sort of monsters were there. Tiger Ty had failed to say. Were
they as dangerous as the Shadowen? If so, then that would ex-
plain why the Elves had disappeared. Enough of these monsters
could have trapped them, she supposed, or even destroyed them.
But how had the Elves let such a thing happen? And if the
monsters hadn’t trapped them, then why did the Elves still re-
main on Morrowindl? Why hadn’t even one of them escaped to
seek help?
There were so many questions once again. She closed her
eyes and willed them away.
It was approaching noon when they passed over a cluster of
small islands that looked like emeralds floating in the sea, bril-
liant green against the blue. Spirit circled for a moment under
Tiger Ty’s direction, then descended toward the largest, choos-
ing a narrow bluff thick with grasses to land upon. Once the
great bird was settled, his riders released their safety straps and
climbed down. Wren and Garth were stiff and sore already, and
it took a few moments for them to get their limbs working again.
Wren rubbed her aching joints and glanced around. The island
appeared to be formed of a dark, porous rock on which vege-
tation grew as if on rich soil. The rock lay everywhere, crunch-
ing beneath their feet when they walked on it. Wren reached
down and picked up a piece, finding it surprisingly light.
“Lava rock,” Tiger Ty said with a grunt, seeing the puzzled
look on her face. “All these islands are part of a chain formed
by volcanoes sometime in the past, hundreds, maybe thousands
of years ago.” He paused, made a face, and then pointed. “The
islands the Sky Elves live upon are just south. Course, we’re not
going there, you understand. I don’t want anyone to discover
I’m taking you to Morrowindl. I don’t want them finding out
how stupid I am.”
He moved over to a grassy knoll and seated himself. After
pulling off his gloves and boots, he began massaging his feet.
“We’ll have something to eat and drink in a minute,” he mut-
tered.
Wren said nothing. Garth had stretched out full length in
the grass and his eyes were closed. He was happy, she thought,
to be on the ground again. She put down the rock she had been
examining and moved over to sit with Tiger Ty.
“You spoke of monsters on Morrowindl,” she said after a
minute. A soft breeze ruffled her hair, blowing curls across her
face. “Can you tell me anything about them?”
The sharp eyes fastened on her. “There’s all kinds, Miss
Wren. Big and little, four-legged and two, flying, crawling, and
stalking. There’s those with hair, those with scales, and those
with skin. Some come out of your worst nightmares. Some, they
say, aren’t living things. They hunt in packs, some of them.
Some burrow in the earth and wait.” He shook his gray-
Peppered head. “I’ve only seen one or two myself. Most I’ve just
heard described. But they’re there right enough.” He paused,
considering. “Odd though, isn’t it, that there’s so many different
kinds? Odd, too, that there weren’t any at first and then all of
a sudden they just started to appear.”
“You think the Elves had something to do with it.” She made
it a statement of fact.
Tiger Ty pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I have to think that.
It has to have something to do with their recovery of the magic-
their return to the old ways. They wouldn’t say so, wouldn’t
admit to a thing, the few I talked to. Ten years ago, that was.
More, I guess. They claimed it all had something to do with the
volcano and the changes in the earth and climate. Imagine that.”
He smiled disarmingly. “That’s the way it is, you know. No-
body wants to tell you the truth. Everybody wants to keep
secrets.” He paused to rub his chin. “Take yourself, for instance.
I don’t suppose you want to tell me what happened back there
at the Wing Hove, do you? While you were waiting for me to
spy your fire?” He watched her face. “See, I’m pretty quick to