Evil

Taran waited a long moment, reveling in his victory. A restlessness descended upon those on the shore.

For a moment, Alaron feared the madman might still force them to fight and risk Dania fulfilling her threat. But then Taran moved his finger in a circle and jerked his head toward the far shore.

The abominations growled, unhappy with the lack of fighting and going back in the water for another long swim. But they obeyed. Slowly but surely the shore emptied of the lizards, leaving only three humans, a wolf, a satyr and the elves behind.

When at last they were clear, Nath began to order around the troops. "Go check the rest of the beach for trouble. And let the incoming elves who received the message ball know what is happening. We will need all the forces to make sure this border is secure. Lilith and I will stay with the common ones."

"Not that any of you are common," Lilith said by way of explanation, her eyes lingering extra on the wolf and Guardian. "It is just what we call those who are not gifted with magic. Please don't take offense."

Mairwen was not offended. In fact, she wasn't even listening. Her eyes were watching where the boat had at last shut its portal and fully submerged. Now, somewhere under the lake, her dear friend was back in the clutches of Taran.

Mairwen had failed.

So as the elves dispersed to do their tasks, the princess simply stood solemnly on the shore.

"I hate that man," she said when Renat came to wrap his arms around her. Even in the Guardian's cloak she was shivering.

"You don't hate anyone," the wolf cooed softly. He did not like seeing his wife like this. The woman he knew was incapable of hate. She was full of love and learning and laughter.

"I hate him. He is evil. Taran manipulated everyone around him. He stole some of the best minds in Valiant, he took Dania captive twice. And...and..." Mairwen looked up at her husband as she choked on her words.

The wolf ran a hand along his chocolate fur. "And he turned me into this." Renat finished her statement.

Mairwen nodded. "He is evil," she repeated. "Not even Cafer was this wicked."

Overhearing his sister, Alaron scoffed. "That's debatable. Cafer wanted world domination. He was willing to destroy all of humanity to get what he wanted."

"Taran wants to destroy magic, or at least subdue it. He is willing to kill anyone or anything that gets in his way," Mairwen countered.

"Alright, let's agree they are equally bad. It is not an evil popularity contest," Eira could see that the twins were ready to fight. They were both hurt and angry, and fighting with each other was a natural outlet. But it was not a productive one.

The twins nodded. It was a foolish argument to begin with. "You're right," they said in unison, each chuckling silently at their timing.

Then Alaron's eyes flashed. "Where do you think you are going?!" He stepped between the satyr and his boat.

Polymedes froze in his tracks. While the others were distracted by Taran, he had been moving almost imperceptibly closer to his beloved watercraft.

"I just need to get something from inside the boat," he answered nonchalantly.

The Guardian crossed his arms and shook his head. "You don't seriously think we are going to let you go home after the stunt you just pulled. You have no home to go to anyway."

Polymedes lunged forward, trying to catch the edge of the boat as it quickly thrust itself back in the water. But Alaron was faster. He caught hold of the satyr's arm and pulled him back towards the barrier. Helplessly, Polymedes watched his boat sail away, destined to return to the dock from whence it came.

"You did that on purpose! You knew the words 'go home' would make my lovely little one leave me. How dare you!" Polymedes puffed out his chest and tried to raise his sword.

It was a fruitless effort. Before he could try to strike the Guardian, Eira hit the satyr's hand with the side of her sword, disarming him. He cried out and shook his hand from the pain.

"How dare us? How dare you!" Mairwen turned on the satyr. "You were willing to kill Dania--kill all of us--to secure your own freedom."

Polymedes looked genuinely confused. "Kill you? Oh no, you misunderstand. I saved you."

"Satyrs must have a strange code of honor..." Lilith said dryly.

Jerking his arm free of Alaron's grip, Polymedes pursed his lips. "Surely you know Dania was never in any real danger from me. Once I learned the commodity, I was never going to damage it. That would be bad business."

"Dania is not a commodity. She is a person." Mairwen's face reddened.

"Po-tay-to po-tah-to," Polymedes shrugged, "It's all business."

Mairwen stepped forward, ready to slap the satyr. Only Renat's arm picking her up and hugging her to his chest prevented the incident.

"Anyway, There is no way that Taran guy would have left peacefully without Dania. How much blood would be on the ground right now mingling with yours if not for me?" Polymedes let the words sink in.

Alaron was not sure if he believed in the satyr's altruism. In fact, he was almost positive that Polymedes was just spinning a tale to save his own skin. But he had gotten results, however distasteful.

"Unfortunately, he's right. We live to fight another day because of Polymedes. We are down but not out." Alaron gave a small bow of recognition.

"That's more like it." Polymedes patted his chest. "You all owe me a great debt."

"And to repay it, I set you free of the debt you owe the Empress." Alaron dipped his head.

Polymedes looked smugly at the princess, who still seemed intent on taking him down.

The Guardian straightened and motioned to the elves. "I have no further claim on the satyr. He is all yours."

The smirk on Polymedes face disappeared faster than a stray snowflake in summer. "Now wait a second..."

Nath cracked his knuckles, the smile which was lost from the satyr's finding its way onto his own. "Thank you Guardian. He shall receive a fair trial."

"Please, Guardian! After all we have been through? You would treat me thusly?" The satyr's tone took on a humble tone. Years of manipulation had fine tuned his negotiations into an artform.

Unfortunately, he was up against another master. "Who am I to stand in the way of justice? The Fates expect me to uphold the law, after all." The Guardian's eyes flashed. While what he said was true, the Fates had nothing to do with his decision just now.

Without needing to be told, Lilith re-bound the satyr's hands. He sputtered and negotiated to no avail. But he did not fight. Satyrs were very strong, but nothing in comparison to the might of the elves.

"I do think we should get to the gate as soon as possible," Nath advised them. "I don't like feeling this exposed. Those creatures could still come back."

"Good idea." The others agreed. They began to trudge along the shore.

"I am not complaining, but I am surprised the man called Taran gave up so easily. If he knows you are the princess, why did he not use that to his advantage?" Lilith wondered.

Alaron's face grew grim. "Taran thinks he has already won. He believes he has the Empress captured or killed back in Oblivion. Without her leadership, the rest of the world will not be able to rally in time to defeat him. We are a small price for him to pay to keep Dania happy, especially if he can force us onto his side."

It made a sort of twisted sense. Taran hadn't bothered with them because they were not important enough to finish off, but valuable enough to be of use in the future.

"Is your brother always so perceptive?" Lilith asked the princess.

Mairwen looked at the she-elf with a hint of surprise. "How did you...?"

"He did something on behalf of the Empress and you did not even object or even react. Only someone who is your equal could do that." Lilith shrugged. "And you two bicker like siblings. Don't they, Nath?"

Nath threw her a sidelong glance. "You do it far better than they do."

"I will take the compliment," Lilth answered with a grin.

"Twins?" Mairwen asked, looking between the two elves.

"Might as well be," Nath answered. "Where one of us goes, the other is sure to follow.

"Too bad I don't have a twin," Polymedes grumbled as he stumbled on a shiny pebble. Lilith caught him by his bound hands before he could fully fall.

"Do you not have siblings?" Renat couldn't help but ask.

"Oh yes, a whole herd of them, but a twin is extra valuable..." Polymedes said wistfully. "For I could blame him for all my troubles and no one would be able to tell the difference."

The rest of them looked at him in shock. Renat cleared his throat. "Uh...I hate to say it, but this is why you live alone..."