Page 48 of Whispers of the Elderoak

He regarded her intensely. “You aren’t a daemon though. Nope nope nope. Not you. You’re different,” he said with his strange little voice.

“No, I’m not. I’m a human.”

“What’s a human? I’ve never heard of that. Are they tasty?” He smiled.

“Um… I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m a human. Just me.” She tried to be friendly in case this creature did indeed want to eat her.

As if reading her mind, Remy said, “Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. You’re too pretty and seem kind. I can tell. Do humans have magic?”

Ava smiled. “No, they don’t. And I’m relieved to hear you don’t want to eat me. Deidamia and Andras tricked me and brought me here.”

Remy gasped. “They’re back? Oh no. Oh no no no. This is bad. Bad bad bad.” He rocked with his head in his hands.

Ava tried to get him to talk more but he kept repeating himself over and over, rocking back and forth to soothe his terror.

“Remy!” she whispered louder. “Talk to me. Why is it bad? Tell me everything.”

Remy stopped rocking and looked at her with his large eyes. “They were stuck in another world. It was the only hope we had. That they couldn’t come back. Their armies have been waiting. Watching. Hoping. And they hurt us. For fun. Fun fun fun. Except it’s not fun.”

“How did they get here in the first place?” Avaasked. “Are they from Eorhan?”

“No.” Remy shook his head. “Legends say the daemon of seduction tricked a king into letting them in. A king that wanted power.”

Tricked a king. Just like her grandfather’s story. The one that had terrified her as a child. It was true. So far everything was turning out to be true.

“Why didn’t anyone kill off the armies while Deidamia was gone?”

“I don’t know. The kingdoms weren’t getting along, I think. Not helping each other. Not strong enough. Nope nope nope.”

“Why did they capture you?”

His voice changed, became angrier. “They killed my parents and captured me. Why? Because they could. No other reason. To show their power. Oh no. No no no.” He shook his head again.

“I’m sorry about your parents, Remy. I’ve lost family too,” she said, and Remy looked at her expectantly, so she continued. “My mom died a few years ago.” And Eleanor, but she wasn’t ready to talk about that yet, the guilt and shame washing over her.

Interested now, Remy asked, “How did she die?”

“Cancer.”

“What’s cancer?”

“Um—” Ava paused, realizing their language and terminology was likely different in this world. “It’s a sickness. Sometimes you can stop it but sometimes you can’t.”

“Did healers help her?” Remy asked, mesmerized by Ava’s story.

Ava smiled sadly. “They tried. But it didn’t work. I’m sorry you lost family too.”

Remy smiled back, an ally for the time being.

“Do you think we can escape?” Ava asked. “Is there somewhere safe we can go away from the army?”

“No. No safety.” Remy looked scared again. “Not near here.If we got far away… maybe. Escape is impossible. No one has ever been able to. We stay here until we are dead. Dead dead dead.”

Ava sighed. “Well, I have to try…” Remy looked at her, blinking. “So, um… what are you?” she asked, hoping she didn’t offend him.

Remy laughed. “What am I? You are human. I am a hob. Hobgoblin. We live in the woods all throughout Eorhan.”

Ava smiled back at him. “What other beings live here? Can you tell me about this world?” she asked.

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