Elf Killers (19 page)

This actually sounded like a good idea to Kieran. It had been a very long time since he'd eaten an egg. He quickly set to work scratching about in the ashes until he had managed to find a handful of embers that he huffed at until he had his bundle of dry grass burning well enough to set alight his biscuits of crumbly auroch manure.

"Good," said Vorona. "I'll boil these. And you can tell me why you're hiding out from your folks."

"I'm really sorry I frightened you, Grandma..."

"Of course you are. Nobody likes getting caught acting like a troll. Now tell me what's going on, and don't you dare leave anything out."

This was the very thing he had sneaked off Carraig Faire to avoid in the first place. The only thing he could think of on the spur of the moment was to excuse himself to go off into the tall grass and relieve himself.

Meanwhile, Olloo appeared at Vorona's door after exhausting his search for Kieran on top of Carraig Faire. At the very first peck of his knock, Kieran, who had just returned from the grass, yanked open the door.

"So Olloo," said Kieran in hushed tones, "did you come to see how I'd get along with a shattered heart? Or did Doona send you to...?"

"Oh go on. I came to see if you were in need of a friend, Kieran. I can leave now if you like."

"Wait! As a matter of fact, I could use your help right now. What I need is for you to tell my great-grandma that you've come to get me to help you with something which I'd promised to do several days ago."

"How come I don't remember your promising?"

"Because I didn't," said Kieran, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Make something up. I have to get out of here, and gracefully, if you know what I mean."

"Well..." said Olloo as he rubbed his chin, "How about this? I'll tell the Queen that you promised to help me clear away and fix up a place for the dance, to be ready for the moment her roof's up. Of course if I do that, you'll have to go through with it and all kinds of people will be there, maybe even Doona."

"Can't you think of anything else?"

"Or I could say you promised to help Brenden and me move the first of our things down off the rock. But there again, you might run into Doona..."

"Or you could simply say that ye need to get off and confide in your best friend far more than ye need to share what's troubling you with your old gammer," said Vorona, giving them a start.

"Yea," said Kieran, turning beet red, "one could indeed simply say that sort of thing..."

"Well get to it then," she said as she shoved a steaming egg at each one of them. "I've plenty of things to do and the sooner you two leave, the sooner I get done."

Directly, they found themselves walking toward Carraig Faire with Baase scampering at their heels, darting here and there to snap up their egg shells. "Thanks for getting me away from Grandma's, but if you've something else you need to do, then don't let me keep you."

"I already told you Kieran, I came to be your friend, so what ever it is that you need to do today, I'll be glad to do it with you."

Kieran stopped walking for a moment. "You really are my best friend, aren't you? Even as rotten as I've been lately."

"Yea, even with that," said Olloo, pulling a grass stem to chew.

"So. You never did tell me who you're asking to the dance."

"Actually, I thought I'd skip the dance and you and I could do something else."

"What? Now that is crazy. I'm not so melancholy that you need to waste your time hanging about me for more than just some of today, maybe. This dance is special and everyone thinks so. It's to celebrate that we're safe from trolls out here on the Strah. We may have missed the exodus of our people, but we've made it and are building a new life. If we skip this particular celebration, no one will understand."

"You're right, Kieran. So. I guess we go, then. So are you asking someone in spite of everything?"

"Nay. I'll just go and dance with them all. It'll be more fun that way, and safer too. How about you?"

“I thought I'd ask Lilee. She's nice and I can talk to her easy enough because she's always with Doona."

"Is that the only reason?"

"The only reason at all. Look Kieran, Lilee and I are used to each other after all this time. Don't go imagining anything more, because there isn't anything more. All right?"

"Good for you. I'm tellin' you Olloo, it's 'way better not to let a woman grab you by the heart, because if you do, you're in for all kinds of pain. It's just not worth it."

“I know you've just been hurt Kieran, but you know yourself that most people are eventually quite happily married. You just need to find the right one."

"Yea?" he said, with a rattle of dark gravel in his throat. "But what if the right one thinks you're all wrong?"

"Look 'ee yonder," said Martyn above the noise of the unicorns wallowing through the big bluestem grass. "I can see Carraig Faire, but not any houses yet. Can you?"

"Not yet. Oh yes I do," said Donachan, standing up in his stirrups.

"See? We're going to make it, even if it is under the noonday sun."

"I think we're mighty lucky for all our foolishness, and I also think that since we can finally make out the rock, we'd better trot," said Donachan, sitting down and clucking through his teeth as he held up his arm to keep the grass from lashing his face. "Hey!" he hollered as Martyn cut in front of him at a full gallop. "What in thunder are you doing?"

"Shawkyn spooghey!" cried Martyn. "Fly!"

Donachan could see bounding white shapes gaining on them from the sides, coming straight for them through the grass. The moment he spurred his unicorn, a huge strike falcon sprang for them, slashing open his leg as it came down. With a scream of terror, his unicorn wheeled and shot away to the south. Now they found themselves furiously pounding hooves, neck and neck with Martyn, as the two giant birds paced them, effortlessly dancing about them, picking their next strike.

Donachan grabbed for his bow but found to his horror that it was gone. At that moment, one of the birds raced ahead to come at them from the front. Suddenly he found himself on his unicorn, galloping hard for Carraig Faire. "Martyn!" he cried, trying to stand in his stirrups for a look back. The grass was too tall and he nearly fell. He sat down at once and rode with everything he had.

One of the strike falcons danced up to Martyn's unicorn and ripped open her neck. The poor creature screamed and reared, came down and kicked again and again before charging away, stumbling, gaining her feet, and hammering on toward the mountains. "Go Biskee!" cried Martyn, hanging on for dear life in the spattering blood as he realized that the bridle was gone. With a sudden rush of white before them, Biskee reared, flinging Martyn off into the grass to race away in terror on his hands and knees. The two strike falcons landed on Biskee at once, ripping her open as she toppled and fell.

Donachan was still riding with everything he had when he saw Olloo and Kieran just west of Baile Tuath, setting out afoot on a leisurely hunt. "Hoy!" he shouted, waving his arms before coming to a breathless halt. "Olloo! Kieran! Martyn's dead!"

"What...?" said Olloo.

"Strike falcons," he gasped. "Two strike falcons! He's dead!"

"Did you actually see them kill him?"

"They came after us and got us separated and went after him! I lost my bow..."

"Did you see them kill him?"

Donachan heaved a couple of breaths. "No."

"We'll be quicker with fresh mounts," cried Olloo, breaking into a run. "Come on!" Baase and Kieran ran after him with Donachan riding at their heels.

The stable was closer than any of the other sod buildings, standing chin high on the unicorns, with no roof. They picked out three mounts at once, heaving saddles, yanking and buckling.

"What's going on?" said Alister, sticking his fork into the bedding.

"Can you keep an eye on Baase for me?" said Olloo as he began filling him in with bits and pieces. "And hey! Can you find a bow for Donachan?"

The minute Olloo, Kieran and Donachan galloped away into the tall grass, Alister dashed to Vorona's house, hollering and waving his arms to the multitude thatching her roof.

Olloo and Kieran rode with Donachan to where he and Martyn had been separated before leaving their mounts with him and following the paths through the grass. Soon they could make out two white shapes through the stems, jostling about as they tugged and yanked at Biskee's carcass. Carefully, carefully they eased forward until the grass had thinned enough not to make their shots fly wide. Then, for the longest time they rose into position, taking aim. Just as Kieran's arm began the faintest tremor, Olloo and he let fly their arrows. One bird collapsed at once with an arrow in her breast. The other one fluffed up and lowered his head, turning to face them, popping his beak. "There!" cried Kieran as he and Olloo each shot him again. "That got him!"

"Hoy, Donachan," hollered Olloo.

Donachan appeared at once with the unicorns. "Martyn," he wailed as he dropped their reins and stumbled over to Biskee's remains. "Not a trace of him. Not even a bone or a piece of clothing."

"Are these his?" said Olloo as he picked up an especially large pair of panniers flung aside in the grass. 

"His precious musical instruments," said Donachan. "He had wanted them ever since we first fled Baile Gairdin. Do they look broken?"

"A bladder pipe and a psaltry," said Olloo as he undid a flap. "I remember these. No wonder he wanted to get them back. They don't look damaged in the least."

"Does it make sense that there should be no trace of Martyn at all?" said Kieran as he brushed the grass from side to side with his toe. "They surely wouldn't have eaten his knife."

"No, it doesn't," said Olloo. "He must've gotten thrown. Stay put. Let me see if I can make sense of the paths mashed down in the grass."

Oisin, Alister, Mayl and Thomase charged out into the Strah in pursuit of Olloo, Kieran and Donachan the moment that they had mounts saddled. Before they reached where Biskee had fallen, Oisin spotted clumsy movement in the grass. At once they rode warily up to it, bows drawn, to find Martyn tramping out into the open. "Well," he declared as he grandly doffed his hat and bowed. "From the look of you ones, I'd say ye haven't decided yet whether I'm alive."

"We have not," said Oisin, returning his bow with a nod of his head. "Are you indeed?"

"Most joyously. Though, there was a spell there where I was overcome with doubt." Suddenly he was dead serious. "Oisin, may we find where Biskee fell? I'm really anxious to recover my panniers."

With a nod, Oisin pulled him up behind his saddle at once.

"So, Donachan thinks I'm dead, aye?" he said as he settled himself.

"I think we all did, truth to tell. So where do you reckon Biskee fell?"

Martyn studied the grass across Oisin's shoulder for a moment and then pointed.

"Let's go," cried Oisin. 

They had barely gone two furlongs when Alister cried, "There they are! Hoy! Donachan!"

"Is that Martyn, riding with Oisin?" came Donachan's cry. "Well get him over here! I need to kick his sweet masanna!"

Suddenly, a strike falcon the size of Baase flushed from the grass between the parties and ran into the open. At once Donachan loosed an arrow, dropping it. "Good enough for you, you stinking devil!"

"It was just a young one, Donachan," said Olloo.

"Yea?" he said with hard eyes. "And probably that pair's young one, and now it won't get big enough to eat Mas or anyone else's unicorn."

"Well ye don't look very happy," said Martyn as the sound of hooves in the grass crowded 'round. "You wish they'd got me?"

"Oh go on. This is the happiest moment of this whole hour. What vexes me is that you nearly killed us both for a pair of old musical instruments."

"Well! Even though it was your idea to go with me, I beg your pardon."

"Let's ride," said Donachan, finding his stirrup.

Doona gave a dreamy sigh as she watched Oisin astride his white unicorn with Martyn, riding into Baile Tuath with the rescue party.
"
And he really is an Elven prince,
"
she thought.

Queen Vorona was watching, too. She walked right up to them and stood with her hands on her hips as they doffed their hats and bowed. "Thank the Fates you're safe," she said, adjusting her squint. "And now just what the toirneach were you doing out in the Strah in broad daylight?"

"Donachan and I were on our way back from Baile Gairdin with a surprise, in case we have a celebration this evening..."

"Baile Gairdin!" she shouted as she shot to her tiptoes, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him off onto the ground. "Just what did you ones make me Queen for if ye won't listen to my orders? Now I told you after the last trip to Baile Gairdin, that the risk of trolls learning about us is entirely too great to go back there, unless the Council and I approve it."

"Yes ma'am..."

"And you and Donachan went back to Baile Gairdin anyway? What for?"

"For these," he said, opening his panniers as he got to his knees.