Never Let an Elf Steal Your Heart

Riding northward at a break neck pace, frigid wind cut through Markos's armor like a knife. His arms encircled the injured Sintija, crushing her against his chest as he clutched the reins. He sensed the templar and the other presence behind them. If he rode fast enough, they'd out run even the devil. Sintija was trembling and silent after putting so much of her energy into the fight against the aphotic.

"No." Markos corrected himself. "Against Lorelai. She was a person. And I had to put her out of her misery. It's this wretched system." 

"It'll just be a little while longer. Hold on," he whispered as they raced through the dense forest. A whine and a pulse warned him as they veered left. Arrows cut past them in a wide arc. His horse whinied in protest. Markos stole a glance over his shoulder, beyond the trees were distant figures. He knew the banners and restrained current of energy.

"I thought we'd get further before they caught us," Markos cursed.

"Who did they send after me?" He wondered. 

"I can distract them," Sintija murmured weakly from his breastplate. She was moving to steady herself. He gave her a reassuring squeeze to urge her to stay where she was. He didn't need to look down at her to know she was looking at him. His face hidden inside the metal and shadows of his helmet. 

Markos shook his head. "No. We just have to reach the veil, we'll lose them. We're close."

*** 

"Markos! Give yourself up to the mercy of the Church and you'll be forgiven!" Emilio called out into the winter forest. The accompanying knights moved on horseback on either side of him. He wasn't sure what happened to shake his childhood friend's resolve but he knew that he could save him. He had been ordered to lead a contingent to stop the aphotic and bring back his wayward brother. 

Of all the templars in the order. Emilio and Markos had the closest bond. The commanders said Emilio was the one who understood Markos the best. His whisperer was working hard to track and bring Markos back, but he'd given her the slip somehow. 

If we don't hurry, this matter will attract the attention of the Pillar and then we're all doomed. He thought bitterly. 

A line of archers had fired a volley but missed. They readjusted their position, waiting for the next order to fire. 

Emilio waited, his breath formed thick clouds through his wool scarf and furs. He did his best to warm himself inside his armor. He still hated wearing the helmet but he learned his listen. Ahead, he sensed Markos slipping away. In one sense, he didn't want to hurt his firned but he could not leave him in the clutches of a vile elf. She's surely twisted his mind into knots. 

 The memory of soft lips against his along the lakeside warmed his cheeks. His first kiss. And the last. He remembered the resistance of his sword pushing through her chest and felt sick. He wasn't sure why he felt so conflicted. It was their job to protect the world from destruction. Elves destroyed the world with their wanton use of the Word. It's why they had the demonic aphotics roving and killing along the countryside. 

He remembered the stench of blood and rot in the villages the last aphotic had left in its wake. He couldn't bear to let that happen again. They had a job to do. Emilio needed Markos back to help him fight the odds. 

He waited for a response and heard nothing. He sighed and spurred his warder forward, ordering the men to give chase. "After them!" 

In his bones he felt something was so horribly wrong with Markos. He wasn't sure the depths of the corruption but something had taken root inside of him. The priest claimed it was love but he was certain it was something else.

***

Markos raced the wind, hearing his name called behinnd him. He instinctively knew who the order would send after him. Since he was denying Jo, it could only be his adoptive brother, Emilio. He inwardly cursed his friend's piety. He didn't want to hurt him but he couldn't let them catch him. 

He couldn't let the order get their hands on Sintija or drown his powers in their grasp. It would play into the Interloper's hands and ruin all the carefully laid plans Mara had made. The Goddess of Death was on his side. He couldn't fail her.

"M... a.... r... k.... o....s." A female voice called weakly into his mind. He grimaced and tightened his jaw as he passed a pulse of his life energy into his horse to urge it faster.

He knew her voice too well, Jo. His other childhood friend tricked into being his warden. So long as they were bound together, his chains would tighten and keep him trapped. They didn't know then that the Whisperers were meant to be spies and executioners for wayward Templars assigned to them. Not every templar had a Whisperer but he did. His own latent abilities required him to be contained. He resented it and her for taking the position.

"Call them off, Jo. You're going to get them killed!" He thought at Jo through their magical connection thinly disguised as an artifact. 

"You know I can't do that. Come home."  Jo begged. He knew she envisioned a future where they ended up together. A cozy cabin where he could make his living as a retired templar devoting himself to hunting and his family. And she, enjoying the warmth of a home of her own. A place she never had to leave unless she willed it. The kennnelmaster's daughter and the huntsman of the estate reunited as they dreamed when they were children. They were partners even now but it was not by his own will. 

It was a lie that she kept alive and he wasn't sure why. When he thought of home, it wasn't there with Jo. It was with Illiana, Caelyn, and Sintija. Maybe one day Jo might come to understand but today was not that day. 

Markos shook his head. His skin tingled as they drew nearer to the boundry. "Home is not where you are, Jo. It hasn't been for a long time."

"Markos, please," Jo pleaded into his mind. Desperate for him to agree.

"If you truly care about me and Emilio, let me go, Jo. Following me will only kill you both."

Markos sensed that Jo was taken back by the statement. Sintija stirred again. 

"Watcher," she commented softly. She lightly tapped his cuirass three times, knowing what the armor did to her magic. The glyph of the Holy Sword glowed a brilliant red. 

"We're almost there." Markos assured her as they leapt over a stream and into a thicket. Shadows deepened around them, multiplying in strength. The air crackled with energy. 

"Markos?" Sintija asked softly. 

"Markos!" Jo yelled in his mind with a panicked shriek, her voice fading into a high pitched whine.

Sintija winced and sighed. "That'll keep her out for now." 

Markos frowned but there was no helping it. "The veil is activating, we'll be there soon." The thicket melted and warped around them as they raced through a long tunnel of shadow and wood. 

"You figured it out after all this time?" Sintija wondered softly. 

"How you disappeared? Yeah, it took some doing to figure out how to get it to work but I had help," Markos commented gruffly. They burst from the shadows into a snow kissed field. Only their heavy breathing and birdsong followed them. "You've been following the flow of the Word. The maraium veins form a network along the planet. It'll take you between linked locations."

Their horse slowed down to a stop as they all caught their breath. "It's impressive. Most humans never realize what they really are. They just see it as the death and rejection of magic by the planet." 

Markos pulled off his helmet, letting himself breath more easily. Frost had collected at the corners of his mouth outside his mask. "We'll have more freedom to discuss this once we get to safety. We've shaken my handlers for now, but they are searching for me. They will take me back if they catch me."

He let out a deep sigh. "What did you do to break the connection like that?"

Sintija looked up at him, looking smaller and younger inside her cloak pressed against him like that. "Rebounded the reaction of the mariaum from magic into the thread of the Word that connects you to that watcher." 

Markos quirked a brow and shook his head, "Such a devious little mage you are." He gruffly chuckled, breathing easier now that there was some distance between the aphotic and the people from the order chasing them. "We need to stay on guard until we reach it. We've had this haven hidden away. Endure this for a little longer. I promise I will keep you safe."