Page 50 of In Darkness Forged

She was indeed old… perhaps even ancient. Her silver hair fell in braids past her waist, and her skin bore the dark patina that only appeared in the last year or two of life. And her eyes… Those were solid white and stared sightlessly past him, listening for his approach.

How had she come to be here, lost and alone so deep in the Darkspring? Had she no family to care for her? Or was she a wilding like him?

“Here.” Tal stowed his blades, knelt by her side, and took her slender wrist in a gentle grip. “Try to stand.”

“Oh, you are a good boy,” the old night elf said, lifting her face towards him in the dark. “Such a pretty boy, too.” Her other hand lifted towards his face and stroked his cheek with an odd possessiveness. Her skin was calloused, her nails cracked and dirty. “Oh, so pretty. And so full ofmagic.”

Feeling the first stirrings of alarm, Tal released her wrist and tried to rise, but the old woman reached out and snared him in a talon-like grip.

“So much shiny magic, and I amsohungry,” she crooned. “Alone for so long, and now there is so much meat…”

Tal panicked.

He had not experienced such terror since he was a small boy, so when the impulse to flee took him, he reached for his magic to protect himself. But the moment he did so, the old woman pounced, sinking invisible claws into the bright swell of his power. He tried to free himself, but it was too late. His magic was already flowing out of him in a rush, robbing him of words, alertness, and even of light. He felt his knees hit the uneven rocks of the path, saw two brightly glowing orbs before him, and then everything went dark.

CHAPTER14

When Aislin finally awakened, it was to a number of unpleasant surprises.

First, she remembered the truld. Racing up the mountainside. Falling. Hitting her head in the dark…

She did not remember having her hands bound or being taken away from that dark, empty tunnel, but clearly, both had happened at some point.

At least, she thought with relief, she could see. She was still within the cave—in some small, isolated cavern—but the stone glistened with moisture, reflecting a softly pulsing purple glow from moss or fungus that clung to the walls.

After a few moments of blinking and straining, Aislin’s eyes adjusted enough for her to realize that she was not in merely a “cavern.” The small room in the rock looked as if it had been made into someone’s home.

Bottles and baskets lined the walls in a somewhat haphazard fashion, while bundles of netting were hung from above, using rope that almost seemed to glow softly in the dim light. Off to one side of the room, a wooden chair sat beside a crude table made of stone, which held a knife and what appeared to be a pile of chopped roots or mushrooms. And when Aislin sat up, wincing at the pain in her head, she spotted a pile of blankets and bracken that was probably a bed.

Apparently, someone had rescued her. And yet, rescue might be the wrong word, considering that her hands were tightly bound and there was still dried blood on her hands and face. It seemed that whoever had discovered her had simply dumped her here in whatever state they’d found her.

When she shifted to her knees, Aislin very quickly became aware thateverythinghurt. Her head, her ribs, her hip, both knees… That fall had done her no favors.

Was she a prisoner? If so, there was no use waiting on someone else to save her. Even if Talyn wanted to—which seemed unlikely—there was no possible way for him to know where she’d gone, let alone track her through miles of twisting cave tunnels. She was going to have to do this on her own.

Turning her attention to her bonds, Aislin lifted her wrists to her mouth and began to worry the knots with her teeth. The fabric was filthy and tasted foul beyond belief, but she had a strange feeling that it was a small price to pay for being free and well away before whoever owned this cavern returned.

Unfortunately, the knots were well tied, and she had only just begun to loosen them when she became aware of scuffling noises outside the cave.

Footsteps. Her captor might be returning…

But there was another sound, as of something large and heavy being dragged along the rough surface of the cave floor.

“Just a wee bit farther now. That’s right.”

The voice startled Aislin, even though she’d knownsomeonehad to have brought her here. The newcomer sounded old and female, and she continued muttering for a few moments in what sounded like another language. Then Aislin heard a dull thud.

“That’s it. Right there.” A sound like a blade ripping through cloth. Then something else—a sinister whisper unlike anything Aislin had ever heard. “A bit more, then. Nice and tidy. Safe. That’s good.”

After a few moments of silence, those footsteps began moving towards the cave entrance.

Aislin tugged frantically at the knot around her wrists and felt the cloth begin to give just before someone entered the cavern.

She froze. She did not want her captor to know she was awake. Not until she could determine whether they were a threat, or whether the feeling of dread weighing on her chest was simply her overactive imagination.

The first shape through the door was stooped with age. Long silver braids hung nearly to the floor as the old woman shuffled across the uneven stone to the table where the knife waited. A night elf, Aislin thought, though a very old one. Probably harmless. Perhaps she had only bound Aislin’s hands out of caution.

The woman dropped something by the table—a bundle that landed with a strangely familiar clanking sound. “Ah, but that was the best meal we’ve had in years, Crow. So bright and delicious. So full of power. He’ll last us for months, that one will.”