Page 27 of Dragon Sword

Will smiled down at me. “Do you not like their marbled halls and gardens?”

I shrugged. “It’s nice, but, well, it’s all the same. The only place that’s different is Alisa’s house.”

My companion nodded as we diverted around a pile of mossy rocks. “The elves are very proud of their lineage and customs, and they live long enough that change is abhorrent to them.”

I shuddered. “I hope I don’t get like that. . .”

Will squeezed my hand. “I will give you sights you have never seen and many adventures that will keep you preoccupied for a lifetime, even one as long as ours.”

I grinned up at him and nudged his arm with my shoulder. “Is that a promise?”

He nodded. “That’s a promise.”

“Then I’ll keep you at your word for that long,” I teased as I looked around us. “Speaking of a long time, why are we walking? Can’t you fly us to the old road?”

“The magic barrier around the elf kingdom prevents anyone from flying into and out of their lands. The old road lies outside their current boundary so flying is impossible until we pass through the wall.”

“Won’t we get lost, too, if we don’t have an elf leading us?” I wondered.

He shook his head. “You have Alisa’s blessing with you now. The road will always be open to us.”

I cocked my head to one side. “Her blessing?”

“An elf may cast their magic over a human and that blessing grants them the ability to venture to the city,” he explained. “I already had that blessing but you didn’t.”

“So can that blessing be revoked?” I asked him.

“At any moment.”

A sly smile slipped onto my lips. “Has Alisa ever revoked yours?”

He grinned. “Once. We were visiting the city when she was still a child and she threw a fuss over my not buying her a treat, so she revoked the welcome.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “What happened?”

“The protection magic in the elven realm threw me out.”

My mouth dropped open. “Threw you out? Like out of the city?”

“Out of the realm,” he told me as he winced at the memory and rubbed his posterior. “It was quite interesting to be physically pulled out of the city and across the vali, through the woods, and onto the road. My muscles still ache at the memory, though that was several millennia ago.”

“Remind me not to make her mad. . .” I murmured as we continued our trek through the woods.

I was very glad when Will stopped us and looked to and fro. Nothing was visible to my eyes but I felt a strange vibration in front of us. “This is the edge of the elven territory,” he explained as he nodded ahead of us. “The road is just ahead.”

We made to move forward when a scream echoed all around us.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

The sound madethe hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Will tightened his grip on my hand. “Stay close!”

He pulled me along through the barrier and the woods, and in a minute we stumbled out into a road that had seen better days. One of the two lanes was choked by weeds and small trees, and the other half was a mess of ruts.

The road wasn’t what caught our attention, however, but the man lying in the shadowed ditch close to where we stood. He was on his back with a shadowy creature looming over him. His face was bloodied and a backpack lay nearby, discarded and somewhat mauled. Another terrified cry came from him as he pushed his hands against the beast’s hairless and blackened chest. The creature pushed against him and tried to snap its jaws around his head.

“Hey!” Will shouted and the beast lifted its head to glare at us with those familiar lifeless eyes.

The creature bared its blood-stained fangs and marched over the top of the terrified man. Will let go of my hand and flung his out on either side, causing two fireballs to burst out of his palms. I held out my hand and my sword shot out in all its fiery glory. The creature slowed to a stop and its dark eyes flickered over both of us. A shift in the wind caused the branches above us to stir and the sunlight shone more strongly through the leaves. The light fell on the monster and, like those on the training field, it immediately began to burn. The monster turned and scurried into the shadows of the woods to our right.

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