To all our dismay, we learned Emerlee had escaped in the morning.
"How did that happen? Wasn't she wearing the bracelets?" I asked as I angrily scarfed some of Danela's tarts, making crumbs that Dominic brushed away.
"I questioned the guards, and it appears she had a teleport device they must have missed. I have sent out some to try to retrieve her." He looked furious, and I felt sorry for the guards that messed up.
It took a couple of hours of travel, but we arrived at the city of Lars in the late afternoon. Because of the road conditions, the high winds, and our generally grumpy disposition, it had been a tiresome journey. The high winds made the caravan of cars whip on the road, and Luke took the time to lecture on more rules of Aleria, which made our travels seem longer. We took a few cars since my entourage (I definitely had an entourage now) was so large, and I wondered why he couldn't have driven in another car.
I stretched as I got out of the car, and my feet crunched in the snow as I walked around. Because cars weren't allowed in the city, we'd parked just outside along the main wall. We needed to pass through a gate to get inside, and tall Sidhe, dressed in sharp military garb, guarded the entrance. At Luke's appearance, they stood at attention to let us pass. One of the Sidhe guards gave him a letter, which Luke handed to me.
I took the letter from Luke as I passed the guard. He was staring at me with an intensity that made me shiver. His eyes looked like they had cataracts because they were a pale lavender shade with a pupil of a slightly darker shade. His ears were longer and sharper than average, as were his brows which slashed upwards in acute angles, giving a triangular effect with his ears. A nasty scar ran down the right side of his face from the corner of his narrow eye to the corner of his mouth, making his mouth lift into a permanent smirk.
I nodded at him in thanks for the letter, and he bowed at the waist, as did the other guard. After we passed, I asked Luke to tell me what happened to the guard.
"That is Eowyn; he was injured over 1400 years ago during the Battle of the Trees. It's rare to get a proposal from an ancient. You should feel flattered.
I turned my head to look back at him and saw that both guards were facing my way. "He doesn't look that old. Why?"
"He's from a race with older blood than the Sidhe, the Alfar," Luke said.
"Is he made from the Edentrees like the rest of you?"
"No, the Alfar are former angels that sided neither with God nor Satan and were cast to another plane in punishment. They are neither fallen nor ascended, which makes them neutral beings. They lost their wings when they fell. Eowyn was summoned by the Trees to help them fight in the Battle of the Trees. He was responsible for many of the victories leading to Duir's conquest."
"Oh..." I faced forward so I wouldn't trip on something. "Why would someone like that want me?"
Luke looked at me as if I had gone crazy. "Why wouldn't he?"
I looked at him with lips parted, entirely baffled by the question. A faint smile twitched on his lips, and he laid a hand on the top of my head. Tufts of affection floated from him.
Our walk had taken us to the center of the city. While we stood in the city's heart, I compared it to my home city of San Francisco. Similar to the city of my heart, there were many hills in the Lars, and it was bustling with many citizens, and prosperity oozed from its pores. There was a port at the edge of the city, making it a hub of commerce.
Unlike San Francisco, the city was so clean that I swore the streets shone in spots. Above us, a sheen of purple energy undulated between four towers with glowing orbs that rested on top of them. While I admired them, Luke pointed out that the towers were magical conductors of a sort that allowed technology in the city and kept the temperature warmer than the surrounding environment of ice and snow. I had been so perplexed by the Alfar's attention that I hadn't even noticed that I was getting too warm in my coat. I took it off as I admired the colors of the buildings in white, light blue, and silver. It was evident that the major race within the city was the Sidhe because they were everywhere.
Lars was an impressive merging of modern human technology, magic, and medieval buildings and dress. Above us skimmed men and women going about chores on silver disks with handles that made them function like scooters. Between the spires and along the rooftops, diminutive winged men car wearing gossamer outfits and carrying letters flitted into large, boxy entries. Large, warrior-like centaurs clopped down the road ridden by important-looking ladies. The centaurs carried heavy spears in their hands.
I could see the difference in power between the sexes much more clearly than at the party. Women mostly veiled themselves, and most had a man (or had men) attending to them. Very few were unveiled, and those that were seemed to be slaves or servants as they would duck out of the way of those more important. Those who were not servants wore fine clothes and strode down the streets with some grand purpose, a trail of men following behind them. Shop owners and government officials were women, it seemed, since they were the only gender wearing badges. Men who held any power appeared to be from noble houses or had a high rank in the military. Even though they might have had influence, they would defer to any women that they passed.
Although this city seemed so orderly and peaceful, I wanted the crazy hustle of SF back. I liked that egalitarian sense of democracy there. When we were nearly at the temple, a small, goat-horned man dressed plainly in a homespun tunic had the unfortunate accident of getting in the path of an official woman. She kicked him out of the way, and he went sprawling. Then, he cringed in a ball and held up a hand in entreaty. She walked by as though nothing had happened. I stopped and turned towards the man, worried that she had injured him.
"Do not," Luke said.
"What do you mean, 'do not'?? She kicked him very hard!"
He bowed before me, blocking my way.
"What's the deal, Luke?" My brow wrinkled with exasperation.
"If you help that man, My Lady, you will insult the official that passed by. She may decide to challenge you to a duel, and you might lose."
"Way to instill confidence, Luke." I looked over his shoulder at the man on the ground.
A few other poorly dressed men had already gathered around the man and were helping him into a building. I could hear a woman shouting at him from inside.
I clenched my fists as I struggled with my desire to march right in there and rescue the poor guy. "Why is it that there never can be a balance around here? Isn't that what true purity is?" I glanced around for bones to give that lady who kicked him a scare. She wouldn't know it was me.
A nearby chicken carcass rose and hurtled towards the noblewoman who was continuing down the street. A hand reached around me and tugged me into a hard chest. The carcass fell with a clatter a few feet from the woman who turned to see what had happened. When she saw the carcass at her feet, she shouted at the men. That brought out their mistress, who started to beat them more.
"Let me go," I muttered at Luis as I turned towards the woman who was abusing those men. I was about to yell at her, but his other hand went over my mouth.
"You're not helping, Matt. Leave it for now." Luis said. He was looking towards the building like he was about to throw hands as well.
As we moved on, Luis put his arm around me so he could whisper in my ear. "Matt, what you did back there was stupid."
My jaw jutted forward. "Why?"
"In a place that values purity over all, how would they view a necromancer like you?"
"Dude..." Adrian glared at Luis, overhearing what he'd said.
I shook Luis off, "I'm not a necromancer!"
"You can control dead things, Matt. What do you think they call a person like that?"
I stomped ahead of them, refusing to answer. I was not a necromancer!
Ciaran strolled forward alongside me and patted my arm. "Don't mind Puppy, Princess. He wants to take back what he thinks belongs to him. I, for one, would have loved to see that carcass hit her. Shall I find a dirty pail of water to dump on her?"
I smirked at Ciaran's persistent nickname for Luis, then I grimaced. "Maybe he's right, though. I'm always messing things up."
"Only you can decide your worth, Princess. Don't let Puppy be your god."
As his words sank into me, Ciaran said, "If you'd like something to cheer you up, I've been busy doing calls, and I think I've contrived a way for you to get that wishing coin by having it be the goal of your quest. Keep your fingers crossed."
"I thought you said the wishing coin was in the underworld. How's that supposed to cheer me up?"
"I know how much you like a challenge," he said with a smirk.
After a mile-long walk, we finally reached the temple. The temple was impressive, with twelve soaring spires that pierced the purple-colored sky above. It was made of a gleaming crystal with many windows dotting the walls, all covered in silver, white, and blue stained glass. A long line of veil-covered priestesses wearing shimmering silver robes lined the front of the temple. They were holding wicked-looking spears that shone with a brilliant light. Even though I'd initially thought the guards at the city gates were pretty terrifying, these faceless ladies eclipsed them.
The priestess Valenia was waiting for us on the steps of the temple. Regina and Marisol had already arrived and, if I could guess from Valenia's expression, we were late.
"Thank you for joining us, Elect Madeline." she glared down her nose at me. "Elect Marisol and Elect Regina have already received their tasks."
I saw that each woman was holding a small velvet bag in their hands. Valenia held out one for me, which I took.
"Keep the bags safe, as you will need them for the vaadin. They contain golden acorns from our goddess. If you lose them, find alternate means to return to the temple in time.
"Today, you all will train on our grounds. I have given each of you your area to practice. I suggest you do the practice." She gave me a pointed look, and I smirked.
Valenia walked back up the hundreds of steps that led to the temple, and I opened the sack. On top of twenty golden acorns was a folded piece of paper. When I went to reach for it, I dumped out the contents of the bag and promptly spilled all the acorns onto the floor.
Regina and Marisol laughed at me, and I saluted them mockingly.
While Dominic helped me pick up the acorns as I unfolded the paper. I read our quest to my group.
"You will enter the lands of the Betwixt and take the path to the underworld. In the underworld, you will seek the Emperor of Tears and gain passage to climb Mount Dragonis. On Mount Dragonis, you'll find the coin in a shrine to the Edentrees. Twelve guardians keep the coin safe. "
There was a map drawn underneath. I lowered the paper and gave my group a bright smile. "Oh, well, that's not hard at all, is it?"
Then I smacked Ciaran on the shoulder. Twice.
"Ouch! I didn't say it would be easy, only that I'd finagled it for you."
"Thanks a lot. How are we supposed to fight guardians and persuade men with a title like 'The Emperor of Tears'? Huh??" I waved my hands around. "How are we supposed to climb gigantic mountains with ominous-sounding names like 'Dargonis'??"
I threw the paper on the ground and stomped on it. This was highly amusing to Regina and Marisol, who doubled over with laughter.
"Oh, no! Dear cousin! It seems your quest is not to your liking!" Regina crowed.
"Poor dear!" Marisol tutted as she shook her head
After they finished mocking me, Regina and Marisol walked down the steps, still laughing. They had to pause halfway because they'd grown so weak with mirth. They hugged each other as they continued to quiver with amusement.
"Yeah, yeah!" I called down to them, "Real funny stuff. Yuck it up! I'll be taking first place!"
"Would you bet on that?" Regina called up to me.
Would I bet on that? Would I bet on that! Of course, I'd bet on that! I never backed down from a challenge! "Su —"
A hand clapped over my mouth. Luis. "We'll pass."
"Hmmm... I think your Lady was going to say something else. It's unseemly not to let her speak!" Marisol shouted.
I should mention here that I have quite a few character flaws, one of them being small dog syndrome. It made any challenge to my abilities a physical pain to me. Seriously, it might have been fatal if Marisol had added a 'bawk bawk bacawk!' to the end of her statement. I'm happy that I have friends that prevent me from being an idiot.
Luis' hand kept firmly in place, even though I tried to pry it off.
Regina twirled her hair as she looked at us. "I guess she is a coward. Such a pity, Marisol" She winked at Ciaran.
With many muffled obscenities coming from me, the two girls disappeared down the street.
"You almost caused a terrible kerfuffle there, Princess." Ciaran fluffed my veil, and I smacked his hand.