Xylina, Faro, Ware, and Thesius managed to keep their horses running in the same direction, but the same was not true of the rest. Most of the men were thrown immediately; some clung to the backs of animals that ran blindly for whatever direction the monster was not .
Xylina clung to the reins and saddle of her horse, trying, not to stop it, but to keep it going in the same direction as Ware's-and fortunately, Faro was doing the same. She looked back over her shoulder just once-and that was when she realized that the best thing she could do would be to keep her frightened animal running.
For the monster in the air was herding those horses that still had men riding them; herding them towards the beach, where they would quickly tire, trying to gallop in the surf and soft sand. And as for the men who had been thrown-there were strangers dressed in brown uniforms, armed, and helmeted, who were rounding them up and making them prisoners. There were many more of these strangers than there were of Xylina's men, and she realized that the most she could hope for would be to escape without being captured herself.
Thesius looked back as well, and he must have made the same conclusion, for he suddenly began urging his horse to greater speed, and took over the lead from Ware. Since he seemed to know where he was going, Xylina tried to get her horse to follow his. It was quite willing, and she concentrated on clinging to her saddle.
The strangers who were taking the others prisoner did not seem inclined to follow. They disappeared into the distance, and the bushes and scrubby trees intervened.
The horses galloped until their flanks streamed foamy sweat and their breath came in huge, painful gasps. Thesius pulled his horse up to a walk; the rest slowed completely on their own. He spoke quickly and quietly to Ware, pointing in the direction of the mist that signaled a change in realms that lay just on the horizon, and Ware nodded, then turned to Xylina.
"Thesius recognized those soldiers; they are slavers, and they are not likely to follow us this far, for they are only concerned with gathering as many slaves as they can with as little effort as possible. They will be satisfied with the men and horses that they have captured, and let us escape."
Xylina pushed her sodden hair back from her forehead. She was nearly as tired as her poor horse, for it had taken all her strength to stay with him on the wild ride. "I am about to say something that might sound very callous-" she replied, hesitantly. "Are these people known for mistreatment of those they take?"
Ware questioned Thesius, who only shook his head. Xylina sighed. "Then I see no point in risking ourselves to free the men, since they are merely going from one set of mistresses to another."
Faro looked troubled. "You're not going to try to help them?"
She turned to him, hoping that he would understand this. "Faro, I am very sorry, but there are many more of those slave-catchers than there are of us-and I am not certain that my diminished ability to conjure is going to make that much of a difference in a case like this."
Faro shrugged. "Maybe you have a valid point, little mistress. The men might even be better off; who knows? They are certainly used to being enslaved."
Thesius listened avidly as Ware translated all this for him in an undertone, and he nodded vigorously when Faro concluded. He gabbled something else; Ware managed a dry chuckle.
"He said that most of them will likely be recruited to take slaves themselves, since they are versed in the use of arms-or they will become caravan guards for the slave-takers. Even Pattée evidently has skills they will value. So really, their roles are likely to take a reversal for the better, since they will find themselves to be the masters over women taken as slaves."
Xylina gave Thesius a black look for that little remark, but said nothing about it. Instead she asked Ware, "What was that he said when he pointed to the next realm?'
"That this is where the crystal shard is, and that the slavers will not follow us in there." Ware did not elaborate on that, and Xylina wondered if there had been more said than Ware had mentioned.
"Then let us go there as quickly as we can," Xylina said flatly.
Ware gave her a measuring look, and Thesius said something. This time Ware translated without being asked.
"He wants to know if you are certain that you wish to continue."
She gave that question sober consideration, as the sun burned down on them, and the horses plodded onward towards the border. The thought crossed her mind-as it had many times-that the Queen had certainly set herself up in a situation in which Adria could not lose and Xylina could not "win." Ware had told her, many times, that Xylina was the only Mazonite likely to make this mission a success; the Queen wanted this shard desperately, for it was her path, not only to immortality, but to immortal youth and to undefeatable power. If Xylina brought it back, the Queen would have all those things, and Xylina would no longer be any kind of threat.
And if Xylina died in the attempt, she would still be no threat. The Queen simply had to send her out, and wait, like a spider in her web. This mission was a stroke of genius, for the purposes of the Queen.
Even if Xylina turned back at any point, the Queen would win-since Xylina would still owe her debt to Ware, and the crown guarantee of that debt was contingent on Xylina's return with the shard . Xylina would face the same threats as before she left-give in to Ware (which would take her out of the running for the throne), go into debtors prison, or face exile. One of those options had already been fulfilled.
And now, there was really no way in which Xylina could possibly retreat. With all of her men and resources gone but Faro, Ware, and Thesius, it would be suicide to recross all that dangerous territory. It might not even be the same: deadly new lands might have take the place of those they had struggled through. Only one thing would make return possible: if Xylina possessed the shard, for its possession would magnify her own powers.
So, hopeless as the situation looked, she might as well go on. It was certainly no more hopeless than going back.
"Yes," she said flatly. "Let us go on."
As they crossed the misty border, the land changed abruptly, as it nearly always did. This time the sea remained, but instead of a land as flat as the back of her hand, hot, and oppressively humid, the countryside became mountainous, washed with a brisk, cool breeze, and with high cliffs facing the sea. The drop in temperature and humidity made her spirits rise, and the clouds of stinging flies that had bitten them and their horses with blithe impartiality deserted them. The tired horses raised their heads, and exhibited a little more energy. Faro looked less dour. Even the air, scented with pine, seemed livelier.
The horses were on another road: this time, a kind of well-defined track through the mountains. By the time they were ready to stop for the night, Ware looked about and told her that they were within striking distance of the shard-for once again, a realm had changed since a member of their party had last visited it. This time, the border between the realms had moved closer to the area where the shard was being kept.
Thesius located a cave for them to use as a shelter, rather than having Xylina conjure tents. He and Ware both seemed anxious that she not perform her conjurations so near the shard, and she was inclined to go along with that. It might well be that the inhabitants of this realm had some way of knowing when magic was being practiced, and there was no point in warning them. She hoped that prohibition would not be needed when actually taking the shard, or she would be in serious trouble.
All of them retained some of their journey-food; Xylina had suggested that they divide it up among all the men rather than keeping it together with Horn, and now she was glad she had done so. If Horn had kept the food, they would be now be spending a very hungry night.