His shrewd eyes studied me. The trolls looked dumber than rocks. Early on I discovered that was a defense method. They were actually quite competent, especially in the art of war. I believed it was because they held no remorse.
"It's for your benefit as well as mine, otherwise I wouldn't be asking."
He growled. "You have three minutes." A troll standing to the side of Titan suddenly sprung into action, heaving a large wooden chair, and placing it behind Titan just as the leader sat.
Impressive, Snow White said.
I snorted internally. Yeah, but if that assistant had been a second too late, he'd be dead.
I felt Snow shudder.
Once Titan sat, I lowered myself, pressing my feet into the scraggily earth.
"You now have two minutes," he said taking a goblet of liquid refreshment from the troll assistant.
I watched in disgust as he drank, sloshing the orange liquid out the sides, down his naked chest onto his trouser-clad thighs, and I wondered how much actually ended up in his mouth. Clearing my throat I said, "I've been to see Abernathy."
He stopped drinking. The troll assistant took the glass. "Go on."
I had to be careful. If Titan knew I possessed a piece of Abernathy's soul, he would slaughter me before he would allow me to leave. "He has sent me on a quest to collect and save each of the Earth's great magics." I paused, preparing myself to slather on the compliments. "Trolls hold the greatest strength in the world and you, Titan, are the strongest of them all." He sat up straighter. "I would like the strength of a troll, so that I may keep it safe." I didn't add, just in case the troll people were destroyed, or became nothing but diluted sloths.
He wiped his mouth with the back of a hand, and leaned his elbows on his knees. "And how do you propose I give you this strength, Silindra?"
I thought about that. Where did a troll's strength come from? Sure their bodies were large, tough like a rocks, and skin prickly as porcupine fur (not to mention their blood was black as tar, and tasted like oil). But the trolls' strength was more than that. It was a deeply embedded part of their personality. After a thousand years of living in the roughest terrain on the planet, they had to be strong or they would've died off quickly.
"Well?" Titan prodded.
"Where do you think your strength comes from?" I asked, sending the question back at him.
He guffawed, slapping his knee in glee. "I like you, Silindra. I always have." Leaning back, he said, "The strength of a troll isn't in these." He lifted one arm and flexed his bicep." Titan winked. I tried not to retch. His bicep muscle was bigger than my head. "It's in this," he continued, tapping his hairless head. "Our brains, dear Silindra." He gave me a surly glare, as though begging me to disagree. "We are more than brute strength, though the physicality of our species is beyond measure in that department as well."
"I believe you're right, Titan," I acknowledged, hoping to appease him.
The troll stood. "I've decided to give you more time. Follow me."
I hesitated. Sure, I was interested in what he had to show me, but I also worried about Ryden and Envy. What were they doing?
Titan didn't wait to see if I followed. He just walked away. Never mind the raging battle, the slaughter mere feet away. He turned his back on them, and me. With a sigh, I plodded along after him.
He stomped down the side of the mountain, through leafy trees, and plants, over thick, dry roots, and yellow-orange flowers. When he reached what looked like the edge of the mountain, he jumped.
A hitch caught in my throat. Lifting to the air, I hurriedly reached the edge and peered over. More than four thousand feet of sheer rock went straight down, until it reached a small valley below. On the other side of the grassy valley was another mountain, as great as the one I stood on.
Whoa, that's a long way down. Where did he go? Snow White asked.
I don't know. Flying over, I scanned the valley below, searching. After several minutes I still hadn't found him. I'd almost reached the bottom. Glancing up, I saw Titan looking down at me from a slight lip in the rock. He had an arrogant smirk on his face.
I worked hard not to shake my head in frustration as I flew toward him. When I was eye level, he said, "Find anything interesting?"
"No."
"Tsk. Tsk," he said. The noise sounded like he sucked spit between his teeth. It was annoying, but I ground my jaw together, holding back any comments. The troll leader turned, and I noticed, for the first time, the oblong door behind him. It blended in so perfectly I would've missed it had I not been so close. He pushed the door, and it scraped inward.
Not another cave, I grumbled.
"I can't stay long. No one knows I'm here. Gabe would probably kill me if he found out. In fact I know he would. It doesn't matter though, not if you aren't around. I'm alive because of you. The Vampire Queen released me after your party. She's thrilled you killed Oberon and believes no one can stop her since the Seal of Gabriel is gone. She would be right, if not for you. You're the key, Snow. So I need you to wake up. Plus, I want to thank you for saving me.
"Don't let the Seal control you. It will try to keep you, make you its own. Okay?
"By the way, if you can hear me, I'm going to kiss you now."