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21 – The Eyes of Thyme
The two armies were still facing each other. Apparently, the war had taken a time out for my halftime entertainment with the dragon. With the dragon dead and me back on my feet-at least for the moment-the Varayan army started moving forward again, slowly, almost too slowly for it to be real.
My companions came back to me-all their faces as pale as A
"Are you all right?" A
"No," came out as a hoarse croak. I coughed and spit. "I'm not in much better shape than that goddam dragon." It was a stupid question, but I didn't have the energy to point that out.
"Look, lord," Lesh said, nodding off to the southeast. He turned me so I could see the Dorthini reaction to my victory.
The Etevar's army was coming apart at the seams. Groups of soldiers, some large and some small, were breaking away, ru
"Mount up, lad," Parthet's voice said in my ear. "You've got to finish the job." I looked around, but Parthet was still on the battlements of the castle. The distant-whispering was still spooky.
I looked up at Parthet. His eyes were on me. "You've got to be kidding," I said.
"You have to, lad. It's the only way."
I couldn't. There was just no way. If it hadn't been for Lesh and Hambert at my sides, holding ninety-five percent of my weight, I couldn't even have stayed on my feet.
"It's your duty," A
Hell, that was probably the only thing that could have got me moving.
I didn't have much strength to draw on, even for anger. I didn't see how I could possibly handle any more fighting. But I had to try. I looked around. Gold had calmed down a little more, but there was no way I was going to be able to mount alone.
"Lesh, I'm going to need help," I said. He nodded. "You may have to tie me in the saddle again."
"If we have to, lord," Lesh said. I wondered what I looked like. Even Lesh sounded as if he was about to lose control of his emotions. He boosted me into the saddle, and Harkane was on the other side to make sure that I didn't fall off there.
"We'll be right at your side, lord," Lesh said. Someone brought Lesh's horse over for him. I held on to the pommel of my saddle. Tie me in the saddle? My head started playing tricks again, something about El Cid wi
"We're ready, lord," Lesh said. I opened my eyes and looked up. Most of the people I had led out of the castle were back, mounted and ready to go into action again. A
"Uncle Parthet, if you've got any way to prop me up through this, you'd better get busy," I whispered, looking up toward the battlements. His face seemed to zoom in and he nodded… but the look on his face was grimmer than anything I had ever seen. His mouth was moving rapidly, but I couldn't hear anything. I hoped it was a potent spell he was weaving.
I looked back to our army. Barons Dieth and Resler were out in front with the cavalry. They were looking to me. Our battle plans hadn't made any allowances for halftime intermission, and there wasn't time for a huddle. I reached up past my shoulder to make sure that Dragon's Death was still in its clips, but I didn't draw the weapon.
It was time for the final scene, but for a moment I just sat there, hunched forward, my eyes on the back of Gold's neck-looking for the energy to do anything at all. I couldn't even have fallen on my sword right just then. Finally, after what might have been almost as long as it felt like, I straightened up and looked around.
"Let's do it," I said. If I could have come up with any alternative, I would have grabbed it in a second, but my mind was damn near blank-at least as far as useful ideas were concerned. All I could do was try to project one step ahead at a time. I clucked at Gold, and he started forward, toward the enemy. I led my troop on an oblique line so we could move into position in front of the center of our army. Keeping track of the Etevar and his wizard didn't take any effort at all now, even when I wasn't looking in their direction. As on that night in Fairy with the mountain trolls, I knew where my enemies were.
We trotted away from the dragon, back out into the afternoon sun. The sun was behind us now, in the eyes of the Dorthinis. Before I turned my troop directly toward the center of the Dorthini army, I gestured for the rest of the Varayan army to advance again.
I must have been burning with fever on top of all the injuries, with delirium hovering nearby. There can hardly be any other rational explanation for the fact that I got on my horse and rode at the enemy again despite the extent of my pain. I didn't even have it in me to wonder, What the hell am I doing here? It just wasn't important any longer. As far as I could tell, I was already so far gone that it didn't matter whether I lay down and waited or kept going until the congregation of Heroes yanked me off. But at least it made the pain fade a little.
You have your duty and I have mine.
The sight of me advancing at the head of the Varayan army sent a few more detachments of Dorthinis ru
The two armies had been more than a half mile apart by the time I finished off the dragon… and the dragon nearly finished off me. The Dorthinis still weren't doing much to close the gap. They were just waiting-maybe even drawing back a little, postponing the second clash. I was out in front of our force, my continuing "right" as Hero, but Lesh and the rest of my companions were so close that you'd need a photo-finish camera to see that I was in the lead. The survivors of the troop I had led out of the castle were just a little behind my companions, fa
On the Dorthini side, the cavalry was split between the center and both ends of the line. In the center, just behind the infantry, the Etevar and his wizard had a hundred mounted soldiers right around them.
That's where I aimed.
My danger sense was a futile throbbing at the back of my head, barely able to make itself felt over the other pains. I knew where the danger was, and I was heading for it intentionally. I kept my eyes on the black-clad figures of the Etevar and his wizard, looking for some kind of signal from them, some way to escape more fighting. I hoped that the fact that I had just killed the wizard's dragon and walked away-more or less-might make them eager for peace 4erms. With more than a third of their army ru