DESTRUCTIVE MYTH

Drathis looked up at her, she was real, so very real, and he kept thinking it was a dream he would wake up from. How could he have found another of his kind so easily, it was impossible was it not? Dimas possessed such magic to manipulate form, could this woman not just be a perfect craft of her deception? Her memories though were too spot on.

“Drathis? Are you ok?”

Blinking with a deep frown, he pulled himself back to the present, her hand was on his knee, he hadn’t even felt it.

“Yes, fine,” He cleared his throat taking another sip of cider.

Drathis had pushed himself up with both arms getting out the hot spring looking back, catching Sinira sneaking a peek, he had smiled to himself with satisfaction. She had been trying so hard to pretend the view had her full attention, but he had felt her eyes, had secretly wanted her to watch him even after telling her to turn around. She had been in shock to him even suggesting she would look at him, he had guessed otherwise. He preferred it actually, which made wanting her easier, knowing she snuck more than one sneak while he had pulled his clothing on over his wet body.

After finding Galaxy, he had pulled a bag out with a spare pair of clothing he had purchased for himself, just in case he ended up covered with some random animals’ blood, or dragged into a freezing river again. She had almost drowned in the clothing after abandoning her ruined dress, but leather pants on her, looked good.

He had been persistent in heading north through the night, but she had fought him again, demanding they stay by the pools for the warmth. Against his better judgment, he had given in, and she had happily tied her braids again making herself seem as human as possible, waltzing up to the family that had been so very weary of him. With her charms and a bit of his stolen Avon coin, she had managed to secure them a place around their camp for the night.

The family had mostly kept to themselves turning in early for the night, leaving them to sit around their fire. They had been gracious enough to share their meal, he had been hungry but Sinira had eaten them out. Now sitting around the fire listening to the snores of the family he threw a piece of bread he had left to the family’s guard dog; it hadn’t moved from the front of their tent. It looked down at the bread, sniffed toward it then ignored it, returning to its seated spot Infront of the tent, watching them.

“Smart dog.” He nodded towards it. Sinira pulled away from his knee and the change of subject, she looked at the thick fur-covered dog, then back at him.

“Since we dressed you have hardly said a word.” She said softly looking back down at her hot cider, looked up to him taking another sip of his, watching her over the brim of his mug, the firelight dancing in his inhuman eyes.

“I guess I’m still in denial.” A small smirk played at his lips.

“Didn’t expect to find more of us?” she smiled.

“Not so easily no.”

“Still unsure what side I’m on huh?”

“Was actually wondering why you came after me instead of my brother, you said yourself you thought I was dead.”

“You were the mystery I couldn’t place, I had to find out who you were, especially after hinting to the fact that you were related to him.”

“So now that your curiosity is sated, why not return to Ashleigh or Galaleiath, why join me?”

“You think Galaleiath and I are close?”

“Did you two not stay in the same castle for the past several years?”

“Yes,” She frowned not fond of the direction this was going, “Ask it,”

“Ask what?”

“If Galaleiath and I were ever intimate.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You were thinking it.” She snapped straightening her spine. He looked at her cocking his head slightly to the side studying her offended posture.

“No, I was actually wondering if he knew your identity, why would I want to know who you been with?” He put the mug down crossing his arms watching her, she looked down at her hands, but by the way her shoulders slumped he guessed something had happened to make her jump to conclusions like that. He wasn’t well versed in asking what was wrong or how to deal with such situations, he had been alone in his cell and expected to be alone along the road. One thing he did know was how complicated women could be.

“Where you intimate with him?” Perhaps asking right out the fears she faced would help. She shot him a look going even more rigid, if it was possible.

“That’s none of your business!”

“You brought it up!”

“Who I am or am not with has nothing to do with you!”

“Only your allegiance is my business, who you lay with, you can keep to yourself.”

“I am not some common whore!” She snapped jumping to her feet in protest.

“I never said you were.” He stood up looking down at her

“What are you trying to say?”

“Why do you want to join me on the road instead of going back to your life? Why choose me over others you have known longer?” He asked going rigid himself now

“There is nothing left for me back there.” She answered quickly, too quickly.

“Lier,” He snarled “You and Ashleigh spoke as if you had been lifelong friends, where ever she was running to, I’m sure she would have taken you with.” He started to pace around the fire, “Sinira, speak the truth or this is where we part ways.”

Sighing she sat back down looking into the fire a long moment.

“Ashleigh and I have been together since she was a little girl, my parents,” She stopped trying to find the right words. “My parents and I fled to as far south as we could go, which just so happened to be Avon, the richest of the rich, you should see that kingdom, it's richer than it needs to be. Anyways, there we camouflage ourselves to fit into society, my mother opened her own shop calling herself a healer, it was the perfect cover for her magic. My father with his talents in war joined the Avon army, we were happy, we were content for many years, till people started to notice we weren’t aging like the rest of them. My mother was called a witch and her shop was raided, she grabbed me and we hid till father came home.” She stopped taking a sip of her cider again, the taste of the hot apples and natural flavors savoring in her mouth. Drathis stood still on the other side of the fire listening to her story, intently. “Since the war you see, my father had felt like a traitor, having had abandoned the defense to keep us safe, get us out. And then with the humans turning on us again, he decided it was time for us to go back home. We had spoken about returning to Altahim almost every day since leaving, just waiting for the right time. Word spread rapidly through Avon of us being immortal creatures, cursed witches who had sold our souls for eternal life, our home was torched and we had fled. Thankfully my parents had made a few high-ranked friends, one of them being Ashleigh’s family, they hid us while the kingdom was shut down and never questioned us. My father and mother decided the best for my well-being was to stay hidden as their first daughter's handmaiden, while they left to secure our future. They left me with Ashleigh promising to come back to fetch me once they had entered Altahim and found out who was left, what was left.”

Drathis watched her face fall with hurt, he clenched his fists unsure what to say, it was evident her parents had not come back. “Did you ever hear from them again?”

“Not even a letter.” She looked up at him then, the hurt still raw in her eyes, “I do not believe they are gone; I refuse to believe they have been killed or captured.”

“What do you believe?”

“That they returned to Altahim, they were the only ones that remembered where it was, and somehow something is blocking them from returning. That is why after years of pretending to be Ashleigh’s handmaiden, years of research, and tracking down all I can find relating to Altahim I found you.”

He raised a single eyebrow at her in question.

“We have the same vision, we both want what once was, we both want to find our home that has been wiped off every single map.” She voiced her thoughts taking on a sour note towards the end. “I am not strong enough to go on my own, yes I am a formidable force alone, but my parents were so much more together than I could ever be, and I don’t know what truly happened.”

“Formidable huh?” He gave her a mocking smile easing the tension slightly in her.

“Yes,” She smiled back at him, “Oh you have seen nothing yet, I have much more to offer than electrifying you, that’s just the basics.”

“I'm sure you do,” He watched her fingers curl with excitement, she was powerful he’d give her that, he had felt it radiating from within her the other night fighting off the Black Maser shifters, which just brought his thoughts back to the amount of distance they had put between them, he looked from the fire to Galaxy laying nearby and wondered how many more hours of rest would she need before they could hit the road.

“Why don’t you ever use your powers?”

He looked back at her having forgotten their conversation his mind wanting to be north, he sighed walking back around the fire to take a seat again near her.

“I spent the most part of earlier answering your questions, I still have a few more for you first.”

“Fair enough.”

“Were you followed here at all?”

“No, I am certain.”

“And Ashleigh just let you go to chase down a man you hardly knew the name of?”

“I had a gut feeling about you, call it intuition. Ashleigh has known for many years who and what I am keeping our secret safe, my mother had healed her family more than once of illness and we are in each other’s eternal debt. She knew someday I would leave to find my family; you were the opportunity I was waiting for.”

Drathis nodded slowly, “I have one last question.”

“Sure,”

“Why didn’t you ask my brother?”

A high-pitched screech rang through the air and Drathis shot up unsheathing his sword scanning the area, the dog barked backing up into the family’s tent.

“Could it be more of the shifters?” She whispered stepping up next to him.

Another distant screech was heard towards the side of the mountain.

“No, I made sure they were dead.”

The dog barked again stirring the family, first to pop their head out of the tent was the father.

“What’s going on here?”

“We not sure, we heard,” Sinira tried to explain till another rang through the night, “Well, that.” She said as Drathis and her stood back-to-back scanning the black night skies, Galaxy was already up stomping out another perfectly good fire to Drathis annoyance.

“Ah, yes, ignore them they won’t come near us.”

“Them? Who the bloody hell is them?” Drathis asked scanning the road he had come down again expecting one of the many shadows to move.

“Sometimes it’s best to not speak of the monsters in the night.” The man said looking Drathis up and down, “But you look capable enough with that sword.” Pushing the dog back out he closed the tent flap calling out one last time, “If you are not holding any magic, you will not be hunted, leave them be, they will pass.”

Drathis looked back at Sinira having the same thought, together they packed more magical components than anyone else within hundreds of miles.

* * * * *

Galaleiath stormed into the king’s quarters for the tenth time, restless to the core.

“What do you want me to do!” Zitex slammed his fist on his desk looking up to see his warlord pacing again. “I can’t have you racing off into the night because you lost one prisoner!”

“He stole your wife!”

“I have not forgotten!”

“And you will give up? You won’t try retrieve your lost property?”

“I have many wives, or have you forgotten so fast the spoils given to your groin the other night.”

Galaleiath clenched his jaw stopping mid-pace at the words, recalling the way he had ridden the two beauties just over a week ago. He had first watched his brother escape through the gates, watched his men retreat at the sight of Black Maser soldiers reacting to the disturbance. It was one of the most infuriating moments in his life, watching his brother race off, and not being able to give the orders as either side of the war were both his men. He had called upon warlocks within the castle demanding they shoot him down, combining their strength they had sent endless blasts of fire, each one deflected. Unable to risk starting up the war soon then planned again on Zitex he had commanded his armies to blockade the main gate with anything, everything that they could. They had spent four full hours regrouping, fixing the collapsed entrance, and fighting off Black Maser men taking the opportunity to attack at their new weak point. Once most of the dust had settled, he had fought with the king to grant him leave, wanting nothing more than to catch his bastard of a brother. His plea had been denied and Galaleiath had bombarded back into his room filled with a menacing rage, the women he had abandoned after catching Drathis jump out his window were still there spread across his bed, eager as ever, despite the long wait they still quivered for his touch.

“They were good, tell me have they recovered enough to serve you?” He mocked proudly, he had advised them to go that night, they could feel his rage, something dark and so very dangerous consuming him, he had sensed their fear, liking it. Had in fact told them to leave one last time, but with their fears, he could smell their arousal. It had changed him from wanting to kill to wanting to feast on them, he had been rougher with them than any before, pumping into them all his rage, losing himself to lust. They had screamed with pleasure, had passed out from it. Their handmaidens had been called to retrieve them and build up their strength again while he had wanted more, the unrest in him hardly sated.

“Careful,” Zitex snapped looking up at him, “You are given a privilege I can easily take away.”

“Just like my right to capture the escaped,”

“Galaleiath!” The king roared cutting him off, “I know you are quick to anger, quick to react, and love your revenge. But I cannot have you leave this stronghold to capture one man no matter how much it itches your skin. We are at war, in case you have forgotten, reinforcements arrive sooner than we think, I will not go out without a fight, and I need my right-hand man by my side to do it! Screw one prisoner! The men consider you good luck, they would have abandoned the walls ages ago had you left.”

“They fight for you, my king.”

“They fight for us both, I just happen to wear the crown.”

He watched the king turn back to his writing, king Zitex had become obsessed with writing down everything to keep his memory alive, it was nothing more than a pathetic reminder of how the king had given up in Galaleiath’s eyes.

“You still here,” Zitex said without lifting his head.

“All I need is two days and ill be able to capture him.”

Slamming the ink quill down the king leaned back in his chair folding his arms watching the pacing mad man.

“You want me to grant you leave to sneak out here, just to capture one, and I do mean literally one prisoner, just to bring him back to our dungeons to die anyway in a few days?”

“Yes!” He snapped clenching his fists.

“I know you have pride issues, but this is taking it a bit far don’t you think?”

“You giving up is taking it a bit far.”

“I have not given up!”

“You have not tried to escape!”

“The KING does not run from war!”

“No just lies with whores till his day comes.”

“That is enough!” Zitex rose to his feet, “Do not disrespect your king again, else you will be confined to a cell till the Black Maser arrives, this is your final warning.”

Galaleiath’s lip curled up the one side in distaste at the king's warning. He refused to allow the man to know the prisoner was his brother, and an elf, an elf powerful enough to deflect groups of warlock fireballs. Storming back out he marched to his room. He couldn’t leave, it would disrupt all the plans he had set in motion for the next few days; Dimas had sent word of her arrival for battle and he had grown tired of waiting, he wanted a war, wanted this shit charade over with.

“What are you doing here?”

“I thought it would be obvious.” A golden-haired woman smiled up as he entered his chambers, she had been standing by his window awaiting him. She glided her hand up her chest tracing delicate fingers over the seams of her golden gown. lifting her shoulder, she slid the one corner of her gown off.

“I’m not in the mood,” He groaned turning back to his door opening it for her to leave. Word had spread through the castle that the war was nearer than expected and all rules and discipline had somehow gone out the window, royalty within the walls had started fighting, secrets of shocking magnitude had come out, and along with it all came one, sometimes more of the king's many wives to his chambers, damn the consequences they wanted him and weren’t afraid to be caught. If the king knew of it, he had decided to hold his tongue, Galaleiath had loved it, finally getting the ones he had always flirted with. He hadn’t asked them to come to him but had hardly turned them away till now.

“I can change that,” She whispered, swaying her perfected-shaped hips up towards him placing a polished hand on his chest plate.

“No, not tonight.” He shoved her hand off walking past her into his chambers, ripping off his armor and shirt in a foul mood.

“I have some information you might want to hear,” she said tapping her fingers against his door left open, closing it slowly with her still in it.

Galaleiath stood in front of his fireplace pouring himself a drink ignoring her.

“Lately, many secrets have been coming out,” She removed her gown with his back still to her, a satisfying smile across her lips, “I know of one more.”

“One more what?” He grumbled before downing his drink, pouring another.

“Another elf that lived within our walls, in secret.” She whispered slipping up behind him, running her hands down his powerful back, he flexed his shoulders as goosebumps ran down his spine, she was running her nails down his skin as if giving affection to a cat and he nearly purred till she mentioned the word, elf. Before she could register what was happening, the dark elf had spun around and gripped her by the arm shoving her back away from him.

“Who?” He downed his second glass as his eyes swept over her naked form.

“That’s not how this will work tonight,” She winked tapping a finger against her lips, “I want you, and in exchange, I give you the details.”

He chuckled taking a step nearer to her. “And if I don’t want you tonight?”

“Oh, you will have me.”

“Bold statement from someone that can’t prove a secret as fact.” He stopped before her looking her up and down again, “I am not in a good mood, if you want me, I will not, be gentle.”

Her lips parted in anticipation, unable to hold back and play the game any longer she grabbed her fur shawl uncovering a diary.

“Ashleigh and her handmaiden, one of them was an elf, I have proof.” She said opening the diary.