Chapter 23

After teleporting using the portal, the first thing I noticed was that the camp wasn’t in a clearing anymore. Now the tents were disposed among the much thicker trees, and people weren’t around as much as they were before. Daniel was by our closing portal, polishing something on his crossbow. As soon as he saw us coming through the portal, he placed his crossbow on the rock he had been sitting on and stepped over to us.

“Good to see all of you in one piece,” Daniel said, though he raised an eyebrow when he saw Katie being carried.

“We got lucky,” I said, “But we’ll tell you everything in a moment. In the meantime, we’re gonna need a bed in the medical tent for Katie, she nearly got sucked dry by the leech.”

“It’s over there,” said Daniel, pointing to one of the tents in the area, “I’ll go let Tarron know you’ve come back.”

We split up and went for the medical tent. Elisen was inside, tending to someone on one of the beds. the elf looked up when we came in, looked back down, then her head shot back up when she realized what we were doing. She rushed over to us as soon as she could.

“Katie!” Elisen said, “What happened?!”

“Killian happened,” I said, “She lost a lot of blood, but she’s still alive. Is there anything you can do for her?”

“Hold on.” Elisen said. The elf leaned in close to Katie on the bed, placed her hand over her chest, and hummed. A light appeared for a brief second, and Elisen came back up to us.

“She should be fine,” said Elisen, “She did lose a lot of blood, but not enough to do any lasting damage. If you could bring her some food and water, she’ll recover just fine.”

“I can do that,” said Rhys as the two of us stepped out of the tent after she deposited Killian in one of the beds, next to the still-sleeping Kydro and Xelsa, “Riley, you and Katie had to go across the desert to get to the temple. It’s the least I can do since I wasn’t there to help you.”

“You don’t owe us anything Rhys,” I said, “But if you want to, I won’t argue. Meet me in mess tent as soon as you can.”

“Gotcha.” said Rhys as we went to leave the tent. Just as I was about to leave, Felice pulled me back towards Killian and Xelsa.

“Huh?” I said, “Felice, what’s up?”

“Give me one second,” said Felice. She took control of my hands and moved them over Killian and Xelsa, and started speaking.

Lights appeared beneath my hands and consumed Killian and Xelsa before they disappeared.

“You did that with Kydro too,” I said, “So they can never be controlled again.”

“That’s right,” said Felice, “This is as good a time as any.”

With that done, I rejoined Rhys and we made our way into the tent packed with people eating food at tables. Rhys packed some food on a plate, got some water in a mug, and left the tent, while I moved to a table section where no one else was with my own tray of food.

“You feel stressed,” Felice said when I settled into the bench, “Why is that? Katie’s going to be okay.”

“It’s just that Killian almost killed her,” I said, “And I think the only reason he didn’t fully go through with it was because he wanted to kill me first. I only survived because Rhys was there. What would have happened if she didn’t meet with us just before we got into the temple? Would I have died?”

“I’m sure you would have survived.” said Felice, “You’re never alone, moor-acu. I’m always with you.”

I smiled.

“But that’s not the only thing bugging you, is it?” Felice asked, “You’re stressed about the fact that there’s only one left, and he's the one that you have interesting thoughts about, isn’t it?”

“… But they aren’t my thoughts, are they?” I asked, “I think they’re yours.”

Felice said nothing in response. She was shocked that I called her out like this. That was the clue I needed to know I was right.

“So all my thoughts concerning Zapp, they’re yours,” I said, “And considering the feelings I have towards him, which I’ve never had for any other man ever, that tells me you’re someone who was once in love with him, a deep love. Am I right?”

“I… I… “ Felice sputtered. Then she sighed and hung her head, like a child being scolded.

“Yes, you’re right,” said Felice, “Zappiel and I were fated to be.”

“Fated?” I said, “So your kind have destined mates or something?”

“Sort of,” said Felice, “We don’t have to be with them to reproduce, and many elves don’t end up with their fated, but I was one of the lucky ones, and I had mine… until I was taken away from him.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“… There’s a reason you found my gem in the castle,” said Felice, “One day, the Emperor came into our village, and we happened to run into each other. He became… enamored with me.”

“That’s the nice way of putting it, isn’t it?” I asked, “Felice, what did he do to you?”

“He abducted me,” said Felice, “Took me to his castle and forced me into marriage with him. Zappiel tried to save me, but… he couldn’t. And neither could the others.”

“The others?” I asked, then it hit me, “You mean Kydro, Killian, and Xelsa?”

“Yes.” said Felice, “They assisted Zapp, but the Emperor and his forces took them by surprise, and they failed. This… this must be their punishment, for their defiance.”

“That would explain the possession gems,” I said, “They really don’t want to do any of this. That does explain a few things now.”

“That’s why I have to save them!” Felice said, “Moor-acu, they’re in this horrible, sick, twisted game all because of me! I have to do whatever it takes to save them, and bring the mad Emperor down once and for all!”

“What’s all this ‘I’ business?” I said, “Felice, we’ve been on your side from the start, and that’s not changing any time soon. We’re in this, together to the end.”

Felice smiled at me. This time, her smile felt more genuine than any other smile she’d given me since we first met.Before she could say anything else, someone came up to me at the bench, and placed a bottle in front of me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” said the man who had placed the bottle in front of me, “I noticed you were here alone, and thought you could take a bottle of wine… as an early celebration, you see.”

“Early celebration?” I asked.

“Yeah, since you and your party already took out three of the four Runners, and the final one is coming up, I hoped you’d take this bottle for the celebration when you take him out!” said the man, “If you don’t want it, I’ll just…”

“No, no, thank you!” I said, “I really appreciate it, I do! I’ll hold onto it, and when we come back after we beat Zapp, it’ll be the first bottle we open!”

“Thank you, Miss Riley!” said the man, “I can’t wait to enjoy that bottle with you!”

The man turned and walked away with a pep in his step, while I took a moment to examine the bottle. It seemed simple, but I wasn’t going to explain, especially since that man had been so eager to give it to me.

I put the bottle down next to me while I turned back to Felice.

“Like I said, we’re all in this together.” I said. Before Felice could respond, Rhys came into the tent. I waved her over, and she met me at the table after she got a tray of her own food.

“Katie’s pulling through just fine,” said Rhys, “She’s already back to her snarky self and she’s tried to get out of bed several times, even though Elisen keeps telling her she needs her rest.”

“Sounds about right.” I said, “Good to know.”

“So, how did things go while I wasn’t with you?” Rhys asked, “Katie said something about kicking a worm’s ass, but she was still a little too out of it to clarify, so can you do the honors?”

“Oh, just a giant sand worm,” I said, “Katie used magic to torpedo it into a rock and kill itself, nothing too special.”

“Hold on, what?!” Rhys said, “How come I missed that?!”

“That’s what you get for not being with us!” I said.

Rhys and I laughed. It felt good to take a moment and just joke around with each other, like friends at a lunch table in school. It felt… normal, even though the girl I was chatting with was an orc.

“Hello ladies, may we join you?”

We were interrupted when Daniel and Tarron made their way into the tent and sat down with us. Tarron looked absolutely giddy.

“Three down, one to go!” said Tarron, “And considering how efficient you’ve been, this one should just be another piece of cake!”

“Except…” Daniel said.

“Yes, except…” said Tarron, “The Emperor must have finally realized his whole plan is crumbling down around him, and he’s taking every single extra step to put a stop to us. That attack on our previous camp was the only beginning.”

“What else can he do?” I asked.

“That’s the question,” said Daniel, “We have no idea, especially since we’ve never gotten this far with any other maiden.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Katie said, “So how are we going to do all of this? Play it by ear?”

“Obviously not,” said Daniel, “This camp is as close as we can get to the temple in Buldruth’s Fields without alerting the Empire or his spies. As soon as you’re ready, hopefully by tomorrow, you’ll be escorted to the temple by most of us.”

“We’re all going together?” Rhys said, “Wouldn’t that attract a lot of attention that you guys don’t want?”

“At this point, we can’t take any chances with the two maidens,” said Tarron, “If you can remove the final gem from the final Runner’s chest, and the maidens cleanse in the fountain, that will be the end of the Requiem Run once and for all.”

“Not only that, we’ll be able to go home,” said Katie, “I for one, can’t wait to get the hell out of here.”

“Well, hold on to those thoughts,” said Daniel, “We’re off first thing in the morning.”

“What if Katie’s not ready to start by then?” I asked, “She nearly got killed by Killian, after all.”

“We’ll have to carry her then,” said Tarron, “This camp is only temporary, and the Empire is breathing down our necks to stop us. They’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and Katie from succeeding.”

“So that last fight was a taste of things to come?” I asked, “I thought the Empire would attack this place sometimes just because?”

“Just because we’re here?” Tarron said, “No, they’ve known we’ve been here for a long time. Until now, they haven’t done anything because they don’t see us as an actual threat.”

“Then they lost three Runners in rapid succession, and now they’re getting nervous.” said Rhys, “As they rightfully should be.”

“Exactly,” said Tarron, “We don’t have much time. To be honest with the two of you, if it weren’t for the fact that Katie absolutely needs to rest, at least for a little bit, I’d have us start moving right now.”

“So, crack of dawn then, right?” I asked.

“As soon as the sun makes an appearance in the sky,” said Tarron, “We move. In the meantime, you two should eat and get some sleep. You’ll be having a full day tomorrow.”

“The fullest day of our lives,” I said, “When we beat Zapp’s ass and finally blow this popsical stand!”

Some men at a different table cheered, and my face went red; I hadn’t expected anyone to react to what I said. Rhys stifled a laugh, and Tarron did as well. Even Daniel smiled.

“Well, my plate’s done,” I said, “I’m gonna get to sleep.”

“We have a special tent for the three of you,” said Daniel, “It’s the smaller one on the edge of the camp. Sweet dreams.”

“Same to you,” said Rhys as the two of us got up and left the table, leaving our trays with Daniel. The sun had gone down by the time we left the food tent, and only a small amount of light remained, just enough for us to make it to our tent, which Elisen was standing near.

“Kate will be staying in the medical tent overnight,” said Elisen, “She’ll probably be back up and ready to fight by tomorrow.”

“Good to know,” I said, “Keep an eye on her, and thank you, Elisen.”

The elf nodded to us and hurried on her way while Rhys and I made our way into the tent.

“At least we get privacy.” I said, “I hate feeling like everyone’s eyes are on me.”

“I mean, can you blame them?” Rhys asked, “In a couple of short weeks, you managed to do what this entire group has been spending decades trying to do - you’ve completely sabotaged the Requiem Run!”

“That’s true, moor-acu,” said Felice, “No matter what happens from here, the Requiem Run, and all of Xeastea will never be the same.”

“Well, good for me,” I said, “Not that it matters much, since we’re getting out of here soon.”

“Good point,” said Rhys, “Well, let’s get some sleep. We’re gonna have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“Alright, see you then.” I said. I laid my head down on the pillow, and I was out like a light.