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  “Away from the tunnel,” Thimeon said in a quiet voice. “We need a place of defense. Dhan, you and your officers must lead us now. We need protection from both the soldiers below and the Daegmons above.”

  The prince looked around. It didn’t take him long. “There,” he said. Tienna followed his gesture up the hill. He was pointing toward a cluster of boulders twenty-five yards up the slope and another twenty-five yards further along the slope. Perhaps the boulders, along with the few scattered trees above, would be enough to keep the Daegmons from flying down the slope at them. But to reach the boulders they would have to climb up the side of a small ledge thick with ice from numerous springs seeping through the rock, and traverse the top. It would be a treacherous fifty yards. Getting caught in the open, with Daegmons above and soldiers below, would not go well.

  “Lead us,” Thimeon said.

  At once the prince began making his way up the hill past three waist-high boulders. Thimeon and Cathros came right behind. Jhonna clung desperately to the back of Thimeon’s coat. Tienna followed on their tail, with Elynna to her right clenching her head with her left hand. The rest of the company came behind with no urging. They scrambled upward past the icy ledges, working to find footing on the mix of hard rock, frozen dirt, and ankle-deep patches of crusted snow. Once at the top, Dhan led them laterally across the slope. Thankfully, the springs that poured out through the cracks in the ledge below had not iced the top, and footing was easier than Tienna had guessed.

  Tienna was halfway along the top of the ledge when a piercing screech announced that their presence was no longer a secret. “They see us,” warned Elynna. “I can feel their hate.”

  “We’re trapped,” Jhonna cried.

  Even as the young Southlander spoke, Elynna’s turned and looked past Tienna back down the slope. Her eyes opened even wider in terror. “The Gaergaen is here. And Koranth as well. Somewhere below. I can sense them.”

  Tienna remembered the power of the Gaergaen when they had been ambushed in the Undeani village. What little hope she clung to diminished further.

  “We are discovered,” Thimeon said. “The soldiers have been alerted.”

  Tienna looked down toward the trees. She saw a sudden flurry of activity there. Soldiers ran this way and that. Others gathered in clusters. Faint echoes of distant shouts carried up the hill.

  “Too late to hide and no place to flee,” Cathros said. He looked up the mountain at the Daegmons waiting above, and then down at the soldiers. “So now, at last, it is time to fight.”

  “Yes,” Thimeon agreed. “One way or another, this will be the end.”

  At once Dhan picked up the pace, almost sprinting across the top of the ledge toward the debris of the avalanche. Here they stopped. Nine boulders, four to five feet tall, were clustered close together, with several smaller ones scattered about. Past the boulders, the slope was scarred by a steep scree of loose shale, forty yards wide. Beyond the scree, another fifty yards ahead, stood the corridor of tall spruce.

  Dhan and his officers conferred for a few seconds while Tienna and the others gathered around and listened. It would be foolhardy to attack the Daegmons now, uphill, and they guarded any path up the mountain. Their best hope was to choose a place of defense, and to stay close enough to the cave to fight their way back into it if and when the water receded, or in desperation if all other hope failed. Where they stood was as good a spot as any, Jhaban said. The ice-covered ledges they had just crossed would be next to impossible for the Citadel forces to attack up. The scree would also make a difficult ascent. That left three obvious paths of assault—three points for the companions to defend. Soldiers could come up the wide slope below where they now stood, but once they reached the cave mouth that was now below them to the left, they would have to split around either side of the icy ledge, coming up directly below the boulders, or above the cave where the companions had just climbed. The third line of ascent was beyond the scree through line of trees. In the first two spots, the boulders would offer additional protection from arrows as well as from the Daegmons. If attackers made it up through the woods, they would still have to traverse the scree.

  Dhan sighed in resignation. “We will stay here. Let us prepare ourselves for battle.”

  As he spoke, a horn blast sounded from below. The companions turned as one and looked back down the slope. A line of blue-uniforms was already spreading out along the hillside. To the right, a group of sheepskin garbed Undeani hunters moved up through trees on the northern side. “They don’t waste time, do they,” Aram commented

  Thimeon shook his head. “No. This was not bad luck after all. I fear they were waiting for us.”

  “The Daegmons knew,” Elynna said in a voice choked with pain. “They knew. Even through the mountain, they sensed us coming.”

  Nobody spoke for a moment. Despite how grim their situation was, however, Tienna felt little fear or panic. Her heart raced, as it did before a hunt across the Plains. Yet she felt a strange calm as she tested the edge of her knife and strung her bow. Was it the solidity of the mountain below her, or the water she had drunk?

  “They won’t attack,” Elynna suddenly said. “The Daegmons. I feel their thoughts. They have brought the armies of Citadel to do their work. They want us to kill one another.”

  Tienna could not help but look up at the creatures now. The Daegmons had opened their gaping jaws in hideous grins, as though they knew what Elynna had just said or thought. She turned her eyes away quickly and looked instead at Thimeon. It crossed her mind that this might be the last time she saw him. Even if, somehow, miraculously, they won this battle, many of the company would likely perish.

  “You heard Elynna,” Thimeon said to the prince. “We will be fighting mortal human foes. The powers of the gifted have no potency against them. You are the military leader. What do we do?”

  Dhan accepted the burden with a nod, then turned and looked down the hill. Once more the banners were unfurled in the breeze. “There are four banners,” Dhan said. “El-Phern and Golach have been joined by two more companies at least. I don’t recognize the other two. They must be new—perhaps the replacements of the officers here with me.” He looked around at his lieutenants as he said this. Jhaban, Kachtin and Banthros all stood in a tight circle around the prince, Elynna and Thimeon. Duke Armas was there also, along with Cathros and Braga. Others were spread out behind them, some crying, some listening, some preparing their weapons.

  “That’s four companies. We can count on four hundred men against us,” Kachtin said.

  “Yes,” Dhan replied. “Unless they’ve lost some men already in the earlier battles. So we’re outnumbered four hundred or more to—to however many we now have. Can we all wield weapons?”

  “We have no choice,” said the duke, grimly.

  “At least we have the slope in our favor,” Dhan said. “No matter how they come, they’ll have to attack uphill.”

  “As long as the Daegmons don’t enter the fray,” Thimeon answered.

  “They won’t,” Elynna said. “I can read their thoughts. They don’t need to. Golach is their servant. He is here to do their work.”

  “Human armies, at least, I can fight,” Dhan replied. He turned to his officers. “Jhaban, you’ve had experience in the mountains fighting Undeani rebels. Go with Braga and his folk and see if you can hold off the right flank—”

  “Prince,” Braga interrupted. “I will follow your orders, but do not ask us to fight against our own people.”

  Dhan met Braga’s gaze, then nodded. He turned back to Jhaban. “I will send the Undeani to the other side. Take instead Thimeon, Lluach, and all the Andani and Ceadani and head to those trees. Don’t let the enemy get above the ledges on that side.”

  Jhaban drew his sword, bowed, and turned to go.

  “Prince,” Thimeon said in a soft voice, as Jhaban organized his new company. “Let Cathwa
in stay here with you. She has no experience with sword or bow, but her gift of speaking over distances may be of use to you here. If you need to communicate with us, she can do it.”

  Dhan’s eyes lit up. “Yes. That may be worth as much as a dozen good swords in this battle.”

  Thimeon exhaled deeply. Tienna saw the relief in his eyes as he called to Cathwain and sent her to the prince’s side. Then he turned toward Tienna. Their eyes met briefly. “May the All-Maker be with you,” he said. Tienna stepped forward to embrace him, but he had already turned. She watched him stride away toward Jhaban.

  Dhan now spun to Braga. “This will be open battle, and not the type of fighting your woodland Undeani are used to.”

  Braga’s expression was grim but proud. “We have good archers in our midst, and our battle-axes are not ineffective against the sword. We will not be defeated easily.”

  Dhan nodded. “It will come to hand-fighting quickly enough, but do what you can with your bows. You will guard our left flank. Work your way along the slope back to our left. They will need to attack up one narrow path just past the ledges. Hold your ground as long as you can, unless I call you back.”

  The prince paused a moment, then added, “El-Phern may lead the attack on that side. He will try to lure you away from safety and get you to battle in the open. His favorite ruse when dealing with rebels is to strike first with a small force, and then feign retreat hoping to draw his enemy into ambush. But he is crafty, and if that doesn’t work, he will try other tricks.”

  The Undeani leader shook his head as he fingered the blade of his ax. “I will not fall for that ruse. But given how greatly he outnumbers us, I don’t think he will need any tricks.”

  “Make every stroke count,” the prince replied, “If you do nothing else, at least make them strike up hill. If they get up between you and the cliff, then we will be cut off from one another.”

  Braga nodded and bowed. As he turned and started shouting orders to his men, Dhan counted the Undeani with him. “Not enough,” he mumbled. He turned toward Namha. “Go with them,” he ordered. The Amanti did not move.

  “Sir,” Nahoon interrupted. “Namha will go where he goes. The Amanti do not take orders. And he won’t respond to speech in any tongue but his own.”

  “Well what good will he be?” Dhan growled.

  “Have you ever seen the Amanti fight?” Nahoon replied.

  Dhan opened his eyes as if with a sudden memory. “Can you speak with him?” he asked.

  “I can.”

  “Then go yourself among the Undeani and ask the Amanti to follow you. And if Braga needs to speak with him, translate.”

  Nahoon turned and said something to Namha in his own tongue. The Amanti did not answer, but he followed Nahoon along the slope. A minute later, Braga’s men were spreading themselves out among the line of small boulders the companions had passed through a few minutes earlier.

  Little time remained. Tienna stood with the prince in the centermost of the three small companies and looked down the slope as row after row of blue uniforms began advancing up the hill. Four men sat on horseback behind them. In a minute they would be within bowshot. Dhan turned to those who were left: the remaining Anghare Northlanders, the Plainsfolk, and the Westwashers, plus all those who had come with the prince from Citadel except for Thimeon and Jhaban. The prince and his officers, Tienna guessed, would be fierce and skilled in battle. Perhaps the duke and the old soldier Kayam would as well. But what of the others? Most had no real battle experience against trained soldiers. She could see from the faces of Beth, Jhonna, and Siyen that they were terrified. She glanced over at Elynna’s brother. He stood two steps behind his sister, staring wide-eyed at the approaching soldiers. He hadn’t even drawn his sword yet. Though he was half a head taller and several pounds heftier than most of the others, there was a smallness in his presence—a fearfulness and bewilderment that would do little to engender terror in his enemies.

  And what of Tienna herself? She was a huntress not a soldier. When her companions had spoken of her as a warrior, she had fiercely corrected them. Now, once again, she was asked to take the life of other men. She was asked to give her own life. She felt for the rope at her waist, and then gripped more tightly the long knife in her left hand. “May the All-Maker be with us,” she said aloud.

  “May the Maker be with us indeed,” the prince said. Then he started shouting commands. “Armas and Kachtin stay on my right, along with the Plainsfolk and Westwashers. Banthros and Kayam take my left with Siyen, Corandra, and the Northlanders. Cathwain, I want you to stay behind the battle lines. But keep close enough to me that you can pass on a message if I need you.”

  “I will be ready,” Cathwain replied.

  “And you,” the prince said, looking at Jhonna. “Stay out of battle until the last need. I will die happier if I know you still live.” The white-faced Jhonna nodded. She hugged her sister, then withdrew several yards up the hill.

  “That leaves only sixteen of us wielding swords,” Kachtin mumbled. “Against how many hundred?”

  The prince ignored Kachtin’s comment. “We will face the brunt of the assault. Once Golach sees me, he will direct the main attack here. He’ll be happy to have me dead. It will suit his own ambitions. Remember that we are greatly outnumbered. If any of us are drawn alone into the open, it will not go well. We must force them to fight us uphill and one at a time. Keep behind cover until the last moment. Those with bows, get off as many shots as you can, but make sure your swords are drawn when they arrive.”

  The companions nodded soberly. Tienna stood at Elynna’s side. She sheathed her knife, drew her bow, and nocked an arrow. Corandra stood on the other side of the prince with her sword in hand. Her countenance was stern, but her trembling hands belied her exterior. Keet, Beth, and Falien looked even worse off. Only the Northlanders and the small group of officers showed no sign of fear. Elynna herself was white as she drew her bow and checked the string.

  Tienna took one more glance over her shoulder. Though the Daegmons were not attacking, she could feel the terror of their presence, though it was strangely diminished from what it had been in early battles. She wondered why. The water? The mountain? Was it only her, or did the others sense the same thing? Would they be able to fight? What about the enemy soldiers? Did they feel terror in the Daegmons’ presence?

  Shouts rang out from below. The advancing soldiers halted seventy yards away, about fifty-five yards below the level of the cave from which the companions had emerged. Tienna could see Golach’s banner. The captain who had pursued them so far across Gondisle now sat astride a horse, directing his foot soldiers who sloshed through the mud created by the steady stream of water coming from the cave and spreading out. Even from that distance, she could see the haughty grin on his face.

  She drew her bow back to her ear. Golach was out of range. She aimed toward the center of the advancing line—toward a soldier with a young and innocent face that she did not want to think about. An arrow flew from her string, and sailed in an arc down into the midst of the enemy. The soldier raised his shield and caught the shaft harmlessly. A harsh laugh broke from their ranks. An instant later a whole chorus of strings hummed as a dozen arrows flew down at the enemy. Their paths crisscrossed in flight causing just enough confusion that two of the soldiers were caught with unguarded flanks and fell. The laughter ceased. Golach’s grin was replaced by a savage snarl. “Attack,” he cried. And somehow, over the din of answering voices, Tienna distinctly heard him add, “and take no prisoners.”

  Forward came the rush of soldiers. Tienna moved as quickly as she did when hunting ducks in the marsh or quails in the grass. Before the soldiers had taken three steps, she had another arrow on the string. She waited only two more seconds while her companions drew again. Then another chorus of twangs. Another barrage of arrows rained down on the enemy and one more, failing to hold his shield high, fell. One mo
re barrage of arrows flew. They had time for one more shot, she thought, before they would have to turn to their blades and brace for the first wave of the assault.

  Yet the clash of weapons did not happen. Over the hum of bows and the war cries of the attackers came another sound, both deeper and louder. The charging soldiers stopped in their tracks, confused and afraid. It began as a low rumble—a distant growl, almost imperceptible. Yet it rose quickly to a fierce reverberation that shook the mountainside. Tienna looked about in terror, remembering the attack many weeks earlier when the Daegmon had emerged from the mountain. But none of the Daegmons had moved. This was not coming from them.

  Before she could voice a question aloud, a terrific explosion rocked the hillside. Just yards below her feet, a huge section of mountainside burst forth in a blast of mud, water, and bits of snow. The underground flood that had driven the companions from the mountain had, on a sudden, let lose its furry. But though the companions were now safely above it, the attacking army was not. A wave of water and debris eight feet high and twenty feet wide, crashed into the front line of Golach’s attackers. For a brief moment, Tienna could see the look of terror on their faces. Then they were engulfed. Right down the center of the approaching company, the wave cut a swath of devastation, sweeping away everything in its path. Down went forty soldiers, more quickly and completely than any defense of Dhan’s could ever have managed. Another sixty, standing on the far side of the torrent, were cut off from battle as they backed frantically away from the flood.

  There remained twenty of Golach’s soldiers who had—by good luck it seemed to them at the moment—already passed the line of the cave and thus avoided being swept away. They turned and watched with a mix of horror and relief as their fellow soldiers disappeared beneath the mud. Their relief, however, did not last long. The waters were still pouring out of the mountain when Dhan leapt to his feet, and with a shout to his own small company he charged down upon them. His counter-attack covered the short distance in just a few strides. Then the soldiers of Citadel met the fury of an enraged prince, two of the best swordsmen in Gondisle, a behemoth of a duke.