The soldiers of Kotir ran alongside the bank, following Gloomcr's progress and
shouting excitedly.
*'Look, he's after something. Hey, Gloomer, eat an otter 'forme!"
"Don't eat 'em, kill 'em all, Gloomer! Rip them to bits!"
A ferret who had run ahead of the rest called back to his comrades,
"Something's coming! I think it's the otters. No, wait, it's a big fish of
some sort."
Swift chevrons of water rippled out to both sides of the bank as Stormfin sped
downstream like a great arrow. : Gloomer thrashed the water as he swam
upstream, feeling his prey getting near.
, Closer and closer the leviathans came toward each other. Oloomer lifted his
snout clear of the water, sucking in a huge gasp of air. He submerged again
and waited, facing the oncoming foe, mouth slightly agape, claws at the ready.
Stormfin looked as if he was smiling. The underslung jaw clamped shut,
pointing at his adversary like a battering ram, he piled on extra speed, drew
his fins in tight and came at Oloomer like an arrow from a bow. The onlookers
on the bank saw a spout of water shoot high like a geyser as the combatants
crashed together.
K;> Gloomer had the breath driven from him as Stormfin struck IBS ribs.
Disregarding the pain, the rat sought the pike with
•ISs teeth, feeling his heavy claws rake searingly through its
Kales.
P With the madness of battle upon him, Stormfin rose clear
*Jlthe river, swishing his tail in a mighty leap; then twisting ^midair, he
launched himself back into the water like a nward torpedo with gaping teeth.
Gloomer was waiting.
69
He pushed his head clear of the river, sucked in a quick breath and locked
jaws with the descending pike. The surface boiled in a welter of cascading
water, shimmering scales and ragged far, the whole scene streaked with blood.
They snapped and bit at each other, locking jaws, rolling over and over, now
letting go, now seeking another hold, contorting madly. Gloomer had the pike
by the tail. He chewed voraciously. Pain seared through the big fish, but
Stormfin had his enemy by the stomach, and ripped viciously.
Tsarmina dashed up and down the bank with a spear at the ready. She could not
throw it for tear of hitting her destroyer. Mud boiled up from the bottom to
mix with the floatsam of combat. Silver scales and gray black far became
indistinguishable in the melee.
Now Gloomer had latched his claws into Stormfin's side and bitten deep into
the pike's dorsal fin. Stormfin thwacked away at Gloomer's injured side with
his heavy tail like a stout paddle. He had severed Gloomer's tail and was
tearing ferociously at the rat's hindquarters.
The need for breath forced Gloomer to relinquish his hold momentarily, and
Stormfin slid off like a wraith, following the current. Gloomer surfaced and
gulped in several grateful breaths.
Dementedly Tsarmina shouted from the bank, "Gloomer's won! Where's the pike?
Is it dead?"
Fortunata was caught up in the excitement. "It must be, Milady. Nothing could
stand against the Gloomer for long."
The soldiers raised a ragged cheer. It was immediately stifled as Stormfin
came back to the attack!
Driving low, hard and fast, the big pike crashed into Gloomer with staggering
force, catching him unawares. The huge rat had the breath smashed from his
lungs as he was battered swiftly up against the far bank. Falling back into
the water, he swallowed liquid instead of air. Still lashing out with tooth
and claw, Gloomer was unconsciously inflicting injuries on the pike, but the
damage was done.
Stormfin knew every inch of his river. He slid into a deep pit beneath the
bank and attacked the rat's soft underbelly with the mad power of one who
feels victory in sight. Gloomer scratched blindly at the rock either side of
the un-
70
derwater hole, missing his adversary's head completely. Baffled, he tried to
turn away.
Stormfin's jaws clamped tight on Gloomer's back legs. The monster pike backed
water as he dragged the rat backward down the pit with him. The watchers on
the bank saw Gloomer's front claws emerge wildly from the water, grasping at
thin air before they vanished beneath the surface.
The destroyer from Kotir was beaten. Stormfin had finally won!
Tsarmina shot several arrows into the area where the pike had pulled her rat
down. The soldiers stood about on the bank, shuffling awkwardly and fidgeting.
A sense of foreboding hung over them after the defeat of Gloomer. Fortunata
tried to stroll casually out of sight, knowing the wildcat Queen would be
looking for a scapegoat to vent her wrath upon.
"Get back here, fox. Don't try to slink away." Holding out her paw, the
wildcat Queen snapped at a stoat close by, "Give me your spear."
Keeping her eyes fixed on the quaking vixen, Tsarmina accepted the spear. She
swung it around until the point was at Fortunata's throat. "So, nothing could
stand against the Gloomer, eh, fox?"
The terrified fox could think of nothing to say. She merely gulped.
Tsarmina swung the spear away and dipped it into the river. She fished about
for a moment then whipped the point out of the water. Looped over the
spearpoint was the collar once worn by the Gloomer. Tsarmina hurled the
weapon. It whizzed past Fortunata and buried itself in an ash trunk, quivering
with bright droplets of water shaking from it.
From somewhere along the river came the deep, barking laugh of an otter.
The wildcat's cloak swirled about her as she tore the spear from the tree and
ran to the water's edge brandishing it.
"Laugh, yes laugh all you like, but stay hidden while you value your miserable
lives. I am Tsarmina, Queen of the Thousand Eyes. Before I am finished with
Mossflower, every creature who defies me will wish mat its mother had never
given birth to it. The crying and the dying will be loud and long. Now let me
hear you laugh at that!"
As Tsarmina finished her speech, Fortunata leaped for-
71
ward. The vixen was thinking of ingratiating herself with her Queen by adding
a few words to the speech.
"Thus speaks the mighty Tsarmina, ruler of all Mossfl—" As Brogg turned from
die river's edge he collided with the leaping fox. Their heads clashed
painfully. The weasel staggered back a step and trod on the hem of the vixen's
cloak. They tripped, landing ungraciously in the mud of the shallows.
The otters' laughter was mingled with the chuckling of squirrels.
72
The sun was at its zenith in the woodlands. Young bees droned fuzzily around
the flowers in anticipation of their first summer. A venerable oak of massive
girth and height towered above the surrounding trees. Beneath its spring
foliage of small green leaves and below its aged trunk was Brockhall, the
ancestral home of badgers. The solid, intricate root structure of the oak
provided ceiling beams, wall columns, shelves and in some places flooring for
the beautiful old dwelling. A door was set between the fork of two roots at
ground level. From there a long passage ran downward with rooms leading off
it—Bella's private study, small sitting rooms, a nursery and small infirmary.
At the other end the passage opened out into the main hall. This was large and
well-appointed, with a hearth, fireplace, full dining board and small seated
alcoves around its walls. Several doors led off the main hall; to the left was
the master bedroom and dormitories, while off to the light was the larder,
kitchens and storerooms, behind which lay the bolt hole or escape door,