The Coral Kingdom - Douglas Niles [49]
Finally Hanrald and Brandon stepped through the broken wall of crystal, followed by Alicia, Robyn, and Keane.
"A diversion!" Brigit cried, turning to cast about for some kind of idea. She looked at them in despair. "We've got to draw that thing away!"
"I don't think we can," the High Queen said quietly, in a voice that still carried clearly to Brigit's ears.
The elfwoman whirled back toward the monster, as if she would run forward and try to drag it back by herself. Then her shoulders slumped, and she staggered in complete dejection. "We can't," she agreed, choking with grief. "Three thousand years…"
She didn't finish, but there was nothing anyone could do to change the beast's inexorable advance toward the Palace of the Ages. The Ityak-Ortheel was clearly drawn to the triangular pyramid by some compulsion not understood by the human and elven onlookers.
The monster rumbled through the wide courtyard, trudging through several pristine fishponds. The crystal waters shimmered in a fine spray as they were splashed by the grotesque feet, and then flowed into the muddy depressions left by the Elf-Eater's passage.
Two blue-coated elven warriors, each carrying a silver-bladed halberd, rushed forward from a palace guardpost. They raised their weapons and shouted a fierce cry as they attacked, but before the blades dropped, the Ityak-Ortheel reached out with leathery tentacles and swiped the weapons away.
The hapless fighters struggled vainly in the grip of those same limbs, their screams silenced with shocking speed.
Again Alicia remembered how swiftly Pawldo had disappeared. Anger boiled within her, coupled with furious frustration. There seemed to be nothing they could do to slow the monster's onslaught.
More trees splintered-three ancient aspens this time, each thicker in girth than a man could reach around-as the Elf-Eater continued in its direct path toward the palace. The high, shining wall leaned away from it, soaring upward in a perfect triangle to the sharp point in the bright Synnorian sky.
"Stop!" shouted Brigit as the first tentacle reached forward to touch the gleaming surface.
"No! Let it go forward!"
The words rang through the air like a peal of thunder, spoken from behind the companions. Shocked, Alicia and her companions wheeled, weapons ready for attack or defense. Even Brigit and Colleen halted their headlong advance to stare in astonishment.
"Deirdre!" gasped Alicia, the first to recover her voice.
"Don't stop it!" The black-haired princess ignored her sister, instead repeating her direction to Brigit as she stalked toward them. She passed through the breach in the wall and marched into the courtyard of the Argen-Tellirynd like some commanding warlord. Wind gusted against Deirdre's black dress, outlining her strong legs and streaming her long hair behind her.
Advancing past her mother and sister silently, the princess finally stopped to confront Brigit with her hands firmly on her hips.
"Who are you?" demanded the white-faced captain of the sister knights.
"My daughter," Robyn replied, her tone icy as she joined the pair. "This is an emergency!" she snapped to Deirdre. "Explain yourself-quickly!"
"The two triangles-the courtyard and the building-give us our only chance to defeat this creature!" the younger woman explained, her voice level, as if the chaos around them was some sort of remote picture. "If we can lure the beast there, I can send it away-at least, I think I can," she said, no trace of doubt in her voice.
Alicia looked for Keane's reaction to her sister's astounding claim. Surprisingly the mage's brows were knitted in concentration. He appeared to be giving serious weight to Deirdre's claim.
"You don't believe her, do you?" demanded the older princess.
"I don't know what else to hope for," Keane informed her, and Alicia had no good reply to that.
"Do you know what you countenance?" spat Brigit, still pale with fury. "This is the Argen-Tellirynd! It has stood for millennia, and now you ask