When Elves Die : Episode One Read Online Free PDF Page B

stem for support. Zanfire gazed at the gravesite for several moments. He closed his eyes and prayed to Pegasin to help divine his words. Everyone in the camp stood around in silence, patiently waiting for the cleric to speak. Thisrath handed out candles to the group. Walice followed, lighting each one. “ Blood spills from good elves and bad,” Zanfire said. “That's what we usually say in times like this. But Gurkain was much more than a good elf. He was so much more than mere words could describe. He was the epitome of what it meant to be a strong elf. And friend. He believed in me when no one else did. He stood by me, he encouraged me and he meant more to me than I could ever mean to him.” Zanfire looked over at Stoella. Despite her youth the little girl had eyes that sparkled with intelligence and understanding. “ The book of Arcanscape tells us of a palace. A palace where elves become angels and dance under rainbows. And they wait for us to join them in paradise.” Both Stoella and her mother remained at the gravesite long after everyone else dispersed. Zanfire watched them from his tent opening. The mother's face contorted in grief. The daughter looked on without expression. He drank deep from his bottle and waited for the buzz. The tickle to his brain that would make his melancholy go away. And corrode his gifts. Zanfire heard footsteps and saw Carella walking toward him with Iangold. He saw that Iangold was looking at the bottle in his hand with self-righteous contempt. “ We're about a half day away from Carratris,” he said to them, returning his attention to the grieving mother and daughter. “I'll meet with Nerasora. We have had our differences in the past but she can be reasoned with. The elves in that village will be worthy allies.” Gurkain's wife wailed in the distance. Zanfire took another long swig from his bottle. The need to keep his nerves from jangling now trumped his need to keep his addiction hidden. “ Quit blaming yourself,” Carella said. “ I should have gotten there sooner,” Zanfire said. “ Quit blaming himself?” Iangold scoffed. “How about quit drinking?”
“I'm not a quitter,” said Zanfire. The cleric got up out of his tent and led the couple over to where the killing took place. Flies buzzed around the headless torso of the vampire elf. “ Killtooths,” Iangold said. “They are after Carella. If they get her in the middle of the forest, she's berries for the picking. Who knows how many more of these are out there? We should have kept her in the castle.” Carella shot Iangold an icy stare. “ I am not going to be kept anywhere,” she said. “ Do you see this?” Iangold seethed as he picked up the head of the Killtooth. He opened the jaw and showed her the fangs. “These..things...are out for blood. Your blood. They will stop at nothing. There's a whole dark world out there, Carella.” The princess turned her back on him. Iangold pantomimed the Killtooth's jaw as if it were biting in to something. “They want to kill you. Like they killed Gurkain.” Zanfire grabbed the head out of Iangold's hands. He threw it to the ground and crushed it under the heel of his boot. Stomping on it again and again, the skull shattered into fragments. Iangold looked at Zanfire with contempt. Then he turned to Carella. “This old drunk cannot protect you anymore than he did Gurkain.” Zanfire took another sip from his bottle, his hand trembling as he looked down at the smashed skull of the Killtooth. “ Do not listen to what he says,” Carella caressed Zanfire's arm. “ I give up,” Iangold said, walking away. “ If you want to go back with him, I will understand,” Zanfire said. “ I finished the final book of Arcanscape.” Carella watched as Iangold sulked away. “It prophecizes that the entire elven race...All of the tribes. Die off. We become extinct. Exterminated.” Zanfire nodded his head. “Only a few people have been allowed to read those passages. But you