Elf World Shadows Rising Page 7

  Myst pulled out his dagger, “Who do you work for? This can be easy on you, or my friend here can break every bone in your body.”

  “I don’t know.”

  Moss grabbed his little finger and snapped it like a twig. “Wrong answer.”

  The Moon Elf cried out.

  “These walls are thick, no one will hear him scream,” Moss assured.

  “Who do you work for?”

  Moss started to reach for another finger,

  “I don’t know, really! He never told me his name, he sends me messages. I only met him once, I swear.”

  “Who do you work for?” Again Myst asked in a frighteningly dispassionate monotone.

  With a look of terror on his face the Moon Elf cried, “ I don’t know. He had these weird pale green eyes, but I don’t know his name. He wanted me to follow you and...”

  “Last time, who do you work for?”

  “I don’t know. Wait! Wait! The other Elf in the room with him called him something as I was leaving, but, they will kill me, please.”

  “I will kill you, that I promise you. Now tell me.”

  “He called him, Dagra, that’s all I know.”

  Myst look him in the eye, “I believe you.” Quick as death he lunged forward with the dagger, a fast strike to the left eye, and the moon Elf was dead before his head hit the floor.

  “You did promise to kill him didn't ya, gotta keep your word, ya don't want to be an Oath Breaker.”

  “Throw the body out the window, over to one side so it looks as if he came from another apartment.”

  “Now we got a name, I’ll start looking in the morning. If he told us the truth, we’ll have something by lunch.”

  Moss tossed the body out the window, with luck the stab wound to the eye would not even be noticed, not that anyone would care, the hotel would see things hushed up.

  “I’m going to bed Moss, see you for lunch, and oh by the way you’re a bloody terrible bartender. Good night.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Kayla awoke with a start. She was naked in a dark slave pen, the smell of fear and unwashed bodies heavy in the air. “How long have I been here, and where is here?”

  No one answered; she was presumably alone in the pen. Well she guessed that was a good thing; she could have been dumped into a cage full of dangerous male orc slaves. Who ever was responsible obviously hadn’t wanted to inflict that on her, at least not yet.

  She assumed that this was not a ransom attempt. It must be political, but what was the motive? Was it just an internal faction within Kush, sanctioned or unsanctioned by the government, or was this attack on her committed by an external force? The Shadow Elves most likely were behind it, one way or another. They would definitely be the ones to benefit whatever the end motive was.

  She searched around the pen blindly; she felt a bucket that seemed to be drinking water and one that smelled like a waste bucket. That immediately brought on the need to pee badly; she used the waste bucket, and then sat back down to wait. The small eight by eight cell was too small to allow her to pace. The sticky floor was covered with a substance that felt like honey but smelled rank and terrible. She started stretching to have something to do, but the gummy substance caused her to stick to the floor. She felt biting bugs crawling in her hair and across her body; she screamed and began trying to rid herself of the lice.

  Almost immediately a trap door opened, and a plate was pushed into the cell. “I demand to be released, I’m the accredited Ambassador from Solara, and this is an act of war against my country,” she yelled at the door. Not that it would do any good she knew, but it was kind of expected, so what the hell, it made her feel better. “You will all die for this attack on a representative of the Empire!” That was even better, she would enjoy seeing her threat turned into reality. If she survived that is.

  Her eyes had somewhat adjusted to the gloom, and she could see that the food tray did not look appetizing, but she knew that she would need to keep up her strength if she was to survive and possibly escape.

  Boiled turnips greens and lumps of what might have been goat meat, but probably wasn’t. She ate it anyway, wolfing it down as fast as possible so not to taste it. Putting the tray back by the trap door, she squatted down and drank from the water bucket, metallic tasting stale water, yummy. Someone was really going to pay, that she swore, they are going to pay.

  The next day repeated the same routine, eating the slop and sitting alone in the dark. She tried to sleep as much as possible to make the time go faster. It didn’t help that she knew that someone was watching her every move. If she listened hard, she could hear the noises that the watcher made; it was freaking her out at first, but now she was used to it.

  By the fourth or perhaps the fifth day, she was really getting bored and angry. Her body now completely covered with the sticky stuff that covered the floor. A thin layer had spread all over her body. She was getting used to the feeling almost, at least it stopped the bugs from biting her now. She hardly noticed the pervasive smell anymore, most likely because she herself now reeked as bad as the sewer that she was stuck in.

  To help pass the time, she was playing a mental game, trying to discover clues to what was watching her. It wasn’t an Elf or Nymph she knew, because the breathing was too heavy. That also most likely let out Gnomes as well, so she was convinced it was a Dwarf.

  She got up and went over to the bucket again. “You like watching me pee, aye dwarf, you getting your jollies?” No response from the watcher, nothing at all. Disappointed she went back to the corner and started her stretching exercises. The cold hard floor had started to make her stiff.

  Just then, the trap door opened with her daily meal, right on time. Kayla jumped over to the trap door and looked through before her watcher could close it. An Ogre! Oh my God an Ogre, what a huge and cruel monster he looked!

  It was a unbelievable, an Ogre, not a dwarf like she had thought. It was the first one she had ever seen. They were nearly as rare as Satyrs, and less likely to be in civilized towns. Ogres are were a barbarous race of tall, semi-intelligent beings. They resemble coarse bloated Dwarves about 7 to 8 feet tall with heavy builds averaging 350 to 500 pounds. This one had thick looking light colored skin. For the first time Kayla was truly frightened. There was only one person in Zengara that was rumored to employ an Ogre as a slave master. The one of the most powerful elves after the Emperor, Marif Haddar.

  In the palace far above Kayla, Marif Haddar paced up and down his private study. It was filled with every possible luxury and extravagance that could be packed into the room. Normally Star Elves are a little more subtle, but not Marif. Silk and satin covered everything, all in various shades of purple. Gold scroll work decorated the ceiling, and vivid paintings of naked women in obscene and quite impossible exhibition, covered the walls.

  “You told me that this would not come back on me, Navdis! Now I find out that a Solaran spy knows that my Captain Dagra was the one who took the blonde bitch.”

  “You were well paid for the risks that you are taking, Haddar. My mistress paid you well.”

  “I should not have trusted you, Shadow Elf. I will not fall for your tricks anymore,” Marif sputtered in anger.

  “Relax, it is too late now; follow through with the plan and everything will be fine, but if you betray my mistress...”

  “You dare threaten me. I control the most powerful trading House in Kush, who do you think you are?”

  “Yes, I do dare, and you will die if you cross us, as you well know. You are nothing compared to my mistress. She is the right hand of the Empress of Night and Shadow, and I am her knife.”

  “If you are frightened, just move the bitch out of the city. As long as she does not die until I say, it matters not where she is kept. You have a palace in the mountain town of Tazco, move her there.”

  “That would get her out of here, but they know about my Captain Dagra, and he will lead them to me.”

  “Send Dagra as well with the escort, that wo
uld... Kill two birds with one stone, yes.”

  The idea obviously somewhat relieved Marif Haddar. He had spent too much time building up House Haddar, to see it destroyed now, so close to when he would have the power to take the throne.

  “I will do as you say, Navdis. Now if you will excuse me I have matters to take care of.” Marif Haddar rang a hidden bell and one of his private troops of slave girls hurried to him. This group was made up of Elven girls, a capital offence in of itself. “After I let out a little steam that is.” The dozen or so slave girls shuddered as he took out his whips.

  ~

  Navdis left Madrif Haddar to his diversions. He had to report to his mistress how well things were going. Nothing would stop the success of this mission, however things turned out, they would win.

  "Death to the unbelievers!"

  He climbed to the top of one of the minaret towers that he was using during his stay. The opulent room held no attractions to Navdis; it was the height that allowed the magic of his Mistress to work better. He opened the lock box and took out the cut crystal globe, about the size of a large grapefruit. He placed it on the stand, and sent his thoughts into its gleaming depths.

  “Mistress. Mistress, it is I Navdis.”

  After only a couple minutes, he felt her presence, and he was suddenly in a room deep in the jungle of the southern continent. A beautiful female Shadow Elf sat on a golden throne. Ver Sitha was about five foot six inches tall, and a well proportioned one hundred fifteen pounds. Her long purple-black hair and yellow eyes were set off by her pale olive skin.

  She was perhaps the smartest Shadow Elf within the Empire of the Shadow, and Navdis worshipped her as did all of her servants, with blind devotion. It was no surprise that she was Head of the Dark Queen’s, 'Office of External Intelligence'.

  She laid sprawled naked on her throne; one slim and shapely little foot hanging over the armrest, the other wrapped around the head of a red headed male slave. She motioned Navdis to wait till the slave was done.

  She reached down and ran her fingers through the slave’s hair, pulling him in even closer to her. As she tilted her head back in obvious pleasure, she looked Navdis in the eyes, an erotic pulse flashed deep within her yellow orbs. She arched her back, and tossed her snowy hair around in passion. Navdis felt his pulse quicken as he watched the spectacle before him.

  Sitha felt the desire build as the slave finished his ministrations. She slowly took from a wicker basket a small green and yellow snake. It wrapped its body around her arm, its head grasped firmly in her hand. She locked the slave tight against her, reaching forward and placed the snake’s head against the neck of the doomed slave. The snake bit and the slave immediately started thrashing about in the grips of the powerful poison.

  Sitha locked her eyes with Navdis and enjoyed the last of the pleasure that the slave had given her. Death and sex were her two favorite things, and why pass up the opportunity to control both at the same time. She unhooked her leg and putting her foot on the slave’s head, pushed the body to the floor.

  Purring at the snake she asked, “What do you have to report, Navdis?”

  “All is going as planned Mistress. The fool Haddar is moving the ‘prize’ to his mountain retreat as planned. Phase two will begin soon, right on schedule.”

  “This will be a very unpleasant experience for the Star and Sun Elves by the time the conspiracy has taken effect. How wonderful,” she laughed delightedly.

  ~

  The cell door banged open, the Ogre lumbered into the pen. Its greasy long hair framing intense pale eyes. He reached out and caught Kayla by the hair and pulled her squirming to him. He laughed at her obvious fear, and dragged her from the cell. He took every chance to pinch and humiliate her as he dragged her down the corridor, knowing full well the pain and degradation he was causing her.

  Into a tub of hot soapy water and delousing fluid he tossed her. Roughly he proceeded to thoroughly wash her in the noxious bath; his huge hands and sausage like fingers pushed and jostled her, scrubbing her clean of the foul mess. He forced her head under the water, and pulled her up gasping for air. Like a toy he flipped her over and completely washed her, laughing at her pathetic struggles to stop his huge fingers from scrubbing her. “Cant take the fleas with ya, ah no can’t have that.”

  He laughed at her struggles. He enjoyed his work as head slaver. An outcast from his own brutal people, who could not stomach his perverse cruelty; he had indeed found his calling in life. The abusing and breaking of slaves was his specialty, and this was the first Sun Elf he had the chance to play with. To bad his orders were firm that she had to live, or he would be tortured to death himself. He would have liked to fully break this one. She was bigger than the Wild Elf and Nymph slaves he was used to; he might even be able to fully enjoy her, oh well.

  Out of the tub he pulled her by her slim ankle, dripping and red from the scalding water, he gave her a shake holding her high in his right hand, enjoying the sight of her, and then tossed her in the air and caught her buy the wrist as she hung before him. “Humm, giggly...” He threw her over his shoulder, her head hanging down to his stomach, carrying her up a long flight of stairs.

  At last they came to a stable; parked within was a small fully enclosed slave wagon. The rig had four horses harnessed already, but no sign of the driver or escort could she see. Into the back he tossed her.

  “Too bad, no time to play with ya Elf, but you come back and Ivan show you good time.”

  She cowered in the dark hold of the wagon, sobbing as she never had before.

  “I must escape or die trying, anything is better than this,” she sobbed to herself.

  After a few minutes of fearing the Ogre would come back and fulfill his promise, the wagon pitched forward and lumbered down the cobbled street. There was no air in the hold of the wagon and no light. A small grill was opened in the front by the driver, so air could flow in and keep her alive. Of the driver she could see little, just his boots in front of the grill. She could see the high rows of buildings passing by, and she considered yelling for help, but decided that it would not do any good. Slaves probably cried out from these wagons all the time; anyway the driver would just shut the grill, and she would be the one to suffer. She felt the wonderfully clean air blowing across her sore but beautiful face; the spice smells of the City of Zengara, driving the fear down to a low simmer.

  She began trying to formulate a plan of escape; somehow, someway, she would escape and survive. She would make it back to her people, and then there would be a reckoning. And Count Marif Haddar, would die, of that she would see to, even if she had to kill him herself.

  Soon they were going through the east gate, heading out of the city on the long one hundred and fifty mile trip to the mountains.

  CHAPTER 6

  Myst had been awakened earlier just before sunrise, by the quiet knocking of Lieutenant Moss Blackforge. He had quickly discovered who Dagra was and more importantly, who he worked for.

  Moss had waited for him to get dressed as he scrambled out of bed. A naked Renna was running around, trying to fix some coffee and toast before they headed out into the predawn desert cold. Moss, only slightly and not very convincingly, pretending at disapproving of the state of un-dress that she was showing. Myst came out of the bed room in his gray hunting outfit and matching soft boots; the sword slung from its scabbard over his back.

  Moss shivered at the sight of these two running around in nothing and next to nothing in this predawn chill. He wondered as he stood there in dark leather pants, long sleeved gray shirt, and thick sheep skin vest, what it must be like to have the benefits of Earth Magic like these Elves and Nymphs did. To never suffer being too cold or too hot must be nice. But then again perhaps it was better that dwarves had the Water Magic and Fire Magic; no one wanted to see a bunch of half naked Dwarves running around.

  Moss bit into a piece of toast the Nymph had given him, and he savored the warmth the mug of hot coffee was bringing to his cold finge
rs.

  “Time to get a move on,” Myst called as he finally was ready to go.

  “About bloody time. Ya would think this was a holiday the way things are around here.”

  Moss led Myst to a seedy area of town next to the cargo docks. The streets were close, and the air foul, as only the smell of rotten fish and spoiled cargo can smell. The streets were dark in this part of town, and sunrise was still an hour away. The strong feel of salt in the air made the night seem warmer suddenly to Moss. The sounds of waves pushing boats against their moorings, and of sailors casting off to catch the days fish, these were the sounds in the oppressive quiet of the predawn. Here was where most of the free foreign workers lived in Zengara; who made up at least a quarter of the population. Moss came to an old apartment building and up the back stairway they climbed, quiet and unseen as shadows at night.

  “This is where House Haddar’s chief bastard lives. If they have her, he will damn sure know,” whispered Moss into Myst’s ear.

  Quietly, Myst went up onto the roof of the home, scaling a drain pipe, then down onto a balcony that hung out over the harbor. He slipped his dagger into the door and eased up the latch. Stealthily, into the high ceiling dump they went. In a chair sat passed out, was the ugliest Ogre that either of them had ever seen. Moss, as gently as a soft wind, eased a looped cord around the Ogre’s feet, then under and around the back of the chair, and then looped a noose about the Ogres neck.

  The malevolent Ogre, Ivan Grelnich woke and tried to lunge out of the chair. Instead he flopped over, as the noose tightened and nearly strangled him. He lay on the floor gasping and struggling with his bonds, but it did not do any good, it only choked him more until he lost consciousness... Then Moss took a another heavy wire and bound the Ogre’s hands behind his back.

  Moss went over to the Ogre when his eyes opened again. “We want the girl, laddie, and ya are going ta tell me what I want to know. You know that right; there’s no way you can with stand what will happen; the question is, are you too stupid to know any better. Well, Ogre are ya?”