Official Reckoning Read online

  I looked up from where I stood over them, feeling that same tug from when I was in this dream state before. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling then or now, but there was a sense of urgency to it this time. I sucked in a deep breath, wondering if I actually needed it, or if my body breathed normally and I was simply going through the motions in this realm.

  The pull came again. This time, I didn’t want to ignore it, considering where it led me the last time I followed it. I had ended up in a beautiful glade with an equally gorgeous elf woman who seemed able to see me despite the fact that nobody else in the world had been able to.

  I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask her, and if that was where I was going, I didn’t want to waste any more time sightseeing.

  Since I’d learned a few of the mechanics about what I was doing on my last trip, it was a little easier to glide out of the cave, although I wondered if I could just go through the mountain since I was incorporeal in this state. Either way, old habits died hard. I slipped through the trees at ever-increasing speed, and thought to ensure that our enemies were still too far away to pose any kind of threat. I saw fires and movement in the trees many, many miles away, in the town’s direction. It appeared that the Lancers had dealt with most of the monsters and were now caring for the bodies.

  The tugging wasn’t coming from there, though.

  I shot into the sky and paused for a moment to commit my location to memory before I followed the pull, soaring through the trees to reach the glade. I now had a more-or-less-solid grasp of where I was heading, and intentionally slowed my path through the forest to make sure I didn’t get lost.

  The minutes passed. It wasn’t long before I descended into the same little glade. I narrowed my eyes as I looked around. The place was exactly the same. Considering the number of monsters that were in the area, I had assumed that they would be here as well, but no. It looked as pristine as the first time I’d seen it.

  The waterfall bubbled cheerfully, and the trees parted just enough to give anyone walking through the area a spectacular view of the sky above, with the moon and stars gleaming in plain view.

  I looked around, unsure of what I was searching for. Would the elf be the same one from my dream, and our encounter at the inn?

  Something moved in my peripheral vision. This time, I was prepared. I wasn’t sure how, since this seemed impossible the last time, but as I reached down, I felt the weight of my sword suddenly appear around my waist. I quickly drew it and pointed it at the movement.

  And sure enough, there she was. Tall, lean, and dressed like a woodsman. The bow in her hands was unstrung, though, and she didn’t bother to reach for the arrows in the quiver on her back. Her hair was that odd shade of turquoise I remembered, and hung loose over her shoulders as she made her way toward me, a small smile on her lips.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to find your way back here,” she said with a smile as she moved around me and walked toward the waterfall-fed pool. She placed her bow and quiver on the ground and then sat on a rock.

  “I wondered, too,” I quipped as I strolled over to where she sat. “I hate to be the one to ask this. I’m not sure how else to start this conversation, but I feel that it’s one which needs to happen. Who are you?”

  “That is what you’re the most curious about?” she queried, quirking an eyebrow.

  “Well, I needed to start somewhere, and that seemed as good a place as any,” I grumbled while shaking my head.

  “Well, you already know that my name is Lyth.” She leaned over to pat a rock that was within arm’s reach of hers. “I’m an elf, which should be rather clear to you, I think. Was there anything else you wanted to know?”

  I sheathed my imaginary sword and then walked over to the indicated rock that she’d patted and sat. I didn’t need the rest, of course, but it felt like a more natural way of conducting this conversation.

  “What is this place?” I asked once situated.

  “Well, technically, this is still the world you live and breathe in.” It sounded like she’d expected questions and had chosen her words very carefully. “The only thing that has changed is your perception of it. You’ve allowed your mind to float free of your body to experience the world in a better fashion.”

  “And how is it that you came to be in this… I want to think of a better word than dream?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. “It seems to be that whenever I slip into this, I’m pulled to you.”

  “Well, I can’t account for why or how you’re drawn to me,” she replied with a shrug. “This could be explained as I dream, I suppose. It’s an old trick used by mages to communicate over long distances. It wasn’t as widespread as other techniques, even if it is the most interesting and enjoyable form of communication. It was also used for reconnaissance on the field of battle. However, during the war, most of those capable of using it died, and the secrets of it were lost to time. Or so I thought.”

  “In all honesty, the secrets are still lost,” I said and shook my head. “I have no idea how I actually got here. I fell asleep and then somehow slipped out of my body.”

  “Well, it does come more naturally to certain types of magicians,” Lyth explained. “But that’s not important right now. The point is, you were able to do it on your own, without any kind of training.”

  “Well, actually those elves you saw are training me,” I said.

  “I mean specialized training, in this,” Lyth murmured. “It usually took months, sometimes years to train someone in this form of astral projection. The fact that you did it on your own shows that you have great promise. I think you and I have very similar magical traits and talents.”

  “Next, you’ll tell me that you’re a rogue mage, too.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Well, if that is what humans call it. Elves have a name for it that is too long and complex for your ears to comprehend, and honestly, longer than I think we have time for. The mages in charge of naming things back in the day were overfond of the sound of their own voices.”

  “Well, that hasn’t changed.” I looked down at my hip in a moment of panic since the sword was gone. Then again, I realized that summoning it the last time was as simple as calling it to my hand. Besides, I still wasn’t sure how much good a sword would do in this particular situation.

  She smiled, tilting her head. “Yes, I suppose some things never change. The nature of sentience is a curse that we all must bear.”

  “Why did you warn me about the Official?” I asked, abruptly changing the subject.

  Her smile disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared. “You can’t trust her, that’s why. I knew that by warning you I’d put you in danger, but I also know there’s something special about a human who can project his mind. When I saw who your companions were, I knew that I was right.”

  “You know the sisters?” I asked, leaning forward.

  “Of course,” she replied. “Even if we hadn’t fought together in the war, it would be difficult not to know about three of the most powerful mages in our history.”

  “You fought with them?” I couldn’t help inquiring. Of course, I was interested in the history of the three people I cared about most in the world.

  “Yes, but that isn’t the point,” Lyth growled. “I know another of the most powerful mages in history as well. In fact, some might argue that he is the most powerful elf mage who ever lived. I’m not one of them since I’ve met a few more powerful than he, but I would be foolish to ignore the power he commands.”

  “Abarat,” I said softly.

  “Yes.” She nodded and leaned over to place her hand on mine. It wasn’t quite the sensation I’d expected, but I felt something. The same way that her arrow had felt as it went through me the last time.

  “Who are you?” I asked. “Why can’t we trust the Official?”

  “I can’t tell you,” she whispered as she leaned closer. “Not here. It’s not safe. You need to find me in the flesh. I’ll explain everything, I promise.
But not here.”

  There was an implication in her words that I didn’t quite understand. If no other mages besides the two of us could be here, why wasn’t it safe? What wasn’t she telling me?

  I looked up as I saw light reflect in the shimmering pool.

  “You need to go, now,” Lyth whispered. “Find me when you wake. I think you know the way.”

  “How would I?” I asked.

  “That tug that drew you here?” she murmured. “Follow that. Search into yourself and find it again. Follow your spirit.”

  “And here I was worried that you would be vague about where to find you,” I replied, shaking my head.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t be more specific.” She extended her hand toward my chest. As her fingers touched me, I was dragged forcefully, painfully back the way I’d come. Everything blurred around me and then went dark.

  16

  Snapping out of an intense dream like that had downsides. The rules that my body abided by in the dream didn’t carry into the world that my body was actually in, as I suddenly realized when I snapped awake. My hands flew up to stop myself from an imaginary fall and hammered hard into the wall that I was lying next to.

  “Fffff…” I hissed through clenched teeth as I looked around, knowing that the other three were still resting. There was a need to curse, loudly, but as I pulled myself up from using Aliana’s lap as my pillow, I clamped down on the impulse. I stood and rubbed my aching hand. I slipped out of the cave into the icy fall air, which was already starting to warm as the sun rose. Well, I couldn’t see the sun proper, since it was behind the cave, and therefore the mountains. It was easy to get lost in our rapid escape the night before, especially since the wolf had done most of the escaping for us.

  We were still on the western side of the mountains, which meant that we were beyond the influence of the Empire. I couldn’t explain the feeling that came over me when I looked at a part of the world that I’d never seen before.

  Never seen with my own eyes, that was. The vast forest in front of me was vaguely familiar from my time flying around out of my body. Still, it felt different to see it with my physical eyes.

  A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. I was still lacking in clothes from the night before, when Norel had rid me of my shirt. I still had my trousers, though, I realized, looking down. Whomever was behind me was similarly lacking in clothes since I felt soft breasts against my back. A moment later, a forehead pressed between my shoulder blades and a pair of horns touched my skin, revealing who it was.

  I turned around and noted that Aliana was still completely nude as she kissed my bare chest. I tipped her head up to look at me as I leaned down to kiss her. She smiled and moved closer as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

  “Sleep well?” I asked.

  She nodded. “We needed a good rest after the day we had yesterday. You didn’t, though,” she grumbled, looking up into my eyes when she said that. “You were restless, and you hurt your hand when you woke up.” She pulled the hand in question up and ran her fingers over the small bruise that was forming. “It was cute how you thought that it wouldn’t wake someone up when they were right next to the wall you punched. I appreciate the gesture, though.”

  I leaned in to kiss her forehead. She smiled in response.

  “Are you going to tell me, or will I have to pry it out of you?” she whispered while placing light, shiver-inducing kisses over my bare chest. “I have ways of getting the truth out of you, you know.”

  “I thought you had enough of that last night,” I commented, automatically letting my hands drift down to cup and squeeze her breasts, then toy with her nipples.

  “Your cock is delicious, amazing,” she said, emphasizing her words with intermittent kisses. “Don’t think that I’ll ever get enough of it. Or you.”

  I couldn’t help but consider a quick spot of morning fun before we headed out.

  “As much as I hate to interrupt,” Braire said from the mouth of the cave, smiling as she watched us, “I think time is of the essence regarding our little mission.”

  “A pity,” Aliana said and pressed against me one last time. “I’ve always heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

  “We don’t actually have any supplies to work with,” Braire pointed out. “I’m afraid that we’ll have to acquire our food as we move… ah, I understand.”

  Aliana grinned and pecked her sister on the cheek as she walked into the cave, probably to wake Norel.

  I walked over to the beastmistress and kissed her. “How do you feel?” I asked while stroking her hair.

  “Better than ever,” Braire murmured and laid her head on my shoulder.

  “Thank you for… well, you know, saving my life last night,” I whispered in her ear. “You almost got killed doing so.I don’t think that I would ever be able to live with that hanging on my conscience.”

  “I hope you understand that I won’t stop saving your life just because your conscience can’t take it,” she replied as she leaned back to look into my eyes, a small smirk playing across her full lips.

  “Well, you should know that I’ll do the same for you,” I said with a cheeky grin and lightly smacked her ass as I moved around her and into the cave. Norel was awake as well. Although she looked a little less rested than the three of us. She growled and softly cursed as she drew herself up from the cave floor.

  “We should be going soon, yes?” she asked, immediately taking charge of the situation as she smiled and pulled her clothes on.

  I looked at the three of them. They were dressed and ready to head out. I finished dressing and then strapped my blade to my belt. “Sure. We should leave, but do we have a particular direction?”

  “We need to find another way back into the Empire,” Norel pointed out. “Find out what happened to the Emperor and why Lancers are trying to kill us. I’m assuming that Abarat is behind it, of course, but I’m still not sure how.”

  “I might have an idea about that,” I said as we headed into the forest. Its night-shrouded darkness gradually brightened as the sun rose. “Well, assuming that we’re not going to open a portal somewhere.”

  Aliana looked over at me. “I could, if we knew where we were going. We need somewhere to start, though, don’t we?”

  I nodded. “I think I know where. You mentioned something about me having bad dreams, but that’s not actually the case.”

  I paused, not quite sure how to explain my dreams that weren’t dreams. Well, Lyth explained that they were something else entirely, an ability that had been used as a weapon or something during the war. What was the name, again?

  “Well, as it turns out, I somehow managed to… project myself from my body, and meet with an elven woman in the dream,” I explained. “She was in a glade not that far from here. Or it felt like it wasn’t that far from here, anyway.”

  “Wait, hold up,” Braire said, tilting her head. “Are you telling us that three beautiful elves aren’t enough for you, and now you’ve dreamed up new beautiful elves to keep you company? I mean, I know your appetite is voracious, but I never knew it was this intense.”

  Norel grinned over at me as I shook my head.

  “I’m serious,” I grumbled. “And I never said that the elf in my dream was beautiful. Elf. Not elves. Just one.”

  “Was she, though?” Aliana asked, grinning and playing along with Braire.

  “I’m not answering that,” I said with a chuckle. I wasn’t the wisest person in this world, but that didn’t make me a fool either. I wasn’t stepping into that particular bear trap.

  “Well, then, what did this assumedly beautiful elf tell you?” Norel asked as we moved through the forest, making sure that we were at least alone for the moment.

  “She told me that I was doing something called astral projection.” I finally remembered the name. “Actually, no, you met her. It was the elf from the inn. She was the one who warned us not to trust the Official, Norel.”

  �
�I remember no such warning,” Norel pointed out.

  “Right. She… warned me not to trust the Official, but you remember her, right? The elf in the inn?” I explained while trying to remember details. “She had turquoise hair and was tall, about my and Braire’s height.”

  “Yes, that rings a bell,” Norel nodded. “If she was the one in your dream, she’s rather beautiful, I have to say.”

  “I… wasn’t looking, so I wouldn’t know,” I said, only half-truthfully. “Anyway, she told me not to trust the Official literally seconds before the Lancers attacked us. She knew something was going to happen, and tried to warn us. And then she disappeared.”

  “If she really wanted to help, wouldn’t she have stood and tried to fight alongside us?” Aliana asked.

  “Well, if she knew the magnitude of the crap-fest that was ready to descend on us, I really don’t blame her for disappearing,” Braire admitted. “Honestly, the fact that she warned us about it at all is admirable enough, if Grant is to be believed.”

  “Hey!” I called, annoyed. “Since when is my word not enough?”

  “I was teasing, you big oaf.” Braire grinned over at me. “Considering our lack of other ideas, all in favor of pursuing the woman of Grant’s dreams?”

  Aliana and Norel both raised their hands, joining Braire’s. I was the last one to raise mine.

  “You could have worded that better,” I grumbled. I could handle their teasing. I’d been subjected to it more than a few times, and I’d never minded before. I wasn’t sure why I was reacting this way, and honestly, I didn’t have time for it. I needed to stay focused if we were going to track Abarat down. All this time spent rushing to the western border felt like a distraction.

  “Looks like we’re going in search of this mystery elf,” Braire said with a grin. “How do we find her, Grant?”