Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey [243]
The world turned dusky and lovely. I saw him, that silvery brightness coiling through the small mounted figure on the road ahead. I felt his fury and madness abate.
You see me.
"I do." With a shock of alarm, I realized that if I didn't follow, I would lose sight of him. I nudged my mount and gave him his head. "Master Lo! I have to go after them!"
Ah, gods…
It was a sight I'd rather not have seen. I fought to breathe calmly, fought to maintain my grip on the twilight. The princess raced far ahead of the others, a small lone figure, her lead increasing with every stride. Of course. It was her plan; it had always been her plan. She wanted to protect them. Only Bao came close to keeping pace with her, trailing a distant second. Although he rode well, her slight weight lent her horse greater speed. Tortoise and Dai pounded after them, jouncing in the saddle. And after them came all the rest, on horse and on foot, untrained, passionate, and so terribly, terribly vulnerable.
"Maghuin Dhonn protect them all," I whispered, tears in my eyes.
Lord Jiang's men had had their backs turned, shooting into the foothills at the unlikely assailants raining rocks upon them. Now they turned back.
Bows sang.
Snow Tiger crouched low in the saddle beneath the rain of arrows, her cheek pressed to her mount's neck. In response to her reins, he snaked this way and that, legs reaching and hooves drumming, making a difficult target. Through the dragon, I sensed her mix of exultance and horror.
At twenty paces away, her mount went down with a horrible squeal, struck by several arrows. Pitched from the saddle, the princess rolled in a deliberate fall, coming up with her sword in hand, steel gleaming. Among Jiang's men, she began to fight with grace and brutal precision, dancing her awful dance, robes swirling.
In the twilight, it was beautiful.
Somehow, that made it worse.
I made myself watch, made myself hold tight to the twilight, to the sense of the dragon's presence. His essence sang in her veins, sang through her, filled her with dreadful strength. Where those lovely, shimmering coils that only I could see passed, death followed.
One, two, three, four…
And then Bao was there, his mount plunging and wheeling. Despite his lack of training, he fought well from the saddle. Between the two of them, they halved the odds, and halved them again.
Yelling and shouting, the others converged. Hands clutching farm implements rose and fell. Lord Jiang's men fought and died.
It is over.
I rode forward through the twilight, picking my way past corpses. Snow Tiger's naked face turned to me, the dragon reflected in her eyes. Once again, her robes were drenched with gore. Her body quivered with the aftermath of unspeakable energies. She had a cut on one cheek and the blood on her sword gleamed darkly in the gloaming. "Did I—?"
"Yes, my lady." I glanced over the battlefield. Forty men dead, none of them ours. Bao slumped in the saddle, his staff held loosely in his hands. Tortoise and Dai flanked him, looking equally tired. The farmers looked dazed by their victory. I dismounted. "You protected them." With gentle hands, I raised the blindfold she had tugged down. She closed her eyes, obedient to my touch. "You protected them all."
I settled the blindfold in place.
"All?" she repeated. "All?"
"Aye." Before I released the twilight, I found a spot on her brow that was not blood-spattered and pressed my lips to it. "All."
* * *
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
After the battle, the mood was sober and awed. Snow Tiger refused Master Lo's attention, bidding him tend to the other injured fighters first. I went to assure myself that Bao was unharmed. Although his staff was scarred and splintered in places, his skin was intact. He summoned a weary grin for me. "I almost kept up with a dragon. Pretty good, huh?"
"A hero in truth," I said honestly. Taking his hand, I raised it to my lips and kissed his bruised knuckles. "You fought a valiant fight."
He glanced over at the princess. She was alone, slowly cleaning