Turning to see her grip Raffa’s spines like handles, Anders called to Maija, “Zahara and I will go first. If the elves have defenses along the city limits, they might attack if they don’t recognize you. They know us well enough that they shouldn’t be fearful. Stay a short distance behind us until we land.”
Maija nodded, brushing Raffa’s scaled neck.
Flying swiftly over the valley and up the cliffside, Anders prepared to form a shield barrier around them if need be. He wasn’t sure how their sudden and unannounced appearance would fare. Landing on the cliff’s edge, Anders glanced around to make sure there weren’t elven archers lining the cliff wall all prepped for battle as he’d imagined. He glanced up as Raffa set his wings to land next to Zahara. The storm mushroomed out into the night over their heads, wind blasting out around the city. Suddenly Anders realized how calm it actually was under the city’s protective magic. Looking ahead, he saw lights glowing among the trees throughout the elven capital.
Dismounting, Anders led the way into the city, Maija, Zahara and Raffa following close on his heels. At first, the capital appeared quiet in stark contrast to the storm raging over the treetops. The farther they walked into Cedarbridge, the more elves Anders saw at their windows or standing in small groups in the streets. His small group’s appearance didn’t seem to startle them as much as he thought it should. Many elves scowled as they passed in silence. He’d never felt such watchful eyes from the elf community before.
Maija leaned in and whispered as they walked, “They’re talking about us.”
Anders glanced up at a second-story tree balcony where a small group of elves huddled. They wore red shirts. He could see them pointing down at them. Keeping an eye on them and ready to block any attack with his magic, Anders asked, “What are they saying?”
“Mostly gossip about your return and what it means. Some have said we’re the cause of this storm the city’s created; others are saying you’re here to stop the storm.”
“And what of our sudden return? Is anyone saying anything about the campaign I set out on?” Anders asked. He stopped, though, as he realized he hadn’t yet asked her how her exceptional hearing had returned.
When Maija shook her head, he asked, “How did your hearing return? It started with the kurr?”
She nodded, “I don’t know why I got it back, but I can hear again.”
Might have something to do with this storm, Anders thought to himself as he noticed others in the street in red shirts.
As they continued making their way toward the elven courts where the High Council met, Anders saw elves rushing past him in ones in twos. They darted by with such speed he hardly saw which direction they were going, but he sensed they were heading toward the angry mass of emotion that lay at the heart of the city. He felt Maija’s fingers reaching for his and took her hand.
When she squeezed his hand, he asked, “What is it?”
“There’s a crowd ahead. The mob sounds angry,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
Though he couldn’t hear what she could, Anders felt the wave of mixed emotions growing as they neared the heart of Cedarbridge. Anders leaned forward, trying desperately to hear what she heard, but couldn’t. Gripping her hand tightly, he said, “I can’t hear it, but I can feel it. There’s anger in this city like I’ve never felt before. I had hoped the storm outside wouldn’t be a reflection of the goings-on inside,” he paused, looking over to see an elf step out of the entrance to a treehouse. The young male quickly pulled a red shirt over his traditional elven silks. They made eye contact as his head emerged from the scarlet cloth. The elf nodded to him, holding up his fist symbolically. In a flash, he darted out ahead of them, disappearing into low light. Anders released his grip on Maija’s hand and placed it on Lazuran’s hilt. “Be ready for anything,” he told her and looked back to the dragons walking behind them. “I don’t know what will happen when they see us arrive, but the crowd’s reaction could be violent.”
As they hurried through the shop-top area and closer to the Council’s headquarters, Anders could hear the shouts of the mob ahead. For a moment he wondered whether they should return to the safety of the training grounds, but so many elves had already seen him. He knew it was too late to leave undetected.
Approaching the gathering, Anders saw that elves wearing the traditional garb outnumbered those wearing red. He wondered about the significance of the red shirts. The swarming elves noisily argued among themselves. Anders couldn’t make out the meaning of their conversations, but their emotions were clear. He saw pushing and shouting among them, the mass of bodies extended out of sight filling the streets. Looking down between the rows of trees, Anders couldn’t see any clear path through the elves. The mob surrounded the court building, yet he had to speak with the Council.
Turning to Maija, he said, “We can fly over them to see what’s going on.”
Maija nodded.
Anders moved alongside Zahara and leaped onto his saddle. He nodded for Maija to follow before taking off. Zahara beat her wings several times to gain clearance over the elves and soared just above the treetops toward the heart of the crowd. Anders saw from this vantage point the swelling of elves around the courthouse steps. The elves moved and shouted over one another, but they remained so focused on their squabbles that they didn’t see the dragons flying overhead. Most weren’t wearing the red shirts, but looking down at them, he could see that the red shirts made up at least a third of the crowd. Flying lower, Anders felt the mass of elves turn their attention to the dragons and their riders.
Their first reaction appeared to be fear, followed by the raising of clenched fists by those wearing red. This was the reaction he had been expecting, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as he’d anticipated. Not all feared the dragons circling over the courthouse. The mixed reaction confused Anders, and he grew worried at what the mob might do as their shouts turned to silence. All eyes now watched Anders, Zahara, Maija and Raffa.
At the courthouse steps where he intended to land, Anders could see elves in armor, guarding the justice building. Atop the steps, cloaked elves stood in a half-circle around a lone elf wearing plate armor. He instantly identified the elves with cloaks as the High Council, but the soldiers and the lone elf on the steps reminded him of Nadir and the elven army.
Could it be? he wondered. Deciding to hold back on using his senses, Anders circled down with Zahara, hovering to land in an opening near the courthouse steps. The crowded space offered little landing area for two dragons, especially one of Raffa’s size, but the elves widened the gap for the dragons to land. Still astride Zahara, Anders grinned as he saw Nadir’s shocked, wide-eyed expression upon recognizing Anders and Zahara. The elf king’s gaze met Maija’s; his jaw dropped further when he recognized her and realized she was riding a large dragon.
Anders quickly climbed down and ran toward the king, so happy to see that he’d survived the battle. Grinning, he caught the elf in a brotherly embrace, hugging him in front of the stunned crowd.
“Anders,” Nadir said, holding him at arm’s length and eyeing him up and down. “It really is you, and Maija,” he said, stepping toward her as she too darted up the steps to catch him in an embrace.
“It’s good to see you made it back. Anders told me about the campaign,” she said.
Anders thoughts burned with questions about the battle’s outcome. Just as he was about to ask a cold voice cut in over his, “This is not the time or place for emotions to run wild.” Anders turned to see a tall elf clothed in High Council robes glaring angrily at them.
“You don’t know the circumstances of our meeting,” Nadir said defensively.
“And you don’t know the state of your own kingdom,” the Councilman scolded.
Anders felt the man’s words cut deep at Nadir’s core, the insult a blatant question of the king’s authority. He realized Nadir’s return wasn’t a welcome one. Rather it was one met with hostile governance and a fueled mob wanting answers.
“Nadir, you will come with us to discuss the fate of our kingdom,” the elf said, ushering the group of cloaked elves toward the courthouse doors.
Nadir inhaled deeply, assumed his kingly demeanor, and said, “Anders, we will do catch up after I’ve handled this problem. There is one thing you must do for me now, though.”
Anders wanted to know the outcome of the battle and what had happened to the dwarfs. He needed to know if Ivan was okay. Struggling to hold in his objection to Nadir leaving with the High Council, he first agreed, “Yes,” then blurted out, “but what of Ivan and the battle?”
Nadir clenched his jaw, narrowed his eyes and glared at the members of the High Council. Anders knew Nadir wanted to discuss the events as badly as he did, but his glance back at the shouting elves in the streets told Anders he didn’t have a choice. “I need you to go to my office, the one where we attempted to learn the secrets to the sapphires, and find that diagram you drew. I, unfortunately, need to deal with this problem first,” he motioned to the mob, then continued, “before we can talk. Just find the diagram and bring it to me. Its’ extremely important; Ivan’s life depends on it.”
Anders’ objections were silenced with that one statement. He nodded and motioned for Maija to follow him. He headed back to Zahara and climbed aboard once again. Before Nadir entered the court building, he called back to Anders, “I’ll wait for you here.”
Anders nodded and held tightly as Zahara took flight. He turned to make sure Raffa and Maija were close on their tail before steering toward Nadir’s treehouse. The building wasn’t far, but they couldn’t get there in a timely manner if they walked. The crowd of elves would’ve been too much for them to take on.
Landing not far from the edge of the mob, Anders climbed down and rushed to the door. He held it open for Maija as she ran in past him. As Anders closed the door, she asked, “What diagram are we looking for?”
They climbed the stairs to the office where Nadir, Natalia and Ivan had attempted to decipher the drawing on the piece of paper. “The one I told you about, from Merglan’s journal,” Anders explained.
“I thought you wanted to decipher the code for your sword? Why does Nadir think it will save Ivan’s life?” Maija asked.
“Learning the workings of these crystals could be the one sure thing we can do to reduce Merglan’s powers to within reason; it could level the playing field if we knew how to use them.” Anders saw her skeptical look and added, “By altering Merglan’s crystals, we could cast a similar spell, but on a larger scale and without all of the rage.”
