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its continued sweep across the land, though it had infected a good quarter of their territory. Their healers
and wisewomen had been working hard to find a remedy something to clear the lep-rous land once
more so far to no purpose.
There were Skritek loose, invading brazenly as they had in Voltrik's day. A skirmish had already been
fought, resulting in a draw with Uisgu deaths. But the Drowners seemed eager to go west
mountainward and though trailed now by Uisgu warriors they did not attempt to turn aside from the
path they had chosen to wreak any more damage on the already suffering land and people.
Also, the Uisgu had noted that now they could travel even across the diseased land without appar-ent
danger, though they detoured when they could to clean territory. Perhaps whatever granted them safety
did not hold for long.
"We cross the Nothar," Lamaril announced. "Then turn west. The land is better there and we can move
faster."
"The one of Varm?" Kadiya asked.
"He moves on this side of the river, or so it was dreamed."
"How swiftly?" the girl demanded.
He did not have time to answer that. There was a squalling cry which seemed to split the sky above
them. Kadiya had never heard such a noise before. It was menace given voice, hunger, rage
They were on their feet, the Hassitti huddled in around them, weapons swung up and out.
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The screech tormented their ears for a second time. Kadiya had been looking skyward since it seemed
to come from that direction. Now there was a wavering of the brush on the far side of the island on which
they were camped, vigorous enough to be clearly seen through the dusk.
21
The thing sprang out of hiding with a leap. It did not tower over them but the width of its body made it a
monster such as Kadiya had never heard described by hunters, and the mouth which gaped wide to give
vent to another screech was nearly as vast as a doorway.
Rolls of warty hide almost hid the red eyes, which were well to the top of its vast head. And there
gushed forth from it such a stench as was an assault in itself.
The two forelegs were bowed outward and it plopped to a stand, its gray paunch barreling out between
them. Those forelegs ended in huge webbed paws.
This was a nightmare the more so because Ka-diya now recognized its origin. There were dwellers in
the water rooted reeds, no larger than her hand, which resembled this monster.
Out of that cavern of a mouth snapped a rope of tongue, thick and patched with slime. It shot straight for
one of the Hassitti and would have trapped that little one, save that Lamaril moved with the speed of a
trained swordsman and swung his rod so that it struck full against that menace of a tongue.
There was a flash. The tongue jerked high. Down its length ran a fiery ribbon of green-blue.
That fire struck the monster's face only a finger length away from one of the eyes. The whole body of the
thing tensed. Kadiya had only a breath of time to throw herself to one side, carrying Salin with her,
before it rose for another leap, one which would bring its giant weight down upon the whole party.
There came a scream from the sky overhead. Then Kadiya was sent flying by the huge paw which
scraped against her as the monster landed. She fell facedown, dazed. A din arose behind her as she
scrabbled in the moist soil to bring herself up and around.
What she saw through blurred vision was a battle-field indeed. Not only was the toad monster in ac-tion
but from the sky over their heads voor were zooming in. They were not huge, but even voor of ordinary
size were able to raise and carry an Odd-ling, bearing off any such captive to tear at it as they flew.
She fumbled for the sword. Without a point, it was of no use as a blade. Her hope was that the Power
would come making it a potent weapon.
But it did not warm in her hand; there was no life in it the eyes were near closed.
Flashes from the weapon rods of the Sindona laced back and forth. The toad thing bellowed, raised a
foot high, and crashed it down. Kadiya stiff-ened in shock as she saw it beat one of the Hassitti into the
mud.
Then as sharp as a battle shout a word struck into her mind:
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"Illusion!"
She had scuttled out of range of that foot. The tongue hung in a limp loop from the creature's mouth,
though the end of it wriggled like a ser-pent's severed length.
"Illusion!"Again that imperative signal.
How could there be any illusion to this? She could see one Hassitti leg still protruding from un-der that
paw. There were darts in the monster's skin and from the sky another voor planed down, its deadly
talons ready for a strike.
She sighted Lalan with three other of the Sindona. They were making no effort to avoid that strike from
above. Were they indeed captive to some illusion?
Kadiya found voice at last: " 'Ware voor!"
None of them raised head to look at that at-tacker. The thing had winged close enough now that its
claws were closing about Lalan's helmet. Though the Sindona might be too great a burden to bear
skyward, the voor's talons could kill.
"Illusion!"For the third time that mind word.
Kadiya clenched her hold on the useless sword. The voor's claws had closed about Lalan's neck. The
foul thing was beating its wings heavily, striving to rise with its prey. Yet the woman's hands did not raise
her rod to beat it off, nor did she move.
Illusion? Kadiya's one hand went to her breast.
The amulet! She tugged now at the chain, dragged it out into the open, and held the amber drop to her
forehead, lifting the mask helm. Why she did so she could not have told save that it seemed she must.
There was a sudden rending pain as if the amulet had the Power to cleave its way into her very skull.
Her sight blurred and then cleared.
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