Books 1-3: A High Fantasy Novel, page 31
part #1 of A Talnarin Novel Boxed Series
“Hey, Alanna. Welcome back.” Benjamin pushes the blonde hair from his eyes and smiles at me.
“What are we learning today?” I’m excited to hear what the lesson plan will be. I’ve always enjoyed learning from Benjamin—his quirky behavior is endearing.
His eyes light up with excitement. “Humans. We’re going to be learning about humans.”
My excitement dies. “I see.” I look around and find the library empty besides the three of us.
Benjamin deflates. “Well, I know you used to be human.”
I flinch and look back to him.
“But, there is still so much even humans aren’t aware of.” His eagerness surges back as he leans closer and talks faster. “You’ll also be sharing some stories with us of your time as a human.”
Nope. Not revisiting that part of my past anytime soon. “Do I get a choice in any of this?”
Benjamin looks confused, as if he couldn’t fathom why someone wouldn’t share his enthusiasm. “You don’t want to learn more about your species?” An odd look crosses his face. “Or at least, your previous species.”
Ouch.
That statement hurts more than I’ll admit. I look at Kelog and find him eyeing me carefully. He’s remained carefully silent and watchful. His deep voice echoes through the library. “Malik instructed me to enforce his orders. So, no, you don’t get a choice.”
I nod, my lips turning down in a frown. Why did I expect anything different?
Benjamin whips his head back and forth between the two us currently having a stare down. He leans back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head, an almost imperceptible smirk playing on his lips.
“Ready to begin, Alanna?”
I turn my attention back to Benjamin and give him a slight nod, shifting my weight. A dull ache between my shoulder blades has persisted all morning, and I thought it would fade with time, as my other aches did. But this one refuses to abate. It almost feels as if it’s getting worse.
I force my attention back to Benjamin. “Sure.”
His face brightens. “We’ll start with the history between humans and talnarins, alright?” He doesn’t wait for an answer as he continues. “Do you know the history between our species?”
I shake my head. “The Elders never even taught us our own history. No one knows where we came from or why seclude ourselves.”
Benjamin nods, smiling softly. “I figured as much from our previous talks. To say you were surprised to learn about other species would be an understatement.”
He pulls a book from the stack on the desk. This book is so old it’s falling apart. The edges of the cover are peeling and the pages are yellow. There’s no title to depict what it is I’m looking at. “This is a one of a kind book. It’s the only one still in existence that tells the story between our species. It happened nearly two hundred years ago. Of course, that’s not to say that the humans don’t have their own books.”
He opens the pages carefully, flipping to an old map of Bylir centered on our small corner of the world. He pushes it closer and I examine the fragile and fading page.
My brows furrow. “Nothing’s changed.” I glance up and meet Benjamin’s eyes. “The map Malik showed me depicts the same locations and towns. My town has been around for two hundred years.”
Gently, he pulls the book back and closes it. “Things would have been so different had history not bowed the way it did. In the year 1835, the first human encountered the talnarins. Right here at Craforian, to be exact.” My eyes are drawn to Benjamin folding his hands on the desk. “Things went well for some time. The human visited the talnarin village many times, learning all he could about our species. But one day, he never showed.”
What? “Why didn’t he return?”
Benjamin shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly. “No one knows. But as a few days went past and he never returned, our ancestors got suspicious. Rightfully so, too. While that human never surfaced again, others did. They attacked at first light and managed to kill nearly twenty-three talnarins.” My mouth drops. “The humans not killed in retaliation, retreated to their king. They—”
“Whoa.” I hold my hands up and take a deep breath. I attempt to pull my thoughts together and form a coherent sentence. “So, humans attacked first? Why?”
“There are theories, but there’s not a definite answer to that question. Some say they attacked out of fear. Others say it was out of arrogance.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs heavily.
Disappointment rushes through me at the lack of answers this lesson is providing. “Fine. So, humans have a king? You told me last time that humans are the only ones without a king line or whatever you want to call it.”
He smiles sheepishly. “It’s called a monarch, a hereditary ruling family. As for humans, well ... they don’t have a king anymore. We’ll explain why that changed too. It ties in with the history between our species.” Benjamin glances at Kelog who still sits with his hand behind his head. His eyes slowly slide from me to Benjamin.
With a curt nod, he lowers his arms and says, “The humans tucked their tails between theirs and tattled to their monarch, King Zurav.”
“Like any great monarch, he declared war on our ancestors. He claimed our species was a cruel and malicious people who slaughtered innocent humans.” Kelog huffs a breath and stretches his legs. “Well, that was just the thing needed to gather the forces. They marched to slaughter the rest of the villagers.”
I gasp. “And did they?”
“No. Our King, King Olec, had already evacuated the rest of villagers once he heard about the attack.” A small smile tugs at his lip. “No, instead a village full of warriors was standing at the ready. The humans were the ones who were slaughtered that day.”
My eyes widen.
A sardonic grin stretches across Kelog’s face while Benjamin looks solemn. “Then the humans retreated to their tiny little villages where they’ve remained isolated since.”
“And that’s it? That’s the history between our two species?”
Kelog goes still and his face wipes of emotion. It’s scary how Malik and Zeke do that, now Kelog? It’s like they all took lessons on how to be tough shit. “No. That was just the beginning.” He leans forward, voice going low. “The talnarin king, King Olec, couldn’t take the slight the humans caused, so he retaliated. He sent assassins into the human villages to kill all those in charge.”
My mouth drops open.
“It didn’t matter if they had a hand in the war or not. They were killed anyway, including the King himself.” He leans back in his chair, eyes on me. “The assassins killed any of the King’s blood they could find.”
Kelog pauses and glances over at Benjamin, who’s looking down with a dark look on his face. “That’s why there is no human monarch. Our ancestors slaughtered them.”
Kelog looks back at me and I can’t help the shudder that passes through me. What a dark history between our species. It makes me wonder why our species never taught us this. Shouldn’t we know what’s out there so we have a better chance of facing it if we must?
“So, in fear, the humans hid in their small villages and never ventured far. They feared their own deaths, I’m sure. But as time passed, they slowly forgot what happened and what they were hiding from. They forgot who they were and what they were capable of.”
My brows furrow. What they were capable of? What is Kelog talking about?
“The reason twenty-three talnarins were killed that day was because the humans possessed abilities our ancestors were unaware of.”
Holy shit.
“We were at a disadvantage because that human rat exposed our abilities to the rest of the humans. They knew what we were capable of, to an extent, while we walked in blind.” He stretches his arms behind his neck, face blank. “We were able to annihilate them the second time because they had lost their element of surprise.”
I stare in wonder. “What were humans capable of though?”
This time it’s Benjamin who says, “Humans can manipulate time.”
I gape.
Chapter 12
Since I woke this morning, I’ve been queasy and lightheaded. The pain in my shoulder blades is more pronounced today, and my limbs are heavy with an ache that settles deep within my bones. My head throbs in tandem with my heart. I wipe my forehead once more, sweat coating my skin and saturating my leathers.
A visit to Freya after practice will probably be best.
And the information dumped on me yesterday constantly repeats in my head—it’s probably not helping the headache.
Who would’ve known that humans used to be able to manipulate time? The idea still boggles me. How my village kept that from us, I have no idea. Why wouldn’t the Elders tell their villagers of their powers?
Yesterday, I pressed Benjamin and Kelog for more information, but they refused. Instead we moved on to more boring topics, like my life as a human. They dragged story after story out of me. I told them about basic village life and what rules the Elders had enforced. They asked what stories my Elders used to tell, too. It was tiring recounting it all.
At the end of the day, I tried my luck one more time, but the men still refused to answer my questions about my species’ history. I’ll need to do some research of my own to dig up more details of the whole ‘humans can manipulate time’ thing.
Will I be able to manipulate time?
I snap back to the present and focus. “I need a break.” I might fall over if I try to use my powers.
Zeke looks at me in amused disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? We are doing the easy stuff today. You even had a break yesterday, Red.”
True. Today is supposed to be easy. We resumed the training we started two days ago. We’ve been sitting in the sand all morning working on calling up my Elestal affinity. Anytime I fail, I’m zapped. Even still, it’s not a draining training regiment, not really. I shouldn’t be feeling this weak and drained. But I do.
I manage a whisper as pain radiates through my shoulder blades. “Something’s wrong.”
Alarm flashes through Zeke’s eyes as I sway. He reaches out and grips me by the shoulders, holding me steady. His sharp voice echoes through my aching head as he calls for Malik.
Blood rushes through my ears, drowning all sound. My vision blurs and I blink rapidly, trying to clear it. I whimper and clench my eyes closed, fighting the rising nausea.
It does no good.
I empty the contents of my stomach on the sandy ground.
I have no idea if I managed to avoid getting Zeke; I can only hope so. I heave until there’s nothing left but bile. Vaguely, I note tears trail down my face. Somehow, I manage to peel my eyes open, but darkness creeps around the edges of my vision. All too soon, the darkness expands and overtakes me.
Malik
SHIT.
I manage to sweep her into my arms before her body connects with the ground. My eyes snap to Zeke. “Get Freya. I want a bed ready.”
My first-in-command is moving before I finish my sentence. He dashes from the arena as Adrian and Mikhail enter. Both have guarded expressions, always ready for anything. Their gazes connect with the small body in my arms and widen.
“Mikhail.” Eyes connect with mine. “Get Abel. We’ll be in the infirmary.” I’ve already started moving in that direction, both of my Elites trailing closely behind me. Mikhail rushes out ahead and I turn to address Adrian. “Get the rest and meet me there.” He too rushes past me.
I move into the infirmary quickly, occasionally glancing down at the fragile girl in my hands. Her eyes flicker back and forth restlessly under her lids. As I cross the threshold of the infirmary, I find Freya and Zeke already waiting.
No words are spoken. None are needed.
I carefully place the girl onto the bed Freya indicates and take a step back. Freya checks her vitals and assesses her condition. Gently, she turns the girl over and inhales sharply. Her head whips around and her panic filled eyes met mine. Moving closer, I peer down at the immobile girl.
“Fuck!”
Underneath the leathers by her shoulder blades is movement. It ripples as if something moves just beneath the surface.
It looks alive.
From the corner of my eye I see Zeke move in from the other side. A soft curse rings out in the heavy silence. Voice strained I say, “Get me a blade.” Without looking up, I accept the blade Zeke hands me.
I grip the edge of the leathers and angle my blade. In a quick movement, I pull the blade through. The leathers split easily and I toss the blade back to Zeke when I’m through. Careful not to jar the girl’s body, I rip the leathers all the way free. Swiftly, Freya covers the exposed girl with a white sheet, leaving her back bare.
The skin ripples and moves near the shoulder blades. I rub a weary hand down my face and exhale roughly.
“Freya, there’s nothing we can do but wait it out.” I look to her and find her soft face crestfallen. I place a gentle hand on her shoulder, causing her to meet my eyes. “We can make her more comfortable.” At this small admission, the despair lessons and faint hope returns. “Bring me a bowl and cloth for the sweat. Find some loose clothes for her to wear too.”
She swiftly turns to leave, but I clasp her wrist gently. She peers back over her shoulder.
“Don’t tell anyone what you saw here.”
Freya nods before leaving gracefully. I pull up a chair next to the girl and softy call my men. Kelog and Adrian enter. They stand at attention, their eyes briefly moving to Alanna’s still form.
Just as quietly I say, “Freya will be returning with supplies. Bring them in and send her off to ready Alanna’s room.” I watch them nod sharply. “I want you two at the door at all times. No one enters without my permission. When Mikhail returns, send him to check on the tests. Go.” In seconds they disperse, leaving Zeke and I alone with the girl.
We exchange a brief look. I hear muffled footsteps outside the room and look towards the door. Abel enters, concern etched across his face. He moves stiffly to her bedside and looks down at her. His wide eyes flick to mine almost instantly.
“This cannot be, brother.”
I sigh deeply. “But it is. Whatever they did to her, whatever she is, it’s more than we predicted.”
Abel’s hand flies to his mouth as his eyes dart back to the girl. “You know what this means, do you not?”
“Yes, Abel, I do.” I know very well what this means, and what this means for the girl. She’ll never be able to live a normal life again.
“But how did this happen? How did the rogues accomplish this? None of it makes sense, brother.”
He’s right, it doesn’t make sense. Our hypothesis isn’t adding up as we expected.
Abel gently pushes the hair from her face. He cares for the girl. In fact, he cares for her more deeply than I had anticipated. Even Zeke has grown rather attached during their time together. Unlike Abel, though, he’s not as open about his affection. If I hadn’t grown up with the man, I wouldn’t have noticed the change myself.
I shake the thoughts away.
Looking up, I find Abel staring intently. “I don’t know.” I rake my hand through my hair, frustrated. “But we’ll figure it out. We always do.”
Abel nods solemnly, before pulling up another chair on the opposite side of the bed. He stares down with so much sympathy, it’s hard to watch. Zeke leans against the wall next to the bed, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I have Orion and Drako out gathering intel as we speak. I sent them back to that village in the woods to scope things out and search for any evidence we might have missed in our haste to leave.”
I rub my tired eyes.
“They’re due in for a report tomorrow. I also sent Mikhail for the results of the tests on the serum and equipment. We’ll get our answers soon enough.”
“That is not to say—” Abel starts.
A loud groan echoes through the room. Her small frame writhes on the bed for a few moments before stilling. “That is not to say the tests even come back conclusive. The data we pull, if we even manage to pull any, might not connect, brother.”
“It’s our best bet, Abel.”
Zeke speaks out, voice low. “What about her eyes? If she is what we think she is, then why silver? Why not gold?”
Abel shakes his head. “I do not know. The blood work results were inconclusive. Only part of the DNA matches us. The rest of the data does not match any records we have in the database. We’re working blind.”
More questions with no answers. I’m losing my patience.
A knock at the door interrupts us. Without waiting for a response, the door is pushed open. Orion and Drako walk in and pass me a sealed letter. They then carefully set down the items I requested of Freya on the end table by Alanna’s bedside. I carefully tear it open and read the details. Good, looks like a rogue has been spotted. Without looking up I say, “You’re early.”
Orion silent as usual, it’s Drako who speaks instead. “Sir. There was nothing left in the rubble or in the warehouse. I searched underground as well, but nothing turned up.”
I glance up at my men. “How far down did you search?”
“As far as I could.”
I nob my approval. Good. Drako is one of the best Flokil manipulators we have. He’s mastered the ability to extend his energy through the roots roughly 50 heads down. This allows him to ‘see’ his surroundings underground. If their search tuned up empty handed, the rogues truly left nothing behind.
“Now, this rogue location. The scout says there are no more than ten talnarins present. Did you two confirm?” I give them a hard stare.
“Yes.” I allow a small smile to form. If they had told me no, I would have sent them through the training regimen again.
“Very well. Easy enough to dispose of.” I look to Zeke, who’s already moved off the wall and stands at the ready. I will my voice to stay hard. “I want as many alive as possible. I want answers.” I hand him the document. “Take the rest of the team, but leave Mikhail. Send for Erik and Seth to replace Kelog and Adrian at the door. Tell them nothing about the girl, either.”
