Chapter 14
The next day Drex was dead.
Ero'then discovered him in the morning (was it ever morning here?). He woke everyone.
Despite the fears that Karielle's withdrawals had placed in him, the night seemed to have been uneventful for his students. Well, all except one. Sel'uen had an ugly black eye.
Away from the others, he demanded to know what had happened. He imagined her blood elf's expression just before he threw him out into the storm.
But Sel'uen looked angry that he had asked. "It's nothing," she growled like a wolf. "I'm fine. I handled it."
He was too surprised by her response to press her. The blood elf she had shared a tent with didn't look hurt, but he did look cowed. He decided to let the matter be.
He gathered all the elves together and explained what they would do with Drex. They all nodded. Preparations began and everyone helped, dragging the demon corpses to the center of their camp. He had his students broke down their tents again. Some gave him strange looks, but didn't ask. They were probably hoping that he knew the way back to civilization.
He didn't.
As the elves worked side-by-side, Ero'then took note of how they interacted. The work was done mostly by the sound of the storm, and those who had shared a tent seemed to gravitate to one another. Even Sel'uen and her companion worked side-by-side. Many curious glances were exchanged. He also noted the guarded looks the blood elves threw Karielle. Her bruises had ripened, giving her face a splotchy look, much worse than Sel'uen's. Karielle did her best to ignore the stares.
Eventually, the work was done. The demons had been gathered together in a mound of flesh and fel jewelry. At its top lay Drex, his hands folded across his chest, his eyes closed and face cleaned. The sin'dorei and the kaldorei rested and shared rations. To the night elves, they tasted healthy but bland.
Once Ero'then felt that everyone had had an appropriate time of rest, he stood. He gestured for everyone else to stand as well, and they faced the mound of the dead. He indicated for Karielle to join him, which she did.
"We say goodbye to a friend we knew not long," Ero'then announced. "Who was known for his wit, his wisdom," he glanced pointedly at Renarion, and some of the students smiled, "and his bravery. He has left us far too soon. May you find glades greener than these Master Drex.
"We also say goodbye to a friend we knew longer. Brim Leafwind, our companion and our cook of immeasurable talent. The storm has claimed your body, my student, but I trust your spirit can find its way home, even here. We have missed you already."
He hung his head, letting silence fall. The students mimicked him, and then the blood elves did as well. A new tension had filled the air. Remembering their comrade made them remember how he had been taken from them.
"We say goodbye," Ero'then spoke again. "And as we say goodbye, we also remember." Everyone raised their heads. Ero'then turned to Karielle and asked, "The honor is yours, sin'dorei," he said.
A ghost of a smile touched her fat lips. Still, she did it graciously. Thin tendrils of flame circled her hands and she approached the mound, lighting it. Ero'then had little idea of how flammable demons actually were, but Karielle's fire ate at them with sure hunger. A sickly sweet smell filled the air. The elves watched the flames climb and climb all the way to Drex. The flames rose and fell, indifferent to their purpose.
Karielle started to sing. At first, it was just her, and Ero'then was caught by her voice. Like the scent of the flames, it filled the air, surrounding them as much as the storm did. Then the other sin'dorei joined in. Most were just as good as her, if not better. Those with poor voices sang in a whisper. They were harmonic. They had done this before.
Ero'then closed his eyes. It was a dirge song, one that tickled his far-memory. It had changed in wording and tune over the millennia, but he recognized its heart. It was a mourning song that was reserved for Highborne funerals, back when the Highborne had been the nobles who ruled all the kaldorei empire. It was easily modified in tempo and wording in the convergence on its subject; in the song, the singers would substitute the missing stanzas with the name of the deceased.
They sang now of Brim Leafwind. Then, without ceasing, they continued into a second dirge. This one was about Drex.
It felt like hours passed, but when the blood elves finished, Ero'then found himself wishing there had been more. He looked to his side and saw that Karielle now hung her head. Her hair rustled in her face, hiding her bruises.
"Thank you," he said. His students looked moved as well, even though they had understood few of the words. "Now, Karielle Sunstrike."
She glanced at him. The color of her bruises mirrored the hue of the storm. She had known what he planned to do. Now he had no choice.
"Lead us to your paradise," he said.