TWENTY-SIX
Wurme-killer
"We must leave here," Collun said. "Now."
Brie shook her head. "You are not ready to travel. The burns—"
"It doesn't matter. She will come for us. She may even be on her way."
"Surely Medb could not yet know about the Firewurme."
"We can't be certain," Collun argued. "She has many spies. Or she may even have felt it when the Wurme died. She has great powers."
Nessa's eyes had grown wide and staring. She was again clenching and unclenching her hands. "Medb come here?" she said in a whisper. "We must escape. We must get away!" The girl's voice was edged with hysteria.
Brie looked from brother to sister and shook her head. "We can try," she said finally.
They quickly prepared to depart. Collun placed the cailceadon shard in his wallet of herbs. Brie used up the last of the mallow making a large batch of the burn paste. Then she hastened to the entrance of the cave to call for Fiain. The Ellyl horse was already heading toward them.
But halfway there, Fiain slowed. He came to a stop and lifted his head into the air.
"Something is wrong," Brie said uneasily.
Then they all heard it. The familiar, unmistakable caw.
"What is it?" Nessa whispered in fear.
"A scald-crow. One of Medb's spies," answered Collun.
Brie crouched low, carefully peering out.
"There are three of them. They are circling the Wurme. Like vultures," she said.
The cries became louder.
"They have spotted Fiain," Brie told them. Collun let out a sound and tried to get to his feet. But he fell back, his face white with pain.
"One of the birds is splitting off, heading south."
"To Rathcroghan and its queen," said Collun grimly. "And Fiain?"
"Another is flying after him, but Fiain is too fast for it. He is heading south. I can barely see him now. I do not see the third bird anywhere." She scanned the sky for several moments, then crossed to Collun with a look of concern.
There was a sudden whirring of wings and a rush of cold air. In the dim light of the cave Collun could see only the bloodred eyes of the scald-crow as it bore down on him.
He grabbed his dagger with his unburnt hand and flattened himself against the wall of the cave. The bird rushed by within a fingernail of his scalp.
The scald-crow circled and dived again. Collun's blade made an arc in the air. The Cailceadon Lir glowed. There came a keening scream and then a thud as the bird hit the ground. A thin stream of blood spilled from the scald-crow's torn breast.
Collun let go of the dagger. He was trembling violently. Nessa cried without a sound, and a pale-faced Brie stared down at the fallen bird.
Then they heard hooves on rock, and Fiain appeared in the entrance to the cave. The Ellyl horse was breathing hard and frothing at the corners of his mouth. There was no sign of the scald-crow that had been following him.
Brie and Nessa quickly helped Collun onto Fiain, and with Nessa mounted behind her brother and Brie holding fast to her, they left the cave.
As they passed the head of the dead Firewurme, Collun stared with a sick fascination, unable to believe he had actually killed such a vast and evil creature.
A deep rumble of thunder echoed across the small island, and when Fiain's hooves splashed into the causeway, an ear-numbing crack split the darkening sky. Fiain broke into a gallop, sending up sheets of water that soaked them through.
By the time the Ellyl horse reached the mainland, the darkness had thickened around them. Rattling cracks of thunder continued to follow close upon each other, but there was no lightning and no rain. Fiain sped along the banks of the River Omagh, and Brie had to cling tightly to Nessa's back to keep from falling off.
When the Isle of Thule was well behind them, Fiain slowed his pace. Collun sank onto the horse's neck, his mind numbed by pain. But when he felt Fiain's thoughts probing into his, he urged him to continue on.
The sky grew so dark it was difficult to tell exactly when night fell. They couldn't see the moon or a single star.
When they came to the abandoned hut by the river, where Collun and Brie had sheltered during the snowstorm, they finally halted. Collun was barely conscious.
"We will stop here," said Brie.
Collun let out a thin moan as they helped him to dismount. "Medb...," he muttered.
"We need rest," Brie responded.
Inside the hut they shared Mealladh's apple, then slept for an hour. Fiain kept watch outside.
Before they set out again, Brie touched Collun's forehead with her hand.
"You are burning."
Collun shook his head. "We must keep going."
They rode on. A gray, feeble dawn came, and over the course of the day the darkness did finally dissipate. That night they could see a few stars and the sliver of a new moon.
Collun remained conscious as they traveled on, but he did not seem to hear when they spoke to him. His body pulsed with pain, and it was difficult not to scream at every step Fiain took.
Not long after nightfall they came to one of the deserted Scathian villages Collun and Brie had passed through before.
Brie called out for Fiain to stop. She and Nessa again helped Collun to dismount. The only sign that he was conscious was his open eyes.
Brie and Nessa went around the empty village gathering kindling. Then Brie went off, bow in hand, and Nessa set about making a fire, with Collun slumped beside her. Fiain struck off on his own, in search of something to eat.
It was a relief to be still, Collun thought as he watched Nessa's clumsy attempts to kindle a flame. Moving carefully, Collun extracted one of the last of the lasan sticks from his jersey pocket. He rubbed it across the rough surface of a rock and handed it to Nessa, who took it gratefully.
In the brief flaring of light from the lasan, Collun thought he saw a movement in the shadows of the deserted buildings. He leaned forward, body tense, and tried to focus on the spot.
"What is it?" Nessa asked.
Collun didn't answer but continued to stare until his eyes felt hot and strained. He did not see it again.
Brother and sister waited by the fire. Collun dozed.
He came awake with a start. Nessa was asleep beside him. The fire had burned down to a handful of pale orange-gray embers. Collun moved stiffly, suppressing a moan. Where was Brie? And Fiain? The darkness pressed around them.
Suddenly he heard a hissing sound. It didn't come from the fire but from somewhere out in the darkness.
"Brie?" he called faintly. Nessa woke with a start. Several moments passed. And then it came again. A distinct, sibilant noise. Nessa clutched Collun's arm.
"Morgs," Collun whispered in dread. Then the clouds covering the new moon moved away and they could see.
There were dozens of them. Shrouded in their cloaks, the morgs looked like ghosts standing among the shadowed, deserted buildings.
Nessa let out a cry. Brie was being led toward them, a morg on either side of her. There was blood on the side of her face. In her hand she carried the two halves of her broken bow.
There were morgs all around them now. Collun barely had time to pull himself to his feet before they were on him. His arms were wrenched behind his back, and he could not restrain a scream as rope bit into his mangled wrist and arm.
Collun, Brie, and Nessa were quickly and tightly bound. The morg that seemed to be the leader bent over Collun. His yellow eyes rested on the dagger sheathed at Collun's waist. The morg grabbed it and held up the blade triumphantly. A wave of horror washed over Collun.
The sky had lightened almost imperceptibly. Dawn was approaching. The morg quickly stowed the dagger in the folds of his cloak. Then he began searching through Collun's clothing.
"Hurry. The sun comes," hissed the morg beside him.
The first morg's hand came upon Collun's wallet of herbs, and eagerly he began to unfasten it.
Suddenly there came a noise in the near distance.
"What is that?" the morg said, whipping his hooded face around.
"Horses," said the second morg.
And as the sun blinked on the horizon, Fiain galloped into the deserted village. Behind him was a phalanx of Eirrenian soldiers on horseback.
The morg leader grabbed the wallet of herbs, breaking the cord around Collun's neck. He called out to the others, and the creatures scattered, fleeing in all directions. Collun watched in dismay as the morg carrying his dagger and wallet of herbs darted away, disappearing between the ruined buildings.
Fiain let out a whinny and went in pursuit. Collun heard the morg's voice cry out, but suddenly a morg with an arrow in its breast fell heavily on him, crushing his burnt arm. He let out a cry and almost lost consciousness. When his head cleared, he discovered his vision was blocked by the morg's cloak.
Collun heaved his torso, trying in vain to move the inert body off him, but the motion was agonizing. All he could do was lie still and listen to the sounds of battle all around him—screams and grunts, metal clashing against metal. It was impossible to tell at first which way the battle was leaning, but gradually he thought the Eirrenians' voices began to take on a note of triumph.
Abruptly he felt the morg's body being pulled off him, and he was looking into the flushed and smiling face of a young dark-haired man. The youth bore a faint resemblance to Prince Gwynedd, and when he spoke the voice was almost identical.
"Are you hurt?"
Collun flinched as the youth began freeing him from his bonds.
"Burns," explained Collun in a husky voice. He slowly got to his feet. Nessa and Brie were approaching, accompanied by two Eirrenian soldiers.
"Nessa?!" said the young man who resembled Prince Gwynedd. "I cannot believe my eyes."
"Prince Kellean," Nessa responded in wonder. "Collun, Brie, this is Kellean, eldest of the king's sons."
But Kellean had shifted his gaze and was staring intently at Collun. "Is it possible? Are you ... the son of Cuillean?"
Collun nodded.
"Well met," said the prince with a broad smile. "Rumors were flying at the battlefront that the hero Cuillean had a son who lived and who would appear at the eleventh hour and turn the tide of the war. I confess I thought it superstitious nonsense. Though as it turned out, we needed no—"
Just then Fiain appeared. The Ellyl horse whickered, and slowly Collun crossed to him. Fiain led Collun through the deserted village to the body of a fallen morg.
Collun leaned down and turned the body over. There, clutched in the morg's three fingers, was Collun's dagger and wallet of herbs.
"Thank you, Fiain," Collun said quietly. He retrieved the items, giving an involuntary shudder as he brushed the clammy gray skin. He returned to the others.
Kellean was still speaking. "...After the invasion collapsed and Medb's forces had scattered, my father sent a squad of us west along the border to be sure all was indeed secure. We came across an Ellyl horse. He seemed to want us to follow him, so we did."
"Medb's invasion ... collapsed?" asked Collun in amazement.
"Yes. It happened when the darkness and the thunder came. We couldn't believe it at first."
Brie and Collun looked at each other.
The prince continued. "Medb's invasion was like an evil tide when it first began. There were thousands upon thousands of Scathians and morgs, all armed to the teeth and deadlier than any soldiers I have ever seen. They kept pushing southward. Our casualties were enormous. Even when reinforcements arrived, including a large army of Ellylon, it still looked hopeless.
"Then on the eve of the fourth day of fighting, the Scathian army faltered, becoming disorganized and uncertain. And when the thunder and the thick black clouds came, making night out of day, the Scathian army simply turned and fled. There was no explanation for their flight. It was not the retreat of a defeated army, for they had clearly held the upper hand until the darkness came. My father said it was as though someone was calling them home.
"We tried to get answers out of the few enemy soldiers we had captured and those too wounded to follow the rest. But the soldiers with weapons killed themselves before we could stop them, and the others refused to speak." The prince shook his head, his face clouded.
"The darkness came when we left Thule with Medb's chalcedony," said Collun.
"Chalcedony?"
"Yes. The Cailceadon Lir," Collun said. And with help from Brie and Nessa, he told the prince all that had befallen them, ending with the discovery of Medb's shard of the cailceadon.
When Collun had finished, the prince gave a low whistle. "I see now. Once Medb learned she had lost both Cailceadon Lir and Wurme, she knew she no longer had the power to conquer Eirren. And so she summoned her army home." Prince Kellean put a hand on Collun's shoulder.
"It appears the rumors were true. As your father, Cuillean, saved our country fifteen years ago, so have you saved us, Collun, Wurme-killer."