Savage Rising: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 1

Chapter 20

Zehlyr couldn't believe how powerless he was. There were no shackles on his wrists, no chains holding him in place. Yet he was in no position to save Azalea as the balisekt soldiers led her off with Lord Killika into the Wilds towards the elven territory. She looked over her shoulder as the soldiers pushed her along. Her eyes, full of hopelessness and defeat, stared longingly back at him until she was out of sight. Even now, hours after the army had left; her look haunted his mind.

The instructions he and his fellow prisoners had received were very clear. They were not to leave the scorched earth. There were no walls or chains to hold them in, but the four fire demons patrolling the area were incentive enough to obey. The beasts were psychically connected to their master. Killika had only to wish for their death, and they would carry it out.

Seeing no outs and unable to find any hope, Zehlyr leaned his back against the wall of the storehouse and slid down onto his rear. Out in front of him, the demons paced slowly. They didn't look at their captives, nor did they attempt to engage with them in any way. For such ferocious creatures, they seemed more like livestock out in the meadow. Of course, Zehlyr knew that could change in an instant, and they'd never see it coming.

"I should have stayed home," Cherin mumbled under his breath.

Zehlyr shot him a look of annoyance. "And where would that be?" he asked. "Under someone's porch somewhere?"

"Better than living in a cave like an animal," Cherin retorted.

"This is really getting old, you two," Viyana said with a groan. As though scolded by their mother, the two brothers scoffed but were otherwise silent. Cherin kicked at a rock by his feet. The noise caused the fire demons to snap to attention. Everyone froze as the beasts snarled at them, staring fiercely with their flaming eyes. Once satisfied that the human wasn't attempting to escape, they returned to their previously docile state.

If it weren't for the fire demons, Zehlyr would have popped his brother in the jaw for his stupidity. Instead, he shot him an angry look, his bottom lip pulled in tight and his brow furrowed.

"Sorry," Cherin whispered. Everything was silent for a while after that, leaving Zehlyr once again to wrestle with his thoughts. His heart ached and his gut burned with rage as he thought of Azalea. He could see her in his mind, tears running down her face, no hope left in her soul. Killika would use her as a weapon of war, a tool to do his sinister bidding. It made him want to vomit.

"What is a dryad?" Zehlyr asked softly. The others went wide-eyed in alarm, but their demonic guards seemed okay with calm conversation amongst the prisoners.

"A dryad is a spirit of the forest," Sunrise explained. "They are the Lady's servants, caretakers of all that she has created."

"Why did Killika call her a dryad?" Zehlyr followed up.

"I don't know," Sunrise answered. "A dryad is a spirit, invisible to the eyes of mortal creatures. Dryad's haven't had physical bodies since the end of the Great Blight, and those bodies did not look human."

"If she is a dryad, that would certainly explain her ability to control the forest around her," Viyana added.

"As well as her aversion to the ruined earth," Sunrise said. "The Lady and her spirits cannot dwell on the lifeless ground, nor can their magic be cast. As an acolyte of the Temple, I am able to wield such magic." Sunrise raised his hand up to eye level and focused his energy on his palm, but nothing happened. "Unfortunately, this ground has rendered my powers mute as well."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Zehlyr said, though he wasn't sure who he was actually trying to convince. He didn't know anything about dryads, but he knew they weren't human, and if Azalea wasn't human, then she...then they... "She doesn't look like a spirit."