“Pure born elves have rarely been seen in Dhugach since before the war.”
“Have you wondered why?” The elf flashed a tight smile. “It’s because we know the area well enough not to be seen.”
More shouting came from the garden. The elf threw his hood back over his head. “Follow me. The confusion spell won’t hold them forever.”
Jess, Saris, and their rescuer hurried several paces before turning back. “Piers?” Jess ran back and shook him. “Don’t be a doofus. Come on!”
“Oh! My apologies.” The elf waved a hand. Piers fell, a puppet with no strings.
Jess caught him. “Come on!”
They followed Elf Boy—Piers needed to learn his name—down a sandy pathway, the surface shifting beneath their feet. The elf kept Saris close, but Jess closer. They’d not spoken, but the elf’s hood occasionally swiveled Jess’s way.
The shouting faded to nothingness while the roaring tide grew louder.
“How much farther?” Saris asked, pressing a hand to her side. Living in a palace, she likely got less exercise than Piers, who at least walked to work regularly.
“Not far.” The elf hurried on ahead.
Piers tried again to wish them somewhere else or wish them to have more strength, more speed. Nothing. Why be powerful if he couldn’t use the power?
They came to the water’s edge, changing course down the beach, staying close enough to the trees for some cover. Black sand sprayed behind his footfalls. The trees gave way to black hills, the rock probably sharp enough in some places to cut. Volcanic rock.
Just Piers’ luck, they’d get away from the guards, only to fall into a lava tube. Greenery hung from the tops of the stones, roughly twenty feet above their heads. The elf turned abruptly, heading straight for a vine-covered chunk of rock.
He disappeared. What the…
Piers, Saris, and Jess stopped. The elf poked his head back through the greenery. “It’s a cave. Come on!”
Piers so didn’t like this. He and Jess exchanged scowls. City raised, the closest they’d ever come to a cave was the basement of their group home.The home of creepy crawlies, like giant hairy spiders. No, thank you. No, thank you very much.
Saris shoved Piers’ shoulder. “You won’t let me go back. If I have to keep going, so do you!”
“Her Majesty has spoken,” Jess snarked.
Piers tripped on a vine. Jess caught him. “Want me to go first so you’ll have something soft to land on if you fall?”
“Oh, please. You’re all hard angles. I’d cut myself.”
Jess snorted. “As you wish.” She scrambled through the cave opening, calling, “Hey! Wait up!”
Though Piers stooped to get in, the ceiling angled sharply upward when he passed the opening, allowing him to stand fully upright.
A tiny glow danced on the elf’s palm. “My ancestors have often used these caves to hide when your kind loses their minds.” He aimed a stern glare at the three of them.
“Won’t your people be pissed for you showing this to us?” Jess appraised the object of her earlier flirting with a skeptical eye.
One side of the elf’s mouth lifted. “If you bore any ill intent toward me or my kind, you wouldn’t have been allowed to enter. The cave is spelled against intruders.” He turned. “This way.” Both women fell into step behind him.
The light slowly drifted away. Piers found himself in total darkness and hurried to catch the others. He raised his hand every few seconds, mimicking the elf’s pose, but never created a glow of his own.
On and on, they plodded through the darkness.
“Where are we going?” Piers asked.
“To a family stronghold. Where we’ll be safe and can plan.” The elf’s glowing blue globe cast an eerie light over his features.
“Why are you helping us?” This from Jess.Us.Radre would regret getting her involved.
