We reached the outskirts of the army's massed ranks, now spread dangerously thin. What came next would be a desperate sprint across a battlefield toward the river two li to the south. If we reached it, our archers would make a stand there.
"Moirin?" Bao asked. "Are we ready?"
I glanced at the princess. She gave a terse nod, then remembered he could hear her if she willed it. "Yes. Give the order, please."
Bao drew a deep breath and loosed it in a shout. "Ride! Ride!"
We clapped heels to our mounts' flanks and burst out of concealment, racing across the open meadow.
The Divine Thunder boomed in answer, its deep cough echoing off the peaks of White Jade Mountain.
The Imperial archers were meant to serve as a shield between us and the enemy; but no mortal flesh could stand against the missiles spat out by the Divine Thunder. I saw a man borne down only a few yards away, his horse rendered an obscene carcass of torn flesh. I veered in horror, losing my grasp on the twilight. The gleaming dark carnage before me turned the vivid red of blood.
Again and again, the Divine Thunder boomed.
Everywhere, screaming.
And the dragon was loose.
I felt its madness and fury rise, spiraling to heights that dwarfed aught that had gone before, so terrible it disoriented me. As though the gifts of my ancestors had been restored, I saw a glimpse of a dreadful future unspooling, a future written in metal and smoke and blood, a future in which all the sacred places of the earth had been violated, and there were no longer dragons or bear-witches in the world.
NO!
The dragon's roar made my head spin. I shook it, trying to clear it.
The princess had turned her mount, and ah, gods! She was riding toward the battle, toward the terrible weapons, ready to destroy them all, a naked sword in her hand and a captive dragon's blind fury in her eyes.
"You can't!" I heeled my mount and checked her progress. "My lady, you can't! There are too many! And I cannot hold the twilight! Close your eyes!"
She hesitated.
Ahead of me, I saw Bao turn back; but Tortoise was closer. He jounced in the saddle as he hurried to aid me, his homely face terrified but determined. A hero after all, no matter how unlikely. And then the Divine Thunder coughed, a hot, acrid wind passed overhead, and Tortoise was no longer there. His remains smoldered in a crater.
"Please, my lady," I said in a choked voice. "Please, please, please listen to me and close your eyes. My friend, please let her hear me!"
Something human surfaced in her gaze. "I cannot ride blind in this chaos."
I held out one arm. "Then I will be your eyes. Ride behind me."
Screwing her eyes shut tight, Snow Tiger grasped my arm. In a single, deft move, she sheathed her blade and swung herself out of the saddle, settling herself astride behind me. I sensed a measure of the dragon's fury abate as she raised her blindfold.
"Flee! " I flung the command like an arrow into my mount's thoughts and gave him his head.
How long did it take us to outrun the range of the Divine Thunder? Two minutes? Three? All I know is that it felt like an eternity. There was a taste like copper in my mouth. My heart was hammering in my chest and my breath came in wheezing gasps. All around us, deadly projectiles fell from the sky. There was nothing that could stand against them, no weapons that could fight them. Smoke drifted across the sky. The ground shook and trembled. Men and horses died. Craters dotted the earth, torn limbs were scattered across it, blood soaked it.
It was more horrifying than anything I could have imagined.
Anything.
At last there was a pause in the booming assault. Daring to peer over my shoulder past the princess, I caught a frenetic glimpse between racing archers. Jiang's army was mustering a squadron to give chase. They were repositioning the fearsome bronze weapons to hold the Imperial army at bay.
"Moirin!" Bao shouted at me, his dark eyes glittering with rage and grief. "We have to gain the river! Don't slow down!"
I nodded my understanding, and didn't look back again. I rode and rode, Snow Tiger's arms wrapped tight around my waist.
Not until we reached the river did I pause. It was a wide, swift river and tricky to ford. Our horses picked their way with care, the water rising belly-deep at times. I stroked my chestnut's lathered neck, whispering praise. The archers remained on the near side, gathering to make their stand. I wondered how many, if any, would survive. It was a sickening feeling.
And on the battlefield, the Divine Thunder was crashing again.
"Noble Highness!" Dai was splashing across the river, leading the princess' mount behind his own. Although his face was rigid with horror, he had kept his wits about him. "Here!"
I drew rein until he came alongside us.
"Dai." There was relief in Snow Tiger's voice. She slipped deftly from the back of my saddle into hers. "Thank you. Is everyone….. no, of course not. I saw men die." She bowed her head. "How many? Who?"
"Scores of your father's men," I murmured. "And Tortoise."
"Ah, no!"
"Yes," Bao said grimly. "And if we do not make haste, their sacrifices will be in vain."
The princess turned her head in the direction of the battlefield, and although she could not see now, she had seen enough in the twilight to guess at the carnage. The Imperial army would retreat if it could, but not until we were safely away—or confirmed dead. The backs of the Imperial archers formed a living shield between us and Jiang's men. Her hands tightened on the reins. "Then we will ride as though every demon in hell were chasing us," she said in a hard, clear voice. "And put an end to this madness."
Yes, the dragon agreed fiercely. Yes!
I thought of the future I had seen unwinding on the battlefield. Even if we succeeded, I was not sure it could be averted. I understood better the terrible choices my ancestors among the Maghuin Dhonn had made in their efforts to alter the future. If it were within my means to do the same, I would be tempted to try.
But I had no choices here, only a very slender thread of hope.
The princess gave the order.
We rode.
CHAPTER EIGHTY
It was like a familiar nightmare. Riding and riding in an endless, desperate flight. A valiant horse laboring beneath me. Men left behind to guard our passage, men sure to die. Eventually, the sound of pursuit in the distance.
But these were good horses, excellent horses, the best and swiftest in the Imperial army, and though the chestnut I rode was no more gallant than my Blossom, he was fit and hardy, in the peak of condition. All of them were. They had not shied at the Divine Thunder. Now they carried us willingly at a breakneck pace over the harsh terrain.
Bit by bit, we extended our lead.
When we could no longer see or hear our pursuers, Bao consulted with the princess and called for a slower pace. Our mounts plodded steadily, heads low, breathing hard through blown nostrils.
We could still hear the Divine Thunder booming in the distance. I tried unsuccessfully not to think about the toll it was taking.
It is fire that impels it? the dragon asked. This killing man-made thunder?
"Aye," I said wearily.
Then I will end it once I am free. His voice was still fierce.I will drown their evil weapons in rain. I will call down lightning to strike them dead. Every single one of them.
"No." Snow Tiger straightened in the saddle. "No, my friend. That you must not do. It is enough to silence their thunder. Lord Jiang and Black Sleeve will pay for this atrocity, but the men they command are innocents misled. If we succeed, we must show them mercy."
Why? The dragon's tone darkened.
"Because it is the correct thing to do," she murmured. "Because they believe they are fighting to avenge the death of a man I killed with my bare hands. And they are not wrong about the reason, only the cause."
I felt him acquiesce without words, and sighed with relief. The princess' blindfolded head turned in my direction, sharing my thoughts.
All throughout the day, we walked and trotted and cantered the horses, pressing as hard as we dared without foundering them. We rounded the base of the mountain range, keeping eyes and ears alert for pursuit, increasing our pace when needed. The distant snow-covered peak that was our destination seemed to rotate with our progress, showing us a different face.
General Tsieh had reckoned we could gain the Stone Forest in a hard day's ride, but by the time the light began to fade, I was beginning to doubt. Bao and Ten Tigers Dai argued in low tones about whether or not to press on in darkness and risk missing the Stone Forest altogether.
"If we had lanterns, we could see in the dark," Dai said bitterly. "Tortoise wanted to bring lanterns."
"If we carried lanterns, we might as well announce our presence to any waiting sentries." There was a raw edge to Bao's voice. "Do you imagine I grieve for Tortoise any less than you? He was the first to swear loyalty to me."
Dai's eyes blazed. "And look where it got him!" The princess flinched at the words. Dai looked mortified.
"Stop, both of you." I knew it was only exhaustion and frayed nerves that made them quarrel. "Think. If I call the twilight, I can see—" I stopped, staring into the distance. "A campfire."
"That won't—" Bao began.
"No." I pointed. A tiny spark of flame lit the dusk. "There's a camp-fire ahead of us." Inspiration struck me. "My friend, you know this terrain," I said to the dragon, holding an image of our location in my thoughts. "Are we near the Stone Forest?"
Yes, he said promptly. Very near.
"That's the entrance to the approach, then," Bao mused. "And those will be Lord Jiang's sentries." He and Dai exchanged a glance.
"Only a few," I reminded him. "General Tsieh said there would be others hidden in the maze."
"Uh-huh." Bao plucked his staff loose from the straps that tied it across his back, whipping it over his shoulder. His teeth shone whitely in the dusk as he flashed his battle-grin, harder and fiercer than usual. "And maybe we can slip past them. But these are the ones guarding the entrance. And Dai and I can approach them unsuspected, seeming to be their fellows. Noble Princess, I beg you to let us deal with them. You and the dragon dare not risk yourselves unnecessarily. Not now, with so much at stake."
"Others will come, drawn by the commotion," Snow Tiger warned him.
"Perhaps," he said simply. "If they do, it will make it easier for you and Moirin and her magic to evade them. We will hold them off for you as long as we can. Perhaps they will never know you were there."
Dai nodded.
"No. No, no, no." Realizing they were speaking of sacrificing themselves, I shivered. "There must be another way. Let me think. If we wait….. can we afford to wait? If we wait for full darkness, the others waiting on the mountain will be forced to fumble their way blind, or announce their presence with lanterns and torches. I can summon the twilight and lead you past them."
I can guide you if I am allowed to see, the dragon added.
"So be it," the princess murmured.
We waited.
I hated every nerve-racking minute of it. Waiting and waiting, while dusk deepened to velvety darkness. Listening, ears pricked, for sounds of pursuit. Staring at the distant campfire, trying to count the flickering shadows of the figures around it.
No less than four, no more than six.
"Oh, you should have posted more sentries, Lord Jiang-buggering-Quan," Bao crooned, stroking his staff lovingly. "You should have been more clever, Master Lo's no-good, ambitious son. And now you will pay."
"For Tortoise," Dai added.
"For Tortoise," Bao agreed.
Snow Tiger was silent. I knew her well enough to know that the slaughter of innocent, misguided men troubled her. And I knew her well enough to know that she had gauged the necessity of this moment and consented to it; and that knowing it must be done, she would rather take the burden of it on herself. But Bao was right, the stakes were too high. She dared not risk herself unless it was absolutely necessary.
Once the darkness was absolute, Bao jerked his chin at Dai. The two of them rode forward, clad in battered armor borrowed from dead men who had served Lord Jiang. The princess and I trailed behind them at a discreet distance.
Jiang's sentries sprang to their feet at the sound of unexpected hoof-beats in the night, nocking arrows. They relaxed and lowered their weapons as Bao and Dai rode into the circle of their campfire's light and dismounted.
"Hey, brothers!" one called. "Well met. What news from the battlefront?"
"For you, my brother? Death." With casual grace, Bao whipped one end of his staff at the soldier's head. There was a dull thudding crack, like a melon being split open upon rocks. The soldier slumped bone-lessly to the ground.
It went fast.
They were good, Bao and Dai, and they were angry. They fought well and swiftly and hard, taking down all six sentries. I didn't blame them. I, too, grieved for Tortoise, who had always seemed too humble and kind for the lifestyle he had chosen. Homely Tortoise, first to swear loyalty, first to embrace the impossible romance of our quest. In his honor, I made myself watch Bao and Dai avenge his death. Jiang Quan's men got out a few shouts of warning, but not many.
Answering shouts came from the mountainside above them, and scrambling sounds.
The princess leaned over in the saddle and touched my arm. "Now, Moirin. We must go."
"Aye, my lady." I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and nudged my mount hard with my heels. He leapt forward willingly. We rode into the circle of firelight where six men lay dead, and two living ones leaned on their staves, breathing hard.
