damaged. There are scars around both her nipples. Many little scars, as if
she had been bitten repeatedly.”
Wiz went cold. “Meaning what?”
“You recall I once told you elves prefer human nursemaids for their
infants? It is said that elf babies are born with all their teeth.”
Moira looked at him levelly, green eyes intent and serious. “It is also
said those teeth are sharp enough to draw blood.”
Duke Aelric was on the castle wall, watching the setting sun turn the
clouds orange and the hills purple. In his own unearthly way he was as
magnificent as the sunset and Wiz watched both for several minutes before
he got up the courage to approach him.
“My Lord, I need to talk to you.”
Aelric turned from the sunset and inclined his head. “Of course, Sparrow.”
“It’s about June, Danny’s wife.”
A graceful frown knitted the elf duke’s brow. “Ah, the one who was so
upset? Forgive me, I thought she was a servant.”
“Was she?” Wiz asked harshly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Was she one of your servants?”
Duke Aelric made a throw-away gesture. “I really do not know, Sparrow.
There have been so many.”
“She was some elf’s servant. Now she’s terrified of elves because of
something that happened to her.”
Duke Aelric said nothing.
“Doesn’t that bother you at all?” Wiz demanded.
The elf duke raised a silvery eyebrow. “Why should it? If she did serve
the ever-living I can assure you she was not deliberately mistreated. If
she was a servant it was because she was offered a bargain and she
accepted. I assure you the bargain was kept.” He cocked his head. “Forgive
me, but I do not see the relevance of an old bargain with one mortal-if
bargain there was. Nor do I understand why you are so concerned about it.”
“Some bargain,” Wiz said bitterly. “Parents would ‘foster’ their children
into elf hills in return for the protection they needed to survive.”
“Nonetheless, she would have entered our domains as all mortals enter
them. Of her own will.”
“And came out to find that centuries had passed.”
Aelric cocked his head and said nothing.
Wiz could only stare. When they had met before Duke Aelric had been
gracious, even charming, if somewhat frightening. Wiz knew that elves
could be cold and cruel, but this was the first time he had ever seen it
in Aelric.
And the worst of it was, Wiz realized, he wasn’t being cruel at all. He
honestly did not understand why what had happened to June should be any of
his concern. He began to appreciate, vaguely, just how un-human elves
really were.
“Now she’s terrified of you and her husband would just as soon murder you
as look at you and I’ve got to work with both of you.”
The elf turned to Wiz and gave him a look that rooted him where he stood.
“Her husband cannot find the necessity one-tenth as distasteful as I do.”
Aelric’s fine features drew up in a sneer. “Sparrow, do you think I like
coming here; associating with mortals?”
“Then why did you come?”
“Sparrow, listen to me. There are things in this World that are not of it.
Ancient things whose very nature you cannot comprehend.” His eyes bored
into Wiz. “I told you once that you had upset a very delicate balance.
Even after all that has happened I still do not think you understand what
you have done.
“Magic in the hands of mortals is dangerous, Sparrow. Unlike the
ever-living, you are not inherently magical. You do not really understand
magic.
“But your new magic is very powerful. That arouses certain-things-” He
trailed off, as if thinking. Then he resumed briskly. “Now those things
must be dealt with. For this we will both need to bend all the powers we
possess to the task.”
He was afraid, Wiz realized. Duke Aelric was actually afraid of whatever
it was they were facing! Something cold and hard grew in Wiz’s stomach.
It was fully dark by the time Wiz went to visit Danny. He was alone in his
room, Shauna having taken June and Ian off someplace to try to calm her