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.
The quiet voice replied with intense relief. "Yes, Lady, I am here. No! Don't move yet. Help is coming."
Gabria obeyed willingly. She lay still on the cold, hard ground and felt the rain pounding on her body. Tam had to be shielding her face, but Gabria could not see.
The sorceress reached out for the girl's hand. "Tam, where is the gorthling?"
"He's gone,” Tam answered excitedly. "The lightning you threw disintegrated him! There isn't even a finger left."
Gabria could not help but smile. Tam had certainly found her tongue in the midst of all the chaos.
Another person joined them, and a familiar voice said, "Gabria, let me help you." The clan priestess of Amara wrapped a warm cloak around the sorceress and very carefully eased her to a sitting position.
"Can you stand?" the priestess asked.
Gabria swal owed hard and shook her head. Pain and nausea coursed through her head and her stomach. Every muscle she had was trembling. She felt as weak and blind as a newborn kitten.
"Never mind. Sit here a moment," the priestess told her. "I wil tend to the others."
Gabria heard her walk toward the place where Athlone had fallen. Nara came to stand upwind of the sorceress to block some of the wild wind and rain that lashed across the island. Tam still held her cloak over Gabria's head.
"Nara, are Athlone and Sayyed badly hurt?"
They are exhausted, but wil recover, I believe.
Gabria turned her sightless eyes toward the mare. "Your thoughts are strained. You sound weary.
Are you all right?"
I am very weak. The strength needed to protect us from the lightning was almost more than I had.
The woman reached out and felt the mare's strong foreleg. "Thank you, Nara."
The mare nickered like a gentle laugh . It was a good battle. The gorthling is gone, and we are stil here.
Gabria sighed. "What is going on out there? Is a healer coming to help Athlone and Sayyed? Afer's leg is broken. Is anyone coming to help him?"
Tam answered, her young voice high with anger. "The priests and priestesses will not allow any more uninitiated onto the island, but they won't cross the river themselves to help. Only the priestess of Amara from your clan had the courage to come."
Gabria's anger stirred sluggishly in her thoughts. She and her companions had faced death to save the clans, but now that they needed help, the people would not even come to their aid. Her nausea faded a little, and she sat up straighter, stirred by resentment.
Before she could think of a suitable angry response, an image of what she had done came to her mind. Her anger retreated while she considered how the entire arcane battle must have looked from the clans' point of view. They were probably terrified out of their wits.
Gabria realized she had an excel ent opportunity to make a positive impression on her stubborn, skeptical, suspicious people. They had seen the horror of the gorthling's cruelty and the terror of his magic. Now she could show them the other side of magic: the pleasure of victory and the comfort of healing.
Strengthened by her resolve, Gabria painfully pulled herself up Nara's iron-strong foreleg until she was standing, dizzy and gasping, by the mare's shoulder. The cold rain poured down her face, but she did not care. She concentrated on staying upright, gritting her teeth against the exhaustion that rocked her, and held on grimly to Nara's mane.
A strong arm was laid across her shoulders and steadied her.
The priestess's calm voice said, "Gabria, please. You need to rest."
The sorceress refused. "Not yet. Where is Athlone?"
"I'm here." Lord Athlone's voice was strained, but steady. It sounded wonderful to Gabria. He walked wearily around the big mare to say something more and hesitated when he saw Gabria and the strange expression on her face. Her eyes were closed tightly, and her head was tilted to one side in a concentrated effort to hear.
"Are you hurt?" Gabria asked the chieftain.
"Just a knock on the head, but I feel exhausted,” He rubbed his temples and looked around, bleary-eyed. "What happened?"
Tam replied, "The sorceress destroyed Branth with a lightning bolt."
"Good gods,” he exclaimed.
At that moment, the King Stal ion cantered through the water to the island and pranced up to the smal group. The Hunnuli herd gathered behind him, their black coats glistening in the rain.
"Athlone,” Gabria whispered. "Help me up."
Willingly the chieftain gave her a leg up onto Nara's back and stood aside to watch as the tall, slim woman turned to face the huge stallion.
The black Hunnuli shook his mane. You have done wel , Sorceress.
Gabria gestured to the herd. "Thank you for your help. It means more than I can ever say."
Valorian would be proud. Suddenly he lifted his great nose to her face. His nostrils flared gently . Are your eyes hurt?
"I cannot see," she
