Annihilation - Book Three

Chapter 19

How must it feel to be a lowly elf among an elite society? 

I watch the help carry luggage in and out, dressed in full armor, I see that Haryek is making full use of his army.

I think about their lives, what must happen to an elf to put them in a lowly position such as a guard. Is it a respect thing? Elves are some of the most skilled fighters the world has to offer, yet these men were being treated like common servants.

 Haryek could be formidable if he could get over the fact he'd have to apply effort, though I remember as a child we had employed a substantial elven guard for quite some time. They are beings just like anyone else, upper and lower ranks, it had to be a status issue. 

 It's times like this when I truly miss Tonic. With Marcus babysitting Reid, Haryek wanting to talk about my sexual escapades, and my somewhat lover running around comforting my best friend, I was by myself for the first time in a long while. I suppose, who I truly miss was Steffan, who would surely proclaim this was why he didn't get involved with politics. 

I'm surprised to find that I don't feel so painfully alone, as if the world had shut me out. After a moment to reflect, it's almost relieving to know no one was seeking me out. All I had ever wanted was to be involved and now, I don't remember when the last time I had a moment to myself was. 

Alone with my thoughts, I feel as though my group is less and less clear on what they truly want from me. They don't understand what it's like to have unending power at your fingertips, my supply knows few limits as far as these meager summoning, the more I practice the more powerful I become.

 My body almost itches, wanting more, needing more. Using in such a manner created a draw, an intense urge to use even more.

I steal away into my bedroom. Pulling out the book, I'm almost giddy with the thought of opening it. I feel the familiar fingers of magic reaching for me, as it seems to want to do when my father wants to speak to me. I touch the cover and the room goes black though I'm not dazed and delirious in some other realm; I'm in my home, in Dezna.

 I see my father, he looks so much younger, and yet thinking back, it couldn't have been that long ago. He speaks to my mother, his tone frantic.

"Something's not right, Alina." My heart swells as I look at my mother. Why couldn't she have been in the book, too? Only I know why; she's not tainted like the rest of us. She paces through me and I long to feel her touch, even if only for a moment. I wish I could tell her that I was sorry I didn't do more.

"Of course it's not right." Their bodies are misty, the memory shimmers and seems to center in on these two as the outside details fade away. "We are about to take enslave an entire race. For what?" She hisses. "Money? Power? What, Darius?" 

He touches his temple, flinching. "I can't explain it. I just have to do this. Something is coming. We are going to need them." He sounds so desperate. I squint my eyes, what did he have to do? I know, now, that my father had been bribed to make the lycans but it's never made sense to me. 

My mother storms out and he calls after her. The scene shimmers as the first of the lycans is drug down the main hall. Normal humans, our guards bring them up to the throne. My father looks different, cold, calculated, his eyes are almost glossed over. 

I flinch as I listen to them plead only to look away as I hear their screams and their bodies are forced into the shape of the wolf. These first unsuspecting victims had it the worst. The magic was strong, untested, I wonder how many suffered unnecessarily while he figured out the curse.

 They lie before him as wolves, whimpering though one appears to be dead. "I'm sorry." I hear him whisper. 

The scene shivers away once more and I chase after it, his apology plays on repeat as the scene echoes in my mind. I burst through a door, ducking as a book flies over my head. Darius, my father, the lord of all in our lands grips his head and screams a blood-curdling sound as he wheels around the room.