“Unfortunately, you’ve stumbled into a situation long in the making, which must now be resolved. Humans have slowly destroyed our realm, with no thought to who they might hurt. Wealth. Power. Greed. Things unknown to the other races. You find a piece of land, claim it for your own, banish everyone you can, and kill those stubborn enough to resist.”
“Your people want Dhugach?” Saris quickstepped to keep up.
Elf Boy snorted. “Of all the peoples I know, only your kind and the merfolk want sand, beaches, and rolling waves. The rest of us prefer forests and mountains.”
“Like Myrgren?”
“No. NotlikeMyrgren. Myrgren itself. Did you not feel the core of magic upon which your ancestors built their fortress? Magic calls to those who can wield it or whose lives depend on the wellspring of power. Your kind took the realm’s greatest magical resource for your own, something meant to be used and cared for by all. Ever wonder what happened to your father and the sorceress Nyanda?” The elf glanced back over his shoulder but didn’t wait for an answer. “The harder the magic tried to break free of their grasp, the harder they worked to keep it contained. The desire for more corrupted their hearts. Nyanda took countless lives in her quest for absolute control.”
Their guide disappeared behind a boulder. Piers, Jess, and Saris scuttled around to follow.
The elf continued, “Myrgren was never meant for humans. They lack the self-control to live there.”
Jess cried out and fell. “Shit. Fuck. Damn. Holy shit. Motherfuck…” She rocked from side to side, holding her ankle. “Vale!” she shrieked. “Come back!”
Vale? All this time, she’d known the elf’s name? Could Piers break the habit of calling him Elf Boy this late in the game? He darted toward Jess.
The el… Vale, beat him there, kneeling and hovering a hand over Jess’s leg. “May I, my lady?”
“If it’ll make me quit hurting, have at it,” Jess hissed from between gritted teeth.
Vale wrapped a very long-fingered hand over her injury, extending his other to Piers. “May I?”
Piers stared at the hand, shifted his gaze to Vale, on to Jess, and back to the hand, working Saris in there somewhere so she wouldn’t feel left out. “Excuse me?”
“Your hand. I have the knowledge to heal her, but not the power to heal one of your kind. May I borrow some of yours?”
Again, Piers turned his attention to Saris.
Saris nodded. “He’ll only take what he needs. Haven’t you been listening? His people aren’t power-hungry.”
“And you trust him?”
“Ido, you jerk!” Jess barked. “Now, help me! This shit hurts!”
Piers nodded, easing his hand toward Vale.
Vale’s skin tingled against Piers’ palm when the elf joined their hands. No more than a low-voltage sensation. Jess breathed a sigh of relief. Vale let go.
“That’s it?” Piers stared at his hand.
“You’re powerful,” Vale said. “You don’t even miss the magic, do you?”
Miss something Piers couldn’t even feel? “Not really.”
“Jessica, can you stand?” Vale bent, offering Jess his hand. Jessica? No one called her Jessica.
“I’ll try. Can you help me?” Jess? Playing damsel in distress? No odder than talking cats or flying gargoyles, Piers supposed.
Vale helped Jess to her feet, holding on longer than strictly necessary. Oh, she’d so get grief later. Never had Piers seen her act so smitten. Just because the guy wore pointed ears that he hadn’t bought on an Internet auction site?
Still, Vale owned a successful business, treated Jess with respect, looked out for her wellbeing, and still being a virgin at however old he was ruled him out as a womanizer. So far, Piers approved. Vale still bore watching, though. Jess had been hurt way too often.
“Not much farther now.” Jess’s injury gave Vale a reason to keep an arm around her waist.
The cave gradually lightened, the floor sloping upward. Daylight! Yes!
Even tired from running, Piers managed to put on a bit of steam toward the light. Oh, light. Glorious light. It seemed he’d been in darkness for days.