“I know that you have ruled as Queen of this underworld burial ground for centuries, and that you have use of magic still. I know that you can kill me without my being able to stop you. But I hope you will not do that. I am not here to cause trouble. I am here to save our people.”
-Very pretty words. You speak them well. You speak them with sincerity and passion. The boy who came before you did likewise, but he betrayed me. He took my gift and failed to keep his word. He did nothing to persuade the Elves to study the old ways, to master the old magic. Would you make me the same promise now if I were to give the Elfstones to you-It caught Phryne by surprise. She hadn’t realized that Pancea Rolt Gotrin had gotten possession of the Stones—and when she remembered the pouch in Mistral’s hands, she realized the old woman was baiting her. But why would she do that?
“Kirisin Belloruus did what he could, and some followed him in his studies,” she answered. “Most did not and would not be persuaded otherwise. But, yes, I would make the same promise, and I would work hard to keep it.”
The old woman laughed, a high cackle that sounded like a wild animal calling out in the darkness of the eastern swamps.
-I know you, girl. You are Phryne Amarantyne. You are Mistral’s granddaughter, and she has promised you the Elfstones. That is the reason you are here, isn’t it? Come down out of the world of light and living things to this place of darkness and death—what other reason could there be? You needed to find her to gain possession of the Elfstones. Do not suppose that you can dissemble with me-
“It is more than that, my Queen.” Phryne decided that addressing the shade with respect was the better choice, and she would stay with it. “I came here to make certain that my grandmother was safe. She disappeared from her home, and I was frightened for her. There are Elves aboveground, among the living, who sought to put her here among the dead. One of them is my stepmother. She killed my father, the King, and she will not be satisfied until the Belloruus line is extinguished.”
The shade made a dismissive gesture, hunching her shoulders like a carrion feeder.
-My line was extinguished centuries ago. All of them are dead and gone. All of them live down here to keep me company; all live in the afterlife I have provided for them. What care I for you and yours? Your line is of no importance. Nor are the lines of other families among the living. I care nothing for the living, just as they care nothing for me-
The shade hissed again, softer now and teasing.
-And you are right. I can kill you anytime I choose. I think I will do so now. I grow weary of this talk. You come too late to help your grandmother, Princess of nothing. She is as dead as I am. She died within hours of finding her way to me.
She came here injured and I could do nothing to heal her wounds. She carried with her the Elfstones that rightfully belong to me, and so I took pity on her, thinking she had come to give the Elfstones back to me. I did what I could. But she deceived me. She never intended to give the Elfstones back. She intended to give them to you. All along, to you-
“She would have me use the Elfstones to help our people, who are threatened by invasion and extermination. She would have me follow in the footsteps of Kirisin Belloruus and make the magic a part of the lives of Elves once more. She would have me try to help fulfill the promise that Kirisin made all those years ago.” Phryne was making it up as she went, desperate to convince this old woman to rethink her position, to remember that she had once been one of the living and so should want to help them. “I will give you that promise you asked for. I will do what you want. I will find a way to make the magic a part of Elven life again. Why not give me the chance?”
-And lose possession of the Elfstones once again? For another five centuries?
How stupid do you think I am, Princess of nothing-Phryne didn’t know how stupid Pancea Rolt Gotrin might be, but she had a pretty good idea how bitter she had become. There wasn’t a shred of pity left for the living, not a bit of sympathy for their plight, not a care for what happened to them. All she wanted was to regain possession of her precious Elfstones.
But why hadn’t she? Why did Mistral still have them?
“If you want the Elfstones so badly, why don’t you just take them?” she demanded suddenly. “If you are Queen and ruler of everything, why not take them and be done with it?”
The shade hissed and spat like a cat with its tail in a vise.
-You will give me the Elfstones if you want to get out of here alive! Do you understand me, girl? You will tell Mistral to give them to me-Phryne saw it then, realized the truth. Pancea Rolt Gotrin, for all the power that she commanded as Queen of these dead, couldn’t take the Elfstones by force. She needed Phryne to get them for her. But why was that? Why couldn’t she just take them away? If she had such power, why couldn’t she …?