Sahara Ashdell: Rebirth of Patreek (Book 3)
Chapter 5: Deal with Evil

She opens her eyes as she feels the warmth of Slagwart’s body move away from hers. She sees the large portal swirling open and can see Slagwart standing in her bedroom. She feels surprised as the portal suddenly closes leaving her alone in Slagwart’s room. She feels too heavy as she falls to the ground. She tries to catch her breath as she lies on the cold floor for a few moments. She doesn’t have the strength to teleport. She smiles realizing what she just did but then her smile quickly fades as she remembers how Slagwart was making her feel. She feels confused by how she could feel like that for anyone other than Brystol. “Brystol!” She says realizing that she doesn’t have time to sort through what just happened and her feelings. She needs to save Brystol. She stands up straightening her shirt before she teleports to her room to meet Slagwart.

“Are you alright?” Slagwart asks moving toward her but him approaching her causes her to jump back in surprise. She didn’t want him to touch her and make her feel what she had just felt again. “Sahara. I didn’t mean to confuse you or make you feel odd. I just needed you to use the feeling of longing to open the portal.”

“Let’s just replace your aunt,” Sahara says avoiding eye contact. “What do we need to do now?”

“We will have to break the rules and go outside the barriers that are protecting the kingdom,” Slagwart says. “Preferably undetected.”

“Perfect,” Sahara says as she wraps a large green hooded cape around her shoulders.

“We will go to the wooded area. There is a less likely chance of us getting caught there.” Slagwart says as he opens the door to her room so that they can exit. The pair hide from passing elves along their way to the woods, making sure not to be seen by anyone. When they finally arrive at the wooded area, Slagwart causes a dark red glow to appear in his hand to help light their way.

“How long will this take?” Sahara asks wondering how much time Brystol has.

“I am not sure,” Slagwart replied. “An hour, a day, or two days. It just depends on what clues she leaves behind.”

“Left behind?” Sahara recalls what he said earlier about his aunt. “You said earlier that it wasn’t where we could replace her but when. What did that mean?”

“It is complicated,” Slagwart says. “I don’t really understand it myself, but she somehow warps reality to go into the future.”

“Time travel!” Sahara says excitedly. She had heard of time travel in the human world but had always thought it was a myth. “Of course.” She sounds excited about realizing it is a possibility in the elf world.

“Yes, but only future time travel.” Slagwart says as he stops moving and looks around. “She can’t go to the past, just to the future. Here we are.”

“How do you get through?” Sahara asks knowing she can just teleport, but he can’t.

Slagwart smiles as he pulls out a small marble-like ball from his pocket. “Being half Drow and the nephew of the Grey Elf has its perks.” Sahara watches him with interest as he holds out his hand to her. She is obviously not sure what he wants so he clarifies, “This is a blaumbot. It will temporarily impair your bracelet from working.”

“So, I will have all of my powers?” Sahara asked cautiously.

“Only for about a minute,” Slagwart says as he pulls her closer to him so that he can hold her bracelet.

“Why didn’t we just use this to get you out of the inn?” Sahara felt a bit annoyed at the idea that he had this blaumbot the entire time.

“Because I only have one and it only works once.” He twirls her bracelet and replaces the clasp on it.“When the blaumbot lights up you will have all of your powers and when it disappears the bracelet will be back to normal. Teleport us across the barriers.”

“What if I could teleport us to your aunt?” Sahara asks knowing she has never tried to teleport to someone she has never met.

Slagwart shakes his head in disbelief, “I can promise you have never met her so, how would you do that?”

“When I have all of my powers, I have telepathy. I could replace her in your mind maybe and then teleport us to her.” Sahara is not sure it would work but she thinks it may be worth a try.

Slagwart thinks for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know if that would work. We only have a minute so teleport us across the barriers first and then try that with the time we have left. What have we got to lose?”

“I will have enough time for both,” Sahara says confidently.

“Here we go,” Slagwart says placing the marble on the clasp of Sahara’s bracelet. A sudden burst of light emerges from the marble and Sahara feels a sudden pulse of energy surge through her veins. It is an odd sensation. She had never felt this strong and powerful. “Sahara,” Slagwart says snapping Sahara away from her feeling of power. “What are you doing?”

Sahara easily teleports the two of them across the barrier before she speaks. “I have never felt this powerful.” She looks at her hands wondering why she feels so different.

“Sahara. Focus. My Aunt.” Slagwart says shaking Sahara slightly.

“I can feel everything,” Sahara says looking around at their darkened surroundings.

“Sahara!” Slagwart sounds a bit aggravated by her distraction.

“I can see everything,” Sahara says noticing all the diamond-like shape holes around her. “I can go anywhere.” She says looking through the holes and seeing elves and even humans, in the human world. “It is amazing.”

“Sahara!” Slagwart now sounds terrified by what is happening.

“I can hear their thoughts,” Sahara says hearing all of the elves and humans talking. “And the animals.” She says twirling around as she watches flocks of beasts run past her. “I hear them.” She can hear the thoughts of all the beasts and animals in both worlds.

“Sahara!” Slagwart shouts at her and shakes her. “The light is about to go out.”

“The Grey Elf,” Sahara says searching the fabric of the world around her. “Where is she?” She looks to her left and sees a sparkling dark round-shaped hole. “It looks different from all the others.” She says as she walks towards the round hole. She looks through the hole and hears a voice that sounds familiar. “Patreek.” She says feeling invincible. She sees Patreek turn toward her through the hole. His body is fully formed, and he is no longer the slimy clump of flesh he once was.

“Sahara Ashdell.” Patreek gives her an unsettling smile. “What an unexpected turn of events. You are full of surprises.” Patreek moves closer to her as he holds out his left hand. “Have you decided to join us? You do owe me a replacement for Raglen.”

“I owe you nothing. I would never join you.” She replies.

“That is unfortunate.” Patreek says moving towards her. “Then what brings you here now?”

Sahara feels speechless as she is not sure how she found him and all of the voices and noises she hears coming from the thousands of diamond-like holes around her are very distracting. “Ah,” Patreek says noticing Sahara glancing around and not staying focused on him. “Your powers are growing.”

Sahara realizes Patreek is just about a foot from her, and she suddenly feels threatened. She lunges her hands out toward him throwing a strong gust of wind to push him back. It does push him back, but it also causes him to laugh. “Do you feel threatened by me?” He points his hand up toward the sky and spins it around before pointing his finger toward Sahara as he says, “Flaherst.” Sahara throws her hand up stopping the small grey tornado Patreek is throwing toward her. She flicks her wrist, and it causes the tornado to move back toward Patreek. The sudden distraction of a new round sparkling hole distracts her and before she realizes it, Patreek has forced it back and the tornado has knocked her down.

Sahara felt her body being pulled backward as the round hole she was in with Patreek closed quickly. Before she could fight back, she felt a sudden loss of power. She rubs her neck as she feels the cold metal touch her skin and realizes that Slagwart has placed her necklace over her head. The light on her bracelet from the blaumbot disappears and Sahara feels some confusion set in. “What just happened? Was I not wearing my necklace?

Slagwart shakes his head in response and looks ashamed. “I took it earlier when you were trying to open a portal. Are you alright? Who were you talking to?”

“I found Patreek.” Her words cause Slagwart to stand up from his crouched position looking over her with a surprised look. Sahara stands up from the ground as she asks, “Why would you take my necklace?”

“Mostly because I was curious if Hexaria was right.” His reply causes more confusion for Sahara. How does he know Hexaria and how does he know how to speak with her? “She thought your necklace was suppressing your powers.”

“How do you know Hexaria?” Sahara felt hurt by Verdiwild giving her something to hold back her powers. When he had given it to her, he had said it was to protect her. Did he mean from herself?

“I don’t. When she found out I was being sent here to watch over you, she sent me a translated letter.” He pulls out a small piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to Sahara. She quickly reads the letter confirming her fear. Verdiwild had indeed given her something to suppress her powers. “She is also the one that sent me the blaumbot.” Sahara notices the line in Hexaria’s note that tells Slagwart what to do with the blaumbot.

“This was all a test?” Sahara says angrilyshoving the letter back into Slagwart’s hands. “You distracted me to steal my necklace and then used the blaumbot to test out how powerful I really am?”

“It sounds bad when you say it.” He says feeling ashamed.

Sahara gasps for breath as she looks around her feeling panicked. She feels betrayed by Verdiwild, Slagwart, and Hexaria. “Were the Treegans in on all of this?” She wonders if Brystol knows the necklace suppresses her magic.

“I think the Aran had Verdiwild give you the necklace, but I am not sure the Tari and Brystol know of its true purpose.”

Sahara must sit down on the nearby log she sees that has fallen. She can’t seem to wrap her mind around the idea that the Aran is still withholding things like this from her. She remembers what she just felt a few moments ago. The power she felt. It was…It was…“Amazing.” She says the word out loud, wishing she could feel like that again.

“What?” Slagwart asks not understanding her one-word response.

“Nothing.” She says standing back up ready to continue their mission. “I am sorry I couldn’t stay focused on your aunt.”

“It is alright. We will make it. Come on,” he says motioning for her to follow him. “We aren’t far from one of her regular stops. And I am sure you just got her attention.”

“What do you mean?” Sahara asks.

“Well, I didn’t just do all of that for fun nor just because Hexaria asked me to.” He continues walking as he explains, “The Grey Elf can feel powerful magic. Just like you were just drawn to Patreek’s powerful magic. Since we were out of the protective barriers, I can promise you that she took notice.”

Sahara looks around them suddenly feeling as though they are being watched. She wonders if the other round hole she saw when she was with Patreek was another powerful being. Perhaps it was the Grey Elf she thinks. She traces her fingers on her necklace as she wonders if she should take it off again if she could replace the Grey Elf. She looks toward Slagwart noticing his back is still turned towards her. She slides the pendant on the necklace back and forth. “Why do you wear the amulet of Voheela?” She jumps at the unfamiliar elleth’s voice whispering in her right ear. Spinning around, she sees only Slagwart around. She knows he must not have heard the voice since he doesn’t seem alerted. “Don’t you know what the amulet of Voheela is?” The voice whispers in her left ear as she looks around still seeing no one else but Slagwart. “It prevents your powers from fully developing.”

Sahara spins around feeling dizzy wondering if the voice is a Pixie. “Who is there?” She asks in Pixie language.

“Remove the amulet, and you will be able to see me.” The voice says, seeming to understand the Pixie language.

Sahara looks over to Slagwart who looks around in confusion at what Sahara is looking for. “Do you hear that?” She asks Slagwart.

“Hear what?” Slagwart looks around and raises his hands in defense as if he is preparing to start casting spells.

“The Pixie.”

“Pixie?” He asks looking thoughtful. “Aunt Acrista is that you?” He asks loudly. Sahara wonders why he would assume it was the Grey Elf. Leaves swirl around in a circle in the air around them as the wind picks up speed. In a moment, a grey swirl from the ground spins up and an elleth appears in a fluffy grey tattered ball gown. She has grey hair and grey makeup that makes her skin look grey too. “That was faster than I expected,” Slagwart says looking excited to see the elleth.

“Q.” The elleth says spreading her arms toward him. “You have gotten so tall.” She says looking sad or maybe even bitter Sahara thinks. Slagwart moves towards her and hugs the elleth. “Has your father sent you to beg on his behalf?”

Slagwart shakes his head, “No. This is not a personal visit.” He points to Sahara, “This is my friend, Geezel.” Sahara gives him an odd look wondering why he would lie to his aunt but she decides it is for the best. “This is my aunt Acrista.”

“Geezel?” His aunt asks looking annoyed. “Is that so?” Sahara can tell that Slagwart’s aunt knows he is lying.

“No,” Sahara says noticing Slagwart shaking his head no to her telling the truth. “My name is Sahara Ashdell.”

Aunt Acrista’s face turns from annoyance to an unsettling grin. “Indeed, you are.” The elleth walks over toward Sahara looking her up and down in curiosity.

“Are you the Grey Elf?” Sahara asks trying to be polite.

“The one and only, elfie,” She bows slightly toward her but Sahara is not sure she likes the way her eyes stay fixed on her. Sahara sees the elleth twist her fingers toward Slagwart, causing him to flip up in the air and cry out in agony. Sahara jumps in surprise as Slagwart hits the ground. “Lying to your own family.” The Grey Elf says shaking her head in disappointment of Slagwart.

“I didn’t know what you would do to her if you knew her real name,” Slagwart says standing up and dusting off the dirt from his pants.

“Protecting her?” The Grey Elf says looking back toward Sahara. “Why would she need protection? It looks more like she needs help.”

Sahara felt offended by the statement, “Help?”

“You are wearing the amulet of Voheela.”

“You said that before. What does that mean?” Sahara asks touching her necklace again.

“The green pendant you wear was forged by dragon’s breath using Slewbo blood, pixie veins, centar hooves, and the blood of five of the most powerful elves to ever live. Many lives were sacrificed to create the necklace you now wear. It was first created four hundred years ago, to stop an evil elf called Dervex from developing his powers fully. He was gifted it at the young age of four before his powers developed for it had been foretold by - well your great great grandfather by use of his declure - that the young ellon would bring an end to our world if he was to develop all of his powers. The weak elders were too soft to kill the child, so they sacrificed themselves to create the amulet of Voheela, which is named after Dervex’s mother because she was one of the five most powerful elves to sacrifice herself to keep her son from turning evil.”

“What happened to Dervex?” Slagwart asked curiously.

“He wore the necklace after being told that it was the last gift his mother had given him until he died at the age of four and twenty. He was never able to fully develop his powers, for the amulet had been draining his power for eleven years by the time his fifteenth birthday arrived. He was killed after falling from a flying carriage.” The Grey Elf sounds uncaring as she tells the story. “Who gifted you such a thing?” Sahara looks down at the green gem wondering why the Aran would want to suppress her powers. “The Aran, hey?” The Grey Elf asked deviously.

“You have telepathy,” Sahara said excitedly.

“You will replace we are not so different from Sahara Ashdell.” The Grey Elf says walking around Sahara in a circle. “Now, you have come to ask for something. What is it?”

Sahara sees no point in denying the matter or beating around the bush. “I want to ask you to save someone.”

“Your betrothed?” She asks in reply.

“Yes. Brystol Treegan. He was wounded by dark magic and no one in our realms was able to help him. I heard you might be able to.” Sahara places her hand on her declure in her pocket preparing to offer it as payment. “So, I asked Slagwart to help me replace you.”

“And here you are.” The Grey Elf says motioning to both of them carelessly.

“Slagwart said you would need a payment.” She pulls out the declure from her pocket and holds it out. “I am willing to offer you my delcure. You already seem to know about it.”

The Grey Elf glances down at the declure in Sahara’s hand and shakes her head. “I have no need for your family’s declure. It will not work for me. I desire something of greater value to you.”

Sahara tries to think of something of greater value, but she cannot think of anything more she has to offer. “Like what?”

The Grey Elf continues to circle Sahara looking her up and down as she thinks. “Sometimes values are not things, Arenal.”

Sahara thinks about Brystol and how much she loves him. She knew she would give up anything to save him. “I will give you anything, with the exception of my feelings.”

“Excellent!” The Grey Elf looks pleased with Sahara’s words. “Now that I know what is most precious to you, that is what I will take.”

“What do you mean?” Sahara asks.

“For me to save your beloved Brystol Treegan, you must allow me to take your feelings for him.” The Grey Elf smiles deviously at Sahara.

“I said except for my feelings,” Sahara says shaking her head.

“To save a life that cannot be saved, one must give what they do not want to give.” The Grey Elf laughed evilly at her words. “It is the only way my child or your ellon dies.”

“Fine.”

“You don’t have to do this Sahara.” Slagwart stops Sahara from finishing her agreement with the Grey Elf.

“What other choice do I have?” She asks and when Slagwart doesn’t reply she turns back toward the Grey Elf and says, “Agreed. I will pay you with my feelings for him.”