Mercedes Lackey - Elvenbane

At first, her only reaction was a white-hot anger. It flared up...and died down as quickly as it rose. It was followed by shame, shame at his having seen her interest, shame at being given a sop to content her... a scrap from the dinner table. Just as he'd reward his faithful dog.

She had a terrible thought. And am I supposed to be Shadow's reward ?

Then, after the shame, anger again, but this time cold and calculating. She stared at the brook sparkling cheerfully in the sunlight, a complete contrast to the darkness inside her.

She could tell him to go take a long hike, she thought. She could tell him that she and Keman were going one way, and he and Shadow could take any other route they chose so long as it wasn't the same one. She ought to do just that. It would serve him right...

But he was right about one thing; the plight of the halfbloods and the humans with wizard-powers. If she went along with this, it would give her the power to start doing something about the situation. After all, ties did work both ways. If this handfasting tied her to Shadow, it also tied Shadow to her . And by his own admission, tied her to Valyn. She would be constantly in his company, one way or another. He might come to regret having tied her to his cousin, in fact...

And he did have power she doubted he even guessed, power to make a very real difference in the way humans in general were treated, even before any revolt could take place. Valyn was Lord Dyran's son and heir. Valyn could, if he chose, have the ear of many more lords, and as important, their heirs.

The younger elves were far more flexible than their elders, and there were some who had not yet lost their ideals. There were far more who simply disagreed with their elders because they were older and the ones in power.

It was possible that the sons could be induced to take up the cause, even threaten to revolt over this issue...

From what Keman had said, that was one of many possibilities. Some of the younger sons...and possibly daughters, from what she'd seen ...were perfectly ready to take up almost any cause, so long as it meant their own particular grievance might also be addressed.

With Valyn to act as their spokesman, it was quite likely that they would be able to attract quite a few of these disaffected youngsters... And those that didn't bring their own agenda, might be induced to join from sheer boredom.

The turn of her thoughts astonished her, so much so that for a moment she even forgot her anger at Valyn. Since she'd been in the Citadel, she'd learned politics, she thought wryly. That was certainly something she'd never understood before. An awful lot of what the dragons did back at the Lair had begun to make sense. Their politics never got half as complicated as the machinations in the Citadel. And from everything Keman told her, that didn't begin to compare to politics among the elves.

So Valyn wanted to play with politics, did he?

All right. If he could get Shadow to agree to go along with this, she would, too. But this "handfasting" was going to be in name only, no matter what Valyn thought. And before too long, Valyn was going to be sorry he wasn't in Shadow's place.

She turned back to him, clenching her teeth into the semblance of a smile, and gave Valyn her answer.

ONLY THE HINT of red where there should have been nothing that color warned Shana that there was something wrong in the valley below and behind them.

And suddenly she had an uneasy feeling, a feeling that it might be better not to try a mage-sight scan of the valley. Kalamadea had something to say about that, too.

If the elven lords know that someone might be "watching" for them with inner eyes, they invariably lay spell-traps for those with mage-sight. Such traps lie completely dormant until the touch of a probe activates them...then a spell of coercion seizes the watcher in bounds few have been able to break, holding him entranced and unconscious until the elven lord can retrieve his prize at his leisure. Of all our number, only a handful can successfully spring these traps or break the coercion-spell in time to save the victim...or themselves. And that was only accomplished with much study and practice. I hope that I never need to put my knowledge of these things to the test .

:Keman?: she said urgently. :What was that flash of red down in the valley? Can you use heat-sight to see if it was just animals or birds ?:

The young dragon was perched on the rockface above her, shape-changed just enough to look like rock. With the elven lords following them, Shana had deemed it a good idea to check their backtrail from time to time. :Is that what I think it is?: she asked, hoping he would say "no."

:It's elves, Shana,: Keman replied. :At least, I think it's elves. They have horses, and most humans aren't allowed to ride.:

She closed her eyes and tried to remember if she'd muddied the trail down there in the valley enough to confuse their pursuers for a while. Was there a stream down there?

Yes, she decided. There had been. And since they were all already soaking wet, she'd elected to have all of them walk upstream for a good long way to break the trail. So they had a little time.

But not much. And not enough for the bit of a rest she craved...

:I think we should get out of here,: Keman offered. :Fast.:

:I think you're right,: she said grimly.

Valyn reported another hunting party close behind them...but not the one Shana and Keman had spotted. This one had an elven mage with them, it seemed... one who was using his limited powers to "read" their trail. Valyn had only detected him by "feeling" the magic behind them, and going personally to see what it was.

A foolhardy move, or so he knew now . At the time, it had seemed sensible.

"Are you sure they didn't see you?" Keman asked, while Shana tightened her lips and looked annoyed at him. He knew what she was thinking. If he'd been spotted...

But he hadn't been, he thought with annoyance of his own. He was a better mage than the underling on their trail. In fact, now that he thought about it, she should have been glad he took the initiative like that.

"I wasn't seen, and I wasn't close enough to be seen," he replied crossly. "I'm not an infant. I've hunted before..."

"But you've never been the quarry," the girl interrupted. "How far behind us are they?"

"Not by much," he muttered uneasily. "But I covered our trail. He'll never read it through what I laid down."

"But he'll read the fact that someone muddled it with magic," she retorted. "I just hope he won't find it again for a while." She looked up at the leaden sky, and rain dripped down her face from the continual drizzle. "And I hope this stuff takes care of any other kind of trail we leave." Then, without another word, she shoved a dripping branch aside and turned down a game trail that was heading mostly north. Valyn hesitated a moment, then followed her, Shadow right on his heels, Keman bringing up the rear, his feet shape-shifted into deer hooves to confuse their tracks. And hopefully, their trackers.

He had wanted to protest that they needed to rest...but that was two sets of hunters they'd eluded now, and he wasn't sure how many more might be out here. Neither, evidently, was Shana.

This was not just for hunting children. Cheynar would never have committed more than one party for that. This was for wizard hunting...Cheynar knew, or guessed, that the children hadn't escaped on their own. And if he assumed there were wizards in their full powers out here...

Valyn's blood ran cold. There would be no quarter, and no escape, if Cheynar could help it.