The Elf Thief

Chapter 33: Leaving

Chapter 33

Leaving

            Nyx dropped to her brother’s side. Turning to Dearekk, her lavender eyes were frantic and fear filled. “He has a connection with the Asylum,” she said, her voice wild with terror. “He knows what is going on there at all times. Something terrible must have happened there to put him in a state like this.”

            On the marble floor, the Seer let out another scream of pain, writhing in agony. His whole body was shaking and his howls pierced Dearekk’s ears.

             Then, the Seer suddenly went silent.  He stopped moving and his screams stopped. Something beyond panic appeared in Nyx’s eyes.

            “Brother…” she whispered, shaking him. When he didn’t respond, she began to shake him harder. “Wake up!” she screamed. “Wake up, you idiot! Why won’t you wake up?!” Tears streamed down the young fay’s face. Leaning over, she whispered a word Dearekk did not hear.

Suddenly, as if the word had woken him up, the Seer let out a gasp. Grimacing, he touched his head with a look of pain contorting his features. After shaking his head, the fay tried to rise, only to almost fall. Nyx caught her brother and helped him stand upright.

“The Asylum has fallen,” the Seer said in an exhausted voice. “A revolt was led and most of the creatures escaped. A few stayed behind, hoping to find favor with the fay. They succeeded. We cannot put them back in their cells; they could have useful information. However, we cannot let the plague the world either.”

A thousand thoughts swam through Dearekk’s mind. The Asylum had fallen? How could that be possible? How could something like that happen?

After the Seer had finished speaking, Nyx shot her brother a questioning look. Grimacing, as if he already knew her question, the Seer simply said, “Bellada.”

The Seer suddenly whirled around to face Dearekk. “Call forth Ventar,” he commanded.

            After hesitating for a moment, Dearekk closed his eyes and held forth his hands. A tingling feeling ran up his arms and when he opened his eyes, a glowing sword rested in his palms.

            The Seer’s expression became cold. “The Orb of Ancients was shattered during the riot,” he said in a calculated voice. “The Spirit of Ventar was destroyed, and therefore, the sword should no longer exist.”

            It was as if an unseen force had suddenly slammed Dearekk against one of the marble columns that held up the roof of the pavilion. His breath was knocked out of him and he found he could not move.

            “Why did you not tell us that you were the Blade-Bearer?” the Seer snarled as he walked towards Dearekk, his hand outstretched and his fingers spread apart. “Did that little bit of information slip your mind? Or did you think us to incompetent to be trusted with that secret?”

            Running forward, Nyx hit her brother on the shoulder. “Brother! Stop this!” she shouted. But the Seer simply shrugged her off and continued towards Dearekk.

            The fay stopped just inches from his face. “You are one with our prized possession. If you die, our greatest talisman will be destroyed with you. You hold absolute power of the last heirloom of our ancestors from the Era of Dusk, and you did not even thing to tell us about it?”

            An invisible hand wrapped around Dearekk’s throat, cutting off his supply of air. He soon found himself choking, struggling to breathe. He had imagined what the Seer’s reaction would be when he found out that Dearekk was the Blade-Bearer. But in the half-elf’s mind, the scene played out more in his favor, and ended with the Seer bowing and acknowledging him as the better leader…