could only see the edge of a wayward flap, nothing that offered him any information. Why had he been treated with some consideration, while Brynn had been mercilessly hung up by her wrists? And why was he still lying there, while his friend had been dragged away to some unknown horror?
Juraviel figured that he was about to get some answers - and likely none that he wanted to hear! - when a hulking form came up beside him, down by his legs, stiff arms reaching out to him!
Panic welled in Juraviel, but was soon overwhelmed by anger - anger at himself, mostly, for the elf knew then that he had done wrong in standing beside Brynn. He should have run off to report this atrocity to Lady Dasslerond; all of his people might be threatened now because of his mis-erable failure.
"Hefle!" came a shout, a word that sounded vaguely familiar to Juraviel. When the zombie halted and lowered its arms, the elf understood the word more clearly, for it sounded like an offshoot of the elven word ?hefele,"
which meant, ?desist."
Juraviel craned his neck again, straining to get a look at the speaker, and when he did, his eyes went wide indeed! For there, standing beside him, were a pair of creatures, a male and female, of similar stature to his own. Their hair was dark, black like a raven's wing, and the eyes of the male seemed like an inky black pool, while the other's were the lightest shade of blue a stark and startling contrast to her black hair. They had no wings, as lid the Touel'alfar, but their features were similarly angular and pro-ounced. Juraviel's own skin had been tanned under the sun, but these two looked as if they had never seen the sunlight, their skin chalky white, almost luminescent in the gray fog.
The female starred hurling words Juraviel's way. Questions, he supposed, or threats, but the creature was speaking too fast for him to catch up to the meaning^ thelnterrt- But then he did catch a word, ?intruder," and another, ?thief," and he was surprised indeed when he paused long enough to recognize that the creature was speaking to him in his own tongue! Or in a tongue that resem-bled that of the Touel'alfar, both in specific wording and in the various in-flections that could be placed on any word.
The female continued to ramble, with Juraviel's ears keeping pace with the flow of the words now, and the elf truly understood that the danger was far from past, that these two, and their kinfolk, apparently, were not pleased that he and Brynn had stumbled onto their land. The creature spoke of ?the severest of penalties" for the human woman and mentioned that they might kill Juraviel instead of that worst of fates if he cooperated appropriately.
Finally, Juraviel had recovered his wits enough for him to look the ram-bling and outraged creature in the eye, and say, ?We meant no harm."
Both creatures fell back, their eyes going wide. The female stammered over a few syllables, while she trembled, with nerves, with rage, with... something.
"Who are you, who know my language?" Juraviel said, trying to use in-flections similar to those the creatures had used, though his tone was obvi-ously far less confrontational.
The pair looked at each other curiously, as if trying to sort through the question. They each repeated the last word, ?language," several times, shaking their heads and wearing confused expressions.
Juraviel rattled off several synonyms and tried to explain what he meant, and the thought came clear to the pair.
"Who are you who know our... language?" the one with the dark eyes asked.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?" the two demanded in unison.
Belli'mar Juraviel lay back on his branch and closed his eyes, trying to sort out the web of confusion and surprise. Could it be? the elf wondered. Was it possible? He took a deep breath, and answered, knowing full well that he was taking a great chance here, ?Touel'alfar. I am Touel'alfar."
"Tylwyn Tou!" the female cried, her bright eyes going wide, and her tone made it sound like an accusation.
Belli'mar Juraviel looked at her directly. If this was what he now suspected, then he certainly understood that tone. In times long past, the Touel'alfar and these creatures, the Doc'alfar, had lived together as one race. But the primary difference in the elves, the fact that some were adorned with wings while others were not, had caused strife among the people. Add to that a devastating disease