Suddenly Brie was terrified, conscious of her puny human frailty. A terrible chill fear flooded her and she cowered back. Cernu let out a bray of victory and pushed forward to deliver a deathblow. Brie watched, hypnotized, as the spiraling horns came down at her.
Then something brushed past her legs, and a snarling whirlwind of fur launched itself at the gabha's haunches. For a moment Cernu was knocked off balance, then he let out an impatient grunt and swung his club at Fara, catching her across the neck. The faol tried to rise, but, stunned, fell back again. The gabha general turned back to Brie, but in that moment she darted under the reach of his horns and thrust the fire arrow up into his bearded chin.
Blood poured down her hand and the giant figure stiffened. The club dropped from his hand. As he fell, Cernu opened his mouth to bray, but all that emerged were flames. He hit the ground with a crash, his head afire.
Brie staggered, almost falling to the ground herself. Anxiously she looked around for Fara. The faol had an ugly gash on her neck but was already on her feet and trotting toward Brie. Together they found Collun. He lay where he had fallen, eyes closed, the side of his head a sticky mass of blood.
Brie was sure he was dead. Trembling, her fingers sought his pulse; she just barely could feel a whispering thrum against her fingertips.
Then she saw Sago on the ground several feet away. He lay on his side, curled up, face peaceful. He might have been sleeping, except for the wide stain of crimson across the front of his tunic. Brie crossed to him and crouched down.
Around them the battle continued to rage. The Dungalans who had crawled out from under Sago's net were, now fighting the goat-men who remained. But Brie was unaware of anything save the Sea Dyak sorcerer. His eyes flicked open.
"Hand me my pole," came a faint whisper, light as a puff of air. "Fish are biting." A smile curled his lips. Then his eyes sought Brie's, his thin fingers wrapping around her hand. "Remember the boy Thom. Watch his thumbnails as he grows," he said clearly. Then his eyes closed and he was dead.
"Brie," said Hanna, who stood behind her. "Help me with Collun." And as she and Collun had done for Hanna the day before, Brie and Hanna lifted Collun and carried him to a safe place.
Brie bent anxiously over Collun, her fingers finding his wrist again. "Will he...?" she asked Hanna.
"It is early to say," said Hanna, but she did not look hopeful.
"Stay with him," said Brie. Wearily she once more mounted Ciaran. Because of Sago, more than half the gabha army lay dead, and the rest were in disarray without their leader. But the battle was far from over, and Brie and Ciaran went to rejoin the Dungalan army.
As she rode, Brie heard the high pure call of a battle horn. She looked around, afraid. A small army was emerging from the forest, the sun reflecting off its shields and swords, blinding Brie for a moment. Then she saw the Dungalan standard raised high above them. Brie blinked in amazement. As the army came closer she recognized the man leading it—Ralfe, Prince Durwydd's adviser. The new army merged with the battle-weary old, and soon the remaining goat-men were in full retreat. It was not long before the last of the gabha were fleeing into the foothills.
***
By early evening the battle was over and the heartbreaking task of finding and burying the dead had begun. Most had lost close friends or family, and there was little of celebration in those who remained. Of the Dungalans who had journeyed from Ardara, fourteen had survived the battle, among them Lom, Jacan, Ferg and Gwil, Maire and her brother, and the boy Dil. Along with Sago and the fisherman Henle, the boy Marc, brother to Beith, had fallen, as had four fishermen.
Monodnock had disappeared, and Brie sent a small search party to look for him. The Ellyl was found in the forest, apparently hiding in a tree. He came down only because he overheard two of the searchers speaking of the enemy's defeat.
He appeared before Brie disheveled and exhausted, twigs sprouting from his orange hair. At first he could not meet her eyes.
"Most gracious and generous maiden," he said, gazing at her left shoulder, "allow me to offer my most heartfelt laudation and homage to your stunning rout of a most fearsome and multitudinous foe." Monodnock's eyes shifted to Brie's forehead. "It was a vast and irreparable disappointment to me that I could not stand shoulder to shoulder with you as you swept aside the evil tide."
"Monodnock...," Brie began, stone-faced.
"And alas, as it turned out, I could not, uh, I was not able to, uh, obey your mandate, wise as it was, or rather, uh, appeared to be..." The Ellyl suddenly brightened. "However, as Sago did mount his steed, I, uh, had a flash, a vision if you will"—Monodnock warmed to his theme, newly confident—"that this ancient man of power had within him one last burst of magnificence and that to hold him back from his heroic errand would be an incalculably grave error."
"I see. And did this 'vision' also tell you not to accompany Sago on his 'heroic errand,'" Brie asked, "in spite of the fact that I had ordered you not to leave his side?"
Monodnock reddened, but blustered on. "Of course, I intended to do as you directed, and was in the process of attempting to procure a steed of my own, when I suddenly sensed that my presence would almost certainly interfere with the, uh, spheres of power encircling the sorcerer. You can see, then, that I did not dare cause any obstruction between him and his desired goat, uh, goal..." Monodnock trailed off. His hair was a spiky jungle and his lanky form trembled with exhaustion from his lengthy vigil in the treetop.
Brie found herself veering between the urge to laugh out loud and the desire to give Monodnock a severe scolding. However, compassion won out, and she sent the Ellyl, sagging with relief, to find a bite to eat.
The Dungalan survivors gathered the slain gabha into large heaps and, as was the Dungalan custom with the remains of an enemy, set the mounds aflame, although as the smell wafted over their camp, Brie rather wished they hadn't. She had had enough burning goat flesh to last a lifetime.
The frayed remnants of Sago's net lay everywhere. Lom saved the largest intact piece he could find to take back to Ardara. The new arrivals listened in amazement to the tale of the Sea Dyak sorcerer's miraculous net.
Prince Durwydd's adviser Ralfe approached Brie as she helped with the digging of a grave, asking for a private moment of her time. As they walked in the direction of the mountains, Ralfe confided in Brie that just prior to the newly mustered army's departure for the north, he had received a message from Prince Durwydd in Tir a Ceol.
"Our prince, in so many words, stated that he was abdicating the throne; that he had chosen to make a life for himself in Tir a Ceol and would not be returning." Brie could see that Ralfe was in the grip of some powerful emotions, and she realized that the strongest was a deep shame for the actions of his prince. "I took it upon myself to delay imparting this distressing news to anyone until this moment. It was an egregious act of deceit; still, I have no regrets," he said stoutly. "Furthermore, I now consider myself under arrest for high treason, and do place myself in your custody."
Brie gaped at the grizzled man. "That's nonsense," she said bluntly. "You acted in the best interests of your army and your country."
"Notwithstanding, I did not have the authority to mount an army..."
Brie waved his words aside. "Tell me, Ralfe, is it not unusual for Ellylon to allow a human to live with them?"
"Prince Durwydd has royal blood, and the Dungalan royal family is known to have some amount of draoicht within them. Perhaps this is why."
"I see."
Between them, Brie and Ralfe agreed that now would perhaps not be the best time to tell the Dungalans of their prince's decision.