Elspethe shot up from her seat on the bed. “It is absolutely NOT that time! Have you lost your mind? Kam, they will KILL you for that! The elders will kill you AND, I might remind you, that will leave me without a head of household. I could be sold to the humans as a slave, or worse… They could trade me to the above-ground elves in exchange for a prisoner.” Elspethe moved in front of her brother and then lifted his chin until his gaze met hers. “Kam, please, I know this is hard for you. I won’t pretend I can understand what you felt for that…for your Lairky. But the way to honor her memory is NOT to get yourself killed and your family ruined. Do you not understand that? Would she have wanted you dead?”
Kamendar shook his head sadly. “No. You are right, of course, my baby sister. How did you become as smart as a male?”
“I sort of had to, I guess,” she said. “With Mother and Father dead and you off with your studies, someone had to make sure that we had food and clothing. Mae was…well, she was nearly useless when it came to keeping a house. I may have been as smart as any male, but she was as strong as several.”
Kamendar nodded as a sad smile crossed his lips. “She was as strong as any lion roaming the plains of the Grasslands,” he said. “Mother and Father had much to be proud of in their daughters, not the least of which being the fact that you two were both born alive!” It happened, on occasion, that the natural animosity toward every other living thing that plagued the Ikedrian race made an appearance before they were even born. Multiples would fight with each other in the mother’s womb, and occasionally there would only be one fetus that would survive until birth. Twins were hailed as a mark of a powerful bloodline. The strength of the Turlach line made the death of her parents even more surprising.
“Anyway, what would you like for your dinner tonight, Kam? Shall I run to D’abth for some food?” The House of D’abth ran one of Kamendar’s favorite taverns. “You might go with me; I’m sure there would be loads of young ones there looking for some company,” she said, winking at him.
“You are kind, my sister, but I have no taste for that anymore,” Kamendar said sadly. “You know what I like to eat; if you got me something from D’abth, I would be grateful.” He left her room, and she heard his door slam. She sighed. Her brother needed to get out more, and if there was a young female that could turn his head – so much the better. He was well known in Ikedria, and there were loads of females just waiting for the chance to join a noble house, but he showed no interest. Elspethe wondered if he might have left the wood elf pregnant before she died, but she dared not ask. That sort of thing would have gotten both of them exiled at best and killed at worst. The baby would have been killed without question as an abomination by both races.
She gathered up her things, stuffing a few platinum pieces into a small bag tied around her waist, and headed for the door to her bedroom. She stopped in front of a long mirror attached to one of the walls and studied herself. Elspethe and Maelfie had been almost identical. The only difference between them had been the color of their hair. The blood-red X at the center of her eyes was a Turlach family trait that Elspethe took great pride in possessing…most of the time.
The door to their dwelling swung shut with a bang as Elspethe hurried over to D’abth. The sooner she got her brother fed, the sooner she could leave for another night’s exploring and—more importantly—searching for Taeben. The tavern was bustling when she pushed open the heavy stone door and peered inside. Elspethe scowled. The owner happened to be at the bar and waved her over.
Lsynda D’abth was Kamendar’s age, and it was well known that she considered herself a perfect mate for him. She smiled an oily, malevolent smile at Elspethe. “Shall I fix up your brother’s favorites tonight?” she asked, her breath reeking of the honey mead that she sold to patrons at the bar. Elspethe nodded, afraid to respond because she was holding her breath against the smell. None of her family consumed any alcoholic beverages; therefore, the smell alone would make her sick. “Be right back, sister Ellie,” she said as she grinned. Elspethe shook her head. Lsynda returned directly with a hamper full of food and drink, and the mead smell had been replaced by an awful lot of perfume. Elspethe wrinkled her nose to keep from gagging.
“How much do I owe you, Lys?” Elspethe said, each word she spoke hard work as she fought to keep the perfume smell from going down her throat.
“On the house,” Lsynda replied. “Tell your brother that if he likes it, he knows where to find me to thank me.” She grinned again at Elspethe, who slid off the stool at the bar and hurried to the exit. Only after the stone door swung shut with a bang did the wizard take a deep breath.
Elspethe did not tarry on her way back home. “Kam?” she called as she pushed open the front door and deposited the food on the table by the fire. “Kam? Your food is here!” She took off her cloak and then stood still to listen, both with her ears and magic. It was far, far too quiet on both fronts. Every hair on her body stood on end suddenly, and she knew that something was terribly wrong.
With trembling hands, she pushed open the door to her
