The a'laq set a grueling pace. It almost seemed that E'Menua wished to punish his entire army for what Grinsa had suggested. They pushed their mounts throughout the day, barely resting. Grinsa had rejoined the other Weavers at the head of the army, though still none of them spoke to him or even acknowledged him. His back and legs ached, and he longed for nightfall so that he could sleep.
The trail left by the Eandi army stretched out before them. It seemed the invaders were still headed due east, toward the Silverwater and the safety of their homeland. Even as the snow began to melt, making the enemy's tracks less apparent, other signs of their passage became more obvious. The grass had been flattened; scraps of food-rinds of cheese, crusts of bread, and bits of dried meat-littered their path. The riders could even see where men had strayed from their course to relieve themselves. There could be little doubt at this point: The Eandi were leaving Fal'Borna land, and it appeared they were in a hurry to do so.
Just let them go! Grinsa wanted to scream. This war is over! Return to your parents, your wives, your children!
But he said nothing, and he rode with the rest of them.
They spotted the rearguard first, perhaps two dozen soldiers, all on horseback. The men were too far ahead for Grinsa and the others to reach with magic, though that didn't stop E'Menua from trying. He used language of beasts first, and when that failed, shaping power. But the Eandi riders had seen the Fal'Borna and were galloping away, no doubt to warn their commanders that the Qirsi riders were coming.
E'Menua signaled a stop, and while the warriors rested, the a'laqs and Weavers gathered to discuss what they should do next. They made room in their circle for Grinsa, but otherwise he might as well have been invisible.
"We're going to do this quickly," E'Menua told them. "I don't want to give them any time to prepare. Our first attacks will be directed at the Mettai. Shaping, fire, even mind-bending if you can manage it. I don't need to tell you that they're the greatest danger. Once they're dead, we can turn our attention to the rest of their army."
"Forgive me, A'Laq," Grinsa said. "But don't you think the other Fal'Borna army will have tried the same thing?"
E'Menua stared straight ahead, still refusing to look at him.
"What of it?" he asked after a moment, his voice as tight as a bowstring.
"I think we need to ask ourselves why they failed and what we can do to overcome whatever attacks the Mettai throw at us."
For a moment no one spoke, and Grinsa wondered if the rest intended to keep on ignoring him.
But then O'Tal cleared his throat and said, "The Forelander makes a valid point. P'Rhil would have done all he could to destroy the Mettai first, and clearly he wasn't able to."
E'Menua's face reddened. Grinsa was sure he was going to dismiss what they were saying as cowardly or foolish. But the a'laq surprised him.
"Perhaps they're able to strike too quickly," he said. At last he faced Grinsa. "Do we know how close the Mettai need to be for their magic to work?"
"No, A'Laq," Grinsa said. "At least I don't know. But what we discussed the other day remains true. Fire magic might work against any spells they try to use against us. And shaping should work against any creatures they conjure."
E'Menua appeared to think about this for several moments. "All right, then. Forelander, I want you watching for any attacks that can be destroyed with fire magic. I'll give you fifty men who wield that power; that should be plenty. That's all you're to do. The rest of us will fight off whatever they conjure-we have plenty of shapers in this army."
Grinsa nodded. "All right."
"What about language of beasts?" H'Loryn asked. "Won't that work on the creatures they send against us?"
"I don't think so," Grinsa said. "From what I know of Mettai magic, their creatures could be immune to that power."
"And how is it that you know so much about the Mettai?" O'Tal asked him.
Grinsa didn't need E'Menua's small head shake to tell him that they had strayed into dangerous territory. "I haven't been in the Southlands long," said, "but I've journeyed here a good deal. And in the course of those travels I've met many people, including some who are Mettai."
O'Tal frowned, clearly not satisfied by this answer. But before he could say more, E'Menua gave the order to resume riding. Moments later they were galloping after the Eandi, the drumming of their horses' hooves seeming to make the ground tremble. Grinsa wasn't sure how far they'd have to ride before they encountered the invaders. The rearguard could have been two leagues behind the army, or one mile behind it. As it turned out, the distance might have been even less than that.
Grinsa and the Fal'Borna topped a small rise, and found themselves facing an army of at least two thousand men, possibly more. Archers were positioned at the front of the force, spread in a wide arc, no doubt to make it harder for the Qirsi to raise a wind against their volleys of arrows. The Mettai stood near the center of the army. There didn't appear to be many of them, but Grinsa was sure there were enough to kill every Fal'Borna rider in E'Menua's force.
But the army itself was the least of his concerns. The expanse of grass between the Qirsi army and the Eandi was already teeming with creatures that made Grinsa's blood turn cold. There were serpents, as long as a peddler's cart and as thick around as a horse's neck. Great wolves, nearly as large as the horses ridden by the Fal'Borna, loped toward the Qirsi army. Enormous eagles circled overhead, their wings so broad they seemed to blot out the sun, their talons as long and sharp as daggers.
E'Menua signaled a halt, and for a few moments Grinsa and the others simply stared at the scene before them. Several of the younger warriors appeared stricken with terror.
"These creatures are nothing," E'Menua said at last, contempt in his voice. He looked back at his riders, a harsh grin on his face. "They think they can frighten us with big dogs and a few snakes?" He faced forward again and shouted, "Shapers!"
The eagles were closest, and so they were the a'laq's first target. Grinsa felt the pulse of magic as E'Menua sent it forth. But still, he wasn't prepared for the deafening shrieks that came from the giant birds above them. A moment before they had been as graceful and terrible as any creatures Grinsa had ever seen. Now, their wings broken and flailing, their backs arched in agony, they tumbled to the earth, landing in great heaps on the plain.
"Shapers again!" E'Menua called.
This time the a'laq directed their magic forward instead of up. An instant later, the lead wolves let out loud yelps of pain and crumpled to the ground. Grinsa could see the Mettai conjuring more birds and more wolves, but clearly the creatures could be defeated with shaping magic.
"The snakes!" Q'Daer shouted.
Grinsa saw them, too. It seemed they were too low to have been hit by the shaping magic that killed the wolves. They were disturbingly fast and had nearly reached the Qirsi lines.
His eyes wide, E'Menua shouted, "Fire!"
The a'laq aimed the flame low, and made it spread like low waves over sand. It blackened the grass and slammed into the snakes, so that they twisted and writhed on the charred ground.
Again, these horrors called forth by the Mettai couldn't withstand the Fal'Borna's magic. But Grinsa couldn't help noticing that E'Menua and the other Weavers had yet to direct an attack at the Eandi. It was all they could do to defend themselves against the Mettai attacks.
Even as he formed the thought, he saw the Mettai conjuring again. And this time, rather than calling forth more wolves or eagles or snakes, the blood and earth that flew from their hands changed into something that looked almost like sand. Except that it didn't billow in the wind and fall to the ground. Instead, it spread across the sky and soared toward the Qirsi riders so swiftly that Grinsa felt panic grip his heart.