Page 43 of Sword & Shadow
“Desert,” the highlady repeated. “A sandy place with little water. Have you never heard of the red sands of Rhazim?”
Thom and Evylin shared a glance. “No,” they said in unison.
“Ah, well.” Ilain sighed in disappointment. “Rhazim is just below Jal’Khoyan, on Giyda. While it runs along the shore, most of the land is one great desert. In fact, I believe that’s its namesake. Its sands are crimson red, almost like blood. And they’re only populated by thelehavran. Or flamehorns, as said in the Allundan tongue.”
That last name sparked a memory in Evylin. “I think I read about those in a novel once. They have literal flaming horns, don’t they?”
“They did,” Ilain corrected. “Before the Ateri Relics were locked away. Now, they’re just red-horned, and though they dostill spit, it isn’t fire any longer either. Though I’ve heard their saliva is acidic enough to burn through flesh.”
“That sounds terrifying,” Thom said.
“Yes, though I took care of the flamehorn fairly easily in the Keep, so I can’t say thatIfear them overmuch.”
“You fought one?” Thom gasped.
“The Guardian,” Evylin realized. “They all take different forms of mythical creatures.”
“They’re not mythical,” Ilain returned. “Like I said, flamehorns live in Rhazim. They used to populate more of Giyda, but they’ve been driven back to the desert by the loss of their magic. They’re not nearly as effective at fighting off hunters anymore. Did you know they have some of the most tender meat? Even more than lamb.”
“Peopleeatflamehorns?” Thom said incredulously.
“Not much anymore,” Ilain replied.
Bemused by this information about a country she’d never heard of before, Evylin focused on the part of the conversation she most cared about. “What else was in the Keep? What were the Shades like?”
“Fire and clay,” Ilain said, and Evylin supposed she should have guessed that. “You know how the Day Shades burst into flares of light, the Water Shades into spurts of water, and the Night Shades into shadow? The Fire Shades, aptly, became great plumes of flame. Olsen almost lost his eyebrows at one point.” Ilain chortled at the memory.
Evylin presumed that Olsen was one of the Warriors she’d mentioned but didn’t interrupt, eager to hear more of the story.
“We had to run through great red dunes to get to the obelisk,” Ilain continued. “It was rather harrowing. We hadn’t known what to expect, any of us. And while Olsen and Breata defended us well, they struggled to fight the Guardian flamehorn. Their weapons could hardly damage the beast. And though theymanaged to get in a slice or two, it emitted sloughs of flame-hot blood with each wound. Auden had to heal several burns on them both.”
Ilain took a deep breath. “But we all came out alive, and that’s all that matters.”
Thom blew a raspberry. “I’m glad I wasn’t there.”
“How chivalrous of you.”
“I’m no Mage or Warrior,” he returned. “My life is constantly in far greater danger than yours. Besides, sand is the worst.”
Evylin laughed at his brooding. After the story, her muscles suddenly ached for the chance to work themselves. “How far is it to the next Keep?” she asked hopefully.
Ilain wrinkled her nose. “Are you already antsy? It’s another week and a half, at a minimum. And that’s if we’re careful about our number of stops.”
“So long?”
“It is on the other side of the country, after all.”
Evylin sighed. She stared at the muddy path ahead. The rest of their troop spread out before them in comfortable pairs on the narrow road.
Thom nudged her elbow. “Is our company not entertaining enough for you?”
She gave him a disparaging smirk, but Ilain replied before she got a chance. “It’s the plight of a Warrior,” she said, absentmindedly braiding her horse’s black mane. “They can’t help but seek out the next thrill.”
Though it more than adequately described how Evylin was feeling, she pursed her lips. “And how do you know that?”
“I just told you.” Ilain grinned. “I’m well acquainted with Warriors.”
The thought gave Evylin a strange sense of hope. IlainknewWarriors. That meant she could help her better understand herself and her magic. “What else do you know about them?”
