De'Vas Chronicles Book 4: Chapter 39

Ash spotted buildings as they crested a hill in the early morning light.

“Good, it’s still here,” Selena said with a heavy sigh. “I half expected the town and castle to be ruins.”

Their horses trotted toward a walled town with a castle built on a hill. Unlike the mess of wood and stone that was the Exiled Princes’ castle, this one looked like what Castle Markal probably did during its heyday.

As they neared, Ash saw that the gate to the town was open with armed guards standing alert. One, who was a centaur, waved at them.

“Greetings, travelers!” he called out. “What brings you to— Lady Selena!”

The centaur bowed, as did the other two guards.

“Please, stand,” Selena said, waving. “Who resides in the castle now?”

The guards stood.

“Your Uncle Theon has held it since you and your father’s disappearance,” the centaur answered. “Has King Destry returned as well?”

Ash shifted uncomfortably in his saddle as Selena’s lips thinned.

“King Destry is dead,” she answered.

The guard bowed to her.

“My condolences, My lady. I will inform your Uncle of your return and the news about your father.”

Selena nodded.

“We will be at the runesmith. I assume she’s still here?”

“Yes, my lady,” the centaur answered.

The guards saluted as they rode through the gates, though Ash caught them giving him odd looks as he passed through.

The village was picturesque, like something from a cozy fantasy novel’s cover. Stone houses with thatched roofs lined a simple dirt path that led to the castle. Children played in the street as the locals went about their daily tasks. Ash took in everything as he followed Selena, almost passing her when she stopped at a stone building with a sign depicting runes.

“I’m surprised there’s a runesmith here, given what Eva said about Riverbend being too small,” Ash stated as he dismounted the horse.

Selena gave him a timid smile.

“Riverbend is a larger city than this one, but it is a city-state. My father’s domain holds several villages,” she said before the smile faded. “Also, my father had a proclivity to war, and gave the runesmith plenty of work.”

Selena approached the door of the shop and opened it. Ash joined her, and together they stepped through.

“How might I help you today?” a woman asked them.

She had dark hair, and her eyes were pitch black as she looked at Ash curiously from behind the counter of her store. He realized quickly that she was a kelpie. The shelves of her shop showed objects imbued with runes. Some simple items like lanterns, stones, and cookware. Others were instruments of war, like axes, swords, and armor.

“We need to figure out what the runes on this mean,” Ash said as he placed the silver ball in front of her.

Her gaze shifted from his ears to the orb, and she frowned, picking it up. She rolled the device in her hand with furrowed brows.

“There are several on this, but they don’t make sense,” she said.

Ash felt his gut drop at her words.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She held it out toward him.

“There’s no rune for the element it’s calling upon. Also, the runes are fragmented,” she pointed at one on the ball. “This type of line tells the rune the size of the spell it’s designed to cast, but normally it would be placed within the elemental spell.”

Her finger moved to the other side of the ball.

“This one is another line that determines spell size, but for a larger area,” she said, shaking her head. “The two wouldn’t be compatible together. Whoever crafted this must have been deep in their tankard. No, I take that back, they were in the bottom of the ale barrel.”

Ash’s eyes widened.

They’re settings.

“Can you make a list of what each of these broken runes is supposed to do?” he asked.

She looked at the silver ball and back to him hesitantly.

“It would take me most of the day,” she said.

Ash placed some gold coins on the counter, and the kelpie’s eyes went to them and widened.

“I’ll have the list for you tomorrow,” the runesmith said as she gathered the coins.

Ash let out a heavy sigh as they left the shop. He felt a little uneasy about leaving the silver ball with the runesmith, but there wasn’t much helping it.

Tomorrow, they would have the list, and once they returned to Castle Markal…

“We’re so close,” Selena said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

Ash nodded. He hoped the girls were alright back on Earth.

“So, I take it I’m going to meet your Uncle?” he asked as they mounted their horses.

Selena let out a sigh.

“I would like to see him…” she said hesitantly. “But I understand if you wish—”

Ash pulled the reins of the horse, setting it in a trot toward the castle.

“Then we’ll go see him,” he said, looking back at Selena.

She smiled at him before her horse started trotting alongside his.

“Uncle Theon is unlike my father. The two of them never got along well,” she stated as they rode. “I’m honestly surprised he took over in my father’s absence. The crown was never his interest, at least that’s what I’ve always thought.”

As they drew closer to the building, Ash felt it looked familiar to him. After some thought, he realized it was the same castle as the painting that hung in Selena’s office in District 208.

Guards stood at attention as a rather portly man with a shaggy black beard waited beside a centaur woman. The man’s smile widened as he used his cane and hurried toward them.

“It is you!” the man Ash assumed was Theon greeted.

Selena stopped her horse and dismounted, rushing to embrace the man in a hug.

“Uncle Theon!” she said before breaking away and hugging the centaur woman. “Aunt Jane!”

Ash watched the reunion as he dismounted and held the reins of both horses. Tears graced Theon’s face. He wiped his eyes and looked at Ash, giving a nod in greeting before turning back to Selena.

“Come, dear. Let’s go inside, you can introduce me to your friend,” he said.

A few minutes later, Ash sat in a plush chair beside a roaring fireplace in what he assumed was a study. Animal skulls and bookshelves lined the walls along with paintings. Theon sat across from him by the fire, while his wife rested on a large pillow placed on the floor that was more suited for her centaur frame. Selena sat in another chair on Ash’s side of the large room.

“Warchief Ash, I must say you surprise me. Rumors have spread even here of you taking over Markal Castle and raising Queen Blackthorn’s banner. I expected you were an orc or a forest elf,” Theon said, sipping a glass of brandy. “But not a race I thought were mere myths.”

Ash gave a tired smile, and Theon laughed.

“I take it you’ve heard that before?” he asked.

“A few times,” Ash admitted.

Theon laughed.

“Will you and my niece be staying at Castle Markal from now on?”

He timed it to ask the question just as Ash was taking a sip of his brandy. Selena answered in his stead.

“Just for a short time, then we’ll return to Ash’s homeland.”

Theon nodded, but his gaze never left Ash.

“Is that where my brother died? Your homeland?” he inquired.

Ash met the man’s eyes, and though he wore a smile, there was a hardness in them.

“Jane, why don’t you show Selena which room will be theirs for the night?” he said.

The centaur stood from her cushioned seat on the floor.

“Come, dear,” she said, approaching Selena. “We have a lovely room set up for you two.”

Theon kept the smile on his face until both girls had left the room. When the door closed, the smile dropped, and he took a deep swig of his brandy.

“Destry and I never got along. My brother always had a narrow view of the world and a short temper. Selena’s mother brought the only good I ever saw out of him, and when she died, my brother became worse,” Theon said. “He became vile.”

He filled his glass of brandy and held out the bottle toward Ash, refilling his glass as well.

“You don’t hide your tells very well. You shift at the mention of Destry’s death, and Selena will glance toward you. I know you killed him or at least were involved in his death,” Theon said, taking a sip of his new glass. “I can also tell my niece is in love with you. So, tell me, how did my brother die?”

Ash sighed before slinging back the brandy.

“I guess I should start by telling you where the Vanishing takes people…”

***

The conversation with Theon took a few hours. Selena’s Uncle absorbed all Ash told him about Earth, De’Vas, and the evils that Destry caused. When there were no more questions to be asked, Ash left Theon to find Selena.

“Jane said you were out here,” Ash said as he sat beside Selena on the grass.

Selena smiled at him as she took his hand in hers. She looked back at the grave she was sitting before. The headstone was a life-size statue of a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Selena, so much so that Ash didn’t even need to ask to know it was her mother.

“I heard you telling Uncle what happened with my father,” she said.

He squeezed her hand.

“Your Uncle apologized to me,” Ash said, shaking his head. “I figured he would be angry when I told him the truth.”

Selena leaned against him.

“I didn’t know my father, at least not who he really was. I think Uncle Theon always knew,” Selena said. “The castle and town are in good hands with him. Uncle has always been even-tempered and a steady hand. Aunt Jane also told me how he makes sure Mother’s grave is tended to. I was worried coming here that everything would be ruined and my mother’s grave desecrated for her horn.”

Ash placed his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder as he held her.

The two of them sat there looking up at the statue that represented Selena’s mother.

“This part of the yard was where I would play as a child. My mother spent hours here watching over me,” Selena said quietly. “My best memories were made here with her.”

They stayed there together as the remains of daylight faded, and something akin to fireflies made their appearance in the yard.

“Thank you for coming here, Ash,” Selena said, breaking the peaceful silence. “I’ve dreamed of seeing my mother’s grave one last time.”

She stood, still holding his hand. Her violet eyes looked down at him.

“It’s getting late. Let me show you our room for the night,” she said.