Tirnya stared at the creature. She was breathless. Her pulse pounded. Blood dripped from her sword. Finally, she wiped the sword clean on the grass and turned to face Enly again.

He was staring back at her, looking pale. But he nodded to her and even managed a thin smile. By then, though, Tirnya was already looking past him, her eyes widening, her mouth opening to shout a warning. Not that it would do any good. The snake she had killed might have been fast, but the eagle hurtling downward toward her father, its talons outstretched, its enormous beak open wide, was like a dark blur in the bright sky.

Their defenses against the great beasts conjured by the Mettai seemed to he holding. Grinsa remained vigilant for any sign that the Eandi sorcerers were going to try another of their spells, but he also watched as E'Menua, O'Tal, and the others kept the snakes and wolves and eagles at bay. Already the plain was littered with the bodies of those animals that had been killed, yet still more of the beasts advanced on them.

When the Fal'Borna saw that some of the animals had turned against the Eandi army, they cheered and began to sing a war song Grinsa had never heard before. Still he watched the sky, but he could also see that the Mettai were now more concerned with their own creatures than with the Qirsi army.

"This is the time to attack!" E'Menua shouted, looking first at Grinsa and then at the other two a'laqs. "We can finish them now!"

He was probably right, but Grinsa wasn't sure he wanted to see thousands slaughtered on the plain. He kept silent.

"Well?" E'Menua said, his voice rising further.

"Yes, all right!" O'Tal called back, even as he scanned the charred grasses for more of the snakes.

"I want shapers and fire wielders together!" E'Menua called, swiveling in his saddle to look behind him. "Shapers will ride with me; those with fire go with O'Tal." The a'laq looked over at Grinsa. "Stay with O'Tal. Use the fire against any spells that they send our way."

"All right," Grinsa said, still watching the Eandi.

One of the eagles that had been attacking the men of Stelpana wheeled away from the Eandi army, gliding over the battle plain. Several arrows jutted from its belly and chest, and when it flapped its wings it appeared to labor mightily. As it approached, one of the other eagles turned to intercept it.

Grinsa glanced at the a'laqs, but they were speaking to one another.

The second eagle circled once over the wounded bird, and then, with a sharp cry, it abruptly pulled in its wings and swooped toward it, raking its talons across the first bird's back. The wounded eagle let out a sharp scream, and when the second bird dove at it again, it flipped over in midair and met the assault with its own outstretched claws. The two eagles grabbed hold of one another, each tearing at the other with its beak, both of them flailing with their great wings, desperate to stay aloft.

By now their struggles had carried them closer to the Fal'Borna army, so that they were almost directly overhead.

"The wolves!"

Grinsa tore his eyes away from the birds in time to see that another line of blood wolves had almost reached the Qirsi army.

"A'Laq!" he called, not caring just then which of the three men heard him.

E'Menua reacted first. "Shapers!" he bellowed.

The pulse of shaping magic slammed into the wolves just as they reached the Fal'Borna, knocking their broken bodies backward and to the ground.

Another scream from the eagles drew their gazes toward the sky. The wounded bird seemed to be clinging to its foe. There was blood on its neck and breast, and one of its wings hung limply from its body, while the other beat fitfully and weakly against the breast of the second bird.

They continued to grapple with each other for another moment. Then the second bird released the first, letting it drop to the earth. Most of the Fal'Borna riders on the ground below had already started scrambling to get out from beneath the giant eagles, but not all of them made it. Several men and horses were crushed by the dying creature; others were sent sprawling by the impact.

And by the time the Qirsi and their leaders had recovered enough to take stock of what was happening, the snakes were almost upon them. A wave of serpents reached the riders all at once, some of them striking at men who had fallen to the ground, others going for the legs of horses.

One of them sank its fangs into the haunch of E'Menua's mount. The animal bucked ferociously, sending the a'laq flying. He landed hard on his side, rolled once, and was still.

Without bothering to reach for the power of any of the Qirsi around him, Grinsa crushed the snake's head with shaping magic. But E'Menua had landed near another of the serpents, and before Grinsa could do anything, this second beast struck at the a'laq, drawing blood from his side.

Grinsa killed this snake as well, though he knew that it was too late. Feeling sick to his stomach, he leaped down off his mount, killed a third snake that was slithering toward him, and then sprinted toward the a'laq.

A wolf lunged for him and he set the beast on fire with a thought, barely even breaking stride. Snakes and eagles and blood wolves were all around him, as if this were some terror visited upon him in his sleep. But he left it for the other Fal'Borna to fight them off.

He dropped to his knees beside the a'laq, laid his hands upon the wound from the serpent, and began to pour his healing magic into the man. The wound itself was nothing. But the venom nearly overwhelmed him. It was as cold as death and as bitter as tansy. Already it had spread through E'Menua's body, seeping into the man's heart.

"Don't," E'Menua said weakly. His eyes fluttered open and with a great effort he turned his head to look at Grinsa. He made a feeble attempt to push the Forelander's hands away. "Save your strength," he said. "I'm dead already. Fight the dark-eyes. Guard the others."

"I'm sorry, A'Laq," Grinsa said, his chest aching. He'd never liked E'Menua, any more than the man had liked him, but he'd come to respect him, and he knew that his death would be a terrible blow to all the people of his sept. "I should have kept you safe."

"I should have done that for myself." E'Menua stiffened, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. "Gods!" he gasped. After a moment the spasm appeared to pass. "You need to protect the rest," he said, barely strong enough to make his voice heard.

"I will, A'Laq. You have my word."

"And D'Pera. I love her. Tell her."

"You have my word on that, too."

E'Menua moved his head slightly, as if trying to nod. "You're a difficult man," he whispered. "But your word is good with me."

His body went rigid again, and this time he remained still.

Grinsa closed his eyes for just an instant. "Damn," he muttered.

He climbed to his feet and looked around him. A pair of Fal'Borna stood a short distance away, and several dead wolves and snakes lay nearby. He recognized the men as warriors from E'Menua's sept.

"You were protecting us?" Grinsa asked.

One of the men nodded, his eyes fixed on the body of the a'laq. "Is he dead?" the man asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry. The venom from that snake was too powerful. I couldn't save him."

The man swallowed, then nodded again. There appeared to be tears in his eyes, but Grinsa couldn't be certain because the man turned and quickly walked away. The other warrior remained there, still looking at E'Menua.

"I think there was another a'laq once, when I was a boy," he said. "But I don't remember."

"Q'Daer will lead us well," Grinsa said. "He's a good man, a strong man." The warrior nodded at this, and then he, too, walked away.

Grinsa could see that Qirsi warriors were still fighting off the Mettai's creatures, and at least a dozen of the great eagles still circled over the battle plain. Looking below them, he saw that Q'Daer and his small company had halted and were staring back at the Fal'Borna lines. The young Weaver might have been trying to spot his a'laq amid the obvious tumult in their ranks.