cautiously from cover, another arrow ready and magic tickling his fingertips as the bow added energy to the shaft.

The wounded warrior dropped his crossbow, still looking surprised as blood began soaking into his jerkin. He saw Elias, bow drawn, and his confusion turned to utter dread. An unexpected wave of empathy hit Elias. He relaxed the bow's tension and pointed the arrow at the ground. In Faspaneth he said, "May your journey be swift, and in your rebirth may your soul find immortality."

The warrior closed his eyes, clearly relieved. Grimacing in pain, he drew an ornate, thin-bladed dagger from his belt. He raised the weapon to his chest, carefully positioning the tip between his ribs. When he looked up again, Elias saw grim determination. He gave Elias a nod, uttered a brief prayer, and with a single thrust drove the thin blade through his heart. He gasped, holding upright for a moment before toppling to his side, his final breath fogging in the air.

Elias looked away. He'd killed humans earlier, and even put a few arrows into some faspane, but he'd never actually been this close when they died. He was close enough to hear the faspane's final breath. He felt… dirty. He spun at the sound of a footstep and drew the bow's string to his cheek, but relaxed the tension almost as fast.

Allyn moved like a shade from the moon shadows, hands up, his free palm outward and the other holding his staff. Elias cautiously looked around before moving to the dead faspane. Allyn stopped beside him, frowning at the body.

"What's the matter?" Elias asked. "A cousin of yours?"

Allyn gave him a sour look. "We're only a mile from where I left the girls. I'd hoped most of them," he indicated the faspane, "were following the soldiers."

Elias crouched beside the body. "Most did. They're spread thin from what I can tell, chasing a dozen trails." Elias forced down his queasiness and ripped the bloodied arrow from the faspane's gut. He held it up, checking for damage as he tried to look nonchalant. He told himself it was just like ripping the arrow from an animal - only it wasn't.

Allyn glanced at the arrow with similar distaste. "Killing isn't something I've ever gotten used to," he said softly. "In fact, the older I get, the harder it is."

Elias couldn't meet his teacher's eyes. He wiped the arrow on the faspane's shirt, but paused at the sight of the sun-lines around the faspane's jade eyes. "Strange how they still look so much like us. It's the similarities more that the differences I find disturbing." His skin was sun-dark, but that was only the most obvious difference.

"True. I wonder what it's like having both a mortal body and soul, knowing your rebirth depends on taking your own life?"

Elias remembered the faspane's dread as he'd faced him. "He thought I might kill him outright. Can't say I wasn't tempted." His people wanted war, after all.

"Why?" The tone was neutral, but the word seemed burdened with tension. "He's just a warrior. Can't fault him for that."

"A warrior whose ancestors tried to challenge the Gods."

Allyn appeared uncomfortable with the conversation. "I'd like to know how they found out about us."

"Forget it. If we don't collect the sword-"

Allyn raised a hand. "I doubt we're important enough to attract intervention from the Gods. This isn't about us."

Elias pulled an oil-soaked rag from his pack, thinking about the vision of himself at the Silver Well - something any God would consider important, he was sure. "The Gods don't control everything," he muttered. "If they did, we'd be bored." He began rubbing his bow down.