Edith Pattou - Fire Arrow

"We must leave at once," Brie said. "The gabha encampment lies beside a forest. We will set up our camp on the far side of that forest, out of sight of the castle. Our main hope lies in taking the goat-men by surprise. Remember, the gabha are not human," Brie told them. And grimly she described the strength and the bestiality of the goat-men.

Shortly before setting forth for Sedd Wydyr, Brie was stowing something in her pack when she suddenly felt a probing in her mind. She stood straight, terrified. It was like a hand groping about inside her head, the fingers prying. Balor. He was looking for her. He knew of her escape from the bell tower; perhaps he knew even what she had done to it. She wondered if he had also learned of Hanna arid Silien's fire of rain at Tanniad Pass. She tried to make her mind a blank, but it was impossible. She had an irrational desire to grasp the arrow, thinking it might somehow protect her. Then, abruptly, the probing sensation was gone and her body sagged with relief. Had he found her? There had been no flaring moment of recognition, but she could not be sure.

She took the fire arrow out of her quiver and gazed at it. When she concentrated she was able to see the stories on all the picture bands now, all except one, the one at the bottom.

Ought she to use the fire arrow in battle? Brie wondered. It was a powerful weapon, but she dared not risk losing it or letting it fall to thé gabha, or worse, into Balor's hands. An arrow was a good weapon, but it had its limitations. Unlike a sword, once an arrow was wielded, it was gone, difficult to retrieve. No, she would not use the fire arrow in battle. Except on Balor.

But ... Brie suddenly smiled. There was another way to use fire and arrows together, and she had the Scathian in the bog to thank for the idea.

Brie sought out Lom and told him. His eyes kindled with interest. "I have heard of such things," he said, then went off to find his best arrowmaker.

***

As the company headed north, Brie felt that the land under her was shrinking, with the mountains on one side and the sea on the other pressing against each other, compacting and merging. And Hanna told her that at Dungal's tip the land between disappeared entirely and sea waves beat against mountain cliffs. Northern Dungal was a place of rock and water, with the occasional eruption of forest; in places trees were bent almost sideways by the long reach of the sea wind. There were few signs of human habitation. The soil was thin and even where there was turf, the rocks seemed always restless, straining to break through.

The army circled east, away from the coast, and arrived at the far edge of the forest while the sun still shone, though because the days were getting longer it was well past time for the evening meal. Quickly they set up camp and Brie sent scouts ahead. When they returned they reported that it was just as Brie had seen: Beyond the forest lay the gabha encampment, which stretched to the east and north of the fortress Sedd Wydyr. The scouts said there were no sentries and no gabha scouting parties. Brie nodded, unsurprised. Though she believed Balor was now aware that she had escaped the bell tower, he clearly could not conceive of her being able to mount any kind of threat to him and his plans—not, at least, in such a short time.

Or maybe he could. The thought chilled her. Perhaps he knew of their presence here in the shadow of the forest, and cared not.

***

That night, after all had eaten, Brie spoke to the army. She laid out the battle plan that she, Collun, Lom, and Hanna had come up with. The company listened soberly. Lom went on to explain in greater detail, and, when he was done, the Dungalans dispersed to make a last check of their gear and to snatch what rest they could. Lom moved among them, checking a bowstring here, the sharpness of a blade there.

Silien still slept, while Hanna had recovered sufficiently to sit up, though she blew her nose frequently and drank great quantities of a healing borage tea Collun had brewed for her.

Monodnock sidled up to Brie as she was checking over her own weapons. "Excuse me, fair lady," he said, his voice ingratiating, "but I wonder if you have given some thought to Prince Silien? It seems to me you will need someone to stay here and watch over him as he sleeps. And much as it pains me to miss even a moment of the glorious battle, I would be willing to volunteer for the assignment; indeed, as a fellow Ellyl, I feel it is my honor-bound duty:"

"You are too generous," Brie said dryly. "But perhaps...," she began, thinking to herself it would be better if the Ellyl was kept out of the way during battle.

"That will not be necessary after all, Monodnock," came Silien's voice, "though your offer to sacrifice yourself is most admirable." When he saw Silien standing next to them, awake and alert, Monodnock staggered slightly, clutching at Brie's arm.

"But surely, Prince, you are not up to...," Monodnock stuttered. Stark terror moved across his pale face, and one hand began whipping his orange hair into a forest of spikes.

"When do we face the gabha?" said Silien to Brie, pointedly ignoring Monodnock, who let out a small whimper and quickly withdrew.

"You mustn't tease him," said Brie.

"I shall try to refrain," Silien replied with a slight bow. "As to the battle ahead, I regret having to tell you that my draoicht is inadequate; indeed, I would even say that, for the time being, the fire rain has completely depleted it. However, my sword arm, for what it's worth, is yours."

"We are indebted to you, Silien," Brie responded, "for what you have already done for us and for what you offer now." And she thought back to the Silien who in the old days would not have put himself into any kind of danger for a human. Impulsively, she leaned over and hugged him. Silien looked a little startled, but smiled his half smile.

***

As Brie worked on making more arrows for her quiver, Hanna told her that Sago now seemed alarmingly incoherent—more addled than she had ever known him to be. So, after filling her quiver, Brie went in search of the Sea Dyak sorcerer. She found him sitting cross-legged against a small willow tree. He looked as ethereal and wraithlike as ever, but, surprisingly, his eyes were alert and he seemed quite peaceful.

He gestured for her to sit beside him. "Tomorrow we hunt together again, yes?"

Sago was different, Brie thought, but he was not as Hanna had described. Rather, there was an eerie sort of saneness about him. She noticed he had with him the scrap, of fishing net he had been working on throughout the journey, but his fingers were still.

"Brie?"

The girl jumped slightly. She had been so startled by this new, placid Sago, she had forgotten he had asked her a question.

"Well, I would not call it a hunt exactly," Brie replied dryly, thinking of the army camped beside the crystal castle. "But, Sago, I think perhaps it would be best if you stayed here at camp during..."

"The fish is larger, perhaps," the sorcerer said, ignoring her words, "but not so very different. To fight the enemy, then perchance to sleep," Sago intoned, then smiled peacefully, tracing with his fingers the loops of his small net.

"But, Sago..." Brie tried again.

The sorcerer continued to speak, still smiling, a dreamy look in his eyes. "Do you know how I anticipate the after-place will be? Indeed, I am quite sure of it. A large lake, with a blanket of comforting, muffling clouds above, the very lightest of breezes. Ideal fishing weather, of course; fish will be jumping—gray, silver, speckled. Then a small boat, the image of Gor-gwynt, and a supple pole at hand..." A blissful smile played around his mouth.

The place Sago described was more real to him than the forest around them, Brie thought. His weird calmness suddenly frightened her much more than his riddling songs and flights of fancy had ever done. She felt a stab of alarm.