'This little fellow doesn't need to defend himself because very few creatures or birds will be able to see him,' Darkwind continued. 'The fact that you didn't see him fly out of my hood or back in is proof of that. His speed is his defense; that and his size. He's so small that even if something sees him, it isn't likely to catch him. And if something is foolish enough to try to catch him, it is going to discover that it's nearly impossible to try and catch a hummingbird in full flight.'
'Hnun.' Treyvan bent his head to examine the bird at short range.
It looked right back at him, completely without fear, despite the fact that the gryphon could have inhaled the tiny creature and never noticed he had done so. 'Ssso you will create a pocket of mage-enerrgy to feed the birrd? That ssshould make no morrre ssstirr than the ssspell itssself.'
' Exactly.' Darkwind looked very pleased. 'These little fellows move so quickly that even if someone detected a spell, by the time they got to the place where they'd first detected it, the bird would be a hundred furlongs gone.'
'From the maps I've seen, it's an awful long way to k'treva,' Elspeth said doubtfully.
'Wild hummingbirds migrate so far to the south in the winter that we don't even know where they go,' Darkwind replied.
'He's right,' Gwena put in. 'One of Kero's men, the black fellow-I listened to him tell stories once to some of the trainees. He said that hummingbirds spent the winter in his land. And we have no notion of how far north he came.' Well, if hummingbirds really traveled that far' He can do it, don't worry,' Darkwind replied firmly. 'These little ones have carried messages like this one before, even in winter. And once he gets to k'treva and finds our Adept, someone will see to it that he gets the best honey-nectar and will find a territory for him in their Vale. ' Once again she was struck by the care the Tayledras had for the creatures that they shared their lives with-even a tiny hummingbird that was in no way the kind of partner that their bondbirds were.
Darkwind shook his head. 'The little fellow is ready and eager to go.
Let's get to this, so that he doesn't have to wait.' Elspeth couldn't imagine how he would know that, but she agreed.
This was likely to take a fair amount of time.
'Indeed,' Hydona said, nodding. 'Rrrisss cannot keep the little onesss quiet forever.' Elspeth was very glad Gwena had come along and even happier that the Companion wasn't as tired as she was.
The walk back to the Vale, which had been so pleasant on the way out, was a daunting prospect now.
'Neither of you are heavy,' Gwena said, as the three of them followed the gryphons out into the snow. 'The Vale is not that far. I can carry both of you, or you can lean against me, if you like.' The sun was faintly visible through the thick clouds; there was perhaps a candlemark until sunset. 'What do you think?' Elspeth asked the Hawkbrother. 'Walk, or ride?'
'I can get you there by sunset,' Gwena said, coaxingly.
'Ride,' Darkwind replied decisively. 'If you have no objection.'
'None at all.' In fact, this might prove to be an intriguing opportunity ...
Darkwind was possibly the single most attractive man she had ever met, and not just because he was so exotic. And once she had figured out that he wasn't being obtuse in his lessons just to aggravate her, she found him even more attractive.
Admittedly, most of the Tayledras were attractive, either physically, mentally, or both. But Darkwind drew her as no one else had. She wanted to know more about him-and she wanted him to know more about her. It was one thing to be attracted to some one. It was another thing entirely to act on that attraction.
Especially if it proved to be only one-sided.
Horrible thought. But possible.
And her pride would not permit her to go panting after him like a puppy. Skif's example of slavish infatuation was enough to decide her on that. She would never put herself in the position to be humiliated the way he had been.
She mounted first; Darkwind, less experienced, used a handy chunk of fallen rock to mount up behind her.
'I promise I'll be gentle,' Gwena teased, reminding them both of the uncomfortable jog Darkwind had taken, perched behind Elspeth over Gwena's hipbones, as they hurried to the aid of another scout. 'Nothing more than a fast, smooth walk.'
'Thank you,' Darkwind said fervently.
The gryphons had already made their weary farewells; as custodians of this node, they had used the most strength in linking into it and feeding the power to Darkwind, Gwena, and Elspeth. The hummingbird was on his way, shooting into the sky like a slung stone. There was nothing holding them here.
Snow continued to fall, but the light was fading, and the ruins had a haunted look to them that made Elspeth's skin crawl. Gwena responded to her uneasiness by heading out by the most direct route, one that
would skirt the hertasi swamp but would not go in. That was no place to be in weather like this.
'What happens to the hertasi in the winter?' she asked, suddenly.
'The ones that live out in the marsh, I mean?'
'They don't precisely hibernate, but they do not leave their caves much,' Darkwind said into her left ear, while Gwena waded through the soft snow at a fairly brisk pace. His hands felt good on her hips.
'They seal themselves into their caves; sleep much, and eat little, stay close to fires. What time they spend awake, they use in making small things. Carvings, mostly. Everything they own is carved or ornamented, at least a little.'
'I gathered they had a fondness for that sort of thing,' Elspeth replied.' You know, they don't approve of my uniforms. Too plain, I suppose.'
