Chapter 7 #2
“He’s a good lad, Aquilan,” Helgrom said as he stepped up beside Declan and put a hand at his lower back as if to claim him.
“I’ve known him for years. He is the best. No matter his heritage, I know who he is.
And, in the end, that’s all that matters.
There are far too many who rest on their family’s accomplishments and the blood in their veins than their own worth. ”
Did Helgrom look at Darcassan right about then? Elasha flushed and looked away. Rhalyf realized something else, too. Helgrom knew that Declan was a Night Elf. He had a feeling that Helgrom also knew who his father was. What else would that talk of heritage be?
“I would have to agree with you, Helgrom,” Aquilan nodded vigorously. “From what I have experienced of Declan in our short acquaintance, he is very good.”
Please still believe that after you hear his surname is Vex…
“Neither of you know that. I don’t even know that,” Declan said with a fierce shake of his head. “I did not know… I still do not know who I truly am. But I think… no, I know that I am a danger to you.”
Aquilan was shaking his head more. “What? No, Declan, that can’t be–”
“Not me,” Declan qualified. “There is someone… someone following me. Watching me and everyone around me. Listening to every word I say and everything I hear.”
Rhalyf jerked and his magical senses flooded out of him. He quickly pulled them back. If Vex was looking after his son then just like with the divining spell, such sensing could lead to a trap.
Of course, Vex is watching his son. Of course, he knows he’s here. Finley was likely right that he left him here. Who else would? His mother? But who is she? Who could she possibly be?
“Why? Who?” Elasha cried.
“Who is stalking you?” Aquilan looked thunderous. His hands clenched at his sides. “You are my citizen! You will not be harassed or harmed in any way! I will make sure of it!”
“I don’t know, but I think… I do not want to bring him near you. And if I am near you then he is,” Declan explained with another shake of his head. “I will not allow this. Not until I know if he is friend or foe or… somewhere inbetween.”
Vex. Vex is speaking to him. And Declan wants to find him. Vex will only be found if or when he wishes to be.
The truth was that Declan’s words–or a version of them–were the words that Rhalyf should be saying. He should have been confessing–even obliquely–that he had a hidden past that could cause harm. That his presence had likely attracted Vex’s attention even if Declan’s hadn’t.
“We have rescued Darcassan. Now you can take everyone and go back to Tyrael,” Declan said with fierceness to Aquilan. “You must especially take Finley, because he will not want to leave when I don’t come with you.”
“You won’t be coming with us?” Aquilan’s eyes widened in alarm and this time he moved and grasped Declan’s forearms. “Declan, you are coming back to Tyrael. You are returning home with us. We will go to the Dawn and you can tell us everything–”
“No, King Aquilan, I must not do that.” Declan shook his head.
Why wasn’t Finley objecting to this? Or coming up with some good ideas?
Rhalyf needed those good ideas right about now.
He found himself utterly incapable of thinking of anything.
He turned his head and saw Snaglak and Glom standing in the hallway that led to where they had left Finley safe and sound.
“Finley gone,” Snaglak said.
“What?” Rhalyf’s voice was sharp. Cutting. “What are you talking about, Snaglak? Finley cannot be gone, he’s right there! Finley? Finley? We need you in here right now!”
He pushed past the orc and the naki into where the stairwell ended, but he saw no Finley. There was no lithe young man standing in a corner or quivering halfway up the stairs or anywhere at all.
Finley was not there.
“Finley gone,” Snaglak repeated, grunting at the end.
“No,” Rhalyf whispered as his eyes darted around the room looking for something, anything, to indicate where the young man had gone. “This can’t be. This can’t…”
“No smell blood. No body,” Snaglak remarked unhelpfully. “No kill? Maybe taken. Finley gone.”
“Don’t say that–”
“Leviathan scent strong. Fear scent too. But come from us? No, no, Finley fear smell,” Snaglak continued inexorably.
“Shut up! Stop saying that! I need to think! I need to find him! Just… quiet!” Rhalyf snarled.
But his own mind wasn’t allowing him to think.
He remembered the taste of Finley’s skin on his lips.
He remembered the way Finley pushed his glasses up his nose when they slid down.
He remembered how those big, blue eyes got even bigger when Rhalyf demonstrated magic to him. He remembered–Declan slid past him.
Aquilan was then at Rhalyf’s side. “Is there any sign of…”
A body? Violence? Death? Aquilan did not finish that sentence.
He didn’t want to. To say it was to make it manifest. But, nevertheless, just like Snaglak had said, there were none of those things.
So that meant if a Leviathan got to Finley that it hadn’t killed him.
At least not right here. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t dead.
The Leviathan were notorious for taking some victims back to their nests where they would feed them to their young.
As Snaglak had said: Finley taken. But even if that terrible fate had befallen Finley, the Leviathan could have taken the young man to any number of places here or in the Under Dark.
“Did he go back upstairs?” Elasha glanced up the stairs to see if Finley was lingering up above. “Maybe he just retreated a bit. The fighting was rather fierce. He might have become afraid and backed away.”
“Why wasn’t he in there fighting with us?” Darcassan asked.
And that had Rhalyf snapping.
He suddenly had Darcassan by the throat and had shoved him up against the wall. Darcassan stared at him open-mouthed. Shock retreated to terror though as Rhalyf got into his face.
“Because he was human, you stupid fool! But we needed his help to find you! So he came with us! Another life put at risk for you!” Rhalyf spat and snarled.
“You who wanted to steal from the gods damned Night King! You who would have started a war between Night and Sun Elves because you’re too ignorant to know that taking anything from Illithor is death! ”
“I–I–what? Why would it–”
“He’s always watching! The Night King is always watching!
” Rhalyf slammed Darcassan against the wall again and again.
Tiles cracked. Dust rained down. Darcassan was making alarming choking noises.
“All so you could steal a few swords or axes or spellbooks? You think that the paltry things you could carry with your own two hands would turn the tide against the Leviathan if they were really massing against us?”
Elasha was tugging at his arms. “Rhalyf, please stop! You’re hurting Darcassan!”
“I don’t care! He needs to be hurt! Elasha, he got Finley killed!” Rhalyf’s voice bled as he said those words. “Don’t you understand that?!”
She stopped hitting him. Her eyes went wide and her face paled.
“Finley lived less than a quarter of a century, Elasha! He was brilliant! You’ve no idea how brilliant and–and he died because your useless brother thought that a few trinkets he’d never be able to truly master could turn the tide of a war that’s done!” Rhalyf shouted.
Tears were running down his face. He hadn’t even realized when they’d started. He couldn’t breathe. His blood was pounding like a drum in his ears. He felt like he wanted to howl.
“I–I didn’t know!” Darcassan gasped out.
“What you don’t know would fill universes!” Rhalyf shouted.
He felt Aquilan’s hand on his left shoulder. “Please, my friend. Please, brother. I know you’re full of grief, but Darcassan–”
“Isn’t responsible?” Rhalyf let out a bark of ugly laughter as he dropped Darcassan like a pile of garbage on the ground.
“Didn’t intend for anyone to come save him because he didn’t even have the sense to know he needed saving?
Or more like stopping? You’re right. He didn’t.
I should have stayed with Finley. I should have set wards around him.
I should have done something to keep him safe! ”
“I should never have allowed him to come down here in the first place. I was foolish to think he would be safe,” Aquilan murmured. “You are not responsible, Rhalyf. I am.”
Darcassan coughed as he clutched at his throat. Elasha dropped down beside him and patted his shoulder as if he were a little boy who needed comfort. Rhalyf felt the urge to kick them both. Finley was worth a dozen of them. A hundred. More. But he was gone. Gone.
“Maybe he’s–he’s not dead,” Darcassan got out. “The body isn’t here! Maybe the Leviathan took him back to their nest at Illithor. We could follow after them. Maybe it won’t be too late!”
“Snaglak and Glom go Illithor. Get Finley back,” Snaglak nodded.
Glom burped.
Rhalyf was quivering at Darcassan’s words. That could be true. Finley could still be alive in Illithor. Another rift could open. But the Sun Elves could not go there without risking a war with Vex. But he could. Declan could. It was time to end this life to save Finley’s.
“What do you know about the rifts here, Darcassan?” Helgrom was asking. “How many go to Illithor? How often do they appear? I assume this is the best place to find one as you staked it out.”
Darcassan got shakily to his feet. He was still rubbing his neck where Rhalyf had held him. His voice was rough as he said, “I was tracking magical traces. Illithor has a certain something about it. I’ve tracked most of it here. The rifts open every few hours.”
“Hours?” Helgrom grimaced. “That’s not…” but he bit whatever he was going to say off and said, “there could still be time even if that is true. We need to wait for the next rift to open and go through it. You can use a locator spell there, can’t you, Rhalyf?
I know you can’t track between planes, but–”
“I can do that,” Rhalyf agreed. It was something. Something he could do.
“You saw how many Leviathan there were that came out of that last one!” Elasha cried out. She gripped her brother’s arm. “If there is a nest there, it would be suicide to go through!”
“I have a Sunstone,” Aquilan said quietly. “I can power it sufficiently that it could kill most of the Leviathan even in a cavern the size of the one that houses Illithor.”
The Sunstone Aquilan was referring to was the one Declan had stopped Aquilan from using earlier. Rhalyf thought of how casual he had been about counseling Aquilan to not act rashly to keep the boys safe. How foolish he had been! But that Sunstone meant that they could go into Illithor though…
“The use of a Sunstone in the Under Dark by Illithor… well, if you are willing to risk it for Finley, I most certainly am,” Helgrom grunted.
“It is a risk I am willing to take to get Finley back,” Aquilan said firmly.
“Give me the Sunstone,” Rhalyf suddenly said and stretched out his hand.
Aquilan tilted his head to the side. “My friend, you are powerful indeed, but the power of the Sun is my speciality.”
“It is. And under other circumstances, you should be the one to wield it. But not in these. Not by Illithor,” Rhalyf said. “I can wield it sufficiently to get to Finley. For Declan and I to get to Finley. And the Night King will not have a reason to think of this as an invasion… or worse.”
Aquilan blinked at him. “Rhalyf, you are my best friend and a noble of the Sun Court. The Night King will see little difference between us if he truly decides to use a rescue mission as an act of war.”
Rhalyf’s mouth was dry. His chest was tight. He grimaced, but he finally got out, “He won’t.”
“Rhalyf–”
“He won’t,” Rhalyf repeated.
But Aquilan wasn’t listening to him. “I am going, my brother. I am going to Illithor. We will find Finley. Declan, does this plan work for you?”
Declan had said nothing during this entire interlude. He hadn’t even reacted to Rhalyf’s breakdown with Darcassan. His back was to all of them. He was staring at the sidewall of the stairwell. Just staring at it.
Finally, he spoke without turning around towards them, “None of you is going with me. I require no assistance.”
“Declan, we all saw your fighting. You are more than impressive,” Elasha surprisingly said, “but you cannot go to Illithor alone!”
“You do not understand. You think that I am going to enemy territory where only danger awaits me. But I am not,” Declan said softly as he reached for the back of his neck. The hair on the back of Rhalyf’s own neck stood up. Ardreth appeared in Declan’s hand. “I am going home.”