Free The Revenge of the Elves by Gary Alan Wassner

are. I didn’t mean that in the way it sounded,” he replied.
    “No offense taken, Prince.” Raising her chin, she turned and continued deeper into the room. “Sidra is a unique woman. I know more about her than many, and I too know very little. But one thing I’m certain of and I have been since the moment we met, is that she is a person I can trust with anything.”
    Reaching upward, she ignited a small torch that hung recessed in the wall. A winding stairway appeared just ahead of them. She reached back, pushed the doorway behind Tomas until it closed with a click and walked past him to the steps.
    “Come,” she beckoned.
    They followed her up the carved stairs to the room above. It had no windows and no doors other than the one through which they climbed. The room was unadorned and the floor too was bare and unfinished. Smooth, black stone paved the walls and lay beneath their feet as well. The flickering light rising from below was diffused by their bodies and cast large shadows across the chamber as they emerged through the opening. They could not see the ceiling in the semi-darkness but the room felt secure.
    “This was built by my husband when the castle was first constructed. He laid many of the stones himself. Few left alive know of this place.” Esta looked from left to right. “I have not been in here in a long, long time.”
    The room was octagonal and about thirty paces from end to end. Walking to the middle of it, Esta lit the round fixture suspended from the ceiling and the room came alive. The stone work was seamless and impressive. Black as black could be, the rock glittered as if lit up from within. Neither Elion nor Tomas had ever seen its type before.
    “Yes, it is unusual!” Esta explained without being asked. “My husband felt that if the sun was never going to shine inside this room, then it would need to have a luminosity all its own. He polished most of these himself. Beautiful, aren’t they?” she said.
    “Why did he construct it in the first place? What purpose did it serve?” Elion asked. A room with no windows, shut away from the world.
    “He used to visit Pembar often. You have heard the tales?” She didn’t wait for them to answer but continued on with her story. “Once, after he returned from a long sojourn into the Winding Woods, he advised me he needed to build a place of safety where he and I could go in the event we were imperiled. It struck me as quite odd at the time because Altair was a haven in those days. I recall wondering why he was suddenly being selfish about only our welfare. He was ordinarily such a socially conscientious man.”
    “Seramour too was safe then, my Lady,” Elion recollected.
    “Our world was a different place indeed,” she agreed. “And Pembar was much more communicative all those tiels ago, still almost human. He was a force then. And although my husband never specifically told me what they discussed, he led me to believe this chamber was his suggestion. He valued his opinion, and took his words to heart. As it turned out, he was rather prescient.” Esta walked toward a group of high backed chairs and gestured for them to join her. “There is no reason for us to stand here and talk. Come. Sit.” After they were seated and facing each other, she continued. “I found it difficult the first time I entered this room. It felt detached and apart from the energy of life, orphaned so to speak. The feeling unsettled me and I was very apprehensive. But as soon as we closed the door and lit the lights, the warmth the stone generated dispelled my concerns. The blocks were hewn from a quarry within the Winding Woods themselves.”
    “Ah, so that accounts for why we have never seen any like them before,” Elion said.
    “Yes, there are none like them,” she replied and turned to Tomas. “You are so quiet? Is everything alright?” Esta asked.
    “Yes. Fine. I was just admiring the stone myself,” he replied. “It glitters as if a piece of