But the last of House Turlach, Elspethe, was gone, and in truth, she was Elspethe Turlach no more. Ellie, the name her brother had given her, would suit her just fine. She knew that her mentor and teacher Taeben would understand and would do what he could to provide her with sanctuary once he saw the amount of platinum she offered in exchange. As the lush green grass of the Great Forest formed under her feet, Ellie drew a spell of camouflage around her and headed for the gates of Alynatalos. She could only hope that her mentor would be there when she arrived.
Two
Outside The High Elf Citadel of Alynatalos
Ellie had only made it halfway across the distance to the entrance to Alynatalos when she had to duck to avoid being seen by a couple of wood elves walking toward the wizard spires. The towers provided a gateway through the Void for those without magic. She was still under her magical camouflage—but sometimes the druids that lived in the trees could see through it and Ellie didn’t want to risk detection. She was close enough to hear them as they passed and for once was thankful that her brother had made her and her sister learn the language of the tree-dwellers.
She answered the call of her mentor and spent weeks in the Great Library at the Outpost, researching and making notes for him on a variety of spells and incantations. Unfortunately, she had not had enough time with him to become fluent in Eldyr and a lot of the tomes on his list were written in that ancient language of the dragons. This morning’s study was interrupted suddenly by a horrible pain—she felt as though she was being pulled inside out. Something had happened to him—something awful—and she was on her way to the high elf citadel to find him. Horrible ideas danced through her mind even now as she hid and she focused her attention on understanding the elves from Aynamaede to push those images away.
“Can you believe that was all the doing of that wizard from Alynatalos?” one of the females said, shaking her head.
“No, who would have thought that a cousin of our kind would have had such a grudge against us,” the other one replied. “Although I’m sure it’s not a grudge, really, he was just lovesick.”
“That goes beyond lovesick,” the first elf said, her forehead wrinkling. “He took on the Bane of the Forest and one of the finest druids of our race!” She balled up her fist. “I just can’t believe any of us fell for his treachery—least of all Gin, the true Nature Walker!”
“Iseabel,” the other elf said, putting a hand on her companion’s arm, “we can’t blame anyone but Taeben. He wanted your cousin, Gin, and he was ready to go to any lengths necessary for her.” Ellie put her fist in her mouth to keep from crying out in shock and anger. Taeben? Her Taeben? Her A’chrya? “I hear that he has made amends for what he did, so to speak.” The pieces began to fall into place, but her soul fought against it.
“Aye,” the elf apparently called Iseabel replied. “I hear that the Rajah of Qatuanari himself ended Taeben’s miserable life.”
Ellie felt faint. This must be the reason for the pain she felt in the library—for the darkness whenever she reached through their shared bond to find Taeben. There was nothing there—he had gone to the Void, and she couldn’t reach him there. She sank into the lush green of the forest floor. She had no one left without Taeben. Her world seemed to rotate and then collapse as she felt grass come up under her face.
Ellie lay there in the grass for a long time, not caring that the magic that kept her invisible had worn off. Luckily, she had concealed herself well behind some trees, so she was not noticed by passersby on their way to Alynatalos. Where to go now? She had nothing, no one…but herself. How many times had Taeben told her that the only person he truly trusted was himself? That last lesson would not go unheeded. Her mind wandered sadly to the last time she had seen him.
Ellie looked up into familiar, silvery eyes and tried to get to her feet but found that her legs did not want to cooperate. Taeben reached down and pulled her up onto her feet, holding her by her forearms until he was sure she was steady enough to stand on her own. “Elspethe, my student, my dark flower… You are a marvel. I have never told you that…but you are.” She blushed, unable to make a sound, let alone speak. “You have taken all that I have taught you and never complained once. I think, had I had more time, I could have created in you an amazing sorceress.” His
