Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [160]
“Of course. But what—”
“It’s Jill, of course.”
Carra nodded and stood half-tranced, watching every swing and flurry of the Guardian’s battle with her invisible opponent. Farther and farther away they danced—well over the city walls by now, swooping and springing up, floating this way and that over the Horsekin camp, which were shouting their false goddess’s name as if to encourage her. The Guardian’s figure turned tiny, but Carra could follow her path by the magical glow round her. Suddenly, Dallandra gasped, one dark sob.
“The stream! Oh, by the gods! Jill!”
“What? Dalla—”
Dallandra grabbed her arm again and swung her round toward the trapdoor.
“Get down and get inside. Hurry! Get inside and get Jahdo and go down to the great hall, down away from the roof.”
“But Jill—”
“Is past our help.” Dalla began to weep. “I should have known! Ah, ye gods! I should have known.” She choked back the tears. “Carra, get inside!”
Stunned speechless, Carra climbed down the ladder into the darkness of the landing below. The lantern swinging in her teeth, Dallandra followed, then handed the light over once Carra was standing safely on the floor.
“My lady!” Jahdo wailed. “Somewhat’s wrong! Look, look at Jill!”
Her body lay twisted round into a heap, her face drained of blood, her mouth slack open like an idiot’s.
“She’s dead.” Dallandra tried to gentle her voice but failed. “Get out of here! Jahdo, take the lantern. Get the princess down to the great hall, and do it now!”
Jahdo grabbed the lantern in one hand and Carra’s wrist in the other. As he tugged her toward the stairs, Carra looked back to see Dallandra pulling off her clothes as if she’d gone mad. It was all too much, suddenly. Sobbing aloud, Carra let the boy guide her down the long spiral to the safety below.
That particular night, Rhodry had been billeted straight south of the city with Lord Erddyr’s men, who were helping hold the investiture on the far side of the stream. When the shouting started in the Horsekin camp, he was on his feet and running, drawing his sword as he raced for the edge of the encampment. Around him, the warband grabbed for armor in a flood of oaths. All at once someone screamed, “Look up! Look up there!” Rhodry did and saw Alshandra, hovering just over the highest tower in Cengarn’s dun, a tiny figure from this distance. She glowed silver with her magical light, as if she were a star sailing free in the earthly sky, sailing, then swooping and dipping, heading south and west, straight for the river.
“Ah, by the black hairy ass of the Lord of Hell!” Donning armor suddenly seemed like the most futile thing in the world. His feet a little apart, he tipped back his head and watched Alshandra’s peculiar flight, dodging some invisible threat there, swooping down on some invisible thing here, yet always heading south, then turning west as she passed directly overhead. Rhodry spun round and saw her heading straight for the river formed by the joining of the two streams. Closer and closer, seeming larger and larger she flew, hesitated once, and plunged forward—directly over the water.
All at once she shrieked, an enormous howl of pain that every man or Horsekin on the southern side of Cengarn could hear. Her enormous woman’s form hung steady over the stream, then began to bob and swirl, began to tear apart and shatter. Even with his elven sight, Rhodry could see nothing more than Alshandra, howling and writhing, caught in some invisible web, but he knew that she had to be dying. The Horsekin shouting turned puzzled, then broke into a thousand cries of confusion and fear. The investing ring of Deverry men yelled and howled in triumph as Alshandra’s tattered form began to shrink and ebb away.
Booming through the night came the three great knocks. Those Rhodry had heard before, the sign of the Great Ones, pronouncing a doom. He threw back his head and shrieked with berserk laughter as the last remnant of Alshandra’s earthly body winked out like a blown candle. The sound of terror rose from the Horsekin camp like the trail of smoke.