Tiger Ty ordered them to dismount. They released their
harness straps and slid to the beach. Wren looked inland. The
island rose before her, all rock and trees and mist. They could
no longer see the sun. Shadows and half-light lay over every-
thing.
The Wing Rider faced the girl. “I suppose you’re still set on
this? Stubborn as ever?”
She nodded wordlessly, unwilling to trust herself to speak.
“You listen, then. And think about changing your mind while
you do. I showed you all four sides of Morrowindi for a reason.
North, it rains all the time, every day, every hour of the day.
Sometimes it rains hard, sometimes drizzles. But the water is
everywhere. Swamps and pools, falls and drops. if you can’t
swim, you drown. And there’s nests of things waiting to pull you
down in any case.”
He gestured with his hand. “West is all desert. You saw.
Nothing but open country, hot and dry and barren. You could
walk it all the way to the top of the mountain, you probably
think. Trouble is, you wouldn’t get a mile before you ran cross-
wise of the things that live under the rock. You’d never see
them; they’d have you before you could think. There’s thou-
sands of them, all sizes and shapes, most with poison that will
kill you quick. Nothing gets through.”
His frown etched the lines of his seamed face even deeper.
“That leaves south and east, which it happens are pretty much
the same. Rock and jungle and vog and a lot of very unpleasant
things that live within. Once off this beach, you won’t be safe
again until you’re back. I told you once that it was a death trap
in there. I’ll tell you again in case you didn’t hear me.
“Miss Wren,” he said softly. “Don’t do this. You don’t stand
a chance.”
She reached out impulsively and took his gnarled hands in
her own. “Garth and I will look out for each other,” she prom-
ised. “We’ve been doing so for a long time.”
He shook his head. “It won’t be enough.”
She tightened her grip. “How far must we travel to find the
Elves? Can you give us some idea?”
He released himself and pointed inland. “Their city, if it’s
still there, sits halfway down the mountain in a niche that’s pro-
tected from the lava flows. Most of the flows run east and some
of those tunnel under the rock to the sea. From here, it’s maybe
thirty miles. I don’t know what the land’s like in there anymore.
Ten years changes a lot of things.”
“We’ll find our way,” she said. She took a deep breath to
steady herself, aware of how impossible this effort was likely to
prove. She glanced at Garth, who stared back at her stone-faced.
She looked again at Tiger Ty. “I need to ask one thing more of
you. Will you come back for us? Will you give us sufficient
time to make our search and then come back?”
Tiger Ty folded his arms across his chest, his leathery face
managing to look both sad and stern. “I’ll come, Miss Wren. I’ll
wait three weeks-time enough for you to make it in and get
out again. Then I’ll look for you once a week four weeks run-
ning.” He shook his head. “But I have to tell you that I think it
will be a waste of time. You won’t be back. I won’t ever see you
again.”
She smiled bravely. “I’ll find a way, Tiger Ty.”
The Wing Rider’s eyes narrowed. “Only one way. You bet-
ter be meaner and stronger than anything you run up against.
And ” He jabbed at her with a bony finger. “-you better be
prepared to use your magic!”
He wheeled abruptly and stalked to where Spirit waited.
Without pausing, he pulled himself up the harness ioops and
settled into place. When he had finished fastening the safety
straps, he looked back at them.
“Don’t try going in at night,” he advised. “The first day, at
least, travel when it’s light. Keep Killeshan’s mouth to your right
as you climb.” He threw up his hands. “Demon’s blood, but this