Shadow and Wild Magic

Mashed sandworm tasted like absolutely nothing. It had the consistency of rhino-milk pudding without its horrible bitter taste. Shadow was actually relieved to eat something this tasteless. It was much better than what he’d expected. He and the three other sindurs were sitting on the sand, in the sun, near the pot. The humans and elves were seeking shade, but the sindurs of Rallis were used to the hot desert sun. And here, they were left alone. Or so Shadow had hoped.

When they were done with their food, they returned the bowls to the guard at the food pot. Khaleen wanted to go search for Sno, the little white cub, but Shadow knew he wasn’t here. When they turned around, they were stopped by a strange man. A dark elf in a black tunic with blue skin and black hair. His red eyes showed nothing but anger. Shadow had seen dark elves in the capital. They were pretty much the only race the sithrax allowed in their midst. This one was taller than Ten Zin. They faced each other. The old sindur puffed up his chest, and his face had no expression.

The dark elf examined him, then he frowned. “A slave in Stahl,” he uttered in Common. “How pathetic...” Ten Zin didn’t move. “But since you’re all here, you’ll have to pick a side. I hope for your sake that you pick correctly.”

“We have no interest in siding with you or with anyone else,” Ten Zin declared. His Common was perfect, accentless. “Please, leave us be.”

“A cat who speaks like a human?” The dark elf laughed. “That’s even more pathetic. Did they teach you to dance too? Come on, cat, dance for me.”

“Ten Zin, let’s go,” Khaleen murmured.

“What was that?” The dark elf obviously didn’t understand Khaleen. “A female, even. Well, don’t you look pretty for an animal!”

“Leave her be!” Ten Zin growled.

“Ah, so he does bite.” The dark elf sneered. Then he reached out for Khaleen. He almost touched her cheek when Ten Zin slapped his hand away.

“I said leave her be!” Ten Zin yelled.

The dark elf’s eyes were now redder than blood. There was silence, then he punched Ten Zin in the face. The blow knocked the old sindur over, who fell on his bottom. Khaleen screamed. The dark elf rushed to the fallen sindur to hit him again. That’s when Shadow noticed the iron knuckles in the dark elf’s fist. He had to intervene.

Shadow threw himself on the dark elf, claws first. Dark elves were fast, but sindurs were faster. Shadow scratched his arms because he couldn’t get to his face. It didn’t take long before the other dark elves joined the fight. Now, Mielo and Khaleen were fighting too.

The three sindurs stood in a circle around Ten Zin and protected him. Iron knuckles couldn’t rival against sharp feline claws. Shadow finally broke through his opponent’s defenses when something latched to his collar. It pulled him away with so much force, Shadow had to let go. He could smell who was behind him.

The sithrax guard.

More guards appeared to break the fight. They used pikes to separate dark elves from sindurs. The dark elf with the iron knuckle was forced on his knees by the food pot guard. His arms were bleeding from Shadow’s claws, but the guard couldn’t care less. He gripped his hand and forcibly removed the knuckle, then he threw it over the steel fence. Shadow rejoiced, seeing the dark elf quivering on the ground. But it wasn’t over.

The sithrax guard marched toward the sindurs. He paused to look at the four as if he was choosing who he’d go to next. He picked Mielo. He forced the red sindur on his knees and pulled on his paw. He pressed in Mielo’s palm so his claws would be forced out. And then, Mielo screamed. The sithrax seized one of his claws and pulled firmly, tearing the claw out the paw. When he was finished, the guard discarded the claw in the sand and released Mielo. Then he marched away without looking back.

Shadow was in shock, unable to move. He couldn’t even hear his own breath, as if he’d stopped breathing.

Mielo was on the ground holding his paw. He was yowling in pain. He had blood all over his fur. Ten Zin helped him stand, while Khaleen, like Shadow, was paralyzed. It was a mixture of fear and anger that Shadow felt. A disgusting sensation in his stomach, which he wasn’t used to anymore.

Shadow had seen horrible things happen, to his parents, to the other sindur slaves he’d known. Eventually, he’d forbidden himself to be scared. That was how he’d survived so long. But now, after the fight, a door had been opened. And all these emotions were free to come out again. Shadow hated it.

At night, back in his cell, Shadow couldn’t sleep. Khaleen had wrapped a piece of her tunic around Mielo’s paw. The two slept curled up against each other. Ten Zin was in the corner, snoring. Shadow leaned against the wall, staring at the darkness.

“Are you awake?” a voice whispered on the other side of the wall.

The human in the next cell! Shadow had completely forgotten about him. What was his name again?

“Yes,” Shadow whispered back.

Ez—something. Ezla? Ezma?

Ezra. Yes, Ezra.

“Can’t sleep, eh? You gave quite the show earlier. What did we say about not attracting too much attention?” The man’s tone was comical again. He paused, but Shadow didn’t respond. “Is your friend okay?”

“He’ll survive,” Shadow said with a low voice.

“I’m sorry,” the man said sincerely. “It’s just not right.”

“What?”

“What the sithrax do to your kind. The dark elf got his weapon removed, but they declawed your friend. It’s like they removed part of him.”

Shadow’s anger simmered softly. He had to stay calm, or he might inadvertently let his fury roar.

Ezra wasn’t the typical human he’d imagined. His skin was darker than Master Khan’s, yet sithrax always talked about the pig-skinned. Shadow had only met two humans in his life, both dark-skinned, one like copper, the other like ebony. He’d not paid attention to the other humans in the prison yard. Maybe he’d do that tomorrow.

Ezra had this dark green jacket over a linen shirt and leather breeches. He wore thick leather boots. Wasn’t he burning in this outfit under the Rallisan sun? Dark elves in Rallis barely wore anything.

“How do sindurs like you end up teaming up with a mage to cross the Barrier?” Ezra asked out of the blue.

“That’s something the sithrax want to know too,” Shadow replied, sighing. Then he took a deep breath. If he’d tell somebody, it might as well be Ezra. “There’s a man in the capital they call the Reaper, he—”

“The Reaper?” Ezra interjected. “The dark elf crime lord?”

“Yes. If you pay him enough, he arranges a trade caravan. The driver took us to the sandy plains, where Master Khan waited. Master Khan is the only one who can help us cross the Barrier because—”

“Because he’s a mage.”

“Exactly. He’s from the land of humans, and he helps us. He has the amulet. He took over the caravan, but we were discovered by patrolling sithrax.” Shadow shivered as he remembered the attack. The screams were still so fresh in his mind. “We all know the operation is very risky, but it’s for a better life. At least, that’s what my parents said.”

“Your parents? Did they pay for you?” Ezra wondered.

“Yes, a lot of parents pay for their cubs. They say life in the land of humans is free. It’s a lot of money, so some parents try to find cheaper smugglers. We don’t know what happens to those children. My parents wanted me to go with the Reaper’s caravan. Just like Sno’s parents. Sno was also with us, but I don’t know where he is now.”

“How old are you?” Ezra sounded surprised all of a sudden. Perhaps he’d expected Shadow to be...older?

“Sixteen.”

“Sixteen!”

Was that a question? Shadow suddenly heard footsteps outside. Footsteps…leaving? He crawled closer to the door to listen closely. It sounded like the tunnel was empty. The footsteps later returned, and someone on the other side fiddled with the door to his cell. He heard a sliding sound.

“What’s that noise?” Shadow whispered a question to the wall.

“They’re locking up the doors,” Ezra whispered back. “I know, weird, right? The cells are just open during the day.”

“But there was no noise before!”

“Yeah, they’re just locking up now.”

“No, I mean, the tunnel was empty before. So, the guard leaves, then he returns to lock the cells. That doesn’t make sense.”

Ezra paused. “What if it’s a changing of the guard?”

“Quiet!” the guard on the other side suddenly shouted, waking everyone in Shadow’s cell.

Mielo yelped, half asleep, half awake. Khaleen slowly hushed him back to sleep. Shadow remained silent from then on, and so did Ezra. Instead, Shadow’s mind was brimming with thoughts. There it was. The window of opportunity. And Shadow’s plan was slowly coming to life.