“We come from the land of elves,” Caldal replied brusquely, refusing even to mention the name of Elvangar. “We will soon be returning there. We will be taking Mistake and Misty Trail with us. They are elves just like Eltor and myself. They have no place in the land of humans.”
A deep frown fell over Rejji’s face from both the tone of Caldal’s speech and the content of his statement. His mouth opened to speak and the Emperor abruptly stood up.
“While this is a magnificent meal,” he announced, “I am quite tired from the day’s journey. I am sure the rest of you are as well. Perhaps we should retire to our rooms and prepare for an early start in the morning. Wyant, some in our party are in need of swords. Can you pick some up at the marketplace for me?”
“We have quite an assortment in the administration building,” answered Wyant. “We can meet there in the morning, and each person can choose for himself.”
“Good,” the Emperor nodded curtly. “Let’s retire to our rooms.”
Halman and Gunta immediately stood up. Axor and the Fakarans did as well. The elves stared across the table at Mistake and MistyTrail and finally rose. They turned and walked away silently to get their key from the innkeeper.
“What is wrong with them?” frowned Mistake. “I thought Caldal’s attitude was improving, but he sounded quite put out. I wonder if the food does not agree with him?”
Chapter 7
Air Tunnel
“And that is what I have been doing since I left Fakara,” Mistake said as she concluded the tale of her adventures since leaving Ghala.
“You have had quite an adventure,” Rejji replied as he rose and walked around the small room in the Kheri Inn. “It is hard for me to imagine the Island of Darkness. I could not stand to live in such a place.”
“They plan to bring that culture here,” warned MistyTrail. “How can we possibly hope to defeat a million man army?”
“Fakara is much stronger than it used to be before Rejji took over the Free Tribes,” Bakhai pointed out.
“But it is still fractured,” countered the Astor. “The Jiadin are still scattered over much of the land. Fakara’s armies are half of what they could be.”
“You need to conquer the Jiadin,” suggested Mistake. “You cannot hope to defeat Vand’s armies with the Jiadin at your back.”
“I cannot even hope to defeat Vand’s armies with the Jiadin eliminated,” frowned Rejji. “If I try to eradicate the Jiadin now, all that I will accomplish is more death and destruction. The Free Tribes will be less of a force than they are now. I want a time of peace and prosperity in Fakara. These people deserve a break from the ages of warfare.”
“What they deserve and what you can give them may be two different things,” cautioned MistyTrail. “The Sakovans yearned for peace, but it could never happen until Omunga was conquered. Isn’t the Astor of Fakara supposed to be like the Star of Sakova? Didn’t Kaltara send you to free these people?”
“I don’t know what I am supposed to do,” Rejji admitted with a frown. “I opened the gates of Angragar. That is all that I have done.”
“You have accomplished much more than that, brother,” interjected Bakhai. “You have united the Free Tribes and begun the restoration of Fakara. No other person could have accomplished that. You destroyed Grulak’s army and halted the total domination of our homeland by Vand’s people.”
“What has Kaltara told you to do?” asked MistyTrail.
“Told me to do?” echoed Rejji. “What do you mean?”
“You haven’t spoken to Kaltara?” gasped MistyTrail. “Tell me that you are not serious. Have you talked to Kaltara?”
Rejji stopped pacing and stared at MistyTrail. “How am I supposed to talk to him?” Rejji asked.
“Through prayer,” explained the Sakovan. “You must to talk to Emperor Marak about this. How can you expect to know what to do if you have not asked Kaltara?”
“Has Kaltara spoken to Emperor Marak?” asked Bakhai.
“I am sure that he has,” nodded MistyTrail. “Kaltara has even spoken to me. Why wouldn’t he speak to the Astor?”
“Kaltara has spoken to you?” queried Rejji. “What did he say?”
“Many things,” MistyTrail said guardedly as she remembered the days she spent in prayer when Mistake had run away. “If he had not instructed me, I would not be here today.”
MistyTrail walked to the bed and sat down next to Mistake She lovingly put her arm around her sister and smiled.
“You two look so much alike,” Bakhai noted as he stared at the sisters. “I can’t imagine having the two of you around here. It will be interesting.”
“They won’t be staying,” frowned Rejji. “Didn’t you hear the elves earlier tonight. Mistake and MistyTrail are going away with them.”
“To Elvangar,” nodded Mistake as she stared at Rejji. “Why does that bother you so much?”
Rejji sighed and sat on the floor facing the women. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess I always took your presence for granted, but since you have been gone, I have thought of you constantly. Not a day has gone by that I had not wished to see you by my side. Now you will be leaving once more. I will probably never see you again.”
“Nonsense,” smiled Mistake. “We are just going to see the land of the elves. It will be an exciting trip. Maybe you should come?”
“That is not possible,” replied Rejji. “The elves would not even name their homeland in front of me. There is no way that they would allow me to go.”
“How do you know that without asking them?” retorted Mistake. “Eltor and Caldal are good friends. They are quite eager to take MistyTrail and me there. Why wouldn’t they let you come too?”
“And that is the problem,” Rejji nodded sadly. “You call them good friends, but they wish to be more than that. Didn’t you see their reactions when you invited us up to your room? It was a look of hatred for Bakhai and me.”
“Nonsense,” Mistake shook her head. “Caldal just has trouble sometimes dealing with humans. He is getting over that. It must be your imagination.”
“They are in love with you,” interjected Bakhai. “At least they think they are. Even one who has not spent much time around humans can see that easily.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked MistyTrail with sudden interest.
“You are not aware of their feelings for you?” questioned Bakhai.
“No,” MistyTrail shook her head. “I meant the part about someone not used to being around humans.”
“Bakhai was raised by animals,” explained Rejji. “It is only recently that he has spent much time among the people.”
“Really?” the Sakovan said excitedly. “There is much that I would love to ask you. I have spent my life trying to understand how animals in the Sakova act so that I could mimic them. It is one of the tricks that I used to remain invisible while guarding the forest.”
“You two need to spend some time in the forest alone,” laughed Mistake. “I can just see MistyTrail trying to sneak up on Bakhai. I wonder who would win such a contest?”
“Bakhai, without a doubt,” answered Rejji. “He would have all of the forest animals spying on MistyTrail.”
“Can you really do that?” MistyTrail asked Bakhai. “Do the animals really tell you things?”
“They do,” nodded Bakhai, “but not as you might expect. Animals don’t think like you do, and each species is different, but quite a lot of information can be determined by what they say. I would certainly know where you were hiding in the forest, but I might not be able to tell if you were planning to attack or merely sleeping.”
“We must test this out on the trip to Angragar,” MistyTrail said excitedly.
“Speaking of the trip,” frowned Rejji, “it is getting quite late. We should all get some sleep before the dawn comes. We can talk more on the way to Angragar.”
Rejji and Bakhai said goodbye and slipped out the door of the room. Mistake waited a few minutes before talking.