Read Online Elf Killers by Carol Marrs Phipps, Tom Phipps - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carol Marrs Phipps, Tom Phipps
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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
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
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