Gabria frowned in frustration. "I really don't know. He can't leave the island, but I still don't know how to send him back to Sorh's realm. Nothing I do works!" She glanced the temple. "Sayyed, are you all right?"
The Turic answered without his usual humor. "We are safe for the moment."
Tam and the colt trotted up the bank and hurried into temple to join Sayyed. He seemed relieved to see her, so Gabria merely shook her head and let the girl stay for the moment. Tam was already slipping out of the temple to help Afer free his leg, and several Hunnuli from the herd were coming to join her.
Tam would be well protected.
The gorthling saw the Hunnuli coming, too, and his anger rekindled. He could still slaughter these people and drive away the infuriating horses. Abruptly he ended the respite and fired a bolt at Athlone, hoping to catch the chief unprepared. To his fury, the man’s big stal ion stopped the magic on his powerful chest.
“Give up, you feeble humans. You wil never defeat me,” the gorthling taunted. "I will be here forever! As long as there are bodies to inhabit. No one has ever conquered the gorthlings of Sorh."
“You're forgetting Valorian,” Athlone retorted, "and Matrah. He shot a blue bolt at the gorthling's defense shield.
His blast exploded harmlessly, but his words set off a small spark of thought in Gabria's mind. Like a streak of lightning, the thought burst into an incandescent inspiration.
She slapped the heavy bag at her side. "That's it! Of course. Valorian knows!" she cried. The diamond splinter in her wrist flared from her excited burst of energy.
Athlone stared at her sudden transformation. "What are you talking about?"
"The mask!" she said, trying to keep her voice down. "Quick, Athlone, Tam! Get into the temple and join Sayyed."
The little girl had just released Afer's broken leg from the rocks, so she patted the injured horse and hurried to obey, leaving him with the other Hunnuli.
Athlone hesitated. "What are you planning?"
"If Branth can summon something from the realm of the dead, so can I," Gabria replied excitedly.
"Not another gorthling."
"Of course not. I'm going to try to use the power in the mask to summon Valorian. If I am successful, he can tell us how to rid ourselves of that beast."
Athlone was awestruck by the simplicity and audacity of her plan. Valorian. My gods! Athlone thought. Without another word he took Eurus into the temple.
Gabria loosed two quick bolts at the ground by the gorthling's shield. As they exploded in a cloud of dirt and gravel, she and Nara hurried through the ring of stones after Athlone and joined the group of people in the center of the temple.
Before the gorthling could retaliate, Sayyed lowered his shield and renewed it around the entire group, including Nara, Eurus, and the colt.
"By the gods," Wer-tain Guthlac said to his chief, "I'm glad to see you!" He instinctively ducked when the gorthling fired a blast at the shield.
The other hostages stared at Gabria in confusion and hope. She gave them what she hoped was a confident smile and untied the bag from her belt. The mask felt heavy in her hands. She turned to Athlone and said, "I will not be able to help you maintain the shield while I do this spel . You, Sayyed, and Tam will have to protect us all."
He grinned. "Gladly."
Her green eyes sparkled at his reply. "Two months ago I would never have thought you would say that."
"You've taught me well," the chieftain replied.
He went to stand by Sayyed and Tam, and the three joined their wills together to hold the magical shield around the beleaguered group. The gorthling shrieked in rage. He fired more arcane blasts at the shield to try to weaken it, but for now, the three magic-wielders held it firm.
Gabria slid to the ground and leaned back against Nara. The mare curved her neck around Gabria and nickered softly. In the memory of my sires, Valorian was a tall man, dark-haired, proud, kind, and fearless. Bend your wil toward him through the mask. Perhaps he wil hear you.
The sorceress bowed her head. She did not know a formal spel for summoning a being from the realm of the immortals, so she would have to create one of her own. Nara's suggestion sounded as plausible as any idea she might decide upon. She straightened and turned to face the flat stone altar on the eastern side of the temple.
The hostages watched her in growing amazement. The clanspeople on the riverbanks who could see her muttered among themselves, wondering what was happening.
The sorceress studied the stones stil standing around her. Legends said that Valorian dwelled with the gods, beyond the realm of the dead. What better place from which to summon him than a sacred temple? If there was any place on the Dark Horse Plains where the world of man touched the unseen realm of the gods, the Tir Samod was it.
"Amara, give me strength," Gabria prayed.
Reverently, she held the golden mask up to the sky. As the sunlight sparkled on the enigmatic face, the mask tingled in her hands.
Gabria closed her eyes. One by one, she focused on the sounds around her---the curses of the gorthling as it struggled to break through their defenses, the murmur of the hostages behind her, the click of the horses' hooves on stone, the ripple of the rivers-and one by one, she shut them out of her mind until there was only a vast silence.
Into the silence she sent her plea to Valorian. She bent her wil into the magic of the mask and called him with every fiber of her being. The world around her seemed to recede until she was floating in a limitless, lightless, ethereal realm beyond the bounds of her earthly senses. She went without fear into the darkness and continued to cal Valorian with her heart, mind, and soul.
Time passed, although Gabria did not feel it. Her mind was wrapped around the image of a tall, dark-haired warrior with a cleft chin and the look of eagles in his face. She had to find him. The safety of his people depended upon it.
Her summons went on without pause until, far ahead in the horizonless distance, she saw a light appear like sunlight through a crack. Gabria moved instinctively toward it, staring at the brilliant, shimmering golden radiance until its power filled her being and tested the measure of her spirit. A warm sense of comfort and familiarity enveloped her.
The mask shifted in her hands. The light vanished, and the sounds of the world rushed back. Around the island the Hunnuli horses neighed a trumpeting welcome. Gabria was so surprised she opened her eyes and looked at the mask.
The most vivid pair of blue eyes she had ever seen looked back at her.
The death mask twitched, stretched, and the mouth suddenly lifted into a smile. "I have come, Daughter. As you have asked." The golden face spoke in a voice both powerful and kind. Its words rang out over the island and were heard as far away as the riverbanks.
Gabria nearly dropped the mask in astonishment. She had not known what to expect when she tried to summon Valorian. She had only used the mask as a focal point for her spell. She raised the mask up again.
A question formed in her mind, but she could not bring herself to ask if this truly was the Hero-Warrior from the clans' distant past.
The mask glowed with a pure radiance, the same light Gabria realized she had seen in her mind. "I am he whom you have cal ed. I am the essence of the man once named Valorian.”
For a moment, Gabria was overcome with joy and awe and an overwhelming desire to cry and laugh at the same time. "I can't believe you have come," she said, trying to calm her' shaking hands.
"Your power is strong, my daughter. Your need must be great."
"Forgive me, Lord. I have to ask you something that only you can tell me."
"I will listen. But ask your question quickly. I cannot stay long in this world."
Gabria shot a glance at the three magic-wielders. Sayyed, already weary and injured, was concentrating fiercely on the spell, and it was obvious to her that he was tiring fast. Tam was ashen, and even Athlone was beginning to look strained. The shield was a difficult spell to maintain, even without the added strains br
ought on by the gorthling's constant barrage of destructive magic.
Quickly she turned back to the death mask and looked boldly into the eternal blue eyes. "My lord, one of the Geldring men has summoned a gorthling."
The mask frowned. "How?"
"With a spell from the Book of Matrah."
"Those spells should be stricken from all human knowledge. There are some things best left alone by man. Where is this gorthling now?"
"Here. It possessed the man's body and came to our clan gathering. My lord Valorian, I am the only magic-wielder with any training to speak of, but I don't know how to destroy it."
Valorian gazed at her with compassion. "No human, no matter how skil ed, has enough power to force a gorthling back through the portal between the world of mortals and the eternal world."
Gabria turned cold. "It has to be done," she cried. "How do we get rid of him?"
"Only one thing in your world has the power to open a passage and force the creature back through."
"What?"
The mask lifted its eyes to the sky. "The power of the lightning,” he said simply.
Gabria's mouth dropped open. She was aghast. "Lightning? But no one can withstand the fury of the gods' thunderbolts."
"You are a magic-wielder, a daughter of my blood. Do you travel with a Hunnuli?"
She nodded.
“Astride a Hunnuli, you wil be protected. They bear the mark of the lightning for good reason.
Their sire, my stallion, was transformed by the lightning into the first of that noble breed of horses.”
"Lord Valorian,” Gabria said, trying to stay calm, "I cannot create a storm. Where do I find lightning on a clear day?"
"If there are more than one Hunnuli with you, they can summon a storm and its lightning."
The golden light began to fade from the mask, and the blue eyes dimmed. Valorian's expression relaxed, then stiffened into the one the mask had worn when Gabria found it.
"Valorian, my lord,” Gabria begged desperately. "What do I do with the power of the lightning?"
"I must go, Daughter,” Valorian said sadly. "Use the lightning to send. . . it . . . back."
A faint echo followed the final words, as if they had been spoken across a great and hollow distance. Then the mask was still and lifeless once more. Gabria stared at the golden face and willed it to speak again, but it was too late. Valorian was gone, beyond her reach.
"How do I wield lightning?" she cal ed in despair to the voiceless stones. There was no answer here, she knew, and now there was no more time. The gorthling was using a fierce blue barrage against the shield protecting the little group. Already the force field was beginning to waver. Sayyed looked ready to pass out, and Athlone's teeth were clenched as he concentrated.
"Hold on!" Gabria cried to her friends. "Nara,” she yelled over the noise of the gorthling's attack.
"Call the King Stallion. Tell him to summon a storm.”
Beyond the island, the King Stal ion replied with a strident neigh. We have not called the lightning in generations of our kind. We wil try.
The ring of black horses abruptly lifted their muzzles to the sky. The Hunnuli on the island, even the colt and the wounded Afer, joined their silent communion with the air. Only Nara and Eurus did not include themselves in the cal , deciding instead to keep alert in case their riders needed their aid.
To the Hunnuli's advantage, the afternoon was perfect for a storm. The day's heat and a humid wind had already formed billowing clouds in the blue sky, and several little rain squalls patterned the far horizons. As the Hunnuli herd concentrated their power, darker clouds began to gather overhead; the rain squalls moved closer. The horses strained, but the ability they had inherited from their sires served them well.
Gradual y the sky grew dark, and a tremendous thunderhead reared out of the forefront of an angry mass of gray clouds. The sun was blotted out, and lightning flickered in the storm's turbulent heart.
The gorthling looked up, and fear shone clearly on Branth's face. That fear did not distract him long, though, and he did not miss the events unfolding in the circle of stones.
"Gabria,” Athlone suddenly yel ed. "Sayyed passed out. The shield is failing!"
The sorceress jumped on Nara's back just as the gorthling shattered the magic field. With a wild screech of triumph Branth fired a blast at the chieftain through the breach.
Athlone was too exhausted to defend against it. He saw the bolt coming and leaned into Eurus's side. The stal ion reared up and took the blast on his shoulder, but the violent movement of the stallion and the explosion of power slammed Athlone backward. He crashed to the rocky ground where he lay motionless.
Tam, exhausted beyond bearing, mental y cal ed the Hunnuli that stood by Afer, and two of them immediately joined Eurus to defend the fal en men.
The gorthling turned away. He could not get near the fallen chieftain or the Turic as long as the Hunnuli stood over them, but that did not matter. Neither man would be any more trouble.
Gabria had not moved from the temple. She and Nara stood between the gorthling and the hostages. Behind her she heard Lord Wortan and Wer-tain Guthlac trying to calm the terrified prisoners.
Gabria kept her gaze pinned on Branth. The wind was starting to roar through the temple, and thunder rumbled across the sky. The herd of Hunnuli stirred from their motionless concentration and neighed their victory to the oncoming storm.
The gorthling began to edge warily into the temple, his cruel eyes fastened on Gabria and her mount.
The sorceress stared at him implacably and made no move to attack. She had only one idea for what she would do with the lightning. If that did not work, she would not have a chance to try anything else. She sat still on Nara, feeling the powerful heat of the Hunnuli warm her legs; her fingers touched the jagged white mark on Nara's shoulder.
As it had in Pra Desh when Gabria had fought the fire consuming the palace, the magic around the sorceress was intensifying with the power of the storm. She knew the enhanced power would help her, but it could also aid the gorthling. Quickly and precisely she began to form her spell in her mind, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The gorthling stepped between two stone pillars. "Valorian was wrong, Sorceress," he hissed.
"Nothing can send me back. Get ready to die!"
Gabria did not reply. Lightning flashed overhead, and she felt the split-second surge of power in the air. Lightning happened so fast, she would have to act instinctively. Branth took another step forward and raised his hands to the sky.
Gabria! Nara cried in the woman's mind and leaped sideways not a moment too soon. A sizzling bolt of Trymian Force slammed down on the spot where they had been standing.
The gorthling was using the intensified magic to his full advantage.
Gabria threw herself to the right as another of the gorthling's bolts seared past her. Another blast and another. They were so fast, hot, and deadly that Gabria could not concentrate on her own spel ; it took her ful attention to dodge the wicked bolts. The sorceress did not dare form a defense shield for fear of using too much of her depleted strength. She could only rely on the agility and protection of her mount.
Big drops of rain spattered on the warm rocks nearby. A lightning streak exploded on a tree across the river near the Jehanan camp, followed instantly by a deafening clap of thunder. The storm was moving, and Gabria knew she only had a brief time before the lightning was too far away. Yet the moment to attack was stil not right.
The gorthling fired another bolt at her. It struck the ground at Nara's feet, shattering the rocks and sending gravel and splinters flying. The mare reared away, her motion nearly unseating Gabria.
The gorthling began to laugh, a rude, wicked sound that reflected his arrogance. The sorceress would never destroy him, for in a moment she would be dead.
Frantically Gabria struggled to regain her balance. She saw the gorthling draw his hands back. At the same time, a tingling skittered across her sk
in and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. She felt more than saw the power that surged around her, concentrating its energy on the tal est stone pil ar near the altar to her right. This was even better than she had hoped for. The woman closed her mind to al but her spel and let her instincts guide her.
Lightning struck the top of the great stone monolith, its incredible energy searing the very air. The gorthling flinched away, but Gabria put her trust in the natural protective powers of the Hunnuli and reached out for the streaking energy.
In one fluid movement, she snared the lightning bolt and wrenched it from its natural path into her hand. She felt the incredible power surge through every fiber, bone, and hair of both her body and Nara's, and she saw the mare glimmer with a greenish white glow. Surprisingly the bolt felt warm and soft in Gabria's hand. She swung around and threw the lightning like a javelin, using every bit of strength she had left.
The blue-white bolt split the air to the gorthling and struck his body in a blinding explosion of light, sparks, and heat.
Gabria's vision went black and red with pain. She heard the gorthling's high-pitched screech of despair and hatred, fol owed by a tremendous crash of thunder. At that same instant, the backlash of the lightning's energy slammed into her and Nara. The Hunnuli staggered under the explosive force, and Gabria was flung to the wet, cold ground.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The sound of thunder faded from Gabria's ears, and she became aware of a persistent, needle-sharp pain behind her eyes. It brought her out of her state of shock and back to reality. She opened her eyes for just a moment and saw nothing but blackness and red shooting streaks. A tremor fluttered in her chest. She was blind!
She forced down her terror and concentrated instead on a small, calm voice that was speaking softly near her ear. The voice was unfamiliar, but something about its gentle tone was soothing.
"Tam?" she whispered out of the dark. She tried to sit up, but every bone and muscle in her body sent up a painful protest.
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