Page 42 of Dragon Sword

“No.” The word was said in such a firm tone that Will paused. Terve met both our eyes with his resolved gaze. “Should they discover me missing then I will have caused you to fail in your mission. That is, provided you have come to search out the truth.”

“What truth do you know?” Will inquired.

Terve sighed. “That the humans kept in the dungeons above this one are not the only ones that have been spotted in the woods these past six months.”

My eyebrows shot up. “There were others?”

He held up one finger. “A single woman clad in a dark cloak. She was spotted in the shadows of the stones six months ago. Our scouts attempted to capture her but she vanished as silently as a shadow. We only know that she was an old woman and had the scent of mortality on her. She was again sighed only three weeks hence and again around the stones, but we could not catch her.”

“How could she just disappear?” I asked him.

The elf shook his head. “Some great magic must be aiding her, but her arrival both times brought calamity. The first was the initial infection and the second heralded even more change in the animals and even in the trees. Many have blackened trunks that we have managed to hide only with great magic skill.”

“Why did you not tell us this information earlier?” Will questioned him.

The general turned his face to one side. “I gave an oath as a general to my king that I would tell no one of the intrusion save for my men. Now that I am a civilian my oath is broken.”

Will studied him with a curious look in his red eyes. “Did you intend to relinquish your command to break that oath? Is that why you helped us at the stones?”

A bittersweet smile slipped onto his lips. “Whatever I do I do it to help my people. I believe the king is in the wrong by keeping our people oblivious to the trouble but he will not believe they are capable of handling that truth. He has no plans to tell them the dangerous truth. His only actions were silence from his guards and to send Luja out to the world at the knight’s behest.”

Will frowned. “At Luja’s behest? It wasn’t the king’s idea?”

Terve shook his head. “It was Luja who insisted on the trip. He so pestered the king that His Highness sickened of his pleas and allowed him to leave.”

I looked up at Will and saw his brow had darkened. “Why would he lie to us?”

Will folded his arms over his chest and his eyes shone with a flickering light of curiosity. “It makes one ponder what else he may have lied to us about but he will have to wait.” He dropped his arms and met the frail eyes of the elf. “We’ll search for the truth on your behalf and do whatever is within our power to help your people fend off this shadow.”

Terve bowed his head. “That is all I ask.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

“How dowe reach the upper dungeons?” Will questioned him.

Terve used a finger to point up at the ceiling. “Their dampness comes down these same walls. There is a set of stairs down the corridor and to the right. They will lead you up past the second floor and up to the lower levels of the city. Stay on the stairs or you will be sure to lose your way.”

My eyes widened. “Are we that low?”

Terve leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “The manilla is a maze of illusion. The only solid knowledge is that you will not become lost if you are able to retrace your steps.”

“Then we’ll be sure to follow your directions explicitly,” Will promised before he turned to leave.

I tugged on Will’s hand and nodded at Terve. “But what about him?”

Terve chuckled. “His Highness will not allow me to rot down here. This is merely a temporary punishment to warn the others, and I will be taken to the upper floors within a week. I will be fine but you have your promise to keep.”

Will met my gaze. “The sooner we discover the truth the sooner he will be freed.”

I pursed my lips before I tugged my hand out of his. I held out one palm and my sword lit up the area. Its flame was warm and bright as I reached down and ripped off the lower part of my shirt. I held the cloth to the sword and the shirt caught fire. Its warmth soothed my tense nerves as I knelt and set the fire inside the cell. The soft glow illuminated Terve’s surprised face.

“You can put it out whenever you want but I promise you it will relight if you want it to,” I told him.

A faint smile came upon his lips and he nodded. “Thank you.”

Only then did I allow Will to lead me away. My heart was heavy as we plodded down the dark corridor, leaving the ruined general in his self-imposed cell. We reached the stairs as he told us but I paused on the first step and looked back. A faint glimmer of light could be seen in the cell and a hand stuck out between the bars and shooed us toward the stairs.

I smiled and we tiptoed up the steps. All was quiet and calm and that gave me ample time to ponder our conversation.

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