Free The Revenge of the Elves by Gary Alan Wassner Page A

the Gem was inside it.”
    “When the lights are extinguished, it continues like this for a while. I used to stay here until it faded, though it made me sad when it was gone,” Esta told them. “There are a few such places of safety throughout the land.”
    “I found one in the cave Preston led us to,” Tomas said.
    “Yes, and I know of some in other cities as well,” the Queen replied. “They will be useful in the days and months ahead. I will share the locations with you before you depart.”
    “Did your husband know then that Caeltin’s sight could not penetrate these walls?” Elion asked.
    Esta dipped her head in acknowledgment, impressed at his observation. “The Dark One didn’t figure so prominently into our plans in those years. Though we knew how dangerous he was, his power was less obvious and he manifested it differently than he does today. The threat was less specific, less direct. I didn’t live with it in my awareness as I do today. My husband suspected Pembar had something more important in mind when he suggested the construction of this room,” she remembered. “He so rarely intervened in the world by then. But as I think about it now, he must have known. As with many things, he wished not to unsettle me any more than was necessary at the time.”
    “It’s fortunate he took you into his confidence with regard to its whereabouts at least,” Elion said.
    “There was little he kept from me that was truly important Prince,” she responded as if hurt by the implication of Elion’s comment. She would not tolerate her relationship with her husband being sullied by friend or foe. “He did desire that my mind remain clear and unencumbered by fear. He believed decisions were better made when one could reason without undue worry.”
    “You loved him very much,” Tomas remarked.
    “Yes, I did. I do,” she paused for a moment, her thoughts far away. “Filaree and I are his legacies. He would have felt and spoken the same way about us had our deaths preceded his.” She shook her head with certainty. “But now we must deal with more important things!” Esta said, slapping her thigh with her beringed hand and putting her memories away once again. “Sidra asked you to come here to perform a task she could or would not perform herself. We’re safe here. So how can I help?”
    “She told us she wouldn’t converse directly with the Chosen,” Elion said.
    “She said it was impossible for her to do so, though she didn’t tell us why. It was odd the way she spoke about their loyalty too,” Tomas recalled. That comment had bothered him then and he was reminded of it again now.
    “That of the Chosen?” Esta’s interest was piqued.
    “Yes,” they replied in unison.
    Sidra’s concerns disturbed Elion as well. “She made a distinction between being true to the Lalas and true to the earth. I always believed they were one and the same,” he said.
    Esta pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. “This is a serious differentiation, though Sidra has never accepted the preeminence of the trees the way most of us have.”
    “Is it possible we have reached a moment in time when our purposes and those of the Lalas are no longer the same?” Elion asked, shifting in his seat. “I’m unaccustomed to thinking in such terms.”
    “The trees are dying. They’re leaving the earth and we shall inherit all that is left behind as long as we can stop Colton from destroying it. We must learn why they are willing to depart at this juncture, and we must fill the vacuum their absence creates,” Esta said, pounding the arm of the chair with her fist. “They are not telling us what to do. They are not telling us why they are departing. The grand scheme, if there is one, may never be known to us. But anything is possible and we must prepare in whatever ways we can.”
    “Your daughter has inherited your perspective, my Lady. She is as practical as you. But what confuses me is the role of the