Svenden had had plenty of practice running in the woods, from his youth in the woods of Thalowy and his service with the king's army, so the underbrush and the tree trunks and the fallen logs didn't concern him. But he knew even he couldn't match the elemental's supernatural pace through these familiar woods.
Not with his human legs.
As the elemental pulled away from him, his mind went to the ring on his index finger. It suddenly felt like it was biting into his skin, and the tingle of magic went up and down his arm. He could just remove it now, and make this chase easier on himself. No one would see.
But, he shook it off. It wouldn't work: he didn't have enough time.
He broke through the last patch of brush at the edge of the forest, and stopped suddenly as his eyes caught sight of the elemental, standing still only a few dozen paces ahead, with another person standing beyond it.
There were purple lights dancing in the air, blending in with the oranges and yellows of the elemental, and the colors were already beginning to swirl around each other. The elemental seemed to rise upward into a pillar as the purple encircled it. The flame slowly took on a humanoid form, with long tongues of flame forming hair and a long, billowing dress made out of fire.
Melser's dancing girl?
"What the...?" Svenden said in surprise as the maelstrom of purple magic overtook the elemental. He tried to look past the elemental, to the person standing beyond it. "Leofric?" he guessed.
The person looked up in surprise at the voice, and Svenden could immediately tell that it wasn't Leofric Banin. This was an older man, with graying hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a weather-worn face with soft, gray eyes and high, sharp cheekbones. He was draped in a brown cloak and had a satchel over one shoulder.
"Oh, hello there," the man said casually, smiling warmly as the elemental began melting into the purple storm.
Callyndia came around the corner then, off to Svenden's right, and she pulled up suddenly, to watch as the purple coils began to recede towards the ground. "Wait!" she called to the strange man, "Stop it!"
The man turned to her and smiled kindly. "It's far too late to stop it now," he said. At that point, Svenden noticed that the man was holding out a chunk of glossy black rock between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, and the purple light was actually being pulled into the rock.
"She's not a rogue elemental!" Callyndia objected, "You can't just—"
"Oh, I know very well what it is," the man cut her off as the last bits of purple magic vanished into his stone. He held it up to look at it, and Svenden could see a vague purplish glow inside it. "Though I object to your use of the pronoun 'she'. Disgraceful, what that boy has done with my little pet. It was not his decision to make."
"You're Abdus Garrafey," Callyndia said.
Svenden recognized the name of Leofric's old mentor, but he didn't understand the connections that Callyndia was drawing. And, he'd assumed Master Garrafey was dead.
"And you're Callyndia Sablesong," the old man responded, "The nymph's daughter." He chuckled once, derisively.
"What are you doing with her?" Callyndia asked.
"I told you about those pronouns, child," he said as he tucked the stone into his pocket, "Just because a lonely boy makes it look like a pretty girl, does not make it a pretty girl. It is an elemental, a creature of fire. Of my own creation, by the way. It belongs to me."
"So, you're the guy who taught Leofric the dust ritual?" Svenden asked.
"Ah, the simpleton is all caught up," Abdus said, "Tell Leofric I said hello."
There was a sound of heavy breathing and feet pounding behind them, and Abdus cocked his head slightly. "Well," he said, "It looks like I'll get a chance to say it myself."
A moment later, Leofric burst onto the scene behind Callyndia, pulling up short and breathing heavily. He took a moment to take in the scene. "Master Garrafey!" he said in shock, "Wha...? You're..." He frowned and looked around himself. "Where's Kithana?"
Abdus raised his eyebrows and looked downwards. "Is that what you're calling it now?" he asked, "I knew I should have gotten you out of the library a bit more often."
Svenden furrowed his brows and looked at Leofric in surprise as a few pieces of the puzzle fell into place. "So, that was Kithana?" he asked incredulously, "She's not just an illusion?"
"I was wrong," Abdus said mildly, "Now he's all caught up."
"Where is she?" Leofric asked, apparently ignoring Svenden.
Abdus gave him a thin smile. "Don't worry," he said, "Bishnakshara is back where it should be. And it's time for me to be getting back to where I should be. It's good to see you, Leofric. I'm sure the wildfire season went as well as could be expected without me, yes?"
"Wait, no!" Leofric said, "Where is she?"
"He's got her in a stone," Callyndia said, "What are you going to do with her?"
"I don't owe you an explanation," Abdus said, "The elemental is my property, and I need it for my own purposes. That's all you need to know."
"You can't just take her like this!" Callyndia said, "What if she doesn't want to go?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, it came running right to me, didn't it?" he asked, "You saw it."
Callyndia narrowed her eyes. "I know a lot about magic that manipulates and controls people," she said quietly, with a vague threat in her voice, "So that's not going to convince me of anything. Let her go!"
A little breeze welled up around Callyndia, tossing her braided hair dramatically. Svenden could feel the ember in his heart flare, and he surmised that the invisible charm web was taking shape around her.
Abdus Garrafey merely chuckled. "Oh, fairy magic!" he said dismissively, "Your mother tried the same thing. Give it up, little girl: your fairy tricks are meaningless to me."
"What about my mother?" Callyndia asked viciously.
"An arrogant woman, Alloria Rosa," he said, "Not all men are as compliant as she thinks. She learned it the hard way. All nymphs are worthless, frivolous creatures, and I've no patience for your silly, girlish games."
He flicked his hand suddenly, and Callyndia stumbled backward as if the ground had been momentarily shifted beneath her. She gasped in surprise as she stumbled, but righted herself before she fell completely.
In a flash, Svenden had three arrows between his knuckles, and the first one was nocked to his bow, but not yet pointed at Abdus. "Sir," he called out in his most authoritative voice, "That's no way to treat a lady."
Abdus regarded him haughtily for a second, as if sizing him up. "I assure you, young man," he said, "That is not a lady. It is a honey trap, a monster disguised in a pretty package designed only to manipulate foolish boys and lead them to ruin. You would be well advised to stay away from her."
Svenden felt anger rising up in his chest, and he began to raise his bow and draw it back. But then, he realized that the anger was emerging from the ember in his heart, and he hesitated. He glanced in Callyndia's direction, and he could see the same anger on her tear-streaked face.
Was he feeling her anger?
"Master Garrafey!" Leofric said, "Why are you doing this?"
"Enough questions, boy!" the old wizard said, as thin threads of visible magic began spinning around him in wobbly loops, dancing in vaguely flame-like patterns, "You've asked enough, but I've taught you all I can, and I'm afraid I don't see you progressing much beyond your current level. I've no time to waste on you: I have bigger things to accomplish. But, good luck with the wildfires. And in the future, don't try looking for love in the fireplace. You should find a nice, human girl and settle down. If you absolutely must. Good-bye."
"Don't leave me!" Leofric said.
But the tendrils of magic around Abdus Garrafey suddenly burst into a massive wave of fire that spread out rapidly, accompanied by a mighty blast of wind that bowed the grasses and trees over, and whipped up the hillsides.
Svenden felt his feet rise off the ground, felt himself fly backward and slam into something hard. Then everything went black.
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And now I finally have a villain in the story! Thanks for reading Chapter 14: I hope you've enjoyed the relationship drama, and that you're now ready to stick with me as the adventure starts to take shape around my two troubled couples.