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“The handwriting. I know that script.”
To his disappointment, his father didn’t add anything more to that last statement. “Whose?”
Talion gave another chuckle, this time without any humor. “I’m not sure if you want that answer.”
Relian rolled his eyes. “Father, I’ve long been of the age to hear unpleasant tidings.”
“Yes, but about your family?” Talion shuffled papers around on his desk, arranging them in neat piles. “Your mother’s family, to be exact?”
A sick feeling took root, and he leveled a piercing look upon his father. He better explain what he meant.
“The person who wrote this was known to have some foresight. It was your mother’s father.” Talion raised his hand, forestalling the flood of questions. “I can only hazard a guess as to why this was buried somewhere inconsequential. I need to do some research before I reveal that reason to you.”
He was about to argue the point when Cal’s voice chimed in. “Huh, I guess you all pull that mysterious I-know-something-you-don’t stuff on each other, and not just on the poor, ignorant humans you happen to run across.”
***
“Andrian was there—” Talion’s voice broke off. Cal and Maggie stood outside the door to the king’s study the next morning, ready to knock, and shared a knowing glance. All talk inside had come to a halt. Big surprise there. Still, they’d come here invited. Maybe they would find out something.
The king bade them to enter. As they walked in, the men’s gazes lay heavily upon them. Cal gulped. The feeling of being on trial wouldn’t go away, but she knew why they all gathered there.
Glancing around, she saw only the most trusted advisors and councilors there. Relian had taken her aside earlier to tell her of the meeting and who would attend. Besides the king, Relian, and Kenhel, in attendance were also Avrin and Sardon, along with a few others.
Talion gestured with a hand, favoring them with a slight smile. “Please sit down, my dears.”
They took their seats, ensconced between Relian and Avrin, while the king got down to business. “All here were previously informed as to why we gather here today. I give leave for everyone to speak freely.”
Kenhel spread out his long legs before him. “Like we ever wait for permission.”
“Indeed,” said Avrin, throwing an amused look at the irritated king.
Talion cast his gaze upward but offered no response. These had to be his closest friends and advisors, for only people at ease with him would dare tease him so. It definitely didn’t happen at the more public functions.
Talion cleared his throat. “I believe we’re all in agreement about the mortality part specified? There seems to be something in the blood of mortals that might serve as a possible cure.”
Maggie grimaced. “As long as it’s not construed as a blood sacrifice, I’d have to admit, yes, there’s something in our blood that the passage seems to refer to.”
Sardon wore a distasteful look on his face. “We don’t practice blood sacrifice, especially the way in which you mean it. We’re not so savage that we think we can find a willing victim, slit his or her throat, and that everything will return to how it should be with the mere act.”
Maggie stared at Sardon, her mouth agape until Avrin’s voice filled the void. “What my dear friend is so eloquently trying to say is we think the passage refers to blood being collected. To be freely given, yes, but in small amounts that come nowhere near the point of death for the humans involved. We’re sure the freewill part is a warning to some of our more overzealous people who might be tempted to take matters into their own hands. Again, I’m not saying most would cause any lasting physical harm, but the willing part might be somewhat overlooked. Sleep can be easy to force upon another, especially a human not used to our ways. As Sardon alluded to, we’ve never dealt with notions of sacrificial death, at least in our recorded history. We see no reason to start now. We merely need blood that’s been willingly offered that we can study and analyze, so we can dissect the puzzle.”
Cal’s cheeks, like Maggie’s, flamed as their seemingly erroneous worry was called out. Relief also infiltrated her mind. Though they hadn’t really believed that death awaited them—or any other human the elves got their hands on—they’d still pictured other devious, sadistic ways the elves might use to extract human blood. Maiming hadn’t sounded like such an impossibility with the stakes so high.
She voiced another concern that Avrin’s words brought up. “But do you have the needed knowledge and technology to work with blood? At least in our land, it takes regimented procedures and equipment to carry out that kind of research.”
Talion steepled his fingers. “That could be a problem area for us. Our sicknesses are few, so research of the kind you speak of has been infrequent. We possess some basic knowledge of microscopes, but much of our equipment literally dates back to the time when elves and humans lived on the same Earth.”
Maggie made a derisive sound. “Of course.”
He gazed at her calmly. “Back then, we were much more heavily involved with research involving sickness and disease—mostly yours, not ours.”
She frowned, apparently not liking the perceived slur against humanity’s perceived fragility. “Just how far back was this? There’s no actual evidence you guys ever existed on Earth.”
Talion nodded. “I’m not surprised. I believe your world went through many dark ages, and much knowledge would’ve been lost.”
Maggie tossed a challenging look his way. “That doesn’t explain why people who dig up and study what’s been buried for centuries wouldn’t find any evidence of your occupation.”
A contemplative mien stole over his face. “Mayhap we didn’t leave much behind for them to find and what we did more than likely returned to nature. That’s always been where we excelled: nature magic. It’s infused into almost everything we build and craft. Without us there to sustain it, many items would disintegrate rapidly. And what didn’t would obtain a decidedly human slant to it.”
