Awaken the Three by D.L. Jennings

Author:D.L. Jennings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy. Fiction.
Publisher: Indigo River Publishing
Published: 2020-04-27T21:39:16+00:00

Chapter 47

Ellenos

Lilyana

They had been walking for days.

When they left the city of Ellenos—something Lily never thought she would do—it was under the cover of darkness. Her mother was doing her best to stay calm, but Lily could see through the act. She knew her mother better than she knew anyone, and the constant glances behind them, back toward the First City, let her know that everything was not all right.

Lily knew next to nothing about her uncle Thaurson, save for the fact that he left the city of Ellenos a long time ago because he looked too much like his human father, but that they were seeking him out now was more troubling than leaving the city to find him. “Please, Mother,” she whispered, “can you tell me where we’re going now?”

“It’s better if I don’t,” was her answer. She was repeating herself now, as Lily had heard this same answer at least a half dozen times before.

They were in a densely wooded area with no clear path, and Lily was unsure of how her mother was so certain that they were headed in the right direction. But still the two of them pressed on, pushing branches and leaves out of the way as they moved ahead.

***

The night was still dark when they resurfaced somewhere outside the Talvin Forest, and Lily could see the hint of a city in the distance. She had been only loosely paying attention to where they were headed, and her underdeveloped sense of direction did her no favors. Both she and her mother wore black, and it had paid off a few times when she heard voices in the night, voices that her mother whispered belonged to the Tallister’s men looking to bring them back. But this time, when the sound of voices and a fire came from up ahead, her mother did not shy away.

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered without looking at Lily. “They may look rough, but these men will help us.”

Lily grasped her mother’s hand tightly as the two of them walked toward the firelight. Gathered around it, dirty from the road and looking as rough as her mother had warned, were five men in light leather armor. A few swords lay scattered about the slipshod camp, which consisted of nothing more than some sleeping rolls and a spit roasting meat over a fire.

“Are you Thaurson’s men?” Cora asked.

The biggest of them, G’henni by the look of him, answered quickly. “Aye,” he said. He was seated on a stump and chewing the last bit of meat from a chicken leg. Throwing the bone down and standing up to wipe his hands on his tunic, he asked, “Who might you be?”

“Coraline,” her mother answered. “And my daughter, Lily.”

“Well, Coraline,” the G’henni replied, “my name is Tark. This here is Damazo”—he pointed to a light-skinned man probably from Théas—“my second-in-command. The other three are Agheer, Drausté, and Gorbun. They are a little rough around the edges, but there are no better smugglers in all of Derenar, and possibly Gal’dorok.

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