Elf Killers

by Phipps, Carol Marrs

  As Gnydy scuttled away to hoot up his brutes, Dyr turned aside to peer down at Fnarry-irrny as she put a half cooked leg of Elf on a spit and stamped out to the fire with it and then returned to their spot to pick up bones and fling them out where everyone else had to walk on them. "What a bad-breath bristle-dog," he thought. "What a gravel-growl butt-bite. Poor Drf-nyri-fyrri. I sad-wish she could still-be my-sow. Poor-poor dead-thing. Next-time she die, I'll scratchy-chin think-think before I hee-hee-grab some Fnarry-irrny. And poor-poor little dead Ganf. No-be way-back from the land of the dead. Did Fnarry-irrny head-smash little dead Ganf? No way to ever-can nod-think." He gave a heavy sigh and stepped down from his rock.

  "Dyr!" barked Fnarry-irrny, as she looked up from the green hide she was chewing on to soften. "Will you be sneak-leading tonight's hunt-grab or do you scratchy-head-nod to-be a dirt right here-for me to trip-over?"

  "You finger-point me to jump-answer? Here-be your jump-answer, I jump-crawl for nobody, nobody, nobody. I be Thunder-man, and I be Thunder-man for you. And if you poo-hoo-think that one, you can-just humpy-doodle off to some stinking-little hole where I'll never-see you again."

  "Humpy-doodle off? You want me to no-be big-sow?"

  "I like my rock. I be Thunder-man. I want no more growl-bite. If you be big-sow then you big-big-big-nod that I be Thunder-man. And if you can't do-that, then go be sow for some piddle-brute.”

  Fnarry-irrny sat there wide-eyed, working her mouth.

  "I see-that you have plenty-to-say," said Dyr with hard cold eyes. "So champ-bite this, Fnanar no-be on this spot again. No sleep. No champ. No hum-de-dumdle choice."

  The Great Strah covered most of the Eastern Continent, known to the Elves as Lobhadh at that time, with a carpet of big bluestem grass, six to eight feet tall nearly everywhere, criss-crossed with shifting paths tramped by the deer, elk, aurochs and strike falcons. Oisin hurried the children through the grass, urging them to be quiet as he made straight east by the moon for the only safe place Radella knew of.

  Lilee cried out as she stubbed her toe on a rock, tripping her onto her hands and knees. She sat up to rock back and forth, holding her foot.

  "I know that hurts," said Oisin as he squatted down to wait on her, "but Radella said that strike falcons are easily roused at night. We have to be as quiet as we can. At least we've got enough moonlight to avoid worse things."

  Lilee stuck out her tongue him when he looked away. "I'm all right now," she said. "I'm ready."

  "I'm glad you weren't hurt any worse than that," he said. "And I've let us string out dangerously, somehow. They're not all caught up with us yet. We all need to keep a much closer eye on the little ones."

  "No kidding," said Doona. "I'd allow they'd make an easy snack for a shawk spoogh."

  Oisin certainly noticed her agreement. "Yea," he said. "In fact I think we should pair up each of the younger ones with someone older before we go on."

  "Hey," said a girl as she sat down with her two littler sisters. "You really need to slow down. We've been trying to catch up with you all, the whole way out here. The youngest kids just can't keep up."

  "I'm sorry, Roseen," said Oisin, “but we have to cover ground as fast as we possibly can. It could be the very end of us not to get a safe place before the sun rises."

  "Yea?" said Kieran, cocking his head. "So where is this 'safe place' you talk about? All I've seen is grass and the rock Lilee just kicked."

  Oisin very nearly told him to shut up but quickly thought better of it. "I beg your pardon," he said. "In the panic to get where we need to go, it seems that I overlooked telling anyone. Radella told me about a great rock straight east of here in the Strah called Carraig Faire, where we could be out of the strike falcons' reach. She said she thought we could get there before light if we hurried. It's safe, but it's not much. There's no water and no shade. All we'll have is what we climb up there with."

  "Well," said Kieran with a wise glance at Doona, "that sounds inviting."

  "At least if we get up there we'll have our lives," said Doona. "You can be strike falcon meat if you must, Kieran."

  "I should've known better than to have challenged anything her precious guide under the lore master had to say," he thought. "She practically worships him."

  On they went as fast as they could possibly manage, through the calls of the crickets, here and there nearly running, following paths when they could, but mostly flinging grass from their faces, yet hard east, every step of the way, if Oisin could manage it. With the tall grass, they could see nothing at all any fair distance away from them, so that they would have lost their way altogether had it not been for the moon, which had by now been westering for some time.

  Little Rory was stumbling along with everything he could muster as his big sister doggedly towed him through the grass. He bravely refused to whimper, but he had stumbled and fallen so many times that he was sniffling and his knees were terribly sore. Suddenly they both fell. Rory landed down in the black shadows with his hands astraddle what he thought was an enormous cow-pile. With a hiss, a great black paddle reared up from the middle of it and bit him on the cheek. "Creena!" he shrieked.

  "Snake!" she screamed as it raced across the backs of her legs like a vanishing coach whip.

  Oisin was there at once, claymore in hand. "Did anyone get bitten?"

  "Cheek!" sobbed Rory.

  "Let me see," he said, taking him into his lap and taking out his folding knife. "Cac! No light! Damnu air!"

  "Here!" whispered Doona as she knelt before them with cupped hands. "I'm supposed to be able to.” Directly there was a violet point of light hovering above her hands, bright enough to see by.

  "A mage light!" said Oisin. "Only my father can do that." He made cuts at once, sucking and spitting into the grass. Presently he shifted Rory to Creena's lap and stepped aside with Doona. "You surely can't boil water without fire, can you?"

  Doona shook her head.

  "Well, I can't do anything with this slainte ollmhor except have him chew some. I can't make the hot poultice."

  "Maybe I can't boil water without fire," she whispered, "but you know that I have the very magicks in me which you've seen me use. Please let me try to save his life."

  "I've seen you use them to draw out the poison from wasp stings. This thing was a huge snake. I saw it get away. You could die..."

  "Please..."

  Oisin squeezed shut his eyes and nodded.

  When he opened them, Doona had already taken charge of Rory, and Rory was in convulsions. Soon she was in convulsions of her own. Oisin tried pulling her away, but she clung all the tighter. Suddenly, she gave a great gasp and slumped over. Oisin scooped her up, his heart pounding with fear. But when he turned her over he was elated to find that she and Rory were both breathing normally. They each appeared to be in a deep sleep of exhaustion. He closed his eyes and held her to his chest for some time, until a movement in the grass beside him made him look up to see a wide-eyed Olloo with Kieran beside him, seething with jealousy.

  Oisin laid Doona beside Rory and stood up. "They're both going to be fine. Who knows how long they'll need to sleep, but when they wake up, they'll be as fit as they were."

  "You're sure?" said Olloo.

  Oisin nodded.

  Kieran glared at Olloo and Oisin before planting himself firmly by Doona's side to hold her hand.

  Olloo rolled his eyes at this. "How are we going to get to Carraig Faire before dawn?" he said.

  "You take Rory and I'll take Doona."

  "What about Kieran?”

  "Well, someone has to help us get them up onto our backs," said Oisin, "and he can spell us off, too."

  Larks tinkled far overhead. Olloo noticed the very faintest glow in the east through the gently waving heads of grass, but kept it to himself. "I'll declare," he said as he gave Rory a heave to reposition him, "if the shawkyn spooghey can live with snakes like the one back there, they're pretty tough."

  "You can count on it," said Kieran, "but if
we're actually going to try living out here in all this grass alongside them, the day's coming when we'll get to find out just how tough. Don't you wonder if this whole idea isn't madness? Think about how long we've lived near the Elf Killers simply to avoid what we're rushing off to do. Does that sound at all safe to you?"

  "Not in the least," said Olloo, pausing so that Creena could take the hat that was simply not going to stay on Rory's head. "But it's not as if we had any choice."

  "Yea? Well why didn't we just return to camp when we had the chance? We could've left this cursed place with everyone else. Instead, we're trapped here forever. And surviving the strike falcons is going to be harder than surviving the Marfora Siofra, truth to tell. Even the trolls are afraid of the strike falcons. Big favor our good friend Oisin did us, aye?"

  "What's the matter with you? You know very well that we'd have led the trolls straight there on our tail. And there would have been far less escaping them there than here."

  "Go on! The trolls couldn't possibly have killed or captured everyone. If they could, why didn't they do it years ago?"

  "What does that have to do with anything? If they found our people on the beach with no escape other than the sea, and the ships weren't ready yet..."

  "Yes, yes. I can see that. It would have been very bad..."

  "And our fault," said Olloo.

  Kieran looked away as he shook his head and walked on in silence.

  Creena tugged at Olloo's sleeve and pointed into the grass.

  "Shh," he whispered, bending down to her ear as he walked. "I see it. I'm watching it." Soon he and Creena stopped and squatted.

  "What are you all stopping for?" said Kieran, who had just started to lag.

  "There's something in there," said Olloo as he heaved Rory into a different position. "It's been following us. Go get Oisin. He's gotten clean out of sight. Start out real easy. Don't run.”

  "Now?”

  “I'm watching the spot. Go on.”

  Kieran slinked warily away as Olloo strained to make out details through the grass. A nearby field sparrow sang out its first declaration of the day.

  Oisin appeared almost at once, bow in hand. "Where is it?" he said as he nocked an arrow. “What did you see?”

  "Right through there," he said, pointing into the tall grass. "I saw it until just now. It's been following us and stopping every time we do. It's one whopper of a bird, but if it's a shawk spoogh, it's 'way smaller than I was led to believe... There he is. See?"

  "My. He's the biggest thing with feathers I've ever seen, and he certainly is watching us. But you're right, I thought they were bigger than that," he said, craning his head from side to side. "I also had the impression that they were white with black crests and wings. It's getting light enough to see that this fellow's streaked with different shades of brown. I'd lay odds that he's half grown."

  The bird suddenly ducked out of sight as Kieran quietly approached, carrying Doona.

  "Has she stirred?" whispered Olloo.

  Kieran nodded and stayed silent, trying to see what they had in the grass.

  "There he is," whispered Olloo. Oisin drew his bow.

  "What if you make him squawk?" said Kieran. "Sorry to spoil your shot, but what if its cries bring the parents? It is growing light, after all. And did you see your big rock when you laid out Doona in the path, up yonder?"

  "Good point," said Oisin, relaxing his bow. "I've certainly never bagged one before. Who knows what he'd do..."

  "You could see Carraig Faire?" said Olloo.

  "Yea,” said Kieran. “But it's not where it's supposed to be. It's 'way north.”

  "How far would you reckon?" said Oisin.

  "How would I know? Two league? Five league? One long way piggyback, if these shawkyn spooghey are supposed to be out and about."

  "So what do we do about this one in the grass?" said Olloo. "I don't trust him."

  "I don't either," said Oisin. "We simply have to stay together. All of you wait here while I go escort everyone behind us to catch up."

  He set off back down the path at once. He hadn't gone far when he thought he heard Olloo or Kieran jogging up from behind. He looked back just in time to see the young strike falcon in the path coming right for him. As he wheeled about drawing his bow, the huge bird vanished into the grass. To his vast relief, the others arrived at his feet very wide-eyed and out of breath the moment he turned about once more to go find them.

  They wasted no time getting to where Kieran had spotted Carraig Faire. Sure enough, it lay almost straight north. Doona began squirming in confusion as she awoke and had to be set on the ground. "Can you walk?" said Olloo.

  "Will you please tell me why I was sleeping on Kieran's back?"

  "See that rock yonder?"

  She nodded. "Is that it?" she said, snapping to.

  "Yea. Do you think you can make it there as fast as the rest of us without talking?"

  She nodded again.

  "Well, I'll tell you all about it when we get there."

  Chapter 7

  At last the sun rose flame red beyond the reaches of the sea of grass, setting aglow the red sandstone of Carraig Faire. A meadowlark called from one end of the great rock and took flight. The party of Elves paused in the grass not two furlongs away, catching their breath. Rory was squirming and stirring, but not really awake yet. At a nod from Oisin, everyone got to his feet and made a run for it.

  "This looks like we might be able to manage our way to the top right here," he said, catching his breath when they got there. "Olloo, you and Kieran run around opposite sides of the rock to see if there mightn't be a better climb than this. For Fates' sake, keep your eyes on the grass. I'll have my bow handy and wait here with everyone else."

  Directly, Olloo had made it all the way around. "This is one huge rock," he said, jogging to a halt. “I'd reckon it to be a good twenty rod long." He caught his breath for a moment and shook his head. "There's no better way up than right here."

  Kieran came 'round the other way, shaking his head. "I'd get to climbing," he said. "There's one other place, but this one looks 'way better from down here."

  "Let's pair up with the little ones," said Oisin. "Some of that up there looks like it needs long legs. Let's get off the ground, out of shawkyn spooghey reach. Once we've done that, we can take all the time we need for the ones above us to climb out of our way."

  "Let's grab a kid and move!" cried Doona.

  Soon, nearly everyone had clambered onto the rock. Oisin waited at the bottom, ready to carry little Sorcha as soon as he had helped each one of the others reach the first good foothold. As he was helping lift the last of them, Sorcha spied a purple cone flower in the grass and dashed off to get it.

  Oisin heard her squeals of terror and wheeled about, drawing his bow to find the young strike falcon, bounding out of the grass, nearly upon her. He loosed his arrow and immediately dropped the huge bird. He raced out to where it lay, kicking, flapping and straining for breath. He chopped off its head with his claymore, scooped up Sorcha and sprinted for all he was worth, back to the foot of Carraig Faire. When he had climbed to well beyond the reach of any sort of beast or terror bird that he could think of, Sorcha wriggled free. "I'm big enough to walk," she said, remembering to give him a fleeting hug as she planted her feet on the sandstone. "And, oh yea. Thank you for saving my life, Oisin."

  "Are you all right?"

  "I had you put me down, didn't I?"

  "Well yes, but I'm still..."

  "You know what, Oisin?"

  "What?"

  "That big shock spoofy is bigger than Vorona's big old rooster. And you know what? I know we were in a great big hurry, but I didn't get to put my hands in his feathers, Oisin. Did you want to?"

  "What?"

  "You know what, Oisin? I don't think you're listening very well."

  "Well I'm sorry, but I'm a-watching where you're walking, and it's a very long way down..."

  "Yea?" she said, swinging her arms. "Well th
is is fun, 'way up here. And you know what? You grown-ups sometimes don't see that we little people can..." Suddenly she let out another squeal as her feet went out from under her on the crumbly sandstone.

  Oisin grabbed her wrist in a panic, nearly losing his balance.

  "Oh thank you, thank you for saving my life!" she cried as she got her footing. "I'll love you forever. Here. You need a hug." She threw her arms around his neck. "You know what, Oisin? That's two whole times you saved my life this morning."

  "You know what, Sorcha?" he said, watery-eyed in spite of his youth. "You're one tough young lady."

  Sorcha smiled serenely but no longer pranced about. She held his hand tightly, staying faithfully by his side the rest of the way to the top. Once aloft, she was a very sober young miss, staying quietly by his side, speaking only when spoken to.

  Oisin gave Sorcha a quick hug about the shoulders and sat down with a sigh to look out over the vast countryside. He felt guilty for doing so. "With all that we have to get done, there's surely something I'm neglecting," he thought. An upland plover landed on its customary spot at the far end of the rock, stopped in the middle of its first call and flew away.

  "Look how far away the mountains are," said Sorcha, squinting at the distance. "That's the longest I've ever, ever, ever walked, I think. Must be."

  "I'm sure it's the furthest I've ever walked."

  "Well," said Doona with a smile as she came over with Lilee and sat, "now all we have to do is plan out the first things we need to do to rebuild our lives."

  "It sounds so simple put like that," said Oisin, "but who knows what it's going to turn out to be."

  "Are you having doubts?" she said, brushing aside her flaming red hair.

  "My word she's gorgeous!" he thought. Sorcha gave him a nudge. "Oh!" he said. "I beg your pardon. I'm exhausted. No, I'm not doubting us, really. It'll be a very hard, dangerous struggle, but, we've already gotten through more than I'd ever imagined. I've a hunch that we've already been through the worst of it..."