The Unnamed Blade (Book Two of The Horns of Elfland)

Chapter Eighteen

Farinka cantered back to the trees at the top of the hill in the early evening, putting in a few experimental leaps and bucks on the way. It felt good.

She reShaped, dressed, and jogged back the mile or so to the lakeside. Nemeth was waiting for her, lying on his back in the fast-angling rays of the sun. She touched his Awareness with her own, picking up sharp strong overtones of big raptor.

– So where have you been all day? he asked, indolently opening one eye to look at her. Or would it be more correct to ask, what have you been all day?

– At a guess, you've been flying, she answered.

– It seemed the easiest way to get around with the smallest amount of effort, he said, shutting his eyes again. And I needed some distraction, he added, more softly.Are you going to answer, or not?

– I've been with the unicorns.

– And is the grass nice? he asked, amused. You're about as full as you can hold.

– Very, actually. As nice as the lake water. So how were the rabbits?

Nemeth laughed. –I didn't eat, Domina. Buzzards – no matter how big – don't need as much in a day as I'd already had for breakfast. Alone, incidentally. Unicorns take more feeding than buzzards do. Interestingly, I found it very uncomfortable to try and fly at normal buzzard size after eating that breakfast.

– What did you do, wait?

– No, I just got bigger until it felt comfortable without feeling hungry. I also discovered that, for me, bigger felt better anyway. Interesting to discover that one can Shape different parts in different ways; bigger wings in proportion to body size make flying more effortless than ever.

– So you can Shape any part of you any way you want to?

– Apparently so, within reasonable limits. You can adjust anything which wouldn't be incompatible with the overall shape. But buzzard wings on an Elf body would feel radically wrong. Incompatible. Not possible.

Farinka eased her Awareness into his, searching for the memory, and shivering at the altered touch of his mindmusic. It was all suppressed hunter, hawklike, filled with fire and sensitivity and great Power. He lay, Controlledly quiescent, breathing slowly and deeply as she ran the mind-touch through him; caution making him suppress the fizzles that her mind-touch woke in him.

– That was quite a big buzzard, Nemeth, she said after a while.

– Fairly, yes. Come and join us round the camp-fire, even if you're not hungry, he said, moving from lying flat to standing up in one fluid ripple of change.

He rested one arm lightly around her shoulders as they walked back to the camp-fire.

Sherath looked over as they approached.

– You've been Shaping, he said, on Nemeth's wavelength, and with a smile.

– Don't look at me, Farinka's been a unicorn all day, retorted Nemeth on the same tight wavelength with a grin, rippling down to a cross-legged sit and helping himself to a mug of steaming danchic. And how would you know, anyway? he added thoughtfully.

Sherath turned his eyes on her, reading the echoes of that tranquillity. –Nicely done, Domina.

– And Louka and Jevann are not back here yet, said Tarke with a soft smile, also meeting Farinka's eyes.