“All the same, I will try,” said Chiron.
As Bellisia, Syranis, and Chiron approached the captiveelf, Bellisia noticed the wounds on his chest. Her eyes met Gewey'swith disapproval, but he met her gaze unmoved.
Chiron knelt beside him. “What is your name?”
The elf looked broken and weary. “I have told youall that I am willing to say.” He turned his head and lookedaway. “Kill me and be done with it. Or better yet, give me tothe human. I'm sure he would love to make sport of me.”
“You attacked your own kin,” said Bellisia.“And you took a captive, one bonded to this human. You arefortunate he is humanand not an elf. An elfwould have made more of you than sport.” She moved closer. “Anelf would have you screaming so loudly, it would wake yourancestors.” She moved even closer, forcing him to meet hereyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper “And if Kaylia dies… Iwill give you to him.”
Fear struck the elf, but he forced it down. “All Iknow is that you have a traitor among you.” He closed his eyes.“I will say nothing more.”
Bellisia stood up and turned to Theopolou. “Killhim,” she said lowering her head. “But do it withoutpain.”
“No,” shouted Gewey. “His life ismine.”
“And just what will you do with it?” askedBellisia. “Will you kill him? Do you wish to torture himfurther?”
Gewey was speechless.
“Then allow this elf to die,” said Bellisia.“Without pain.”
“Release him,” said Gewey.
The elders stared at Gewey, stunned.
“Release him?” exclaimed Syranis. “Don'tbe a fool.”
“Linis and Theopolou were right to stop me when Iwas torturing this elf,” said Gewey. “Though I did notsee it.” He closed his eyes and steadied his nerves. “Iwill not kill him… I will not murder a helpless person. That willnot be on my soul.”
Linis placed his hand on Gewey's shoulder. “Is itthe best way? If we let him go, our enemies will gain knowledge.”
“Then keep him captive,” offered Gewey.
“How shall we do this?” asked Theopolou. “Wehave no prison. Our people are reeling from the attack. Where shouldwe keep him?” He drew his knife. “Unless you intend totake him with you, there is nowhere for him.”
“It just feels wrong,” said Gewey.
“Did it feel wrong when you were cutting into hisflesh?” Bellisia challenged. “If Linis and Theopolou hadnot stopped you, would you be so kind now? This elf attacked his ownkin and abducted your bonded mate. His death is warranted. ”
“You're right,” said Gewey. “If I hadcontinued to hurt him, my heart would have changed. I see that now.And I'm grateful I didn't.” He met Bellisia's eyes. “Howcould I face Kaylia with a stain on my heart?”
“If you wish him to live,” said Bellisia,“you can only release him.” She looked down at theircaptive. “Would you like that? Would you simply wander off, andnot warn your kin that Gewey is coming for them?”
The elf squirmed and shifted until he could meet Gewey'seyes. “If you wish to let me go, then you have nothing to fearfrom me. I will not interfere. I will go east. This I swear.”He lowered his eyes. “But they are right. You can only kill me.It is what I would do in your place.”
Gewey's eyes narrowed, then he straightened his back andsaid, “You will wait until I am gone three days, then releasehim. If his word is good, then he will not follow. If not….he hadbetter pray that we do not meet again.”
“I do not agree with this,” said Theopolou.“But I will do as you ask. I will have what remains of my guardwatch him.” He called outside and two elves entered. Heinstructed them to guard the prisoner.
“We should meet with the others,” saidChiron.
They made their way through the smoldering ruins of thecamp, to the field near the bridge. There Gewey could see more than ahundred elves gathered in a loose circle.
Several yards away, a pavilion was being erected tohouse the wounded. From the crowd Akakios limped toward them,carrying a bundle under his arm. His leg was bandaged and his leftcheek bore a deep gash.
“My lord,” said Akakios. “It is goodto see you unharmed.”
“Thank you,” said Theopolou. “I fearedyou were slain.”
“I nearly was,” he replied. “I onlyjust bandaged my leg. I was caught in the tempest Gewey unleashedwhen you made your escape.”
“I'm sorry,” said Gewey. “I didn'tmean-”
Akakios held up his hand. “You saved the life ofmy lord and an elder of our people. A small price. Besides… Ilive.” He smiled. “I do have a bit of good news, my lord.I was stopped by Felsafell just before I entered the Chamber of theMaker. You had already descended to the floor.” He handedTheopolou the bundle. “He gave me this and told me to give itback to you.”
Theopolou unwrapped it and his eyes widened. “TheBook of Souls,” he whispered. “This isgood news.”
“But that means Felsafell must have known of theattack,” said Chiron. “And that he refused to warn us.”
“Perhaps,” Theopolou replied. “Perhapsnot. I do not pretend to understand the motives of Felsafell. Butthat he safeguarded the Book of Souls means we have not lost hope.”He turned to Gewey. “I must ask one more thing of you beforeyou leave.” He handed Gewey the box containing the Book. “Youmust open it and read from its pages.”
Gewey ran his fingers over the smooth, polished wood.“Then we must do it now. I will not wait much longer.”
“Agreed,” said Theopolou. “Come.”
“I must see what has become of my seekers,”said Linis. “I must know if they live. And I must find thetrail of our attackers. I shall return soon, Gewey. Then we willdepart.”
Gewey nodded, and Linis dashed off over the bridge.
Theopolou led the group to where the elves gathered. Alleyes turned to them as they drew near.
“He has brought this on us,” called a voice.“He must leave.” This was met by loud shouts ofagreement.
“He willleave,” said Bellisia, her voice rising over the crowd. “Hewill pursue our attackers and free Kaylia. While you bicker andargue, he will take action.” The crowd became silent.
Theopolou nodded to Gewey. “I think it is time foryou to speak.”
Gewey squared his shoulders and stepped forward. He wasunsure what he was going to say. All he could think about was goingto save Kaylia, and he could feel the seconds slipping away. He tooka deep breath and began to speak.
“I am Gewey Stedding and I am here to ask for yourhelp. A dark force is rising in the land of Angraal. Aforce that threatens to destroy both humans and elves alike. A forcethat turns brother against brother. A force that willnot stop until it has conquered the wholeworld. I know that you have been promised your lands, and the freedomto rule them. Some of you may believe this promise, others may not.Some of you think you should join Angraal, and some thinkyou should stay out of it entirely. But I think that today's attackshould tell you that there is no way to do either.”
“We do not know that the King of Angraalhad anything to do with this,” said a tall, silk-clad elf.
“So you think it's a coincidence that your own kinattacked you while the north gathers for war?”
“I am saying that we do not know,” retortedthe elf. “I am saying that we have as much reason to suspectthat you were involved as we do to accuse Angraal.”This brought murmurs of agreement. “I am Marinos, lord andelder of the western isles. We too have been offered lands that wealready hold, just as the human says. But what he does not say isthat it is the human threat that spreads like a plague. They moveever closer to our lands and keeps. They disregard our borders andpoison the spirits of even the most wise.” His eyes fell onTheopolou. “Now you say that Angraal is gathering forwar. You tell us what we already know. You pretend to offer us a wayout of danger, but you only offer us destruction. If we join you, theLord of Angraal will sweep down upon us like a storm. Therewill be nothing of our people left to save.”