“But why would you create such a thing?”
He shut his eyes. I saw the tiny wrinkles in his skin. He seemed older, more careworn.
“Daddy, why?” I hadn’t called him Daddy since I was five. That came out of nowhere. The familiar sound of an elven clock came from somewhere, its tick-tock musical and airy, like the pings of a bell.
“That talisman was meant for someone else,” he finally said. “I suspect I’ve been misled.”
“It was meant for whom?”
“For a person of great danger, a threat to all of Faythander.”
“Does this person have a name?”
He hesitated. “I dare not speak it. You shouldn’t be involved in this. I had hoped to protect you. I am sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“But I feel I must. There are powers in Faythander that are greater than anything you’ve been taught about. They are kept hidden for a reason. Years ago, I discovered one of these powers deep within a cave. I harnessed it. I’d meant to use it for good, but magic is like clay—it is neither good nor evil, but can be molded into whatever shape you please.”
“You made it evil?”
“No, I was hired to make it a force for destruction. But you must understand, I was led to believe that this talisman would destroy a very evil being. I gave it shape and purpose; those who came after me tainted it.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed him. He made it sound as if he were innocent, yet he couldn’t be that naïve. The guy was old enough to be my great-great grandfather, and with his age came centuries of wisdom. I wasn’t buying it. “So, you’re saying you had nothing to do with putting this thing in the tombs?”
He shook his head.
“Then how did it get there?”
“I do not know.”
“Then who did you sell the dream catcher to?”
“It was a young girl from Earth Kingdom, though she worked for someone else.”
“Who?” I asked.
“I was never given a name.”
Awfully convenient. He claimed to have harnessed one of the most powerful magics on Faythander, one more dangerous than I could possibly imagine, and he sold it to someone who wouldn’t bother to give his name. Smooth, Dad.
“The girl that you sold it to—what did she look like?”
“Very thin, dark skin. She seemed quite nervous, though I never knew about what.”
My heart sank. Sissy.
I should have known. I remembered the first time I’d pulled out my magic case in front of her. She hadn’t flinched when I’d opened the mirror, and now I knew why. She’d seen Faythander magic before. It was nothing new to her. But why had she been in Faythander buying powerful talismans?
“Father, I don’t understand, why did you sell it to her—surely you knew how dangerous that kind of power was in the wrong hands?”
“Of course, but I had no choice.”
“Why?”
“I would rather not say. There are forces—”
“Forces of evil, yes, I get it. But I’m already involved. I’ve been attacked multiple times by various evil, nasty creatures. I’ve traveled my world and yours looking for the villain responsible for kidnapping my godson. The goblins are involved. I suspect they’re trying to summon Theht.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“So please, be honest with me. Why did you sell the dream catcher to my godson’s sister?”
He threaded his fingers together. A dark look crossed his face. In his eyes, I saw fear.
Chapter 31
“I could be killed for what I’m about to tell you,” my father said.
“Killed?” I asked. Through the room’s arched windows, I watched the afternoon light turn golden orange. Evening approached, and with it came a chill I couldn’t shake.
“There are those who believe that some secrets are more precious than life.” My father crossed to the hearth, walking with the fluid movements only an elf could duplicate. I heard a whispered word of magic, and a tiny flame ignited on the stack of dry wood.
“Will you swear not to repeat what I tell you?”
Fire spread over the logs. Soon, it roared from the open hearth. Even so, I couldn’t shake the chill. An elven oath wasn’t something to be taken lightly. I’d learned that from him.
“I swear it,” I told him.
He nodded. His voice became quiet. “Have you heard of the Gravidorum?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“Most people haven’t, and for good reason. They are an elven secret society, an elite group involved in the highest government positions. Secrecy may sound like an innocuous power. In truth, it is their greatest asset.”
“How do you know about them?”
He paced the floor. “Because I’m one of them—or was.”
This didn’t come as much of a surprise. Father had always been guarded. I knew he kept secrets. And now I knew why. “So you were a member of a secret society. Why did you leave?”
He waved his hand. “It’s a very long story. Suffice it to say, I had a falling out. The importance of the Gravidorum is in its history—a history it tries desperately to protect.”
“History of what?” I asked.
“History of whom, would be the appropriate question.”
“Okay, history of whom?”
Dad and his proper usage of pronouns. Ugh.
He paused in his pacing to stare at me. I tried not to flinch under his gaze. “Tell me what you’ve been taught of elven history.”
Okay, I could play along. “Pa’horan the First saved the elves from war. He united them. They became a peaceful species and—”
“No, no,” he cut me off. “Before that.”
I raised an eyebrow. “There’s nothing recorded before that. They evolved from our first ancestors after the two worlds were rended.”
“Yes, yes. They evolved, and who else?”
Where was he going with this? “About a million other species. The dragons, the pixies, the goblins.”
“Goblins, yes. That is what you were taught, correct?”
“Of course. Everyone was taught the same thing.”
He took a seat beside me. His voice became quiet. “What if I told you that the goblins didn’t evolve with the other species? That they were elves once, like us?”
Could it be true? If it was, then this was huge. “They were elves?”
“They were elves with extraordinary abilities.
