Page 90 of Becoming D'Vaire
Eldwyn lifted his head to stare into Chander’s eyes. “You’re the best Arch Lich your people have ever had.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. We’d like to talk to you about Carvallius and Latarian. Do you mind?”
“I should get Carvil,” Briallen called out as she took off running.
“Carvil?”
“Carvallius’s familiar,” Eldwyn responded. “Murdered by that fucker just a few years after being summoned. Thought he could suck all his power and give it to himself as if he were an incubus. You only get a slight bump of strength if you lose your familiar. The man isn’t half as smart as he thinks he is or as powerful. Right, Dre’Kariston? You sure walloped his ass, but you paid a dear price.”
Briallen returned before Dre’Kariston could reply, and at her side was a frowning man with a long red ponytail. Introductions were quickly made, then Carvil said, “No one should’ve resurrected Carvallius or his idiot granddaughter.”
“We agree, and we want to be sure it never happens again,” Chander answered. He explained their plan to have T’Eirick and Saura cross over with a slice of a Cwylld stone to anchor the pair where they belonged.
“What a plan. Genius in its simplicity. I think it’ll work. We’ll have to jam the stone into Carvallius and Latarian on this side,” Eldwyn remarked. “There’s a place all souls cross—we can camp there until our plan is complete, and both Carvallius and Latarian are dead again. We can head there—we know T’Eirick and Saura don’t have much time left. I know you’ve found Carvallius, but what about the granddaughter?”
“We were hoping you might have some information on Latarian. We’ve scryed and haven’t found shit,” Dre’Kariston confided.
“All I can tell you is that she’s working with Egidius’s horrible son. Now there’s a cranky-ass spirit we all steer clear of, but Jael’s still living and has met with Latarian on a few occasions. There was a woman present in all but the first one. She’s a relative, perhaps a cousin of Jael’s. I can sense she’s mated, but her other half hasn’t been present. I can’t sense him as magickind, so I would guess he or she’s a shifter—or perhaps something rarer, like a demon,” Eldwyn said.
“How many demons are living?” Chander asked.
“I don’t know. They have their own realm,” Briallen answered.
Chander did a slow nod. “Okay, that would explain why we haven’t found any.”
“Jael and his companions fear the Sentinel Brotherhood. Chand, tell your mate to continue to scour the planet looking for them. It’ll keep them from growing bold,” Briallen suggested.
“No worries there. Alaric’s not the kind to give up on a pursuit. Latarian spends the rest of her time on a magical realm, right? What about the three missing necromancer elders?”
“I have no clue of their whereabouts or if they’re still alive,” Eldwyn replied. “We can start searching for them after our plan is complete if you like.”
“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to know one way or another.”
“We appreciate having things to keep us busy. Consider it our mission once we pin these fuckers back on this side,” Eldwyn said.
“Our time’s gotta be getting short. Is there anything else we need to go over? We won’t know exactly when the fallen knights are going to execute Carvallius, but if you’re waiting there it shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Chander asked.
Eldwyn smirked. “We’ll just see who handles the execution but yes, we’ll be waiting. We aren’t going to miss this opportunity to pay him back for killing us all.”
“I don’t suppose you’re going to explain that comment,” Chander remarked.
“Not at all.”
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to ram a rock into Carvallius’s evil soul,” Carvil stated. His eyes were burning with fury. “It’s going to hurt like hell and drain me, but it’s going to be worth it to see him pay.”
“Thank you for doing this, Carvil. It’s a great gift for all of us,” Dre’Kariston responded.
“It’s my pleasure.”
“It would be remiss of us not to ask you to carry a message to the Cwylld chieftain,” Eldwyn stated without any warmth in his voice.
“I’ll listen to whatever you have to say, Eldwyn, but know that the Cwylld chieftain is a dear and well-loved member of my family,” Dre’Kariston warned.
Eldwyn rolled his eyes. “Didn’t we just talk about Del’s mating ceremony yesterday? I can see he’s your family. Listen, you need to tell him the truth of the elves he thinks are missing. He’s the last living Cwylld-born since his brother’s now Acwellan. His parents, they sold those that he worries over to a brutal tribe called the Torstratan. They hunt people for sport and that was how they lost their lives. The former chieftains feared there was not enough food to go around, so this was how they decided to solve that problem. Steer clear of the Torstratan, they’re beyond evil and easy to recognize—they have skin the color of blood. Cadlyr should focus on his mission to rebuild the Cwylld name and protect those stones. You may just find yourselves hunting for more someday.”
“Well, that’s fucking great. I destroyed a giant pile of them,” Chander complained.
“I didn’t say you needed more, just that you might prefer it. I think your group of sorcerers might find themselves creating an alternative that’s as helpful but less dangerous. I can’t say why or how you’re led down that path. Fate only offers me glimpses of the future.”
