“Skulls?” Dani asked. “What are those?”
Aithein had never described an Elghliik before. He pondered. “The Elghliiks are like us, only they aren’t from the Shade. They were Caliphian children who got lost. Their faces became hideous so they wear animal skulls to hide the way they look now.”
“How did they get lost?” Dani asked.
“They tell us stories,” Aithein replied. “I’m not sure what to believe. Some say they ignored their parents’ warnings. Some of them ran away from home. The ones that leave are never seen again. They say Caliphians mistake their own children for monsters and kill them.”
Dani wondered what greater tragedy there could be than to kill one’s own child, all the while holding out hope for the return of a love that they destroyed.
“You are friendly with these Elghliiks?”
