The Elf Thief

Chapter 45: The Calling of War

            “Where are you going?”

He did not look back as he said, “I am going to speak to father. I am going to tell him that the war has begun.”

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            In Fay’s Forest, the elves were preparing for a day raid. Cormack stopped sharpening his sword for a moment to hold the blade up and get a better look at it. The sun glinted off the cold metal, sending patterns of light on his face. Glancing over, he saw Jinner stringing up his bow and Tatiana shooting arrows into a nearby tree. The forest was quiet; the only sound was the birds’ songs from the treetops.

            Standing, Cormack walked towards his friends. “Ready to skin some Quarries?” he asked, a slight smile on his face.

            “Are we ever not ready?” Tatiana shot back. Jiner just stayed silent.

            Letting out a sigh, Cormack clasped the dark-skinned elf’s back. The poor elf had not been the same since Molko had died. And when Sonya disappeared…well, that seemed to push Jiner off the edge. He rarely spoke and when he did, his voice was full of bitterness and anger.

            Suddenly, a young elf crashed through the trees. Twigs and leaves were stuck in her blonde hair and her elf-green eyes were wide as she rushed towards Cormack in the middle of the camp.

            “Kitha!” Cormack scolded as she crashed into him. He picked her up in his arms before continuing, “If you continue crashing through the forest like that you’ll bring every Quarrie down on our camp.”

            Eyes still as big as the moon, Kitha replied, “It doesn’t matter anymore!” Wriggling out of his arms, the young elf grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a clearing. Jiner and Tatiana were quick to follow.

            “Look! Look!” the blonde elf all but shouted, pointing up in the sky.

            Flying over them were huge winged lions…manticores. Slowly, they began circling down towards the clearing.

            Stumbling backwards, Cormack yelled, “Archers! Get ready for some new fur coats!”

            Elves had come out of their tents, bows ready, and they pointed their arrows up towards the descending manticores. “Ready!” Cormack yelled, “Aim.”

            “Wait!”

            Pausing, Cormack looked over to see Jiner squinting up at the sky. Raising an arm, the elf pointed and yelled joyfully, “It’s Sonya!”

            Moments later, the first manticore crashed into the clearing and a black-haired elf leapt off. Rushing forward, the friends all but tackled Sonya in a giant hug. As they all laughed, the other manticores began to land in the clearing.

            “We thought you were dead!” Tatiana exclaimed. Tears were filling her elf-green eyes as she looked at her long lost friend.

            Grinning, Sonya three her arms out wide and said, “Here I am! Alive and well, and as you can see, I brought a few friends along. There will be more coming soon.”

            “More!” Cormack exclaimed looking at the manticore.

            Sonya nodded. “Fay, humans, and maybe even some dwarves,” she paused. “But the dwarves were quite stubborn. They may end up not coming.”

            “So that’s where you were all this time,” Jiner said in realization. “Finding allies for us.”

            Soberly, Sonya nodded. “We’ve traveled the land, gaining friends and enemies. We’ve fought ancient creatures, encountered spirits from the Era of Dusk and even acquired some powerful weapons, weapons that can kill the King.”

            Cormack jerked around and looked at her. “We?” he asked slowly.

            Stepping to the side, Sonya revealed a boy about eighteen years old with brown hair and grey eyes. He hopped off the manticore he was riding and looked at the elves.

            “We,” Sonya acknowledged. “Meet Dearekk. Half-elf, son of Kezek, Blade-Bearer, Reaper of the Cursed, Child of the Sun, Seeker of the Ruined and Rebel Prince.”

            Dearekk looked away, almost in embarrassment.

            Walking forward, Sonya moved towards the tents. “Come on,” she said. “The war has begun.”

(A/N Okie dokey. We are reaching the last leg of this book. Picture on the side is of Intriok, the Seer’s older brother. Video is a song called Blizkrieg by Audiomachine. Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Remember to vote and comment! Since school is starting, Updates will be farther apart. But I refuse to put this on hold! #thewarhasbegun #letsdothis That’s about it!

~*~*~Ninja Out~*~*~)