Illengond Page 40

  What remained of the company now gathered in a large circle, facing outward all directions except toward the ledge. Only Jhonna and Cathwain remained in the center of the circle. All the others bore weapons. Yet even before the enemy arrived, the circle shrank inward under the pressure of some invisible force. By the power of the stone he bore, Thimeon felt and understood it. For the first time, he understood the torment Elynna had suffered all these weeks. So great had their enemies’ malevolence become—such a powerful and unmistakable presence. They could not stand their ground against it.

  “There is something out there,” Elynna warned again. “Their power is growing.”

  A bowstring twanged as Tienna released an arrow toward Koranth. It hadn’t even completed half its arc before it burst into flames and disappeared. Another blast of power erupted from the staffs of Koranth and the Gaergaen. Thimeon countered, and managed to fend off the blow: blue flame against red. Still the enemy came on. They were forty yards apart now. Braga picked up his bow and came to Tienna’s side. Together they released arrows. Both shafts fell to ash. The Gaergaen laughed. Or maybe it was Koranth.

  Then Thimeon became aware of the other power at his side. He glanced down. To his surprise, his sword—the sword given to them by Borodruin—was humming in its sheath just as it had many days earlier before Cane’s death. Thimeon put his hand to the hilt, and then withdrew it in surprise; he felt the power surging through it as it had that day on the pass. What did this mean? Was Cane not dead?

  He had no time to think. He left the blade in the sheath and faced his enemies with only the stone.

  One of the Daegmon’s, approaching from the south, rose towering on its hind legs, allowing the companions to cower in fear for just a moment before exacting revenge for the wound to its eye. Then it lunged toward the cluster of Undeani warriors. They dove to the side, avoiding the jaws, but Jama and Krag were swept aside by its talons. Hearing the cries behind him, Thimeon turned to face the Daegmons. But he was given no chance to aid his companions. As if reading his thoughts, Gaergaen and Koranth raised their staffs once more and pressed their own attack.

  Thimeon held the stone aloft. Whether he was willing power into the stone to protect them, or opening himself up to its power and will, he did not know. The battle raged around him. His eyes darted this way and that, trying to follow all of the attacks at once, and yet able to do nothing but stand where he was. He could sense the malice of his foes, aware of a jumble of their thoughts and intents rushing at him like more darts.

  Making use of the turmoil caused by its kin, the second Daegmon attacked from the uphill side slashing into the officers with a sudden ferocious rush. Had Namha not thrust him to the side, Armas would have disappeared into the Daegmons jaws. With a leaping twist to the other side, the Amanti missed a similar fate by inches. But he had already thrown his last knife, and he had no more weapon except his hands. Onward a third Daegmon came now, too. In desperation the officers stood their ground in the face of the three attackers. The swordsmen slashed with all their might at the Daegmon’s exposed wings while the Undeani darted in with their spears. Arrows flew from the bows of those who still had them.

  Their efforts were to no avail. The creatures had grown in might, and the weapons of the companions had not the power even to wound them. Massive jaws snapped left and right, scattering the companions. The circle was broken.

  And to his horror, Thimeon was aware of Jhonna standing directly in front of one of the monsters. Huge talons fell down on her. She fell away, escaping by inches. Dhan rushed in to try to pull her to safety, but he was too slow. He fended off a swiping claw with all his might. The blow shattered his sword and sent him flying. Tienna darted in from the other side. With a headlong dive, she landed half a foot from Jhonna’s side, and with her momentum rolled right over top of her, pulling her alongside as the two rolled several yards down the slope.

  On the other side, the Amanti was keeping the Undeani alive by drawing off the attention of the third Daegmon, but Thimeon knew it was only a matter of time until he fell or made some mistake. Thimeon warded off another bolt of power, and then turned in time to see the helpless Tienna about to be crushed. His cried out in anguish. As though directed by his thought, a bolt of bright light flashed from the stone and struck the Daegmon in the side, knocking it backward away from Tienna.

  The creature was stunned, but not hurt. It turned on its new attacker. Its malice, directed now solely at Thimeon, overcame all other thoughts. The largest and most powerful of the Daegmon brethren, it was not afraid. For centuries since its last defeat, it had built its strength back, nursed by the hand of the Daegmon-Lord himself. While its kin continued to scatter the other companions, it came toward Thimeon. Thimeon took a step back, only to feel the surging of another power behind him. Just in time, he turned to deflect a blast of power from Koranth and the Gaergaen. They had approached to within twenty yards now, and Golach stood with them, along with last of the men who stilled followed his captaincy.

  Thimeon was trapped.

  42

  THE MIGHT OF CATHROS

  Cathros was deep into the woods when he heard Cathwain’s voice. Come back. He looked around him for several seconds before he realized that the voice came straight to his thoughts. Then he understood what Elynna and Thimeon had experienced. Come back, Cathwain repeated, as clearly as if they stood face to face. Thimeon calls you to return. The Daegmons come. We need you.

  Cathros had forgotten about the Daegmons. His anger and hurt still brimmed over, the rage he had held onto since his brother’s death. And in that rage, his fierce pursuit of enemy soldiers had carried him much farther than he had intended. He looked back through the trees. He couldn’t even see the enemy encampment, only fleeting forms of animal and human.

  He looked ahead. Fifty yards through the trees he saw the shadows of the two soldiers he had been pursuing with Banthros, still running away. Banthros now caught up with him and stopped at his side. “What is it?” the lieutenant asked.

  “Thimeon wants us back. The Daegmons come?”

  “Thimeon? But how—”

  “Cathwain. The girl from Gale Enebe. She spoke to my thoughts.”

  Giving up their pursuit, they turned to head back up the slope. But it took much longer than they expected. They were tired, and now they were going uphill. And shadows of men kept appearing out of the trees. Some were Andani hunters, creeping through the woods in twos and threes, but others wore the blue of Citadel and Cathros did not know if they were friend or foe. Several minutes passed before they made it back to the enemy encampment. There Cathros caught sight in the distance of the dark-robed figures of the Gaergaen and Koranth standing at the edge of the trees. Several Andani hunters lay dead on the ground.

  Cathros motioned for Banthros to stay low. They backed up to take a detour to their right. They went on at a more cautious pace, keeping their eyes open for ambush. Finally, they came to open ground, around the side of the slope out of sight of the battle. Cathwain called again, this time more urgent, more desperate. Despite his fatigue, Cathros began to run. In the distance he heard loud blasts. He came around past where they had first emerged from the cave and stumbled up the hill with Banthros following a few steps behind. Now the sounds of blasts were mingled with shouts and the screeches of their enemy. His heart pounded as much with fear as with the exertion.

  When he came to the top of the icy ledge he was dismayed to find his companion surrounded by Daegmons, fighting desperately for their lives. Many of his friends already lay strewn about the slope, wounded or dead. Those who remained on their feet were cowering against the boulders. The prince ran around without a weapon, making a valiant but vain effort to hold together the last shreds of defense. And in the midst of it all stood Thimeon in a halo of blue light, but being pounded by flashes of red power. Defeat he had thought turned to victory was turned once more back to defeat.

  Cathr
os did not waste any time or stop to ask for orders. Holding a sword taken from a Citadel soldier, he rushed toward the battle. The Daegmons—perhaps sensing one of the gifted entering the fray—momentarily paused in doubt or confusion. That was the break Cathros needed. He rushed through a wide gap between two of the winged beasts. A dozen yards below and to the right, Thimeon stood alone against Koranth, the Gaergaen, a handful of Citadel soldiers, and the largest of all the Daegmons. In the last instant before the enemy sprang to life again, the Northlander raced up from behind the Daegmon, and right past it to Thimeon’s side.

  The battle froze. One long moment in the midst of eternity, as both sides looked at one another wondering what, if anything, this new presence would mean.

  Thimeon felt Cathros’ return before he saw him. Or, rather, he sensed the thoughts of his enemy as they became aware of the sudden appearance of Cathros’ power. Then he appeared, miraculously charging unscathed through the middle of the fight. The moment he stood there, Thimeon felt a strange and powerful sensation. The sword at his side began almost to sing with power. He dropped his hand toward the blade, but remembering what had happened before, he paused. And what if it were meant for Cane, and not Cathros?

  One more time, the enemy closed on them. “Is the battle strength upon you?” Thimeon asked.

  “It is upon me,” Cathros replied.

  Thimeon reached for the ancient sword and drew it. He felt the power surging through the blade as he handed it to Cathros. “Take this. And may the All-Maker be with you.”

  The moment the blade was in Cathros’ hand, the throbbing of power grew fourfold. The Northlander’s eyes opened in wonder. At the same time, as if echoing the power in Cathros’ new talisman, the stone in Thimeon’s other hand also burst forth with blinding blue light.

  “Now is the time,” Thimeon called. “Fight the Daegmons. I will defend you.”

  The moment of respite ended. With their roars still echoing off the sides of Mount Illengond, the enemies renewed their assault with increased ferocity. On the uphill side, the eldest of the Daegmons lunged toward Cathros, thrashing its tail as it came. On the right, a second Daegmon pressed inward with its talons extended and fire on its breath. A third kept the other companions pinned.

  Thimeon had no time to see how Cathros would fare. Koranth unleashed a bolt of red power. Caught off guard, Thimeon staggered backward, deflecting the blow at the last instant.

  Koranth turned to Golach. “Destroy him,” he ordered.

  Doubt flashed across Golach’s face. Perhaps he had seen enough of this battle that his faith in the power of the Daegmons was slipping. Yet he had already cast his allegiance with them. It was too late to turn. He turned to the four soldiers who remained with him. “Kill that one,” he ordered. “He has no weapon.” The soldiers nodded grimly and started forward. Golach did not lead, but came a step behind.

  When he’d given away his sword to Cathros, Thimeon had not counted on facing human foes again. At the approach of the soldiers, he swallowed and stepped backward. He had no help behind him. Cathros was gone, and if Thimeon retreated any farther he would be in the midst of the Daegmons himself. He scanned the ground in search of weapons. He saw nothing. Remembering the most recent battle at Gale Enebe, he reached with his other hand to remove from his cloak the ancient tome he had been carrying for many days. What it would do against a sword, he did not know.

  Golach grinned now. His first soldier reached Thimeon a step ahead of the others. Thimeon squeezed the stone, wishing—willing—for some flash of power in his defense. No flash came. The soldier’s sword came up for a quick stroke and he prepared for his end.

  Instead Thimeon heard a soft thud, and the soldier fell backward with a cry, clutching at his chest. A large stone fell to the ground at the soldier’s feet as he crumbled to the ground clawing at his ruptured windpipe. Enraged, the other three soldiers leapt forward over their fallen comrade, but Namha was among them before any of them could strike at Thimeon. The Amanti’s knives were gone, but his feet and hands were weapons the equal of any blade ever forged in Citadel.

  Seeing his plan fail, Golach cursed the ineptitude of his soldiers, but he did not retreat. Gritting his teeth, he darted to the side of the occupied Amanti and came at Thimeon from the other side even as Koranth and the Gaergaen directed another blast at him.

  Cathros did not wait for the Daegmon to fall on him. Rushing forward, he swung his blade with all his supernatural strength. The Daegmon recoiled from the approach, pulling its neck out of range of its enemy’s reach. As it did, it lashed his tail around from the side in hopes of catching its attacker off guard. But Cathros turned in time, and with a single down-stroke severed eight feet off the creature’s tail before it could reach him.

  The Daegmon screeched in pain. And the blade did not break!

  In rushed Cathros again, on the offensive now. The Daegmon struck with its fore-talons, but Cathros was too quick. With his next blow, Cathros cut a gash across the Daegmon’s foreleg. With another blow, he opened a deep wound on its chest. The creature was retreating now, but not as quickly as it wanted to. Intent on escaping Cathros’ furious assault, it backed into another of its own kind, disrupting it long enough for Armas, Kayam, and Siyen to dart out from the rock where they were pinned.

  Once again the battle around Thimeon was furious, but now it was more evenly matched. Weaponless though he was, Namha was holding his own against three armed soldiers. Thimeon was being pummeled with bolt after bolt of fire as Koranth and the Gaergaen took turns attacking. But the stone and the book were both blazing now, responding to the attacks faster than Thimeon could think. Protected by them both, he had as yet sustained no hurt from the powers being leveled at him. His greater fear was the blade wielded by his human foe. He did not think the weapons he wielded were meant for mortal human foes. Twice Golach almost got to him, but both times Namha freed himself enough from the three soldiers to deliver a kick at Golach’s side and send him flying. A third time, the Citadel captain approached. Having learned from his earlier attempts, he kept Thimeon between himself and the Amanti. Around them, the roars of the Daegmons and the blasts of power were nearly deafening. Thimeon was tiring. He knew he could not escape Golach much longer.

  At that moment the prince appeared at Thimeon’s side. He had found a new blade somewhere. His blade came up just as Golach’s came down. Their blades met with a loud clash. Both weapons held, but Golach was pressed backward a step.

  “You have betrayed your land,” Dhan said.

  “When you are dead and I am king, there will be no court to decide who betrayed whom,” Golach replied. Yet the fear in his eyes belied the confidence in his voice. Dhan stepped toward him and both swords came up and met again. This time Golach held his ground.

  Now Thimeon was aware of the fighting on both sides of him. He knew that if either Namha or Dhan failed, his own life would be next. Yet he could do nothing. Koranth and the Gaergaen were his task, and they were proving more than enough. On instinct, and not knowing what else to do, he brought the book and the stone together in front of him. In response, the light from the stone grew brighter. A bolt of blue flashed toward Koranth. For the first time, the red and blue met and exploded closer to the enemy than to Thimeon. Sensing the growth of his own power, Thimeon stepped forward and willed another blast of force. It shot from his right hand like an arrow, exploding in red, inches in front of the Gaergaen’s chest. The enemy stepped backward as if struck.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Thimeon saw Jhaban rush to Dhan’s aid. Golach made a sudden feint at the prince and then rushed back to hide in safety between Koranth. There he stood for a moment, panting from the exertion.

  “You failed,” Koranth said. Golach look up in surprise. Their eyes met for an instant. Then Koranth smiled. “Here is your reward.” There was a flash of red light, and Golach fell dead, his skull split in two. At the same time, the Gaergaen swun
g his staff toward Namha. The fire flashed through the air. The Amanti leaped out of the way, but the Citadel soldiers were not as lucky. Two of them dropped lifeless to the ground, felled by the creature they had been serving. Dhan struck the third with a fatal blow to the ribs.

  For a moment, Thimeon stood gaping at the fallen bodies, appalled at the sight of his enemies’ cruelty in killing their own servants. The Gaergaen laughed, and with a sudden attack drove Thimeon backward once again. Koranth’s next blow was not directed at Thimeon, but at Tienna who stood several yards away, facing another direction. Thimeon deflected the bolt of power at the last instant, with a concussion that knocked the huntress off her feet again. Koranth nodded with sudden insight and turned to the Gaergaen. “Ignore the Wielder. He is weak. Destroy the others first.”

  Gaergaen replied by leveling a blast at Dhan. Thimeon willed the Henetos to absorb the blow. Blue light crackled around the prince as he was struck by the red. He stumbled half a step, but did not fall. The enemy did not relent. Koranth sent a bolt of power toward the cluster of Undeani, while the Gaergaen attacked Namha. This time, however, Thimeon was quicker in his response. In an instant, a whole wall of blue light went up around the companions, and the bolts of red fell off it like catapulted rocks off the side of a castle wall.

  On the far side of the ring, the wall of blue caught one of the Daegmons just as it was poised to make a snatch at the duke. Paralyzed by the power that ran through it, the Daegmon froze long enough for Cathros to turn and deal it the fatal blow with his newfound weapon. The creature collapsed to the ground dead.

  43

  THE DAEGMON LORD

  Tienna saw the Daegmon fall. She watched as the four remaining Daegmons backed away altogether. With the arrival of Cathros and the reawakening of the sword he wielded, the battle had turned against the Daegmons, despite the aid of Koranth and the Gaergaen. Tienna sensed that turn, and for a second time that day she felt hope and a possibility of victory, or at least of survival.