War Of The Wildlands(47)

Essa held up a hand. “You will not kill this one,” she declared. “I don’t care about the other girl, but you will not kill this princess. She is brave. If her prince wants to save her life, he can stop the attacks on our people.”

“So now you’re the great negotiator?” Reylin looked at Essa with contempt. Shaking his head, he walked over to the lead carriage and flung open the door. Inside were two well-dressed men huddled together as far from the door as they could get. Reylin motioned to a nearby sword maiden and together they dragged the men from the carriage. Without saying a word, Reylin slit both of their throats. He would hear no negotiation for their lives. His hesitation in killing the women had caused enough trouble already.

“The women are yours, Essa,” he said, wiping the bloody knife against his pants. “You can keep them quiet while we continue to the Mountain Clan. Once we’ve reached their village, they can chose whether these two are allowed to live.”

Essa nodded, satisfied with his decision. The Mountain Clan could decide whether humans were allowed to enter as prisoners. If they refused, Essa would kill the women herself. “We will bind their hands and gag their mouths. They will follow us without a fight, or we will kill them.”

“We won’t be any trouble,” Lisalla promised. She knew that as long as she and Danna were alive there was at least a small chance of rescue. All she could do now was obey her captors and hope for a miracle.

Reylin loaded the corpses back into the first carriage and sent the horses running toward Na’zora. “That should let our handsome prince know that his fair princess has been accosted. All we have to do is wait, and he will ride gallantly into battle to save his lady love.” Laughter erupted from the elves as Reylin made broad sweeping motions with his arms. Humans had a romantic nature about them that was alien among the Wild Elves. They had use only for practical matters, not fairytale love stories.

The elves freed the carriage horses from their reins, allowing them to graze and roam at their pleasure. They left the two remaining carriages without bothering to rummage through their contents. The trivial belongings of a pampered princess were of no use to the elves.

Essa bound the two women’s hands with leather straps and gagged their mouths with cotton strips torn from Lisalla’s own skirt. The air was bitterly cold, and Lisalla wished she had the warm blankets from the carriage to comfort her. As it was, she had only a thin yellow dress to shield her from the cold. Danna seemed untouched by the winter air, as she was too distraught over her capture to notice the weather.

The party continued north in search of the Mountain Clan. This would take them to the outskirts of the Kingdom of Ra’jhou, but they had no intention of going any farther. Ra’jhou had never made war against the elves, and they had no idea their princess had been taken captive. If they dared to enter the war to aid Na’zora, Lisalla would be their first casualty.





Chapter 29




Yori stood at the forge with his grandfather studying a scroll laid out on the workbench before them. They exchanged glances as voices began shouting from the center of town. A crowd began to form, and they were both curious to see what was happening. Cautiously, they approached the crowd where the Overseer was attempting to appease the other elves.

“Everyone, please calm down!” he shouted, flailing his arms in an attempt to catch their attention. “We must not act in haste. We do not know the purpose of these soldiers.”

“Soldiers?” Yori said quietly to his grandfather.

Darin shook his head and shrugged, unaware of the morning’s events.

Reylana shoved her way to the front of the crowd to stand directly in front of the Overseer. “Quiet!” she shouted at the elves. Her auburn hair seemed to flash with anger, and the crowd quieted down to hear what she had to say. “Less than an hour ago, your scouts spotted a large company of Na’zoran soldiers who appeared to be heading this way. They will attack you. You have no choice but to defend yourselves.”

Once again the crowd roared with many different voices. Clearly, the clansmen did not agree on which course to take.

“Calm down, please,” the Overseer said again. “It is true that the scouts have reported a large patrol in our area. However, the Na’zorans would never attack us this close to Al’marr. They would be risking a war on two fronts if they attempted to take land near Al’marr’s borders.”

“You are a fool and a coward as well.” Reylana spat her words at the Overseer. “You must fight!” She drew her sword and raised it before the crowd. Many of the elves cheered in response, while others remained silent.