Taming the Dark Lord - Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – No Ordinary Elf (1)

As they stood outside the city gate, Rita’s body couldn’t be found anywhere and all the knights seemed to have died, no sign of life around them. Debra frowned, “Do you think Rita left all by herself?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Amelia said as she pointed to a set of footprints marked on the ground. “Look at these footprints, it seems like it belongs to someone from the inspection team. There are two huge ones and a small one here.” Amelia said, toeing the track with her foot before coming to a conclusion, “It’s probably the knights who guarded the two witches, the ones who were separated from us. They must be the ones who carried Rita away.”

“Maybe they thought we’re all dead and left to seek assistance. What should we do next? Should we follow their tracks?” Debra asked helplessly.

“Yes.” Amelia nodded.

After walking for a few minutes, they found a carriage standing idle and they decided to make use of it in order to trace the knights a lot more quickly.

Before they left, Amelia excused herself and went to an empty room. She took the elf out of her bag and faced him, telling him what she planned to do next.

“You have to come with me.” Amelia said, immediately cutting to the chase.

Alfonso stared at Amelia, and he was growing frustrated as the seconds went by. Didn’t she told him yesterday that she never meant to have him stay with her, and that she really wanted him to go home? Then what was this all about? Were her words good for nothing?

She knew that he was mad for the way he was looking at her, eyes full of contempt as she quickly explained, “Hey, don’t you think that the necromancer’s words make sense? You really don’t look like an ordinary dark elf. I will go back and make sure by checking the books. Then I’ll send you back, okay?”

Alfonso scoffed. “Say whatever you want.” It’s not like I’ll believe you anyway.

He didn’t utter the last sentence out loud, but his expression said it anyway. He subtly rolled his eyes in irritation, and Amelia couldn’t believe how painstakingly difficult it was talking to him.

He wasn’t listening to her at all!

Amelia fumed like a pufferfish, and this damn elf was not planning to tell her anything. Even if she told him what the necromancer told her, he only looked at her with nothing but indifference in his eyes, and his mouth was zipped tight.

It was understandable that Alfonso forgot the massacre that had happened before in the capital. However, the witch incident was something that happened recently. Don’t tell me he forgot about it too?

Now he was making her angrier than she already was. Seeing the elf’s unfaltering resolve, Amelia went ahead and made the decision for them both. She knew that he was not going to talk when he didn’t want to, so she ignored the protests that would surely break out and said, “Alright. It’s set then. You know the rules, no speaking and no moving.”

She grabbed the elf hastily, ignoring his squirming arms and legs and unceremoniously stuffed him back inside her bag and hung it around her waist.

Much better.

*

Amelia went back to the carriage, and noticed Debra eyeing her closely. They carried the witch into the carriage wordlessly, and after deeming the city void of any life, they departed the town and followed the tracks.

The witch was asleep until nighttime and the first thing she did upon waking up was touching her knife with her fingertips, clearly poised for action.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Amelia said as she handed a glass of water, “Drink this.”

The hold the witch had on the knife did not loosen one bit, and if anything, she only clutched it even more tightly before sitting up abruptly, ignoring the water Amelia offered and asked hoarsely, “Where am I?”

Amelia patiently told her the situation they were in and as the witch listened closely, her eyes turned sharp when Amelia told her that the two captured witches, along with the children, were taken away, interrupting her as she defensed, “They are not witches. They have nothing to do with this.”

“Your words mean nothing.” Debra chimed in, “I will hold a ceremony and ask God about it myself. If they aren’t really witches, then I’ll let them go.”

“This has nothing to do with you. You saved my life, and I’m grateful for it, I really am. I can pay you if that’s what you like, I’ll do just about anything except letting you free.” Debra said, staring straight ahead before continuing, “No one is allowed to violate the decrees, and anyone that has anything to do with the Darkness is immediately sentenced to death.”

A remarkable silence fell around them, and no one spoke for a while as the carriage steered forward.