'And what if we don't want to go?' she retorted, taken aback by his assumption that she would obey him without a second thought. 'There are four of us and only one of you.'
'This is our land you trespass on. There are four of us,' he corrected mildly, as the gryphons swooped in from behind her to land at his side, the wind created by their wings as they landed making a tiny tempest that blew dust into her face and made her squint. 'And ~ two of us are bigger than all of you.' She tightened her jaw, refusing to be intimidated. 'Is that a threat?' she snapped. 'I think we might surprise you, if it is.' He sighed. 'No, it is not a threat; if you wish to descend to the Plains, you are free to do so. But I must tell you, there are four of us that stand guard here, I will not permit you to pass through Tayledras lands, and your escort still awaits you below the cliff. Our Shin'a'in brethren have not chosen to disperse them, and we above do not trespass upon the Plains without invitation.'
'Oh,' she said, deflated. 'what do you know about these people?' she asked the sword.
'Not a damn thing,' Need replied. 'Never heard of them, and I don't recognize the language. they're either something I never ran into, or they sprang up after my time.' The young man cleared his throat, delicately, recalling her attention.
I feel as if I must point out that you would not be safe from anything with that at your side.' He pointed to the sword with his chin.
She raised an eyebrow and looked back at Skif. He shrugged. 'I don't think we have much choice,' he said quietly.
'Your friend speaks wisely,' the Hawkbrother put in. 'It may be your escort was attracted by you, or by the weapon you carry. It is magic, and such things are drawn by magic. I think that you would be safer in the company of two mages.'
' Two mages?' boomed out a new voice. Elspeth's heart leapt right out of her body, and only Gwena's shoulder behind her kept her on her feet as her knees dissolved from a combination of startlement and fear.
'Two mages?' repeated the smaller of the gryphons. 'Darrrkwind, do my earrssss decssseive me?' It talks, Elspeth thought, faintly.
The Hawkbrother-Darkwind, if the gryphon had called him by his correct name-shrugged again. 'This is neither the time nor place to speak of my decisions,' he replied, and turned to the Heralds. 'I phrased myself poorly. I think that you have no real choice. I think you must accept my hospitality, for your own safety and the safekeeping of that which you carry. Though what the Council will say of this,' he added, looking at the gryphon who had spoken, and shaking his head ruefully, 'I do not care to contemplate.'
The arrogance was back, an imperious quality more suited to a prince of some exotic realm than this- whatever he was. She wanted to angrily deny the fact that they needed protection of any kind, much less his.
But much as she hated to admit it, she didn't want to have to face any more bizarre monsters. Not right away, anyway.
'I think we'd better go along with him, Elspeth,' Skif Mindspoke tentatively, as if he expected her to turn on him and lash him with her anger for such a suggestion. 'I don't know about you, but we can't face any more without some rest. And I really would like to know a little more about what's going on around here before we go charging off on our own.' He's some kind of Border Guard, she thought, though not without some resentment. It is his land. I could do with a little less of an attitude, though...She would have preferred to tell him exactly what he could do with his so-called 'protection'-to tell him that she would be perfectly fine-to inform him in no uncertain terms, that whatever he thought, she had been sent here, to this very place, by those 'Shin'a'in brethren' of his, and that she intended to wait here for them.
On the other hand, she had no idea why the Shin'a'in had sent her here, nor if they themselves intended to meet her. Maybe all they had meant was to put her in the hands of these Hawkbrothers...What do you think?' she asked Gwena.
'that he is right, we have no choice,' came the Companion's prompt reply. 'It is not necessarily a bad thing; you were in search of mages. He is a mage, so is the gryphon. And according to the chronicles, many of the Hawkbrothers are mages. they taught Vanyel, did they not, when the Heraldmages could not?'
'Let's see if someone's willing to come with us, or teach me, first,' she replied sourly. So, it was fairly well unanimous.
'He's right,' she told Skif shortly, in their tongue, much to the older Herald's relief. 'And so are you. We're all tired, and as long as this isn't an imprisonment-' I don't think it is,' Skif replied. 'I think he'd let us go if we really wanted to. I've got the feeling that we're kind of an annoyance to him, not something he'd keep around if he had the choice.' That didn't make her feel any better. 'All right,' she told the Hawkbrother, trying to conceal her annoyance. 'Where is it you want us to go?' Instead of replying, he gestured curtly for them to follow; she seethed a little at the implied discourtesy. As the gryphons lofted themselves into the air, she stood aside for Skif and Cymry to get by her. She did not want to follow him too closely just now; she was afraid she would lose what was left of her temper.
She had gotten used to being the one making the decisions. Now she was again following someone else's orders. That galled her as much as this Darkwind fellow's arrogance.
In fact, she decided somewhat guiltily as she led Gwena in Cymry's wake, it probably galled her more...
