Page 23 of Dark Elves of Ardani

Naika’s odd smile turned into a glare aimed at the other Paladin.

As they walked, the fog thickened, rolling past in clouds. After a time, Theron slowed to walk beside her again. Already at the back of the group, Zara had nowhere to go to escape him.

“I am glad you came with us,” he said. “I can’t help but feel like you and I have a bond.”

She glanced over at him. “A bond?”

“Yes. Do you feel it, too? Paladius says that the bond between the savior and the saved is sacred.”

Irritation sharpened her tongue more than was probably wise. “I do not care about Paladius, Paladin Theron.”

His face fell a little. “You shouldn’t say that. He has guided me in every part of my life. I have done my best to do as he would have us do, and he has helped me in return. He could help you, too, you know.”

“I have no interest in any of the Five.”

“I understand why you’re bitter toward the gods. It’s to be expected. You were alone for so long…” He looked away, pensive, no doubt fantasizing about how she’d probably spent her entire life helpless and lost and sad until he’d come along to fix her. “I want to give you the opportunity to learn about your culture. We could teach you, if you like. I rescued you, and I owe it to you to help you find your place among our people.”

“I will let you know if I become interested in the offer, thank you.”

From the hillside of loose stone and gravel above them, there came a crumbling sound. They’d been hearing similar sounds all day, so no one paid it any mind until it was followed by a thunderous crash.

Zara jolted to a stop. High up the hill, a boulder had begun tumbling down the hill toward them. As it fell, it knocked loose an entire section of the slope, which began to slide toward the path.

She was so distracted by the avalanche that she almost didn’t see the dark figure at the top of the hill, seated upon a mount, his cloak billowing in the wind as he watched the Paladins below. The sight sent a chill through her.

“Go!” Theron shouted, turning her around and pushing her back in the direction they’d come from. In the panic as the tons of stone tumbled closer, the Paladins were in disarray. She and Theron and Naika ran in one direction, and the rest of the Paladins went the other.

Zara’s feet pounded the ground quickly, and she overtook the Paladins in their heavy armor. The sound of the avalanche became deafening, and Zara thought Theron was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him over the crashing of rock. She glanced over her shoulder, and the sea of stone was alarmingly close. Naika had raised a hand toward the hillside, and the faint glow of some kind of spell was growing between them.

A cloud of dirt rose before Zara could tell if Naika’s spell had been successful. She flinched, covering her head as gravel pelted her. A massive rock that must have been three times her weight flew past her face like a tumbleweed. She slowed, afraid she might step off the edge of a cliff if she ran farther. In the fog and dust, she could hardly see her hand in front of her face.

A hand closed around her wrist. Panicked, she grabbed onto the arm behind it. It was only when she looked closer that she realized the hand was gray.

Before she could react, she was being hauled up by surprisingly strong arms and tossed on her stomach over a warm, furry surface, and then that surface was galloping under her at frightening speed.

As the ground beneath her sped by, she scrabbled against the creature, searching for handholds and finding none. A fist was on her back, grasping her belt to hold her in place. She craned her neck. As they broke free of the cloud of dust, her abductor came into view. The half-elf was seated in a saddle on the animal’s back, his cloak and hair streaming behind him. He glanced down at her, his lips curling, and the fierce look on his face made her heart stutter with fear.

He was kidnapping her, not rescuing her. His expression left no doubt about that.

She looked toward the cloud of dust behind them, wondering if the Paladins were dead. Then she saw shadowy figures. Naika emerged from the dust, and Zara’s hopes lifted. The mage raised her hands, conjuring another spell. A blast of energy shot from her hands and hit the ground at the animal’s feet. The creature stumbled but didn’t fall.

The half-elf, his hand tangled in the animal’s mane, urged it faster, his knee bouncing against Zara’s ribs as they rode. Theron emerged from the dust, but all the Paladins were quickly falling far behind as the animal galloped on. Soon they were specks in the distance, and as the animal rounded the curve of a mountain peak, the Paladins disappeared from sight completely.

The dirt was moving beneath Zara at a terrifying clip, and the ground dropped sharply away just to the side of the narrow path they were on. She was afraid of what would happen if she jumped from the animal at this speed, but she was more afraid of what the half-elf might be planning to do to her.

She reached up and, in one motion, pulled the dagger from his belt and drove it deep into his thigh.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

He did speak Ardanian after all, it seemed.

He jolted, throwing the animal off balance. The animal made a startled sound and reared up on its hind legs, throwing both of them from its back.

The earth hit her hard, knocking the wind from her as she rolled. Then the ground went out from under her. She’d gone over the edge of the cliff. She grasped for purchase on the sheer slope, and found none.

As she dropped through open air, she saw the four-legged creature above her scrambling to keep from falling off the crumbling ledge with her. The half-elf, though, had also fallen from the ledge. He was the last thing she saw before the world disappeared.

Chapter 9

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