destroying.'
Kham didn't have to know, beyond knowing that it would pain this elf, make him pay. 'Move any closer to it and we can find out.'
Glasgian froze. 'Don't be a fool, ork. Don't listen to the dragon's lies.'
'How do ya know what dat wizworm said?'
'I know he lies.'
'Funny. It said da same about you.'
Kham shifted his position so that he could easily switch targets from the crystal to the elf, but he still kept the weapon aimed at the rock. From his now slightly more elevated position, Kham found he could look past Glasgian and into the pit.
It was full of objects that looked like big eggs, shattered shells, and the things that must have come out of them. He didn't recognize much of it, except that one of the corpses looked something like a tiny dragon. With a shock, Kham realized that he was standing on the edge of a dragon's nest.
His reaction caused him to drop the muzzle of the launcher. Glasgian took advantage of Kham's distraction to make a break for the crystal. Snapping the launcher back up, Kham put a round between Glasgian and the stone. The concussion knocked Glasgian back, tumbling him over and rolling him back down the slope. Dirt and stones pelted down.
Towering over both of them, the crystal sat serenely, undisturbed by the violence around it. It was a promise of power, a gift of new life, and a harbinger of doom, all at once. Kham shivered.
'If this is left undone, there will be hell to pay,' the elf said quietly.
'Price has been pretty high already.' 'You cannot imagine how much more it will be. Your children will curse you, should they have tongues left in their heads. Your race and all mankind will vilify you, if you stop me from doing what must be done.'
Doing what? Killing orks and breaking eggs. 'Ain't never had much good said about me by norms. Less by elves.'
'Other elves have been foolish. They have not seen your inner spirit, as I now have. The courage you have, the conviction you show.' 'Candadrek.'
'I understand your anger. But I did not know what I should have known from the first. I want to make amends. We need not be enemies.' 'Wasn't my choice.'
'Mistakes and misunderstandings. And not all on my part, either. You know that we elves are long-lived,
that we have fine things, that we have magic, and you are jealous. You need not be jealous. You too can have such fine things, have your life eased by magic. I can see that you will live a long life, too. All you need do is extend a little trust.'
Could Glasgian do what he had just said? How could Kham trust this elf? 'Ya tried ta kill me and my family.'
'As I said, mistakes and misunderstandings.' The elf smiled ingratiatingly, showing perfect teeth that glinted in a beautiful, though dirt-smudged face. 'I did not know the strength of spirit in you then. I do now. Let us work together. Let us sear this wretched place with fire and spread its ashes on the wind. Let us face the dragon together. With my magic and your spirit, we will surely conquer. We shall be as Lojan and Yasmundr, mage and indomitable warrior. They will sing our praises forever.'
Kham had always wanted to be a big shot warrior. That was the dream all orks had; being warriors was what orks did. So why did he have such a sour feeling in his stomach? 'Den what?'
'Then we will be the heroes. The world will be ours.'
'All for geeking one old worm? Ain't likely.'
'You think in the short term, a common failing of your kind. You must-you will-learn to think more clearly. To have perspective.'
A slight shift in the wind brought the stink of burnt flesh to Kham's nostrils. Perspective, huh? Maybe he was finally getting a little of that. 'I ain't no warrior hero.'
The elf looked disappointed. 'Perhaps I still misunderstand you a little. Perhaps the martial road is not your true concern. You have spoken of your family. Could it be that you only wish peace, to go home to them and live out your life? '
Yeah, it could be. Much the elf would know about that. 'Maybe.'
'Then peace can be yours. You need not be a warrior and face the worms, dying after a short, brutal life. I can make it different for you. And I will, if only you will let me use the crystal.' The elf took a step up the slope. 'I can bring a lasting peace to this world, rid it of the vermin.' Another step. 'You need only leave.'
'So ya can come hunting me when ya feel like it.' 'No. I will let you go. You and the other survivors.' Glasgian gave him a sympathetic look. 'Ah, you thought you were alone. Indeed, some of the others still live, but they shall not live long without attention. You dally. The crystal gives power, and power can heal.'
Kham didn't know who was still alive, maybe no one besides himself. The elf was a proven liar, and the groan could have been one of his illusions. So why was Kham still listening? 'And why should I trust you?'
'Because you sense that I speak truth. I will do what I have said I will do. Have no doubt of that. I am a prince of the true blood, and my word is binding. But you are not of my line, and you do not understand the bonds of the given word. So, for you, I will swear an oath. By the bones of the Mother and by my hope to see the beauty of harmony in the twilight, I will do as I have said. It is a solemn oath.'
Kham didn't recognize the oath, but the sincerity in the elfs voice was persuasive. The fragger really wanted to get his hands back on the stone. Could he be trusted?
'I'll see that you live like a king,' Glasgian offered as he took another step toward the crystal.
Crown the wise, the dragon had said. Was it wisdom to let the elf regain control of the crystal? Harry al ways said wisdom came with age, making it something Kham had little of. Nor was he likely to get a whole lot more wisdom; he knew an ork's life span. The elfs promises, even if they were good, were made to him and him alone. Once he was gone, what then? The elf would still be around to do as he pleased.
'What about my children?' Kham asked in a voice that quavered more than he expected.
Solemnly, the elf nodded. 'They will live in a better world.'
'Your world.'
The elf took another step. 'Yes, my world.' Act, or end as a slave, as your race was in ancient times, the dragon had said. So who was the liar? Kham pointed the launcher at the stone. 'No!' The elf shouted. Kham pulled the trigger.
'NOOOOO!' Glasgian's shout changed pitch, warping itself into a scream of agony. The rocket impacted the crystal and exploded. Impossibly, the elfs voice carried over the sound of the explosion.
An arc of blue-white energy sizzled from the smoking stump of the crystal and speared the elf in the forehead. He jerked as if he had been jolted with a trillion volts of electricity. Thunder rolled in a sky suddenly dark with storm clouds, and bolts of lightning crashed down, striking all around them. The rising wind tugging at him, Kham let go of the launcher and dropped to the ground. As the storm grew, Kham burrowed deeper. Each bolt set his muscles twitching. Face-down in the dirt, he thought about Lissa and the kids, wishing, and almost praying, that he would see them again. Had he done the right thing? Had he just blown their futures to smithereens?
At length the tempest abated and Kham thought that it might be safe to look around. He raised his head. The clearing looked little different. A thin trail of smoke rose from where the Airstar had crashed beyond the trees. Had Rabo survived? A whimpering drifted to him from the edge of the deeper part of the pit. The Weeze. She was still alive at least. What a tough ork. As Kham stood up shakily, his gaze fell upon the elf.
Glasgian lay limp, draped over the broken crystal. The fragments of the stone were no longer tinted red, but had returned to the pale green color they had been in the cavern. The elf clasped one last rose-colored shard in a hand seared free of skin. As Kham watched, the color faded from the broken crystal.
The elf's expression was slack, Spittle sliding down his cheek. His face was no longer youthful, no longer beautiful, and his hair, once full and fair, now only remained in patches of grungy gray. His lined and withered visage was barely recognizable. Incredibly, his chest still moved. He was alive.
He was also beyond helping anyone do anything, including hirhself.
'Not worth the killing.'
Kham spat on him and turned away.
