Shadows of the Lithilium

“Thank you Tealith.”

Arath’s voice is soft, and I can feel the emotions coming off of him in waves. Relief, anger, and most strongly his love for Tealith. His emotions are so strong in that moment that I wonder if Tealith might even notice them. She doesn’t look likely to notice anything however as her gaze is directed at the floor and she seems to still be wondering whether she’s made the right choice.

“Alright, if that’s what we’re going to do then how are we going to do it?”

I try to keep the frustration out of my voice, recognizing that it won’t help anything to happen if I continue to be upset about the wasted time. Better to work with them and get this done as quickly as possible, and then move on to our other task.

Tealith looks at Arath, waiting for him to take the lead since this was his idea. Arath doesn’t say anything for several seconds, seemingly unsure of what to do. As the silence stretches on I do my best to quell the impatience I feel rising up in myself.

“We can’t just kill him.” Arath finally says slowly.

I throw my hands up in frustration, no longer able to contain it.

“Then what do you propose we do? If we’re not going to kill him why are we staying here?”

Tealith shoots me a sharp glare, and Arath glowers at me angrily.

“I’m not saying we won’t kill him. But it’s not as simple as just stabbing him in the back when no one is looking. We have to kill him in a way that exposes what he’s been doing so that we can break his hold over this city completely.”

Grudgingly I have to admit that he’s right, if we were simply to kill Durgin without any witnesses to his powers and the atrocities he’s been using them to commit then the town really wouldn’t be any better off than before we came.

“Alright, you win. But how do you propose we do that?”

“Maybe if you would be quiet I would have a chance to think about that.”

I open my mouth, ready to snap back with some sort of witty retort, but slowly close it again without saying anything. He’s right, and nothing I say will change that, so I nod instead.

Arath begins pacing back and forth, his face a study in concentration. I move over to a chair near Tealith and allow myself to collapse into it.

“Following doesn’t come naturally to you, does it.”

Tealith’s voice is quite, and her gaze is directed at Arath, but I know her comment is meant for me. I blow out my cheeks softly, thinking about what she said.

“No, it doesn’t. I have never really thought about it before. Most of my life, at least since becoming a Lithilium, has actually been spent doing my own thing. It wasn’t until recently that I joined up with the rest of the Lithilium and had to submit to Bloquan’s orders.”

My, as Bloquan put it “rebellious nature,” is one of the reasons that I am his go to human hunter. It’s not that I’m the best there is, I’m just the one that he wants to get out of the way so he doesn’t have to worry about other Lithilium getting the idea that they don’t need him. Despite his best efforts my story has become almost a myth among the other Lithilium.

I knew, and Bloquan probably suspected, that there were many Lithilium who didn’t agree with Bloquan’s approach. Most of the Lithilium just wanted peace, and a chance to live out whatever their lives had become. Most of us didn’t really believe that was a possibility, but we still hoped, and that hope was what kept us following Bloquan. Thinking that if we did bring the humans into servitude we might finally have peace.

My thoughts are interrupted as Arath stops pacing and walks over to join Tealith and I. He takes a deep breath and looks slowly up at Tealith, his eyes locking on hers.

“I’m going to have to stay here.”

Tealith gasps, the shock evident in in every line of her body.

“What are you talking about?” She demands.

Arath sighs and wearily rubs his face with both hands.

“I know you don’t like it Tealith, but I can’t think of any other way. If things are really going to change in Frengton somebody is going to need to be here to supervise. Someone that actually has the towns best interests at heart.”

“Then I’m staying with you.” Tealith’s voice is defiant, challenging Arath to disagree with her as she folds her arms across her chest with an air of finality.

I know better than to interfere here, and I can tell from Arath’s sad half smile that he too knows why Tealith can’t stay. Even though it’s breaking his heart to have to tell her to leave.

Arath takes a step forward and puts his hands on Tealith’s shoulders, gripping them tenderly but firmly.

“You know as well as I do why you can’t do that,” he says softly.

Tealith looks defiantly into his eyes for a moment, before looking away and closing her eyes. I can see the tear forming in the corner of her eye, but almost as soon as it appears it’s gone, blinked away angrily as Tealith spins out of Arath’s grip.

“Fine, then what’s your plan,” she asks as she strides quickly over to a window.

“I was thinking we just take him head on, go get it over with now. Between the three of us I would think we wouldn’t have that much difficulty overpowering him,” Arath looks at me with a question on his face as he finishes.

Even before he’s done explaining his plan I’m shaking my head.

“Even if we can overcome everyone that Durgin has undoubtedly called in to surround himself, which we might or might not be able to do, it still wouldn’t accomplish what we need.”

“And why not,” Arath asks, sounding frustrated.

“Because if you really want any chance of a lasting change in this town you’re going to need to oust Durgin in a way as mysterious and frightening as how Durgin has managed to stop all the attempts on his life. Which will also have the added benefit of protecting you from some of those same assassins.”

Arath and Tealith were both looking at me now, clearly surprised by my explanation.

I smile wryly, “I may not have wanted to help to begin with, but I’m not in the habit of letting things be done halfway. It’s one of my flaws.”

Arath laughs softly, but sincerely, before placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing firmly.

“Thank you.”

I nod, trying to sort out my sudden emotions at his response. To my surprise I’m coming to really care about these humans, not just about trying to repair a reputation and settle the differences between our kinds.

“That’s all well and good, but we still have to figure out how we’re going to actually make it happen!”

Tealith is clearly still exasperated, and I can tell that she likely won’t completely get over it for a long time yet.

Arath looks at me too, waiting to see what my response will be.

“I have an idea, but it’s kind of crazy and we’ll have to move fast...”

The moon is a pale silver sliver high in the sky as I carefully ease the dilapidated wooden shutters on my window open. It had taken most of the afternoon to get the details of our plan worked out, and now it was finally time to start moving.

I carefully lean out the window just enough to look around and check if the coast is clear. I can see a couple of would-be sentries on what remains of the castle wall, but they are over a hundred yards away, and with almost no moonlight to illuminate the wall I knew there was no chance they could see me.

Not for the first time I’m grateful for the changes to my vision. It had taken a long time for me to adjust to the differences in physiology that came with being a Lithilium, but now that I was familiar with what I was capable of I am often amazed by how little humans are able to do in comparison.

I test the moulding above the window, not sure I can trust it with my weight. After a few cautious tugs I find a stretch that still seems to be securely grouted into the wall and pull myself out of the window so that I’m standing on the sill. The hard part is over, now it’s time to get down to business.

Moving carefully, so as to not displace any loose material, I make my way quickly up the wall to the roof. My fingers finding purchase in the narrow slots left from years of chinking falling out. Once I’m on the roof I keep low so that I won’t accidentally silhouette myself on the moon, as thin and pale as it is tonight.

I move carefully across the roof, being sure not to dislodge any of the loose rubble that might slip off of the roof and give me away. I have some idea of where I’m going from Arath, but it has been so long since he’s been here that things might have changed. Or he could have been mistaken to begin with.

Trying to push aside my doubts, after all this had been my idea, I stop roughly in the middle of the roof and listen carefully. I don’t hear anything at all, which concerns me, but I’ve come too far to go back so I press forward more warily than before. I creep to the edge of the roof, moving practically on my stomach I’m so worried about being seen. From my vantage point I can see not only the guards on the walkways around the castle, but also the eerily still town beyond.

In most towns I can remember being in there was always some sort of hustle and bustle going on, even after night fell. But here in the fear and gloom created by living in the shadow of so many rogues and competing gangs of criminals everything shut down at night. Of course, I know the stillness is merely a facade for the dark deeds going on in the bleakness of the night.

Bringing my attention back from the town to the wall around the castle I scan quickly to see where the guards are and what they are watching. As I’d expected there are only a few guards on the wall, most of them looking half asleep on their spears and the rest looking with a mixture of boredom and longing out at the town. Clearly the fear of Durgin did most of the guarding for them these days.

Confident that I am unlikely to be spotted I scan the wall below me to map out my route down. My goal is two rows of windows below me. A nondescript window that Arath had pointed out to me earlier in the day.

“That’s where he used to sleep most often. Three down and straight out from where we are now,” he’d told me.

Our plan is probably lunacy at best. At worst we are guaranteeing that none of us make it out of this town alive. For all my extra-human strength and the skills I’d gained over the past hundred years, I still wouldn’t be capable of taking on an entire city. Even with the help of fighters as skilled as Arath and Tealith by my side we would be lucky to make it to the castle gate if things go sideways tonight.

I begin my descent, trying to shake the doubts from my mind as I move carefully down the wall. This climb is shorter than my last, but it takes me much longer because of the care I’m taking not to make a noise. When I reach the window I’m looking for I realize that I’ve been holding my breath for several seconds. I let it out slowly as I mentally shake my head at myself for being silly.

I slowly ease my head around the edge of the window frame. The room inside is dark, thrown into even deeper shadows by one of the few clouds in the sky passing over the moon. The darkness of the room doesn’t matter for me as my changed eyesight is quite capable of seeing in even the faintest of light. Of somewhat concern to me is the fact that I don’t see anyone in the room. We don’t have a back-up plan for what we’ll do if he isn’t here, so I begin fiddling with the window trying to get it open without making an undue amount of noise.

After a couple of minutes I manage to pop the latch and get the window open. I swing myself into the room and immediately drop to the floor and roll into the shadows just beside the window. I raise myself off the floor just a half inch so that I can scan the room from inside. I don’t see anything from my position on the floor so I quickly and carefully push myself to my feet and press myself flat against the wall. I examine the room with a quick glance to make sure there isn’t any immediate threats. When I don’t hear or see anything change I allow myself to relax the tension in my body and take a good look around the room.

The room is smaller than I expected, with barely enough room for the large dilapidated bed falling apart in the corner opposite the window. Besides the bed there were only two objects in the room; a small, bare, bookshelf, and a strange contraption of some sort. Since I don’t see anyone, or any sign of anyone, I move away from the wall and walk over to examine the contraption.

As I got closer I can see that it is made up of a collection of tubes and small metal basins. A strange smell makes my nose itch, and it takes all of my concentration not to sneeze. Through watering eyes I try and examine the device more closely. In bending close to one of the basins I discover the source of the intense smell; It seems to be coming from the basins. The smell seems familiar, but I can’t place where I feel like I’ve smelled it before.

As I stand thinking I hear the slightest of sounds. Crouching so I’m ready for whatever I have to do next I strain to locate the direction of the sound. After a heartbeat, during which I don’t think my heart beat at all, I hear it again. It’s coming from the other side of the door that leads into the rest of the castle, and unless I’m much mistaken it’s the sound of a soft-soled shoe scuffing the stone steps.

In a panic I look for anywhere I can hide. I’m to far from the window, and even if I could get to it there is no easy way out of it. The bookshelf is much to small to be a realistic hiding spot, which leaves me only one meager option. As quickly and silently as I can I sprint across the room and slide myself under the bed. I take care to position myself so that I can see the door, needing to know who comes into the room.

The door creaks open on protesting hinges, and a small figure in a brown robe shuffles in. The newcomer makes their way slowly but deftly over to the bookshelf.

“What on earth are they doing?” I wonder.

The unknown person appears to examine the shelf for several seconds, and then reaches out and grasps at the air with a bony hand. As the hand is drawn back from the shelf I see a book begin to materialize, seemingly from nowhere. I didn’t need to see the face that was revealed as the figure threw back his hood to know that I’d found the person I was looking for, but this wasn’t going to be as easy as I was hoping.