Godmaker: A Novel of Lasniniar

Chapter Three-1

Chapter ThreeCaught in the Middle

Barlo watched Iarion run off with a scowl.

That elf is up to something... And I bet I can guess what.

Lodariel was too distracted by the baby news to notice the shift in Iarion’s behavior. She had already left with Silvaranwyn and Daroandir. The Lady of the Light Elves had certainly noticed. She had said something too low for Barlo to hear, but he had seen her concerned expression. Barlo shook his head with a curse and started to run after Iarion.

The elf was already far ahead of him, and there was no way for Barlo to catch up with his shorter strides, but he suspected he knew where Iarion was headed. He chose a path leading north, back to the edge of the forest where he had found Iarion earlier. His legs pumped and his cheeks puffed with each breath, sounding like a set of bellows. Anxious thoughts circled in his mind, centered on Iarion.

I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.

But Barlo knew his friend too well. Yes, Iarion had lived for thousands of years, but he could be just as reckless as he was clever. He often seemed to give little thought to the consequences of his actions, or how they might affect the people who cared about him. Barlo was his self-appointed voice of reason, doing whatever he could to pull Iarion back from the brink of chaos.

And now I’ve let him slip off without me. I should have known better! I hope I can reach him in time...

He had still seen no sign of Iarion in the blur of passing trees, but he didn’t slow. The edge of the forest came into view ahead of him. He stumbled out of the trees into the open grassland of the Adar Daran. Iarion was already there, standing with his held tilted back while shouting the one word Barlo didn’t want to hear.

“Felara!”

Iarion started at the sudden hiss of moving grass as Barlo arrived on the scene. He whirled to face his friend.

“What are you doing?” the elf asked with a frown.

Barlo spluttered, still out of breath from his run. “I should ask you the same thing! What are you doing, calling her? Have you gone completely daft?”

Iarion’s frown turned into a scowl. “She knows something, Barlo.”

Barlo rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure she knows a lot of things. And she’ll know even more once you go blabbing to her.” He gave the elf a meaningful look. Just because Felara hadn’t deigned to show herself, didn’t mean she wasn’t listening.

Iarion gave in impatient shake of his head. “No, I mean she already knew we would be going on a journey. She mentioned it before we went back to meet Iadrawyn and the others.” He went back to shouting. “Felara!”

Barlo stalked though the tall grass and snatched Iarion’s arm. “If she already knew, that means she kept it from you deliberately. Think about that, Iarion. Why would she do such a thing?”

Iarion shook his arm free. “I don’t know. Who knows why she does anything? She doesn’t seem to think the same way we do, which isn’t really surprising. Felara! I know you’re out there...”

“She’s manipulating you, you dolt!” Barlo gave his friend a solid shove, startling Iarion back a few paces. “If she knew about the journey—and I always assume that creature knows far more than she lets on—she probably knew about the reason behind it. If that’s true, she had no other reason to hide that information from you other than to toy with you, stringing you along for her own, secret purposes.”

Iarion gave his friend a confused look. “Barlo, if she really does know anything about our journey, doesn’t it make sense to try to find out as much as possible? Felara!” Iarion reached for the knife at his belt. “Maybe if I spill some blood, it will get her attention...” He stretched his other arm out in front of him, lowering the blade toward his own wrist.

“Iarion, no!” Barlo slammed into the elf in a headlong tackle, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

Iarion uttered a stream of curses in Elvish. “What did you do that for? Ugh, I feel as though I’ve been sat on by a horse.” He flailed his arms and legs under Barlo’s heavier weight. “Get off of me!”

“I was trying to stop you from doing something incredibly stupid,” Barlo said, remaining firmly in place and making sure Iarion’s blade had fallen out of reach. “You know giving one of the Unborn your blood gives them a link to you. What were you thinking? And I weigh considerably less than a horse, thank you very much.”

“Not by much,” Iarion said, his voice breathless. “I was only trying to get her attention.”

An annoyed sigh came from above them, making them both look up. Felara stood over them, her violet eyes glittering with annoyance.

“Tell me, Barlo,” she said as she looked down on them. “Why do you always insist on interrupting when things are about to get interesting?”

“See?” Iarion said to Barlo. “It worked.”

Barlo resisted the urge to smack him, choosing to clamber to his feet instead. His hand strayed to the ax on his belt as he gave Felara a wary look.

“I think you and I must have a different definition of what qualifies as ‘interesting, ’” he said. “The only actions I’ve interrupted so far are what most sane people would consider foolish and dangerous.”

Felara gave a careless shrug, sending her short hair swinging. “I am not most people. But I think you already knew that.” She gave Barlo a sly grin that sent a shiver down his spine. She turned her attention toward Iarion, who had also returned to a standing position. “Why were you so desperately trying to gain my attention?”

Barlo shot Iarion a look of warning, but the elf ignored him. “Why were you ignoring me?” Iarion challenged.

Felara gave him a pitying smile. “You are not the only creature in this world who has captured my interest, Iarion.”

Iarion’s eyes narrowed. “You were already watching. I could sense your presence.”

Barlo stifled a curse. His paranoia had been well-founded. Perhaps Iarion wasn’t a complete fool after all...

Felara had the decency to look sheepish for the briefest of moments. “You are the only person I have ever met who can sense me when I am unseen.” She sighed. “I suppose I wanted to see how far you would go to try to get my attention. It’s good for a girl’s ego.” She batted her lashes at him.

Iarion gave her a flat look. “And how far would you have let me go? Would you have stopped me before or after I had drawn blood on your account?”

She tapped a finger to her lip, looking thoughtful. “I really can’t say... I suppose we’ll never know now.” She favored Barlo with a glare. “Why did you want my attention so badly, anyway? Not that I’m complaining.”

“You know why,” Iarion said.

“Whatever are you talking about, Iarion?” Felara’s eyes widened in a mockery of innocence.

Now it was Iarion’s turn to sigh. “You mentioned a journey before we last parted. I need to know how much you know about it.”

“Oh, that.” Felara gave a wave of dismissal. “I only sensed a long journey ahead of you, that’s all. We Unborn sometimes get vague glimpses of the future.”

Barlo’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Felara’s features, but nothing in her open expression said she was lying. Still, he couldn’t quite bring himself to believe her.

“We must travel to an unknown island that lies somewhere to the southwest,” Iarion said before Barlo could stop him.

“Iarion—”

The elf shook his head. “Barlo, either she’s being honest, and we should find out whether she can help us, or she already knows, in which case it makes no difference.”

Barlo scowled. He didn’t like it. If Felara was lying, she was sure to have a reason. Without any way of knowing how her strange mind worked, chances were they would never learn what that reason was until it was too late. He considered voicing his arguments, but the expression on Iarion’s face told him he would be wasting his breath.

I suppose I’ll have to settle for keeping my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open. If I don’t keep a solid eye on Iarion’s back, he’s going to head straight into disaster.

Iarion took Barlo’s silence as grudging acceptance and continued his tale, explaining the sickness of the Lord and Lady of the Sea Elves and their daughter’s disappearance.

“So you want to go after this Rasniwyn and the missing Sea Elves,” Felara said when he had finished.

“Yes,” Iarion said. “We’re also hoping we can find the herb that will cure Rasniwyn’s parents.”

“Who will be going with you on this journey?” Felara asked. She c****d her head in interest.

“Barlo and Lodariel,” Iarion said, his eyes darting to his friend.

“What of Lodariel’s brother and his mate? Haven’t they usually accompanied you in the past?”

“Silvaranwyn is pregnant,” Iarion said. Barlo nearly choked at his candor. “She and Daroandir will stay in Melaquenya.”

“And how does Lodariel feel about this? She and her brother are so close... Surely she would prefer to stay with him and comfort Silvaranwyn during her pregnancy?” Felara’s expression was mild, but Barlo wasn’t fooled by her pointed question for a moment.

Apparently, Iarion wasn’t either. “My mate is coming with me,” he said, giving Felara a level stare. “And I would appreciate any information or assistance you can provide.”

“Of course,” Felara said with a quirk of her lips. “What would you like to know?”

“Do you know where we can find this island?” Iarion asked.

“I am no seafarer, but I know some people who might be able to help.” Felara’s calculated expression turned worried. Her body tensed. “You will not travel all the way there by ship, will you?”

“No, the storms in this part of the world are too dangerous at this time of year,” Iarion said with a shake of his head. “We are planning to travel to the Riverlands and find a ship there.”

Felara’s shoulders relaxed. “That is good. The sea is a dangerous place. You must also be careful traveling overland though. Lasniniar is not the same place it was during any of your previous adventures.” She bit her lip. “Perhaps I should keep an eye on you... I would hate for anything to happen to you.” Barlo suspected Iarion was the only person included in her seemingly genuine concern.

Iarion and Barlo shared a silent look. If Felara decided to escort them across the continent, who knew how Lodariel would react?

“Ah, I don’t think that’s really necessary,” Iarion said.

“Nonsense!” Felara said with a wave. “You want to keep Barlo and Lodariel safe, don’t you?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“It’s settled,” Felara said, a note of finality in her voice. “This is far more interesting than anything else I have going on right now anyway. You set out on your little trip, and I’ll catch up with you.”

“Um, all right,” Iarion said, sounding dubious and looking as if he had been smacked upside the head.

“See you soon!” Felara gave a jaunty wave before shimmering out of existence.

Barlo said nothing, grabbing the front of Iarion’s tunic and dragging him toward the forest. This time, Iarion followed him without protest.

“What was that all about?” Barlo demanded in a hushed voice as soon as they reached the trees. “Now she’s coming with us! How are we supposed to explain this to Lodariel? Galrin’s gonads, she’s going to kill us.” Barlo began to pace.

Iarion took a steadying breath. “If it’s any consolation, Felara probably would have ended up following us anyway. Besides, she says she might know some people who can help us reach the island.”

“Yes, but can we really trust any of her friends? Who knows what kind of people she consorts with! They could be drakhalu for all we know.”

“Our only other choice is to trust our luck,” Iarion said. “We have no current contacts in the Riverlands.”

“All right, then how are we going to tell Lodariel?” Barlo tugged at his beard.

Iarion’s expression turned bleak. “Leave that to me.”

“Fine, but I want her to know I tried to stop you from starting all this madness. I don’t want to have to worry about her killing me in my sleep.”

“I said I’ll take care of it!” Iarion shouted. He ran his hand through his hair in agitation. “I just need to do one thing first.”

Barlo didn’t blame Iarion for wanting to put off the inevitable. He was just glad he was no longer living in Iarion and Lodariel’s hut. He could enjoy a quiet night in his own burrow.

Although if things go badly, Iarion might be joining me...

“Are you sure you want to do this thing now?” Barlo asked. “Sometimes it’s better to get these little domestic squabbles over with.”

Iarion gave a ghost of a smile. “I’m sure. Lodariel’s wrath can wait a bit longer.” He veered off the southern path, heading west. He beckoned for Barlo to follow.