Matt Forbeck - Marked for Death

Kandler could tell by her tone that she feared the worst. He shook his head. “I thought she might be here.”

Sir Deothen and the three other knights arrived as Kandler spoke. “When we arrived, the vampires withdrew,” the senior knight said. “They were content to let their undead underlings soften us up first, but such creatures could not stand long against the power of the Silver Flame.”

Kandler looked around. The battle was over. The zombies either lay still or had fled. The survivors of Mardakine crept from the shadows to unite around the light of the pyre. In the distance, a pair of voices-human voices-shouted in agony.

Pradak knelt on the ground, cradling his mother’s body as he shook with tears. Kandler wanted to lend the boy some comfort, but he had his own tragedy to prevent yet.

“Have you seen Esprл?” Kandler asked the knights. “My daughter?”

Deothen shook his head gravely. “Find the wounded and tend to them,” Deothen told the other knights. “I must discuss with the justicar what will happen next.”

The knights nodded and padded off to execute their orders. Kandler saw Sallah stop near the weeping Pradak for a moment, but she continued on. There were others who needed her help more.

Kandler ignored Deothen for the moment. If the knight didn’t know where Esprл was, Kandler didn’t care to talk with him. He knew he didn’t have much time. He shaded his eyes from the firelight and peered into the darkness. “Burch!” he shouted.

The shifter appeared from behind a window set in a roof across the square. “Here, boss!” He waved his crossbow at the justicar.

Kandler’s heart leaped. If anyone could have seen Esprл here, it would have been the sharp-eyed shifter. “Did you see Esprл?”

Burch shook his head. “Not a wink. Thought you’d find her at home.”

Kandler felt ill. Perhaps he’d made a horrible mistake leaving the changeling alive. Maybe she’d lied to him about the telepathic link. He didn’t know what to think. “Rislinto?” he called. “Are you still out there?”

“Aye.” The blacksmith staggered around from the other side of the fire. He pressed his massive hand against his left leg, which bled through his fingers.

“Allow me,” Deothen said to Rislinto. The blacksmith nodded his permission and removed his hand. The gash oozed blood.

“Where’s Esprл?” Kandler asked as Deothen ministered to Rislinto’s leg. The knight lay his hands on the wound and muttered a quick but heartfelt prayer. The skin and flesh knit back together under the soft glow that emanated between Deothen’s fingers.

“Dunno,” Rislinto said. “Haven’t seen her.”

“Not the whole time?” Kandler asked. “Achangeling I met told me a vampire was holding her hostage here.”

Rislinto’s deep, humorless laugh rumbled through the square. “You trusted something a changeling told you?”

Ice water ran through Kandler’s gut. “Damn, damn, damn!” He turned and raced back to his house.

“It’s all right, dear,” Te’oma said as she stepped into Kandler’s bedroom. “You can come out now.” The changeling was bruised from head to toe, but appearances meant nothing to one as her. She used her shapeshifting powers to cover them up. To those who saw her, she would look as good as new, except she would look nothing like herself.

“Are you all right?” Esprл said as emerged from Kandler’s wardrobe. The girl’s blonde hair shimmered in the light streaming from the main room into the bedchamber. Her face was red as if she’d been crying-or at least trying not to. “I heard fighting.”

“More of those creatures,” Te’oma said. “Your father took care of them, but we have to leave now.”

“Kandler? He’s not my real father, you know.”

Te’oma nodded as she escorted the girl into the main room. In the light, Esprл saw the same beautiful, dark-haired elf who had shoved her into the wardrobe when they’d heard someone prowling around outside.

“I know. Your father was a fine elf. We all miss him.”

Esprл frowned. “I don’t remember him. He died before I was born.”

“I’m sure he’d be as proud of you as I am.” Te’oma gave the girl a hug, even though the effort sent blazing pain through her cracked ribs. She guided Esprл through the main room and out onto the front porch. As she went, she kept her body between the girl and the body lying against the main room’s rear wall. Once outside, she relaxed, but it didn’t last long.

“Aunt Arnaya?” Esprл asked. “Where’s Norra?” Te’oma heard fear creeping into the girl’s voice. She had to act quickly or the girl would begin to panic.

The changeling-elf sat the girl down on the porch next to her and wrapped her arm around her. A breeze carried a chill through the air, ruffling their hair like dark and light flags behind them. The girl shivered and snuggled closer to the changeling.

“We must leave soon,” the changeling said.

“How soon?”

“Tonight. Horrible things are happening in town, and we have little time to waste.” Te’oma wished that the vampires would hurry up and come back. She knew the justicar wouldn’t be fooled by her little lie for long.

Esprл thought about that for a while. “Is Valenar a long way?”

“It’s a safe ways away. You’ll love it there. You’ll be with family again.” Te’oma looked down at the girl as she spoke. The elf child’s naive nature was charming, and for a moment the changeling wondered how her life might have been different if she’d decided to pursue motherhood instead of… this. The thought unsettled her, but it evaporated when she hugged the child closer.

“What about Kandler?” Esprл looked up at Te’oma. “Isn’t he coming with us?”

The changeling frowned at the thought of the justicar. “His place is here. His job is here.”

Esprл smiled for a moment, then frowned again. “But won’t Kandler at least say good-bye?”

“Not tonight, dear,” Te’oma said. Lies came easily to her. As a changeling, most of her life was a series of lies as she changed herself about to look like something she really wasn’t. Any pangs of conscience she might have felt over this had been buried by the lies long ago. “He asked me to start out with you right away. He said he’d catch up for good-byes soon. He wants to make sure you’re safe and happy in your new home. But he has work here tonight. We must leave him to it.”

Esprл smiled and hugged the changeling, who winced at the pain but kept silent. “I’m so happy yon finally came. Aunt Arnaya.”

“I am too.” Te’oma stroked Esprл’s long blonde hair.

“You have her? Excellent.”

At the sound of the voice, Esprл jumped into Te’oma’s lap, and the changeling yelped in pain.

A man stood nearby, surrounded in mist. He was tall and thin with high, wide cheekbones set in a gaunt, sculpted face. His skin was the color of the crater floor, and something dark dribbled from his chin. He wore his long, shiny black hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. His eyes glowed like dying coals.

Esprл screamed. She clutched at the changeling like a drowning dwarf.

“Look at me,” the figure said. “Look at me!”

Esprл buried her head in the changeling’s arms and continued to scream. As she wailed, she kept her eyes closed tight and kicked out with her feet.

Te’oma winced in pain as the child held on to her with all her might. She tried to pull herself free from the girl, but it proved impossible. She shot the man an angry look but kept her tongue.

The man snatched Esprл’s legs with one hand and grabbed her head with the other. He pulled her away from Te’oma and held her up before him like a prize fish just pulled from the sea. She struggled against his iron grip, but he forced her face around to point at him. “Look at me,” he said quietly.