Daughters of Fate Book 2 | An Original Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 19 (7th of Vashi in the year 6199)

A bridge to cross where fairies live. But is not of brick or stone. To Undulhava the key is held by elf alone.

Dwarven Child Rhyme

An arrow with white fletching sunk into the dirt road before the lead horse ridden by Gregory. His sword readied in a flash, the king's man-at-arms searched around, unable to discern where it had come from. Dropping from his mount, he bent down to examine and retrieve the projectile.

As the rest of the convoy ground to an abrupt stop, Anthony bolted out of the carriage. "Stop!" he cried. "Don't touch it!" Gregory regarded the one-eyed man as he ran up to make certain the command was adhered to.

Reane left the saddle of her horse as well. "This is weird," she complained, concentrating. The arrow had been shot by someone somewhere nearby. "I don't sense... err... don't see anyone." Reane caught herself, as she almost gave away a hint that she could do more than detect others by the normal five senses.

Anthony brushed back Gregory, who was still uncertain about how to respond to the what seemed more like a warming than an actual attack. "They're watching. Seeing how we react."

"Who?" Reane continued to try to find any sign of anyone else other than the members of the contingent in the nearby area.

"Elves. Remember what I told you?" Anthony gave Reane a sly and subtle reminder of his claim regarding his people and their resistance to magics of the mind. The same reason she had trouble reading his thoughts. He picked the arrow from the ground with care. Laying it across the path before stepping back, he too checked the woods that surrounded the trail for any signs, but saw none.

There was a long moment of silence before a second arrow, like the first, implanted at Anthony's feet. He did not even flinch, but Reane;s heart jumped. Gregory took up a defensive stance, sword brandished. Anthony tried to relax him with a wave from his hand. It helped only a little and certainly did nothing to ease theswordmaster's anxiety.

"Who enters these sacred woods?" a voice commanded.

Anthony replied on behalf of them all. "Ambassador Stormband from the Isles of Fimmirra! The Child of the Storm has come to speak with the Elven Council of Houses! And she seeks an audience with the one known as Aval El'brim - The Keeper of Light."

Silence was the initial response. But then the voice spoke again, "The Child of the Storm is dead. The end of the world draws near. Darkness is coming. The Council of Houses does not need to hear your lies."

The coldness of the reply froze Sheala as she was just beginning to emerge from the carriage. Crawling up inside her was a remembrance to the day she and Cass had found the bloody massacre of her parents and the fate of the previous caravan that had traveled on this same mission.

A warmth permeating her medallion startled her. It was now alive and pulsing. Just like it used to be when her sister was nearby and filling Sheala with hope. Was Cass here? She didn't know what to think and turned her head this way and that as she searched all around her.

The voice then manifested its presence once more. "Be gone, trespassers. Turn back now, and your lives will be spared."

Anthony clarified for the sake of their unseen host. "The daughter of the former ambassador has come to take his place at the table."

"There were no survivors."

"No!" Sheala called, hurrying to the front of everyone and pushing in front of Anthony. Her fingers played with the medallion, massaging it against her skin. The warmth was a distraction to her.