'Well,' Kellen said after a moment's thought, 'I didn't.'
There was a moment of surprised silence from behind him.
'No,' she agreed. 'You didn't. And your companion does not love you for that, I think. But… tell me… if you don't mind, that is… what are two knights—one of them an Elven Knight—doing here in the mountains? Elves don't usually come here.'
Kellen hesitated—not because he thought the girl was Tainted—he was certain she wasn't—but because he wasn't sure he ought to tell anyone what they were doing here. But Shalkan settled the matter in his usual pragmatic fashion.
'I don't suppose I need to tell you what Demons are, do I?' the unicorn said.
Kellen felt the girl shudder, even through his armor.
'I thought not,' Shalkan said. 'And as you probably also know, Demons hate Elves more than they hate any of the other races of the Bright World, and so they've set a nasty spell to destroy the Elven lands, by making sure no rain falls there. Ever.'
'Ever?' the girl said. 'They—would make a desert of it? All of the Elven lands?'
'At least,' Shalkan replied.
'Goddess bless—' she said, sounding shaken.
Kellen flicked a glance sideways at Jermayan, who was riding at Shalkan's flank. The Elven Knight's face was set in what was threatening to become a perpetual glower, but there was little Jermayan could do to stop Shalkan from saying whatever he wanted. Even among the Elves, Kellen was coming to realize, unicorns were a law unto themselves.
'So Kellen here, who's a Wildmage, like his sister Idalia, is taking the spell she made to the Barrier that Shadow Mountain has set up to keep the rain from falling. Once Kellen sets Idalia's spell against theirs, the Barrier will fall and the rains will come to Elven lands again. The only trouble is, nobody's quite sure where Shadow Mountain hid their spell. So that's what we're out here looking for. And hoping we find it before they find us, milady.'
'But—if you're looking for Demon magic—I think I know where you want to go!' the girl exclaimed in surprise.
'I told you it was a trap,' growled Jermayan, breaking his long silence.
Kellen clutched at the front of the saddle as Shalkan whirled, fleet as a cat, to block Valdien's path. Behind him, he felt the girl clutch at his belt.
'One—more—word—' the unicorn said through gritted teeth, 'and I promise you, Child of Leaf and Star, that your sweet soprano voice will be the admiration of everyone you meet for the rest of your very long life.'
Kellen stared at the unicorn's horn. It had taken on an odd pink flush he'd never seen before. He looked up at Jermayan. The Elf was staring at the horn as well, face pale and eyes wide.
There was a moment's tense silence, as the wind whistled among the rocks all around them, and at last Jermayan looked away, bowing his head in submission.
Still nobody said anything, and Shalkan didn't move.
'You can tell where we want to go? How?' Kellen said at last, to break the silence. He hated seeing Jermayan being put in such a humiliating position, even if it was almost entirely of Jermayan's making, and probably the politest thing to do, under the circumstances, was to pretend he hadn't noticed anything.
'You know—you can see—I have Demon blood,' the girl said painfully.
Kellen waited for another outburst from Jermayan, but the Elven Knight had been thoroughly cowed by Shalkan. Shalkan stayed where he was, and Jermayan didn't even seem willing to move Valdien around the unicorn and continue on their way. It was clear he did not intend to move until Shalkan gave him permission.
'I will tell you the whole story soon, I promise, but I have been hiding from the Demons all my life, and the only way I was able to do it was because I can feel the presence of Demons as a kind of sickness that gets stronger the closer they come. As you can well believe, I've worked hard to hone this gift so that it will give me a sense of the direction from which the danger comes as well. I—if they ever find me'—her voice was shaking—'they will do worse to me than any human or Elf ever could.'
Kellen heard the terror there, and he wanted to offer comfort, but couldn't imagine how. Surely Jermayan heard it too! How could he hear it and not be moved?
