Elf Killers (11 page)

"You rotten tooth-dog, Fnanar," moaned Fnana-fnyr, holding his head in his hand as he rolled himself up onto an elbow. "You hee-hee-sneak buzzard-vomit."

"Shush-smack him, Fmoo," said Fnanar as he tramped about the cave in agitation. "I'd still be sitting-astride him, but he snuff-snuff like old rump-smears. And I have to-be jump-ready."

"Shh!" said Fnarry-irrny as she knelt and grabbed onto Fnana-fnyr's wrist. "Fnanar's thunder-time now be..."

"Fnanar rolly-eye hee-hee-sneak jump-bite," said Fnana-fnyr, twisting free of her grasp as he sprang to his feet. "Thunder-men mount rock and ooot-ooot, ooot-ooot, ay-ooo, ay-ooo and stand-up head-smash. Fnanar no-stand thunder-big. He be sneaking crawl-dog. Thunder-worm." 

Fnanar wheeled and tramped across the cave, bug-eyed and bristling, raising his club as he came. Fnarry-irrny sprang to her feet and lunged between them, just in time to take the full force of his swing. The loud whack toppled her to the floor to stare up at them, never to see again.

As Fnanar and Fnana-fnyr stared agape at their mother, Dyr quietly stepped between them. "Why shouldn't I head-smash you and you to the dead-land to be crawl-animal for your old-mother-sow?" he said softly, in spite of the bristling hair all up and down his freckled arms and shoulders.

"She fell," said Fnanar.

"No fall leaves eyeballs on cheeks," said Dyr.

"She got between us," said Fnana-fnyr.

"Yea? Which one of you head-smashed her?"

"Fnanar did not big-nod to thunder-thump Fmoo. He big big-nod to thunder-thump me all to head-smash. And you too. He big big big-nod to hee-hee-sneak and thunder-thump you all to head-smash, Da, so he could be Thunder-man."

"No ooot-ooot? No ay-ooo, ay-ooo?" said Dyr, planting the fury of his gaze in Fnanar's face. "You sneak-dog worm-animal! You no-be my big-kid. Drag her carcass to the back of the cave and stay with it until we dance over her. When we throw her into the pit, you go-down with her until she stops stinking. Crawl out too-soon and I will head-smash you. We could eat you for debt-baby, but that would diggy-finger my nose at Arrdsey-phnyr-phey-fne."

"Kieran," said Sorcha, giving him a shake, as the first larks tinkled far overhead under the fading stars. "I see people coming, but they aren't any of us. They look like grown-ups. Come see."

"What?" he said as he shook away the sleep from his face. "Show me."

"Straight west. Do you see them?"

"Why they're Elves, Sorcha. A rescue party! We've not been marooned here after all."

"Are you sure? Maybe they're trolls with glamouries..."

"No way. Trolls simply don't have magic. And a-coming from that direction, those folks are our people and no mistake."

By that evening many tears of joy and sorrow had been shed up on Carraig Faire, as they shared a resolve to build a new life out here on the Strah in harmony with the great grassland, safe from the Elf Killers.

Back across the Eternal Mountains, Gyrn's sow had an early delivery and all the Dyrney-brutes had a ceremonial bite of her debt-baby, renewing their hope for plenty of Elves to eat. They surely would be rewarded.

Chapter 9

In spite of the great reunion, everyone worked feverishly to butcher the elk and the two strike falcons. By broad daylight, Alister and Mayl appeared with four full water skins and the news that they had reached a large vein of very good tasting water. Shortly after, Oisin and Jamys set out with their bows to protect Lilee, Doona, Creena and Roseen and Vorona and Onora while they searched for Lilee's far flung plants, which they were already calling Strah flax.

That evening, as they celebrated their first day of being reunited along with a glorious sense of relief at knowing that they would neither starve nor die of thirst, they laid plans to build sod houses by their new well. By the evening of the next day, the men and the boys older than Thomase and Markus set out for the camp by the sea, leaving Martyn and Donachan at Carraig Faire to guard the women. In a fortnight they returned with fifteen unicorns, dragging poles from the maidenhair woods on the eastern flank of the Eternal Mountains and twenty-one head of sheep and assorted axes, saws and drawknives, but no terraing pictiur. Search as they might, not one sign of the picture catcher unicorns was ever to be found again. And it was not until they had returned that they realized that even though they had returned with every single tool at the camp, they had not brought back framing tools of any kind whatsoever. It was decided at once that Oisin, Kieran and Olloo should return right away to the mountains, not to the camp, but to Baile Gairdin to search for the needed tools.

Olloo knelt at the foot of Carraig Faire and squinted at the setting sun as he lunged forward and scooped up his two week old strike falcon, scampering about, chasing after grasshoppers. "Here. In you go, Baase," he said as he worked the kicking chick into the backpack he had woven from big bluestem. He tied down a pair of flaps, leaving Baase's downy head free to toss about, gawking at things. "I can't believe you're already bigger than a banty rooster..."

"And the bigger he'll get, too," said Donachan as he tramped to a halt and squinted at the bird. "Are you sure it's wise, hauling him all that way on your back? You never know when you might need to run..."

"Oh I'll manage," said Olloo as he shaded his eyes from the sun. "He's kind of a handful to catch if he's startled. I won't have to carry him long."

"You're going to get him well away from here and turn him loose, then, aye?"

"No, I mean that he'll be too big to carry before long."

"Yea. And a right big responsibility if you manage to get him back here, wouldn't you reckon? The grown ones kill people, don't you know."

"We'll see..."

"You've had a chance to see him hatch. Now, I'd kill him if he were mine."

"I suppose I will if I must," said Olloo, givin
g Baase a scratch as he thought:
"
For all the hours you've spent, telling me tales of history and valor and Elven deeds, you can sure be an old maid!
"

"Better not let them leave without you, then," said Donachan as he turned on his heel and walked away, shaking his head.

A vesper sparrow called nearby. Olloo squirmed into the straps of the backpack and sighed, pausing to look away at the mountains under the setting sun. "Baile Gairdin," he murmured with a shudder, as he thought about the terrifying day when the Marfora Siofra hoard came in broad daylight and killed his parents and over half of everyone else. He clamped shut his eyes at the memory of screams. He gave his head a sudden shake and was on his feet at once to scratch the neck of the sturdy little dappled Dulish unicorn he had chosen for the journey before heaving his panniers over its rump."We've got to go all the way back again, Mas old boy," he said as he picked up his bow, found his stirrup and set out at a saunter across the grass to where Oisin and Kieran were waiting with their unicorns. Well-wishers milled about, some of them requesting that they keep an eye out for this or that particular keepsake of theirs. Brenden caught his eye at his approach and gave a proud nod of approval.

Vorona stood before Oisin and Kieran, talking to them. Oisin was shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Vorona," he said, "Father has the taisteal gift, but I don't. Grandfather didn't either, but his father did. This gift of instantaneous travel seems to show up every other generation, all the way back. My word. With that, I would've got back to camp when the trolls killed Aedan and we'd all be on our way to Deatalamh right now instead of trying to stay alive out here."

"You might've," she said with a keen look, "but I'd still be here. As it is, I'll just wish you all Fate's-speed and ask ye a small favor. There's an old, old book, even older than I am, somewhere in the palace library which has to be found, I should think. It's a chronicle of our people from the beginning time. It may even include every one of the known Elven prophecies. Now, that's what they used to say. At least it's the only place any of them are written down, as far as I know." She paused to study his face. "I've not had a need of such things until now, but I reckon you see my position?"

"Absolutely, my Queen.”

"Augh!" she said, batting at the air. "Let's not start that. I still want ye to call me 'Vorona,' even if every last one of you ones do insist on my being Queen. But I think that if I am, I need the wisdom of the prophesies, don't you? Well. Olloo's here."

Oisin looked up suddenly to see Doona smiling at him instead. "Oh my!" he said, returning her grin. His calf-eyed look alerted Kieran, who at once put on his own smile for her.

At the sight of them, Olloo knew without turning around that his dear sister had followed him through the gathering and rolled his eyes for Vorona, who gave a wink and spoke up, "The sun may be setting, but that doesn't mean that Doona needs the pair of you mooning at her. You ones need to reach the foot of the mountains by daylight."

Kieran and Oisin turned red and began grabbing up their panniers as laughter broke out all 'round. Olloo sobered up at once with a stern look from Vorona and dismounted.

Doona's downy shawk spoogh ran zigzagging forth from amongst the forest of legs and grabbed onto Olloo's trius leggings, twisting and yanking as though she had a death grip on some kind of game. As Olloo stooped, the chick let go and began dancing about, leaping up at Baase, who flicked up his new crest of pinfeathers. 

"Looks like Onner wants to say goodbye to her brother," giggled Doona as she scooped up her bird.

"Yea?" said Olloo, "Well, I know a couple fellows who'd like to say goodbye to you too, big sister."

Doona straightened up as her eyes darted quickly about. "I've already said my farewells in private," she said in a hushed voice as she turned back to him with a stern look.

"Right. I see how it is," he said, glancing at Oisin and Kieran. "I didn't mean..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Just shush it." Suddenly she hugged him. "And just you stay safe all the way to Baile Gairdin and back, you hear?"

"My plans," he said, as he thought he caught a flicker of dread in her eye.

"Our turn," said Onora, as she and Brenden pulled Olloo into a firm hug.

Olloo stepped back with a grin and a bow as he doffed his hat. He turned about smartly, mounted Mas and sauntered away through the throng, waving as he brushed by Doona and Lilee, who had their heads together in whispers. 

The sun vanished from sight, leaving rosy streaks in the western sky and a fiery red lip along the crown of Carraig Faire. Larks tinkled overhead, far out of sight. At last Olloo's family and Lilee turned their backs on the great sea of grass and set out to join the others atop the great rock. Brenden and Onora had climbed well out of sight before Doona and Lilee began speaking in more than just murmurs and started their slow climb, each carefully cradling her hen-sized strike falcon chick. The rock was still quite warm from the day's sun. Doona reached a nice flat spot up the side and turned to sit in it while Lilee caught up. "Do you realize that Oisin and Kieran are all we ever talk about nowadays?" she said as she settled Onner into her lap and peered over the side. "Oh. Do be careful... And our strike falcons... and pretty new dresses. How are we ever to make them 'way out here?"

"You hardly have to worry about dresses, Doona. You already have the three handsomest young men ever. I mean, Olloo doesn't count, since he's your brother, but you get to live with him. I mean Oisin and Kieran have gotten so loony over you, you need to choose. Really. You know, just to be kind to both of them."

"Oh I have, really..."

Lilee gave a squeal and a bounce, sending a peppering of stones skittering down the side of the great rock.

"I'm glad you're excited, you silly goose, but I don't know what I'd do if you slipped..."

"Who, Doona?" said Lilee as her face appeared beside Doona's knees.

"Well, since Kieran has always been chums with Olloo, he's always been around making me laugh, making me mad and being my friend and companion. He also has that smile of his..."

"So it's Kieran then, is it?" said Lilee, suddenly looking crushed.

"Why Lilee! Are you...? Never mind. Listen girl. Kieran's not it. I've decided on Oisin. He's come to be an even better friend. He just seems to know what I'm thinking. And when he looks at me, Fates! There are moments he takes my breath clean away and sets my heart to racing..."

With a sudden bounce, Lilee threw her arms around Doona's legs as her chick kicked and scrambled into Doona's lap.

"You and Cairys are going to fall right off the side of this rock. I'm not going to tell you another word about it until we get up on top."