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farther than this. Yet there seemed to be nothing else besides anonymous woods for
several miles in all directions. This had to be the place.
Arcuballis dove quickly to earth, dropping like a stone between the limbs of the
broad elms. The griffon landed in a crouch, and Kith's sword was in his hand.
The door to the small house stood partially open, slamming and banging against its
frame as the wind gusts shifted direction. The yard around the house was churned to mud,
mired by the hooves of countless horses. Blackened pits showed where great cook fires
had burned, but now these were simply holes filled with sodden ash.
Cautiously Kith-Kanan dismounted and approached the house. He pushed the door
fully open and saw that it consisted of one main room, and that room was now a shambles.
Overturned tables, broken chairs, a pile of discarded uniforms, and a collection of
miscellaneous debris all contributed to the disarray.
He began to pick through debris, kicking things with his boots and moving big pieces
with his free hand, always holding his longsword at the ready. He found little of worth
until, near the back corner, his persistence was rewarded.
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A tingle of apprehension ran along his spine as he uncovered a wooden box he
recognized instantly, for it was the one Suzine had used to store her mirror. Kneeling, he
pulled it from beneath a moldy saddle blanket. He opened the top, and his reflection
stared back at him. The mirror had remained intact.
Then as he looked, the image in the glass grew pale and wavery, and suddenly the
picture became something else entirely.
He saw a black-cloaked human riding a dark horse, leading a column of men through
the rain. The human army was on the march. He could recognize no landmarks, no
signposts in the murky scene. But he knew that the humans were moving.
Obviously the planned ambush of the Windriders was suspected and now would
have to be cancelled. But where did the humans march? Kith had a sickening flash of
Sithelbec, practically defenseless since most of the garrison had marched into the field
with the Wildrunners. Could General Giarna be that bold?
A more hideous thought occurred to him. Had Suzine betrayed him, revealing their
battle plans to the human commander? Did the enemy march somewhere unknown to set
up a new ambush? He couldn't bring himself to believe this, yet neither could he ignore
the evidence that she had been here at the human command post.
Where was Suzine? In his heart, he knew the answer.
Grimly he mounted Arcuballis and took off. He made his way back to the east,
toward the spearhead of his army, which he had ordered to march westward in an attempt
to catch the human army in its camp. Now he knew that he had to make new plans and
quickly.
It took two days of searching before the proud griffon finally settled to earth, in a
damp clearing where Kith had spotted the elven banner.
Here he found Parnigar and Vanesti and the rest of the Wildrunner headquarters.
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This group marched with several dozen bodyguards, trying to remain in the approximate
center of the far-flung regiments. Because of the weather, the march columns were
separated even more than usual, so that the small company camped this night in relative
isolation.
"They've broken camp," announced Parnigar, without preamble.
"I know. Their base camp is abandoned. Have you discovered where they've gone?"
Kith's worst fears were confirmed by Parnigar's answer. "East, it looks like. There
are tracks leading in every direction, as always, but it looks like they all swing toward the
east a mile or two out of the camps."
Again Kith-Kanan thought of the ungarrisoned fortress rising from the plains a
hundred miles to the east.
"Can we attack?" asked Vanesti, unable to restrain himself any longer.
"You'll stay here!" barked Kith-Kanan. He turned to Parnigar. "In the morning we'll
have to find them."
"What? And leave me here alone? In the middle of nowhere?" Vanesti was
indignant.
"You're right," Kith conceded with a sigh. "You'll have to come. But you'll also have
to do what I tell you!"
"Don't I always?" inquired the youth, grinning impishly.
* * * * *
General Giarna slouched in his saddle, aware of the tens of thousands of marching
soldiers surrounding him. The Army of Ergoth crept like a monstrous snake to the east,
toward Sithelbec. Outriders spread across a thirty-mile arc before them, seeking signs of
the Wildrunners. Giarna wanted to meet his foe in open battle while the weather was
unchanged, hoping that the storm would neutralize the elves' flying cavalry. The
Windriders had made his life very difficult over the years, and it would please him to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]