Hope

Chapter Twenty-Three: City of Lost Dreams

The next day, we could see the capital city on the horizon. And within the hour, we passed through the front gates and made our way though the market, looking for an acceptable alleyway to park for the night. We found a deserted alleyway in a more remote corner of the market, near the place where people sold more exotic food and items. Zack nestled himself even more tightly in his blankets, despite the much warmer temperatures here.

"I can't risk being seen," he whispered. "This is the place where I'm most likely to be recognized."

"There's posters for him everywhere," Jing sighed. "They all say pretty much the same thing. 'If you see an elf, don't bother thinking. Kill the animal on sight.' Humans are so stupid." She glowered and folded her arms over her chest.

"Hmm? What animal?" Stan asked, his nose buried in some sort of technical manual he had picked up.

"Never mind," Jing said, clearly exasperated.

Rebecca was sitting on the tailgate munching on an apple. Her bright red hair was loose and blowing all over the place in the slight breeze that had sprung up. She raised an eyebrow at Tasha and said through the apple, "So, now that we're here, what do we do?"

"Try to get an audience with the king," Tasha said simply. "That is, as soon as the messenger arrives from our friends in the north."

"And what are they doing?" Rebecca asked curiously. "You haven't told us much of your plan, you know."

Tasha sighed. "Sorry, I went over it quite thoroughly with Lwyn and I didn't feel like going over it again. Well, our friends are spreading the word that the king isn't caring for his subjects anymore like he should and there needs to be change. It's not just the soldiers anymore. It's everything else, too. The poorest have to struggle to live to see the next sunrise and the wealthiest don't seem to know or care. Something has to change."

"It could always change for the worse," Stan said cheerfully. "That's why I prefer machines. You can fix a machine without getting yourself tossed in jail for your troubles."

Tornheart snorted. "Machines are inanimate objects, so of course they can't toss you in jail. Personally, I don't see what the big fuss is about. I just want my brothers back."

Zack gave me a sidelong glance. "Are you sensing much magic around here?"

I shook my head. "Not here. I don't think Shadeclaw was much into markets. He certainly seemed to avoid the market the tribes hold every year. Too much going on for him. He prefers less noisy environments so he can concentrate on his mission, whatever that may be. I bet there will be a lot of magical residue in the palace, though. No doubt the residents are all used to it." I shuddered.

Tornheart looked at me thoughtfully. "You knew Shadeclaw the best. Do you think that you could make a shadow-copy of Shadeclaw good enough to fool the humans?"

I stared at Tornheart. "You don't like it when I use Shadeclaw's magic."

Tornheart shrugged. "It's good for some things."

I was then hurtled into a memory and not a comfortable one. It was late autumn. Shadeclaw was standing next to his brother and leader, Ashface. Ashface looked worried, but he always looked worried to me. "Ice Tribe has been eating into our land again," he said, looking at Shadeclaw. "You should lead a team to chase them out."

Shadeclaw dipped his head, his dark eyes glinting. "I shall be glad to do so. Will we require Mintleaf's services, or will one of his apprentices suffice should any accidents happen?"

"We are warriors, not savages," Ashface said stiffly. "We have honor. There should be no injuries. This is just a show of force. Ice Tribe needs to learn that Night Tribe won't accept their constant intrusions into our land, but there should be no fighting."