Shattered Reflections

Chapter 7

I woke up in darkness. Blinking and rubbing my eyes to check I was actually awake, I wobbled to my feet and grimaced at the sharp pain in my head. Whatever Anemis had done to make me pass out had left me with some lasting effects, ones I hoped would wear off before long if I had any chance of stopping whatever was in store for me.

From what I could tell, they had left me in a tent, my tent I realised when I saw my duffel and rucksack - and by saw I mean tripped over. I dove for the bag, filled with relief when I felt the leather cover of my mother's notebook. I briefly considered keeping it on my but decided it would be safer to come and retrieve it as soon as I got out of whatever predicament I'd find myself in, because I would get out of it.

I had only just closed the bag and stepped away from it when the flap to my tent was pulled open, letting the minimal light from the stars and the moon into the tent.

"Zelkova?"

The elf wouldn't meet my gaze, no matter how long I looked right at her, and she roughly grabbed my arm, pulling me from beneath the shelter. Outside waited another elf.

"Captain." I nodded sarcastically at him, saluting nonchalantly. He took hold of my other arm easily. It wasn't surprising that he'd send The Boulder, not after witnessing his blind devotion the day before. He might be loyal but he wasn't well trained, not if they hadn't thought to check my pockets and remove the pocket knife from my possession. I wasn't complaining though.

The rest of the camp was eerily quiet, all of the humans sound asleep in their own tents and no one to witness whatever was about to happen to me.

The elves half dragged, half carried me further into the forest where no creature made a sound, even the wind had quieted. It felt like the whole world was watching and waiting.

"Where are we going?"

No one answered and so we continued on in silence. After about ten minutes of walking through the woods a flicker of light caught my eye, one that grew and multiplied until I was looking at a ring of grounded torches, the firelight making the shadows dance.

And standing at the centre of it all, was Anemis beside a large stone dais, one that looked scarily familiar.

"Oh, no. No no no no no." This is what they wanted, whatever image my mind had conjured up wasn't just from the obscure part of my imagination. I had seen this happening.

I fought my captors, thrashing in their arms and cursing their enhanced strength while I tried to get to the knife. I kicked out, flailed my arms, dropped to the ground, anything to stop myself from becoming some sacrificial lamb for a lunatic's cause.

It didn't deter them. I was still thrown onto the stone, held down and tied up while I continued to fight.

"Stop! What are you doing!" I struggled against my bindings with growing desperation.

A face came into view above me, one grinning with sadistic pleasure. "Do you stand by your previous decision?"

I glared at him. "I will not help you burn villages and kill innocent people. I will not help you spy and destroy something so good. I will not help your power grow and for your control to extend over that many people!"

He had that power, I'd witnessed it. I'd seen it when he turned us into the perfect mindless soldiers, I'd seen it when I'd issued that challenge, I'd seen it when he forced me to come to him, when he forced my mind into darkness. It wasn't hard to see his power was limited at the moment - only using it for short bursts or over one person - and he was biding his time until he amassed enough. Until then, he'd use the humans to stay ahead of his enemy until they could be decimated.