The Elf King by Sean McKenzie Page A

to Estrial and find out what I can. I will see
you again, my friend. And thank you.”
    Kloe Datris gripped the old
man’s hand firmly. “Luck be with you.”
    “ To us both.”
    Kloe Datris motioned for
the old man to follow as he guided him out of the room and into the
hall, staying in the shadows, avoiding crowds and faces, turning
this way and that, until they reached a staircase leading up. After
looking to make sure no one was watching, the Head of the Red
Knights touched a series of blocks against the wall and a section
of the staircase swung wide. A dark passage lay beyond.
    “ Go quickly.” Kloe Datris
began shoving Oan into the corridor. His eyes were intent, his face
flush with determination.
    Wilt Oan nodded, slipping
into the passage out of sight. Wasting no time, Kloe Datris pushed
in one block next to the door, and the staircase swung back tight
to the wall.
    “ Now to find the
sorcerer.”
     

     
    Q ueen Sienna walked into her bed
chamber, passing between the four Red Knights stationed at her
door, barred the door closed behind her and dropped face-first onto
her bed. Her body felt ill; her mind even more-so. She had not
eaten nor drank in longer than she could remember. Sleep was out of
the question; especially now. All the hours of the day she spent
waiting; waiting for actions completed in the dark to be brought to
the light; waiting for Turyn’s assassin to be discovered. Waiting
for the dark-cloaked one she met who promised to bring her son to
her. Thinking of the deal they made not only made her sick to her
stomach, but also made her anxious every minute of the
day.
    Her mind was losing the
battle for reasoning. At least for now, she knew it.
    A warm wind blew into the
chamber from the large open windows, but went unnoticed. Just as
Sienna, Queen of Cillitran, was drifting into much needed rest, a
cold hand embraced the back of her neck. The air turned suddenly
unpleasant. She jumped into a sitting position, instantly awake.
When she saw the blackness standing before her, she repositioned
her body, moving further from it.
    “ How did you get in?” She
tried to sound unconcerned, but failed.
    Covered in a black cloak,
hooded and appearing faceless, the figure hissed back coldly. It’s
voice was a soft buzzing like a swarm of insects. “You have done
what I asked. Very good of you.”
    Sienna’s body shivered with
every word it spoke, as it was in all their meetings. She kept her
gaze at the other’s chest, keeping away from the faceless cowl,
worried at what she might find if something did show.
    She swallowed hard. “Have
you brought my son? Where is he?”
    “ Issilix
Delsoue?”
    The air coming from its
mouth alone was enough for her to gag in response. “I could not
find it. I told you, I’ve never even heard of it. I think you are
mistake—”
    “ I want that sword!” It
shrieked in anger, mouth open, eyes filled with a wicked hatred. It
watched the woman slide herself away.
    “ You promised my son!” she
snapped regrettably, then returned to her passive form. “I just
want my son. We made a deal.”
    “ I am altering the
deal.”
    The words made Sienna’s
teeth chatter as she tried to respond. “What do you want with
me?”
    “ You.”
    Sienna would have ran or
screamed for help, but the dark figure gestured towards her and she
was held firm. She could feel a grip tighten around her neck, her
body instantly nauseated. The figure before her, the one she had
killed her husband for, began pressing its body against hers. She
was going to die, she knew. It would kill her now. It had never
meant to bring Pal Rae to her as promised. She should have known
better. She should have told Turyn of their first encounter when
the dark stranger offered her the proposition: the king for her
son. She should have listened to all the warnings screaming at her
from the beginning.
    Queen Sienna choked on the
pungent air now consuming her. Waves of nausea flowed through her
body, entwined with