“An elf?” said the white doglike beastman lying on the ground.

“Don’t act like you don’t recognize me, Spot,” I said, “did you really think I’d forget about you after you betrayed us like that?”

The beastman frowned. Imagine a dog with big beady eyes, long snout, and big slobbering mouth frowning at you. It would’ve been almost comical if it wasn’t so strange and uncanny. “I am afraid you have mistaken me for someone else, master elf. I have heard that others find it difficult to tell my kind apart, but surely a legendary being such as yourself can tell that we have never met before.”

I squinted my eyes. “Yes, your ears. They are much larger than Spot’s.”

The beastman blinked. “I was expecting a more magical, mystical reason, but I suppose that will suffice.” The doglike beastman bowed on his long furry white legs. “My name is Spike. Pleasure to have made your acquaintance, master elf.”

Spot and Spike. Somehow, I felt like somebody was trying to mess with me here. “You don’t have to be so polite. Call me Cas.”

“I could never, master elf,” he said.

“We’re at war,” I replied.

“There is honor among soldiers,” he said, “and I do not wish to be your enemy.”

“I heard,” I said as I sat down in front of the beastman. The leader of the scouting party finally entered the tent behind me. I hadn’t met him yet, so he tried to greet me, but I waved a hand in the air to let him know it could wait. “The messenger said you’d come to defect.”

“Yes, master elf, that is true,” he said. “I cannot let my people die for a pointless war. I tried to bring my objections to our chieftain, and to the chieftains of our allied tribes, but it was as if I was speaking to stone.”

“You have objections to the war?” I said.

“Chiefly, one objection, master elf,” he said. “I do not know what we are going to war for, master elf. Nobody would tell me. Stranger still, the council has been completely silent as well. Usually, they will at least say something to motivate the tribesmen and help bring us all together for the defense of our way of life, but this time, all we heard was that we were about to be invaded and had to defend our land. They never mentioned why were being invaded or what we had done to make both the Kingdom and the Republic unite against us.”

I tapped my chin. “Isn’t defending your homeland enough of a reason for you? I understand that this border is not usually guarded. You were caught by a scouting party far away from any village or town. Surely you must know what that means?”

“It means there is an army on our borders,” said Spike, “but I do not know what the army wants from us, master elf.”

“Why do you think we want something that isn’t your land or wealth? Shouldn’t that be your first thought?” I asked.

“The Kingdom has the best farmland and the Republic has rich coasts. The lands of the beastmen are mostly barren and unsuited for cultivation. Few beastmen believe we have kept our lands because of our military power. Our realm is preserved by its uselessness and by our relative poverty. We know most invasions of our lands are retaliations for raids or attacks conducted by our own kind, but there has been no such thing this time. If there is something that we have gained, we do not know what it is. We do not know what we are fighting for! We do not know what we are going to die for!”

I nodded slowly. I tried to keep a blank expression on my face despite the large doglike beastman’s passionate speech. “Well, that doesn’t sound like you’re defecting. That sounds like you want to know what the war is about.”

Spike frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. He stared at me in silence for a while before finally speaking. “Perhaps you are right, master elf. But please believe me when I say I feel betrayed by my leaders. Leaders who dismissed my questions and want me to do for a cause I do not even know.”

“Don’t worry, I believe you,” I said, “and you, party leader?” I faced the leader of the scouting party.

The flustered fairy stammered a little. He had been silent during our conversation and seemed surprised that I’d ask him for his opinion. “I do not know, great, er, master elf. We can ask him about what he knows and watch him closely.”

“Don’t you start with this master elf business too,” I said, “Cas is fine, really. It’s a nice name, isn’t it? Simple, one syllable. Anyways, yes, ask him what he knows and then keep him far from the action. We can’t let him loose near our supply lines so we’ll have to bring him along with the army. But that wasn’t my question, party leader. I asked you if you believe what he is saying.”

The party leader’s face stiffened. He looked at the beastman, staring for a while before answering. “No, we cannot believe him. If you tell him what the war is about, he will surely run back to his tribe.”

“Really?” I said, putting my chin in my hand and gazing lazily at the beastman. “I think anybody who found three countries were about to go to war over a single book would do whatever they could to get as far away as possible. Maybe our friend Spike here would like to go across the mountains or to an island somewhere in the ocean. Doesn’t that sound more interesting than dying over a silly old book, Spike?”

Spike blinked. “A book?”

“Yes, think about it. These morons are about to shed rivers of blood over a book. Isn’t that terrible?” I said.

Spike turned his gaze to the ground.

The scout leader glanced at me for a moment before looking away.

I smiled. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Didn’t realize two insignificant soldiers would feel so strongly about a book. Especially because one of them hadn’t even heard of the book yet. Does mentioning the book make something appear inside your hearts, perhaps? Yes, I can see the way you look at me when I mention it. I can see your expression shifting, something inside your hearts moving, when I mention the Book of Annihilation.” I stood up. I ignored the strange stares of the beastman and the fairy. “You had the right idea, party leader. Ask him about the Singing Horde’s army and mobilization, and then tie him up and drag him along with us when the army arrives. Oh, and just to be safe, keep him in this camp, not the main scout camp you sent the messenger too. I have a feeling this war won’t be like the other ones your countries have fought over the years.”

The party leader nodded but did not say anything.

“It was nice meeting you, Spike,” I said as I walked up to the doglike beastman and patted him on the head. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but when you eventually slip out of this camp with a flurry of strange and inexplicable magic, you should think carefully about your next move. Is it really worth following your emotions and fighting this war for a single book? Or would you rather let your rational mind lead you far away from war and death. Think about it. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t be coming back to stop you. And try not to hurt these silly fairies on your way out. If the demons couldn’t stop you in their own capital, these fairies won’t be able to do anything to you out here in the middle of nowhere.”

I walked out of the tent with two intense stares boring into my back. I avoided the other fairies who were wondering what was going on. These guys didn’t have any strange looks on their faces, which made me feel a little relieved. I jumped into the air and headed back to the abandoned village.

I didn’t enter the village, this time. Instead, I found a nice tree in the distance and used magic to observe the demons and fairies from afar. Sure enough, a messenger arrived later in the evening. I used a little wind magic to carry the messenger’s words to me, but I already knew what he was saying.

Spike had disappeared soon after I flew away. The scouts couldn’t find any trace of him and were preparing to return to the village tomorrow morning.