The wind forcing his breath back into his lungs, Huma followed the other knight’s example and lowered his visor. He gasped for air. Kaz, beside him, was forced to tolerate everything. Huma knew that the minotaurs sailed the roughest seas with relative ease, but still, Kaz had his hands over his face and he had fallen to one knee. Even so, the wind continued to grow. Loose equipment was beginning to blow away. The horses snorted wildly as a tent was torn from its stakes and tossed among them. Huma rushed over and pulled it free of the beasts. Unable to maintain his hold on the tent, Huma watched it go whirling away into the woods.
The entire area became a deathtrap of a hundred assorted forms. The campfires were blown high and wild by the wind, and some tents burst into flames.
Kaz was forced to cover his eyes lest he be blinded by the dust rising from the earth. “Sargas forgive me! It’s the king of all hurricanes, but on land!”
Indeed, the minotaur’s words seemed to ring true. No tornado or storm that Huma had ever witnessed contained the power to cause such destruction. Trees were bending perilously close to the ground. A little more pressure and they would be torn from the earth and flung skyward, and there appeared to be no letup in the raging darkness. It was only a matter of time.
Huma battled to maintain some sort of balance. How much more terrible was it out there at the front? Only the single horn blast had given them any warning. Crynus had planned well. Galan Dracos had planned well.
Suddenly, calm reigned. The wind died to near-nothing and refuse rained upon the ground. Kaz stood, and Huma opened his visor to get a better view.
“The spellcasters! They’ve done it.” They were there, far to his left.
There were twelve in all, six of the Red Robes, six of the White. Even from his position, Huma could see the strain they were under. This was not the storm of the other day. That had been only a pale illusion, perhaps a test, or even a trick. Whatever the case, these mages were now dealing with a power far, far stronger than they had anticipated.
One of the Red Robes fell, exhausted.
A breeze developed.
A horseman cut off Huma’s view. Huma looked up to see Bennett, fully in charge of himself and the situation, despite all the confusion. At the moment, with his hawkish, regal face and his intricately decorated armor, he might have been one of those who had ridden with Vinas Solamnus.
Bennett scanned the area, then turned his gaze to the younger knight. “Get the horses. If we don’t release them, they’ll be killed when the magic-users fall.”
As he spoke, another Red Robe wavered and then stumbled. The breeze increased to a squall.
“We’re pulling back!” The wind forced Bennett to yell. “We must not rout, though! If we do, nothing stands between the Queen’s jackals and Vingaard Keep! Nothing!”
The ten remaining mages could no longer keep a unified effort. Several collapsed, and the few left standing were insufficient for the task. What kind of power were they up against?
The sudden earth-shaking gale nearly threw Huma and Kaz to the ground. Bennett was only barely able to keep his horse under control. The warhorse was used to blood and steel, not wind so strong that it nearly swept the rider from the animal’s back. The steed’s natural instincts were to run for cover.
Bennett shouted something unintelligible and then raced off. Huma, remembering his earlier instructions, half-crawled toward where the horses screamed their protests. Kaz followed. His balance restored, he now moved more easily than the knight, thanks to his bulk.
Releasing the warhorses proved to be difficult. They had been worked up to a frenzy and regarded any moving object as a threat. The nearest kicked at Huma, and others snapped at his arm. Despite the danger, Huma had to get closer if he was to release them.
As he drew near, iron-shod hooves came down on him, and only because a heavy form bowled him over did he escape crippling punishment. One hoof struck his right arm, a glancing blow but still sufficient to numb it.
Huma struggled up and undid the reins. He had hoped to calm a few of the animals and possibly ride one to safety, but they were too far gone. He was half-dragged for a couple of yards before common sense got the better of him and he released his grip.
“Kaz!” Huma did not see the minotaur and then suddenly remembered how the latter had blocked the attack by the maddened warhorse. Huma turned and saw the motionless form. Kaz had deflected the blows with his own body. The knight remembered the minotaur’s oath and let out an uncharacteristic curse. He would not have the minotaur’s death on his hands.
“Kaz!” He kneeled next to his savior and turned him over. To his relief, the minotaur opened his eyes.
“You are uninjured?” the bull-headed creature asked.
“I should ask you that!” Huma almost laughed. If Kaz had the strength to be concerned about him, then the minotaur had the strength to live. He helped the huge creature to his feet.
“Can you run?”
The minotaur leaned forward. “Give me a moment. I fear the horse has pushed all the air from my lungs.”
While Kaz recovered, Huma looked around. The camp was nearly deserted. A few knights struggled with equipment off to the south, and Huma thought he saw riders to the east. The tent where the clerics of Mishakal had treated the wounded was no longer there. There were no bodies that Huma could see; the mages had bought them enough time to escape, at least. He could only hope that Gwyneth had escaped safely, as well.
Meanwhile, where were the dragons?
Huma had not seen them since the eruption of the storm. The vast wall of chilling darkness was nearly upon the camp now, bringing along the visibility of a moonless night. Huma did not want to know what lurked within that darkness, but he forced himself to look up at it. When he did, he finally noticed the dragons of light.
They were organized into what Huma recognized as one of their fighting formations, a sort of double “V.”
Against the coming fury, they looked pitifully tiny.
The wind was now joined by pouring rain. Kaz snorted angrily and commented on the smell of wet humans. He was now well enough to move, slowly but steadily. The torrent made movement tricky. Better slow and steady than risk having one or both of them lose their balance. It might as well have been night. No trace of sunlight remained. Ahead of him, Huma could make out dim shapes. At their present rate, even those would disappear as the power of the Dragonqueen overwhelmed the light.
Overwhelmed the light . . .
Had the knights lost at last? Huma shuddered at the thought of a world with only darkness. A world that the Queen ruled.
Now, the only light was the bolts of fire that burst through the skies. They did not seem part of the storm and Huma glanced upward, wondering perhaps if it was the work of the dragons. Had they met the enemy at last? He wished—a mad wish, an afterthought—that he could help them in some way.
“Huma!” The hiss startled him until he realized it was Kaz. The minotaur’s voice was hoarse. He was weaker with injury than he had led the knight to believe. “Huma! A light ahead!”
It was true. Only a dim glow, like one of the insects of night, but a glow nonetheless. They had already started toward it when Huma recalled the dark sorcerer who had sought to ensnare him. Still, this light did not demand his obedience as that one had. Rather, it seemed to offer badly needed help. To be on the safe side, Huma drew his sword.
They stumbled through mud, nearly falling once. Slipping and sliding, they continued toward the light.
For a time, the glow seemed no closer than before. The distance gradually lessened, though, and Huma soon realized that the light was also coming toward them. He tightened his grip on the sword. At his side, Kaz was tensed.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
Before them, seeming to glow himself and quite untouched by the torrential winds and rain, stood Magius.