
# Lascaria – Evil Reborn

Written By: Steven Sterup Jr.

Copyright 2015 Steven Sterup Jr.

Legal Disclaimer - This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Special thanks to Andrew Bartlett, Amber Adams and Patrick Vaughan for their help with editing.

I would like to dedicate this book to Tammy, my wife. Without her help and support I never would have written this book.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

#  ******Chapter 1**

Draylen Goller cautiously walked through the tavern doors and nervously searched the crowded room for the person who sent for him. He was nearly seventy-two years old and a frail old man by most accounts. He wasn't sure he was up to meeting mysterious strangers in rundown taverns known for their unsavory patrons. Draylen was about average height with dark brown eyes. His once dark brown hair had mostly turned grey, but he took pleasure in the fact that even though his hair was grey, he at least still had his hair unlike most of the men his age. He liked to keep his hair short and his beard and mustache cleanly trimmed. He was a historian for the Tyrillian Academy, Lascaria's foremost military training academy, magic research center, and library of knowledge. He was hardly the type that would frequent a tavern like this, but he could not pass up the chance that this stranger might be telling the truth.

The tavern was dark, and there were many rough looking patrons drinking at tables around the room. Most of the patrons seemed like they were mercenaries, or at least what Draylen thought mercenaries looked like. The sparse candlelight coming from the tables was enough to make the patrons look even more menacing. The old historian assumed that these patrons would take offense when he walked through the door, but not one of them gave him a second glance.

Draylen had received a letter telling him to meet this person in this tavern, on this day at dusk if he wanted to know the true story of Lascar. Lascar was the most feared tyrant Lascaria had ever known. The old historian would have normally dismissed the letter as an attempt to make a few coins, but this letter had something that was different from all the others. Not only did the author of this letter not ask for any payment, in the bottom corner, where a signature would have normally been, there was an inked impression of a ring's seal. The seal was from the ring of one of Lascar's generals. These rings were affixed with Lascar's insignia, and all of the rings were thought to have been melted down after Lascar disappeared nearly fifty years ago. Draylen was hoping that even if the story was fiction, he might actually get to see one of the rings.

He had followed the instructions in the letter exactly as they were written. He went to the barkeep and asked for a tyrillian fizz, considered a woman's drink. This was not the type of drink you would order in a tavern like this, especially if you were an old historian. The barkeep looked at him suspiciously then walked to the front door, and went outside. Draylen wasn't sure what to make of this. The tavern was full of rowdy patrons. He wasn't one to frequent this type of establishment, but certainly, this was odd behavior for a barkeep.

A few minutes later, the barkeep returned to his post, followed by a hooded figure. The hooded man, Draylen presumed based on his masculine build and gait, moved towards one of the tables at the back of the room. The barkeep told the old historian in a low rough voice, "The table in the back," as he motioned towards the hooded figure who was now sitting at one of the far tables. Draylen felt anxious, not sure if he should be scared or excited, but he had come all this way; he wasn't about to leave without finding out what this man might know.

The old historian made his way through the tavern to the table where the hooded man was seated. As he walked through the tavern he noticed that the rowdy patrons were too busy with their drinking and shouting to worry about an old historian and a hooded man. When he reached the table, he noticed that the hooded man had taken the far seat, presumably to watch the door and to make sure Draylen was the man he sent the letter to. As Draylen sat down the hooded man raised his hand to the barkeep who grabbed two mugs of the house ale and brought them to the table. The old historian fumbled through his pack and grabbed his paper and pen so he could take down notes if, in fact, this man was telling the truth.

After a few moments, the hooded man lifted his head and took a drink of his ale. Now the historian could see the man's face. The man seemed young, he had a thin face, blue eyes and his hair was dyed black, Draylen could tell this because the man had a streak of white hair over his left ear. The historian had the strange feeling that he knew this man, his face seemed somewhat familiar, then it hit him, the white hair, young face, the general's ring, it could only be one person. Draylen was now certain he was terrified, not excited in the least. He wanted to run out the door and forget he had ever been to this tavern, but he was old, and there was no way he would outrun this man. This man could kill him before he stood up from his seat. The hooded man put his drink back on the table and began to speak in a very calm, quiet tone that helped Draylen stifle his urge to run.

"I believe you recognize me," the hooded man stated then paused to see if his assumption was correct.

"Yes, sir," Draylen replied, trying to contain his fear.

"Calling me sir in a place like this will probably get you killed," the hooded man stated, almost smiling.

"I apologize si... I mean Lastian," Draylen stuttered.

"So you do know who I am," Lastian continued. "I thought you had forgotten what I looked like, that was a very long time ago. But you should probably not call me by name either."

The words were too well spoken for a general of Lascar's army, but Lastian was no ordinary general, Lastian was Lascar's son. Draylen had met the son of Lascar, over fifty years ago when the old historian was a young, naive student at the Academy. The prince had been visiting the Academy to meet one of his old friends, Draylen's grandfather Stelan. The prince was a fugitive then, as he was now, but Stelan was happy to meet with him in private. His grandfather never told Draylen what he and Lastian spoke of, but it had taken most of the night. After the lengthy meeting, the prince left without saying a word to anyone else except Draylen. On the way to his hors, Lastian stopped and spoke to Draylen.

"Pleased to meet you Draylen, I hope we meet again someday. I can tell you stories of your grandfather. He is a good man and one of my closest friends." Then the prince rode off as quickly as he had arrived.

A few days later, Stelan paid the price for knowing Lastian. Two large draelic soldiers came and took Stelan away in broad daylight with all the students watching. Draylen never saw his grandfather again.

Draelic could be best described as a cross between a human and a demon from legends. They had humanoid features for the most part, but their skin tone ranged from light blue to light purple. Draelic men had large twisting horns that started above their eyebrows and curved backward over their heads, and their fangs were similar to the fangs of a tiger. Draelic women had similar features, but their fangs and horns were much smaller. Draelic men were considerably larger than human men and very muscular whereas the women were not much larger than human women but far more muscular. The women generally ruled most of their government while the men were soldiers and workers. The men were thought to be too chaotic and barbaric to be trusted with ruling over their country as well as most other aspects of their lives. The women were viewed as cold and calculating, which is why Lascar's generals, with the exception of Lastian, were all draelic women.

Draylen thought this must be the reason for the cryptic letter and the backwater tavern, to avoid a repeat of what happened to his grandfather. This helped him feel more at ease as he was sitting across from the man believed to have murdered countless thousands. Although Draylen was still not quite sure he could trust Lastian.

"Before we start I think I should help you to understand some things," Lastian began. "I did not leave one of my best friends, your grandfather, to be tortured and killed by the draelic. After they were a day's ride from the Academy, I killed both guards and put your grandfather in one of my houses. I was very careful to make it look like they just disappeared, but I made sure that enough people saw them together so that the draelic knew he was apprehended first."

"How is that possible?" Draylen's voice came out a bit louder than he expected and caused some of the patrons to glance his way. The historian had gotten a bit too brave. Even though all he could see were human patrons, which Lastian could easily deal with, that didn't mean there weren't draelic sneaking around somewhere nearby.

"The draelic would never admit they lost a prisoner, especially an old human prisoner," Lastian said in a soothing voice, attempting to calm Draylen down before the wrong people noticed whom he was talking to. "I told your grandfather his only chance for the two of you was that he never speak to anyone ever again, not even you. The house I set him up in was far away from any cities, and I gave him plenty of books to read and papers to fill with his research. He was one of my closest friends Draylen, I would never let the draelic torture him simply because he knew me."

Draylen still couldn't believe this highly improbable tale. He had heard countless tales of how people saw his grandfather dragged through towns and all the stories of the information the draelic got from him to help them find Lastian. Could the draelic have been that afraid of letting anyone know they simply lost a prisoner? At the time Lascar had just disappeared, and the draelic were worried that they were losing their control over the other countries. Was this why they couldn't admit they lost such an important prisoner?

"I can see you still doubt me. That's why I brought one of the books Stelan wrote; it has an inscription in the back for you as well. About thirty years ago he realized that he wasn't going to live much longer so he made me promise that, when it was safe for you, I would ask you to finish his work. It took some time, but I think you are now in a position to do that, if you choose." Lastian was trying very hard to make it clear that he was not forcing Draylen to do this, simply fulfilling a request from Stelan. He pulled the book from under his coat and handed it to Draylen.

Draylen accepted the book and flipped to the last page. It was definitely his grandfather's handwriting. It was somewhat cryptic, presumably to protect Draylen if someone else found it. It simply read "D., the man I spoke so little of was my closest friend. I feared what might happen to you if I let you in on the secret before you were wise enough to comprehend the risks. I beg you to help the man with my life's work, his life's work. You will not regret this, it will be the most memorable time of your life, as it was mine."

Draylen sat there for a few moments contemplating all the years thinking Lastian had let his grandfather rot in a draelic prison. How much this one supposed fact had shaped his life, his studies? His obsession with Lascar was a way to track down Lastian and make him pay for what his grandfather had suffered. He could hardly believe it was all a lie. What choices would he have made differently had he known? Would he have taken a wife, maybe even had children of his own if this obsession had not consumed most of his waking hours? He felt betrayed and somewhat relieved at the same time. His grandfather had lived the rest of his life in comfort, looked after by Lastian.

Lastian let Draylen think it over for a moment before he spoke. "I have more, if you are willing. Everything your grandfather worked on for me, it's all there. I need someone to finish it. I have taken care of your family for a very long time. I let you have a normal life as long as I could before it got too dangerous for you."

"I'm in danger?" Draylen exclaimed, keeping his voice lower this time. He especially didn't want any attention now that he knew what was really going on.

Lastian nodded.

He didn't know if he trusted the prince, but if any of this were true, then Lastian might be his best chance.

The thought of someone coming for him too was terrifying, but as scared as he was one thought kept popping up in his mind. The one question no one before was ever able to answer. Perhaps Lastian knew what happened to his parents, why his grandfather raised him and not his parents. His grandfather would never talk about it and claimed that they just disappeared one night. Draylen assumed it had something to do with the prince, just like his grandfather's capture. Maybe Lastian had saved them too?

"What about my parents? Do you know what happened to them?" Draylen asked, hoping that Lastian had some knowledge about them.

"I do know what happened to them, but I think we may need to postpone this conversation until we are somewhere more private." Lastian was looking over Draylen's shoulder at the table by the front door. Draylen turned his head to see what Lastian was staring at. As he turned, the historian saw the very large draelic soldier who was crossing the room towards them.

As the draelic reached the table, he pulled an axe over his shoulder with both hands and swung it down towards Draylen's head with all his might. Lastian quickly stood up and caught the axe by the blade, right before it collided with Draylen's head. A single drop of blood came from the prince's hand and down the edge of the axe. Lastian's eyes, normally light blue, began to glow the same color as the drop of blood from his hand.

"I believe you've made a mistake, friend," Lastian growled through gritted teeth, obviously struggling to contain his anger.

The draelic wasn't surprised and seemed to expect something like this was going to happen. The draelic quickly unsheathed a dagger from his belt and thrust it towards Lastian's abdomen. Lastian quickly sidestepped the blade, spun on his heels and smashed his elbow into one of the draelic's large horns which broke in half as the draelic fell to the floor.

"I believe we need to go," Lastian said as he turned back to Draylen.

Still dazed by what had occurred, Draylen nonetheless rose quickly and headed towards the door. Lastian's eyes returned to their normal light blue as he bent down over the floored draelic to make sure he wasn't overheard.

"You were beaten, and your broken horn will impress many draelic women. No one will question it if you tell them you blacked out from the blow. I suggest you take your glorious wound back home and enjoy your newfound status." Lastian paused for a second to let his words sink in. "Or you can get back up, and I will kill you. The choice is yours." With that, the draelic closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious.

"He's out, we need to move quickly before he comes to," Lastian yelled to Draylen loud enough so that the whole tavern could hear him. The charade was intended for the draelic general sitting in a back corner, half in the shadows. Lastian had recognized her ornate gloves when he had walked into the tavern. The general was more cautious than her soldier and wasn't about to risk a solo confrontation with Lastian. He thought this might have been more of a test than an actual attempt at his capture.

The two men left the tavern and headed to Lastian's carriage around the back.

"You saved my life," Draylen exclaimed.

"You were a distraction, he was actually trying to capture me," Lastian said in an even tone meant to calm Draylen down.

"How do you know that?" Draylen asked, still overwhelmed by what he just witnessed.

"His attack was intended to distract me while he pulled out the poisoned dagger. I smelled the paralytic as soon as it came out of the sheath. The only reason to use a paralytic would be to capture me. No offense, but he could have just shackled you and dragged you out the front door."

Draylen wasn't offended by this obvious truth. He would have been as dangerous as a child to the draelic soldier.

"It was probably a test to see if it was really me. The general at the table in the back corner was watching the whole time and didn't even attempt to help what I can only assume was her soldier," Lastian explained.

Draylen hadn't noticed the draelic general in the corner. Draylen realized he was not cut out for this life and at that moment only wanted to go home to his books even though he knew that life was now over. The draelic would never leave him alone now that a general had seen him in the company of the prince. The soldier had probably been following him for weeks or even longer, hoping Lastian would show up.

Almost as if Lastian could read Draylen's mind, or maybe it was just too obvious what anyone in that situation would be thinking, he said, "I apologize, I figured something like this might happen. They have been spying on you for months; I was getting nervous that they might try something to make me show my face. So I arranged a meeting, more of a bait and switch, to get you somewhere safe."

Draylen still had trouble believing that the man he had despised was saving him, had saved his grandfather and seemed to know what happened to his parents. Perhaps he had saved them as well, but why leave him as a baby with his grandfather? No, something else must have happened. None of this made sense, Draylen believed himself to be an intelligent man, and how could all of this be going on without him noticing? He never even had any inclination that things were not what they seemed.

Again the prince seemed to know exactly what was on Draylen's mind, "Don't worry, we will speak of your parents but first I need to make sure you survive that long." The smile on Lastian's face made Draylen feel a bit safer. The prince had no intention of letting anything happen to him before they had a chance to talk. As they rode out of town in the carriage, Draylen couldn't help but wonder where they were going, but figured it best not to ask.

Draylen hadn't slept a wink, too worried about who might be chasing them and where they might end up. But as the sun rose on the next day, Lastian decided that they were safe enough for idle conversation as they traveled.

"I suppose we should talk about your parents," the prince said as the carriage continued through the countryside.

"Well, I guess it was much like your grandfather," Lastian continued. "They were taken by draelic while I was away. I finally caught up to them just as they were reaching the draelic border. I freed them just as I did your grandfather and brought them to a house like the one I took your grandfather to, but I was not careful enough." Draylen could hear the sadness in Lastian's voice.

"You were just a baby at the time, and I went back to the Academy to get you for them. The draelic had left you at the Academy because you were of no use to them. In my absence, more draelic found your parents. By the time I brought you to the house, they were already dead. The draelic that found them were more interested in the bounty on their heads than keeping them alive for questioning. If you catch my meaning." Lastian didn't want to go into the details of their murder, nor how the draelic's only took their heads back for payment.

Draylen felt as if his stomach had fallen out of his body and hit the ground. He had hoped they lived a happy life without him. He didn't want his host to get the wrong impression, so he forced himself to say, "It's not your fault, Lastian, you tried, and you saved their son. I'm sure that was what they wanted."

Draylen wasn't actually sure that was what his parents had wanted, but from what he had heard about them from his grandfather it was a safe assumption. After that, the two men sat in silence for several hours as the carriage rolled through the countryside.

The passing scenery was interesting to Draylen. He had never left the Academy for more than short day trips to visit the neighboring towns. The solitary trees and flowing grasslands were beginning to look more like a forest. From what he had read in his books, they were nearing the xeltheen border.

Xeltheen were a race of very beautiful humanoids that were very human-like in appearance, with only a few exceptions. They were often referred to as the 'lizard men'. Though Draylen thought that description was very harsh and inaccurate. He assumed they had gotten the nickname because of their yellow eyes and fangs. Their yellow eyes were very much like lizard eyes with the vertical slit for a pupil, and their fangs looked similar to a vipers, but that was as far as the comparison could go. They had straight hair that seemed to grow facing behind them. It was like they had their hair constantly brushed back, without the shine and stink of oil. The xeltheen had slim faces, and the women had beautiful markings on their face that reminded Draylen of actor's makeup.

It would make sense that Lastian would take him to the xeltheen lands, known as Xanthan. The xeltheen were not hunting Lastian, in fact, there were rumors that they considered him their true leader and often had secret meetings with him to discuss country business. Lastian's wife Meelaranda was the queen of Xanthan and to keep up appearances the xeltheen publicly denounced the prince and denied their marriage.

As the night came again, Draylen was finally starting to feel tired. Still wound up from the night before he wasn't sure he could actually sleep. So much had happened, so much had been revealed to him, and everything he believed was a lie. He was both happy for everything Lastian had done for his family and sad for the loss of his parents. Not knowing was bad, but to find out exactly how they died was like a slap to the face, forcing him to deal with it.

Before he always had the unknown. It was possible they went on some grand adventure or, on the darker side, left because they didn't want a child. In most of the stories he made up about them, they were alive, living somewhere else. He was glad to have the truth, but it meant no more stories to himself about how it would be to finally meet them.

By the time Lastian woke Draylen it was midafternoon, and they had arrived at his new home.

#  ******Chapter 2**

Draylen stepped down from the carriage and looked around at what was going to be his new home. He was amazed at how beautiful the forest was. Unlike Tyrillia there were trees as far as he could see. Draylen thought he could hear a stream bubbling nearby under the music of the birds. The house was modest but well kept. He felt safe here. It was not like houses from Tyrillia, there were no fancy gables or decorations on the windows. There were no gutters on the house and no one had bothered to paint it, but it was decently sized. He assumed that the house must have several rooms judging from the sheer size of the exterior.

"There is food in the cabinets if you are hungry and your grandfather's work is in the next room, whenever you want to get started," Lastian said as they walked through the front door. Lastian paused for a second looking out the window of the entryway. Draylen thought the prince seemed sad, almost as if he was expecting someone to meet them. Then the prince continued, "These grounds are safe, the xeltheen often scout through this area of the border to make sure no one is trespassing."

Draylen wasn't sure if that was supposed to comfort him or if he should be worried. He had met very few xeltheen before, in reality only one, but he had read a great deal about their culture and distaste of humans. The one xeltheen he had met was his student and lover, Layleen. Layleen had mysteriously left him after only a few months. Shortly after she left, his grandfather was captured. The ordeal of his grandfather's capture had consumed Draylen's existence and stifled any ideas about tracking her down.

Lastian spoke again almost as if he could read the old historian's mind. "The xeltheen won't bother you. They are keeping an eye out for bandits and draelic. You probably won't even know they're here."

Draylen couldn't take it anymore. It was getting a bit too coincidental. "Do you read minds Lastian?" he asked.

"Not exactly," the prince responded. "It's more like I can sense strong emotions coming from people, and sometimes I can see what they are planning to do next. It's like a picture. Almost like the person shows me what they will do next. I'll admit, it does come in handy when I am forced to fight someone. But for the most part, it is just annoying having someone else's feelings and thoughts in my head."

This explains a lot. Draylen thought to himself. All the stories of how Lastian defeated whole military units without a scratch and how he knew the soldier from the tavern wanted to poison him. This must be why the draelic, and most everyone else, for that matter, feared the prince so much. Well, that and his innate physical and magical abilities.

Lastian turned from the window, apparently giving up on whomever he was waiting for and let out a sigh. "I suppose I should go get you some supplies. The food in the cabinet should last a week, but I need to get more. My guess is that you are not a very good hunter and I won't be able to stay all the time. I'll hunt while I'm here, but you will need easily prepared meals while I'm away."

"I assume you studied some botany while at the Academy?" Lastian asked as he turned back to the window and pointed out to a garden filled with many strange plants.

Draylen nodded, and the prince continued.

"The garden is yours, everything in it is edible or can be used to spice up your meals. It extends to the tree line, and I would appreciate it if you would replant as necessary to keep it producing. Other than that, I ask that you do not cross the stream or go back the way we came in. The Tyrillian border is very close, you are only safe as long as you stay in the forest," the prince concluded.

"What would you like me to start on while you are away?" Draylen asked.

"Your grandfather's work is in the other room. Before we start adding to it I would like you to read the book he finished," Lastian said as he motioned to the book Draylen was holding. "The rest of the books are research material, stories by many other authors, covering different aspects of Lascar's life. For the most part, they are public accounts, and I do not know how much is truth and how much is speculation or author's embellishments." He paused for a second to smile at the old historian before continuing. "There are also several texts written in ancient languages that I can't read. Your job will be to cross-reference them and come up with something resembling the truth. I will help with what I can, from what Lascar told me and what I remember from the time I spent with him."

Draylen was curious, why was Lastian so interested in the true story of Lascar? From all accounts, they had a falling out, and the prince had nearly killed the evil king before Lascar suddenly vanished. What was the prince looking for, why all the interest in his father's past?

Again the prince knew vaguely what Draylen wanted.

"I have no love for Lascar. I mean to find him and kill him once and for all. From what little I know, he is gathering an army or perhaps learning new, more powerful magic, depending on who you ask. Either way, I need to find out about his past and what made him and me the way we are." Lastian paused for a second, gathering his thoughts. "I will grab your things from the wagon, please make yourself at home." With that, the prince turned to the door and walked out.

Things were beginning to make sense to Draylen. Lastian needed a scholar to discern what was real and what wasn't, from the hundreds if not thousands of books about Lascar's life. This is the type of research he was born for. He was not a swordsman nor an adventurer but books he knew. He could be useful in the shaping of Lascaria with his knowledge. If the evil king was killed, Lascaria would be a much better place. For the last fifty years, everyone in Lascaria seemed to be waiting in fear for the evil king's return, and Draylen could help Lastian stop him.

Before he got started with his new work, Draylen figured he should get some food, so he made his way to the kitchen. As he approached the doorway, he noticed a feminine figure looking around in the kitchen.

The kitchen was modest but roomy, and it connected to a small dining room. The kitchen had many cabinets made from wood. These, like the outside of the house, were all unpainted and devoid of any decorations. The counters were covered with the food that Lastian had spoken about, and because of this, the kitchen seemed very disorganized.

From what he could see through the doorway, the woman appeared to be a xeltheen woman. As he looked closer, he noticed the clothing, what little there was of it, appeared to be made from the pelt of a Sharlok tiger.

Sharlok tigers were extinct in every part of Lascaria except for the Xanthan forests. This was due to the fact that they were enormous beasts, larger than a horse, which could kill a man with one swipe of its claws. They were hunted to near extinction by large parties of humans and draelic to prevent attacks and because their pelts were once worth a small fortune.

Xeltheen did not hunt the Sharlok tigers like the other two races, they protected them, and the only reason that a xeltheen was allowed to wear the skin was if they killed the Sharlok tiger in one on one combat. The combat was very ceremonial, and the xeltheen was only allowed a knife to defend themselves with. This meant that the woman in the kitchen was a xeltheen huntress.

Xeltheen hunters and huntresses were the most skilled warriors of the xeltheen, often able to take on a party of draelic by themselves. They were very quick and very deadly. There was nowhere to run, she might even already know he was there, and she was just waiting for him to flee. Draylen decided there was no other option than to confront her. If she was intent on killing him, his only chance was to delay her long enough for Lastian to come back in the house.

Draylen gathered as much courage as he could and walked very carefully into the kitchen. The historian did not move quickly, nor did he move quietly, he wanted to make sure that she knew he was there. He also did not want to provoke her with any sudden moves.

As Draylen approached the huntress she turned to face him, and he exclaimed, "The owner of this house is just outside, I'm a guest here, and I don't want any trouble."

Draylen got a good look at the woman's face as she turned to look at him. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but he knew better. Xeltheen do not age physically as humans and draelic do. Her hair was long, straight, and a pale blonde, going down to the middle of her back. She had the xeltheen eyes and what, at a distance, would be mistaken for makeup, but again Draylen knew that it was just her xeltheen facial markings. This huntress had a light reddish-pink hue to her cheeks and light blue over her eyelids continuing to above her ears. Draylen thought this huntress was the most beautiful xeltheen woman he had seen since he spent a youthful summer with Layleen. But this was probably because the only xeltheen he had ever seen was Layleen.

The beautiful xeltheen woman said in a caring voice "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you, but Lastian insists on hiding the Tora peppers, and I really could use some for tonight's supper."

A wave of revelation came crashing into Draylen's brain, almost knocking him over. If this xeltheen huntress knew Lastian and is so casually walking around in his kitchen, then this must be Meelaranda, the queen of the xeltheen.

Draylen quickly fell to one knee with his face pointing to her feet and exclaimed apologetically "Please excuse my impropriety, your highness. I did not mean to assume or offend."

"You have no reason to be so formal with me... Father," Meelaranda said, smiling at him. She bent over and carefully placed her hand under Draylen's chin and lifted his face to meet hers.

Another wave of thoughts crashed into Draylen's brain. If he was her father then, Layleen, his lover from that summer must have been pregnant when she left, and that would make Meelaranda nearly fifty years old. How could Layleen have left him so abruptly? Did she know she was pregnant when she left? What else was going on that he didn't know about? It was as if Draylen had spent the last fifty years in another world, not knowing what was really going on.

Meelaranda continued after letting Draylen take in the situation. "There is much to explain, father, but I've been waiting a very long time to meet you. I have imagined this day for as long as I can remember." With that, she put her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

Draylen had so many questions, which should he ask first? Perhaps it was better to let Meelaranda choose what they talked about since he had no idea where to start. How could he know where to start? There was so much he didn't know. After a short pause, he begged. "Please tell me everything."

As Draylen spoke, he noticed Lastian was standing in the doorway. Lastian was smiling and put Draylen's bag on the floor. Draylen realized that the prince had been waiting for Meelaranda.

"I will head out for supplies, I'm sure you and Meela will need some time to discuss everything," Lastian said as he walked over and kissed Meela on the cheek.

"Yes, please call me Meela, no need for formalities among family. Let me get on with dinner, and we can speak while we eat." With that, she turned to finish searching for the Tora peppers to finish their dinner.

As she cooked, Draylen sat at the table, pondering the situation. All this was happening so fast. He was worn out, not just from the long sleep-deprived trip with Lastian, but also from everything he had learned in the last few days. After a few moments, Meela brought the bowls of freshly cooked food to the table and began to serve their food.

Draylen looked around the table and realized there were five places set. As he was about to ask Meela who was joining them for dinner, he heard the front door open. The queen looked very excited and nearly ran to the door.

In the doorway, Draylen saw another beautiful xeltheen huntress, judging by her clothes, holding a small boy about three years old. The queen quickly took the boy and gave the new huntress a kiss on the cheek. The queen then proceeded to hold the boy up in the air and proclaim how much she missed him.

Before Draylen could react, Meela brought the boy over to the table and sat him down in the chair next to the old historian.

"And this is your grandson, Dhrel," the queen exclaimed.

"What a very nice name," Draylen said to Dhrel with a smile. The old historian had studied the ancient xeltheen language, so he knew that Dhrel roughly translated to 'One who brings hope'. Draylen then got up, turned to the huntress who had just arrived and held out his hand.

"I am Draylen, how are you, my dear?" the historian asked.

The huntress took a step back and looked quizzically at Meela, who explained to Draylen. "This is Shye, Dhrel's promised." She paused and looked back at Shye and said. "And this is Draylen, my father." The queen quickly turned back to Draylen, hoping to make amends for the new huntress's rudeness. "Shye has never met a human, so I'm afraid she doesn't know what a handshake is." This made Draylen smile. He retracted his hand and instead bowed to Shye as was custom for xeltheen who had just met.

Shye was slightly shorter than Meela, with similar xeltheen features. Shye had straight red hair going down to the middle of her back and slightly darker facial coloring than the queen. And from what Draylen knew about xeltheen marriage laws, she would have to be between eighteen and twenty five years old.

Draylen had often thought that xeltheen marriage laws were very practical and sensible, though most humans would probably disagree with him. A xeltheen woman who wanted to marry and have a family would apply to families with boys who were between two to five years old. The parents would choose from the potential brides based on whatever qualifications the parents had decided on. The winner of this competition would then come live with the boy and his parents, teaching, and bonding with the boy until his eighteenth birthday. On that day, the boy and his bride-to-be could choose whether or not they wished to be married. Almost every time the two would choose to be married and be quite happy. The two would then spend two years officially betrothed before they would marry on the boys twentieth birthday.

There was never a fear of impropriety because of strict xeltheen laws forbidding sex before the child's eighteenth birthday. The first offense would be exile for the adult offender as well as a tattoo on their forehead warning any xeltheen to avoid contact with this person. The second offence, although it had never happened, was execution.

As Shye moved to take the seat on the opposite side of Dhrel, Draylen pondered the meaning of her name. Her name in xeltheen was nearly the opposite of a similar word in human. Shye roughly meant 'supreme hunter' in xeltheen. It would seem that his new grandson had a very prestigious woman as his promised.

As everyone sat and ate their food, Meela began to tell the story of what happened to her mother, Layleen. She spoke with a sad tone causing Draylen to presume that Layleen was, in fact, dead.

"My mother didn't leave just because she was pregnant. She crossed paths with the draelic soldiers that came for your grandfather while she was in town. I think she was too afraid to go back to you because she assumed they were after her. She ran because she realized she was pregnant and the baby's father was a human." Meela spoke as though she was apologizing.

The queen paused for a moment to compose herself as tears welled up in her eyes then continued, "After she found out they took Stelan, she knew she couldn't go back to you because you were on their list of people to watch. If you had a half-breed child with a xeltheen woman, it wouldn't take them long to come for the child and both of you as well."

Cross breeding between the races was strictly forbidden by Lascar, a law that the draelic would uphold by killing the child as well as the parents.

"Mother was trying to save us both by never seeing you again." Meela paused again, and this time, Draylen could see the tears running down her cheeks as she tried to wipe them away. "When I was eighteen, the draelic somehow found out about me and came to execute us." She then turned her gaze to Lastian and smiled. "Lucky for me Lastian and a friend of my mother's found me as they were preparing to execute me. But mother put up a fight, and the draelic killed her before they arrived." Meela then looked down at her food and again tried to wipe the tears from her face.

Draylen could tell that the story obviously made Lastian uncomfortable as well, perhaps because he had not been able to save Layleen. Because of this, the historian attempted to change the subject or at least finish the subject on a happy note. "I'm very glad Lastian came along. I've always wanted a family, and I finally have one."

Lastian realized what Draylen was attempting to accomplish and tried to help. He looked at Draylen, smiled, and said. "I'm glad we could finally have all our family together in one room." This made Meela smile and somewhat forget about the tragic tale of her mother for a while.

The night continued on with more tales, each trying to fill in the others about important events in their lives. Finally, after Shye and Dhrel had gone to bed, Lastian began speaking to Draylen in a more serious tone.

"Meela and I need to make a short trip to the town of Aelen, a few days away. We are picking up supplies, and I may have found another book on Lascar. Perhaps one that has some details about my grandfather, Lucian as well. From what I know, it is a journal written by Lucian's maid who ended up being Lascar's nanny. If my information is correct, this could be just what you need."

Draylen was intrigued; no one had ever found any writings about Lucian. Probably because Lascar either had them confiscated or destroyed. The prince was right. This could be exactly what they needed.

"A book like that would be very helpful," Draylen exclaimed, trying to calm his enthusiasm.

"I share your excitement, Draylen. This book could tell us how Lascar got his abilities. Meela and I will leave in the morning. I had hoped you could spend some time with Meela, but this opportunity is too big to pass up." Lastian paused for a moment to find the right words to say.

"If Meela and I don't return within two weeks you are to go to the village one day to the south. Shye will guide you there. Find Shye's father, Rallic Halis, and tell him I am gone and you need to be moved farther into the forest. I have another house far away from here, and only Rallic knows where it is. He will collect your research for you and take you to the new house. This house is for emergency use, and it is at least a week's journey from any towns. This is why we are not there now. If something ever happens, you, Shye and Dhrel will be on your own." Lastian now seemed strangely concerned.

"Dhrel is also a half-breed like his mother, like me. The draelic will kill him if they ever find him and anyone with him. What's worse, if Lascar ever finds out I had a child, he will want him." Lastian looked at Draylen more seriously now. "If I don't come back, keep working on your research, Dhrel will need it in my absence. I can feel that he is more powerful than I am and may be the one who can finally defeat Lascar. I have left a journal for Dhrel, hopefully, it will help him understand his abilities if something ever happens to me." Lastian stopped and waited for Draylen to acknowledge that he understood.

"I will do what you ask, if it comes to that," Draylen responded in the same serious tone that Lastian used.

"If something happens to us, please feel free to read the journal as well. Dhrel will need all the help he can get if I'm not around to teach him," Lastian concluded.

"Now I think we should all get some sleep," Meela said with a smile as she kissed Draylen on the cheek. Then she grabbed Lastian by the hand and led him to bed.

Draylen was happy to spend his night on the couch. It was far more comfortable than the carriage seat he had spent the last few days in. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about his new family. This was the family he always wanted, and Lastian had given it to him. How strange it was to be grateful to the man that he had wanted punished for so long.

#  ******Chapter 3**

Draylen woke on the morning of Dhrel's eighteenth birthday. It had been fifteen years since Lastian and Meela had disappeared. Just as they had discussed, the couple had left the next morning for Aelen. Draylen waited for their return, but after two weeks he realized that something was horribly wrong when they did not return. The historian had done just as the prince had told him and found Shye's father Rallic. Rallic led them deep into the forest, to a hidden house that was at least a week from anyone. This house is where Draylen had spent the last fifteen years with only Shye and Dhrel, and on occasion Rallic, to keep him company.

The house they now lived in was built very similar to the first house, almost exact to the last detail except that it had been abandoned for many years. Draylen assumed that the two houses were so similar because Lastian, perhaps with Rallic's help, had built them both. The main difference between the two was the condition of their new home. With Shye and Rallic's help, Draylen had cleaned and repaired their new home to livable condition. The garden, however, had taken months to grow into something useful. The historian was glad for assistance of the huntress and her father, without them, Draylen wouldn't have been able to provide a home and food for Dhrel.

Dhrel had grown into the spitting image of his father, though he was more muscular and chose not to hide his stark white hair as his father had. The boy also kept his hair trimmed to shoulder length, where as his father had worn it to the middle of his back. Dhrel had a similar face to his father, but it was fuller, and Draylen thought it looked more caring and thoughtful than his father's. Dhrel had his father's eyes, a light blue that reminded the old historian of a clear sky. The boy was also a bit taller than his father, coming up almost a head taller than Draylen.

Dhrel had grown up with the historian, so the boy's mannerisms and speech mimicked his own. The historian had taught the boy since he was five, so Dhrel was very well-spoken. However much the boy was like the historian he was also very different. Dhrel spent a great deal of time with his promised, Shye, learning to hunt, and how to survive in the wild. He had learned a great deal from his bride-to-be. More often than not, Dhrel would choose to hunt or garden, even spend hours walking aimlessly in the woods rather than study with Draylen. In this regard, he was more like Shye.

Draylen had only seen glimpses of Dhrel's power slip out here and there over the years, but he agreed with Lastian's assessment, that the boy would prove to be more powerful than his father, in time. This both comforted and scared the historian. If Lascar were to find them in their hidden cottage, would Dhrel be able to defend himself, would the evil king kill him or capture him and try to convince the boy that Lascar was trustworthy? Draylen knew he must explain everything to Dhrel to prepare him, but at the same time, how would he handle it?

Today was a very important day for everyone. Today was the day that Dhrel and Shye would go before a priest and vow that in two years' time they would be married on the boy's twentieth birthday. It was also the day that the boy officially became a man. And Draylen must live up to his word and tell him about the research the historian had been working on.

As Draylen was going back and forth about what to say and how to say it, Dhrel walked in the room.

"Good morning, Grandpa" Dhrel said in an excited voice. "You said we would speak about the work father had you do for him before Shye and I meet with the priest."

"Yes, I did, Dhrel," Draylen said as he rose and grabbed his book from the table. "This is the book I've spent the last fifteen years on. It's about your other grandfather, Lascar."

Dhrel looked puzzled, he assumed the book was about his father, Lastian. Why would he want to know anything about the evil king? From what Dhrel had heard, Lascar was a cruel and evil man.

"Why did you work on a book about Lascar?" Dhrel asked.

"There are still some pieces missing, but essentially it is about Lascar's life. Your father asked me to research Lascar's life so that you would understand. He didn't want you to face Lascar without knowing everything you could. Lascar will come for you eventually. You can't hide forever. The more you know about him, the better prepared you will be. You need to know how to defend yourself." Draylen then walked over to the bookshelf and picked up another book. "I'm not finished with Lascar's book yet, and truthfully I need the text that your father was searching for when he disappeared. But this book is a book on harnessing magic," Draylen said holding up the new book.

Dhrel looked confused, although he did realize that there was something different about himself. He had a few instances where his emotions caused strange things to happen around the house, but he never really considered that magic might be the reason.

"This book," he said, handing the new book to Dhrel, "was written by your father. It is an account of how he was able to control and manipulate the magic he had. You also share this ability, maybe even more than your father."

Dhrel was confused and somewhat angry. He wanted nothing to do with magic. Lascar used magic to kill, and magic was what made his father a target. How could magic help him? All he wanted was to start his life with Shye. The boy imagined himself growing up in this house, eventually having children with his future wife.

"I can see that this is a touchy subject for you," Draylen said in a caring voice. "I just want you to know what you are capable of, in case Lascar ever finds you. Your father wanted you to read the book and decide for yourself. I feel you are ready to know what is possible and make your decision."

"I will read the book because father wanted me to, not because I want anything to do with magic," Dhrel said as he turned and left the room.

It was obvious to Draylen that he had made his grandson upset. Perhaps he had waited too long to tell the boy about his powers. The historian hoped he had not made a mistake by hiding this from Dhrel, but Lastian was very specific about waiting until the boy's eighteenth birthday.

Since Shye hadn't arrived from Aelen, the nearest town large enough to have a priest, Dhrel decided he would keep his word and start reading his father's journal on magic. He needed something to keep his mind off of the anticipation. Today was the day. He had waited so long to be closer to his love. He felt that xeltheen laws were antiquated. Why did they have to follow them way out here? He had never even met another person besides Shye's father. Draylen and sometimes even Shye, treated him like a child. Why did they not see he had grown up?

Dhrel sat in his room while he read the book. It started off with a note written specifically to him. It appeared as though it had been added much later than the other pages due to the lack of aging on the page. It read:

Dear Dhrel,

If you are reading this without me, then I assume Lascar finally found a way to kill me. He is heartless and manipulative; if you ever find yourself facing him, do not trust anything he says. He will try to confuse you, maybe even try to turn you against those you love. He is very good at lying, and you might even want to believe what he says, but remember, he wants to use you, kill you or worse, make you into him.

This book will hopefully teach you how to use your abilities. I wrote down anything I could as I was learning to control them. It may take you years, but I believe you have more potential than I, and you will be the one to finally stop Lascar.

Love,

Your Father

Dhrel pondered this message for a while. He never knew his father, but from Shye and Draylen's stories, his father seemed like a caring man. This book was a way of protecting Dhrel even if his father couldn't do it himself. Perhaps this book might help him understand his father; maybe magic could be useful. Especially if Lascar was as unavoidable as his grandpa kept telling him. Dhrel decided that if the evil king ever came and threatened him or even worse, Shye, he would need to be able to protect them.

The note in the book didn't spark feelings of loss, nor did it inspire grief. Dhrel felt bad that the note didn't cause any feelings, but how could he grieve for someone he never knew? As far as Dhrel was concerned his family consisted of Draylen, Shye and to a lesser extent Rallic. It was not like he was heartless, and he thought that he should feel something, but he couldn't miss what he never had.

Dhrel spent the next few hours reading the book and trying some of the mental exercises that his father had written about. The activities were intended to help him control his power, but some of them were quite difficult and didn't seem to produce any results. But the simpler ones didn't seem too hard. As Dhrel practiced, he started to get some control, he could feel the power in his body surging as he did the exercises his father spelled out. At one point he swore he made an apple fall off the table beside his bed, but it might have just been a coincidence.

As Dhrel was practicing these mental exercises, he heard rustling in the yard. When he lost his concentration, the table beside his bed fell over, and he was sure that this time it was not a coincidence. Tables didn't just fall over for no reason, he did have some kind of power, but he had no idea how to control it. Dhrel realized that the sounds must be Shye coming back with the priest, so he put the book on the shelf, stood his bedside table back up and headed to greet his fiancé.

Dhrel walked through the house to go into the yard and yelled for Draylen. "I think they are here grandpa, its time!" The boy's tone could not hide his excitement. He would finally be officially betrothed to his love. He had waited for this day for years. Although he was not raised in xeltheen society, Shye and Draylen had instructed him in the ways of xeltheen culture. During his youth, Dhrel had preferred the studies on human culture as he considered himself human, but his grandpa had insisted that since they lived in Xanthan, they should follow xeltheen laws and practices.

Dhrel walked out of the house, trying to contain his excitement and stood in awe of his beautiful bride-to-be. The trees had turned a beautiful golden brown for the coming winter and only enhanced Shye's beauty. Shye's long red hair contrasted the golden-brown leaves like a fire on a moonless night. Her pale skin accentuated her dark facial markings in the afternoon light. Even her dark green eyes seemed to take on more color to Dhrel. Perhaps it was the light, or maybe it was his love, but Dhrel was certain that she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Dhrel could not believe he was so lucky to have such a beautiful fiancé that loved him as much as he loved her. For the past five years, they had been inseparable. They started as teacher and student, but as Dhrel approached manhood, their relationship changed. Dhrel had fallen in love with her and her with him. The last couple of years, they had nearly spent every waking moment together, but this year had been particularly frustrating for the boy. He wanted to kiss his bride-to-be every time he saw her, wanted to hold her, and more. But this was not the xeltheen way, so every time he tried Shye would refuse him and insist that they needed to spend a few hours apart. If only Dhrel knew, his bride-to-be was not trying to be cruel. She had the same urges and desires as he did. If it had not been for his age, she would have been happy to do exactly what her love wanted.

The priest that Shye brought with her was xeltheen. He had the typical xeltheen look, long brown hair, slender build, and despite his age of one hundred sixty years; he looked like he was in his twenties. His face was kind and gentle. And as he looked at Dhrel, the boy got the impression that the priest was happy to be there. The priest was dressed like a typical xeltheen priest, open white robe with a gray shirt and tan pants underneath. On his feet, he wore sandals, this was to be closer to the earth. Most of the time priests walked barefoot, but for long journeys, they made an exception and wore sandals due to the practicality of it.

Xeltheen priests were not like priests of other religions. While other religions worshiped God as a singular being that created the world, the xeltheen believed that everything and everyone was part of God. They worshiped the stages of nature as well as everything in it and were privileged to be able to witness God's greatness.

Just as Dhrel was about to walk out to meet them, a strange feeling came over him. He felt as though someone was watching him. He could feel hatred, disgust, and loathing. He quickly looked around but could see no one. As quickly as the feeling came, it faded. This left the boy with a panicked and concerned look on his face that Draylen noticed.

"You have your father's abilities, after all. What did you sense? Is it the priest?" Draylen asked, trying to focus the boy's attention.

Dhrel was still quite confused, but forced himself to speak to his grandpa. "I felt hatred coming from the trees. I don't think it's the priest, he seems happy to be here."

"Your father could also sense things like this. You have never had anyone but Shye and myself to sense, so you were used to us. This will take some time for you to get used to. I'm not sure if we need to be concerned about what you sensed from the trees, but we will be cautious. Try to calm your mind and let the feelings move through you, not control you." The historian paused for a second when Dhrel looked at him questioningly. "Yes, I have read your father's journal, he wanted me to read it so that I might provide you with some guidance. I don't have any firsthand knowledge, but I can provide you with information as your father wrote it. Your father also thought that Shye should probably read it as well, if you were to be betrothed that is. But that is up to you to decide. Today you are a man, I need to start letting you decide things for yourself now."

This actually made Dhrel feel at ease. He would not have to do this alone. When he realized this, he began to relax. And when he relaxed, Dhrel could sense the feeling of joy coming from the priest and much more coming from Shye. When she looked at him, Dhrel could feel love, contentment, lust, and longing. She wanted this day as much as he did. What was more, Dhrel felt a sense of vindication, his grandpa had finally noticed he was becoming a man.

"I never realized I was doing this. It felt so familiar with you and Shye that I didn't know I was doing it. This is strange. How did I not realize I was doing this sooner?" Dhrel asked.

This made Draylen smile.

"I realized it when you were just a small child. You never had contact with anyone but Shye and myself, so it wasn't an issue that needed to be addressed, until now. If you just let it happen, supposedly, you will learn to tune out the unwanted feelings and focus on the ones you wish to feel. Much like standing in the forest and listening to the animals. There is a lot of noise, but if you focus, you can single out a specific bird or hear a bubbling stream far in the distance," Draylen said. This was a lesson that Shye had taught Dhrel when he was quite young, as part of his hunter training.

Dhrel again looked confused and asked Draylen. "Does Shye know?"

"No, I am the only one that knows, but if she is to be your wife. I would assume you need to tell her," Draylen replied with a laugh.

This news actually made Dhrel feel better. He was beginning to think he was the only one that didn't know what he could do. If only Draylen knew then it wasn't some conspiracy against him. He needed to tell Shye before they took their vows of betrothal, so he began walking toward her.

As Dhrel took his first step, Draylen grabbed Dhrel's arm and whispered. "Only Shye, no one else can know, at least not yet." Then Draylen looked around at the trees surrounding the yard and said. "And keep your mind open for that feeling of hate. If it happens again, we will need to do something about it." Dhrel nodded and continued to walk toward Shye.

This feeling of hatred, however brief, could be many things. Lastian had written of being by himself and suddenly getting feelings that he could only assume were from miles away. The prince wrote that these were always intense feelings and assumed that this is the reason for feeling them from so far away. But with Dhrel's inexperience, they had no way of knowing how far away the feeling was.

When Dhrel met Shye, her face lit up, and she threw her arms around him. Dhrel could feel the intense love and lust coming from Shye once again. Now that he knew what was going on in his head, he could control how he perceived it and determine who the emotions were coming from. At the same time, he could feel the priest's envy and regret. These feelings were now stronger since he was closer to the priest than before. Dhrel decided to test his new ability and see what he could find out from the priest.

"Hello," Dhrel said, turning to the priest and bowing. "It is an honor for you to come all this way." As he said this to the priest, he got a feeling of panic from the priest. It was as if the priest was afraid of him. Did the priest know who he was?

"The honor is mine, my king," the priest said as he bowed. The priest did know who Dhrel was. Now Dhrel's mind was panicked, he pictured many scenarios where the priest told someone who told someone else and the news got back to Lascar that he was getting betrothed. With all these emotions in his head, the young man realized that he could no longer feel Shye or the priest. He needed to calm himself in order to get an accurate reading for what the priest was feeling and if the priest was hiding something.

"So you know who I am?" Dhrel asked as he calmed his emotions to allow himself to sense the priest's true feelings.

"Yes, I do sir. I was not told this until I met your betrothed and we were far from Aelen. As far as anyone knows, I am just performing a betrothal for a simple farming couple, and that's what I shall tell anyone if they ask." The priest's feelings were more at ease. He was telling the truth.

"We appreciate your discretion and hope it wasn't too much trouble coming all the way out here," Dhrel said still trying to get a sense of what the priest was feeling.

"It was no trouble sir, and I was blindfolded once a day for an hour at a time to keep me from being able to remember how I got here," The priest exclaimed with pride. This was a story he would never be able to tell anyone, but the priest was proud that he was the one who would betroth the king and possibly future queen. He might even get to marry them in two years after the betrothal period.

"I thank you for your understanding," Dhrel said, finally satisfied that the feeling of hatred could not have come from the priest. This priest was prideful, scared, and envious, but he did not wish them harm.

Dhrel turned to Shye and said in a whisper, "Can I speak to you before the ceremony, please?" This caught Shye off guard, but she was not about to refuse Dhrel, the love of her life, so she followed him back into the house.

After they got to Dhrel's room, he paced around nervously, trying to figure out the perfect words to say. How would he tell her that he had powers like his father and that he now had some ability to control them? Would she be upset to find out he could sense her feelings? How could he expect her to go through with the betrothal?

Shye waited patiently as Dhrel paced. She could tell it was something important, but she trusted Dhrel. She knew he would not hurt her and anything he had to say she could accept because it came from him.

After a few uncomfortable moments, Dhrel began to speak. "I'm more like my father than I thought. Grandpa gave me father's journal this morning, and I have been practicing some of what father could do. I can sense feelings and I..." Dhrel stopped, not knowing if Shye would cringe at the next statement. "I can move objects with my mind. I have magic like father," Dhrel said, expecting Shye to get angry or possibly scared.

Shye did not get angry, she also wasn't scared. Instead, she sat, thinking carefully how she wanted to address his obvious concern.

"I had a feeling you were a bit empathic. I didn't know about the magic, but I knew your father, and it doesn't surprise me. He was amazing, and if you are learning from his journal, then I'm sure you will be a good man like he was." Shye stood up and walked over to Dhrel, taking his hand and then continued to speak. "I trust and love you. I will help, however I can. My family is not gifted with magic, but, like I said, I did know your father, so I think I can handle it."

This calmed Dhrel down, and his mind was clear again. He could feel the love from Shye and her unwavering confidence in him. It also felt like she admired Lastian. When she spoke of his father, Shye's feelings were reverent and reminded Dhrel of how a daughter would think of her father. If she could be this certain, then perhaps he could be like his father. With Shye and Draylen to help him, Dhrel could learn to use his abilities. The young king suddenly sensed a different emotion coming from his fiancé, regret.

"Now I need to tell you something," Shye said in a much sadder tone. "I did something, many years ago, that I am ashamed of, and I think I should confess before we are betrothed." Dhrel could feel the crushing regret coming from her. It was so intense that he could hardly bear it. "Ten years ago, when I took a short break to visit my family. You were about eight at the time. I met a man at a tavern, and we spent the night together. You and I were student and teacher at the time. There's no law against me having sex while we are promised, but I wanted you to know. We need to be completely honest with each other if we are going to spend the rest of our lives together."

This news didn't make Dhrel sad. He wasn't even upset. Somehow the boy already knew about this. In the back of his mind, he knew something had changed when she left to visit her family that year. Even though he was only eight at the time, somehow he knew Shye had done something that she regretted. She had only left to visit her family that one time, and after she came back, she was very devoted to Dhrel. Shye was more kind and caring. She spent more time reading to him and helping him hunt. It may very well have been the single most important thing that helped them fall in love.

Dhrel paced again for a minute, trying to put in to words what he felt. He stopped and looked at Shye with a smile on his face and said. "I see no reason to dwell on this. I was eight, and you were a grown woman. By law the betrothal isn't binding until we finish our vows today, we were only promised." Dhrel grasped her hand more firmly and guided her to sit on the bed. "Do you remember how you were before you left?" The young king paused to give her time to nod. "And do you remember how you were after you came back?" he asked with a smile. Shye nodded again.

"I'm not sure we would be where we are today. Getting ready to take our vows, if you stayed the distant teacher you were before. It was only afterward that you took your promise seriously and treated me as your future husband. Instead of some child you were forced to take care of. Not that you were cruel before, you were just..." Dhrel stopped, trying to think of the correct word to describe it.

"Detached?" Shye asked, finishing Dhrel's sentence. The young king nodded in agreement. "And you are correct, I didn't realize how much I would miss you or what a great life I had until I nearly ruined it." Shye thought for a second and then asked. "So you knew, all this time?"

"Not specifics," Dhrel said, smiling at his fiancé. "I just knew that something big had happened while you were gone, and I was thankful for whatever it was."

This appeased Shye and Dhrel could feel her contentment slowly coming back. Then she looked at him, and the boy could feel the love once more.

"I think we shouldn't keep our guest waiting," Shye said with a renewed smile.

"I'm the king, I can do whatever I want," Dhrel said, laughing. This made Shye laugh, as well.

"You're not king yet, you still have two years before you can actually take the throne," Shye responded.

The two of them returned to the yard to find that the priest had everything set up for their betrothal ceremony. Draylen had already placed the water basin on a tree stump before the priest had arrived, but the priest had to bless the water and place a ceremonial cloth under the basin. The setup was modest, but appropriate for a betrothal ceremony in the middle of nowhere.

The couple held hands as the priest asked questions about their commitment to each other as well as various questions that were more a formality than anything else. The priest asked Draylen, as guardian of Dhrel, for his thoughts on the couple and for his blessing of the betrothal. Draylen being human was a bit out of the ordinary, but the priest was not about to question the future king of Xanthan. In truth, Dhrel was only half xeltheen, so most of the xeltheen rules were not really appropriate for this particular betrothal anyway.

After the ceremony and several conversations about how important their vows were and how in two years he hoped they would ask for him to marry them, the priest was ready to leave. Draylen had volunteered to take the priest back to Aelen so that the new couple could have time alone. The historian also wanted to spend some time in Aelen's bookshops to see if he could find any trace of the book that Lastian had spoken of before his disappearance. At his age, he figured this might be his last chance to visit Aelen and look through the books.

Draylen and the priest wished the new couple happiness as they were leaving for Aelen and reminded them to use the herbs Shye had picked up in town. This was because pregnancy during the betrothal, although not illegal, was very frowned upon. The betrothal was to be a time when the future bride and groom would learn about each other and spend two years without children. Making sure they wanted to be married for the rest of their lives. And in Dhrel's case, the rest of his life could be a very long time.

#  ******Chapter 4**

The journey back to Aelen was a long one. It took Draylen and the priest nearly two weeks to complete the trip back. The trip could have been quicker except for the detours and convoluted paths they had taken. These were precautions taken to make sure that they weren't being followed and to make sure the priest couldn't find his way back to Dhrel.

As Lastian's journal had instructed, Draylen would blindfold the priest once a day for an hour or so, and walk in different directions. Draylen made sure he did not take the priest near any large landmarks that he or someone he told, might use to find Dhrel. The historian would also make sure to collect their daily water supply while the priest was blindfolded so that he could not recognize any of the streams or rivers.

As they approached Aelen, Draylen was amazed by the size of the town and how many people were walking in the market streets. Aelen was not quite large enough to be called a city, but still larger than a village. The historian guessed that there were a few thousand people in this town, judging by the sheer number of houses he saw from atop the hill just outside of town. He was excited; surely a town this size would have some research material on Lascar. Aelen was, in fact, the same town Lastian and Meela traveled to in an effort to recover the writings on Lascar's youth and his father, Lucian. If he was lucky, the historian might even find out what happened to them, or at least find the book they were looking for.

When Draylen and the priest arrived at the priest's home,, the priest attempted to reassure him. With a smile, the priest said, "Young man I think you did your job well. I have no idea where we were, and I can't even say which direction we went."

This comment struck Draylen as funny. How odd it was to hear someone call him a young man. He certainly didn't feel like a young man. In fact, there were times he couldn't even remember if he was eighty-seven or eighty-eight years old, or was it eighty-nine. The years up until he met Dhrel had blurred together in his mind. The historian often felt as if he was asleep until the day he met Lastian in the tavern. Everything after that meeting was more vibrant and exciting. Even raising Dhrel, who was more like a son than a grandson, provided countless stories that Draylen could remember with vivid clarity. The boy was his life now, and the historian couldn't imagine a better way to spend his remaining years.

Draylen pulled himself out of his daydreaming and responded to the priest. "Thank you for your time, if all goes well, we will find you when it comes time for the marriage," Draylen said both trying to provide the priest some reward for his secrecy and trying to make sure the priest was willing to oversee the marriage ceremony in two years.

The priest responded with a smile and bowed as he said. "I would be honored to marry the k..." He abruptly stopped what he was saying, looking around and realizing he could not say the word king out in the open, someone might be listening. "Your grandson and his wife." This small effort on the part of the pries,t reassured Draylen that Shye had found the right priest. In fact, the priest went so far as requesting to remain anonymous to make sure that there was no way to link him to the king. They referred to him as 'priest' and the only way for them to contact him would be to come to his house. With a reciprocal bow, Draylen left the priest and headed off to the market square to begin his search for knowledge about Lascar's past.

Draylen was excited. As much as he loved taking care of Dhrel, he missed researching. He had finished every book in Lastian's library several years ago and since then had been yearning for something new to read. Even if the tales of Lascar contained no new information, at least they would be something different, from different authors. He could at least enjoy another perspective on things he already knew. As the historian walked closer to the first large bookstore, he could feel the anxiety building. It was almost as though he was going on a first date with a woman.

Upon entering the first bookstore, simply named "The Written Page" he was welcomed by the delightful smell of old paper and aged ink. He missed this smell; he had spent most of his life in an academy, and most of that in the research library. This smell reminded him of his youth. At one time, he would have said the smell reminded him of home, but now Dhrel's house was his home. Draylen didn't refer to it as his house, because the house had once belonged to Lastian and by right of law Dhrel was now its owner. But this did not bother the historian, it may not have been his house, but it certainly was his home.

Draylen spent hours at "The Written Page" searching through archives and lists of books provided by the owner. He was looking for anything that had Lascar or Lucian's name on it, but he had no luck. The few he found that did contain their names were books he already had read. He even browsed through a few whose titles vaguely sounded like they might contain some knowledge, but was disappointed with what he found. After about six hours of searching and browsing, he bid the owner goodnight and headed off to find lodging. Night had come too quickly, and Draylen felt he had wasted his first half-day in Aelen

While Draylen strolled through the nearly empty, badly lit streets, he thought he noticed someone following him. He began to panic. If someone was following him, he would rather die than lead them back to Dhrel. With this thought in mind, the historian turned down an empty side street, the opposite direction from the inn district. After he got halfway down the deserted side street he waited, hand on his dagger, in case it was not one of Lascar's draelic soldiers, but instead a common thief. The minutes passed like hours but, after about five minutes of waiting, no one came by the street. Relieved that it was just his imagination, Draylen went back to the main street and continued his journey to the inn district.

What the historian didn't realize was that there was someone following him. A draelic general, the same draelic general that Lastian had seen at the tavern when he rescued Draylen. She was no ordinary general, she knew the historian was headed to the inn district, so she did not follow him down the side street. Figuring that if he really was taking a side street, she could just catch up with him at the inn district. This draelic general was by far one of Lascar's best, the fact that the old man even noticed that he was being followed at all was mere coincidence and bad timing on the part of a beggar asking the general for some coins.

The general followed Draylen to the inn he chose to sleep at. She didn't enter the inn; instead, she stood outside, positioned in an alley that had a decent view of his room. After the old man blew out his candle, presumably to get some sleep, the general made her way to an inn across from the historian and purchased a room with a window directly in view of his. Here she sat with her candles out, half sleeping in a chair facing the window. She was well trained and either the light from a candle in Draylen's room or the sunlight from morning would wake her if needed.

Draylen's night was uneventful, and he woke well-rested. He planned on staying a week in Aelen to both find as many books as he could to keep him busy for the next few years as well as give Dhrel and Shye some time alone. The betrothal ceremony was like giving teenagers a license to have sex; Draylen hoped that after his four or five week trip they would at least have calmed themselves enough that he might have some peace and quiet to study.

After a modest breakfast provided by the inn's kitchen staff, Draylen headed out for his second day of searching. He planned to visit some of the smaller, out of the way, book shops today. After searching through one of Aelen's largest bookstores and finding only popular culture books he had decided that the smaller shops provided a much greater chance at finding something lost to the world. After all, the smaller shops had fewer customers; they often kept books for more than a hundred years, not even knowing they still had them. These shops were his best bet, the only problem with his plan was that he knew of about ten of them. Even though they were smaller, he would have to rush himself and see at least two a day to keep with his schedule of leaving at the end of the week.

Draylen turned down one of the deserted side streets at the market square. It was nearly empty, except for a small sign over a doorway half way down the street. The sign read "Morlan's Books". A simple name referring to the owner's name and the fact that they sold books. It was a small store; only one room packed with maybe twenty shelves of books. Draylen would have never known about this place except that while at "The Written Page" he overheard some of the patrons talking about how they found some very old recipe books for making pies and cakes in a small shop halfway down an empty street. The patrons didn't mention it by name, but even if it wasn't the shop they mentioned, it was just what Draylen was looking for.

Draylen lost himself in the bookshelves for several hours that morning. He found books on many lost subjects, but none of them Lascar or Lucian. He even decided to grab a couple books on ancient xeltheen society. Draylen had studied this subject at the academy, and these books were older than any he had seen. These were not really what he was looking for, but they might provide some interesting reading.

As Draylen was bringing the two books up to the counter for payment, he noticed a hooded figure in the back of the room. The figure was faced away from him and apparently reading a book, so Draylen couldn't decide if it was a man or a woman. He had a strange feeling that the hooded figure looked somewhat familiar but shrugged it off as another side effect of his generous imagination. How could the figure look familiar to him? It was just someone in a hooded brown robe, doing much the same as he was, looking for lost works of literature.

After leaving "Morlan's Books", Draylen headed back to the main street. He had also heard about a small shop that had been in town longer than any of the other shops. It was once a popular store, but after some of the larger bookstores came to town it slowly lost customers. The store was called "Xylaster" which in ancient Xeltheen meant, "Bookstore". This prospect excited Draylen, "Morlan's Books" was just closer to the inn district or he would have gone to "Xylaster" first. From all accounts this bookstore had been one of the first stores in town, meaning that this store was as old as Lascar himself. If any of the stores had a chance of having something on Lascar it would be "Xylaster".

When Draylen walked in the door to "Xylaster", he was overwhelmed. Despite the store's outward appearance, it was much larger than "The Written Page". The store had hundreds of shelves stretching all the way to the back of the store. Some of the shelves were labeled with mundane categories such as farming, apothecary, blacksmithing, and the like. But near the back, the books were all covered with dust and there were no labels. This was exactly what he was looking for. From all appearances, these books hadn't been touched in years possibly centuries. Lucky for Draylen there was a reading table near the shelves, so he could grab a stack of books he was interested in and spend time sitting, while he browsed through them.

During his first two hours there, Draylen had found two promising books. Both of them had references to Lucian and one of them to Lascar's birth. Both of these were written in xeltheen, which in modern times was not a common language. During Lascar's long reign he had forced all three nations to adopt Tyrillian as the official language. This had a side effect of causing schools to no longer teach xeltheen, even in Xanthan. He kept these on the table and continued searching through the shelves. Draylen didn't have time to completely read them, he was looking for a specific book, the one Lastian had heard about. It was supposedly a journal from one of the maids who looked after Lascar's mother. She had many passages about Lucian and Lascar that should provide insight into their lives. Things that popular historic accounts did not contain for fear that the author might be hunted down.

It was then that Draylen noticed the hooded figure again. This time it walked by him and was looking through books in the far corner. The feeling of familiarity struck Draylen again. He did somehow know this figure, but how? He still could not determine if the figure was man or woman, but somehow, he knew this person. The way the figure moved or perhaps how it flipped through the pages, something was telling him that he knew this figure and should fear it.

Draylen panicked again, he was a scholar, and he knew it. Draylen decided that the best thing he could do was to act like he didn't notice the figure. So he forced himself to go back to the shelf he was working through and continue his search. He would keep one eye on the figure, while searching for the journal. He couldn't let his fear keep him from finding the journal. Draylen had never been a brave man, but today, he had no choice.

As Draylen flipped through the books, only half reading the titles, preoccupied by the figure in the corner, he glimpsed a small book behind the other books. It appeared to have been accidentally shoved to the back of the shelf when someone was putting a book back. The book was only half the height of the other books but thicker. This could definitely be a journal. The historian reached for the journal, and it fell between the shelves, hitting the floor. He forgot about the hooded figure and bent down to reach through the bottom shelf and retrieved the journal. He then proceeded to take the journal to the table and began to read. This was the maid's journal, he had found it!

Draylen looked around the room for the hooded figure, but it was nowhere to be seen. This made him even more nervous. He needed to leave. Draylen quickly paid for the three books he'd found and headed back to his inn room. The hooded figure was nowhere, but he couldn't shake the feeling like he somehow knew this person and should be cautious. This time he was sure it wasn't just his imagination. Seeing the figure in two bookstores on the same day was more than a coincidence, he was being followed.

Over the next few days, Draylen stayed at his inn room afraid he might run into the hooded figure again and read over the journal. It was just as he hoped. It was an account of the maid's life from many years before Lascar's birth until he went off to the Tyrillian Academy. It also contained some information about Lucian from about ten years before Lascar's birth. Draylen skimmed through the whole twenty-five years, taking notes on passages that might be of interest. He would need more time to completely read it because it was in ancient xeltheen. He figured if he could at least mark any occurrence of Lucian or Lascar's name, he might be able to reduce the amount of time it required. As adept as he was at ancient xeltheen, even Draylen was having a hard time deciphering the maid's strange dialect, so he resigned himself to just marking pages with their names for now.

Draylen's trip was at its end. He had not finished his research into the journal, but he believed he had made a promising start at mapping out the pages containing important information. Draylen packed the few books he had purchased and headed out of town, dreading the two-week journey back to Dhrel's house.

On the road, just a few hours walk from town, Draylen again noticed the hooded figure from the bookstores. The figure was sitting on the side of the road reading a book. From this angle, Draylen could see the figures hands and profile but little else. The figures hands were small and frail, not masculine but not entirely feminine either. The figure struck him more as a male scholar, now that the historian had a better view of his profile. Lack of calluses and clean fingernails, indicated a scholar and what little he could see of the figures silhouette, indicated that the figure was male.

Draylen stifled his fear and attempted to walk by the figure. He did not want to change course, he was not heading to Dhrel's house directly. He was instead heading west around a lake and then turning east after he cleared the lake before heading south again. This route was long, but would allow him to notice any unskilled scouts who would most certainly take advantage of the lakes clear water for either bathing or drinking. It was all part of the convoluted route he, Dhrel and Shye had created to keep everyone safe.

Just as Draylen walked by the figure, it stood up and spoke.

"We finally meet, Draylen," The hooded figure said in a low tone that reminded Draylen of a hissing snake.

Draylen stopped in his tracks, afraid to move. He had never been this scared in his entire life. The fear he felt at the tavern with Lastian, paled in comparison to this. The historian thought he was going to have a heart attack. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest; he could hear it in his ears, even his fingertips pounded with his pulse. Draylen slowly turned around, he didn't want it to be true, and perhaps he was mistaken about the voice. But when he turned around, the figure had removed his hood, and the historian could plainly see Lascar's face.

Lascar was a small man, a good head or more shorter than Draylen, who was not a tall man either. Lascar stood straight and tall, as confident people do, but his small build did not inspire fear in itself. He had very pale skin, almost grey, with long white hair much like Lastian and Dhrel's but longer, down to his waist. It was the evil king's eyes that inspired fear, as well as his reputation. The corneas of his eyes were a deep red, similar to how Lastian's looked when he nearly lost control at the tavern, only much darker and a more blood hued red. Even though Lastian and Dhrel kept their youthful appearance as they aged, Lascar did not. The evil king looked old, perhaps not one thousand years old, but old nonetheless.

Draylen had seen Lascar only once. It was at the academy when he was a young student. The evil king had come to give a speech about freedoms, which in reality was a speech on what freedoms the humans did not have. During the speech, one of the professors mistakenly questioned Lascar about the freedom to marry between races, and the evil king flew into a rage. Before anyone knew what happened, draelic soldiers had escorted the professor to center stage where Lascar proceeded to use him as an example of why people should not question the evil king's laws. The professor was tortured by Lascar's mental abilities for five minutes before he gave up the names of three faculty members and one student who had romantic relations with other races. After he had given the evil king what he wanted, the professor begged for Lascar to kill him quickly. And the evil king did, crushing the man's body with a thought.

Lascar continued, after he realized that Draylen was too afraid to speak.

"What brings you to Aelen?" the evil king questioned.

Luckily for the historian, the evil king did not possess Lastian and Dhrel's ability to read emotion. Lascar was indeed supremely powerful, but he could not read Draylen's mind, so the historian lied.

"I used to be the lead researcher in the field of ancient xeltheen society and language. So I was looking for a few books that might provide me with some new insights about how they lived," Draylen said, his voice noticeably shaking. "I even moved out to Xanthan to speak directly with some of the xeltheen elders that might have old stories from their grandparents." Draylen continued the lie in order to possibly confuse Lascar or at least make him doubt any rumors he might have heard.

"I see. May I see them? I am, in fact, quite old and perhaps I may be of help," Lascar said, holding his hand out for the books.

Lascar's interest and kindness were clearly fake. He was too curious for a man that could swat Draylen like a common housefly. The evil king was hunting for information, and this was great news. If he was looking for information, then Draylen had a chance to survive. Some simple misdirection mixed with a small amount of truth could keep him alive and possibly even allow him to return to Dhrel.

"Sure, your majesty, I'd be honored for you to provide some of your knowledge to my study. I had always wondered what secrets you knew about the ancient xeltheen. You are perhaps the best source of knowledge I could hope for. But a simple scholar like myself would not dare to approach you, sir," Draylen said, perhaps laying on the compliments a bit too thick, but Lascar seemed to enjoy it.

Draylen handed Lascar the stack of books, and the evil king flipped through them. Lascar looked a bit upset as he handed the books back to the historian.

"Despite my vast knowledge my father never allowed me to learn xeltheen as a boy, and by the time I was old enough, I had better things to do," Lascar said with an almost evil smile.

Draylen knew that Lascar didn't read xeltheen and hoped that he hadn't somehow decided it was time to learn. This gamble paid off, and the evil king had no idea that Draylen had the maid's journal in the stack of books.

Draylen was getting a bit too brave now and decided to ask Lascar a question.

"What brings you all the way out here, sir?" the historian asked.

"I was actually looking for you,," Lascar said with a much sadder look on his face. "My daughter, Kriista, seems to have found you. Or at least found out you were going to be here in Aelen. While you and I have very little in common, I do not want her to get her hands on my..." Lascar amended his thoughts out of false courtesy. "Our grandson and future granddaughter."

This new information confused Draylen. He had no idea that Lascar had a daughter. Lastian never mentioned having a sister, perhaps Lastian didn't want them to know, or maybe Lascar was lying. Also, there was the fact that the evil king was curiously concerned for Dhrel's safety. This was not what he expected from the man who almost certainly had killed Lastian, his own son. The evil king also knew about Shye, that meant that someone had told Lascar about the betrothal, but it hadn't been the priest, since he only found out after leaving town.

"I want you to be very careful on your way back to him, and please, I do not wish to know where he is. I fear that after she killed Lastian, Kriista found out about Dhrel and means to kill him next. I have been hiding from her, but felt that warning you was worth the risk," Lascar continued, confusing Draylen even more.

This had to be some kind of trick; Lascar did not run from anyone except one time when Lastian caught him off guard. If it was true, then Kriista must be more powerful than the evil king. This, of course, was assuming that Lascar was telling the truth.

Just as Draylen was about to respond, he noticed a draelic general stepping out of the trees and drawing her sword. Her hood was down over her eyes so he could not see much to identify her, but he decided that it was a moot point. If a draelic general brandishes their sword anywhere in your general vicinity, it was a good idea to run the other way.

Before Draylen could turn to run, Lascar grabbed his arm and said sternly. "Go, get lost in the woods. Do not take any trail you have ever been on and double back often. Get back to Dhrel and warn him, but do not lead her there. Keep our grandson safe."

This astounded Draylen even more. Lascar almost seemed afraid, maybe too afraid. The draelic general must be Kriista. Without another thought, Draylen ran off the trail and into the woods, making sure he knew what direction he was going. As he was leaving, he could see Lascar and Kriista fighting and hear them yelling.

"Father, I will find your grandson!" Kriista yelled as she swung her sword and caught Lascar on his left arm.

Lascar quickly raised his right hand and threw Kriista back against a tree with a large thud that made the whole forest shake. Draylen was surprised that the tree still stood after the collision. Kriista again charged at the evil king with her sword, and Lascar barely ducked in time to avoid a collision with his head. But the general was fast and spun around to catch him squarely on the right arm, causing Lascar to yell in pain.

Draylen continued to run, even if this was a trick, he did not want to stick around to find out. He ducked a few branches and then changed direction. He was again heading to the lake, but this time he was not going on the trail. The historian still figured the lake was a good open place to notice any would-be followers.

After Draylen was out of sight, Kriista lowered her weapon and removed her hood.

"How was that father?" she said to Lascar in a hushed voice with a smile on her face. She was obviously proud of herself, but needed her father's approval.

Kriista had very draelic features and was of average height for a draelic woman, which was taller than Draylen by a few inches. She had curly dark purple hair, cut to shoulder length and light purple skin. She had the smaller fangs and small horns like most draelic women, but her facial features were a mix of draelic and human. This made Kriista, quite possibly, the most beautiful draelic woman that anyone had ever seen. She had a beauty that would make most xeltheen and human women envious. Her face was battle-hardened but kind at the same time. Her eyes were steel gray and very human in appearance, and despite her well-toned body, she was quite feminine looking.

"You did well, I hope I didn't hurt you," Lascar said feigning concern for his daughter.

"I will heal," Kriista said. "It had to look like I was as strong as you said, to make the story believable, I understand." She hadn't even considered the possibility that she could have hurt her father. There was no way she or anyone else could hurt Lascar now. During his time away, the evil king had studied magic from across Lascaria in order to beat Lastian, some stories had even suggested that the evil king had gone overseas to find new knowledge. His only concern now was what Dhrel might be capable of. And to find that out, he had to create a story in order to find the boy. If Dhrel were to join him, Lascar would become more powerful, but if not Lascar would have to kill the boy and that required knowledge of Dhrel's powers. Lascar had made the mistake of fighting Lastian without understanding how powerful the prince really was, and it nearly cost him his life. He would not make that mistake again.

"Now quickly, pick up his trail. He will try to lose you, but I am sure an old human will be easy to follow," Lascar said to Kriista with an almost approving smile.

"What should I do after I find them, have you decided?" Kriista asked as she prepared to leave.

"Attack them cautiously. Don't kill any of them. Just flesh wounds. We want them to recover, and we want to gauge Dhrel's power. Force him to use his abilities but don't let him have the advantage. After you are satisfied that you know about his power, return home. I have a few more towns to visit and will join you when I'm finished, I need to find that journal before anyone else does," Lascar said as he turned and walked back to Aelen.

Kriista also turned away and chased after Draylen into the forest. He had a few minutes head start, but she didn't want him to know she was there. She needed to take it slowly and carefully. Her wounds would make her a bit less stealthy, so she needed to give Draylen some space; he needed to believe that Lascar had saved him.

Kriista tracked Draylen for days. The old man was trying his best to cover his tracks, but it was no use. She was probably one of the best trackers in Lascaria. Even with the lead she gave him, he was leaving obvious signs.

While she followed the old man she thought about her father. Since he had returned to Lascaria and again taken up the position as king, he had been acting strangely. Her father was preoccupied with Dhrel, with what the boy might be able to do. Her father was afraid, something Kriista was not used to. Even with her brother Lastian, her father wasn't frightened, more cautious than anything. Maybe when he underestimated his son, the evil king had tasted fear for the first time?

Kriista was also beginning to distrust her father. These elaborate plans, Lastian's death, it all made her question her loyalty to the man she once trusted. Lastian was a good man, a good brother, how could what Lascar said be true. Lastian a traitor, trying to take over Lascaria, siding with the xeltheen to overthrow the draelic. This all seemed so farfetched. It just didn't seem like the brother she had known.

Why couldn't she just talk to Dhrel? But ever the loyal daughter, Kriista followed her father's orders and trailed behind the historian to find Dhrel. In truth, Kriista feared her father's wrath. If she disobeyed him, the evil king would not only kill her, but also the people she cared about to appease his paranoia. Ever since he had returned the evil king saw conspiracies everywhere and was constantly on the lookout for spies and traitors.

Even though Draylen was only a few minutes ahead of Kriista, he had no idea he was being followed. He felt confident that he had lost the general and was taking extra precautions to make sure she couldn't find him.

While he walked, Draylen contemplated the meeting with Lascar. He wasn't certain, but he felt as though it had all been some kind of an act. He didn't see any reason for the evil king to go to such great lengths, but from reading Lastian's journal, the historian knew the kind of manipulation that Lascar was capable of. If that was just an act, what was the evil king after? Why not just torture Draylen for the location of their home if he only wanted Dhrel? Draylen was sure he was missing some important piece to this puzzle, but he was also sure that Lascar was up to something.

#  ******Chapter 5**

Draylen finally made it back home. It had taken him three weeks, instead of two, because he was constantly backtracking to look for someone following him and in truth, he had gotten lost a time or two. The old man was no woodsman or hunter; he was a scholar, so he did not blame himself for getting lost. In fact, he thought that maybe getting lost might have helped throw off any potential followers.

After he backtracked one last time, he could see the roof of his home. Dhrel and Shye must have started the fireplace because he could see the smoke billowing up above the treetops. It made sense, winter was coming and the mornings had been quite chilly recently. The trees had lost all their leaves in anticipation of the winter snows. Draylen was happy to be home, in a few more weeks he would not be able to tolerate the bitter cold and snow that was coming.

When Draylen had cleared the tree line surrounding their yard, he noticed the garden they had all worked on so diligently. It appeared that Shye and Dhrel had begun preparing the garden for winter. Most of the stalks from the vegetables had been cut and laid flat on the ground, and there was a pile of leaves near the garden that they planned to use as cover for the garden and provide it with fertilizer in the spring. This garden provided them with countless hours of 'family time' as all three of them would talk while tending the garden. It was as if the garden was part of their family or at the very least, a big part of their home.

It was almost midday as Draylen walked across the yard. He noticed Shye over at the edge of the yard with her bow; he assumed she was about to go hunting for tonight's supper. Shye turned and noticed Draylen, yelling towards the house.

"Dhrel, grandpa is home!" she yelled with a huge smile on her face.

Dhrel opened the front door, also with a huge smile on his face, and began to walk out to meet Draylen. As he was walking across the large yard, he yelled. "How was your trip, grandpa, did you find anything useful?"

Before Draylen could answer, Kriista burst through the tree line and headed straight toward Dhrel. She had left her hooded cloak on a tree branch at the edge of the yard so it would not slow her down. She pulled her sword from its sheath as she passed Draylen, hitting him with her left shoulder and knocking him to the ground.

Shye instinctively drew an arrow and fired it at Kriista's feet. The arrow hit just in front of the general's feet as she ran, but she simply stepped over it as if Shye's attempts to slow her didn't matter. The huntress quickly drew another arrow and this time aimed at the general. The arrow flew to its mark, but before it could connect, Kriista raised the sword in her right hand and cut the arrow from the air.

This did, however, cause Kriista to stop and look at Shye for a second, giving Dhrel time to process what was going on. The general took out a small dagger from her belt with her left hand and threw it at Shye, hitting her in the leg. The huntress hit the ground in pain, holding her leg and tried to remove the small dagger.

This caused exactly the reaction that Kriista had wanted, Dhrel got angry. Her nephew's eyes began to glow, much like Lastian's and Lascar's did when they were using their magic, except that Dhrel's eyes didn't turn bright red. Instead, his eyes began to glow a much deeper and brighter blue than their normal color. This startled Kriista for a second, and before she could react, her nephew held his right hand out, palm facing the general and a compact beam of blue light hit her square in the chest. The blast was barely strong enough to knock Kriista back a step, but she realized that this was a good chance to let Dhrel think he hurt her.

Kriista threw herself backward onto the ground, acting as if her nephew's beam had a lot more force than it did. Draylen was watching this and noticed the general's lack of acting ability. Kriista may have been a very good fighter, but her slow reaction to the blast let the historian know that she was not really hurt. It was as if she expected it to hurt, and when it didn't, she quickly decided to pretend that it did. This all happened in a split second, and if Draylen hadn't been looking at her from this angle, he would have bought her rouse.

From Shye and Dhrel's point of view, it looked as though Kriista was hurt by the blast so Dhrel put down his hand and began walking toward her, the light in his eyes still glowing bright blue. Shye reached for her bow beside her on the ground and steadied herself on her good leg, carefully avoiding putting pressure on the other leg that no longer contained the dagger. Her leg was bleeding quite a bit, but with some help from her bow, she was able to stand. The huntress balanced on her good leg and drew another arrow, aimed at Kriista and then loosed it. Shye meant to aim at the general's chest as Kriista got back up, but the loss of blood and the pain in her leg caused her aim to be off, and the arrows flew towards the general's leg.

Kriista again saw a chance to make her retreat more believable, and instead of catching the arrow, she feigned an attempt at catching it then let the arrow hit her in the leg. From Draylen's angle he could also see the general's face, he noticed how strange it was that she was not angry, and in fact, as the arrow hit her leg, a second before she yelled in pain, she smiled. This made no sense to the historian and only furthered his confusion. Why let the arrow hit her leg when she was obviously fast enough to catch it?

Kriista got to her feet and pulled the arrow out of her leg, she then threw it like a dart towards Dhrel's right shoulder. She was very careful where the arrow went, a few inches off, and she would hit him in his lung or his heart. This was as simple as a training exercise for Kriista, so she hit her mark quite easily. The pain of the arrow caused the glow to fade from his eyes as her nephew yelled out in pain. Kriista took this opportunity to turn and run back to the forest, grabbing her cloak as she left. Before she was out of sight, she turned and yelled, "Next time you won't have your pretty girlfriend to save you!"

Draylen sat dazed for a few seconds, pondering what he had witnessed. Dhrel and Shye were no threat to Kriista, why did she run? The whole scene must have been another act, but to what end? Then he thought about Kriista's fight with Lascar and concluded that this was all part of a larger plan. Lascar was behind this, not the innocent, caring grandfather that he wanted Draylen to believe. It was the only explanation that made sense. If Kriista wanted to kill any of them, she would have done so. She was by far a better fighter than she pretended to be; she was after all Lastian's sister. With even half of Lastian's fighting abilities, she could have easily killed them all. The historian then realized a horrible truth that caused his stomach to drop much like when he found out his parents were dead. Lascar had tricked Draylen into leading Kriista here. Lascar would soon know where they were.

Draylen collected himself then ran to Dhrel's side. He pulled the arrow from his grandson's shoulder then helped him to his feet. Then both men ran to help Shye. By the time they reached Shye, Dhrel's wound had stopped bleeding. The historian noticed this, and for a second, was astounded at how fast his grandson was healing; activating his powers had apparently activated his ability to heal himself as well. But Draylen's amazement was quickly replaced with concern for Shye's wound. She could not heal like Dhrel, the blood from her leg had soaked her pant leg and made a pool below her.

"We need to get the bleeding stopped immediately!" the historian yelled at his grandson with more fear in his voice than he intended. "She will pass out soon from blood loss if we don't hurry." He managed to calm his voice a little, but Dhrel could sense the urgency and fear coming from Draylen even as he tried to cover it up.

The men helped Shye to the house and on to the kitchen table where Draylen cut open her pant leg. Draylen tried to assess the depth of the wound without causing her more discomfort, but Shye surprised him.

"Be thorough, I've had much worse, the pain doesn't bother me, but an infection in a wound that deep, will kill me," the huntress explained.

Shye was perhaps the toughest person the historian had ever met. In his time as an assistant medic at the academy's military training center, he had seen wounds less severe make men twice Shye's size scream in pain. These men often either passed out or asked for numbing herbs while Draylen assisted in stitching them up.

Draylen proceeded to use a kitchen knife to pry open the skin of the wound and see if there was anything left inside. Draylen grew more concerned as he noticed the tip of the blade had broken off in the bone. "This will hur,t my dear, the tip is still lodged in your bone." The historian's tone had gone from panicked to remorseful in an instant, and Shye noticed.

Shye grabbed Draylen's hand and said. "You will need to remove my leg. The damage to the bone will cause an infection, and it will spread if you don't, it will kill me." Her face did not look afraid, only disappointed as if her favorite pet had died, and Draylen realized she was correct. "I trust you grandfather, I will not let Dhrel lose his future wife so soon," She said with a smile now looking at Dhrel. The fact that she called him grandfather instead of grandpa concerned Draylen. He knew that she was serious and that she was right; there was no other option.

Although Shye did not appear afraid, Dhrel's face could not hide his terror. He couldn't lose his future wife, not so soon. As Dhrel's fear rose, his eyes began to glow blue again. He somehow sensed what he needed to do and placed his hands on the wound. Her future husband's hands began to glow very lightly at first, and the huntress's leg began to grow warm as the tip of the blade slowly worked its way out of the bone. Shye did not yell in pain, she only grabbed one of the wooden handled forks from the table and placed the handle between her teeth. The pain was extreme, but Shye didn't scream, she simply bit down on the handle to endure the pain. The huntress was neither surprised nor scared at the sight of her future husband's powers. She trusted her fiancé with everything, including her life. Draylen, on the other hand, took a step back.

Dhrel grabbed the tip of the blade with two fingers and placed it on the table beside Shye. He then placed his hands back on the wound, and his hands began glowing again, this time much more brightly. Shye's leg now felt as though it was on fire. The pain was so intense that she had to look up at the ceiling in order to regain her composure. Through all this, the huntress never moved her leg or even attempted to slow Dhrel's efforts to heal her. She trusted him so completely that there was no doubt in her mind, he was doing exactly what was necessary.

After a few moments, Dhrel lifted his hand, and only a scar remained on Shye's leg. The future king looked up at Shye and smiled; then fell to his knees, tipped over and passed out.

Shye lifted herself from the table and bent down beside Dhrel, placing her hand on his forehead. She lifted his eyelids to make sure they were back to their normal color then checked his pulse with a sigh of relief. Her leg obviously felt better as she didn't favor it or even glance at it, her only concern was helping her future husband.

"Help me get him to bed please grandpa, he should be fine," Shye said with a much happier, almost content look on her face. Perhaps that was because she no longer faced a life with one leg or because she could tell that Dhrel was going to be alright.

After helping Dhrel to bed, Shye and Draylen went back to the main room of the house where they sat and shared a cup of warm tea. Both sat in silence for several minutes before Shye decided she should explain a few things to Draylen.

"While you were gone Dhrel and I became very close," Shye said smiling and blushing a bit while looking too intently at her cup of tea. "We share a sort of bond." She paused for a moment, her brow wrinkling, as she both appeared to be thinking intently and straining for the words to explain what was on her mind. "His powers are far greater than Lastian's, although the amount of power it took to heal my leg caught me off guard as well. Truthfully, I didn't know he could do anything that big yet." Again she paused and attempted to find the words to express her thoughts. "He can not only destroy, he can heal," her words coming more quickly as she seemed to finally figure out how to express herself. "I've seen him do things that Lastian never could. He cannot only read our emotions, with me at least, he can project them. I can feel what he feels if he wants me to." Shye look back into her cup, this time less intently, clearly giving Draylen a chance to absorb the new information.

Draylen pondered this new development for a moment thinking about the differences in Dhrel's life compared to Lastian's. He surmised that perhaps the main difference between the two was how they were raised, what their early life was like. Lastian was raised by Lascar, taught at the age of ten how to use his powers to destroy, how to kill. The evil king kept training Lastian for centuries until one day the prince had enough and rebelled, almost killing Lascar in the process. It was not until then that he met Meela. It was with Meela that the prince learned about love, family, and everything that he missed as a child. From reading Lastian's journal, Draylen could tell a difference in the prince from the moment he began to care for Meela. The words in his journal spoke less of revenge and hatred and more about hope for his future with her. And another change occurred when he found out Meela was pregnant with Dhrel. His writing began to turn to happier pursuits, his dreams for his son. The prince's journal turned from a recording of his life, into a story that would be given to his son when he was old enough. Lastian spoke joyfully about how his son might use his gifts to help people, and how much he wanted the boy to spend his life with someone like Meela. In the last few chapters, he even spoke about the choosing of Shye as Dhrel's future wife. And how much happiness it would bring to Lastian if Shye and Dhrel could live a quiet, peaceful life away from the war of Lascaria. But that was not to be, the evil king would never allow that.

Draylen again broke the silence. "It's because of you, you know?" Draylen spoke softly to Shye with a smile on his face. "I've read Lastian's journal, he had no one for centuries, except for Lascar. Dhrel had you."

"And you grandpa. You raised him. Heck, you raised me. I was a know-it-all, blind little girl when I came to live with you. You showed me what a loving family should be." Shye paused for a bit not wanting Draylen to get the wrong impression about her birth parents and added. "Not that my other family was bad, they loved me in their own way. My parents cared about me, but they were more like teachers. Not like the way you raised us. I was more concerned about pleasing them than anything."

Shye had never spoken to Draylen about her parents, and now he thought he knew why. Shye had been raised to be a huntress; there was no time to play, no time to explore the world around her and enjoy the trivial things that children do to pass the time. Draylen felt good that he was able to give her something besides a place to live. He thought that much like himself, Shye also felt like she had a home here. The historian had often wondered why she chose to call him grandpa when she must have had a grandfather of her own. Early on, he had been too afraid to bring it up, fearing he might alienate the young girl and ruin Dhrel's chance at a happy marriage. And after many years, it just seemed like it didn't matter anymore, but Draylen was happy that she was the one who finally brought it up.

Draylen thought for a minute, trying to come up with some words to answer Shye's confession that would not sound callous towards her parents. "Raising you and Dhrel has been the happiest time of my life. I spent most of my life not realizing what I was missing by not having a family. I'm glad Lastian brought me to you."

After the conversation, there was not much need for talking. Shye and Draylen slowly finished their tea, each feeling content with their lives and the family they had with Dhrel. Neither one regretting the unforeseen circumstances that brought them all together. When both had finished their tea, Shye went to her bedroom to check on Dhrel, and Draylen went to his to spend some time studying the new research material he had brought home from Aelen.

#  ******Chapter 6**

Kriista woke as the sun came up the next morning. She had waited a good distance away from Dhrel's house to let everything calm down. After a small meal, she headed back toward the house to wait and gauge their response to her attack. According to her father's plan, they should be preparing to go find him and offer to join him in hunting her. The general was not fond of this plan, but she couldn't disobey her father. The plan was that she would go into hiding as Lascar and Dhrel grew closer, perhaps for years until she could rejoin her family. But a few years meant nothing to her since she had inherited Lascar's longevity just like Lastian and Dhrel. Her father had explained that his grandson simply needed time to be convinced that Lascar was helping the draelic fight off the other two races. After this Kriista would be welcomed back.

Kriista approached Dhrel's house silently. Even the leaf-covered ground was no challenge for a well-trained general like herself. She may not have had magic like her father, brother or nephew, but in non-magical combat, she was far superior to any of them. This thought gave her comfort and a sense of pride, despite her father's near constant reminders that she was the least talented of all his offspring. The general had been impressed by Shye's bow skills the day before, but even Shye would not have been a match for Kriista. She had thought much about the huntress the night before as she recovered from her battle. The general was envious of her nephew. If Lascar would have allowed her to have a wife, Kriista thought she could have been happy.

When Kriista finally got close enough to the house, she carefully peered inside the window to the main room, and she could see that Dhrel was the only one awake inside. He was preparing breakfast for Shye and himself, perhaps Draylen as well. Kriista had learned from Lascar how to mask her emotions from Lastian, a technique that proved to be effective against her nephew as well. The general sat there for a few hours, trying to overhear conversations and determine how well Lascar's plan had worked. But mostly all she overheard was Dhrel and Shye professing their love for each other and commenting on how they were glad that neither was seriously hurt or worse. She had almost given up and headed back to her home when Draylen came in to the main room and began speaking to the new couple.

"I'm glad you two are awake," Draylen said as he grabbed his serving of the morning breakfast and took it to the main room to eat as he spoke to them. "What happened yesterday with Kriista and in Aelen, with Lascar as well, all seems too perfect." The historian took a bite of his food as he waited for his words to sink in. "It was almost like the two of them planned this whole ordeal. And what's more, I saw Kriista smile as she was in 'danger'." Draylen emphasized the word danger in a way that let them know that he was being sarcastic.

They knew. Kriista had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her father would be furious with her. She kept listening in hopes that there might be some way to salvage this and appease her father.

"Also, when Lascar approached me outside of Aelen, I could tell he was hiding something. I should have known it was a setup to throw me off-guard so that Kriista could follow me," Draylen said dejectedly

Her father had failed his deception first. This was good news, it was not entirely her fault. Even if she couldn't salvage her father's plan, at least he was just as much to blame. Draylen was very intelligent, neither of them had fooled the sly old man.

"Clearly she had the upper hand," Shye added, now seeing the point Draylen was making. "The way she removed the arrow without flinching and then hit Dhrel in the shoulder to stop his magic..." the huntress trailed off as she was going over the previous day's events. "I think you're right, this seems like a very clever trap."

"What do they hope to gain?" Dhrel said, finally joining the conversation. "I mean, they know where we live now, but there would've been much easier ways to figure that out without all the games. If they wanted to kill us, Kriista certainly could have done it yesterday."

Draylen again tried to steer the two youths toward his own conclusion, letting them make the connections. "They must want something from you, Dhrel." Draylen wanted them to figure it out for themselves. He knew he didn't have many years left and they needed to be able to out-think Lascar after he was gone.

"Lascar knows about my abilities. He wants to use me like he used father, doesn't he?" Dhrel was the first to see it, but the huntress's face lit up with understanding only seconds after.

"Yes, he wants to use you," Draylen said, both proud of his grandchildren, and at the same time, sad at the implications this had for their lives. "I believe Lascar is trying to regain draelic dominance of the lands. Xeltheen will again become second class citizens, and humans will become slaves once more, the ones that are left alive." Draylen finished his thoughts then turned his eyes downward.

Kriista's mind was racing, her father would be furious that the plan had failed even if he was also at fault. But more disturbing was what they were saying about him. Her father had always told her that the draelic took up arms to defend themselves. And that the war on humans and xeltheen started because the two races wanted to take over, Norzen, the draelic lands. Her father had also told the draelic that humans were the cause of the desecration of Norzen. And why were they saying that her father had used Lastian? Her father had told her that Lastian had conspired against him and was secretly working for the xeltheen in an effort to overthrow him and wipe out the draelic. None of this made any sense, these people had no reason to lie to each other. But the general had learned what she needed to, and felt that it was a good time to head back and tell her father the news about his plan.

The trip back to draelic lands took a little over a month. Winter was coming to the lands, and the mornings were cold. Winter had not taken hold completely, so the days were still bearable. Kriista was not daunted by the cold nights. She was well trained and draelic, she could handle sleeping in the cold. She was also Lascar's daughter, so the cold did not affect her the same way it affected others.

As she returned to Norzen, she contemplated the stark contrast to Xanthan. There were no trees, only sparse outcroppings of grass here and there. This contributed to the winter being much colder in Norzen as there were no trees to block the winter winds. Kriista had once read a book about how the draelic lands used to be, while she was on her travels. The book was one of the banned books. Her father's said it was written as propaganda to help recruit rebels. The book told of how Norzen used to be very similar to Xanthan until her father took power. Then for no discernable reason, the trees and plants began to die. The author then went on with his theory about how the evil king was responsible for this desecration. The author also proposed that draelic had been fooled by the evil king into thinking that the other two races wanted to harm them. When, in reality, the xeltheen, at least, wanted peace. She had begun to question everything her father had told her and wondered if this book was, in fact, not propaganda at all but the truth of what really had happened.

Kriista was still a few days from the stronghold where she lived with her father, so she decided it would be best to find a good place to camp. One that could shelter her from the cold winter winds before it was too dark. Xanthan had been much milder, mostly she thought this was because of the trees that could block the harsh winds. It only took her about an hour to find a decent outcropping of rocks that could protect her for the night. When she got closer to the outcropping, she noticed movement, someone else had the same idea and was already occupying the site. Kriista was not worried, they were probably just traders or draelic soldiers who also couldn't make it to a town before the cold autumn night set in. Besides, who would say no to sharing a campsite with the princess of the draelic, who was also the captain of Lascar's army?

Upon reaching the campsite, she could see that they were draelic soldiers, maybe five or six of them. Kriista called out to them as she approached so that they would not be startled. This was not out of concern for her safety, but rather, she was not in the mood to fight some of her own soldiers because of a misunderstanding. The greeting did not calm the soldiers as she had hoped, instead it seemed to cause them to act nervously. At first, Kriista thought that she might have stumbled upon some of her soldiers misbehaving, but as she got closer, she noticed a hooded figure closer to the fire they had built. This explained the guards' reactions, it was her father, and these guards were escorting him back to the stronghold. The journey to Aelen had been the first time in many years that her father had went anywhere without a squad of guards. The last time he had done, this was when he was hunting for Lastian.

"Father, I'm surprised you are on your way home so soon, I figured the bookstores would keep you busy a few more weeks," Kriista said with a smile as she approached the campsite.

Lascar turned and looked at his daughter impatiently.

"How did my plan work out? I hope you were successful," he inquired, pushing his daughter for information.

"It did not go quite as planned, father. Draylen is much more intelligent than we gave him credit for. He saw through our act at Aelen and my attempts to gauge Dhrel's power." She attempted to hide her uneasiness by being more forceful with her voice. The princess hoped her father would blame the historian for being too smart rather than blame her for the failure.

"What of Dhrel's power? How strong is he?" Lascar said, his tone growing angrier by the second.

Kriista could hear the anger, and in turn, her tone became more passive. She needed to keep this conversation under control. Her father had a bad temper, and he may take it out on her, maybe even these innocent guards.

"He has power like yours but much weaker, he was not able to subdue me. It felt more like a cold breeze," Kriista said, attempting to lighten the mood. Then she made a tragic mistake, she asked her father a question. "Why do we need to go through all this? Why not just talk to Dhrel? Surely he will come around when we explain the persecution our people suffered and what we are trying to accomplish. There is a peaceful solution to this, father."

This made Lascar furious. He held out his left hand towards Kriista, and his eyes began to glow bright red. The princess was lifted off the ground and began to feel pain in every muscle of her body. The pain continued to grow until it seemed as though she would pass out, but she refused to scream. Admitting to the pain would only encourage her father. The draelic soldiers all stared on in horror, as their princess was tortured. They dared not say anything or even move. The evil king might turn his anger toward them. After a few moments, the pain stopped, and Lascar again spoke to her, still holding her in the air so that she could not escape.

"So where are they living? Do you have a map?" Lascar asked, trying to overcome his anger.

"I could show you. I'm not sure a map would do you much good. It is far away from any town. I can find it again." Kriista was trying to calm her father, but it only seemed to make him more furious.

"You grow more like your mother every day. Always trying to undermine me. You think you can run our country better than I can and perhaps you are trying to take my place like your traitor of a brother. You disappoint me. I will have to make an example of you as well." The evil king paused for a moment looking at her with a sinister smile. "It's not like you were going to live after I convinced Dhrel to join me, anyways. I have suspected your changing allegiance for some time now but figured I'd use you to get to Dhrel first. You were going to be the scapegoat for me killing the old man and Dhrel's future wife. Then I was going to help him kill you to show him we were on the same side." Lascar then pointed his right hand at some shackles attached to one of the soldier's belts, and the shackles flew into his hands. After a few seconds, the shackles began to glow red like the color of the evil king's eyes. He then maneuvered the shackles on to his daughter's wrists. "These should hold you while my soldiers take you back to the stronghold. I think I will keep you alive for a while; I still might be able to use your death to convince Dhrel to join me. That it was you who orchestrated thi,s and I was fooled by your clever plan. I might be able to turn your failure into a success after all." With this Lascar waved his left hand and the princess flew at the draelic soldiers. The soldiers were caught off guard and fell backwards from the force.

Kriista was beginning to realize that what Draylen had said was the truth. Her father was trying to wipe out everyone. He didn't care for her, he didn't care for the draelic, he only cared about power. The author of the banned book was also right. She was now sure that her father was the one that started the war. The evil king's desire for power had thrown all of Lascaria into a war. How could she have been so blind?

"Now..," Lascar pointed at the draelic general standing beside the group of soldiers. "Take her back to the stronghold and lock her away. The shackles won't come off until I take them off. She shouldn't give you much trouble." Lascar paced for a moment, still holding the generals attention. "If you can manage to get her to a cell and..." Lascar's voice grew in volume to something like the sound of thunder and caused the general and all her soldiers to cringe as he yelled, "NOT SCREW THIS UP!". Afterward, Lascar returned his voice to its even tone and continued, "You might become the next leader of my army since there is now a vacancy. I need to see if I can somehow salvage the horrible mess she made. I will be back to deal with her when I'm finished." With that, Lascar walked out of the camp in the direction of Xanthan and disappeared into the night.

To Kriista it seemed like her father was no longer interested in draelic support for his plans, only their obedience. He was becoming the evil tyrant that the xeltheen had depicted him as. She knew for certain now that the draelic had been unwitting fools in her father's grasp for even more power.

After Lascar left, the princess couldn't help but think of her mother. Kriista's mother was not important to Lascar, not like Lastian's mother was. Her mother was a marriage of convenience for the evil king, he needed to take a wife to appease his draelic followers, and he also figured he might get another child as powerful as his son. But Kriista's mother was strong willed and always questioning of Lascar's methods. Lastian began to care for his stepmother, and she began to take her stepson's side in arguments as they both began questioning the evil king's methods.

One night Kriista's mother and Lascar had a huge fight because she agreed with Lastian and wanted the evil king to let the humans have their freedom. The prince had proposed that the soldiers should leave Tyrillia and let the humans create their own government again. He thought that the draelic soldiers had spent too much time squashing rebellions; time that would be better spent defending the Xanthan border. The fight ended with the evil king killing his wife in front of Kriista, who was only fifteen years old at the time. When the prince found out what had happened, he fought with Lascar, nearly killing him. Lastian had finally realized the truth about Lascar, he didn't want peace, the evil king wanted dominance. And if he could not rule everything, he would destroy anyone in his way. Now Kriista realized her brother was not a traitor, he had been right.

Kriista had accepted her fate. She had been blind to her father's evil for too long. Even though she personally had never killed anyone, she had backed her father, and he had killed countless thousands. She would not struggle and hurt her captors; she would calmly follow them back to her jail cell to await execution. Perhaps someone stronger than her would come along and stop her father, or perhaps her nephew would win in the end. Dhrel seemed like a kind person, her nephew wasn't interested in war or even finding Lascar. He just wanted to live his life peacefully with his family. Kriista's biggest regret was that she didn't see her father for what he was sooner. Perhaps Dhrel might have had his peaceful life if she hadn't found him for Lascar.

Kriista slowly rose to her feet, ready to follow her captors to her cell when the draelic general moved closer to her, close enough that the princess was able to see the general's face. It was her ex-lover, Elyse. The two had been lovers for many years during Lascar's absence. Kriista was preparing to ask Elyse to marry her when Lascar suddenly returned. With the evil king's return, she was afraid of what might happen to Elyse should he ever find out. The evil king would not allow his daughter to have anyone but him in her life. He would take it as a sign of betrayal and have the general killed to prove a point. When Kriista broke it off, she never told Elyse that she was going to ask the general to marry her. She only told her lover that with the evil king's return she had to leave and they could never see each other again.

"I knew you weren't serious when you said you would never see me again, but surely you could have found an easier way than this," Elyse said trying to raise Kriista's spirits.

Elyse was an ordinary looking draelic woman, not too beautiful but not ugly. She was muscular, as most draelic women were, and slightly shorter than Kriista. Elyse had purple hair, similar in color to Kriista's, but longer and curlier. The general kept her hair in a ponytail while working, long hair could be a hindrance during battle if not properly tied back. She had a soft quality to her face that made her look kind. The general had been second only to Kriista during the evil king's absence, and even now, held the respect and obedience of nearly all of his army.

"I've missed you, Elyse," Kriista said, smiling back at her.

"I can't do much about those shackles, but I think you need to go warn your nephew. Your father has gone off the rails completely now, I'm not even sure the draelic are safe from him anymore," Elyse said with her usual injection of humor. One of the things Kriista loved most about Elyse, was her ability to keep smiling and joking, even in the face of danger.

"But father will kill you if he finds out," Kriista objected.

"How will he even know who the general was that he spoke to? Your father doesn't bother learning the names of his generals. He doesn't look at us as people, we are tools," Elyse said bluntly.

No draelic would ever speak about Lascar that way, not with so many soldiers around. Elyse was very outspoken, this quality had gotten her into many arguments, but the draelic respected her for this because she always said what was on her mind. Kriista's eyes scanned the group of draelic soldiers to see which of them was going to subdue Elyse. Even with these shackles, the princess was sure she could take a few out before they took her down, but none of them moved. In fact, the soldiers seemed to agree with what Elyse had said and not one of them moved to subdue her. A confused look came over Kriista's face as she again looked at Elyse.

"Oh, they have no intention of disobeying my order, or yours," Elyse said, her smile growing even larger. "Your father is nuts, and from what I hear, almost all of the generals, and the soldiers under them, will follow you if it comes to choosing sides. We're draelic, we're not afraid of death. We're tired of this pointless war. It's destroying our country."

Kriista was astounded; she assumed that she was the only one who thought her father was insane. And Elyse had the right idea, but the war wasn't destroying Norzen, the evil king was.

"There has been a lot of talk since your father came back about the war, about draelic policy. The desecration of Norzen was going away, farmers were growing crops again. The war was at a standstill, and we were happy." Elyse paused, and with a silly smile on her face she said while laughing, "Yes, draelic can farm." This made Kriista laugh, as well. Elyse had a way of cheering her up like no one else could. The general would make the most ridiculous jokes that she could not help but laugh at. The princess never realized how much she missed Elyse until now.

Elyse returned to her more serious tone, "We, the council of generals that is, have come to the conclusion that the desecration was not caused by the humans, we think that maybe somehow Lascar is the cause. Since you have been our queen and we have stopped the raids on Tyrillia, we have enjoyed peace. And the land was beginning to return to normal. We took a vote, and it was nearly unanimous, we want you to remain queen." Again the general returned to her silly mocking tone, "Oh and they voted me to be your queen, umm wife, umm what do you call the queen's wife?" As she said this, she pulled the chain around her neck, and Kriista noticed there were two women's wedding rings on it. "After you left I found them in one of your drawers near the back. You were going to propose before you found out your father was back, weren't you?" She said, getting a bit more serious.

"Yes," Kriista replied. "But it appears that you are the one proposing now," she said with a larger smile on her face. "And I accept." Kriista was now mimicking the mocking tone that Elyse was using.

"Well, it's settled then, we will reign as queen and queen. All hail the queen's," Elyse laughed. Even a few of the somber draelic soldiers were now laughing.

Kriista now returned her thoughts to the danger that faced them. "We need to warn Dhrel. I am certain that our hopes for peace with Xanthan rely on their king not dying to Lascar." Elyse nodded and began to bark orders at her soldiers, kindly but firmly. She instructed her soldiers to inform all the generals that the war with Tyrillia and Xanthan was over. The draelic soldiers nodded in return and headed off into the night to inform the other generals of what was happening.

"I will go with you, you will need help since there is no way to remove those shackles," Elyse said looking down at the glowing shackles.

"I'm afraid I have something more important for you to do, my love." Kriista's voice turned sad as she spoke. "I may not make it, and I can't leave the draelic lands without a queen. So if I do not return you will be queen," Kriista said as she reached for the rings on Elyse's neck. "Wear your ring, and everyone will follow you, as if they already don't." She smiled at Elyse. "But this will give them a reason." Kriista gently removed the rings from the necklace and placed one on Elyse's finger and one on her own.

Draelic marriages were much less ceremonious than xeltheen marriages. Most of the time, all that was required was a verbal agreement and two rings engraved with the spouses' names on them. If a draelic had a ring with their spouse's name engraved on it, the marriage was considered legal.

"Yes, you are right, our people need a leader they can see." Elyse's voice had also turned sad. "I will miss you, come back to me please, but save your nephew." The general began smiling again, never one to end a conversation on sadness, she just had to make a joke. "Heck, that makes Dhrel my nephew as well, so you better go save my nephew, I haven't even met him yet." With this, she kissed Kriista goodbye, turned toward the stronghold, and left.

Kriista went in the opposite direction on a horse that Elyse had left for her. As she rode, the queen pondered how to convince Dhrel that he should trust her. After the fight in his yard and the damage she had done, the queen did not see much hope. The only thing the queen could think to do was to throw herself at her nephew's feet and hope he would listen before it was too late. The queen knew that this could mean her death, but she felt she owed it to the draelic and her nephew to at least try. With this, she found a new sense of urgency and prodded the horse to go faster. Kriista needed to get to her nephew before Lascar, so they could be ready.

While Kriista was rushing to warn Dhrel, Lascar made his way to a tavern on the border where Xanthan, Tyrillia, and Norzen met. This tavern was well known for its mercenary patrons. If you needed mercenaries that didn't ask too many questions, this was the place to find them. These mercenaries didn't care which country they worked in or whom they were fighting, as long as they were paid well.

Upon walking through the tavern doors, Lascar could see many mercenaries passing the time drinking while waiting for their next job. Many of them were rough looking men and women, most with swords on their hips and drinks in their hands. The patrons were loud, and no one even noticed the hooded figure as he walked up to the bar. The tavern was dirty and smelled of unwashed men. The bad lighting hid the faces of most of the mercenaries and added to the harshness of the tavern.

When Lascar had made his way to the bar, he waited patiently for the barkeep to get around to him. And when the barkeep finally did, the evil king said. "I'm looking for an experienced tracker and some fighters that can handle themselves in the Xanthan forest." As he said this, he placed a small sack of gold on the counter. "Here is the down payment with twice this as payment, when the job is finished."

As the barkeep began to speak a large human grabbed the sack of gold and said. "I have the men you need. Follow me." The man was dirty, wearing some worn out and torn leather armor. He looked as though he hadn't shaved in a week and smelled as if he hadn't bathed either, but Lascar followed him out the side door.

Outside the tavern, the large smelly man turned to speak to Lascar.

"Did someone steal your girlfriend?" The man said in a mocking tone as he laughed. "I mean, can you blame her? Look at yourself, scrawny and weak. Hand over the rest of the gold and go back to your cushy life. This bar is for real men." As he said this, he motioned to his right, and Lascar could see two more large men coming around the corner of the tavern. "Or we can just take the gold," the man said laughing again, and his two friends moved toward Lascar.

Lascar was not worried, he had half expected something like this to happen. Humans were greedy and disgusting. Why would he expect anything less than stupidity from them. He removed his hood, and his eyes began to glow. The two men drew their swords then began running at the evil king. As the men reached Lascar, he raised his hand, and the men stopped. One of them let out a small groan as the pain overwhelmed him, while the other couldn't get enough air to even groan. Their leader that had the evil king's gold tried to run, but Lascar raised his other hand, and the man stopped as well. Lascar flipped his hand over, and the man spun around like a rag doll. The evil king could see the terror in the man's eyes, and this only served to encourage him.

"Now, here is what's going to happen. You are going to give me the gold back, and your two friends are going to die. I'm going to let you live, after I teach you a lesson in manners," Lascar said as he closed his left hand. The sound of crushing bone made the leader cringe as his two friends were crushed to death. Lascar made a motion with his hand, and the two dead men were thrown out into the field behind the tavern.

"Please, I have kids and a wife. I made a mistake. I'll do whatever you want," the leader screamed but still couldn't move. Lascar took a step toward the man and held out his left hand under the sack of gold. The leader let go of the gold then began begging again. "Please, please, what do you want me to do?"

Lascar began to smile more evilly now and said, "Scream." Lascar closed his right hand only slightly, he didn't want to kill the man only cause him great pain. There was another sound of crunching bone, and the leader began to scream in pain.

"I said, SCREAM!" Lascar shouted, closing his hand a little more and the man yelled at the top of his lungs.

After a few minutes, Lascar got bored and lowered his hand, causing the leader to fall to the ground. It was apparent that he had several broken bones, he was bleeding from his eyes and nose, but he was still conscious. The man began to crawl toward the front of the tavern, presumably to find help. The evil king began walking back into the tavern, but as he reached the door, he stopped.

"I've changed my mind," Lascar said as he turned back to the man that was still crawling. Lascar raised his hand again and finished crushing the man until he died. "You will serve my purpose better if you are dead." Lascar then waved his hand and threw the man to the street in front of the tavern. The smelly man collided with a lantern pole at the edge of the street and was nearly snapped in half. As he fell to the ground, several people crowded around the dead man. The evil king then went back inside the tavern.

As Lascar reentered the tavern, several men came in the front door shouting and yelling. One man was louder than the rest and yelled while pointing at the evil king. "He killed Sylan!"

Lascar did not look overly concerned with the crowd that was preparing to lynch him. He walked back to the bar, sat down, and turned to face the mob. "I need some men that aren't idiots. I'm paying well. I need a good tracker for the Xanthan forest and some men who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty," The evil king said as his eyes scanned the room.

Most of the patrons stood up and moved to the man who was leading the mob. But Lascar noticed a few of the older patrons seemed to recognize him. They were very quickly moving to the other side of the tavern so they would not be mistaken as part of the mob. He also noticed two men on the opposite side of the bar who seemed quite content to stay out of this fight. One appeared to be xeltheen but somehow seemed to have very human features. And the other was quite possibly the largest draelic Lascar had ever seen. The draelic was about two heads taller than the xeltheen, and the draelic's arms were the size of the xeltheen's legs. These two looked promising.

Lascar raised his hand, and the man leading the mob began to convulse in pain and died much the same as the men had outside. The mob changed their minds and ran out the door. Leaving only the few patrons smart enough to avoid the evil king and the two at the end of the bar.

The barkeep saw his chance and reached beneath the bar for his sword. He retrieved the sword and placed it against Lascar's throat. "It's time for you to leave," the barkeep said, his voice trembling.

"I didn't take you for an imbecile, my mistake." The evil king waved his hand, and the barkeep was thrown back into his stockpile of alcohol, breaking nearly every bottle before he ran out the side door.

The xeltheen man slowly walked up to Lascar and said with his hand out, "Hi, I'm Zorlen. Grulek and I think we might be just who you are looking for," Zorlen said motioning toward the huge draelic. Lascar looked at the xeltheen's hand and then back at his face. Zorlen lowered his hand and then cleared his throat. "My apologies sir, I forgot," he said, realizing that the evil king was not going to shake his hand. In fact, Lascar had been known to kill people for touching him.

"Brave enough to approach me but smart enough to fear me. I think you might be who I am looking for," Lascar said, sliding the gold across the bar at Zorlen. "I assume your friend," the evil king said, looking at Grulek, "is worth the gold I was going to spend on three men?"

"Yes, probably four or five. If we're counting," Zorlen said, standing up straighter with more confidence.

Lascar thought Zorlen was a strange man. He had a xeltheen appearance, the eyes and fangs seemed right. Even the hair, which was black and cut short, still appeared to face backwards, like a xeltheen. It was the man's body that seemed more human. He did not have the small build of a xeltheen; he was somewhat muscular and heavier built than a xeltheen. Lascar could also tell by his mannerisms that Zorlen was not raised in Xanthan, but rather, he acted like a human.

"I should kill you, half-breed," Lascar said. He didn't make a move towards Zorlen; he simply wanted the man to acknowledge it.

"Yes, I am a half-breed. But I have never had any ambitions other than to be a mercenary, and it would be an honor to serve you if you let me live," Zorlen said with a bow.

Not only was Zorlen half human, it appeared that he had been raised by an influential family, Lascar decided. Who else could have hidden a half-breed child, much less, one who had so obviously been taught how to handle a royal? The evil king could not feel any magic coming from the half-breed, so he was no threat. Lascar assumed that Zorlen was more like Kriista than like Dhrel, physically superior to normal people with no magical aptitude.

"Yes, I think you are who I was looking for. We will need to stop and get some more gold on the way. Afterward we will head to Aelen to start our search." With this Lascar turned toward the front door and walked out. Zorlen and Grulek followed the evil king after dropping a few coins on the bar to pay for their drinks.

#  ******Chapter 7**

Dhrel woke before Shye and Draylen, like he did almost every morning, and began to prepare the morning meal. He was not the best cook, but he wasn't as bad as his grandpa, and that thought gave him comfort. Shye didn't mind him cooking breakfast because it was simple and hard to get wrong, but she always cooked lunch and dinner. As he was cooking, Dhrel could feel his fiancé waking in the other room. He still wasn't quite used to the sensation of feeling someone else all the time, but with his fiancé, the feeling was pleasant. He still had trouble shutting it off, which had caused a few arguments, Shye wanting to have some privacy, being the predominant argument. But ever since he figured out how to share his feelings with her, the issue had mostly resolved itself.

The beautiful huntress walked into the kitchen, still half asleep and wearing pajamas. As she passed Dhrel, she kissed him on the cheek. She could feel Dhrel as soon as she woke up and knew he was working hard to prepare a breakfast that she would approve of. The sharing of their emotions had taken an arguing new couple and practically made them veterans of their love life. There were no more secrets or hidden feelings; everything was out in the open the moment it happened. Most of the time it was nice to not have to guess at what the other was feeling, but when you throw in another person it got more complicated, such as with their grandpa. Having conversations with a third party was a challenge while sharing emotions with each other. It was like having two sets of people in a room each having their own unique conversation. No matter how hard you try, it is very difficult to keep up with both conversations.

For this reason, Shye and Dhrel loved the mornings. Their grandpa was an older man, so he liked to sleep in an hour or two more than they did. This gave them some alone time, to communicate with their feelings before having to speak words to someone else. Most of the time, they would make breakfast and clean up the kitchen while having a conversation that only they could understand. Looking at them, one would have thought they were cold and jaded towards each other when the opposite was actually the truth. After breakfast was prepared and the two had ample time to converse with each other, they set the table and called for Draylen to join them at the table.

Draylen enjoyed the mornings as well. Most of his day was spent researching so he cherished the few hours each morning that he could spend with his grandchildren. This morning he sat with them at the table trying to come up with words for what he wanted to say. He needed to express the danger they were in, but he didn't want to overly frighten his grandchildren. Lascar was coming, and Dhrel needed to practice. The historian was busy with translating and making notes on the new journal he had found, so he didn't have much time to spend with his grandson to help him train. What was more, Draylen didn't think he was really the person who should be teaching him. If only Lastian hadn't died, the prince would know how to teach Dhrel. But then again, if the prince were alive, would any of this be necessary?

"Dhrel," Draylen began, still struggling to find the right words. "I know this is all very new to you." Draylen paused again, still struggling. "But I think you need to study your father's book more diligently." Draylen realized as soon as it came out of his mouth that it sounded like he was disciplining his grandson rather than making a suggestion, so he tried to change it. "What I mean is, Lascar may know where we are now, and if he comes, you need to be able to defend yourself." He still thought that his words came out more harshly than he wanted. "I don't mean to imply that you are doing badly, you are making great progress. It's just that I'm worried." This seemed like a better way to put it, not scolding, more asking. "I worry that I might not be around for much longer, and I feel I'm somehow letting you down. I wish I could teach you what your father meant to teach you, but with all my reading, it still doesn't make sense to me, not like it does to you." Now he felt he was rambling and maybe he should just shut up and let his grandson speak.

Dhrel smiled at Draylen.

"I understand what you're trying to get at. You would like Shye and me to practice my abilities, not just our conversations, but real magic," he said, trying to help his grandpa feel at ease. Dhrel was beginning to have some control over his, emotion reading, as he called it and could almost sense what his grandpa was feeling.

"Yes, thank you, I wasn't sure how to say it and not come off like I was scolding you," Draylen said, smiling back at Dhrel.

"I'm beginning to control my emotion reading, and I could, sort of, tell what you were getting at. With Shye it's easy, with other people I have to really work at it," he said, trying to reassure his grandpa.

"Good, that's a good start. I was thinking that perhaps you and Shye could work on your other abilities. The energy bolt or whatever that was you threw at Kriista," Draylen said as he ate his food.

"That would probably be a good idea," Shye said. "I could throw some gourds at your head and see if you can stop them." Shye looked mischievously at her fiancé.

"Oh, so that's how it is now?" he replied as he reached over and tickled Shye's leg, which made her jump and spill her water.

Normally Draylen would have scolded them and told them to settle down at the breakfast table but not today. Instead, he was amazed at how the two children he had raised, were in love and betrothed to be married. They were happy, and he felt for a second that maybe he had done a decent job raising them. Everything with Lascar and Kriista faded for a moment, as the historian saw their future play out in his head. But then reality sunk in once again and he realized that none of this would happen if the evil king wasn't dealt with.

"It's been over a month since Kriista was here. I think if Lascar wanted us dead, we would be dead. There is more going on here than we know and I'm having no luck with the journal. I spoke to Rallic a while back, and I think in the spring we will head to Rallic's house and see if he can help us find the druids. They may be able to help you with your magic." Draylen paused for a second to see if Shye and Dhrel had any questions, but they seemed to agree with him. "Well, I'll leave you two to work out the details but could you please work them out in the yard. You are making quite a mess in here," Draylen said as he took his plate to the kitchen to clean it off.

"Yes, grandpa," Dhrel and Shye said in unison, mocking their grandpa in a way that made him smile.

With breakfast out of the way, Draylen sat down in the main room with the journal and his notes. He hadn't had much luck with the journal. The dialect the maid used was very muddled and confusing, sometimes leading him to believe one thing only to realize he was wrong on the next occurrence of the same phrase used differently. He still hadn't found anything of value in the writings. Most of the entries were a simple listing of what she had done that day, followed by some daydreaming with what she wanted to do with her life if she ever became more than just a maid. Occasionally she would speak of Lucian and his wife, Nilara, but mostly it was to criticize Lucian for how poorly he treated her and the other servants. Draylen began to feel like he was wasting his time, but Lastian thought this journal was important, so he couldn't risk missing anything and consigned himself to reading the whole thing page by page.

Shye and Dhrel left their grandpa in the house and proceeded out to the yard to attempt some practice. They headed out to the garden, because despite all the joking, gourds were probably the safest way to practice. The garden had withered with the coming of winter, and most of the vegetables that were left in the garden were ones that the family didn't want to eat. Some had gotten rotten before they could be picked; some had been eaten partially by animals and bugs. There would be plenty of ammunition for Shye to use on Dhrel.

The morning was cold, and Dhrel could see his breath as he walked out to the garden. The snow would be coming soon, and even though it was dangerous to stay, the coming winter made it impossible to leave, at least for Draylen. Their grandpa had pleaded with them to head deeper into the forest to avoid Lascar, but neither of them would leave their grandpa behind. It was going to be all of them or none of them, and he could not change their minds.

When they had reached the garden, Shye bent down and picked up a rather soft gourd. It was nearly too soft to pick up, and the skin of the gourd felt as though it would burst when she grabbed it. She quickly turned and threw the gourd at Dhrel's feet and laughed. He could sense what she was planning, so he easily jumped over the gourd as it exploded at his feet.

"That's cheating," Shye said laughing at Dhrel. "You need to turn that off if we are going to train for real."

"Ok, ok, I'll try to shut it off," Dhrel sighed.

"So, you stand at that end," Shye said, pointing to the far end of the garden closer to the house. "I'll stand at this end." Shye looked down at all the gourds around her feet.

After Dhrel had reached the other side of the garden, he nodded to Shye that he was ready. She picked up a gourd and lobbed it underhand at him. Dhrel stuck out his hand and tried to recreate the feeling he had when Kriista was attacking them, but nothing happened. The gourd fell to his feet and split in half.

"I'm not sure how I did it. I can't make anything happen," he said, obviously frustrated with himself.

"Perhaps we need to start smaller," Shye said as she grabbed a stick, stuck it in the ground and planted one of the larger gourds on top of it. She then walked toward Dhrel's side of the garden. "Maybe you need to figure out exactly how it works before we can work on moving targets. Try to concentrate and see if you can hit it," she said, pointing at the gourd she had placed at the other end of the garden.

Dhrel spread his feet slightly apart, bracing himself and then stuck out his hand. He began to concentrate on the gourd, but he couldn't feel anything. He shifted his feet again, and this time tried to concentrate more intently with both hands in front of him. Again nothing happened. Shye placed her hand on Dhrel's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Pretend that it's Lascar and he's coming to hurt us."

Dhrel's face grew angry, and his eyes began to glow dimly. He could feel the power inside his chest, inside his head. It was warm, and the energy swelling inside him continued to grow until he could feel it in his veins. He forced the energy to travel along, inside his arm to his hand and a wide beam shot out of his hand. The beam hit the gourd, but the gourd didn't move.

"That's it!" Shye yelled excitedly. "I knew you could do it."

"But the thing didn't budge," Dhrel said almost depressed.

"That's alright. At least you got it to work. We can work on intensity later," Shye said, trying to cheer Dhrel up.

"You have a point, this is the first time I got anything to happen on purpose," Dhrel conceded.

Dhrel readied himself for another try. He got his footing and held both hands together this time, hoping it might concentrate the beam. He tried to recreate the feeling, the energy, and the warmth. When nothing happened, Dhrel decided it had something to do with his emotions, so he concentrated on anger. He let the anger rise in him, and he felt the energy rising as well. After focusing for a few moments, another beam shot out, this one more compact. The beam hit the gourd, putting a small dent in it, but the gourd was still on the stick.

"Much better, I think, with some practice, you might get the hang of this," Shye said.

Dhrel could tell she was only trying to help, but he still felt frustrated. He needed to master this, or he would never be able to protect her. The young king readied himself again. This time he knew he needed more power. Concentrating the power helped, but there still wasn't enough force behind the beam to do anything.

As Dhrel attempted to focus more power, he heard a rustling to his right. Shye had also heard the sound and turned to see what was making the noise. A figure stepped out of the tree line, and both of them knew it was Kriista. Dhrel turned his hands at Kriista, and his eyes began to glow more brightly. He released the beam, and it hit her square in the chest. The draelic queen was knocked backwards on to her back, and this time, it was not an act. Shye ran to the house to grab her bow and Dhrel ran at the draelic queen preparing to subdue her.

As Dhrel reached Kriista she yelled, "Please, wait. I've come to warn you." She waited a moment to make sure her nephew was listening. "Lascar is searching for you. I didn't tell him where you were. I'm so sorry, I believed his lies. I'm so sorry." Kriista got to her knees and bent her head down, waiting for Dhrel to kill her.

Draylen had come outside to see what the yelling was about, and he saw his grandson standing over the draelic queen with his hands glowing. The historian yelled to Dhrel as he was running across the yard, "Wait, let's hear what she has to say." But the young king wasn't listening.

"Grandpa has a point, Dhrel," Shye agreed.

This got Dhrel's attention, and he lowered his hands. Draylen was beside his grandson now, and he noticed the red glowing shackles on Kriista's wrists.

"Did Lascar put those on you?" Draylen asked in a comforting voice.

"Yes, when I questioned his orders, he decided that I was trying to betray him. He sent me to the dungeon. I was lucky, and the general in charge let me go." Kriista wasn't going to get into details about Elyse. She had to protect her as much as she could.

"So, instead of hiding, you decided to come here and warn us?" Draylen asked suspiciously.

"Yes, after everything. I felt responsible. So I wanted to set things right first," Kriista responded. "Lascar told me that you were the traitors and we were trying to get Dhrel away from you, to join us. But after everything else I learned, I realized that he was fooling me just like he tried to fool you." The draelic queen raised her head and looked at Shye, who was now also beside Dhrel with her bow. "I'm very sorry."

Draylen wasn't quite sure he believed a word she said, but she did sound sincere. If this was another trick, what was the goal of it? The shackles were obviously magically enchanted. He decided that, whatever her goal, she could provide information that might help them.

"So, why hasn't Lascar come yet?" Draylen asked more seriously this time.

"I wouldn't tell him how to get here, so I'm guessing he had to hire a new tracker or try to find you himself." Kriista's face lit up as she spoke, she was very proud of the fact that she at least was smart enough not to tell Lascar where Dhrel was. It may have been too late to take back everything she had done, but she at least had given them time.

"We thank you for that. Now, what should we do with you?" Draylen was more content now; Lascar wouldn't be able to find them until spring if the draelic queen was telling the truth. Most trackers would tell him that it was impossible to track someone in the snow, and the ones dumb enough to attempt it would probably die from exposure. They were nearly two weeks from Aelen, and the snows were coming soon.

"I deserve whatever punishment you decide," Kriista said, accepting her fate once again. She had no misconceptions about what she had done and what punishment she deserved. She was certain that she would die.

"Dhrel, I believe that this decision is up to you." Draylen wanted the young king to be the one to choose. Dhrel was a man now, he needed to get used to these kinds of decisions. "She may be telling the truth, or this might be another trick. If you let her go, she will probably die to exposure anyway with those shackles on."

Dhrel bent down on one knee to look Kriista in the eyes and said, "Open your mind, and I will decide." Kriista was caught off guard but decided it couldn't hurt for Dhrel to know what was on her mind. She was telling the truth, so she opened her mind.

Dhrel felt a wave of emotions coming from his aunt. It was a bit hard to discern at first, and it took him a few moments to single out some of the stronger emotions. He felt several emotions, mostly regret, but then he felt something else. The draelic queen wanted them to accept her, she wanted a family like theirs. She had feelings of envy and yearning. Dhrel was satisfied, so he stuck out his hand and grabbed the shackles. The red glow faded, and the shackles fell to the ground.

"Please leave your mind open, and we can speak inside. You look starved," Dhrel said as he helped Kriista to her feet. The young king could sense the joy she felt. This was why she really came. She had only one ulterior motive, she wanted to be part of a family.

The four of them talked for many hours that first day. The draelic queen was open and honest, sharing her thoughts on Lascar as well as the draelic plan to stop the war. They were on a hard path, but the four of them agreed, the evil king had to be stopped.

#  ******Chapter 8**

Lascar, Zorlen, and Grulek had finally arrived in Aelen. With no horses, it had taken them nearly six weeks to get to Aelen, and the evil king was not pleased. He had wanted to get a carriage or even ride horseback, but the large draelic refused to ride, and Zorlen convinced Lascar that they needed Grulek. Grulek believed that horses should not be used for transportation. They were beasts that should roam free. Despite Grulek's harsh appearance and large stature, he was actually kind and the more intelligent of the two. Zorlen was quick-witted, persuasive and had a large vocabulary, but the large draelic was far more intelligent than he was.

The three men got one of the large rooms at the best inn at Aelen. Lascar was careful that Zorlen paid for everything and he kept his hood down while he was out in public. Although the evil king was not afraid of the xeltheen, he did not want word getting out that he was in Aelen searching for Dhrel.

After settling into their room, Lascar figured it was time to let them know what his plan was.

"I'm searching for my grandson, Dhrel, he is a traitor and needs to be dealt with. Hopefully, before he can convince the xeltheen to mount an offensive on Norzen." This was not the entire truth, but it was a half-truth that he figured would provide motivation for Zorlen and Grulek.

"I'm not so concerned with whose politics we serve or who we are tracking as long as the gold is there," Zorlen said with his usual self-serving attitude.

"I understand," Grulek answered. Grulek was a draelic of few words. He didn't like to speak very much, but when he did speak, it was concise and to the point.

"I think we will need about ten to twenty more men willing to do the job. I will agree to pay them one gold piece per week, and after this is over, you will get a bonus of double that on top of your down payment. Speaking of which, here is the rest of the down payment," Lascar said as he handed Zorlen another sack of gold.

"So, why didn't you hire all the mercs in the crossroads tavern when you hired us?" Zorlen asked.

"You have not heard? The draelic are planning a rebellion against me. And unless I'm mistaken, the general I handed my daughter over to will likely free her. Kriista will soon be the new queen of Norzen. But as I have my hands full with Dhrel and the xeltheen, I will have to deal with the uprising after I'm finished here." Lascar looked angry as he spoke. He knew that the draelic were planning to name Kriista as the new ruler, and there was little he could do to stop it. He hoped that giving her to the draelic would keep her out of his way while he went to deal with Dhrel. At the very least, the shackles he had put on his daughter would slow her down.

"If I had gotten mercs at the crossroads tavern, I would have to worry about whether they were loyal to Kriista. Xeltheen that work for money won't present the same problem," Lascar explained. "Here is twenty gold pieces, each man will get one gold piece as down payment and one a week until we are finished."

"I assume we are leaving most of the gold here at the inn? While going through the woods, it will be a bit inconvenient to carry that much gold." Zorlen wanted to make sure that they weren't going to have to keep pulling the large cart of gold through the forest.

"Of course. They will receive their payment upon returning to Aelen" Lascar answered. "Now I suppose it will take a few days, but we need to be quick about this. See if anyone has heard of Dhrel or his bride to be. We need to find them."

"Winter is coming soon, maybe a week. We will need to stay in Aelen until the winter calms." Zorlen hoped that Lascar wasn't suggesting they track through the Xanthan forest in the winter.

Lascaria's seasons were very harsh at times. During the winter month, the snowfall was extreme. There would often be enough snow to sink a sizable man up to his waist, or more, on a bad year. This snowfall would happen almost constantly for one month. After this, the spring, which was filled with rain, would come and last for six months. The summer would come next, and last for five months of beautiful warm weather. And finally, the three months of autumn would gradually get colder until the winter came again.

"Yes, I forget about the snow since it doesn't bother me. I doubt Dhrel would leave his bride-to-be and the old man anyways. So, we will take the month to find out what we can, get some soldiers lined up and leave on the first day of spring," Lascar conceded. The evil king was supremely powerful but not a tracker. He hated relying on others, but he might never find them if he tracked them himself. The evil king needed someone with Zorlen's skill.

"That would be wise, sir," Grulek agreed.

As the winter snows began, Dhrel, Shye and Draylen had many questions for Kriista. She had been welcomed into their home, but she still seemed as if she wasn't quite comfortable there. She was always at the ready for attacks. There had been a few instances where Shye, who moved very quietly, had accidentally startled the draelic queen causing her to react too aggressively. But in the end, these instances had mostly ended up with Kriista being embarrassed. She had become part of the family, but the draelic queen always seemed to keep herself a bit distant. Just in case this was all a lie.

Over the course of the winter month, Kriista provided them with many details about Lascar as well as herself. They found out that the evil king was heading their way, probably stopped by the winter snows, which seemed to be a bit more harsh than normal. They also were quite happy to find out that Kriista was married and that her wife was organizing the willing draelic in a revolt against her father. During the winter, Draylen also continued to research the journal, but it was slow, and there seemed to be nothing of importance in the journal so far.

#  ******Chapter 9**

Shye came running into the main room of the house where Kriista and Dhrel were discussing the draelic, and yelled. "The snow has stopped!"

Kriista got up and went over to the window, looking as if she were sad, and peered out.

"Yes, it looks like it has stopped. Maybe a few days and we can leave." The draelic queen paused for a minute, looking down. "I won't be going with you. My people need me. I'm very sorry that I can't help more. I have no magic, so I'm not really much help to you against Lascar. I think convincing my people that there can be peace without my father, is what I should do." Kriista felt as though she had again let everyone down.

Draylen walked out of his room just in time to hear Kriista's confession.

"I think that's a good idea. With the draelic free of Lascar, there is a possibility for a treaty between the three races." His excitement grew as he spoke. "This could change all of Lascaria."

"Yes, that's a great idea," Dhrel agreed, and Shye nodded.

Kriista was amazed, even when she was temporary queen of the draelic, no one agreed with her except Elyse. Every day was a debate over every decision she made. These people actually valued her opinion; maybe they were the family she had been looking for, after all.

"Now..," Draylen said, his tone starting to sound like a teacher again. "You need to make sure you say things like you are the queen. People won't take you seriously unless you take yourself seriously. Confidence begets confidence. Not sure where I heard that, but it fits here. Remember, you are the queen, their opinions matter, but it's your decision in the end."

"And please spend some time with Elyse. I'm sure she misses you," Shye added with a smile.

This also made Kriista smile. She missed Elyse. Every day for the past month, the draelic queen had wished she let her wife come with her. But, that was a purely selfish notion. The draelic needed a leader, stability, and information about what Lascar was really after. Despite missing her wife, Kriista was happy with her decision to go alone.

"Since the snow has stopped, and we will be able to travel soon, I think it's time we talked about the druids. I don't know where to find them, but Rallic does. I think we should head to his house. The last time he visited he told me he has a map that should help us find them. He also said he had some research on them, to help us understand them better," Draylen stated, hoping the others would agree with him.

"That sounds like our best option," Dhrel said.

Draylen realized that Dhrel was starting to progress into the role of leader. He would often listen to all opinions then either propose a counter plan or simply agree with the plan at hand. But, it was always Dhrel's decision. When the young king was done making up his mind about what course of action to take, everyone was expected to follow him, and they usually did. He would make a good king, talking to Kriista about being a good leader, only made the revelation about Dhrel more obvious.

"I'd say we have two days. Let's see if we can get everything ready by then. I'm not sure we will be back here for a long time, so take anything you will miss," Dhrel said. "I know you want to take all your books, but I'm afraid we can't carry them all. Please try to pick a few that you absolutely need," the young king said, looking at Draylen.

"Of course, I think I can get by with three or four books," Draylen replied. The historian started toward his room, but halfway there he turned back to Dhrel. "Don't forget your father's journal, there is still much in that book you can use."

Dhrel nodded and walked to his room, followed by Shye.

They spent most of the day deciding what they could afford to bring and discussing what they would need as they traveled. That night they all sat in the main room and discussed how they would miss Kriista and how they planned to meet Elyse when they were finished with the druids. Shye brought up the subject of their small family and how the two draelic queens were now a part of that family. This caused Kriista to become very emotional, but she hid it well. With the exception of Dhrel, who could feel her happiness. The young king didn't mention this to avoid embarrassing his aunt, but he did feel the overwhelming need to give her a hug as he was heading to bed.

The next morning Dhrel awoke first as usual and went to the kitchen to begin breakfast. When he got to the kitchen, he noticed something strange. He couldn't feel Kriista. His aunt was usually awake at about the same time as the young king. Even though she slipped back into the habit of closing off her emotions, in the beginning, she had recently become comfortable enough to let her mind be open to her nephew all the time. He had become used to the emotional greeting he got from Kriista every morning, but today it was missing.

Dhrel went to the main room and noticed that all of Kriista's bedding was folded up and there was a note on the table. It read.

Dear family,

Yes, I have come to believe that you are my family. That is why I feel the need to leave before you wake today. I can't stand the thought of saying good-bye to you. I will miss you and please, when you get a chance, come to Norzen and visit Elyse and me. I will tell her of how kind you all are, and we will make you feel at home here, like you did for me.

Kriista

Dhrel was sad, and somewhat disappointed, that he could not say good-bye to the aunt that he had just begun to know. But, at the same time, he was happy that she considered them her family as he considered her his aunt. Dhrel also understood her need to avoid the overly emotional goodbye that she would surely get. Shye and even Draylen had learned to trust her, and all of them thought of her as one of the family.

As Dhrel was thinking about Kriista and the note she left, Shye woke up and came into the main room. Immediately she felt his sadness and happiness all at once and couldn't help getting a bit teary-eyed. She came over to the couch and sat beside Dhrel then gave him a hug, while reading the letter for herself.

"We will go visit her when this is over." Shye tried to reassure Dhrel that this was not the last time they would see Kriista.

"I hope so," Dhrel said as his thoughts turned to Lascar. Strangely he hoped that the evil king was still tracking them and not going back to Norzen to squash the rebellion. Dhrel knew that the draelic had no chance, unless he could master his abilities and help them.

Shye could feel Dhrel's anxiety and attempted to reassure him again. "She will be ok." She wasn't quite sure what was causing her fiancé to feel this way, but she was almost certain it had something to do with Lascar.

"Perhaps we should wait a few days?" Dhrel tried to change the subject. "Grandpa would have an easier time if we let the snow melt a bit. The air is already getting warmer, and the sun is out. I just want to make sure it's safe for him."

"That might be a good idea," Shye said. "He does seem to be getting a bit slower these days. It will take us even longer if he gets sick on the way. My father's house is quite far."

Rallic lived in the small village of Halisburg, which was nearly a week from their house and in the opposite direction of Aelen. There would be no towns in between them and Halisburg, so there would be nowhere for Draylen to rest if he did get sick.

"Well then, in that case," Dhrel said, smiling and pretending to be stumbling for words. "Let's go outside and practice."

Shye jumped up off the couch and ran into their room. A few minutes later, she came out dressed in a warm winter coat and gloves, with a smile on her face.

"Let's see how you handle snowballs!" Shye exclaimed as she ran out the door, leaving Dhrel behind laughing. He quickly chased after her, not bothering to put on warmer clothes. The young king was Lascar's grandson, so the cold didn't affect him.

"I think we should try something different this time," Shye explained. "I want you to try the exercise about shielding."

"But even father couldn't do that one right," Dhrel objected.

"Yes, but I think you're different. He couldn't heal either. Trust me on this," Shye said.

Dhrel nodded and took his stance with both hands out in front of him, palms facing Shye. After Shye was sure he was ready, she picked up a snowball and threw it at Dhrel's chest. Dhrel tried to imagine a barrier in front of him. He could feel the energy rising inside himself and tried to direct it outward. This was different than throwing an energy beam. It had to be solid, and it had to be stationary. His eyes began to glow dimly, and he could almost see a semi-invisible shield forming in front of his hands. The snowball exploded as it hit the invisible barrier, but instead of protecting Dhrel it caused the snowball to explode and covered him in snow.

"Well, that was interesting," Shye laughed.

"That won't help me much. I shredded the snowball," Dhrel said, also laughing.

"Try again, this time try to push it away," Shye explained. She could feel what Dhrel was trying to do and tried to reassure him.

Dhrel readied himself again, and Shye threw another snowball. Dhrel's eyes began to glow brighter, and right before the snowball hit, she could see the barrier in front of his hands glow with the same color. The snowball hit the barrier and exploded again, this time at Shye. The huntress was covered with snow this time, and the young king fell on the ground laughing.

"I think I'm gonna have to stand a bit farther back next time," Shye said as she scooped the snow out of her eyes. "Good thing we weren't using gourds or I'd need a shower," she said, joining Dhrel's laughter.

The two of them practiced for another hour, until Shye's fingers were too cold to pick up any more snow. Dhrel had improved quite a bit. By the end, he could not only deflect several snowballs in succession, but also he could aim where the explosion of snow would hit. They both thought that practice had gone very well, and they deserved a break.

When they got back in the house, Dhrel started to feel very tired. Shye offered to make breakfast since they had completely forgotten about it, and the young king went to the couch to sit and recover. He decided to grab an apple out of the bowl on the table in front of the couch. He thought it might give him a bit of energy, maybe he just needed food. As he grabbed the apple from the bowl, all the apples in the bowl began to shrivel. Shye could feel her fiancé's intense shock as this happened, and ran back into the main room.

"What happened?" Shye asked.

"I just wanted to eat an apple, and I made them all shrivel up," Dhrel exclaimed.

Draylen had woken up and was standing behind Dhrel. "It seems that your energy to do magic has to be replenished," he explained. "It makes sense. I'm guessing it's something you will need to learn to control as well. Does your father ever say anything about this?"

"I'm not sure," Dhrel said, slightly embarrassed that he hadn't read the entire book only skimmed for parts he wanted to learn.

"I think you might want to read about it. Not being able to control this might be problematic," Draylen scolded.

"Except for healing my leg, I think this is the first time Dhrel has actually tapped into his powers completely," Shye said trying to defend Dhrel.

"I understand that. I'm just saying that what if it happens when we are in public?" Draylen asked.

"You are right, grandpa, I need to control this. What if I accidentally do that to a person?" Dhrel said, looking at his fiancé.

"Yes, I didn't consider that," Shye conceded. "You see if you can find anything and I'll finish breakfast. Also, grandpa, Dhrel decided that we should wait a few more days to leave since it's still very cold," she said to Draylen as she walked to the kitchen. "And there's a letter from Kriista on the table, she has headed home."

The news about Kriista saddened Draylen but waiting a few more days relieved him. He was not sure he was ready for the cold weather. The temperature would be much warmer in a few days, and the snow would almost completely be gone by then. The historian didn't answer Shye, he instead sat and read Kriista's letter.

After Shye had finished their breakfast, she called to the two men to come eat. Dhrel brought Lastian's journal, and Draylen brought the maids journal. This left her without much to do, so she cleaned up the kitchen while they read.

Before Shye had finished, Dhrel yelled. "I found it." He held the open book out to show Shye and Draylen, but the historian didn't look.

"I've already read that passage, Dhrel. I just wanted you to read it," Draylen said still scolding his grandson.

Dhrel ignored Draylen's scolding and started explaining as he pulled the book back in front of himself.

"After I use magic, I need to replenish my energy. It's like after you run, you have to eat to replace what you spent. Only with magic, I need the pure energy absorbed from something living." He paused for a second as he read the next passage. "And it seems that it doesn't work on animals or people, only plants..." The young king paused again, and this time, a concerned look came over his face. "But Lascar was trying to find a way to absorb energy from people. He thought it might be possible and would give him more power. But thankfully, he never figured out how to do it."

"I think you need to spend a little more time reading each day. You can't practice what you don't know about," the historian responded.

"Yes, I see your point," Dhrel said dejectedly as he went back to reading.

Shye pulled her chair next to her fiancé and read along with him. Draylen found this particularly amusing. If anyone was to sit beside him and read the same thing he was reading it would annoy him. In fact, he had several arguments with students about this very subject. The historian assumed that since the two were so connected, they didn't even realize that this practice was not common for most people.

#  ******Chapter 10**

Lascar, Zorlen, and Grulek sat at the kitchen table in their expensive inn room conversing about what information each had gathered on Dhrel. After the harsh winter, the evil king was ready to start the search for his grandson. Over the last month, Zorlen, Grulek and he had uncovered very little about the young king. It seems that no one knew much if anything about the mysterious king of Xanthan. Despite this setback, they did find out information about his betrothed, Shye. After a lucky break overhearing a half-drunk priest comment on how beautiful she was. Zorlen was able to do some digging and found out that Shye's father, Rallic, lived in Halisburg. Halisburg was only about three weeks walk south of Aelen, and with some persuasion, Rallic might be able to provide them with information about the location of Dhrel's house.

Lascar decided that three weeks was too long to waste on a chance that Rallic would have information. If Shye's father was even in Halisburg. So he confronted Grulek about horses again.

"I will be taking a horse to Halisburg with Zorlen. I understand that you will refuse to go, so I will instead put you in charge of collecting the troops. Collect everyone you have made a down payment to and set up camp on the outside of town. By horseback, it will be about a week before we return. When I come back, I will know at least where we should start looking," the evil king said in a commanding voice.

"I will not let you abuse those creatures," Grulek said, rising from his chair. The draelic was so large that his head nearly hit the ceiling in the kitchen.

Grulek had made a mistake, Lascar stood up from his chair, and his eyes began to glow. The large draelic realized his error when he was unable to move his arms or even sit back down.

"I let you dictate our travel arrangements on the way here, and it cost us at least two weeks. Don't forget who you are talking to!" Lascar said, attempting to control his anger. He needed these two, and it would be a shame to have to kill them over stupid horses. Finding another tracker would take him weeks, and all the men Grulek had recruited would be lost.

"My apologies, sir. It won't happen again," Grulek said, attempting to sit back down, but he was still paralyzed.

"I value your opinions, but we need to move fast. The snow hasn't melted yet, and we need to find them soon. If they have any idea that we are coming for them, they will leave as soon as the snow melts." After Lascar finished, his eyes stopped glowing, and the large draelic was able to sit down.

"I saw a horse stable near the edge of town," Zorlen said. The tracker had stayed silent, while Lascar threatened his friend. Zorlen's trust in the evil king had grown considerably in the last month to the point where the tracker would often side with Lascar over Grulek, during their debates on strategy.

"Yes, we should leave today, but first I decided to give any men that show up a bonus. Five gold pieces for anyone that is willing to show up at the camp. It will be prepayment for the first five weeks. The remainder will be paid upon our return to Aelen. You should make an example out of anyone that tries to leave after getting their bonus."

Grulek nodded in agreement. Being commander of a bunch of xeltheen was appealing to him. He would teach the weak xeltheen under his command to behave like draelic soldiers. Grulek didn't hate the xeltheen, he just felt that they were not good soldiers. He even felt that their hunters could use more discipline. After all, Grulek was doing them a favor and helping them stop a wanted criminal in their own country.

With that, Lascar and Zorlen left the inn and headed to the stables where they could rent horses for the trip. The stables were not the best the evil king had seen, but there was little choice in a town like this. There were only five horses, and three of them looked like they would be better suited for plowing fields than riding. This was because Aelen didn't need to have many horses, being a xeltheen town. Most of the people in the town either lived there or lived in walking distance. The stables were mainly used by visitors or people wanting to make a quick trip to a neighboring town.

After some haggling, and most likely overpaying, for the two best horses, Zorlen and Lascar set off for Halisburg. The stable master had told them about a seldom-used road that led from Aelen to Halisburg. In recent years it had become the home for a group of bandits, so no one really used it anymore. They were not afraid of bandits, so Zorlen thanked the stable master as he and Lascar set off for Halisburg.

The first day went well. They thought they had made good time so after dark, the two of them settled down for the night, mostly because the horses seemed to require rest. After both men had drifted to sleep, Zorlen heard something in the trees away from the road. He woke Lascar and headed out to scout the trees to check for bandits. After a few minutes, the tracker came back, hands tied behind his back, followed by three very shabby looking bandits. Two of them were xeltheen, and one of them was human.

"I thank you for bringing us horses. We will take your gold and supplies as well," the lead bandit said, grinning as he held a knife to Zorlen's throat.

"I think you should cut your losses and head back where you came from," Zorlen said as Lascar's eyes began glowing.

The human bandit looked scared, he had apparently recognized the evil king, but the two xeltheen bandits didn't budge.

"I think that's Lascar," said the cowering human bandit. "I think we should leave."

The two xeltheen laughed at the human, then the leader threw Zorlen to the ground and turned his blade on Lascar.

"If you're Lascar you gotta be rich, right?" he asked as he walked toward the evil king.

Lascar raised his hand, and the leader crumpled to the ground with loud sounds of cracking bones. The second xeltheen threw his dagger at Lascar, but it stopped inches from the evil king's face. Lascar raised his other hand, turned the dagger around and it flew back at the second xeltheen. Striking him square in the chest before continuing through the other side of him. The last xeltheen bandit stood there looking confused for a second before falling to the ground dead as well.

Then Lascar turned to the human bandit who was begging for his life.

"Please, Lord Lascar, I tried to warn them. I'm sorry." The man was nearly crying as he said this and had fallen to his knees.

"You can warn any other bandits to leave me alone while I travel this road. I'm on a tight schedule, and you have just deprived me of what little sleep I could get!" Lascar yelled as he turned his hand and broke the man's left arm. "I assume you are right handed. Since you hold your dagger in your right hand. So, I broke your other arm. Consider it mercy. Now go and tell your friends that this is my road. I will kill anyone who bothers me. "

The man was screaming in pain from the broken arm, but he could hear Lascar. After he was sure the evil king was done speaking to him, he stood up and ran back into the woods.

"Well, you now own a road in the middle of Xanthan," Zorlen said laughing.

The evil king was not in the mood for Zorlen's jokes, so he went back to his bedroll to try and get some sleep before morning. The tracker realized that he was annoying the evil king, so he quietly returned to his bedroll as well, then went back to sleep.

For the next two days, they didn't see a single person on the road. And on the third day, they finally reached Halisburg in the early morning.

Halisburg was a small village of maybe forty people. There were only a few houses, and most of the land around the town appeared to be used for farming. What wasn't used for farming was used to graze the livestock. The snow was still covering the ground inside the village, so this made the small village look unusually clean.

Zorlen began by going around to some of the houses and asking the villagers if they knew where Rallic lived. Claiming that he was a friend of Shye. He told the villagers that he had seen her in Aelen and was worried about her. He even offered some of the villager's gold, but none of them would even speak to him except to tell him to leave town.

After about an hour of Zorlen's failed attempts, Lascar grew impatient. He walked to the middle of town and placed his hand on the ground. A horrible hissing and cracking sound came out of the ground, as Lascar was absorbing power from all the trees and bushes nearby. The sound grew until it was like an earthquake, and some of the houses around the middle of town collapsed. The villagers ran to see what was causing the strange earthquake and gathered around the evil king as he stood up to address them.

"I am Lascar," he shouted. "I am looking for Rallic Halis." As he said this, he held his left hand high in the air, and all the villagers were paralyzed. "If someone does not tell me where he is, I will kill all of you." Then Lascar used his right hand and pointed at one of the older looking villagers and crushed him to death.

All the villagers began screaming or crying, and then one man spoke up.

"I am Rallic," the man said. Rallic was a rough looking xeltheen. He appeared young like all xeltheen, but he had rough skin like he had worked hard all his life. He had brown hair, green eyes, and looked as though he hadn't shaved recently. "Now please let them go, and we can talk."

Instead of letting them go, Lascar closed his left hand that was raised above his head. All the villagers except for Rallic were crushed. The rough xeltheen couldn't believe his eyes. All his friends lay strewn across the ground. He had heard stories about the evil king's power, but this was like nothing he had ever seen.

"I'll be the one deciding who lives and who dies," Lascar said sneering at the rough xeltheen.

"Now you have no leverage for whatever you want from me," Rallic said as he tried to ignore the horrible scene he had just witnessed. "You might as well kill me too."

"Oh, they weren't my leverage. They were a message to the xeltheen. If you hide Dhrel, you will suffer," the evil king said, smiling even more evilly. "Now, where do you live? Let's sit down and have a chat."

Reluctantly, Rallic started walking to his house. He couldn't believe what had happened. All the villagers had died in an instant. Their only crime was that they didn't tell Lascar where to find him. The rough xeltheen couldn't get the horrible sound of all the villagers being crushed out of his head. He had never heard such a sickening sound. Some of the villagers had screamed for a few seconds before they finally died. He knew he wasn't going to escape, but he also wouldn't tell Lascar where Dhrel was. The evil king might kill him or torture him, but Rallic would not let his daughter suffer the same fate.

Lascar followed Rallic back to his house and sat with him at the kitchen table while Zorlen searched through the man's house for anything leading to Dhrel.

"I have nothing that will help you find Dhrel here, and I don't know where he is," Rallic lied.

"I know that isn't true," Lascar said as he raised his hand and began to squeeze it gently.

The rough xeltheen began to get uncomfortable; it was like he was being crushed from all sides. It was hard to breathe, hard to stay sitting, but he couldn't stand either.

"I don't know, really," he lied again, hoping the evil king would lose patience and just kill him.

"I found something!" Zorlen yelled, coming out of the bedroom. "It's a map, not labeled, but it looks like the forest between Aelen and Halisburg.

"Let me have a look," said Lascar as he released some of the pressure on Rallic and held his hand out for the map.

Rallic was filled with fear as he realized what map Zorlen had found. He had forgotten he had it. It was the map Lastian had given him when Shye was accepted as Dhrel's promised. The rough xeltheen struggled against Lascar's grasp, but it was no use, he still couldn't move. He had let Lastian down; the evil king would find Dhrel. This also meant that he would find Shye.

Rallic yelled in one last attempt to confuse Lascar. "That is my fishing shack! I go there in the summer to relax!" But this didn't fool the evil king, it only made him angrier.

"Yes, this is what we're looking for," Lascar said, ignoring the rough xeltheen's lies. "At least I won't have to listen to his lies anymore." As Lascar said this, he closed his hand into a fist, and Rallic was crushed to death like the other villagers. "We should head back and meet Grulek. We know where we're going now," Lascar said with a self-satisfying smile. Satisfied with what they had found, the evil king and Zorlen got their horses and headed back to Aelen.

On the way back to Aelen, the tremendous amount of power that Lascar had used took its toll on him. He had rushed the interrogation of the villagers and Rallic, using more power than he should have so quickly. About an hour after leaving Halisburg, the evil king fell off his horse and passed out. Zorlen noticed immediately and stopped to throw the evil king back over his horse like a sack of goods. The tracker then led both horses the rest of the day, stopping periodically, to make sure that the evil king was still breathing. Finally, as Zorlen was preparing to make camp for the night, Lascar woke.

"How long was I out?" Lascar asked.

"A few hours," Zorlen answered.

"I appreciate your loyalty. It will not go unrewarded," Lascar stated.

For a moment, Zorlen almost thought Lascar could be kind somewhere deep down, but it didn't take long for that notion to fade.

Lascar looked around to figure out where exactly they were and looked angry. "We've lost too much time. We'll need to ride through the night to make up the time we've lost," the evil king said.

For the rest of the trip, Lascar pushed the horses as hard as they would go without failing. They recovered the lost time, but when they reached Aelen both horses were spent. They would likely have to be used as plow horses for the rest of their lives, and the stable master was furious.

"You have ruined my two best horses!" the surly stable master yelled.

Lascar attempted to control his anger, he didn't want to make a scene or garner any unwanted attention. Not that he would have any trouble killing the whole town if necessary. But he was in a hurry and didn't want to take the time. He also didn't want to lose any more time recovering afterward. He needed to save his strength for fighting Dhrel. With this in mind, he handed the stable master six gold coins.

"That is three for each horse, a fair price," Lascar stated, still trying to contain his anger.

"Three for each horse?! Are you daft?! That won't even pay for one! I'd wager they are worth ten coins each, at least!" the stable master continued his yelling.

That was all Lascar could take, the stable master was trying to swindle more money out of him for old horses that wouldn't have lasted another year. The evil king's rage continued to grow until his eyes began glowing.

Zorlen quickly stepped in and confronted the stable master.

"I think you need to take what you were given and be happy." The stable master again tried to shout objections, but the tracker cut him off. "Lord Lascar has paid you a fair price. I think you should thank him and be on your way."

The stable master squinted his eyes and stared at Lascar for a minute trying to decide if Zorlen was telling the truth. Then revelation swept over the man's face and fear set in. "Please, sir, I beg your pardon. I didn't realize. I apologize, sincerely." The stable master tried to hand Lascar back the coins, but the evil king was too angry to notice.

"This will only slow us down. We need to meet Grulek and start towards our goal," he said to the evil king, not wanting to say too much in public. Zorlen then took the coins from the stable master.

Lascar's eyes began to lose their glow, and he at looked Zorlen. "Yes, you have a point," he agreed. "It seems you are becoming more useful by the day, Zorlen," Lascar stated as they walked south to meet Grulek.

Zorlen was amazed, he must have impressed Lascar. It was the first time Lascar had ever called him by name. This reminded him of something his father, who was also a thief and mercenary, had told him when the tracker was a young man. 'Jobs are like sex, my boy, do it right, and you'll probably get to do it again.' Zorlen missed his father. His father was xeltheen; he had been taken by the hunters and put to death. This was because the tracker's mother was human, and the xeltheen were afraid that Lascar would punish them for allowing a xeltheen to have a child with a human. Zorlen was on a scouting job in Norzen for his father at the time, so the xeltheen never found him. After learning of his father's death, the tracker stayed clear of Xanthan. For this reason, he hated the xeltheen and had no problems killing them. But Lascar killing one in Aelen might cause some of the soldiers they had recruited to become skittish.

It didn't take long to meet up with Grulek who appeared to have more than the twenty men Lascar had asked for. By Lascar's count, there were twenty-six. Some of the men had brought along their sons or brothers to share in the opportunity that the large draelic had offered them. This did not bother the evil king, in fact, he was happy to have more men. After greeting Grulek and praising him for his excellent recruiting strategies, they gathered the men so Lascar could address them.

"I am Lascar. I'm sure most of you know of me. If any of you have any misgivings now would be the time to speak up. If you decide you don't want to go, I suggest you return your gold to Grulek and you are free to return home." As Lascar was speaking, he noticed one of the xeltheen in the back trying to sneak out of the camp. He motioned to Zorlen, and the tracker went after him.

As Zorlen approached him, the xeltheen tried to run. The tracker easily cut him off, and the xeltheen realized that he couldn't outrun this man.

"If you want to leave, return the gold. That was the deal," Zorlen said sternly.

"I ain't no traitor and dat ain't my king," the xeltheen said in a heavy accent.

"Then return the gold," Zorlen demanded.

"Why? Da bastad killed my famly wit his draelic soldiers. It's due ta me," the xeltheen said as he tried to push by Zorlen.

Zorlen pushed back, and the xeltheen pulled out a blade. The tracker was faster; he nearly had the speed of Kriista. Zorlen quickly relieved the xeltheen of his blade and then relieved him of his hand before the xeltheen knew what had happened. As the xeltheen fell to his knees, holding the stump where his hand used to be Zorlen slit his throat and the xeltheen fell to the ground dead.

None of the soldiers seemed to care much about the dead xeltheen. Most of them were dirty, rough looking men that would probably have killed the man themselves, if they were paid to do it.

Lascar continued, quite pleased with Zorlen's actions. "As I said, leave the gold, and you're free to go home. On the other hand, if you wish to make more, you are welcome to join us. Our hunt will probably take about two or three months, and you will be home in time to enjoy the summer with your new wealth." The evil king stopped and looked around to give anyone time to reconsider, but no one else wanted to leave. They all wanted the gold, even if it was Lascar paying them.

After a few moments, Lascar was satisfied and began telling them about their mission. "My grandson, Dhrel, Lastian's son, is a wanted criminal. We are going to take him back to Norzen dead or alive. If confronted by him, I would ask that you strike first. Do not let him fool you. He is evil and manipulative. He endangers your country by hiding here, trying to sew discord. I have heard rumors that he is attempting to gather an army to join the humans in overthrowing both the xeltheen and draelic governments." Lascar paused a moment to allow the xeltheen to talk.

Most of the men didn't really care for Lascar, but the thought of humans taking over Xanthan made them furious. Their voices grew louder as they discussed the loathsome humans.

After a few moments, Lascar spoke again, raising his voice to talk over the men. "I have never tried to enslave Xanthan. I have encouraged you to keep your own government, and I have attempted to keep the humans under control. You must abide by my laws, but you are free to choose how to live. Dhrel is trying to undermine everything we have worked for. He wants the humans to rule us all. I will not allow my grandson to reinstate the tyranny of my father. We leave in the morning. My offer stands until we leave. Turn in your gold and head home, or join me in saving Lascaria from the human threat."

Zorlen was amused at the evil king's speech. Lascar had a way with words, not much of it the truth, but it was very inspirational. It didn't matter to the tracker, he liked Lascar's rule. He didn't believe that humans or xeltheen should be allowed to be free. Norzen was the only place he hadn't been harassed and where he was allowed to do what he wanted. No one in Norzen hunted him, and Norzen is where he had met Grulek.

After Lascar's speech, no more soldiers left, and by the next morning, Lascar's small army was ready to head south toward Dhrel's house.

#  ******Chapter 11**

The days continued to grow warmer, and the snow had receded to the point where Draylen felt comfortable that he could spend nights around a campfire. With this in mind, he told Dhrel and Shye that he was ready. The next day the three set out towards Halisburg. The trip would take them about a week, and because they were not planning to return home for quite a while, they took anything that could be useful on their trip.

Dhrel brought with him his father's journal and some tools to help make campfires and hunt food. Shye brought her bow, a few cooking pans, and some utensils. Draylen brought only the few books he couldn't stand losing, including the story of Lascar he was working on and the journal of Lucian's maid. All of these supplies were put in a makeshift cart that had three wheels. The huntress had designed it with a larger wheel in back and two smaller wheels in the front. It would provide ease while traveling across flat land. The larger wheel in back would allow them to lift the front two wheels off the ground so that they could move the cart across bumpy terrain more easily. The cart had a pull rope and two handles sticking out the front to accommodate both types of terrain.

The first few days went well, Dhrel and Shye hunting for meals while Draylen stayed at the campsite to guard the cart from animals and continue his research. On the fifth day, when the couple returned from hunting their grandpa met them with such excitement that they assumed something had happened to the cart and their supplies. But as they got closer, they could see that he wasn't upset, but rather, he was excited and had important news.

"I've found it! I know why Lascar wanted to destroy this book!" Draylen shouted as Dhrel and Shye ran to meet him.

"You found what?" Dhrel asked, completely confused.

"Lucian was Lascar's father, but Nilara wasn't his mother!" Draylen explained.

He explained that in the maid's journal, she mentioned that Lucian had a guest staying at the castle. She was an old acquaintance of his that he had known long before Nilara became his wife. The tyrant had the same gifts as his son Lascar and was nearly two hundred years old. Lucian had married Nilara when she was twenty-two, and over the ten years they were married, they were very happy, but Nilara couldn't have children.

After the guest, whose name was Faamyn, came to stay with the royal couple. Nilara begged her husband to speak with their guest about providing them with a child. Faamyn was receptive to this idea, and Lucian got her pregnant. Everything seemed to be going well, the royal couple got along very well with their guest during her pregnancy, but the maid noticed that Faamyn was not what she seemed. The maid overheard the guest speaking to her unborn child about necromancy. Promising to show the child everything she learned so that he could take over the kingdom of Tyrillia and the rest of the lands.

The maid reported this to Nilara who praised her maid and instructed the maid to keep spying on Faamyn. Reporting only to her. This went on for several months; Nilara so wanted the child that she kept it a secret from Lucian until after Lascar's birth. When the queen finally told her husband what was going on, Lucian grew furious with Faamyn. The couple confronted the witch who killed Nilara, absorbing her life force before Lucian could stop her. The tyrant then imprisoned Lascar's real mother in the basement dungeons. Warding it against her magic by using some of his own.

Lucian was so distraught over Nilara's death that he mostly ignored his new son. Leaving Lascar to be raised by the maid. The maid took care of the boy for eight years until one day, she found Lascar visiting his real mother, in the dungeons. She was teaching him magic and had filled his head full of hatred for Lucian. The maid quickly reported this to the king, and he attempted to execute Faamyn, but she was too powerful. After failing to kill Faamyn, Lucian decided to lock her away somewhere so that no one would ever find her, especially Lascar.

He left the next day with a small party of his most trusted guards, a pair of druids he had known and Faamyn who he had bound with magic chains provided by the druids. The party was gone for several months, and only Lucian returned. After returning, the tyrant was the only person to know where Faamyn was locked away and would not talk to anyone about where he had gone or what had happened to the other men. Over the next seven years, the maid cared for Lascar as the king became even crueler to the boy.

"The maid's journal is not very detailed about some aspects, but there is enough information to put together with other accounts that will help me finish my grandfather's book," Draylen said attempting to reinforce the revelation.

"So, it is possible to absorb humanoid energy?" Dhrel asked.

"Apparently so, but Lascar didn't learn it because his mother was taken from him at eight years old. He hadn't had enough time to completely master his mother's magic," Draylen explained.

"So, Nilara didn't die in childbirth, the story we were told was a lie to hide Lascar's real mother?" Shye mused.

"Yes, and it has worked as well as Lucian had wanted. Without this journal, Lascar is the only one who knows the truth. I skipped ahead to the final pages of the book, and apparently Lascar was hunting the maid. If I'm understanding the last entry here," Draylen pointed at the last sentence in the book. "He cornered her in Aelen, and she hid the book at the bookstore where I found it, chances are Lascar killed her or she would have come back for this book."

"So, not only did Lascar kill his father, he killed the woman who raised him?" Shye said, expressing pity for the maid.

"Yes, and sadly, we don't even know her name. She never refers to her own name or even signs anything in here," Draylen said, joining in Shye's pity for the woman.

"At least she got the journal to Aelen," Dhrel said with reverence for the maids sacrifice.

"I suppose you have a point," Draylen agreed.

"So, let me see if I understand the importance of this," Shye stated. "Lascar was the son of two immortals, both having powerful magic. But at the same time, he was mostly self-taught since Faamyn was taken and Lucian never taught him anything?"

"I'm not sure I would call them immortals exactly, but yes, you have it. And Lascar could be way more dangerous if he learns how to use his powers like his mother," Draylen added.

"I think we should find those druids quickly then. So I can learn what I can before Lascar finds us," Dhrel said.

Shye and Draylen agreed, and after they had finished with their meal, the three of them continued with renewed urgency towards Halisburg. The remaining days of the trip were mostly silent, with only minimal stops to eat or sleep. They reached Halisburg almost a half-day sooner than expected, and it was midday when they finally arrived.

The sight was horrible. The still cold air had frozen the bodies of the villagers and seeing this, Shye rushed to her father's house. She found her father in the same state as the villagers and began to cry.

Dhrel had never seen Shye cry like this, even when her mother died a few years ago. The huntress had reverence for her mother, Sydel, possibly even some grief, but it was small in comparison to this. The young king could feel her sadness, and it overwhelmed him.

Shye had never been close with Sydel. Being raised as a huntress, it was her father that taught her everything. The young girl and her father would go out into the woods for days, training and come home to her mother who was distant and resentful of their bond. Sydel never wanted her daughter to be a hunter, but it was what Rallic wanted for her. Shye had begun her training at the age of five, despite her mother's objections, and it cost the huntress her mother's love. So in Shye's eyes, her mother had been gone for a long time before she actually died. The huntress often thought that if they hadn't been xeltheen, her parents would have split up. But there was no divorce in xeltheen culture, it just wasn't done.

Dhrel put his hand on his fiancé's shoulder, and she could feel his love and understanding for her situation.

"We should bury them," the young king said.

"No, " she said in a somber tone. "The ground is frozen still, and we don't have time to bury all these people. We will burn them like the old traditions."

Xeltheen burials had changed in recent times to emulate the human traditions. But before Lascar's reign, the xeltheen would burn their dead and have a celebration of their lives. With xeltheen often living two hundred years, the celebrations were filled with hundreds of relatives, friends and a lot of drinking.

The young couple put all the bodies in the middle of town with some lumber from the destroyed houses and oil that they had found. Then burned all of them. Shye said a few words in xeltheen that seemed appropriate and they both bowed their heads in reverence for the dead. Dhrel didn't understand xeltheen but he could feel what his fiancé meant by the words. Even Draylen stood with them for a minute before heading back to Rallic's house to find anything about the druids that might be helpful.

That night Draylen barely slept, he searched through all the books in the Rallic's house, reading just enough to decide if it was pertinent to their search for the druids. While the historian was searching, Dhrel held Shye in her old room while she mourned. She told her fiancé many stories that night, about her father and many of the villagers she remembered from when she was younger. Although neither thought it possible, they were even closer now than ever before. Their sharing of feelings had somehow evolved, and they could nearly hear each other's thoughts now. They couldn't exactly speak to each other this way, but it was close.

By the morning, the historian had found what he was looking for. He had two books and a set of Rallic's notes on the druids. One of the books contained maps that led southeast, deep into the xeltheen forest near the border of the swamplands. He was not excited about the trip, but he did want to meet the druids, and Dhrel needed their help. The swamplands were a dangerous place, and the druids lived right on the edge.

Many deadly and poisonous creatures inhabited the swamplands, but more importantly, the necromancers lived there. No one really knew much about the necromancers. Some legends said they were xeltheen that took their druidic magic and perverted it to use in summoning the dead. Other legends say that the necromancers were humans that secluded themselves to practice necromancy away from Lucian's laws. Still, others say the necromancers were a completely different species that had been in Lascaria since before any of the four known races. After Draylen had read much of the lore, he decided that a mix of all three tales was more likely the truth. The historian surmised that an ancient race had grown even more powerful by accepting or capturing the druids and renegade mages stealing their secrets to add to their own. But the druids probably knew more about this subject.

After the young couple had woken, their grandfather told them what he had discovered. He politely asked Shye if she needed more time to mourn her father, but she declined. She had taken Rallic's necklace that he wore, which had his and Sydel's wedding rings on it. This was the only thing that she wanted, a symbol of the sacrifice that her father made for her. She was sure that her father had loved her mother at one time, but he kept his marriage vows until Sydel's death. Shye had heard rumors that after her mother's death, Rallic had found a girlfriend in Halisburg, but she never got to meet this woman. This woman was probably one of the many bodies they had burned, but at least her father was happy in the end. And this gave the huntress some comfort.

After allowing Draylen to sleep for a few hours, the three of them packed up what they needed in the cart and continued on their journey south to find the druids.

#  ******Chapter 12**

Due to Zorlen's excellent tracking abilities, it took Lascar's party a little under two weeks to find Dhrel's house. For the most part, the trip had been smooth. The xeltheen Grulek had recruited were used to this type of terrain, and there were very few complaints along the way. During the journey, the large draelic handled the day-to-day supervision of the soldiers while Zorlen spent most of the day looking for signs that they were on the right track. This left Lascar with plenty of time by himself, which was just how he wanted it.

As they approached Dhrel's house, Lascar sent Zorlen ahead, while Grulek and his soldiers stayed much farther back. While the tracker was excellent at sneaking around, most of the soldiers were not. Within a few minutes, he came back looking disappointed, and he had given up trying to remain hidden.

"They are gone, I estimate about three days to a week ago. I'll try to pick up their trail and see if I can't determine where they went," Zorlen said as he ran back to the yard and began searching the tree line for clues as to which way they had gone.

"Keep the soldiers back, but ready. Zorlen and I will search for information about which way to proceed," Lascar commanded.

Satisfied that Grulek could handle the soldiers, the evil king approached his grandson's house, taking in every detail that could be pertinent to finding them. After entering the house, he began searching more intently. He first searched through the young couple's room; looking through some of the books and various items they had left behind, but found nothing of use. Next, he searched the historian's room, this took much longer because of his large library of books. From these, Lascar arrived at the conclusion that Draylen had been trying to learn about him. There were many books about Lascar but most provided no clues as to where they were going. After searching through the large library of books, he noticed a pile of papers that appeared to be handwritten. For the most part they were also concerning Lascar, but near the bottom of the pile he found something interesting, a few pages about the druids.

The notes were from a conversation with Rallic. In the notes, Shye's father talked about how the druids might help Dhrel to harness and control his abilities. Also how Rallic had information about where the druids were. This was good news, it meant that his grandson wasn't able to control his abilities yet. Lascar needed to find them before he could. Rallic didn't go into details about where to find the druids in the conversation, but this didn't bother Lascar. The evil king was confident that his tracker could follow his grandson there. The young couple might be skilled at covering their tracks, but Draylen would be easy to follow. Even if the historian tried to cover his tracks, he would make mistakes, he was not raised out here.

Lascar left Draylen's room in a better mood. He had missed them, but now he knew where they were going. Before he made it to the front door, the evil king noticed something on a shelf near the kitchen. It was Kriista's shackles, he could tell this because he could see the residue of the magic he placed on them. This made the evil king furious, the draelic that he left Kriista with had let her go, but instead of staying to help them his daughter had come to help Dhrel.

Lascar came out of the house extremely angry, and Zorlen could tell this from across the yard. He hadn't had any luck finding signs of which way they went, and he was starting to worry. If the evil king was angry and Zorlen couldn't find a trail, then he might take out his anger on the tracker. Despite all his efforts, there was nothing near the house that he could use so there was no avoiding it, he had to tell Lascar.

"I'm afraid I'm not finding any trace of them. This Shye must be well trained. She seems to have covered their trail very well," Zorlen said and then braced himself for his punishment.

Much to Zorlen's amazement, the evil king did not punish him. Instead, he almost seemed pleased, or maybe Lascar had a secret that he was pleased about.

"I know which way they went. They are heading for Halisburg, and yes, Shye is very well trained. She is not only a huntress, but one of the most skilled huntresses anyone has ever seen, from what I've heard. Look to the south, and keep your eye out, you're looking for mistakes that an old human might make. The huntress will try to cover up for him, but I'm sure the old man won't be so easy to cover for. He is a human raised at the Tyrillian Academy, he has no idea how to cover his tracks."

"Yes, I apologize for not finding anything yet," Zorlen said, still afraid the anger in Lascar's eyes would somehow be turned on him.

"Don't fear, Zorlen. You have proven yourself. Nothing is going to happen to you so long as you remain loyal. I'm angry with my daughter. She warned them, that is why they aren't here," the evil king said growing angrier.

"I see," the tracker said pausing for a second trying to come up with words to express his gratitude, but instead decided that getting back to his tracking would be more appreciated than words. "I'll look to the south then, sir." And Zorlen ran into the tree line then disappeared to the south.

Lascar's anger continued to grow, and his eyes got brighter. The evil king walked back to the door and placed one hand on either side of the doorframe. The house began to creek and hiss as all the energy was drawn out. Steam rose from the wooden walls as all the moisture evaporated from the heat he was creating. Lascar then took a few steps back and raised both his hands, palms up. The house began to shake, and in a few seconds, it caught fire. The fire wasn't in one spot; it was as if the whole house had heated up at the same time. All the lumber, books, furniture and anything else flammable, had all burst into flames at the same time. This continued for a few moments, and then the house exploded in a huge ball of flame. Lascar lowered his hands satisfied with the sight of the soon to be destroyed house.

Grulek and his soldiers noticed the fireball and ran to the yard to make sure their leader was alright. When they got there, the evil king was smiling and admiring his work. Some of the soldiers looked concerned, so Lascar addressed them.

"I found information in their hideout," Lascar said trying to use colorful words that would help paint Dhrel as a saboteur. "It seems they are headed to Halisburg. We will try to catch them before they can cause any trouble." He saw the perfect opportunity to use what happened in Halisburg to strengthen the lie he was constructing about his traitorous grandson. No one had known he went to Halisburg except for Zorlen and Grulek. The evil king trusted them now and knew they would not contradict his story.

"I burned their hideout and all the plans to bring down our countries. If they do return, or if they have accomplices, they will have lost much of their stolen information. I consider this a win, and I thank you all for your help tracking down this collection of bandits," Lascar continued. His cleverly chosen words helped paint a picture of Dhrel for the soldiers, to assure them that they were on the right side.

Zorlen came running back right after Lascar's speech with good news. "I found it. It seems Shye only tried to cover up their trail near the house. A little ways out she quit trying to conceal it. They not only have the old man, but they are dragging a cart full of supplies. It would take them way too long to keep covering their trail," the tracker said with pride.

"Good, I was right. They are heading to Halisburg." Lascar again turned to the soldiers to rally their support. "Let's head out before they cause any problems for the village." Grulek followed the evil king's lead and gave the command for the soldiers to follow.

Zorlen gave Lascar a nod and headed back to the south to follow the trail. He understood what the evil king was planning and decided that even if the trail didn't lead to Halisburg, he would infer that it did. He was enjoying his time with the evil king. Lascar reminded him of his father. Not in appearance but in method. Zorlen's father was good at manipulating people into doing what he wanted, much like the evil king.

To the tracker's surprise, the trail was leading straight to Halisburg. He continued to follow it, running back to Grulek and Lascar periodically to give them updates. He conveyed that the party was traveling slowly due to Draylen's age and that they had often stopped to rest. This meant that given their current pace, they would catch the outlaws eventually. Zorlen believed that Draylen was more of a hindrance to their progress than the young couple realized.

After a few days, Lascar's party had reached Halisburg. The sight was more than the evil king had hoped for. Not only were there bodies he could use to convince the soldiers that Dhrel was killing xeltheen. The bodies were piled up and burned, leaving only bones. This sight seemed more gruesome, and Lascar realized that burying the bodies would have been very time consuming, but the pile of charred remains was just what he needed to shock the soldiers.

"Dhrel not only killed all these people, but he burned their bodies so no one could identify their loved ones. It is worse than I feared," Lascar said feigning a sad expression to back up his claims. "He has graduated from sabotage to mass murder."

Zorlen saw an opportunity to help and added. "It appears that some of them tried to put up a fight, but Dhrel was too powerful for these helpless farmers."

Lascar was pleased with Zorlen's embellishment and continued with the tracker's idea. "Yes, Dhrel has a few days head start, but I believe we should take a day and bury these courageous villagers. Their sacrifice should not be taken lightly."

Grulek gave the orders, and the soldiers began to dig graves for each villager. Lascar was not pleased that they would lose a whole day, but xeltheen sympathy could garner more support as they passed through towns. Volunteered information about Dhrel was way more valuable than forced or bought leads.

By the next day, the bodies had been buried, and the soldiers were ready to take up the chase for Dhrel with renewed disdain for the traitorous king. As they set out, many of the soldiers were now talking about how they had been fooled by the young king's false promises. And how they would tell everyone about his betrayal of the xeltheen. Lascar's plan was coming into focus; the lost day was well worth it.

#  ******Chapter 13**

Dhrel, Shye, and Draylen continued on their path towards the druids, oblivious to Lascar's party chasing them. The three of them assumed the evil king would be chasing them, but had no idea how close he really was. In the three weeks, they had been traveling Shye had attempted to take strange paths that took them through dense brushes and rivers to try and hide their trail. She even had them take small detours to go through villages, in hopes that their tracks would be caught up with the villagers. They were putting the villagers in danger, but Draylen insisted that the danger to them, if Lascar killed Dhrel, would be worse. With no one to stop him, the evil king would soon enslave or even kill the xeltheen as he had the humans in the past.

During their trip the historian had spent many hours going through the books he found at Rallic's house about the druids. He had learned quite a bit about the elusive druids, and he needed to find time to share with his grandchildren. Finally, as they passed through a larger village with an inn, Draylen convinced them to spend one night sleeping in a bed. He conveyed to them that there was much he needed to teach them about the druids before they got there and they were getting close.

All they could afford was a small room with two single beds, but it was enough. The young couple didn't mind sharing a small bed. Before they went to sleep, as promised, Draylen began to tell them what they needed to know about the druids.

The origin of the druids was quite mysterious, but what Rallic had in his books suggested that they were the ancient xeltheen that everyone talked about. In the early years of Lascar's reign, he had taken large armies of draelic to hunt them. After about thirty years of this persecution, it seemed that they had all vanished. The evil king was satisfied that he had wiped them out and his armies returned to Norzen. In reality, this had only made them go into hiding in the southernmost edge of Xanthan. Along the border to the swamplands.

From one of the other books, Draylen had learned that even though the druids were known as the ancient xeltheen, they were in fact not xeltheen at all. The druids were a race of shape shifters that predated the xeltheen. When the xeltheen came to inhabit the forest the druids welcomed them and created a society with them. The druids took on a form that resembled the xeltheen to facilitate relations with them. Over the years some druids even married xeltheen and had children. These children would sometimes exhibit some of the natural magic of the druids, or very rarely the ability to change form.

The druids coexisted peacefully with the xeltheen for nearly a century until Lascar forced them to hide. Many of the sources of Rallic's work believed that the evil king's law against half-breeds came from his fear of the druid's powers. Spies that could shift forms would be hard to catch, and people with magic might pose a threat to him.

One of the books from Rallic was on a similar topic. It was about the bog people that lived in the swamplands. Many accounts about these people suggested that they were a race similar to the druids that Lascar had nearly extinguished. This other race had chosen to hide in the swamps. Out of anger, they began transforming their natural magic into something more sinister, necromancy. Instead of using their magic to promote life and to heal, they instead turned it to animating the dead and absorbing the strength of their enemies. The bog people, which had no official name, were said to still live in the swamps and would kill anyone who entered. Protecting their home from would-be invaders. This book was highly speculative, relying on accounts of people brave enough to spy on the bog people from the edge of their lands. The author also listed a few old texts he had used that were supposedly an account from the druids about the bog people. Draylen wished he had the original texts so he could read them. The author of this book was very biased and provided little fact to back up his claims that the bog people once lived with the druids.

After Draylen was satisfied that his grandchildren had a basic understanding of the druids, he bid them goodnight and was fast asleep. The sleeping outdoors and constant walking had worn him out. He wasn't sure he could do this much longer. He took comfort in the fact that, according to the maps, they were at most two weeks from the edge of the forest. This meant that they should find the druids soon if they were still around.

After a good night's sleep, the historian woke and decided to ask some of the villagers about the druids before they left. He packed up his stuff and left it with the young couple who said they wanted to take some time to relax at the inn room before heading out. The three of them had no privacy since they left Dhrel's house, so Draylen assumed they needed some time alone.

The historian walked around town casually checking out food stands and picking up a few food items he wanted to try. At each shop he stopped at, he would ask if anyone knew about the druid lore or where he might learn more about them. This went on for about an hour with no luck until he came across a cart of books. He found it odd that a village this far south would have someone selling books. Although popular in the bigger cities of the north, he had not seen a single book vendor since they left Dhrel's house.

The cart owner appeared to be an elderly human, strange to find in a xeltheen town, even one this far south. The man looked to be older than Draylen. He had long, thinned out white hair and no teeth. The wrinkles and tough-looking skin led to the assumption that the man spent most of his time outdoors, and his shriveled fingers looked like the fingers of a working man. He wore an old gray robe that looked about five sizes too big for him; perhaps it had fit him once, a long time ago.

Draylen asked the owner of the book cart how it was that he could make a living selling books this far south. The owner responded that he was one of the only booksellers around the southern part of Xanthan and that he traveled with his cart from village to village. Trading books for things he needed. He would sometimes sell books for money, but he mostly used a barter system that allowed him a life that he enjoyed.

As they were talking, Draylen brought up his search for information about the druids. Assuming that Lascar was far behind them, the historian was even so bold enough to tell the owner that he and his two grandchildren were wanting to find them. This got the owners attention, and his voice began to change from accommodating to paranoid.

"Who are you that you think someone around here would help you find the druids?" the cart owner asked with disdain.

"I'm just a scholar seeking information," Draylen responded, not wanting to be too forthcoming with his real mission.

"How do I know you aren't some spy of Lascar? We've heard that Lascar has returned," the shop owner went on, getting less agreeable by the second.

This was the slip up that the historian was hunting for. His concern for spies and suspicion of ulterior motives, led Draylen to believe that he was hiding something. This man knew where the druids were, or he at least knew where they could find out.

"Well, at least you admitted that there are druids near," Draylen said with a self-serving smile.

"Wait, no, I mean, how did you come by that?" the owner said, obviously flustered.

"Don't worry friend," the historian said, trying to calm the owner down. "I am here on behalf of Dhrel." Draylen's tone had become a whisper. Even though Lascar was probably far away, he didn't want to let too many people know that Dhrel was in town.

"I will need to see proof before I tell you anything," the owner replied.

"Then follow me, I'm staying at the inn, and there is someone there I think you should meet." Draylen smiled as he said this and turned back toward the inn.

The owner followed the historian cautiously, checking over his shoulder every few minutes. Staying a few paces behind Draylen. This was probably to give him a chance to run if it turned out the historian was leading him into a trap. When they arrived at the inn, the cart owner slowly went inside and followed Draylen up to their room. The cart owner peered inside the door of the room cautiously to make sure there was no one waiting for him behind it then stepped inside. Upon entering the inn room, Draylen shouted for Dhrel to come, and the man nearly jumped out of his skin.

"It's really you. You look just like your father," the surprised man said with a toothless smile.

This caught Draylen by surprise.

"You knew Lastian?" Draylen asked.

Instead of answering, the man began to change, slowly at first then more quickly as the transformation gained momentum. The man's fingers began to straighten; his hair changed color to reddish-brown and got shorter. The man also grew in size from a small, frail man, smaller than Shye, to a large muscular man that was nearly two heads taller than Dhrel. He was young looking, had a full beard and shoulder-length hair. It was lucky the man was wearing an oversized robe or his change in size would have torn his clothes apart. The large druid did not appear to be human, but he was not exactly xeltheen either. His face was full and round, but his eyes looked xeltheen. He also did not have the xeltheen fangs.

After completing his transformation, the extremely large man knelt before Dhrel and said in a low husky voice. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, my king. My name is Gromthule."

Dhrel was completely caught off guard but somehow managed to respond to the man.

"Nice to meet you as well," the young king replied.

It was strange; Dhrel could not read this man's emotions. He had gotten used to his abilities and often used them to judge the intent of new acquaintances.

"To answer his question," Gromthule said as he motioned to Draylen. "Yes, I knew your father. He and I were friends."

Dhrel had many questions and struggled to figure out which to ask first.

"Umm did my father help you?" he asked.

"In a way, we helped each other," Gromthule said with a caring smile. "I tried to help him understand his abilities, ones that Lascar neglected to teach him." As the large druid spoke, he got up and went to one of the chairs to sit. The large druid barely fit on the small chair. After he got comfortable, the man continued. "I assume you are here for the same reason? Possibly because Lascar is after you as well?"

Dhrel nodded and took a seat near Gromthule. Shye shared in her fiancé's acceptance of the large druid and sat down as well.

"So, this must be your wife?" Gromthule asked

"This is Shye, my betrothed but..." Dhrel said.

Gromthule interrupted before the young king could finish. "Oh yes, you must be only about nineteen, my apologies, the years blend together sometimes. You are xeltheen, and you would be betrothed at this age."

Draylen's curiosity overtook his apprehension, and he also took a seat near Gromthule.

"You speak as if you are very old?" the historian questioned.

"Yes, I've been around since before the time of Lucian." Gromthule paused for a moment, looking more serious, almost sad. "My father was one of the first druids to live here. Lascar killed him many centuries ago."

Dhrel waited for a moment to let the large druid remember his father then asked. "Would you be willing to help me, like you helped my father? It's true that Lascar is chasing me, and I need to figure out how to defend myself."

Gromthule was pleased with how the young king asked for help. Many times people had come to him asking for power, asking for the ability to kill, to fight. This was only the second time, the first being Lastian, that someone had asked for help defending themselves.

"You ask the right questions, my king. I would be happy to help train you," Gromthule said. "I must ask that we do away with the cart. We want to leave as little trail as possible now. If Lascar is after you, I'm sure he has trackers, and we don't want to be interrupted."

The three of them were accepting of this idea. Besides, staying with the druids, they wouldn't need all the supplies. They each chose some of the items they had brought from home and left all the food and tools behind as they followed the large druid to the edge of the village. All three of them felt safe as they left the village and headed to their new home, albeit a temporary home.

#  ******Chapter 14**

Gromthule walked along with the three of them for a few hours talking about his time with Lastian. He explained how the prince had come to him, asking for help controlling his abilities. Lastian wanted to protect people, but all his father had ever taught him was how to kill with his abilities. The large druid had helped him focus his emotions, which allowed him to use his abilities to not only protect himself but also to protect others from his father. He recanted many stories like the time he helped Lastian save Meelaranda. It had been Gromthule who was with Lastian the day they found Meelaranda in the custody of the draelic.

Dhrel enjoyed the stories about his father. It was nice to finally meet someone that knew about his father. It made him sad and happy at the same time. If only he could have known his father like that, Dhrel thought he would have liked his father. As the young king and the large druid talked, Shye followed in silence and just let herself enjoy her fiancé's happiness.

Draylen trailed behind them growing tired from the quick pace that Gromthule had insisted on. The large druid was leading them out into the forest, toward a river that would allow them to lose their trail. He wanted to be quick about it so that if Lascar was close by, they would be able to lose him before he caught up.

Dhrel stopped when he sensed that his grandpa had become too tired.

"We should let grandpa rest a minute. I think the pace is a bit much for him," Dhrel said with a laugh.

"Thank you, I haven't walked this fast in years. I just need a minute to catch my breath," Draylen said, sitting on a nearby rock.

As the historian sat down, Dhrel sensed something. He felt intense hatred, anxiety, and evil pleasure coming from somewhere. It was more than one person. The young king's eyes searched the woods, but he couldn't see anyone.

"What is it?" Gromthule asked, noticing Dhrel's apprehension.

The young king was too preoccupied with searching the woods, so Shye answered for him.

"He feels several people nearby," she said.

Gromthule sniffed the air and yelled. "Run! Get to that cluster of trees!" But it was too late.

Dhrel heard an arrow slipping through the air and reached out to try and grab it, but he was too slow. The arrow went straight into Draylen's chest and pierced his heart. The historian slumped forward and fell to the ground.

Dhrel instinctively picked up his grandpa and ran for the cluster of trees that Gromthule had pointed to. Shye followed behind him with her bow readied, scouring the trees for anyone she could shoot at, but there was no one. The large druid attempted to shield them with his body, should any more arrows come, as they reached the trees.

After reaching the trees, Dhrel laid his grandpa on the ground and placed his hands on Draylen's chest. His eyes began to glow bright blue, as did his hands. When nothing happened, the young king tried harder, and the historian's body began to glow blue as well.

"He's gone. Save your strength," Gromthule said in a quiet sad tone as he placed his large hand on top of Dhrel's.

Across the clearing, from behind another cluster of trees, five soldiers stepped out with shields raised. A few moments later, more soldiers came out, then Zorlen and Grulek, followed by the evil king.

"Come out, boy. We have much to discuss," Lascar yelled.

Dhrel felt a surge of anger and tried to run out and kill Lascar, but Gromthule grabbed him.

"Control your anger. Don't let it control you. He wants you to attack him so he can cut you down," the large druid said.

"He needs to pay," Dhrel said, still struggling to control his anger.

Shye placed her hands one on each cheek and turned Dhrel's gaze to meet hers. With tears in her eyes, she tried to calm her fiancé.

"Please, I can't lose you too. Listen to Gromthule," the huntress said through her tears.

Dhrel could feel her need, her absolute dependence on him. He felt just as strongly about her, and this helped him calm his anger. The young king then turned to Gromthule and asked, "What should we do?"

It was at that moment that the large druid realized the couple shared emotions, maybe even thoughts and ideas. This gave him hope for Dhrel. Lastian had never been able to completely master his emotions, and that was his greatest weakness. Gromthule assumed that Lascar finally got the better of him by using his emotions against him. But this was something he would have to bring up later, they needed to survive first.

"I want you to create a shield," Gromthule said, looking at the young king. "I assume you can do that?" he asked.

"Somewhat. It doesn't always work," Dhrel replied.

"I just need them to see it. You need to make it bright and as large as you can. Stand behind the tree and project it in front of the tree as large as you can manage to maintain." The large druid then turned to Shye. "Aim for the soldier's feet, the shields don't protect their feet." With that, Gromthule turned to run.

"Where are you going?" Shye asked before he could leave.

"Surprise attack!" Gromthule said with a self-satisfying smile.

The large druid then turned again and ran. While he ran, Shye noticed he was growing smaller, sleeker as he removed his robe and threw it on the ground. He seemed to be turning feline, and he was growing black fur over most of his body.

The huntress then positioned herself behind and slightly to the left of her fiancé. From here, she could see the soldiers who were slowly marching forward, but at the same time, she would be behind the barrier. She readied an arrow and nodded to Dhrel.

Dhrel sat behind the tree, leaning against it and began to concentrate. He knew what he needed to do, and he could feel the energy rising inside him. He used his anger as motivation, and the barrier slowly grew in front of the tree. And as the barrier grew, the tree began to crack, he was inadvertently taking energy from the tree. As the young king made the barrier larger, it began to glow brighter, and the tree's leaves began to wilt and fall off. The grass around where Dhrel was kneeling also began to turn brown and die.

When the soldiers noticed the barrier, they stopped advancing, and Shye shot, hitting one of them in his foot. The soldier yelled in pain and knelt down behind his shield. She readied another arrow and struck another soldier. The soldiers realized what Shye was doing, and all knelt behind their shields. Then the huntress noticed that she now had a clear shot for the xeltheen with the bow.

She readied another arrow and shot for Zorlen's heart, just as he had done to her grandpa. Shye's aim was perfect, but just before the arrow hit its mark Lascar, who was standing beside the tracker, reached his hand out and grabbed the arrow.

"Not so fast, little girl!" Lascar sneered.

While everyone was focused on the barrier and Shye's arrows, just as Gromthule had wanted. A panther jumped from a nearby bush and attacked one of the soldiers. Gromthule the panther ripped the soldier's throat out before anyone could react. Grulek, who was standing by Lascar, charged at the panther.

The druid saw the enormous charging draelic and transformed into something Shye did not recognize. It had small claws on each finger and small sharp teeth in its mouth. It appeared to have some type of scaly armor all over its body and a large club-like tail. Grulek punched the creature in the head, causing it to stumble backward. The large draelic got a few more shots in before the creature could regain its footing. The large creature Gromthule had become cried in anger. It swung its club-like tail, which struck the large draelic in the chest. There was a hollow thud, and Grulek flew at the soldiers, knocking several of them down. Zorlen shot a few arrows at the thing, but they could not pierce the animal's thick hide.

Lascar was fed up with this game and stuck out his hand; palm facing the creature and it froze. Red energy surrounded the beast, and it yelled in pain. Dhrel saw what the evil king was doing and ran out to help his new friend.

This time was different, Dhrel was focused. He wasn't angry, he was scared for Gromthule. The young king would not let the evil king kill his new friend, Dhrel would save Gromthule. All the young king could manage to say was, "Stop!" As he said this, an explosion of blue energy erupted from Dhrel's body. The shockwave crashed against the soldiers and threw them backward. And then it continued on and collided with Zorlen, who was also knocked back. When the shockwave hit Lascar, he was not thrown back like the others, but it did make him release Gromthule.

Lascar turned toward Dhrel in amazement as Gromthule shifted back into the panther and ran toward Shye.

"Now that's more like it," Lascar said smiling. He raised both hands towards Dhrel, and the young king was paralyzed.

Dhrel struggled against his grandfather's grasp. The crushing sensation slowly wavered as Dhrel's will overcame the evil king's, until he finally broke free. He then made a motion like he was throwing something at Lascar and a blue beam shot towards the evil king's chest. Lascar moved his hand to deflect the beam, but Dhrel was more powerful than he had assumed. The beam hit him in the hand, making the evil king take a step backward to steady himself.

Dhrel's eyes began to glow brighter as he gained confidence. Lascar made a motion with his hands toward his grandson and a red beam shot out of his hand and struck his grandson in the shoulder. Dhrel fell to one knee but quickly got back up, his face becoming more determined.

While they were trading blows, the soldiers, Grulek and Zorlen had retreated behind Lascar and were disappearing into the trees. The evil king moved toward his grandson, shooting more red beams at him, each one less effective as Dhrel began to gain some resistance to the pain.

The young king used both hands this time, and a larger beam of blue energy struck Lascar in the chest once again. He did not fall, but he was obviously surprised by Dhrel's power and had to catch his breath.

"I'd say this is a standoff. Next time maybe I'll get your pretty wife." As Lascar said this, he directed a beam at the ground in front of Dhrel. The explosion threw dirt high into the air, and Dhrel lost sight of the evil king as he disappeared into the trees to follow his men.

Satisfied that Lascar had fled, Dhrel ran back to Shye to make sure she was not hurt. When he was sure his fiancé was fine, he turned to Draylen's body and attempted to heal him again. Dhrel's eyes and hands began to glow with blue energy.

"He's dead, if you do raise him it won't really be him. He will be a monster," Gromthule warned Dhrel as he changed back to his large xeltheen form and put his robe back on.

Dhrel knew the large druid was referring to necromancy. Once a person had died, raising them would not bring them back. Instead, an evil spirit, bound to that person's will, would inhabit the body. That was not what Dhrel wanted; he only wanted his grandpa back.

"I'm sorry, but we need to move quickly. I will carry his body," Gromthule said, motioning toward the historian's body.

Dhrel then turned to the battlefield where he had just fought Lascar. He noticed that many of the trees and all of the grass had died. Between the two of them, they had drained all the life force out of every plant near them. The young king had won, or at least survived, he was satisfied that even though he could not save his grandpa, he had at least saved Shye.

Dhrel then tried to stand up and follow Gromthule who had picked up Draylen's body but instead the young king collapsed. Shye knelt beside him and exclaimed. "He's worn himself out. I'll carry him."

Before Shye could get Dhrel over her shoulder, Gromthule reached down with his free arm and put her fiancé over his other shoulder.

"I can carry two, but if you wear yourself out I don't think I can carry three," the large druid said. This made Shye smile. As strong as she may have been, she was smaller than Dhrel. Carrying him would wear her out before they got far.

Shye instead grabbed all the items they had brought from their home and put them in her sack. At least she could carry their belongings, most of which had great sentimental value. The two resumed their journey to the river they planned to use to mask their trail and spoke about Lastian, about Dhrel, and about the druids. As the day went on, Shye began to care for Gromthule, much like she had cared for her father. The druid reminded her of her father in many ways.

#  ******Chapter 15**

A few hours north of where Lascar and Dhrel had battled, Lascar's party rested and tended to the soldiers that had been wounded by the battle. For the most part, only two soldiers had serious wounds, and one had died, but the damage to moral was a larger concern for Zorlen. He attempted to encourage the soldiers by reiterating the fact that they had succeeded in killing one of the traitors, but this did not help.

One of the braver soldiers yelled at Zorlen. "I've had enough! We're not prepared for this kind of fighting. This is not what I signed up for. I'm taking my gold and heading home. I'd rather quit while I'm still breathing."

Zorlen, who was still quite upset over their failure, lost his temper. As he walked over to the angry soldier, he unsheathed his short blade. Zorlen placed the short blade to the soldier's neck then looked around at all the soldiers. Grulek who had been watching this walked over to Zorlen and the soldier

"We're not playing schoolyard games here! This is war, and soldiers die!" Zorlen yelled. The thief lowered his short blade and began pacing in front of the scared soldier trying to think of what to say.

"I want the bonus for the time I spent here, and then I'm leaving," the scared soldier said, regaining his courage.

That was as much as Zorlen could take, he lunged at the soldier ready to relieve him of his head. Grulek grabbed Zorlen's blade hand before it reached the soldier and spun the thief around to face him.

As the large draelic was preparing to scold Zorlen, Lascar noticed what was going on. With a flick of his wrist, the complaining soldier was thrown into a nearby tree with a loud thud.

"Anyone else want to be a coward?" Lascar said addressing the soldiers. "This was the first battle. It was a setback, but we know our enemies strengths." Lascar paused for a second, he wanted to kill the traitorous soldier, but that would cause the other soldiers to panic.

"We also know their weaknesses!" he said in a reassuring voice. "This is a war for your country, we can't let Dhrel win! Leave if you want, but you forfeit any payment. The choice is yours." This seemed to appease the soldiers who returned to tending their wounds and began talking about revenge instead. With the exception of the complaining soldier who was packing up his things.

As Lascar walked by Grulek and Zorlen, he motioned for them to join him. When they were out of range of the soldiers, he began explaining his new plan.

"As soon as he's away from the camp, kill him. Also, I think it's time we employ another strategy," the evil king said in a hushed voice. "I know of a place where I can gain more power. There is a temple of sorts, filled with treasure. In the temple is a source of power I can use to defeat Dhrel and regain my kingdom."

This intrigued Zorlen, but Grulek was apathetic at best and said. "I'll get the men ready." With this, he returned to the soldiers and began barking orders. The large draelic was growing tired of Lascar's manipulation of the soldiers and had started having his own doubts about whether Lascar was telling the truth about any of this. Grulek didn't hate the xeltheen, he just thought they were weak, but if the evil king was lying to them, then he might also be lying to him. Perhaps he had chosen the wrong side of this, he hated humans, but the evil king was no better, and Zorlen was slowly becoming like Lascar. All the secrecy and lies. Was the evil king really trying to help the draelic, or was he only helping himself? And why did Grulek hate the humans? The humans had done nothing to him personally. The only reason he could think of was that everyone in Norzen hated humans, and that was because of Lascar.

"What do I need to know?" Zorlen asked with enthusiasm.

"The temple is very old, as old as I am. It will be on the edge of the swamplands, probably close to Tyrillia. If what I found out is correct, there should be symbols of Lucian on the outside. It should be hard to see, most of it is underground, except for a small entrance that leads to the surface," Lascar explained. He then handed Zorlen a piece of paper with the seal of Lucian on it. "The symbols will look similar to this. There should also be a small village near it, to guard the temple. The symbol might also appear in the village."

Zorlen nodded in agreement and put the paper in his pocket. "I will search for information at the village we passed through. Meet me there in two days, and I should have something for you." The tracker then grabbed his pack and headed toward the village.

Lascar had been searching for this temple for a very long time. Being Lascar, no one would volunteer any information to help him in his search, so he had to rely on scarce notes and forced confessions. More recently, during his disappearance from public. He had spent much time in Tyrillia and southern Xanthan looking for books or firsthand accounts that could lead him to this temple. In fact, his killing of Lastian had been a coincidence; he had been in Aelen to find a book he had heard about that included an account of someone who had actually seen the temple. The evil king searched through all the bookstores in town and finally found the account of the scholar. The one who had stumbled upon the temple and met the villagers guarding it. But his directions were vague at best.

Lascar then sent for his daughter. She was to meet him in Aelen so he could use her to find the temple. On the way to join her father, Kriista happened upon Lastian at a tavern where he was waiting to meet someone. The draelic general believed the lies her father had told her about her brother, so she sent one of her soldiers to test Lastian and attempt to capture him. When this failed, she continued on to Aelen to meet her father and told him about finding Lastian.

Lascar put aside his search for the temple, seeing an opportunity to catch Lastian off guard. The evil king sent Kriista to search for her brother's trail near the tavern where she had encountered him, while he waited in Aelen. It was after the general left that the evil king found Lastian. His son had come to Aelen with Meelaranda. Even though Lascar told everyone that it was Kriista that killed her brother, the truth was that the evil king followed his son and killed him and his wife after they were outside of town getting ready to return home. That was the day that the evil king learned about Dhrel.

After killing the two, Lascar found a present, intended for a small child. It was wrapped and addressed to Dhrel. There were no directions and no clues as to where Dhrel was, but Lascar now knew about his grandson.

Now, with Dhrel's obvious power and the fact that he was with a druid, Lascar knew he needed to find that temple now. The young king would become more powerful under the guidance of the druids, and Lascar needed the power of the temple to defeat him.

After the two days that Zorlen had asked for, Lascar and his party returned to the village. Everyone in the village cowered at the sight of the evil king. Many of the market workers packed up their carts and left as he walked through the town. When Lascar reached the inn where he was to meet Zorlen, he found the tracker waiting outside.

"You have a very commanding presence," Zorlen said with his usual humor.

Lascar was not amused.

"What did you find?" Lascar asked sternly.

"I found a few villagers, who heard from some travelers, that there is a village southwest of here that has the symbol carved into a sign. The village is just east of the Tyrillian border, and it is on the edge of the swamplands. Some of the villagers in that town must know where the temple is," Zorlen said, trying to be more serious.

Lascar pondered Zorlen's words for a moment, making Zorlen uncomfortable then spoke. "I want you and Grulek to head to my stronghold."

"Why?" Zorlen asked, confused by the evil king's sudden change of plans.

"I want you to deal with my daughter, Kriista. I would prefer to kill her myself, but she needs to be dealt with before she turns all of Norzen against me. Kill her and bring me her head. Your reward will be much greater than that of these soldiers," Lascar said, smiling evilly.

"But the temple. The treasure?" Zorlen objected.

Grulek quickly stepped in, seeing Lascar's frustration with Zorlen. "I don't think we want 'that' reward," the large draelic said, trying to silence his friend. Grulek then turned to the evil king and said. "We'll do it." Grulek could see the evil in Lascar's face now; there was nothing good at the temple, he was sure of it.

A wave of revelation swept over Zorlen's face, and he quickly apologized before he went to retrieve his things from the inn.

Grulek then turned to his soldiers and ordered them to follow Lascar and escort him to the temple. He emphasized the treasure in the temple, as the evil king would want, in hopes of inspiring the soldiers. He also told them that he and Zorlen would be running another mission for Lascar but that they would meet up after they were finished at the temple. The evil king then ordered the soldiers to follow him, and they headed out of the village, southwest, toward the village that Zorlen had described.

Lascar's party traveled for two weeks before they finally reached the village. The village was small, and there were maybe twenty people living there. It seemed to be a small farming village which, judging by their astonishment at his arrival, didn't get many visitors.

Lascar walked to the center of the town to address the villagers.

"For those of you who don't know, I am Lascar, king of Lascaria. I'm here to collect something my father left nearby in a temple. I just need to know where it is, and I'll be on my way," the evil king said, acting as though he was owed what was in the temple.

The evil king waited a few moments to see if anyone would volunteer any information, then began to lose patience.

"I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want what is mine. I need to stop my grandson, who is trying to enslave all of Xanthan." He said this mostly to keep up appearances for the soldiers following him. Lascar didn't really care if he had to kill all the villagers, but his soldiers wanted to see him as a benevolent leader.

Again Lascar waited to see if anyone would volunteer, but again no one stepped forward. That was as much courtesy as he was willing to extend. He wanted to keep up appearances for the soldiers, but he wasn't going to lose his chance at finding the temple. The evil king extended his hand toward one of the younger looking villagers, and as his eyes began to glow, the villager began to yell in pain. This got everyone's attention, and people began to mutter to themselves. Lascar released the villager and tried one last time.

"I don't want to hurt you but I will if I must. You have one last chance to tell me where the temple is," Lascar said, very frustrated.

One of the villagers stepped forward. Lascar hadn't realized until now, but all of the villagers were human, not xeltheen. This was strange to have humans living in Xanthan, especially a whole village of humans. The villager spoke to Lascar, shaking with fear.

"Your father entrusted the temple to our families. We are supposed to protect it from anyone, including you. We are prepared to die to protect its secrets," the villager said.

Lascar grew furious. He then searched the crowd and found the youngest child he could see. He raised his hand, and a small girl was lifted off the ground and hovered towards him.

"I won't kill you all at once," Lascar said with an evil smile. "I will torture you and make the others watch. Eventually, one of you will talk."

The villagers were ready to stand their ground, and even though they all were shaking with fear, no one was going to tell Lascar where to find the temple. Then a woman ran forward begging Lascar to release her daughter.

"You leave me no choice," Lascar said as his eyes began to glow again.

Lascar realized that torturing a child would cause his soldiers to see him as a monster, so the evil king released the little girl and instead used his hand to subdue the mother. She screamed as the pressure built inside her. Still no one moved. He continued to slowly close his hand, and the woman's screams became louder. She begged for Lascar to stop, but he continued. Finally, a man ran forward and tried to grab the woman, but the man couldn't move her.

"I assume you are her husband?" Lascar asked. He raised his other hand, and the man was moved away from his wife just far enough that he couldn't reach her. The evil king then continued to torture the woman.

"Let's try this again," Lascar said even more evilly.

Lascar continued to slowly squeeze his hand into a fist. Crushing the woman, and her nose began to bleed as she yelled from the pain.

"I will torture one traitor at a time to give you something to think about," Lascar said. He then squeezed his hand more tightly, not enough to kill her, but enough to cause her great pain.

The woman screamed, and more blood came from her nose. Her eyes began to roll in her head, and she vomited. Lascar released his grasp long enough for her to catch her breath then he started again. Again she screamed, this time she begged the evil king to kill her. Instead, he released her again, then when she caught her breath squeezed his hand even tighter, bringing her to the edge of death and then letting her go. The evil king released his hold on her husband, who ran to help his wife.

The man tried to move his wife, but it was no use, Lascar was too strong. After several attempts to free his wife, the man got angry and ran at the evil king. Lascar waved his hand, and the man flew like a rag doll, colliding with his wife, who still did not move. The collision caused the woman to yell as some of her ribs broke. The evil king then took the hand that wasn't holding the woman and began slowly breaking all her bones. He started with her legs, which let out a loud pop that sounded like a tree branch snapping and the woman screamed in agony. He continued with the woman's arms, and they produced much the same result, this time, the woman passed out from the pain. The man knelt beside his dying wife and cried, begging Lascar to release her.

Lascar released the woman, and the man caught her, holding her head and crying.

"One last chance," Lascar yelled to the crowd, but still no one stepped forward.

Lascar raised his hand toward the woman again, lifting her out of the man's arms as he begged for the evil king to stop. Lascar began breaking the woman's fingers, causing her to wake up once again and scream in pain. After the evil king was satisfied that the woman was conscious again he began to squeeze her whole body. The air was filled with the sound of cracking bones as the woman screamed even louder, and then finally, the screaming stopped. The woman was dead.

Lascar felt a bit weak, so he placed his hand on the ground, and it began to hiss and crack as the nearby trees began to wilt. The villagers saw an opportunity and tried to run but the evil king, with a movement of his hand, pulled all the villagers back to the center of the town.

"Shall we continue?" he asked, but no one answered.

Lascar then turned his attention to another couple standing in the crowd; this couple had a teenage boy. Lascar extended his hand, and the wife of this couple was lifted off the ground. She slowly moved towards the evil king. He started to close his hand, and the woman's husband began to yell and curse at Lascar. As the pain increased, the woman began to scream, and the man's cursing turned to begging. The woman's bones began to crack as her husband pleaded for the evil king to stop.

"I will show you if you let everyone go," the woman's husband said.

"That's all I ask," Lascar responded, and he released the woman he was torturing. The woman fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

"Follow me," the woman's husband said dejectedly as he carried her and set her gently on a pile of leaves that was nearby. The man walked out into the forest, and Lascar followed with his soldiers.

To Lascar's surprise, they didn't walk more than a minute before the man bent down and grabbed a handle that was barely sticking out of the ground. As he tugged on the handle, the grass around it lifted. The grass had been grown on top of a metal door that sealed the temple, concealing it quite well. Lascar could have searched this area for years without even noticing that it was right beside the village.

"Can I go tend to my wife?" the man asked Lascar.

"Your wife didn't have to suffer. I only wanted the temple," Lascar said, waving his hand and dismissing the fearful man. Again this was to appease the soldiers following him.

The soldiers had not said a word or even really been bothered by Lascar's display of cruelty. They didn't care what the evil king did to humans; as far as they were concerned, humans were the enemy. Lascar's attempts to show mock compassion had done the trick.

"Follow me. The treasure is inside. I will watch for traps, just follow me closely," the evil king said to his soldiers.

This reassured the soldiers, although Lascar's cruelty to human traitors didn't bother them, the prospect of dying in some hidden temple was very concerning. Comforted by the evil king taking the lead, the soldiers followed him in to collect the treasure. As he led the way, several of the soldiers noticed skeletons against the walls, some looked human, the others looked xeltheen. A few of the soldiers stopped to pick up rings, jewels, and trinkets from the bodies, but most were too worried about traps to take the risk.

Lascar noticed that they were approaching a large room, which had a strange light coming from it. He could see when he got closer, that the light was coming from a large magical jewel on a pedestal. Behind the pedestal was a decaying corpse that had on a very elegant dress, a necklace with large gems in it and a womanly crown on its head.

"Here it is. The treasure is in here," Lascar yelled to the soldiers as he walked through the doorway.

The room was enormous, with piles of gold coins around the room against its walls. The room was larger than the village that they had just been in, and the soldiers were amazed at how the magical jewel lit up the whole room. As Lascar searched the room, he noticed a pile of skeletons in the back wall behind the corpse on the throne.

"Take all that you can comfortably carry, we have a long way back," the evil king said in an attempt to keep the soldiers from seeing the pile of bones.

After he was sure the men were paying attention to the gold piled against the walls, Lascar approached his treasure. He walked through the middle of the large room, around the magical gem and leaned over the corpse. As he leaned in, he whispered in the corpse's ear. "Mother, I brought presents."

The corpse's eyes opened, and suddenly, the soldiers began to grow weak. Most of them stumbled around, dropping their gold and falling to the floor as their strength was drained. One particularly strong soldier made a run for the door and slammed against an invisible barrier, knocking him unconscious. This made the evil king laugh.

"Only Lucian's blood can leave, you imbecile," Lascar cackled.

Faamyn's body began to rehydrate as the energy from the soldiers traveled to her like a green mist across the gold strewn floor. It only took a few moments, and she was strong enough to stand. While the mist was still seeping from the soldiers and traveling to her, she spoke to her son.

"I knew you would find me someday," she said with a smile.

"It took a long time, but I never gave up," Lascar said with contentment.

"I don't suppose you have any ideas about how to shut off this annoying bauble?" Faamyn asked as she motioned towards the large magical gem lighting the room.

"I do have a few ideas," Lascar said. "But first, I need to learn how to absorb humanoid energy. It will require a great deal of power, but since I have Lucian's blood in me, I think I can destroy it," Lascar concluded.

"Well then, you should fetch those annoying villagers that guard my tomb, so I can teach you," Faamyn said with an eerie smile.

Content to do as his mother asked, Lascar walked out of the tomb and back towards the village to retrieve the villagers. The evil king felt relief as he left the tomb. He no longer had to pretend he was a kind, benevolent leader to appease the soldiers. They had been content long enough to server their purpose.

#  ******Chapter 16**

While Lascar searched for the temple, Zorlen and Grulek headed back to Norzen. They spent several weeks traveling, before the large draelic finally gave in and hitched a ride on a carriage headed to the crossroads tavern. Secretly Zorlen had promised him that once they reached the tavern they would liberate the horses from their oppressive master and set them free in Norzen to live out their lives in freedom. This was an acceptable compromise for Grulek, and he conceded that riding in a horse-drawn carriage was a necessary evil on the path to freeing them.

When the crossroads tavern was in sight, Zorlen convinced the human driver that he was interested in learning to drive a carriage and the driver let him sit up front beside him. Once upfront, he slit the driver's throat and released the horses. Grulek was satisfied, and they walked the rest of the way to the tavern. After a few nights at the tavern, they learned that Kriista had married Elyse and was back at Lascar's stronghold planning to overthrow her father. It took them another week to reach Lascar's stronghold by foot, but once in Norzen, Grulek refused to use any more horses.

As they approached the stronghold, they were awestruck by its size. The stronghold was more like a castle they thought. It was as large as a small town with many draelic guards. In all their years living in Norzen, they had never bothered to visit the capitol. The stronghold was named Stone's Rest. Its name was given to it by traders because of a large stone that was sticking upright from the ground. The stone was large enough that it could be seen from very far away. Traders would meet at Stone's Rest to barter then continue on their way to sell their goods. When Lascar took over Norzen, he had the draelic build a stronghold around the stone so everyone would know where it was, and the name stuck. There was a small town around the outside of the stronghold and traders would still come here to barter.

Grulek and Zorlen knew they wouldn't be welcome in the stronghold so they decided to take a room at one of the local inns. This was so they could survey the stronghold and its defenses. They were very careful and only asked vague questions to the town's people. Acting like tourists interested in the stronghold. They stayed far away from the stronghold gates to avoid arousing suspicion, but most nights Zorlen would sneak out on the roof of the inn and attempt to enter the castle without using the gates.

Finally, after about a week of searching, Zorlen found their way in. He noticed on the side of the stronghold, away from the town, there was a water outlet. It appeared that this was for wastewater and it led out into the stream beside the stronghold. It would not be pretty, but they could get in without being noticed.

The next night the thief snuck into the stronghold through the wastewater outlet. Grulek waited outside the walls since he was too large to fit through the small opening. After an hour of small, stinky, winding tunnels, Zorlen finally found an opening large enough for him to fit through. The thief cursed his luck as he climbed from the small opening only to find that it was a waste hole for one of the strongholds many kitchens. As he climbed out, he hoped that no one wanted a midnight snack.

When he had cleared the opening, the thief looked around to make sure he was alone and then tried to get his bearings. He was fairly certain, judging by the turns he had made in the tunnels, that this kitchen was somewhere near the middle of the stronghold. If his bad luck continued, he might find that the kitchen was for one of the guardhouses inside the walls.

Zorlen opened the door to the small kitchen quietly, trying to determine where exactly he was in the stronghold and who was nearby. Instead of finding a dining room on the other side of the door, he found a dark hallway. This was encouraging; if the kitchen wasn't attached to a dining hall, then it wasn't in one of the guards' barracks.

Zorlen quietly eased his way into the hall, carefully listening for any noise that would mean he had to hide. After he passed three doorways, he heard voices coming from the stairs at the end of the hall. The voices sounded like two women, judging from the way they spoke and their accents, they were draelic women, probably generals. Zorlen quickly peered inside one of the doors and found that it was unused. There were cobwebs in the corners and no lit candles inside, so he snuck inside to hide.

Zorlen shut the door quietly and went to the window to see if he could figure out where he was. But when the thief peered out the window, he realized he was not in the middle of the stronghold. He had somehow gotten turned around. He was on the second floor close to the wall where he entered. He needed to go up a few floors then throw a rope over that wall to get Grulek inside. But his luck was not as good as he thought, he was in the barracks for the visiting generals. And judging by the voices walking by the door, there were generals visiting.

Zorlen felt his anxiety fade as the voices continued down the hall, then he heard two of the doors on the far end close one after the other. This was good news and bad news. At least they weren't staying in the room he was in, but the stairs going up were on the other side of the doors they had just closed. Zorlen decided to wait a few minutes to make sure the generals were really heading to bed and that there were no more coming.

As he sat waiting to make sure there would be no other guests walking by, he thought about what he saw in the kitchen. There were bowls and plates stacked up in the sink to be washed, and several pans on the stove that looked like they had been used recently. He also remembered some bread pans left on the table in the middle of the room. Judging by how many dishes were in the sink, there were quite a few generals here. But for what reason? Generals usually only stayed at the stronghold during some sort of conference or meeting to decide strategies. With Lascar way out in Xanthan, Kriista must have had a meeting of the generals. Lascar was correct; his daughter was planning to overthrow him. This revelation also meant that the two generals he heard were not the only ones in this barracks.

Ten minutes had passed, and there were no sounds coming from the hallway, so Zorlen stepped out and shut the door without making a sound. He made his way to the stairs up and listened for a few seconds before heading to the next level. He could hear someone arguing in the middle of the next hall. It sounded like a man and a woman, both draelic, this was bad. Men were not generals, they were soldiers and were not allowed to stay in this barracks. If there was a soldier getting orders from his general, the man would soon be leaving, the thief needed to hurry. As Zorlen slowly got closer, he could make out what they were saying. He breathed a sigh of relief as he passed the door, it was a general arguing with her husband. And husbands were allowed to stay with their wives in these barracks. As the thief passed the third and fourth floors, he didn't hear anyone else besides some snoring coming from a few rooms.

Once to the rooftop, he praised his luck once again. The general's barracks was only about an arm's length from the outside wall where Grulek was waiting. Zorlen quickly jumped over to the outside wall, which had a narrow catwalk and threw the rope down to the large draelic. After throwing down the rope, he attached it to a sturdy looking iron ring sticking out of one of the bricks in the catwalk. Grulek was then able to climb up the rope to join his friend. Then they walked along the catwalk towards the building where Kriista slept.

The royal living quarters were almost as large as any of the buildings in the stronghold, but there were guards posted outside, unlike the others. The living quarters were also too far from the wall to jump to, nearly five times Zorlen's height. He assumed this was intentional to discourage assassins and thieves. Upon closer inspection, they also noticed that the roof was not flat like the other buildings. Instead, it was steeped with hooks facing outward to prevent people from getting on the roof, this would not be easy. One good thing Zorlen noticed was that the royal living quarters were only three stories high instead of four so it may be possible to hook the rope on the roof hooks and slide across to a window.

When they got closer, Zorlen also noticed one of the windows was open. The thief tied one end of the rope in several knots, one on top of the other. The resulting knot was as large as his head. He then threw the huge knot toward the roof hooks right above the open window. It took several tries, but he finally got the knot to stick between two of the hooks. Zorlen was not fond of this idea, if the knot slipped or if the hooks were not strong enough, he would fall about three stories. The fall wouldn't kill him, but it would probably attract the attention of the guards.

Zorlen instructed Grulek to tie the rope slack so that the knot was pulled downward, bracing itself on the hooks. If the rope were to be pulled straight, it would probably slip off the hooks under their weight. The large draelic understood and found another iron ring to secure it to, and Zorlen began to make his way across the rope. This was easy for the light xeltheen thief, but when the large draelic followed him, the weight caused the hooks on the roof to bend. Zorlen motioned for his friend to hurry up. But the hooks continued to hold and after crossing Grulek detached the rope. He threw it back towards the wall so that no one would be suspicious of a strange rope hanging in the air.

When they entered the rather large room, Zorlen noticed it smelled of flowers and perfume. There were no lit candles, but he could make out some brushes on the dresser, and the bed was not made. The room must belong to Kriista and Elyse. The thief was glad that they were not sleeping right now. They searched the room for somewhere to hide, but there wasn't even a decent-sized closet in the room. The large room was open with only one standing closet, which was full of clothes, and certainly not large enough to hide Grulek, they needed another option.

Zorlen motioned to Grulek as he made his way to the door leading to the center of the building. The thief hoped that no one was on the other side. After opening the door, they were relieved to find out that on the other side of the door was a hallway. On the opposite side of the hallway was another door; it must be Lascar's room. When the thief tried the door, he found that it was locked. He quickly fumbled for his lock picks then he heard voices coming from what sounded like the first floor. There was no time to pick the lock, they needed somewhere to hide quickly. The two men quietly ran to the stairs and headed down only to find themselves in the throne room.

The throne room was massive. It took up the whole floor with one set of stairs going up and one set of stairs going down. There was a large meeting table at one end of the room, and on the other was the throne. On either side of the throne were piles of what Zorlen assumed were tributes. One side contained gold and jewels piled to about knee high and on the other were barrels stacked up as high as a man's head, probably full of food or spices. This was perfect; the two men made their way towards the side of the throne with the stacked barrels and hid behind them.

Soon after they were hidden, the queens made their way to the throne room. They were talking about how many generals had come for the meeting then began speaking specifically about the generals who did not show up. Kriista had a list of all the generals, and she was marking off the ones that had come, putting notes about the ones that hadn't shown up yet. Elyse was giving suggestions about why some of the missing generals might be running late and pointing out the ones she thought probably wouldn't come. After a few minutes of discussion, Elyse announced that she was ready for bed.

Kriista put her arms around Elyse and kissed her before saying. "I'm going to go over the speech one last time. Then I'll be up to join you. I'll give the generals until dinner and then assume that no more are coming."

"Ok, my love. I'll be upstairs." Elyse then went up the stairs to prepare for bed.

Kriista made her way to the table and sat with her back, facing the barrels that Grulek and Zorlen were hiding behind. She shifted through the papers, stopping to read each one before going to the next. After a few minutes, the thief decided it was time to act.

Zorlen motioned to his friend and the two quietly made their way towards Kriista. The thief drew his short blade from his belt and prepared to strike. When they were halfway to Kriista, she spoke.

"Did you think I didn't notice you?" Kriista asked rhetorically. "I let Elyse go to bed so we could be alone." Kriista then stood up and slowly turned around.

"Your father sent us to stop your rebellion before it starts," Zorlen said pleased with himself.

"No, I think not," Kriista replied, crossing her arms over her chest and leaned against the chair.

Zorlen noticed that she had no weapons but didn't seem afraid.

"Father sent you because you did something wrong. You're here because he wanted you to die. But why wouldn't father just kill you himself? There must be a reason," Kriista pondered. Then it occurred to her. "He figured you'd get Elyse before I killed you, and he would get something out of it. He should have picked someone smarter. Or at least given you some instructions," she continued, still holding her arms across her chest. Then she laughed.

This annoyed Zorlen, and he lunged at the draelic queen with his short blade, but Kriista easily sidestepped him, and the thief stabbed the chair she was leaning on.

"Yep," Kriista said laughing. "He sent you to die."

Kriista then sank to one knee and swept Zorlen's legs out from under him with the other. Zorlen fell hard, smashing his head against the stone floor of the throne room. She then took a few steps towards Grulek.

"You must be the smart one," Kriista said, smiling at Grulek. "But not smart enough. You still came."

Grulek was furious and threw a punch directed at her abdomen. Kriista put both hands on his wrist as she stepped out of the way and threw the huge draelic against the stone wall. The wall cracked, as the large draelic hit it and the crash got Elyse's attention.

"Is everything alright?" the queen's wife yelled down from the top of the steps.

"I'm uhhh," Kriista struggled for words that would not alarm Elyse. She didn't want her wife to be in danger. "I'm just having a workout with some...friends." Kriista smiled at the two men as they both lay on the ground.

Elyse was not satisfied and began walking down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the steps, Zorlen pried the dagger from the chair and threw it at her. But Elyse was a general, a flying dagger wasn't going to catch her off guard, and she ducked. This caused Kriista to turn her head to see if her wife was hurt.

Zorlen quickly got to his feet and tried to take advantage of the draelic queen while she was distracted. He landed one blow on Kriista's side, but she quickly blocked the rest. Grulek also got to his feet and ran at her, as well. Hoping to use his weight to topple her. The large draelic collided with the queen throwing her into the table.

Kriista stood up obviously a little shaken. Zorlen had taken off toward Elyse as Grulek got to his feet to attack again. This made the queen angry. She jumped to her feet and grabbed a chair. She swung the large wooden chair and released it towards Zorlen. The chair hit the thief behind his knees, and he went down.

Kriista was done giving these two a chance, so she hit the large draelic in the throat. As he gasped for air, she jumped up above his head and brought her elbow down right in the middle of his forehead, knocking him to the ground. She then ran towards Zorlen, who was getting back to his feet. When she got a few feet behind him, she fell to her knees, sliding between his legs and raised her fist with enough strength to lift him off the ground. After Zorlen screamed in agony, he collapsed right in front of Elyse.

Kriista turned back to Grulek, her anger growing. The large draelic had caught his breath and was back on his feet. He ran at her again, hoping to use his weight against her a second time, but as he connected with Kriista, she pushed back. The collision sent the large draelic flying backward again into the cracked wall. But he would not give up; he again got to his feet, ready to fight.

Kriista clenched her teeth, trying to control her anger as she spoke. "Stop, I don't want to kill you. Father wants you dead, not I."

Grulek stopped, and his face began to show revelation. Lascar had sent them on a suicide mission. There was no way that the two of them would ever beat Kriista, and he had no intention of killing the queen's wife. He was sent to kill Kriista, a traitor, who didn't seem like a bloodthirsty killer at all. The large draelic looked at Zorlen, who was still writhing in pain, and he realized, he had chosen the wrong side of this. Kriista could have easily killed them but didn't. She never picked up a weapon, aside from the chair. Which she only used to slow Zorlen down. She also had never called the guards, so she was obviously not afraid of them. Lascar had used him and sent him to die.

Grulek unclenched his fists and knelt. "I'm sorry, my queen. I have been deceived," the large draelic said, bowing his head.

"What are you doing? She's the enemy!" the thief yelled at his friend.

Zorlen then managed to get to his feet, and before Kriista could cross the room again, he grabbed the dagger that had fallen to the floor. He put the dagger to Elyse's neck.

"You may kill me, but I'll kill your wife first," the thief said.

Kriista felt something she had never felt before, she was afraid. Even when Lascar was punishing her, nearly killing her, she had never felt real fear. She could not live without Elyse, not now. The fear mixed with the anger and the queen spoke to her wife's captor attempting to use diplomacy.

"Let her live, and I will let you go." Then the anger got the best of her, and she added. "But if you harm her, you will wish for death." Kriista's eyes began to glow dimly. The color was not red like Lascar and Lastian, it was not blue like Dhrel, it was more of a mixture of the two. A light purple, similar to her skin color but brighter.

Zorlen saw this and took the blade from Elyse's neck and drew his hand upward. He then plunged it toward Elyse's chest. Kriista saw all of this as if it was going in slow motion. She quickly moved her body against her wife, and the dagger struck Kriista in the back.

"Zorlen, what have you done?" the large draelic yelled as he got to his feet.

Kriista stumbled a few steps backward and fell to one knee. She looked at Elyse and noticed that the dagger had gone all the way through and had hit her wife in the chest, but the wound didn't look serious. Only the tip of the dagger had hit her. She had saved her wife.

Zorlen quickly looked around trying to find something else to kill Elyse with, but the queen's wife was fast. She elbowed him in the nose and blood ran down his face. The thief fell back against the wall, unable to see straight, holding his nose.

Elyse ran to Kriista and put her hands under the queen's chin to look into her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Elyse said as she threw her arms around Kriista's shoulders and began to cry.

Kriista noticed that Zorlen was getting his bearings and was coming for Elyse again. The queen whispered to her wife through gritted teeth. "Pull it out."

Kriista let out a low grunt as her wife removed the dagger; she had felt much worse at Lascar's hands. The queen's wound began to burn like it was on fire, and her eyes again began to glow more brightly. Before the thief could reach Elyse again, Kriista had come around behind him. With enormous force, she thrust her hand into Zorlen's back. She grabbed the middle of Zorlen's spine and pulled. His spine snapped, and his face changed from anger to a blank expression. He then fell to the ground, it was over. The queen didn't want to kill this man, who had obviously been deceived by her father, like so many others, but he had given her no choice.

Grulek returned to kneeling, and Kriista walked toward him, her hand still covered in Zorlen's blood. As she walked, the wound in her back continued to burn as it healed. She stopped a few steps in front of the large kneeling draelic and spoke again through gritted teeth. Her eyes still glowing.

"You didn't attack Elyse, even though you had opportunity. For this you get to live," Kriista said. "RISE!" she yelled. Kriista's voice echoed through the throne room like an explosion.

Grulek slowly stood up and towered over the much smaller Kriista. His face had lost its anger and taken on a look of regret.

"What should I do with you?" Kriista asked, still angry.

"Execution," Grulek answered, sticking out his hands to await shackles.

"No, I am not my father," Kriista said, losing some of the anger in her voice. "I will not kill draelic, or for that matter any other race, unless I have to." Kriista began to pace, her wound was completely healed now, and her eyes returned to their normal gray.

"I am trying to rebuild Norzen. We need smart draelic, strong draelic who will do what needs to be done," the queen said, pacing in front of the large draelic.

"I will do what is asked of me," Grulek said, lowering his hands to his sides.

"Can you use a plow?" Kriista asked, as she stopped pacing and faced the draelic.

Grulek looked at her as if she was joking, but quickly decided that she was serious.

"But we're at war?" Grulek asked, not believing what he had heard.

"We will defend ourselves, but we will not be the cause of any more bloodshed," Kriista scolded. "My nephew." The queen paused and turned to smile at her wife. "And my new wife, have shown me that we don't have to do things Lascar's way."

"I will not abuse horses, but I can pull a plow myself," Grulek answered, again realizing that he had indeed chosen the wrong side of this conflict.

The fact that such a formidable looking draelic refused to use horses amused Kriista and she smiled for a second. But she quickly returned to her seriousness and addressed the large draelic again.

"Tomorrow morning, I want you to report to the assembly hall in the middle of the stronghold. I will be speaking to the farmers who are trying to rebuild our farmlands. I want you to volunteer to coordinate them and help each, and every one of them rebuild the farms that my father destroyed, Norzen needs farms to survive," the queen ordered.

Grulek was again struck by how much he had been deceived. Lascar had used him. Kriista was the one who was trying to rebuild Norzen. He could not believe he had been so stupid. Was Lascar also lying about Dhrel? He needed to tell the queen what he had helped her father do. If for nothing else than to clear his mind of guilt.

"I have information about Lascar if I may," Grulek said.

"Go on," Kriista replied.

"Your father chased Dhrel to the druids in southeastern Xanthan. Then after being unable to kill him, went off searching for some hidden temple that will give him power," the large draelic reported.

Kriista began pacing once again, crossing her arms and looking very concerned.

"This is not good. I can't even warn Dhrel because I have no idea how to find him. Perfect!" She said sarcastically, walking over to the table and slamming her fist down upon it. "Thank you for the information, and I better see you tomorrow!"

"Yes, my queen," Grulek replied. Grulek then bowed and turned to go down the stairs.

"You better take this, or you'll end up in the dungeon," Kriista said throwing a token with her seal affixed on it. "And please send up the guards. Tell them I have a body for them to remove." Grulek caught the token and then headed downstairs to relay the message to the guards.

Then Kriista turned to Elyse who was still standing across the room near Zorlen's body. The look on her wife's face told Kriista that Elyse was not aware of her ability to heal.

"I'll be alright, my dear," Kriista said as she put her arms around her wife.

"I was sure you were dead," Elyse said, still crying.

"You won't get rid of me that easy," Kriista replied, attempting to mimic her wife's use of humor to ease the tension.

Elyse recognized what the queen was doing and played along.

"So, you're mocking me now?" she said, also in a mocking tone.

Kriista then turned Elyse around, put her arm on her shoulder, and walked up to bed with her wife.

#  ******Chapter 17**

Two days after Dhrel and Lascar's battle, the young king finally woke. Gromthule had carried him as well as Draylen's body for quite a ways before Shye and Gromthule made camp. It had taken them a while to find a place they felt was safe enough to let the young king rest. The huntress had buried her grandpa's body near the stream that they were using to cover their tracks. She also felt that they should wait there until Dhrel woke before moving on. She knew that her fiancé would want to say goodbye to his grandpa as well. The young king spent a few hours saying goodbye to his grandpa before agreeing with Gromthule that they needed to keep moving in case Lascar was following them. After a few days, when his grief had gotten to a point where he felt like talking again, he started to ask the large druid questions about his power.

"So, why do I pass out like that after I use my abilities?" Dhrel asked as they walked along the stream.

"You are exerting more energy than you have, and even though you are stealing some from the plants and trees around you, you are using it faster than it's coming in," Gromthule replied.

"Lascar doesn't seem to have this problem, or at least I've never heard about it," Dhrel stated.

"He used to, probably still does, when he uses too much energy. You have to realize, he has been doing this for hundreds of years. He has gotten better at absorbing the energy quickly. But I can show you a better way to get energy than stealing it from plants," Gromthule said.

This intrigued Dhrel, he was not happy that he had to kill plants to use his powers. It made him feel that his power was somehow evil.

"Well, it's time for us to eat lunch anyway, so why don't I give you a few lessons," the druid said and then turned to Shye. "Would you mind catching some lunch for us while I show Dhrel some things?"

Shye was happy to provide food. She thought it was sweet that the druid asked her instead of assuming that she would provide for them. She smiled and nodded, then headed off into the forest with her bow.

Gromthule made a small fire while Dhrel sat and waited.

"Put your hand near the fire," Gromthule told the young king.

Dhrel put his hand near the fire and could feel the warmth.

"That's pure energy. The heat is energy that is released as the fire consumes the dead branches. Now try to remember the feeling you get when you are absorbing energy from plants. Try to pull the energy from the fire into your hand," the druid instructed.

Dhrel tried to concentrate on how it felt to take the energy from the plants, but nothing happened. Shye had returned with a large rabbit to cook for their lunch. She sat beside her fiancé and began to skin the rabbit. Gromthule remembered that Shye and Dhrel had a strong connection, so he tried a different tactic.

"Shye do you remember what it felt like when Dhrel was behind the tree stealing its energy?" Gromthule asked Shye.

"Yes, it was strange and somewhat exhilarating, but at the same time it felt wrong," she replied, still looking at the rabbit as she skinned it.

As Shye remembered the feeling, Dhrel was reminded of the feeling again, and the flames began to curl towards his hand. Even though the flames were closer, the young king could barely feel the heat now. He could feel the energy instead, as it soaked into the palm of his hand. The energy felt pure, he wasn't stealing the energy, the flames were giving it to him.

Shye stopped skinning the rabbit and looked at her fiancé.

"That feels amazing!" she exclaimed then turned to Gromthule and stated. "This feels clean, nothing is dying to give up the energy."

Gromthule smiled and replied. "Yes, this energy is pure. It doesn't belong to something living. Lascar could never grasp this concept, and instead, he tried to find better sources to steal energy from."

"You mean people," Shye answered.

"Yes," the druid responded. "But pure energy is just as powerful, maybe more so, if you can master it."

"Master it?" Dhrel asked.

"Pure energy doesn't only come from flames. Yes, the fire is very concentrated, but the sun gives off more energy, just at a lower intensity. Using the sun will take a lot of practice, it's much more difficult than fire," Gromthule said, preparing some sticks to cook the rabbit.

"Your father couldn't quite master it. Actually, as far as I know, I am the only one that has mastered it in a long time. Although some of my 'students' are learning. But I don't have the kind of magic you have, not even close," the druid continued.

Something about the way Gromthule said students, coupled with the strange smile on his face led Shye to believe that students wasn't exactly what Gromthule meant.

The three ate while Dhrel practiced pulling energy from the fire. Gromthule let the young king practice for a while and then signaled that it was time for them to move again. They had a long trip to get to the druids, and Gromthule was anxious to get home.

For the next few days, Gromthule had the young couple follow him into the treetops. He showed them how to walk from branch to branch, so that they could progress without leaving footprints when there were no streams nearby. Traveling in the treetops was easy for the skilled druid, and the agile huntress caught on to it quickly, but the young king was another story. Even though he was no longer a child, Dhrel was still not a man. His body had still not matured fully, and the young man was still a bit clumsy. There were more than a few occasions where the young king had slipped, requiring the help of his fiancé or his new teacher. They traveled like this for a while until they met up with another stream, then returned to the ground, much to Dhrel's relief, and followed the stream for a few more days.

After a few weeks of traveling this way, they reached the home of the druids. It was a small encampment with maybe ten huts. The huts were not fancy, consisting of tree branches used to sturdy them with animal skins stretched over top of the tree branch frame. There was a large community fire pit in the center of the encampment with a few cooking utensils and pots nearby. The druids were a solitary group that rarely traveled to a town, so most of what they had was homemade, but functional all the same. The druids all stopped what they were doing as soon as Gromthule arrived and they stared at the young couple, not quite sure what to do.

"I have brought Lastian's son to study with us and his betrothed. This is Dhrel and Shye," Gromthule said in a loud voice.

This seemed to appease the druids, and they all came over to greet them. During the greetings, Gromthule took care to point out his wife, Kaelysa. Kaelysa was small, nearly half a head shorter than Shye. She had the same look to her that her husband had; it was a mixture of human and xeltheen features, but at the same time, it was neither. The female druid had long black hair that was braided and tied back into a ponytail. She seemed very happy to have her husband back. Shye also got the impression that she was very young.

As the young couple looked around, they noticed that all of the druids had the same look. Yellow eyes like a xeltheen, rounder face like a human ,and no xeltheen fangs. This must be what druids looked like, or perhaps it was a form they chose to fit in with both humans and the xeltheen. From historic accounts, most people knew that druids and the draelic did not get along, so there was no reason to mimic the appearance of the draelic. It was not hatred but more an argument about religious beliefs that could never be resolved. For this reason the druids and the draelic had avoided each other diligently. When Lascar came to power, he convinced the draelic that the druids, or ancient xeltheen as he called them, were determined to destroy the draelic. Between Lascar's manipulation and the old dispute, relations between the two races had all but disappeared.

"How long have you been married?" Shye asked, trying to bring up the age difference in a non-accusatory way.

"About sixty years, right Grom?" Kaelysa said, laughing.

"She chooses to look younger than she is," Gromthule reassured the huntress. Seeing that the apparent age difference was concerning Shye.

"I'm sorry but how old are you? If you don't mind me asking?" Shye asked.

"I'm three-hundred and fourteen this year," Kaelysa answered.

"I wish I could look that young," Shye said.

"You're xeltheen, you will look the same in a hundred years as you do today. How is that bad?" the small druid asked, not quite seeing the huntress's point.

"You look like you are sixteen. I look like I'm twenty-five," Shye stated. There were times, such as this, that the huntress wished that she could be the same age as her fiancé. But it was the xeltheen way, and Dhrel did not share her opinion on the matter. Despite this, Shye could not help that she felt this way.

"And what is wrong with twenty-five?" Kaelysa asked. As she stared at the huntress, she began to age slowly. Her face matured, as did her body. Kaelysa's hair became curly and slowly turned red like Shye's. After a few seconds, the small druid looked like a twenty five-year-old woman. Kaelysa turned to Gromthule smiled and then looked in the puddle of water by her feet.

"I think I'll look like this for a while, I like it. Maturity and youth at the same time. Thank you, Shye," the now older looking druid woman said as she turned and headed for her hut. Kaelysa didn't look young anymore, but she still acted like she was sixteen.

When she left Shye realized something, although the small druid woman was beautiful at sixteen and at twenty-five, Dhrel hadn't noticed even once. The whole time she was talking to Kaelysa, Dhrel had been thinking about how beautiful he thought Shye was and how silly it was to be envious of the druid woman. The huntress forgot about her envy for Gromthule's wife and kissed her fiancé on the cheek.

It was then that Dhrel suddenly realized he could only sense Shye. He noticed as he walked with Gromthule that he couldn't feel anything coming from the druid. And now it seemed that all druids were this way. This was a strange feeling. During their trip, he always dreaded going to larger villages. The sheer amount of different emotions swimming in his head gave him a headache. The druid's camp was silent except for his fiancé. This was relaxing.

"Why can't I read you?" Dhrel asked not sure how to phrase it.

"Ah, yes. Your father had the same question. We're not sure, perhaps druid's minds work differently or maybe it's our magic ability. Lascar learned to shut out your father; maybe we have something built into our mind that has the same effect. Or maybe it just takes a while to understand how to read us," the large druid attempted to explain.

This answer was satisfying to Dhrel, as long as the druids didn't understand it, he didn't have to understand it either. He was just happy for the peace and quiet.

After they had met all of the druids, Gromthule led the young couple to a hut that Kaelysa had prepared for them. He explained that the training could take a while, so they were free to stay with them as long as they wanted. The only requirement was that they be respectful of the other families in the camp. This would not be a problem for Shye and Dhrel, as they preferred to spend time alone quite often.

The next day, Dhrel woke before Shye and headed to the center of the camp to see what he could find for breakfast. Most of the druids were already awake, and breakfast was cooking. The young king ate with the druids and brought back a bowl of food for his fiancé, as was their normal ritual. He provided breakfast, and she provided the other meals. Dhrel didn't see why he needed to be the one to cook it, as long as he brought it to her. And after she woke, her thoughts seemed to convey much the same conclusion.

The young couple spent a few moments enjoying their privacy and each other's thoughts, until Gromthule came to their hut door. He stood outside, not wanting to intrude on anything, and asked. "Would you like to start your training today, Dhrel?"

Shye thought that he should get started as soon as possible; Lascar could be right behind them. Dhrel agreed with her and yelled to Gromthule. "I'll be ready in about five minutes!"

"Meet me north of the camp when you are ready," Gromthule said, heading north out of the camp.

The young king met up with his new teacher north of the camp just as he said he would, and noticed there was someone else there. The other person looked like a draelic; in fact, it looked like a draelic general. The clothes were wrong, but the posture and the self-assuredness seemed like a general. Although Dhrel was apprehensive, he did not want to assume anything. Maybe this draelic was here to give him news about his aunt, maybe it was Elyse.

Dhrel walked up to the draelic and greeted her. "Hello, my name is Dhrel."

The draelic general was surprised, judging by the look on her face. After the shock wore off, the draelic general transformed, it was Kaelysa.

"Well, that was unexpected. Very reassuring, but unexpected," she said, looking at her husband.

"I told you, he really does want peace," the large druid said.

"This is gonna be fun," the druid woman said, throwing out her arms and hugging the young king.

Dhrel wasn't sure how to react, Kaelysa didn't even come up to his chin. She had her arms around his arms so that he couldn't move them. He wasn't sure if he should try to hug her back or be alarmed. Being unable to read her emotions, he had no idea what the hug meant.

Gromthule could see the unease on Dhrel's face.

"Let the man breathe, dear. We have a lot of training to do," he said, laughing.

Kaelysa released the young king and sat by the small campfire they had built to help him train.

"I understand you took to the fire quite quickly. That's impressive. Now that you know the correct way to replenish your strength, lets work on using that power," the druid woman said with more seriousness.

"By the way, Kaelysa is my best student," Gromthule stated. "The next part of her training is to help train another student."

This reassured Dhrel. Kaelysa was a strange person, but if she was Gromthule's best student, then he would try to learn from her.

Kaelysa lifted her hands and cupped her palms upward. She stared at them for a few seconds, then a small globe of green energy began to form just above where her two hands met. The globe of energy grew until it was about the size of a walnut, then she relaxed and the globe dissipated.

"This exercise is about control. It's easy to throw energy at something, but it's difficult to form it into a shape that doesn't move. You just need to concentrate, think about the shape forming above your hands and slowly exert energy," she instructed.

Dhrel attempted this for a while, with no results. He grew frustrated, and Gromthule could tell. Then something occurred to the large druid, the lesson about the fire. Shye had been the one to translate Gromthule's instructions. Maybe she would be able to help again.

"I'm going to ask Shye to join us," Gromthule said as he stood up.

"Why? I thought she didn't have any abilities," Kaelysa questioned.

"You'll understand." With that, the large druid took off towards Shye's hut.

Dhrel continued to struggle, trying to make the energy take form until his teacher returned with the huntress.

"Ok, dear, show Shye how to form the energy," Gromthule said to his wife. "And Shye can you please attempt it. I know you have no abilities, but please try."

Kaelysa looked at Gromthule confused but trusted in her husband's judgment. She demonstrated the exercise for Shye. The huntress followed the small druid's instructions just as Gromthule had asked and attempted to form the energy sphere. Shye remembered how it felt when Dhrel used the energy beams against Lascar and the feeling when he summoned the energy shield. As she was trying to remember all these feelings, her fiancé understood how to do the exercise. He put his hands just as Kaelysa had shown him and soon a ball of blue energy, the size of an apple, formed. The young king held the ball for a few seconds then released it, and the sphere dissipated into the air.

Kaelysa gasped. "You're Rallic's daughter, aren't you?" the druid woman asked. Without waiting for the answer, she began putting the pieces together herself. "And Lastian married Meelaranda, your mother," she said motioning to Dhrel. "Oh, honey, you are right. I understand."

The young couple looked at the two druids in confusion. Gromthule could see the confusion on their face and decided he had better explain.

"Meelaranda's mother, Layleen and your father, Rallic, were druids. They decided they wanted to leave our camp and be in the 'real' world as they called it. Layleen left quite a while ago, and about fifty years ago Rallic left too," he explained.

"Does that mean we're related?" Shye asked not really wanting to know the answer.

"No, no, of course not. But you both have druid blood in your veins," Gromthule explained. "Sometimes, when two druids are married, they can share emotions. Dhrel having Lascar's blood in his veins as well must be strengthening this. I have never seen people with such a strong connection, but I can't deny what is right in front of me."

Shye was relieved, if Dhrel turned out to be her long lost cousin or brother, they couldn't be married. She did not want to lose the love of her life over some stupid lost family mix-up. As she thought this to herself Dhrel agreed, he couldn't bear the thought of losing her either.

Just then, Shye had another thought. "Does that mean that we can change our appearance?" Shye asked, hopefully.

"Being that you are both only part druid, I'm not really sure if you can or not. A druid's ability to shift is not something we know how to teach. It's just something that happens to most druids at a very young age. So if you haven't shifted yet, I doubt you ever will. It's not like magic that can be taught, it's just part of who we are," Gromthule replied.

"But, if you don't mind, would you be willing to study with us, Shye?" Kaelysa asked. "You seem to be an interpreter of sorts. You help translate feelings to your betrothed for what I'm trying to explain, if I'm understanding what's going on." Shye nodded, and the druid woman continued her training.

"Now that you can summon the sphere, the hard part starts. I want you to see if you can change its shape, move it, and manipulate the energy to do what you want," Kaelysa instructed. "Remember to pull energy from the fire if you begin to feel weak. Being in the sunshine like this should help slow down the energy depletion as well," she said motioning to the sky.

The young couple practiced moving the sphere and shaping it for several hours. Periodically, Dhrel would take a break and pull energy from the fire. The whole time, Shye and Dhrel were talking to each other without words. They had become very close, and Shye felt like she was a part of this now, not just Dhrel's future wife. She was a druid and part of her fiancé's ability to use magic. He needed her, and that made Shye feel useful for a change.

#  ******Chapter 18**

Dhrel and Shye had been with the druids for a little over a month, and Dhrel was getting quite good at controlling his abilities. They enjoyed their time with the druids but also knew that they couldn't stay forever. The young king was able to control his abilities, for the most part, and had begun his training for using sunlight as a power source. Very soon they would need to confront Lascar, stop him from doing whatever it was he was planning. They also needed to keep the evil king from hurting Kriista and Elyse. Then stop him from regaining control of the draelic.

Dhrel and Shye were training with Kaelysa and Gromthule one morning when the young king decided it was time to bring this up.

"We appreciate everything you have done, and I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I need to stop Lascar soon," Dhrel said.

"We understand," Kaelysa said sadly.

"And I think you are ready to defend yourself against Lascar, but to defeat him you will need to kill him," Gromthule said.

"Why do I need to kill him?" the young king asked.

"Do you think there is any prison that can hold him?" the large druid asked in reply.

"No, I suppose not," Dhrel responded.

"You are very strong now, and I think you can stand up to him in a fight," Gromthule said. "But I don't believe you have the power needed to kill him, not yet. You will need some kind of weapon or new magic or something of the sort, that is designed to kill people like him."

"How did he kill Lastian?" Shye interjected.

"That is a very good question," the large druid answered. "We need to find out how he was able to kill Lastian."

"Well then, I guess this wasn't the end of our search after all," Dhrel said to Shye.

"No," Gromthule replied. "We were just meant to give you the tools to survive. You have some control over your abilities now and the training to guide you as you learn more. I guess you could say we were just the beginning of a very long journey."

"I assumed you would try to stop us from chasing him," Dhrel said curiously.

"Oh no, if you stayed here, Lascar would rule unchecked. The horrors he would inflict on the people of Lascaria would be unconscionable. In fact, I urge you to seek out a way to stop him once and for all. He has been looking for something, something to give him more power. He is always learning new types of magic and continually getting stronger, but he has never found the object he is searching for. He believes this object will not only give him complete power over Lascaria but also over the other continents. He believes that this object will make him a god."

No one talked about the other continents because they seemed so far away. Not many people had ever traveled there and come back. According to the few that did return, the other continents were filled with strange races and deadly creatures. Most people didn't believe these stories because there were no facts to back them up. Only the stories from the half-crazed survivors.

"So, where should we start?" Dhrel asked, hoping that Gromthule had some kind of advice that might help them.

"You start by finding out how Lascar killed your father," Gromthule said sadly. "He must have something at his stronghold, or perhaps Kriista knows?"

This caused the young king to wonder how his aunt was doing. In the short time she was with them at the house in the woods, she had become part of their family. He never even got the chance to meet Elyse. A trip to Lascar's stronghold would give him a chance to meet her and see Kriista again. In his head, Dhrel could feel Shye's excitement as he thought of meeting Elyse. His fiancé also thought of Kriista as family now.

"Yes, I can ask Kriista, she has known Lascar quite a while. She may know," Dhrel said.

"And if that doesn't provide answers," Gromthule continued, his voice growing more serious. "Lucian knew about this object that Lascar is searching for. I've heard rumors that Lucian knew someone very wise that had knowledge of the object's location. Now, Lucian and I did not get along very well, in fact, he banished me from Tyrillia and even tried to kill me once. But I was friends with Nilara, Lascar's mother."

Dhrel interrupted Gromthule. "Draylen found a journal from Lucian's maid, Nilara wasn't Lascar's mother."

"What? Then who was his mother?" the large druid asked with surprise.

"Someone named Faamyn," Shye answered for Dhrel.

The druid's face grew worried. He was lost in thought for moment before speaking.

"Oh no. This is very bad," The large druid said. "Lucian told me she was a prisoner that we needed to lock away because she threatened to destroy the world. She was very powerful. Oh, this is bad. Lascar is her son, this is very bad," Gromthule said only half explaining the thoughts going through his head. The others were now more confused.

Gromthule noticed the growing confusion among them and attempted to explain.

"I helped imprison Faamyn. Lucian had tried to execute her, but nothing he tried worked. He stabbed her, poisoned her, but she would always come back to life. Lucian begged me to help him, and we put aside our differences for the good of all the countries. It wasn't called Lascaria back then. We hadn't actually decided on a name because the three countries couldn't get along well enough to agree on one. Anyway," Gromthule said, realizing that he was getting off track. "I helped put Faamyn away in her prison, one she could never get out of. We designed it to be opened only by Lucian's blood, but Lascar has Lucian's blood in his veins. I don't know if that will allow him to free her or not, but I don't think we can take that chance."

"What were you saying before about Lucian's wise friend?" Shye interjected wanting the large druid to finish his story from before he found out about Faamyn.

"Oh yes, Nilara was my friend, she told me that Lucian knew someone who knew about a great source of power. One that was powering all the magic in the world. Soon after that, Lucian asked me to help with Faamyn. That was when Lucian turned on me. He tried to kill everyone that knew where Faamyn was imprisoned. Any of us that was not human. He left his human guards at the site and ordered them to live there and guard the prison forever. I was able to escape, but not before he killed my first wife, who was also there to help. He also killed all the xeltheen guards I had brought with me. I spent the next few years consumed by rage trying to get my revenge. It was a dark time in my life, and I'm not proud of it. My revenge was never realized, though because Lascar killed his father before I could." After the tale, Gromthule appeared heartbroken, angry, and lost. Kaelysa gave her husband a hug. The large druid appeared even larger as his small wife hugged him.

Dhrel waited a bit to allow Gromthule to grieve before continuing his questions.

"So, the plan is to see if Kriista knows how to kill one of us?" Dhrel asked motioning to himself. "And then, if that doesn't work, we search for this source of power?"

"Yes, and while you do that I will go check on Faamyn's guards and make sure she is still in her prison. The spell was quite complicated, and I don't think even Lascar can get her out, but it's better to be safe," the large druid answered. "If all goes as planned, I'll meet you in Tyrillia at Lucian's castle, what's left of it."

When Lascar killed Lucian, there was a huge battle. The king and his son had nearly destroyed the castle before Lascar eventually overpowered his father and killed him. In the years after the battle, Lascar had forbade anyone to repair the castle. He told the humans it would be a monument to his power over them and a reminder of what he would do to them if they ever rebelled. Now, hundreds of years later, the castle still stood, although it was in worse shape now. Even though it was in ruins, many of the towers still stood and some of the living quarters were still there.

Shye reiterated Gromthule's plan to make sure everyone understood. "Dhrel and I will go to Norzen and meet with Kriista. You and Kaelysa will head to Faamyn's prison to make sure she's still there. We will then meet in Tyrillia, at Lucian's castle and compare notes, then see if we can find out anything about the man with knowledge of the power source?"

Gromthule nodded and added. "Even if you find a way to kill Lascar, we still need to stop him from getting to that power source, whatever it is, and I get the feeling he is many steps ahead of us on tracking it down. He has, after all, had hundreds of years to research it."

With that, the four of them went back to their huts and prepared for their journeys. Gromthule gathered a few of the druids he trusted the most and told them he was leaving again, not telling any of them specifics. He left one of the oldest in charge and warned her that he might be gone for a long time.

The next morning, all four of them headed out. Their paths aligned for a while, and they were content with being able to spend more time discussing their plans. When they had reached the town where Gromthule had first met them, they split and went their separate ways. Kaelysa and Gromthule headed southwest towards Faamyn's prison, while Dhrel and Shye bought two horses and headed northwest to Norzen, to meet with Kriista.

#  ******Chapter 19**

Lascar stood in the large room that had been Faamyn's prison for so many centuries. He had spent the last few months learning everything he could from Faamyn, and he had mastered everything she had to teach. There were two villagers left alive, and Lascar was preparing to drain them as well.

"I believe you are strong enough now, my son," Faamyn said beaming with pride at how fast Lascar had learned the magic she had spent centuries perfecting. "You are stronger than I ever dreamed possible."

Lascar stuck out both hands, each palm facing one of the villagers and their life force began to drain into him. As their lives became Lascar's, the skin on their bodies shriveled, and they desiccated into dry husks.

"Yes, I think it's time. What is the next step?" Lascar asked in reply.

"You need to find the necromancers, out in the swamp. They can teach you more. They can raise the dead to do their bidding. Not only will you have an army of unquestioning soldiers, you can raise your father and use his body to free me," Faamyn said, smiling.

"Thank you for all the help, mother, but it seems I've learned all you have to teach," Lascar sneered. As he said this, he raised both his hands, palms facing Faamyn and her life force began to flow into him.

"Wait, I am your mother," Faamyn protested. "I will help you rule the world. I can be a powerful ally."

"I don't need allies like you," Lascar said, continuing to drain his mother. "You made father hate me! I can't forgive you any more than I forgave him! You both did this!"

"I won't let you do this!" Faamyn yelled. She raised both of her hands, and Lascar flew backward against one of the stone walls.

This did not deter Lascar; it only seemed to make him angry.

"Calm down, mother, this doesn't have to be painful, but it can be," Lascar said. Lascar again raised his hands, but this time, Faamyn was wracked with pain and fell to her knees.

Lascar began draining Faamyn again, and she screamed. "I am your mother! How could you do this to me? I taught you everything!"

Faamyn again tried to fight back and raised one of her hands, while trying to balance on the other. A pulse of energy came out of her hand and struck Lascar in the chest. This blast of energy only made Lascar take a step back to brace himself, and he stopped draining Faamyn once again. His eyes began to glow red, and he closed his hands causing Faamyn to scream in pain. The sound of crushing bone echoed through the hollow chamber.

"I told you this doesn't have to be painful, but if you insist," Lascar said evilly. He continued to close his hands slowly, and Faamyn's bones continued to crack.

Satisfied that she was subdued Lascar raised one of his hands and Faamyn was lifted off the ground. Lascar walked calmly over to her, his eyes still glowing brightly.

"You taught me a great deal about your powers, but you hardly taught me everything. If I let you live, you will eventually betray me like everyone always does," Lascar said more calmly.

"No, I would never hurt you. I would stand by your side forever," Faamyn protested, trying to speak through the intense pain.

"Everyone says that until the day they see their chance, then all the lies fall away," Lascar said beginning to drain Faamyn again. "She's the only one that ever told me the truth."

Faamyn was very weak now, she threw up her hand again, and another energy blast hit Lascar in the chest. This time Lascar didn't budge. His robes were drawn back from the force, but he stood fast, draining Faamyn.

"You can't kill me anyway, I'll find someone else to let me out, and then I'll hunt you down," Faamyn laughed an evil laugh. Lascar laughed in return, and Faamyn's expression turned to worry.

"I have learned many things. One of them is how to kill our kind," Lascar continued laughing.

Faamyn was getting weaker, she could barely move now. Her skin had begun to dry out again, and she was returning to a corpse. After Lascar was satisfied that he had drained her of all the power he could, he thrust his hand into Faamyn's chest and removed her heart. His eyes lit up and began to glow more brightly than before. He held his mother's heart in his hand, it still had power. The heart was glowing red like the color of Lascar's eyes. The evil king began to squeeze her heart with his hand, and as he did this, the energy seeped out and into him. After there was no more energy left in the heart he closed his hand completely, and it crumbled to dust. Lascar then waved his other hand, and the lifeless corpse of Faamyn flew into her throne, rolled off and landed on the floor.

Then Lascar began speaking to his mother as though she were still listening.

"I could have released you at any time, but I knew I couldn't trust you," Lascar said. Lascar turned to the large glowing gem and waved his hand. The gem shattered into a million pieces, and the light went out. Lascar again addressed his dead mother.

"I just wanted your power." As the evil king walked toward the door leading out of the prison, he laughed to himself, then his voice turned sad. "I could only ever trust her. And you are just as much to blame as father was. You are the reason he hated me."

Gromthule and Kaelysa arrived at the village guarding Faamyn's prison a few days after Lascar had left. They noticed that there was no one in the village. The only thing they found was one dead woman who appeared to have been tortured. All her bones were broken, and she was left lying in the middle of the village. Kaelysa convinced her husband that they should bury her, so they took her body to the edge of the village and buried her near some other headstones. They assumed these headstones were from other villagers that had died over the years because some of the headstones looked very old.

Gromthule then proceeded to search for the door to the prison. He had not been there in many centuries and figured that Lucian would have had it hidden. He vaguely remembered that the door was south of the town and it was virtually impossible to see it, unless you were right in front of it. As he searched around where he thought the door should be his wife cried out.

"I think this is what you're looking for, dear," Kaelysa said, pointing at the uncovered steps leading to the prison.

"We may not be alone," the large druid said as he stood up and looked at the uncovered steps.

Immediately Kaelysa transformed into a small fox and began to sniff the air. Her ears perked up, and she stood perfectly still to listened for any movement. Gromthule turned into a panther and ran towards the entrance.

After reaching the entrance, the panther crouched down, low to the ground and slowly crept down the steps into the prison. He saw all the old bones of the xeltheen guards and of the humans that Lucian had killed because he deemed them untrustworthy. The bones of Gromthule's first wife were not here though. The large druid had carried her lifeless body with him as he ran from Lucian.

When he reached the doorway, he waited as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light in the room. As his eyes adjusted the panther saw many corpses strewn about the room and the large cache of treasure. He flattened his ears and crouched nearer to the ground as he entered the prison cautiously. The fox followed her husband, he was much older and much stronger, she was not afraid when he was there to protect her.

When they cleared the doorway each went a separate direction around the room, smelling and listening for anything that might present a danger to them. After a few minutes of this, they both converged on Faamyn's throne.

They both sniffed at the evil witch's body then they ran outside to recover their clothing and transformed back to their humanoid forms. Even though they could sense each other's feelings, they could not speak to each other or express complicated ideas like Shye and Dhrel had learned to do.

"Faamyn is dead?" Gromthule asked rhetorically.

"I sensed Lascar's magic. He killed her," Kaelysa added. She had only come across Lascar once, but it was something she would never forget. The way his magic felt as he killed an innocent human. The whole time she watched helplessly transformed nearby was not something easily forgotten. She knew her limits, and Lascar would definitely win in one on one combat. That poor man who had infuriated the evil king, she could still see his face as he died.

"Yes, that was definitely Lascar," he agreed. Gromthule, on the other hand, had crossed paths with Lascar many times, including when he helped Dhrel escape from him.

"We should head to Tyrillia. We're too late, Dhrel needs to know," Kaelysa told her husband.

"Yes, I hope Dhrel is having better luck than us," Gromthule agreed, and they began walking in the direction of Tyrillia.

#  ******Chapter 20**

Dhrel and Shye reached Stone's Rest within a couple weeks after parting ways with the two druids. Their trip was not exceptionally quick due to the fact that the horses they had purchased were not really riding horses. The horses needed to rest often, and Shye refused to push them too hard, she loved horses and could not stand to see them suffer. She conceded the fact that their mission was urgent but convinced her fiancé that having slow horses for the whole trip was better than having fast horses for half the trip. So Dhrel let the huntress have her way.

Upon reaching Stone's Rest, the two of them could not resist admiring the huge stronghold. The place was much larger than either of them had expected. They spent nearly an hour walking through the town beside the stronghold, conversing with each other about how large it was. The two of them had been raised in the forest of Xanthan, they had never seen such large buildings made from stone.

When they finally reached the gate, Dhrel attempted to assure the guard that he was Kriista's nephew, but the guard refused to let them pass. The guard was not about to let a human and a xeltheen walk into the stronghold on their word alone. Instead, he sent another guard to relay a message to Kriista, after they refused to leave. Within a few moments, the guard came running back with a worried look on his face and whispered to the first guard.

"I'm so sorry, sir," the first guard said saluting Dhrel. "Please tell your aunt that I was only doing my job."

Dhrel nodded to the guard and walked through the gate. Once inside the gate, the second guard, the one that relayed the message motioned for Dhrel and Shye to follow him and said, "This way, sir."

The second guard led them through the stronghold and to the royal living quarters in the center. The buildings were more awe-inspiring as the young couple got closer. Dhrel nearly fell on his face because he was walking with his head in the air admiring the huge buildings, but Shye caught him.

When the young couple walked through the door to the royal building, they saw the greeting area. It was a large room with chairs lined up along the walls. There were several small tables on either side of the room that were used to serve snacks to visitors. On either side of the entryway were stairs, one going up and one going down. The intricate designs on the tapestries were beautiful. They assumed that most of them were crests for important families in the draelic government. There were golden candlestick holders on the tables. The serving bowls and plates also appeared to be made of gold. This place was impressive to the young couple. They never imagined that Kriista lived in such a fancy building.

While they were admiring the large ceremonious room, Elyse came running down the stairs. She held both arms out and yelled. "Finally!" She then put one arm on Shye and one on Dhrel and turned them toward the stairs that she had just come down.

"Kriista is upstairs. This room is for meeting with visiting royals," she said. Elyse paused for a second thinking she may have offended them. "Not that you aren't royals, you are, but you are also family," Elyse said, hoping she could clear things up.

After reaching the top of the steps, they could see Kriista at the meeting table in the large throne room. She was looking intently at a stack of papers.

"Surprise!" Elyse yelled, and Kriista jumped. When she turned, she appeared to be upset until she noticed Shye and Dhrel on either side of her wife.

Kriista forgot what she was doing and ran over to her nephew and gave him a big hug. She then turned to her niece and hugged her as well. To Kriista, betrothal was a silly ceremony, and she considered them to be married already, so Shye was already her niece.

"I see you met Elyse," the queen stated.

"Yes, and you were right, she is very excitable," Shye added.

Elyse stared at Kriista for a second with a scolding look on her face, and then her smile returned.

"I guess I am," the queen's wife said. Elyse's personality changed whenever she was around Kriista. It was as if she couldn't contain the joy she felt whenever the queen was there. When Elyse was without her, she was a calculating, impressive general of the draelic army. Second only to her wife. When Kriista was around, she turned into a giddy schoolgirl obsessing over her first love.

Dhrel and Shye had a quick conversation about how perfectly Elyse complimented the ever-serious Kriista, without saying a word. The queen realized what was going on and said. "You're doing it again. It's not polite to leave us out of the conversation, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Elyse asked, looking quizzically at the queen.

"I'm sorry. It gets to be a habit I guess," Dhrel said to Kriista.

"They speak to each other in their minds," the queen explained.

"Well, that's a neat trick," Elyse said completely accepting of anything her wife told her.

"Sorry," Shye began. "We were just agreeing on the fact that Elyse is perfect for you."

"That's sweet," Elyse said as she turned back toward the steps. "Let me have the cooks get us something to eat. I'm sure you're hungry." Without waiting for an answer, she ran down the steps toward the kitchen. Which was in the basement of the royal living quarters.

After Elyse left, Dhrel turned to his aunt, his expression becoming more serious.

"We have news about Lascar," Dhrel said.

"As do I," Kriista replied, matching his seriousness.

"You go first," Shye said replying for her fiancé.

At first, Kriista was astonished at how the young couple talked to other people. It had become more pronounced than when she stayed with them. They were constantly finishing each other's sentences, and sometimes, it was hard to keep up with. The good part was that they were always talking about the same thing, but it was strange talking to two people who spoke as one.

"Lascar is after something hidden in some temple in Xanthan. He thinks it will give him more power," Kriista said.

"It's his mother, Faamyn. She was imprisoned somewhere in southern Xanthan, and we think Lascar is close to finding her," Shye interrupted.

"I see," Kriista responded.

"And after he finds his mother, he wants to find some artifact that powers all magic in Lascaria," Dhrel continued.

As Dhrel and Shye spoke, Kriista thought to herself. They really didn't do it on purpose. They were just sharing the same thoughts. How nice that must be. How comforting to have someone always on your side. Then her thoughts turned to Elyse. Maybe she was being envious for no reason. Her wife had different opinions sometimes, but she was always on Kriista's side. She never questioned the queen in public. Never disagreed when anyone was looking, Elyse was perfect for her. She was the queen's confidant, her lover, and her most adamant supporter. What was there to be envious of? She already had the wife she had always hoped for.

"So, what is it you need from me?" Kriista asked, assuming they were there for a reason.

"We wanted to warn you, and we also wanted to know if you have any ideas how Lascar killed Lastian," Shye responded.

"If Lascar finds his mother before the druids do and comes back here for revenge," Dhrel added.

"We just wanted you to know what's coming," Shye finished.

It made Kriista happy that they cared enough to warn her about Lascar. She tried to think of anything that might help them to repay their kindness. She wasn't there when her father killed Lastian, but she did remember seeing some books on magic in Lascar's room.

"I'm not sure if this will help, but Lascar has some books up in his room. He may have learned how to kill Lastian using them," the queen said as she motioned to the stairs on the other side of the room. They led to the sleeping quarters.

"Can we take a look?" Dhrel asked politely.

"Of course, why would I bring it up?" Kriista asked rhetorically. She then began walking toward the stairs.

The young couple followed Kriista up the stairs to a hallway with three doors. Two on one side and one on the other. "Lascar's room is this one," she said, pointing at the wall with the single door on it. Kriista thought for a second and said. "Your father's old room is the one at the far side of the hallway." She pointed at the second door on the other side of the hall. "You might also want to take a look in there."

Dhrel thought for a second about his father. It would be nice to visit his room. It might have nothing to do with his fight with Lascar, but he wanted to see his father's room. Shye agreed that it might provide some closure. She shared her fiancé's feelings, so her attachment to his father had grown as well.

Dhrel went to open Lascar's door, but the handle wouldn't move. He pushed and pulled, trying to release the handle, but nothing happened.

"It has a very secure lock. It won't open to anyone but Lascar," the queen said, smiling at her nephew.

Dhrel then began smashing his shoulder against the door near the lock trying to force it open, but it still didn't budge.

"How do we get it open then?" the young king asked.

Kriista laughed and took a step back.

"The lock is unbreakable, but not the door." Kriista braced herself on one foot and kicked out with the other foot. When her foot collided with the middle of the door, it was split in half. Splinters flew into the room covering the bed on the opposite wall.

"Show off," Dhrel said as he walked into the room. The queen laughed as she followed him, realizing how much they had grown to be a real family.

Lascar's bedroom was surprisingly ordinary for such an evil man. The bed had sheets and blankets, just like Kriista's room. There were many books in small piles around the room, one dresser and one standing closet in the corner. Somehow they all expected to find some strange torture devices or powerful magical artifacts, but all they found were piles of books. While they were looking around the room for any books that might be noteworthy, Elyse walked into the room.

"What are we looking for?" she asked in an upbeat tone.

Kriista turned to her and realized they might need her help. Even though she acted like a joyful child, she was probably more intelligent than anyone the queen had ever met. Elyse knew many languages, and she would be very helpful searching through all these old books.

"We're trying to figure out how Lascar was able to kill Lastian," Kriista said.

"Ah, so you can figure out how to kill Lascar, got it," Elyse said. Her voice had lost its schoolgirl giddiness, and she spoke again like a draelic general devising a battle plan. "Let's get all these books down to the table. It's far too dark in here and not very comfortable either." At the end of her statement, her childish tone started to return.

The queen smiled at her wife and began carrying stacks of books downstairs so they could more easily study them. Dhrel and Shye also pitched in to help while Elyse went back downstairs, empty-handed yelling. "I'll check on lunch!" her voice high pitched and giddy once again.

After a few trips, they had all the books stacked up on the table. Everyone sat down to begin their search as Elyse served them lunch. Kriista noticed that Dhrel and Shye sat together. The book they were skimming was between them, and the queen found this amusing.

"You read together too?" Kriista asked.

"Yes. Have you ever tried to read two books at once?" Shye replied. "It's very distracting."

"I guess that would be difficult," Kriista said, returning to her book. Kriista hadn't thought of it that way. Doing things separately would be difficult, to say the least, when you shared your thoughts. But reading books separately would be nearly impossible.

As Dhrel was reading, he appreciated the fact that Kriista had chosen to keep her emotions to herself again, but Elyse was a bit distracting. He could feel her love and devotion to the queen occasionally, and as she read the books, her emotions would sometimes get out of control. She would feel fear, rage, or disgust over what she was reading. Elyse was a very emotional person, but after a while the young king got used to it and was able to concentrate on his own reading with Shye.

They spent several hours skimming through the books, reading any passages that seemed to have relevance to their search. Finally, as it was getting dark outside, Elyse found something. She had skimmed over twice as many books as the others combined, so it was no surprise that Elyse was the one to find what they were looking for. Dhrel and Shye knew right away. As Elyse was realizing what she found the young couple looked up at her. The emotional woman's excitement was like a cold breeze after leaving a warm bath. There was no way Dhrel could ignore this jolt of emotion, and Shye felt it through him. This got Kriista's attention as well.

"What is it?" Kriista asked, staring at Dhrel and Shye.

"Elyse has something," Shye responded.

"Yes. I think I do," the queen's wife said still reading the passage to make sure. "I think this is how Lascar killed Lastian."

The book Elyse was reading didn't look very promising at first. It was a book on old druid rituals that was written entirely in ancient xeltheen. It described many rituals, some of them as mundane as rituals of marriage and conception. But near the back of the book, in a chapter on punishment rituals, it talked about binding rituals to stop druids that abused their gifts. One of these was a ritual to kill a necromancer. Upon reading this, Elyse realized that the principal was the same. Binding the person then removing the heart should work just as well on someone like Lascar. As she continued to read, she found notes written in the evil king's handwriting, and then she was sure, this was the ritual he had used to kill Lastian.

Elyse took the book over to Kriista as Shye and Dhrel joined them.

"Here, Lascar's handwriting," Elyse said as she pointed at the handwritten notes in the book.

The note said, 'Should work on Lastian.' Then on a more recent note below the original, it said 'Dhrel 364'. After everyone had read the passage, Elyse realized what the numbers meant and turned to page 364. This page described how druids had seen some of the necromancers siphoning life force from people. Not the druids who turned to necromancy but the unknown race. The unknown race who had devised the necromantic spells. Lascar had again made notes on this page, but it was one word this time 'Mother' followed by the letter 'Z'.

"So, Lascar plans to steal my powers is what I'm getting from that?" Dhrel asked, already knowing what the answer was.

"Yes," Kriista said sadly. "I assume mother means Faamyn, but I have no idea what Z means."

"But this," Elyse said, turning back to the page on the binding ritual "could be how we can defeat Lascar before he can do that." Then Elyse closed the book and handed it to Kriista.

As Elyse slid the book across the table, Dhrel noticed the author of the book. On the front in small letters, it said Voleth.

"Voleth!" Shye exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, Gromthule's father. Perhaps Gromthule can show us how the ritual works," Dhrel added.

Kriista and Elyse looked at Dhrel and Shye with obvious confusion.

"We're supposed to meet Gromthule in Tyrillia," Shye explained.

Kriista and Elyse still looked a bit confused, so Dhrel added. "He's one of the druids that taught me how to use my abilities. And Voleth was his father. Lascar killed him and must have taken the book from him."

It was then that something occurred to Kriista. Draylen had gone with them to search for the druids.

"By the way. Where is Draylen?" Kriista asked.

Dhrel's expression turned sad at first, and then as he spoke, it became angry.

"Lascar," Dhrel said, trying to contain his anger. "Some xeltheen working for him shot grandpa in the chest with an arrow and this huge draelic was with him. If I ever find that xeltheen..." Dhrel trailed off in anger.

Kriista realized that Dhrel was probably talking about the xeltheen that was with Grulek, the one that tried to kill Elyse. The queen put her hand gently on her nephew's.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore." Kriista then explained how she had killed Zorlen and given Grulek a reprieve. Dhrel and Shye agreed with Kriista's decision and reassured her that she had no choice but to kill Zorlen.

With all the conversation, no one realized what time it was until one of the guards came up to see why the lights were still on in the throne room. Kriista thanked the guard for his diligence and sent him on his way. Everyone decided that they should probably get some sleep. Dhrel and Shye intended to leave the next day to meet with Gromthule and gain more insight into this ritual.

The young couple spent the night in Lastian's old room. Before going to sleep, they spent some time reminiscing over the things that Lastian had left there. He had no books or anything too personal in the room, but it was nice to spend time in a room Dhrel's father had lived in for so long.

#  ******Chapter 21**

The next morning Shye and Dhrel sat down for breakfast with Kriista and Elyse. The young couple had gathered all their belongings, preparing for their trip to meet Gromthule in Tyrillia. Everyone ate quietly for a while. Dhrel could tell that Elyse was apprehensive about something, but he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. After everyone had finished their breakfast, Kriista broke the silence.

"I think," she said then paused to rephrase her statement. "We think we should go with you."

After contemplating this for a few minutes and conversing with Shye, Dhrel responded.

"We appreciate the sentiment, but you have a kingdom to run. Norzen needs help recovering from Lascar's rule," Dhrel stated.

"Yes, but we have the perfect candidate to watch over things while we're gone," Kriista said and motioned to her wife.

Elyse ran over to the stairs and yelled. "Come up, we're ready for you."

Dhrel could see a rather large draelic man coming up the steps. As the draelic reached the top of the steps and crossed the room to meet Kriista, the young king realized who it was. All Dhrel's suppressed emotions came rushing to the surface. Even though his aunt had pardoned the large draelic, the young king's anger and grief were not gone.

He ran across the room and punched the large draelic in the chest. Throwing him into the wall near the steps he had just come up. To Dhrel's surprise, the draelic didn't try to fight back. Instead, the large draelic bowed his head and spoke to the young king.

"I apologize for any part I played in the Xanthan incident," Grulek said with his face toward the ground.

Dhrel was not satisfied, the anger he felt could not be appeased with simple words. His eyes began to glow, and he ran at the draelic again. Kriista stepped in the way with her hands up.

"Wait, wait," Kriista begged. "He had nothing to do with Draylen's death. The xeltheen responsible for that is dead." Dhrel stopped, and his eyes returned to normal, then his aunt continued. "Grulek was tricked by Lascar, the same as me."

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Dhrel shouted at Grulek.

Shye was obviously overtaken with grief and anger as well. She was pacing the back of the room, wringing her hands, and she also looked like she wanted to kill the large draelic. She was not a violent person or someone prone to losing her temper, but Dhrel's emotions overshadowed her own clear thinking.

"I will atone for my mistakes. I deserve your hatred," Grulek said, still looking at the floor.

Dhrel began pacing like Shye. He wasn't sure what to do. He was so angry, but Grulek was not the one to blame for Draylen's death. The young king turned and looked at his fiancé, and her level headed thinking started to win out over Dhrel's anger. She was right, Lascar was to blame, not Grulek, not even Zorlen. The evil king needed to pay for his crimes. He was the instigator and the devious mind responsible for everything that had happened to them.

"You are right," Dhrel said to his aunt as Shye's peaceful mind began to settle the angry young king. "Lascar fooled many people. It's what he does."

"Grulek, I have an important job for you," Kriista said, addressing the large draelic.

Grulek stood at attention. He was not afraid, he deserved any punishments for his stupidity and naivety. The large draelic still struggled with what he had done. Lascar had said exactly the right things and made the correct inferences to manipulate him, but it was Grulek who wanted to believe. He had been so full of hatred for the humans that he didn't even notice the evil king's real agenda.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Grulek asked the queen.

"I know it's unorthodox, but I need someone to coordinate the generals," Kriista said to the large draelic.

"But...but..," he protested.

"I know you're a man," the queen reassured him.

"The generals will never listen to me," Grulek again protested.

"They will if I tell them to," the queen said as she pulled her sword from its sheath on her belt. She held the sword, hilt side up at Grulek. "This will reassure them that I chose you."

Grulek grabbed the hilt, which was too small for his enormous hand and held it down at his side.

"We would like the genders to be more equal, like the xeltheen," Elyse added turning her gaze to Shye. Her tone had changed back to the calculating general rather than the childish schoolgirl. "Kriista has told me much about how the xeltheen govern, and I like the way it sounds. Men, women, doesn't matter what gender you are. They are all equal. Correct?" directing her question at her niece.

"Yes," Shye replied.

"The humans favor men, the draelic favor women, but not the xeltheen. I think, in this case, the xeltheen are right," Elyse said again facing the large draelic.

Grulek looked at the small draelic woman and replied. "This will be a hard path," he said, trying not to offend the queen's wife, because she was also the queen and his freedom was still on shaky ground. He could not afford to antagonize either queen, or their relatives.

"The hard path is often the most rewarding," the queen added and her wife nodded.

"What is it you want me to do?" Grulek asked.

"You are now the lead general in charge of all the armies. You will coordinate all the generals, and they will report to you," Kriista said seriously. "You will, in turn, only report to me or Elyse."

"You're basically getting Kriista's old job, because I turned it down," Elyse said, her voice returning again to its teasing childish tone as she turned toward her wife. "I decided I'd rather be the queen's wife," and kissed the queen on her cheek.

Kriista blushed a little. Elyse knew exactly what to say to make her blush. It didn't annoy the queen; it actually made her love her wife even more. Elyse made her feel normal. Life was not easy being the daughter of Lascar.

"Now that we have someone to watch over the generals and run the kingdom in our absence let's talk about our mission again," the queen said turning to her nephew.

"You sure?" Dhrel asked. "It could be very dangerous."

"Tell you what. If I can beat you in a fight, not a real fight, no magic, no swords. But if I can best you, will you quit your complaining?" Kriista said, mimicking her wife's teasing attitude. As she said, this Elyse was leaning against the queen with her arms and legs crossed. The look on her face was so ridiculously silly that Shye giggled a bit and it nearly made Dhrel crack a smile.

Elyse began jumping up and down with her hand in the air.

"Can I duel Shye?" Elyse asked and then turned to Shye. "If you don't mind, nothing serious. Just for fun."

"Why not?" Shye said. "I could use some practice. We've been doing magic stuff for months now. I could use some exercise for a change."

Shye's thoughts drifted to her father. Rallic used to spar with her daily when she was younger. As she grew older and moved in with Dhrel, Rallic would visit once a year. After Rallic spent time talking to Draylen in private, he would take her out into the woods for some practice. During their yearly reunion, Rallic would test the huntress to make sure she hadn't gotten soft. To someone else, it might seem harsh, but this was how she related to her father, and the huntress looked forward to their reunions every year.

These thoughts reminded Dhrel of how Shye used to get so worked up when the reunion with Rallic grew close each year. She would practice for hours in the yard, and sometimes Dhrel would join her. Trying to keep up with the older and more coordinated huntress. These were happy memories for Dhrel also because when he was younger, it was one of the few times that Shye would pay attention to him. The huntress would help him with his stance, teach him how to shoot a bow, and how to track animals in the forest. Although Shye taught him these things at other times as well, it was her mood that made it more memorable to Dhrel. The happiness she felt about her father's arrival caused her to be more attentive to Dhrel. She didn't just teach the young boy how to do things, she actually seemed to care about him, for a little while.

Shye now felt remorseful, she hadn't realized she was so distant and cold to her fiancé in his younger years. But Dhrel reassured her that she was missing the point. He wasn't upset with her, he was sharing a cherished memory with her. One of his fondest childhood memories. In fact, Dhrel could remember the exact day that he knew he was in love with Shye. He was fourteen at the time, and her father was coming to visit. While training with the huntress, he realized that he loved Shye and wanted to marry her, although it would take her a few more years to feel the same way about him.

This helped Shye to understand her fiancé's point, but she still felt regretful for how she had treated him.

"Ok, it's a deal," Dhrel said.

"It's a date," Elyse said, running downstairs and out the front door to prepare for the duels.

"She's a bit hyper," Dhrel said to Kriista.

"That she is," Kriista agreed as she followed her wife down the stairs.

Shye and Dhrel followed behind Kriista and Grulek behind them. The large draelic wasn't sure how to react, but decided he best be quiet. Everyone there was his superior, even Shye, the betrothed of another country's king, but he gladly accepted his station. He was about to become the first male lead general that Norzen had ever seen. It would be hard, but if he kept from offending or dishonoring this family, they would stand behind him.

Once they had reached the training yard next to the soldiers' barracks, Kriista took off her sheathe for the sword she gave to Grulek and threw it to him as well. She stepped into the training square and addressed the guard trainer that was working there.

"Can you clear the yard for a bit? We want to do some training, and I don't want any of your men to get hurt," she said.

"Yes, my queen," the trainer replied. He then ushered all the trainees out of the yard. And the trainees all gathered around the fence surrounding the training yard to watch.

"Who should go first?" Kriista asked as she walked back to them.

"Me and Shye!" Elyse yelled, hyper as ever, waving her hands like a schoolgirl who knew the answer to the teacher's question.

"Alright," Shye replied, dropping her belongings and removing the bow that was slung over her shoulder. The huntress then removed her belt. Which held two throwing daggers and then removed a longer dagger from her boot.

"You come prepared," Elyse joked.

"Trainer, can you judge them?" Kriista asked the guard trainer, not remembering his name.

"My pleasure," the trainer replied.

"And no favoritism," the queen said to the trainer. "This is for training purposes. It does no one any favors if they can't lose." The trainer nodded and took his position to watch the fight. The queen knew that the trainer would favor Elyse. Although the queen didn't know his name, her wife did. It was Elyse who had appointed him to his position training the guards.

"Take your sides," the trainer said in a loud voice. He paused as he waited for Shye and Elyse to each pick a side, and then he yelled. "Go!"

As Elyse and Shye squared off against each other, trying to find the others weak spot, Kriista leaned over to speak to Dhrel.

"I bet my wife can take your wife," Kriista said quietly.

Dhrel laughed and realized this was the first time he had enjoyed himself in quite a while. Kriista and Elyse really were family. Even with everything that was laid out before him, everything he still had to do, he could relax and enjoy himself here. The fight wasn't life or death, it was for practice, for fun.

Elyse made the first move. She threw a punch at the huntress's side, trying to gauge her response and quickness. Shye blocked it, but the queen's wife saw her opportunity and used her other hand to hit the huntress in the shoulder. This knocked Shye off balance, but she quickly recovered.

"Point Elyse," the trainer yelled, and the crowd of guards cheered.

Shye was frustrated, but Dhrel calmed her. He helped her remember that this was just for training. The huntress steadied herself and waited for Elyse to make another move. The queen's wife tried to do a similar move thrusting at Shye's abdomen then swung her hand to catch the huntress in the side. But Shye was ready for the deception this time. Shye blocked the first then the second strike and then spun around and kicked Elyse in the thigh.

"Point..." The trainer didn't know Shye's name, so he looked at Kriista for help.

"Shye!" Kriista yelled.

"Point Shye!" the trainer yelled. "Tie score!"

Shye was learning Elyse's moves quickly. She blocked several more attacks but didn't retaliate just yet. The huntress was gauging Elyse, trying to find a weakness. The queen's wife threw several more blows, Shye blocked the first, and the second hit her in the shoulder again.

"Point Elyse. Two to one, Elyse!" the trainer yelled. The guards quit cheering, the action was too intense. They were surprised that Shye got a point. There were very few good enough to take on the queen's wife, let alone get a point in.

Again Elyse made a move, three strikes again, one after the other, she was very fast, but Shye was faster and blocked every one. Shye had learned enough; she was ready to win this. The queen's wife again tried a fake to the huntress's side. This time Shye dropped on her back so that Elyse swung and hit nothing, throwing the draelic off balance. Shye put her hands over her head, palms on the ground and flipped herself over, striking Elyse in the face with both feet.

"Point, Point," the trainer yelled. Before he could finish speaking Shye sank to one leg and swept Elyse's legs out from under her, and the queen's wife fell on her back.

"Shye wins!" the trainer yelled, and the crowd of guards began booing.

Kriista raised her voice, and it echoed over the stronghold like the sound of a cannon being fired.

"No booing! Shye won fairly! Nice job!" the queen yelled, and this silenced the crowd.

Shye bent over and held her hand out to Elyse.

"I haven't had a fight like that in a long time. You're very good," Shye said.

"But dang, you're better," Elyse complimented as she took the huntress's hand and got to her feet.

"If Kriista is as good as you, Dhrel is gonna get his butt kicked," Shye joked. Elyse joined her in laughing. Elyse's face hurt, but the huntress got a legal blow. She was not angry. In fact, the draelic was more disappointed that she didn't see it coming.

Before leaving the training square, Elyse returned to her silliness.

"This is my niece, Shye," Elyse yelled at the crowd. "You guys should get some pointers from her before she leaves." This caused all the guards to laugh.

Everyone in Stone's Rest knew of Elyse's humor. She was a pleasant person, unless you made her angry, and everyone tried to avoid making her angry.

Kriista and Dhrel went into the training square for their turn. The young king introduced himself to the trainer to avoid any more confusion about names, and then they each took to their side.

"Queen Kriista faces off against Dhrel, king of Xanthan!" the trainer yelled.

The crowd went silent. They had not been aware that it was Dhrel. Kriista realized that there might be some confusion among her men, so she addressed them.

"Yes, this is Dhrel. Lastian's son and my nephew. He's here to help us rebuild. He wants to rid the land of Lascar as well and offers us a treaty with Xanthan. Imagine what we can accomplish if we don't have to send guards to the Xanthan border anymore. If Norzen and Xanthan can work together, both our countries can rebuild. Lascar has taken too much from both our countries. It's time for the fighting to stop." The crowd began cheering, this was exactly the kind of news they needed. Many draelic had expressed their distaste for the Xanthan war. Nearly every draelic that the queen had spoken to wanted the hostilities to end.

Kriista returned to facing her nephew and nodded to the trainer that she was ready. The trainer turned to the young king, and Dhrel nodded as well.

"Go!" the trainer yelled.

Kriista came out slow, and Dhrel came out swinging. The young king tried to land a blow somewhere, but the queen blocked everything. The queen continued blocking, learning her nephew's moves, learning his weaknesses, and then finally she saw her opening. Kriista hit Dhrel square in the chest, twice, knocking the wind out of him. As he staggered backward, the queen spun sideways hitting him in the chin with her foot before she landed easily beside him. Dhrel fell on his back, dazed by the queen's speed and strength. Kriista knelt down on her nephew's chest and placed both fists lightly on either side.

The crowd's cheers were so loud that almost no one heard the trainer announce that she won.

"Shut out, five points Kriista!"

Kriista stuck out her hand, smiling, to help Dhrel to his feet. Her nephew smiled up at her and accepted the gesture.

"I didn't even get a..." Dhrel stopped mid-sentence. Before he had gotten to his feet, he felt intense hatred coming from somewhere. He had been trying to shut out the draelic emotions all around him , so he could concentrate on the fight and had mostly succeeded. But hatred this strong was hard to block out. The strong emotion was coming from the walls of the stronghold. Dhrel looked around, but he couldn't see anyone.

"What is it?" Kriista asked, noticing her nephew's anxiety.

"Hatred, they're going to kill someone," Dhrel replied, his voice filled with worry.

"Who?" the queen asked, matching her nephew's urgency.

"I can't tell. I think it's coming from the walls." Dhrel's answer was very vague, but it's all he could figure out. He didn't know who was going to do it or who the target was.

Dhrel continued searching through the stronghold looking for any sign of who this was coming from. The hatred got more intense, then he felt an arrow leaving a bow. He couldn't hear the sound of the bow with all the cheering. It was the feeling coming from the bowman, as he released the arrow that the young king was experiencing. Dhrel's eyes began to glow brightly, and he saw the arrow flying towards Elyse in slow motion.

Elyse was across the training yard, he didn't have time to run to her. Running out of options Dhrel instinctively stuck out his hand toward the arrow. A beam of energy erupted from the young king's hand and shot by Elyse, her hair moving from the force of the beam. The beam connected with the arrow and exploded in a bright blue light. Another arrow was loosed and another. Ten arrows all flew at Elyse, but Dhrel quickly shot them all down covering the air with blue light.

Kriista realized what was happening and yelled at the guards.

"Assassins! They're trying to kill your queen!" Kriista yelled.

All the guards that were watching the sparring match quickly grabbed their weapons and ran in front of Elyse, throwing up shields to stop any arrows that Dhrel might miss.

Dhrel pointed at the far wall behind the royal living quarters.

"There. I feel them there. Maybe ten," the young king shouted finally getting a fix on the assassins.

Kriista turned to shout orders to the guards, but half of them heard Dhrel and were already running to the wall. The guards rushed up the tower and on to the high stronghold walls and began to fight the would-be assassins. After a few moments, all the assassins, including their leader, were captured. Most of the assassins and some of the guards had serious injuries, but there were no casualties.

The guards brought the leader to Kriista, and the soldiers under her command were taken straight to dungeons. The leader and all the soldiers under her command were draelic. This leader was one of the generals that had refused Elyse when she gathered all the generals in a revolt against Lascar.

"Why would you do this?" Kriista asked the general.

"You betray us, turn your back on Lascar. You even invite a xeltheen and a human into the fortress. You are no draelic queen," the general said.

"But why attack Elyse?" the queen asked.

"We can't kill you, but we can kill her," the general growled as she looked at Elyse with disdain.

Kriista's rage took over, and she struggled to keep from killing the general who tried to kill Elyse. But her inner struggle was a losing battle, and finally, the anger won. She brought back her arm, she was going to rip the heart out of the general's chest and show it off, so that no one would dare attack her wife again. As she was about to thrust her hand into the generals chest, Elyse stepped forward and punched the general in the face. The punch dented the general's helmet, and the guards almost dropped her from the momentum.

"Can't even face me? You have to try to assassinate me because you know I'll win. You're the one who isn't acting like a draelic," Elyse said, and then turned to the guards. "Take her to the dungeon with her men. She wants to act like a coward, she can rot like one!"

Elyse then turned around to face Kriista.

"You don't need to kill her. I think it sends a better message to have her locked up until she can see reason. If she dies, she's a martyr. In prison, she's a warning."

Kriista saw Elyse's point, even though royal assassinations are almost always met with execution. Putting the general in the dungeon would serve as a reminder that Kriista was different than Lascar.

"You're correct. We only kill to defend ourselves," Kriista conceded. "I owe you again, nephew," the queen said, turning to Dhrel. "I'll never be able to repay you for everything you've done."

"We're family," Shye said, answering for Dhrel, and he nodded in agreement.

Elyse once again turned the conversation to happier thoughts.

"Well then, I guess we're coming with you," Elyse said, returning to her silly tone.

"But, it's a tie," Dhrel said. "Shye and Kriista need to fight to determine a winner."

"She beat you without taking a hit, I'm good, but I'm not that good, I think I'll concede," Shye said mostly for Kriista and Elyse's benefit, since her fiancé already knew her response.

"Fine, fine, you can go. I'll quit complaining," Dhrel said, laughing.

The four of them returned to the royal living quarters so Kriista and Elyse could pack their things. Soon after they all headed out the gates toward Tyrillia.

#  ******Chapter 22**

Dhrel, Shye, Kriista and Elyse traveled for nearly a month before they reached Tyrillia. As they passed through human towns they were often ignored or avoided. Even getting simple directions to make sure they were on the right track proved to be a chore. The humans were not about to help two draelic, a xeltheen and a human all traveling together. After a couple weeks of stumbling around Tyrillia, the four of them finally managed to get to the ruins of Lucian's castle.

Donnick, the town around the ruins, was once the capital of Tyrillia, but since Lascar had outlawed human government, the city was mostly abandoned. As they walked the streets, the four of them saw only a few humans who quickly got out of their way. Many of the buildings were falling down, some appeared lived in, but for the most part, the town seemed deserted. After the destruction of the castle, most of the human inhabitants had fled to nearby towns and never returned.

As they got closer to the ruins of the castle, they realized how large it really was. It was nearly twice the size of Stone's Rest, and some of the towers were six stories high. The castle had been built on a hill that overlooked the town. There was a large river on the other side of the castle to prevent invasions from the rear, and the town itself acted as the front gates. The walkway up to the castle was beautiful. It appeared to be made out of smooth marble, and there were statues along the walkway honoring many influential humans. Most of the statues had been destroyed, the rest were all missing their heads, but the plaques under where the statues should have been were mostly intact.

Once they had entered the crumbling castle, they could see the real destruction. The outside of the castle had a few holes, but for the most part, looked complete. But once they went inside, they could see floors missing and the crumbling inner walls. In the center of the main hall, they could see through all the floors above them to the sky. As they walked up the stairs and through the castle, they were amazed that the castle still stood with all the destruction inside. They couldn't see a single room that hadn't been touched by the destruction.

"What happened here?" Shye asked.

From one of the doorways, at the end of the hall, a black figure appeared. It was Gromthule in his panther form. They walked toward the panther, and he ducked into one of the rooms, reappearing in his robe as his normal druid form. Druids were not modest, but Gromthule was used to being around the other races and knew they didn't care for public displays of nudity.

"Lascar happened," the large druid replied as he straightened his robe. "I'm not sure of the specifics, but Lascar fought Lucian here and eventually killed Lucian. From what I understand, Zephillia, Lascar's wife, Lastian's mother, was also killed here. I'm not really sure how it happened, but it appears to have been horrible."

"So, who killed Lascar's wife?" Elyse asked.

"No one is really sure about what happened in here," Gromthule replied. "The servants, like the maid who wrote that journal, got out of the castle as it was falling apart. They were the only ones that really knew what happened, besides Lascar. And aside from the maid, I don't think any of them made it farther than the city before Lascar caught up to them."

"So, what is it we're here to find?" Dhrel asked, trying to move things along. The destroyed castle was just another reminder of how evil Lascar was, and he wanted to get out of there.

"Oh, before we get to that," Gromthule said. "We found Faamyn's prison and Lascar didn't free her. He killed her." This news confused everyone.

"What is Lascar up to?" Kriista asked rhetorically. "It's like we're playing checkers, but Lascar is playing chess." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I have to admit, his end game still eludes us," Gromthule stated. "But what we're here for is probably in Lucian's room. I heard he was friends with someone that knew where to find the power source Lascar is looking for. I assume there must be some information here somewhere."

"Where is Kaelysa?" Shye asked curiously.

"I believe she is sniffing around outside," Gromthule replied with a silly grin on his face. This response made Shye laugh a bit. Considering the large druid was probably being literal. Kriista and Elyse didn't get the joke, but Dhrel understood and smiled at Shye.

The five of them all split up in different directions and searched for any signs that might point to Lucian's room. They spent over an hour searching and still had nothing. Many of the rooms looked like they were simply guest quarters. This castle was huge and had many rooms, the royal family's room had to be one of them, but they couldn't figure out which one. Finally, as they reached the fifth floor, Dhrel noticed something in one of the rooms.

Through a hole in the wall, Dhrel could see a dresser with men's clothing on it. On the mirror attached to the dresser was a delicate gold necklace. This must be the room, he thought to himself. Shye was in the room across the hall, searching, when she heard her fiancé's thoughts and came running over to see what he had found.

They stepped through the hole in the wall and realized that this was the room they were looking for.

"I think we found it!" Shye yelled to the others.

Shye heard footsteps and crashing furniture coming from up the hall, probably Gromthule, and two people coming up the stairs that they had just come up. Soon Elyse and Kriista stepped into the room through the same hole in the wall and began searching through the books.

The room definitely belonged to the royal family. Servants would not have gold necklaces, nor would they have such fancy clothes or stacks of books. After a few moments, Gromthule arrived coming through the front door of the room.

"Ah, yes. This is the room we're looking for," Gromthule said with satisfaction.

They spent a while searching through the books until Elyse shouted. "Oh, this could be it!"

Everyone dropped their books and huddled around Elyse as she read from the book.

"My friend, who I will not name to protect him, has found it. The power that creates magic. I am to meet him at his home in the desert to discuss how to proceed. It is protected by a creature, but I'm sure I can overpower it. But, I'm not sure I want to know where it is. Lascar, my boy, acts like his mother, his real mother. I fear what he would do if he ever found this power. I hear rumors that he has a girl. He cannot be allowed to have children. The witch's blood runs in his veins. His children will be as monstrous as he. If I know where the power source is, Lascar may find out. If I can destroy the power source, then Lascar will be normal. I am torn between choices. I will meet my friend and discuss what to do," Elyse quoted.

"It stops. The date was months before Lucian died. I don't think he ever made it to the desert," Elyse pointed out.

"I believe you are correct," Gromthule agreed.

"We should head to the desert then to find this 'friend'," Dhrel added.

"Yes, if he still lives. This was written almost a thousand years ago." Gromthule replied. It was then that Gromthule realized Kaelysa was still not back from scouting around the castle. "I wonder where Kaelysa is. She's taking too long," the large druid stated, looking worried. They all agreed and headed outside the castle to look for her.

When they reached the front door, the large druid transformed into a panther leaving his robe in the doorway and ran off. Kriista and Elyse stopped for a minute mesmerized by Gromthule's shapeshifting then headed around the castle to the right while Shye and Dhrel headed around the castle to the left.

It was not long before Shye and Dhrel came around a tower base and saw Kaelysa standing with her back towards them. She was completely naked, nothing unusual for a druid, but she wasn't moving. As they got closer, they noticed that there was someone in a hood on the other side of her. Dhrel had an eerie feeling that it was Lascar, even though he couldn't quite tell from this distance. As he got closer, he knew it was indeed the evil king, and he was doing something to Kaelysa. Dhrel sprang to action running at Lascar.

"Get away from her!" Dhrel yelled as he got closer to them.

Lascar lowered his hand and released Kaelysa who fell to the ground, unconscious. The evil king turned to his grandson and threw both hands out. A red beam of energy hit Dhrel in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him, but the young king got up quickly. Dhrel concentrated and returned fire with a blue beam of energy that struck Lascar in the shoulder, spinning him around and landing him on his backside.

The evil king got back up slightly dazed but didn't try to attack Dhrel again. Instead, Lascar looked at the ground and raised both his hands slowly from his sides. As he did this, the ground began to shake. Lascar's eyes began glowing brightly with red energy. The ground cracked with the same red energy, and twenty skeletons began to pull themselves out of the ground.

Lascar gave them one command. "Kill them all." Lascar then turned and walked towards the river behind the castle.

"We found her!" Shye yelled to the others.

The skeletons ran at the young couple. Dhrel shot energy beams at the skeletons dazing them when he hit them, but they would not go down. Shye fought them off as best she could, but they were fast. Their bony hands tore at her arms, and eventually, they subdued her. Kriista and Elyse were the first to arrive, and Elyse helped free Shye. Kriista ran into the middle of the pack of skeletons and began punching and kicking them, shattering bones when her attacks landed. The evil skeletons were quick and strong but not very sturdy. Eventually, the four of them were able to dismantle all the skeletons, shattering their bones so they could not fight anymore.

As the last of the skeletons were being shattered Gromthule joined them. He quickly shifted back to druid form, not concerned that he wasn't wearing clothes and cradled Kaelysa's head in his large hands.

"No, my dear, what has he done to you?" Gromthule said, choking back his tears.

Kaelysa began to groan, and said. "I'm sorry." Afterward, she fell back unconscious.

Dhrel knelt beside Kaelysa and placed his hands on her chest. His hands began to glow bright blue as he tried to heal the druid. After a few moments of concentration, there was an explosion of light, and the young king was thrown backwards into the grass.

"Lascar did this. We need to get her back home," Gromthule said with concern.

Whatever Lascar had done to her, Dhrel wasn't able to undo it. Hopefully, the druids had a way to fix this. The young king cursed his inability to help his friend as he walked behind Gromthule, who was carrying her.

Before they left the large druid grabbed his robe and found a sheet to throw over Kaelysa. Walking through town with a naked man carrying a naked woman would certainly draw attention, attention they didn't need.

At the edge of the castle town, they were able to buy some horses. Gromthule, of course, had no need of a horse and simply turned himself into one with Kaelysa on his back. He galloped ahead and disappeared over the horizon as night fell. No one expected him to wait, they all understood his urgency, and they just tried to keep up as best they could.

#  ******Chapter 23**

Dhrel, Shye, Kriista, and Elyse arrived at the druid camp about a week after Gromthule. The large druid had run night and day to get his wife back to the camp for treatment. After reaching the camp with Kaelysa on his back, Gromthule was exhausted and slept. While he slept, the druids struggled to help Kaelysa, but they found nothing wrong with her except that she wouldn't wake up.

When the four of them entered the camp, they quickly found Gromthule to find out if there was any news of Kaelysa. The large druid tried to reassure them and himself that his wife was receiving the best care she could get. There was not much anyone could do for her besides stay by her side and wait for her to wake up.

The four of them all took turns comforting Gromthule and praising him for his speed and determination. Dhrel apologized for being unable to help her, but the large druid dismissed the apology stating that the young king was still new to his magic while Lascar, was very practiced.

Kriista and Elyse spent some time talking with the druids. This was the first time they had met druids outside of their brief introduction to Gromthule, and they had many questions. The druids were apprehensive of having two draelic generals in their camp, but with some reassurances from Gromthule, they relaxed, and began answering their questions. While the two draelic queens questioned the druids, Shye and Dhrel spent time relaxing in their hut, enjoying their privacy as Gromthule was recovering.

About a week passed before Gromthule was fully recovered and ready to discuss the book of rituals they had found. Kaelysa was still resting in her bed, but no one was going to give up on her, and physically, she seemed fine. Gromthule had asked the four of them to meet him outside of the camp where Dhrel and Shye had trained. It would not be appropriate to bring anyone else in on the conversation about Lascar and the ritual book.

After everyone had arrived, the large druid began.

"I suppose I should explain about the book. It is a book about old druid rituals. The passage you found is about how we used to deal with criminals. My father lost this a long time ago, but I can see that the principles should work on Lascar. The ritual of removing the person's heart was reserved for evil druids and necromancers. They became so powerful that it was impossible to imprison them. And until we discovered this weakness, we thought it was impossible to kill them as well. It's more than simply removing the heart, though. The heart must be destroyed, or the powerful person will just reanimate in time. The book says that fire worked on some of the lesser necromancers, but magic was needed for the more powerful ones."

"So, do you think this will work on Lascar?" Kriista asked.

"Knowing what we know now, I don't see why not. Getting close enough to remove his heart might be the bigger problem," Gromthule stated.

"What about the power source? Maybe we can get it first and use it to stop him," Dhrel said.

"Maybe we just destroy it, and Lascar becomes easier to deal with," Elyse countered.

Dhrel pondered this for a bit. He had grown used to his magic, and while he didn't want to give it up, he really wouldn't need it if Lascar didn't have magic either? He and Shye could have a normal life. They could find a small house far away in the forest where no one would ever bother them again. That was a better option if they could find the power source.

"I like that idea," Dhrel chimed in.

"Surprising," Gromthule said. "I expected someone who uses magic to want to hold on to it."

"If Lascar had no magic, I wouldn't need magic. I want a normal life," Dhrel answered.

"That sounds nice," Shye agreed.

"Ok then, since we probably can't get close enough to remove his heart, we will destroy the power source," Kriista announced and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid I won't be going with you," the large druid said. "Kaelysa isn't getting better. In fact, there's something wrong with her. I can't quite figure out what it is, but Lascar did something to her, and I'm not sure she will ever recover. She feels different to me somehow." Gromthule's tone had turned remorseful.

"We understand," Kriista assured him. "We would all do the same thing in your place." Kriista looked at Elyse, and the look on Elyse's face strengthened her words.

"I think we should leave soon, maybe two or three days," Dhrel said.

"Yes, he has a head start," Kriista agreed. "We will need jugs of water, and dried food. I've never been to the desert, but from what I hear, it is a harsh place. We will only have the supplies we bring with us."

Gromthule had been to the desert and added his knowledge to the conversation.

"It's a very dangerous place. Not only will you face starvation and thirst, but there are creatures in the desert that can kill a man before he knows what happened," the druid said.

"Any advice?" Shye asked.

"Once you clear the swamps, which will be almost as dangerous, stay near rocks. Creatures will take shelter in them, but they are of less concern than the sand crawlers. The sand crawlers are large and bury themselves under the sand, waiting for something to walk over them. You can usually tell where they are only by a small breathing tube that protrudes through the sand. It matches the color of the sand, so it is very hard to see. Staying by the rocks, you may have to contend with smaller creatures also hiding from sand crawlers, but I'd be more afraid of the sand crawlers," Gromthule explained.

"What about the swamps?" Elyse asked.

"In the swamps, you mostly have to avoid the necromancers. The creatures of the swamps are generally content to eat each other and stay away from humanoids. Some of the smaller creatures are poisonous so watch where you sit and where you sleep," Gromthule explained.

"What about that creature you became when we faced Lascar?" Dhrel asked.

"Oh, the Geleth? They are harmless. They eat small rodents and will generally curl up into a ball and pretend to be a rock when something larger is around, unless they are threatened. I wouldn't go around trying to pet them or poking them with a stick, but they will mostly keep to themselves," the druid explained. "I like to use that form when I'm fighting because they are large, armored, and it's hard to hurt them. Their claws are small, and they usually defend themselves by swiping their large club tail."

Everyone seemed satisfied and ready to begin the next leg of their journey, so they all headed back to their huts to prepare. They needed plenty of dried food and water to pass through the desert, but the druids were more than accommodating. After a few days, they had enough supplies to last them for weeks. The party had no idea where in the desert Lucian's friend was or if this friend was still alive, but it was their only lead.

On the night before they were going to leave, Shye woke to a strange sound. Dhrel was still sound asleep next to her, so she decided to let him rest. The next day they had to travel through the swamps, and everyone would need to be strong and well rested for the journey.

When she emerged from her hut, the camp was completely dark. The camp's main fire had been reduced to smoldering embers, and all the druids were sleeping. She searched around and listened for the sounds she had heard, trying to figure out if she had actually heard anything at all. As she was about to give up, she heard it again. It sounded like a wounded animal, but only sort of. The sound had an eerie quality to it, almost as if the animal was suffering.

Shye set off in the direction of the sound. It was coming from the direction that they would be taking tomorrow, when they headed to the swamp. She quietly crept out of the camp and closer to where she had last heard the sound. She stopped and listened once again, silence. The huntress waited for a few minutes, and she heard it again, it was close, but she couldn't see anything. Then she noticed that there were two figures a little ways in front of her. It looked like they were humanoid. As she got closer, she was certain they were humanoid, and grew more cautious. Shye snuck up behind them to see what they were doing, and then one of the figures spun around and hit her over the head. The huntress fell to the ground. She was conscious, but her head felt like it had been split in two, and she couldn't see straight.

Quickly Shye called out for Dhrel in her head. She needed to reach him, to warn him. Her head hurt so much, it was hard to think straight. The dark figure quickly tied her hands behind her back and gagged her, but Shye didn't need her mouth to talk to her fiancé.

Dhrel awoke feeling like his skull was being crushed. He realized that Shye was gone and he could feel her fear. She was calling to him, but he couldn't figure out where his fiancé was. Dhrel quickly ran to Kriista's hut and woke her as well. Elyse was also missing.

"What's going on?" Kriista asked.

"I'm not sure," Dhrel replied. He could feel Shye, but he couldn't figure out what direction she was in. "I can't tell where Shye is!" he said frantically.

"We need to find them quickly. Guess at what direction she is, and we'll go from there," Kriista said also worried.

Dhrel took off out of the hut heading towards the swamp. He could feel Shye getting closer.

"Yes, it's this way," he said, leading the way.

As they left the camp, the noise woke Gromthule. He wasn't quite sure what was going on but followed along behind them not saying a word. Kriista noticed the druid and motioned for him to catch up. The three of them snuck quietly as Dhrel tried to determine which way to go. He would stop once in a while and walk in a different direction then turn around and go another way. He could sense that he was getting closer. It just took time to figure out which way to go. It was as if Shye was zigzagging across the forest heading toward the swamp. It didn't make any sense, why would Shye be trying to lose them and where was she going?

They drew closer to Shye and Gromthule turned into a panther. He could smell better and hear better this way. He could also see in the dim light that the moon was giving off. The panther ran ahead as soon as he picked up their scent, Kriista and Dhrel chased after him trying to keep up. Within a few moments, they caught up to the three figures. The figures stopped once the lead figure realized they were being followed. The lead figure was standing, and had shoved the other two into a kneeling position on either side of it. In the pale moonlight Dhrel couldn't figure out who the other two were, but his senses told him that the one kneeling on the right was Shye.

The figure standing between the two kneeling ones lifted a stick into the air, and the stick burst into flames like a torch. It was Kaelysa. Her face looked angry, and the figure on the left was Elyse. Shye and Elyse had their mouths covered by cloth, and their hands were tied behind their backs. Kaelysa thrust the torch into the ground beside her and placed her hands on Shye and Elyse's backs.

"What are you doing, dear?" Gromthule asked as he turned back into his druid form.

Kaelysa laughed evilly.

"Don't tell me you didn't sense it, druid. I know you did," Kaelysa cackled.

"What?" Kriista exclaimed.

"You're not Kaelysa," Gromthule said, finally realizing what was different about his wife or whoever she was now.

"Good, although you probably should have realized that a while ago," Kaelysa said with an evil grin. "This body is quite interesting. Lascar made a good choice. The raw untapped power of druids is truly amazing."

Kaelysa began to transform, unaccustomed to her new body it was slow at first then quickened as she figured out how it worked. Kaelysa seemed to be in pain while she was transforming, but when she was finished, she smiled, proud of herself.

Kaelysa's new form was that of a young draelic woman about eighteen years old. She was quite beautiful, though not as beautiful as Kriista; she would have put most other draelic women to shame. She had light blue skin, and her hair was a lighter blue, almost white. Her hair was straight and went down to her waist. The draelic woman was not muscular like most draelic women, she was thin like a xeltheen. Her eyes were steel gray, and when she was done changing, Dhrel thought he saw a dim glow of red in them. Like Lascar when he was using his power, but it quickly faded.

"Don't you recognize me, Grom?" the woman asked.

Gromthule stared at the woman trying to place her. He knew he recognized her, but he couldn't think of who she was.

"Seriously? You never were very bright. Zephillia, you stupid druid," she said taunting Gromthule even more.

It all made sense to Gromthule now. Lascar's plan wasn't about Faamyn, it wasn't about Lastian. It wasn't even about Dhrel. They were all stepping-stones to Lascar's real plan. All of it, every deception and every lie was all to bring his dead wife back to life.

"No," Gromthule said quietly as revelation washed over him. He knew what Zephillia was going to do so he leapt for her and began transforming into a panther. Before Gromthule could reach the evil draelic, she returned her hands to the backs of Shye and Elyse and began to smile. Then spikes erupted from the palms of her hands into Elyse and Shye. The spikes came out the front of each woman, piercing their hearts, and both of them fell forward dead. The druid collided with Zephillia but it was too late. She then transformed into a squirrel and climbed the nearest tree. Once she had reached the top she again changed, this time she was a bat and flew off into the night.

As Shye died, the shock of being disconnected from her caused Dhrel to collapse. Kriista ran to Elyse and fell to her knees, cradling her wife's lifeless body. When Kriista realized that there was nothing anyone could do, she began to cry. As she sat there crying for her lost wife, the anger began to grow inside her. When Kriista could no longer contain her anger, she yelled into the night, her eyes glowing purple, more brightly than they ever had before. "I will kill you!" Zephillia was long gone, but Kriista didn't care, it was a warning to anyone, Lascar included, that she would have her revenge.

Gromthule could hear Dhrel's breathing, so he was not concerned for the young king. Having Shye's consciousness ripped from his head would be devastating, but he would recover, in time. The druid sat beside Kriista giving her time. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do to make this better. Kriista had lost everything. The only person that made her life bearable was gone, taken by Zephillia and Lascar.

Be sure to check out part 2, Lascaria – Sins of the Ancestors

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Lascaria Series

In the world of Lascaria, the evil king Lascar rules his kingdom through fear and intimidation. His magic is without equal. The worst part is that he grows stronger every year. No one can stand up to a man that is over 1,000 years old until his grandson Dhrel is born. Explore the world of Lascaria alongside Dhrel as he works to become the man everyone thinks he is.

Lascaria - Evil Reborn Book 1

Lascaria – Sins of the Ancestors Book 2

Lascaria – The Prisoner Queen Book 3

Lascaria – The Legend of Lascar Book 4

Lascaria – The Shadow King Book 5 (Conclusion)
MOUS Investigations Series

Cassy Mousman and Zach Nielson each grew up with their adoptive parents, knowing nothing about each other nor why, as adults, they are inexplicably linked. The murder of Cassy's father causes her to trick Zach into becoming her unwitting partner in her search to find out what they really are. She knows they are not human, but nothing in her father's books can explain her unusual abilities nor why countless orphans were deposited on human doorsteps the same day she was.

Perhaps with Zach's help, she can finally discover what they really are and why everything seems to revolve around the unassuming accountant, Zach. In the meantime, all she can do is help the supernaturals like her father had and piece together the clues to this puzzle.

Case of the Docile Dhampir Book 1

The Ghoul from Galveston Book 2

Deceptive Dragons and Duplicitous Sisters Book 3

A Wendigo in Wisconsin Book 4

Ogres in Oakland, Oh My! Book 5
Asuune Series

Angels and vampires are real. In the world of the Asuune, half angel and half human, there is a secret war that has been going on for as long as man has walked the earth. Unbeknownst to Kathrine, her father is one of the war's soldiers, but what is even more surprising is that she is the war's only hope. Follow the life of Kathrine Albet and her father, Mark, as they fight the evil of fallen angels and vampires to save humanity. It would all be much easier if each Asuune didn't have one true love they couldn't ignore. Fighting the forces of evil may be hard, but resisting your true love is all but impossible.

Curse of the Asuune Book 1

Deception of the Asuune Book 2 (Conclusion)
Demonic Temptations

Samantha Lujuria is a therapist who specializes in disorders she calls Demonic Temptations. The desires that everyone harbors that are so distasteful or embarrassing that we can't even admit them to ourselves. Follow her as she tries to use her expertise to help half-demon offspring. Because for a demon, love is the biggest taboo of them all.

Set in the world of the Asuune several years after the events of Deception of the Asuune. Join Samantha as she gets help from many of your favorite characters from the Asuune series in her quest to keep half-demon offspring from destroying their lives as well as the people around them.

Demonic Temptations - Incubus Tormented Book 1
Morven's Legacy

Evil demons are trying to make their way into the world, and only the descendants of Morven have a chance at stopping them.

Christopher Morven is over three hundred years old and tired of fighting to keep the demons at bay. The magic that kept him alive has taken its toll, but finally, after all these years, he sees hope in his two granddaughters. They aren't ready, but they are very powerful. If anyone can bring this to an end, it will be them. They can succeed where he has failed, but they will need help.

The Fire Maiden's Desire

To Seduce a Sorceress
Raven

Fawn, although most people know her by her code name Raven, is one of the best assassins in the world. When she takes on a very lucrative job to kidnap, then kill the prince, she realizes that the bumbling fool isn't the cruel womanizer she's been led to believe. She thought assassins were deceptive, nobles and Royals are worse. Can she find her way through this web of lies before it is too late? Despite his roguish charm and possible innocence, she has a job to do, and Raven always kills her mark.

Raven's Embrace Book 1

Raven's Gamble Book 2 (Conclusion)
The Order of Human Purity

The books in this category are not intended as a series. They are grouped together because they all happen within the same universe where The Order of Human Purity (known simply as 'The Order') is trying to rid the world of monsters.

They are written with the intention of making them similar but completely separate stories. There are no cliffhangers or continuations. The only things these books have in common are the world they take place in, The Order and the mischievous, immortal wraith Miraven who is neither good nor evil. She is simply bored of her immortal life and to spice things up she likes to toy with the lives of others, or so she would have everyone believe.

Kiss of the Lamia Book 1

Werewolf Bane Book 2

The Alpha Predator

When Adam Lance witnesses the attempted murder of a man, he becomes the only known witness to a serial killer who has gone unchecked for nearly five years. Special Detective Cheryl Torren soon realizes that Adam might be the one person who can help her catch the killer. With Adam's help, Cheryl finds out that the person they are hunting isn't a serial killer after all. The killer is a vigilante who only targets predators and soon gains the nickname 'The Alpha Predator'. Despite Adam's reluctance to catch this killer, it's still their job, and with his help, Cheryl might finally put an end to the killing spree, that is, if the killer doesn't find them first.

Auctor – Vengeful Intent

Disclaimer: This book contains a considerable amount of violence and dark emotions.

When Kaya Nichols' step-sister turns up dead, the apparent victim of a mugging, Kaya leaves behind her job as a foreign journalist to find out what really happened to her step-sister. At least that is the job everyone thinks she has. In reality, she is a fixer for a variety of powerful European mobs.

The men who killed her step-sister, Trish, think they've handled the problem until Kaya arrives back in the United States for her sister's funeral. Kaya isn't willing to let a single man responsible for her step-sister's death escape justice, even if it kills her in the process. She is a woman who has lost everything, so nothing matters other than revenge.

Explore the nightmare that has become Kaya's life as she tries to work through her anger and grief. And, as if, Trish's death wasn't enough. The man who ruined her life, her step-sister's husband, is a constant reminder of what she has lost and the secret she dares not tell anyone.

Immortal Consequences

When Kal Johnson, an immortal gargoyle, is attacked by an ancient vampire and framed for the murder of a human, his quiet life is thrown into chaos. But the universe, with its perverse sense of humor, has decided that now would be the perfect time for the punch line. Kal's human wife, Brianna, has done the impossible. She is the first human in history to become pregnant with a gargoyle's child.

This vampire is stronger and more cunning than any he has fought. The wife he adores and the child he never hoped for, give Kal something he has never had before, a weakness. Can Kal stop this ancient vampire before it takes everyone he loves? Taking his wife and child might accomplish what no vampire has ever been able to do. It might be enough to defeat the immortal Kal.
