[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
ready, the Lornians took out the first of the white riders before the
Cyadorans realized they were under attack from both sides.
Nylan forced his eyes back on the white teamsters and the forward white
guards, loosing another black iron shaft from his composite bow.
The shaft struck-a lancer with a green sash-and exploded. Nylan staggered
as the white chaos force recoiled back up the hillside.
What was that? hissed Ailsor.
Order-chaos collision, snapped Ayrlyn. Keep firing, demon-damn-it!
Nylan loosed three more shafts before another hit, with a smaller
explosion, but enough of one that the white-recoil jarred his fingers, and he
staggered in his tracks.
He swayed for a moment, putting down a hand to steady himself, since white
stars seemed to be exploding in his eyes.
& frig& frig& muttered Ayrlyn. Damned recoils&
By the time Nylan could begin to pick up images, most of the whites were
down, sprawled on the wagons or the ground.
The last of the Cyadoran armsmen turned his mount back toward distant
Page 195
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Syadtar.
Despite the fire white in his head, Nylan croaked out: Get him, Buretek.
It took the young archer three shafts, but the armsman fell, as the others
had.
Ailsor looked tiredly at Nylan, his bow almost hanging in his hands. That&
well& it wasn t really a fight, was it?
No, Nylan admitted with a shrug. It wasn t. He coughed, trying to clear
his throat. And it s not honorable. War isn t honorable, and the Cyadorans
certainly aren t. Is slaughtering children honorable?
Ailsor looked dumbly at the engineer.
What harm would it have done to let a few escape? Is that what you wanted
to know, Ailsor? asked Nylan.
The archer looked down at the tumbled plaited-grass screen.
It would have destroyed the effect, Ayrlyn answered, her voice hoarse and
tired. We don t want them knowing what happened. She set aside the bow. Go
get the shovels. We need to fill this in. Buretek can stay here. You get his
mount, too.
After a moment, Ailsor nodded.
I ll get them and bring back your mount, the engineer told Ayrlyn, who
nodded wearily. Nylan followed the archer, concentrating on putting one foot
in front of the other.
After untethering both mounts, Nylan worked loose one stake, then the
other, and rolled the rope around the two before slipping them into a
saddlebag. By then, Ailsor had disappeared, riding back to the ambush site
leading Buretek s mount.
The engineer mounted and led Ayrlyn s mount around the hill and down the
road to just below where the redhead stood, dismantling the screen and tossing
the pieces into the trench. She reached up for the shovel before Nylan
extended it.
Are you sure you should be digging?
It s not digging, just pushing stuff back in the trench. Besides, physical
work helps, somehow. She glanced up. Drop the reins. She ll stay.
With the redhead s tone, Nylan would have stayed put too, if he d been the
mare. He eased his mount down the slope, slowly picking his way above the rock
barricade.
Tonsar waited on his horse on the far side. It worked. You were right, ser
angel.
How many did we lose?
Three. Winse, Ungit, and Duira. Ungit& Tonsar shook his head. He did not
listen.
There s always someone who doesn t get the word. The engineer turned the
mare. Siplor, you take over that first wagon. Meresat& you ve got the second.
You ll need to replace that snapped wheel. Use the spare on the rear.
Nylan edged the mare up to the first wagon, mostly filled with kegs.
That s real Cyad beer! Siplor grinned at the angel. And biscuits, and
two wheels of cheese.
We ll share it with the others at camp, but you get to dole it out. Nylan
forced a smile, flicking the reins gently to ease the mare to the second heavy
wagon, filled mostly with barrels stacked on end. The white-brown powder
around the waxed end-ropes indicated that some had to be flour.
Meresat looked glumly at the broken left front wheel. You can do it,
Nylan encouraged him, ignoring his own headache and the white flashes that
blocked his vision intermittently. Or would you rather dig burial trenches?
No, ser. Meresat slowly trudged to the spare wheel mounted on the rear of
the wagon.
From above the barricade, Ayrlyn cleared her throat, then ordered, Wuerek
you and your group-let s get those bodies buried. Over there out of sight of
the road, and deep enough that scavengers don t dig them up.
Nylan could sense-somehow-that they shared the same, or similar, headaches
and intermittent vision. Buretek and Ailsor shifted the shovel between
Page 196
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
themselves and were finishing the work of filling in the archery blind.
Ayrlyn mounted the chestnut, but remained on the uphill part of the road
above the barrier.
Fuera-the rest of you, rasped the engineer, get the rocks back in the
places we set.
Why are we moving the rocks off the road? Nylan glanced around, but
couldn t identify the speaker, not when he had to concentrate even to see. He
took a deep breath before answering. We want the Cyadorans not to know what
happened. If armsmen and lancers just disappear, that ll make a lot of their
people unhappy, hopefully with their commanders. How would you feel if your
supply wagons and some reinforcements disappeared without a trace?
& nasty thoughts, he has&
& keep telling you that you don t mess with angels&
& ways of the angels& Tonsar glanced at Ayrlyn, then at Nylan, and shook
his head.
Nylan was afraid a lot more head-shaking would be going on before the
fighting was all over-if it were ever all over. Somehow one battle just led to
another. Was that human history on every planet in every universe? & the
regent& call it dishonorable&
& ha& rather be dishonorable than dead& Fornal might not like Nylan s
tactics, but he wouldn t mind the food-or the beer. Neither would the armsmen
mind the improved fare.
With his left hand, Nylan rubbed the back of his neck, then his temples,
but the headache still pounded through his skull.
Ayrlyn rode around the road barrier on the uphill side where most of the
stones had been removed and placed in scattered locales along the uphill side
of the road.
The headaches just get worse, the redhead said as she reined up beside
Nylan.
It seems that way.
After a moment, Ayrlyn added, Think about those dream trees, about both
order and chaos. It helps a little.
Dream trees? How could mentally re-creating dream trees help? Then again,
there was a lot he still didn t understand about Candar. Dutifully, he tried
to turn his thoughts to the dark trees with their flows of both order and
chaos.
Beside him, Ayrlyn smiled faintly as Fuera and his detail removed the last
of the road barrier rocks, and as one of the newer levies began to sweep the
road with a makeshift broom.
LXXXVII
THE HAMLET OF Syskar crouched two kays away, under the late afternoon s hot
sun, under the blistering green-blue sky, and a cloud of yellow-gray dust rose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
ready, the Lornians took out the first of the white riders before the
Cyadorans realized they were under attack from both sides.
Nylan forced his eyes back on the white teamsters and the forward white
guards, loosing another black iron shaft from his composite bow.
The shaft struck-a lancer with a green sash-and exploded. Nylan staggered
as the white chaos force recoiled back up the hillside.
What was that? hissed Ailsor.
Order-chaos collision, snapped Ayrlyn. Keep firing, demon-damn-it!
Nylan loosed three more shafts before another hit, with a smaller
explosion, but enough of one that the white-recoil jarred his fingers, and he
staggered in his tracks.
He swayed for a moment, putting down a hand to steady himself, since white
stars seemed to be exploding in his eyes.
& frig& frig& muttered Ayrlyn. Damned recoils&
By the time Nylan could begin to pick up images, most of the whites were
down, sprawled on the wagons or the ground.
The last of the Cyadoran armsmen turned his mount back toward distant
Page 195
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Syadtar.
Despite the fire white in his head, Nylan croaked out: Get him, Buretek.
It took the young archer three shafts, but the armsman fell, as the others
had.
Ailsor looked tiredly at Nylan, his bow almost hanging in his hands. That&
well& it wasn t really a fight, was it?
No, Nylan admitted with a shrug. It wasn t. He coughed, trying to clear
his throat. And it s not honorable. War isn t honorable, and the Cyadorans
certainly aren t. Is slaughtering children honorable?
Ailsor looked dumbly at the engineer.
What harm would it have done to let a few escape? Is that what you wanted
to know, Ailsor? asked Nylan.
The archer looked down at the tumbled plaited-grass screen.
It would have destroyed the effect, Ayrlyn answered, her voice hoarse and
tired. We don t want them knowing what happened. She set aside the bow. Go
get the shovels. We need to fill this in. Buretek can stay here. You get his
mount, too.
After a moment, Ailsor nodded.
I ll get them and bring back your mount, the engineer told Ayrlyn, who
nodded wearily. Nylan followed the archer, concentrating on putting one foot
in front of the other.
After untethering both mounts, Nylan worked loose one stake, then the
other, and rolled the rope around the two before slipping them into a
saddlebag. By then, Ailsor had disappeared, riding back to the ambush site
leading Buretek s mount.
The engineer mounted and led Ayrlyn s mount around the hill and down the
road to just below where the redhead stood, dismantling the screen and tossing
the pieces into the trench. She reached up for the shovel before Nylan
extended it.
Are you sure you should be digging?
It s not digging, just pushing stuff back in the trench. Besides, physical
work helps, somehow. She glanced up. Drop the reins. She ll stay.
With the redhead s tone, Nylan would have stayed put too, if he d been the
mare. He eased his mount down the slope, slowly picking his way above the rock
barricade.
Tonsar waited on his horse on the far side. It worked. You were right, ser
angel.
How many did we lose?
Three. Winse, Ungit, and Duira. Ungit& Tonsar shook his head. He did not
listen.
There s always someone who doesn t get the word. The engineer turned the
mare. Siplor, you take over that first wagon. Meresat& you ve got the second.
You ll need to replace that snapped wheel. Use the spare on the rear.
Nylan edged the mare up to the first wagon, mostly filled with kegs.
That s real Cyad beer! Siplor grinned at the angel. And biscuits, and
two wheels of cheese.
We ll share it with the others at camp, but you get to dole it out. Nylan
forced a smile, flicking the reins gently to ease the mare to the second heavy
wagon, filled mostly with barrels stacked on end. The white-brown powder
around the waxed end-ropes indicated that some had to be flour.
Meresat looked glumly at the broken left front wheel. You can do it,
Nylan encouraged him, ignoring his own headache and the white flashes that
blocked his vision intermittently. Or would you rather dig burial trenches?
No, ser. Meresat slowly trudged to the spare wheel mounted on the rear of
the wagon.
From above the barricade, Ayrlyn cleared her throat, then ordered, Wuerek
you and your group-let s get those bodies buried. Over there out of sight of
the road, and deep enough that scavengers don t dig them up.
Nylan could sense-somehow-that they shared the same, or similar, headaches
and intermittent vision. Buretek and Ailsor shifted the shovel between
Page 196
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
themselves and were finishing the work of filling in the archery blind.
Ayrlyn mounted the chestnut, but remained on the uphill part of the road
above the barrier.
Fuera-the rest of you, rasped the engineer, get the rocks back in the
places we set.
Why are we moving the rocks off the road? Nylan glanced around, but
couldn t identify the speaker, not when he had to concentrate even to see. He
took a deep breath before answering. We want the Cyadorans not to know what
happened. If armsmen and lancers just disappear, that ll make a lot of their
people unhappy, hopefully with their commanders. How would you feel if your
supply wagons and some reinforcements disappeared without a trace?
& nasty thoughts, he has&
& keep telling you that you don t mess with angels&
& ways of the angels& Tonsar glanced at Ayrlyn, then at Nylan, and shook
his head.
Nylan was afraid a lot more head-shaking would be going on before the
fighting was all over-if it were ever all over. Somehow one battle just led to
another. Was that human history on every planet in every universe? & the
regent& call it dishonorable&
& ha& rather be dishonorable than dead& Fornal might not like Nylan s
tactics, but he wouldn t mind the food-or the beer. Neither would the armsmen
mind the improved fare.
With his left hand, Nylan rubbed the back of his neck, then his temples,
but the headache still pounded through his skull.
Ayrlyn rode around the road barrier on the uphill side where most of the
stones had been removed and placed in scattered locales along the uphill side
of the road.
The headaches just get worse, the redhead said as she reined up beside
Nylan.
It seems that way.
After a moment, Ayrlyn added, Think about those dream trees, about both
order and chaos. It helps a little.
Dream trees? How could mentally re-creating dream trees help? Then again,
there was a lot he still didn t understand about Candar. Dutifully, he tried
to turn his thoughts to the dark trees with their flows of both order and
chaos.
Beside him, Ayrlyn smiled faintly as Fuera and his detail removed the last
of the road barrier rocks, and as one of the newer levies began to sweep the
road with a makeshift broom.
LXXXVII
THE HAMLET OF Syskar crouched two kays away, under the late afternoon s hot
sun, under the blistering green-blue sky, and a cloud of yellow-gray dust rose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]