The Light of My Hearts

Gillam followed after Helia down the beach back to Tegath. She was keeping a brisk pace, staying several paces ahead of him. Though his mouth was tingling with excitement from the kiss he’d finally given her it was now feeling like he’d made a mistake.

But was it really?

“Helia?” He said her name cautiously.

She didn’t respond and kept walking.

“Helia...I-I’m sorry if that was...too forward of me.”

The woman shook her head and replied quickly, “Don’t...don’t worry about it. It was just a mistake. Let’s get back before it gets dark.”

Gillam squinted and jogged a bit to catch up to her, “Mistake? It-it wasn’t a mistake.”

Helia wouldn’t look at him, “I said don’t worry about it.”

The fae reached out and took her hand to stop her. Helia huffed but stopped.

“It wasn’t a mistake.” His voice was insistent. “How could something I’ve been wanting to do since we started working together be a mistake?”

Helia couldn’t look at him lest she turn bright red and lose any semblance of composure she had left.

She pulled her hand out of his, “It-it just is.”

Helia tried to keep walking but Gillam moved a wing in her way like an arm, “You’re unlike any woman I’ve ever met, Helia. I apologize if my kiss was too abrupt but...my feelings for you are real and it wasn’t a mistake.”

Helia scoffed, shaking her head with a rising tone, “Come on, Gillam. Get me off that stupid pedestal you’ve put me on and see what a really am! Open your damned eyes! I’m a stubborn, crass, boorish human woman. I can’t understand why you think that is charming or even appealing!”

“I just...”

“And I know I agreed to teach you slaying and I have done that. But let’s be honest: you never wanted to learn slaying at all, did you?” she pried.

Gillam’s eyes moved subtly downward, “I did...but...I also wanted to get to know you.”

“Yeah. I knew that. I thought you’d learn pretty quick that you were wasting your time.” She spat.

“Wasting my time? I don’t understand.”

Helia put a hand over her eyes a moment, tapping her finger against her head until she dropped her hand in a punctuating chopping motion, “I’m a dead end, Gillam. Don’t you see that? You’re a goddamned immortal who can’t age. Even if I quit slaying today, I might have what? Fifty years IF I’m lucky? And you know what? I’m going to get old. My hair will turn gray, my skin is going to become fragile and sag, and it’ll be a fucking struggle just to take care of my daily needs.” Her frustration was making tears bubble from her eyes, “You don’t want any part of that.”

Gillam suddenly seized her hands and moved in close, “That’s right. I am a goddamned immortal. And I’d take any number of years just to spend them with you.”

His lips met hers firmly and though she tensed at first, she didn’t fight him. The butterflies were loose again as she felt the softness and wetness of his mouth caressing hers. In her life Helia had done many things no woman had ever done. Yet, the simple act of kissing and feeling what she was feeling now had never been one of those things.

He pulled away, violet eyes close to her blues, “Even when you get old and gray, I’ll take care of you. You’ll see.”

She shook her head whispering, “You don’t want that...”

His hand gently held her chin, “You don’t know what I want.”

“I...” she began but his kiss silenced any rebuttal.

...

The Parliel Realm in Oberit, two days before Twillow’s baby shower...

“THERE! Don’t let it get away!” a keen-eyed elven guard bellowed as he pointed to the rooftop above.

Oberit had been shut down for days after the Kraskol first attacked and the hunt for the demonic creature had been tireless. Yet, the creature remained elusive, transforming, and continuously hiding amid the populace.

Since the creature could not fly even if it took the form of a flying being, all transports to and from the floating city had been barred by the chief of the Oberit guard. Barriers had been erected at key points to prevent escape as well.

A Kraskol had not been seen in nearly one hundred years and an attack hadn’t occurred for more than that time. Ever since their appearance millennia ago, the fae and other magical denizens of the Parliel Realm sought to eradicate the dangerous creatures entirely. And it had seemed they had succeeded until this recent attack. (It seemed the Kraskol were not ready to be extinct.)

It wasn’t until the fifth night that someone had reported seeing an elf with a telltale sign of a Kraskol: a distinct black line on his throat. As flawless as a Kraskol’s transformation could be it could never hide its feeding proboscis which always appeared as a black line along the throat. A Kraskol always took great lengths to keep its neck covered to avoid detection, but sharp eyes were everywhere looking for it.

Soon guards were swarming the area when someone spotted the target as an elf wearing a dark cloak about the neck and a hood. The lithe beast had taken to the rooftops, hopping, and landing with unnatural agility. In seconds the guards who could fly were swooping down to intercept the fleeing figure. Bolts of magic shot after the creature; lights meant to stop it. But the Kraskol evaded each one as a cloaked shadow. Before the fliers could get off any more attacks the creature dropped down under the rooftops only to smash through a window and invade a building not far from the edge of Oberit.

“It’s in there! Surround that building!” the squad’s fae leader shouted urgently. “Do NOT let it escape!

The eight other fliers with him broke off to hover around the building, barring any escape outside. Other guards in the area caught up and blocked up the streets. The door was breached with a burst of magic and several guards poured into the building to take down the creature. Tense minutes passed as the fliers outside waited for their quarry to appear or the other guards to signal the capture.

And then the silence was broken by shouts inside followed by bursts of magic. They were engaging the creature. Every flier outside was on high alert. Suddenly, a window near the Oberit barrier exploded outward and an elf appeared, leaping through the air in a manner that was unnaturally powerful.

The Kraskol!

A fae guard who was hovering near that window was suddenly tackled midair by the figure. It was so fast and so powerful he didn’t even have time to shield himself before he was wrapped up with strong arms and sent hurtling over the edge of Oberit. As the night wind whistled shrilly around them the fae guard was staring into the shadowy face of a stern looking elf. But the distinct black line up the throat was a dead giveaway to its unholy nature.

Before the guard could react the disguised Kraskol brutally tightened its bear hug and the fae felt his upper arm bones crack. He let out a pained scream, instantly realizing the Kraskol’s intentions. If his arms were broken, he couldn’t aim his magic power. If he couldn’t aim his magic power, he couldn’t hit the Kraskol. It knew this. He desperately tried to free his wings as the ground below grew closer and closer, the glow of giant trees gaining more detail. But the Kraskol held them tight to his back.

Panic clenched its cold bony hand around the fae’s heart. They were falling to their deaths. The only consolation would be the Kraskol wouldn’t survive either.

Suddenly, the disguised Kraskol reacted. It flipped the injured fae guard around, face toward the ground and released his wings. Much like a human throwing their arms out as a shield when attacked, the fae couldn’t help but flap his wings when they were released. They buzzed, gradually catching the air, and he flew forward parallel to the ground to slow the descent. The Kraskol perched atop the fae’s lower body and like a grasshopper leaped for the nearest giant tree. It hit and broke through the canopy branches hard but it suddenly found purchase, clawing itself to a stop.

The fae guard turned in a wide arc but his arms were useless, flopping beneath him like pain-filled rags in the wind. He couldn’t stop the creature in that state. From above the other fae guards had caught up, diving like hawks toward him.

“It’s there!” he had to point to the tree with his legs.

But the dark was aiding the Kraskol. Despite their speed and urgency, the beast had disappeared and was on the loose. All their efforts to keep it contained so it could be irradicated were dashed to bits.

The squadron leader was livid as he began shouting orders, “Get EVERYONE down here! I don’t care what it takes or how long! We are going to FIND that Kraskol and we are going to destroy it before it hurts anyone else!”

...

A couple days after the baby shower...

The day after the baby shower, Twillow had taken to her bed for rest. Her stress from the event’s turn had drained her considerably and she had been sleeping more the past couple of days. Kendrick had refused to leave her window. Thankfully, Elmry was understanding and allowed Kendrick a few days to be with her.

But when she awoke, Twillow insisted he return to his job and stop worrying. It took some firm convincing but by the beginning of the third day he returned to the Crystal Emporium.

“Hey, Kendrick! Surprised to see you back so soon. Is my sister doing ok?” Elmry greeted when he saw him coming.

Kendrick nodded, “She insisted I come back...that she’s fine and I need to stop worrying or SHE’D start to worry.”

Elmry smirked, “Sounds like she’s has you there.”

The giant shrugged, “Have any more crystals been stolen lately?”

The fae sighed with a frustrated tone, “Just one the day of the baby shower. But none since then. Still no leads on who keeps doing this.” He tapped his pencil on his clipboard, “I have a feeling it’s just one guy who knows our operation well enough to circumvent our security.”

“It only smelled like one person.” Kendrick remembered.

“Yeah. Well glad to have you back. We’ve got a couple big orders going out today.” he gestured to the far side of the building where a pile of packages sat.

Kendrick nodded again and moved to carefully pick up the pile. When he had them, Elmry flew beside him and once again led the way. They proceeded with the deliveries and as Elmry was greeting a customer Kendrick’s acute nose suddenly tingled with familiarity. He turned his head and drew in a deep scenting breath. It was difficult to pinpoint specific scents in a clustered city like Marlayla but he recognized it.

“Kendrick? Kendrick!” Elmry shouted.

“Hm?”

“The package?” he coaxed.

“Oh. Yeah. Here.” He picked out the one they needed and placed it on the ground. Elmry gave him a perplexed look but completed the order.

“You were staring off...what’s wrong?” Elmry flew up and asked.

Kendrick gestured with his head, “I can smell the guy who has been robbing your business.”

Elmry was immediately on alert and interested, “You can? Where? Who?”

“Close...” he sniffed then gently put the rest of his packages on the flat roof of a building for safe keeping.

“What are you doing?”

“Just wait here. I’ll find him.” Kendrick had an intent look on his face like a cat that heard a rustle in the grass.

Elmry shook his head and took to the air, “No way. I’m helping you.”

The giant merely nodded and began walking carefully to mask his approach (no easy feat in a city). He scented and glanced around the streets. There were several beings out and about, going on with their daily lives. Some were startled by him and cleared the way. His nose targeted the sharp tingly scent he’d picked up days before coming from a figure in a blue hooded cloak.

Kendrick knelt down slowly, reached out, and pinched the back of the figure’s cloak, lifting him off the ground.

“WHOA! HEY! HEY! HEY!” a young sounding voice protested from beneath the hood, little legs kicking furiously.

Onlookers paused whatever they were doing and stared at the scene. Kendrick turned his hand so he could see the being he’d caught and when the hood flipped back, he was greeted by a being similar to the female whose husband sold the smoked meats. His hair was like a swirling snowstorm, whipped back as if by some wind. He had short pointed ears and bright white eyes that almost made him look blind but he was obviously not.

“An ice dryad.” Elmry mentioned, flying up behind Kendrick’s head. “Now the ice around the door makes sense.”

“Hey! I-Oh...” light-blue-skinned being’s face fell frightfully as he realized why he’d left the ground.

“Hm. Well you’re not exactly what I expected for a crystal thief.” Kendrick grunted with a light smirk.

The being reached for his neck, unclasped his cloak and was suddenly free, dashing down the street, leaving Kendrick holding his cloak.

"Hmm." Kendrick growled, rising up in pursuit. “Not wise to run from me...but...”

The blue-skinned being ran quickly but Kendrick overtook him in two long steps, barring his way with a boot. But he turned suddenly and dashed into a narrow alley between some buildings. Kendrick automatically reached after him but his thick arm couldn’t get very far in the narrow space and stopped. The thief didn’t look back and ran straight through the alley and disappeared a block over. Kendrick growled, predatory instincts for a chase lighting up. He couldn’t just bull through everything like he could in his own forest, he had to be careful here.

Not the best way to efficiently catch prey...

Kendrick moved with careful haste, constantly sniffing the air so he wouldn’t lose his quarry. A flash of light caught Kendrick’s attention to his right as Elmry flew past.

“I’ll cut him off!”

Faster than he’d ever seen the fae fly, Kendrick watched Elmry zoom over the rooftops to the street he’d pointed toward. Elmry’s head seemed to dart around, searching for the running thief. Then he dove out of sight toward the ground. Kendrick kept moving, albeit gingerly until he entered the second street. Elmry was flying fast sideways circles around the thief. The fae’s hands were alight with magic as were the thief’s; pink versus white. Not wishing Twillow’s brother any harm, Kendrick stepped over several people, leaned down in a long reach, and snatched up the ice dryad when his back turned.

“WAIT! KENDRICK DON’T!” Elmry tried to warn.

Quite suddenly the little ice dryad grasped a crystal around his neck. His hair swirled and grew more violent like a blizzard. He threw his hands out in front of him and shouted something in a language Kendrick didn’t understand. Like a hurricane and a blizzard intertwined a massive blast of ice magic struck Kendrick full in the arm, chest, and face.

“KENDRICK!” Elmry shouted.

Even the buildings behind Kendrick were coated in thick chunks of ice, glistening in the daylight like pure diamonds. A heavy cold fog enveloped the air. At first Elmry was terrified that Kendrick had been frozen solid by the powerful ice magic, but out of the fog he saw a faint blue glow. Elmry and the ice thief were both shocked when Kendrick shook ice crystals from his hair. The giant exhaled and a massive foggy cloud blanketed the air. But what was truly fascinating was that parts of Kendrick’s body were glowing a blue light: his sternum, the two thick tendons running up the side of his neck, the bones around his eyes, and his arm bones. His amber eyes blinked a moment as if he’d just been hit with a harmless snowball rather than a devastating magic assault.

He gave the ice dryad in his grasp an annoyed look. But when he noticed the blue glowing beneath the skin of his arms, his eyes got big. Slowly, he turned his arms over, staring at them as if they didn’t belong to him.

“Wh-what...the...Hell?” he whispered, flexing the fingers of his free hand to test if it was indeed his.

“Kendrick...you’re glowing.” Elmry stated the obvious.

The giant blinked at him then at the ice dryad he held.

“You…how did you survive that?! That spell should’ve frozen you solid!” the little being was astounded and perturbed

Off to the left an old man’s cackling laugh cut the air, “Wahahaha! You…heehee…you can’t freeze a Jotunn you ice-headed dolt! They’re born in ice. Now you’re gonna get it!”

Kendrick, Elmry, and the thief all looked over to a building with an awning. Underneath stood an old-looking creature that appeared almost human save for his larger than normal ears and tiny sharp horns on his brow. He had a wizened squint, a scraggly, long white beard on the end of his chin, wrinkled face, and not too many teeth left in his head. Currently he was sweeping the entryway to the business and continued to cackle.

For a second Kendrick was curious about the old creature and his comment.

He knew of the Jotunn as well?

Kendrick looked at his strange blue coloring, “Why the Hell am I glowing?”

The horned being stopped sweeping a moment and leaned on his broom, “All Jotunn glow blue when it gets cold enough.”

Elmry looked at Kendrick with amazement, “You do?”

But Kendrick blinked with confusion, “I’ve never glowed a day in my life! My dad either…why am I glowing now?”

“Must not have been cold enough.” The old man shrugged, continuing to sweep, “If you’re going to crush that thieving ice dryad would you mind not making a mess on my awning and patio here. I just cleaned it.”

The casualness of the request made Kendrick bark a short morbid laugh and the ice dryad start to panic.

“SHUT UP, ORRY!” he yelled at the old man. “I didn’t steal nothin!”

Kendrick glanced at both of them momentarily putting aside his new blue glow, “You know him?”

“Oh yeah. Punk hangs around these streets. He came around a few days ago trying to sell me some suspicious crystals. Told him to hit the bricks.” The old creature replied simply.

The amber eyes slanted over to the ice dryad, “Is that so?”

“He-he’s lying! That old coot would say anything to get me in trouble!” the ice dryad protested.

“Uh huh. Then explain why your scent was all around the Birchwood Crystal Emporium.” Kendrick challenged.

“I didn’t steal nothin!” the icy being cried. “Put me down!”

The giant tipped his head, “That’s a lie…you stink of a lie.”

“I-I didn’t!”

A smirk slid over Kendrick’s mouth, “You know... where I live, I have a particular penalty for thieves like you.” He clicked his teeth together for emphasis.

“Ooohh…No! Nononono! Please! Please don’t do that!” the dryad begged, trying to push Kendrick’s hand open as he screamed, “Someone HELP! This giant is going to eat me!”

Kendrick smirked again but Elmry flew up and said in an urgent tone, “I said nothing drastic!”

The giant rolled his eyes and mouthed silently “I won’t.”

The ice dryad seemed a bit shocked when he recognized the fae, “You…you’re a Birchwood. Elmry Birchwood.”

“That’s right.”

He struggled against Kendrick’s unbreakable grip, “Tell your guard to put me down! He’s hurting me!”

“My ass. I’m barely gripping you.” Kendrick grumbled but slightly tightened his grip, “This is what it would feel like if I was more serious.”

“AH! STOP! STOP!” the ice dryad protested. “He’s crushing me!”

“No need for that, Kendrick.” Elmry interjected. “And he’s not my guard, he’s my brother-in-law.”

“Whatever! Just tell him to put me down!” the dryad begged.

Elmry glanced around and pointed to a pair of curious young centaurs gawking nearby, “You two! Go get the Marlaylan Guard and there’s a gold coin each for you.”

The two centaurs galloped away with excitement.

Kendrick eased the pressure, “If you’d rather not feel that again why don’t you tell us what you did with those boxes of crystals you stole?”

“I-I don’t have them anymore!”

Elmry sighed, “Who did you sell them to?”

“Tried to sell me some.” The old man piped up, placing his broom aside, “But I don’t deal with thieves.”

“SHUT UP, ORRY! YOU RAT!” the ice dryad vehemently hissed.

“Who did you sell those crystals to?” Kendrick put his thumb over the dryad’s chest.

“Th-The Swamp Markets.” He admitted fearfully.

Elmry gave a look that said he expected such an answer, “There was a particular crystal you stole: a Doorway Tourmaline.”

A shrug from the thief.

“Lets the user pass through objects and barriers. Green and pink with flecks of yellow along the edges?” the fae prompted impatiently.

The dryad dropped his head but admitted, “Y-yeah. I remember that one.”

“Who did you sell it to?”

“I…I didn’t sell it.”

Kendrick gave him a threatening look.

“I…I lost it.”

“What? Lost it?!” Kendrick thundered.

The dryad cringed but pointed to a discoloration on his neck, “I-I was robbed last night when the sun went down.” He held up his hands, “Honest! I wanted to sell that crystal! But…I got jumped, knocked out, and when I came to, I didn’t have the crystal in my bag anymore.”

Kendrick sniffed him. He didn’t smell like he was lying like before. But there was something mixing with his scent. There was no doubt he was the perpetrator of these thefts but there was a strange off-putting odor on him too…like an old grave that wasn’t quiet deep enough.

His observation was interrupted when the two young centaurs reappeared leading a pair of Marlaylan guards behind them.

Elmry flew to them, tossed the centaur boys their coins, and said, “Guards! We caught this thief who has been stealing from the Birchwood Crystal Emporium. He has confessed to the crime.”

The guards recognized Elmry but seemed startled by the fact that the giant they had been seeing around Marlayla was currently grasping their perpetrator.

The Minotaur guard straightened his back and addressed Kendrick, “We’ll take him from here.”

Kendrick nodded and gave the ice dryad a warning look, “Behave yourself now.”

He handed the dryad over to the two guards who apprehended him with special cuffs to stunt his magic power. The crystal around his neck was also confiscated and he was taken away for official questioning.

“Thank you for your assistance, sir giant. But from here on out if you would let us do the questioning and arresting that would be appreciated.” The elven guard spoke evenly with warning to Kendrick.

The giant huffed, unable to hide his opinion of the request, “I’ll… try to remember that.”

Elmry faced Kendrick, “I need to go with them to make the report. If you could finish those deliveries?” he handed the giant the clipboard.

“Um…sure.”

“Huh. You stopped glowing.” Elmry observed.

Kendrick glanced at his arms and could no longer see the strange blue color from before, “Huh.”

Elmry left with the guards and Kendrick turned back to the little old man named Orry.

“Hey. What do you know of my kind?”

The old man stared up at him with squint eyes, “Probably less than you do seeing that I’m no Jotunn.”

“I…very much doubt that.” Kendrick admitted.

Orry shrugged, “Most of what I know comes from a book in my shop.”

“A book?” Kendrick’s interest was piqued, “I’d like to see that book.”

Orry moved very slowly, as expected of an old man, and reentered his shop. Kendrick waited several minutes until he returned carrying a bulky, red leather-bound book that smelled very old and musty.

Kendrick reached a hand to accept it but Orry yanked it back possessively.

“I’d like to read it.”

“One hundred gold coins.” The horned man demanded firmly.

Kendrick flicked a brow, “Sounds like a lot for a book.”

“Do I look like a librarian? It’s a very old book. One of a kind.” Orry insisted. “One hundred gold and it’s yours.”

The giant snorted and reached into his pocket, “All right. Deal then.”

He placed a chunk of gold the size of a baking potato on the old man’s shop porch. Orry stared at the lump of gold and dumbly held up the book, not breaking eye-contact with the gold lest it get up and run away. Kendrick took the book and Orry snatched up the gold.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” He giggled and ran inside before Kendrick demanded change.

Kendrick held the book curiously but knew he’d have to ask Twillow read it to him given the size of the type. He gently put it in his shirt pocket, stood up, and went to gather the remaining packages for delivery.