Into the Dark

Chapter 23

Once the story was finished, Farlen looked at me with a newly found interest.

"A goddess, hm?" he questioned quietly. I nearly rolled my eyes. Here we go again...

"Quite fascinating. I thought all the gods and goddesses had been wiped out... apparently I was wrong," he added. "Well anyways, I guess we'll get on to the more important matters. You say you've run into conflict with Salazar? Ugh... what a pesky demon. I thought I'd never get rid of him. Thanks to the Freelancers, though, I did. So you have my gratitude and full assistance. Your wish is my command." He smiled politely at us and stood from his thrown, then began pacing up and down the red carpet, his hands locked behind his back.

"We were hoping you could possibly tell us where Galendale is. I really need to get back home," I begged.

"Ah yes, you mentioned the time travel coin. I thought that was only a myth! Shows you how much I'm told things. However, are you sure it can reverse what happened? It brought you back it time but are you sure it can take you forward? Galendale is powerful but I'm not so sure he's that powerful," Farlen said casually.

"We won't find out until we try," I responded quietly.

"You are right, my dear. That's a great way to look at it. But to tell you the truth, I couldn't possibly begin to guess where Galendale is. It's been so long since I've seen him. However... I've heard talk about a castle down in Louisiana. It's old... very old, maybe even built in the medieval times. I have elves scattered all across the globe... some even in Louisiana. Rumor has it that the old wizard is staying camped there, boarded up and hidden from the world. He wants to stay gone so the Abominations can't find him and use his power for irrational things. If you shall try searching anywhere, that's where I'd begin."

I glanced to my right to look at Kade for confirmation, but he was giving me the same look. Why was it my decision? I nodded anyway, considering it was our only option.

"Well now you know where you're off to next! Why don't you stay here for a little bit? Get warm, eat, sleep... do whatever makes you comfortable until you're ready to leave. I have enough rooms for all of you and enough elves to wait on you. Don't hesitate to ask for anything!" Farlen exclaimed excitedly like a child about to have a sleepover. "Come! Follow me! We'll have a feast in a couple of hours! I'll have some of my elves dress you up and show you to the table when it's time."

All of us exchanged awkward glances but soon stood up and followed Farlen to the two large doors at the opposite end of the room. Once out and standing in a magnificent hallway just as beautiful as the room we left, Farlen led us through multiple more doors and corridors until we came across a hall with doors imprinted with numbers. "This is the hall you'll be staying on. Please pick any room you like and I'll have my elves sent to it right away!" he said, then left through the door that opened to the hall.

"Does he seem a little too nice to you guys? I mean, I'm grateful that we have a place to stay but it seems a little too good to be true," Odis whispered. We all kind of nodded in agreement but started to open doors and examined the rooms. All were master bedrooms with king size beds and beautiful comforters. None were highly decorated, probably because they were just meant for guests. I soon settled into room 314, one with a balcony and a bed with black and white themed sheets. The others settled in rooms around me, Kade next door and Odis and Maeve across the hall.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared out the door leading to the balcony. Outside was some kind of village, a very large one in fact. It wasn't the one we were in before so I had no clue where we were now. I honestly didn't care, anyways. I was too tired. After a few minutes, there was a knock at my door then two young ladies entered, two a bit shorter than me. One had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the other was the complete opposite: long black hair and green eyes. They both smiled politely and pulled in a large rack of beautiful dresses behind them.