'So, if we'd a painted a picture for yer,' Biner went on, 'and made sure yer knew we'd be in the Black Lands again, complete with Demon Moon and crazy sorcery, what would yer have done, lass.
Decided not to go?'
'Don't be thilly,' Arlain said. 'Of courth, I'd thtill go! I haven't been flying in yearth! You couldn't have kept me off thith airthip with a whole army of Demon Moonth!'
She sniffed. 'But it thirtainly wouldn't have been impolite to
'Listen,' Leiria broke in. 'I don't know you all very well. Maybe this little bantering between you is just your normal way of facing a dangerous situation.'
She indicated the flowing curtain, which they were moments away from sailing through. 'But while you've been talking, we've getting closer to
Biner frowned at her. 'So? That was the plan, wasn't it, lass?'
'Yes,' Leiria said. 'But we weren't supposed to do it naked!'
Biner slapped his forehead. 'Damn! I fergot!'
He shouted orders and several big crewmen raced to break out several large kegs. It was a little too late, however, because they were just knocking the tops off the kegs when the airship sailed through the curtains and suddenly they were sweeping over a bleak landscape-a frozen plain pierced by huge, tortured black rock formations.
As they entered the Black Lands Leiria was wracked with sudden pain. Every joint and muscle ached and her head throbbed as if she'd been stricken by some dreaded plague. She heard Biner and Arlain moan and the harsh wrenching sound of a crewman coughing up his breakfast.
Safar had warned them about entering the Black Lands without a shield to protect them from the wild spells. He'd even provided them with the means to make one-the contents of the casks the crewmen had been opening.
Leiria forced herself off the steering deck, going down the gangway step by agonizing step, feeling as if she were carrying a heavy load of hot bricks on her shoulders.
She stumbled over the crewmen, who were writhing about the main deck, clutching their heads and calling for their mothers. When she came to the first cask she almost broke down, falling to her knees and cracking her head on the rim. Somehow she found strength and pulled herself up, blood streaming down her face from a cut. She dug out her tinder box, feeling like an old arthritic woman as she tried to light it.
Finally it caught, and she threw the entire tinder box into the cask, hurling herself backward just in time as flames and smoke exploded up and out.
Leiria stayed flat on her back, watching the smoke curl under the air bags, then flow around the sides until both balloons looked like immense white clouds. Gradually, as Safar's shield took affect, she felt better. For the second time in less than two hours, she thought she felt well enough to care if she lived.
She clambered to her feet, muttering, 'Damned flyers! Not a brain in their heads!'
The crewmen were also recovering and she set them to work tending the casks. They were to wait until the first barrel burned out, then light the next, and so on until someone told them to stop.
She returned to the steering deck, expecting to find Biner and Arlain waiting with shamed expressions and many apologies.
Instead she found them intent on the scene below.
Leiria's eyes widened when she saw what they were looking at. Beneath them was an immense army, drawn up under a thick steaming blanket of snow.
She heard camels bawling and the racket of armorers pounding out dents in shields.
Rising out of the center of the encampment was a snow-covered pavilion topped by a waving banner-the Demon Moon with the Comet rising.
Iraj had finally caught them!
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
'We're inside the machine, father!' Palimak shouted. But Safar had sensed the wrongness a moment before the boy's warning.
The air became very cold and gulls shrilled warnings overhead. The breeze coming off the sea carried the sudden stink of sorcery. Ahead of him the Spirit Rider wheeled her horse and charged away. Instinctively he knew this was no tease, no game of seduction in a dark wood.
He dug his knees into Khysmet and the horse leaped after the black mare. Both of them knew the threat came from behind-not ahead. Snow started to fall, then Palimak cried out his warning-'We're inside the machine, father!' Putting words to the half-formed thoughts in his mind.
There was a loud crash! behind them-so heavy it shook the ground.
Safar glanced around and saw huge white jaws reaching for them. Khysmet surged forward just in time, the jaws clashing together on emptiness. Safar turned his head away, but the creature's huge eyes-burning with the blue fires of some icy hell-caught his. He felt numb, his strength drained away by sudden cold. It took all his will to force his eyes away from the creature's and his strength flooded back the moment he was facing forward again.
The creature roared. Palimak tried to turn and see, but Safar leaned forward, blocking him, telling him,
'Whatever you do-Don't look back!'
There was another crash-this one much closer. Khysmet stretched to his fullest, straining to gain more speed.
The snowstorm intensified and Safar lost sight of the Spirit Rider. All he could see was a snatch of the shoreline to the side and just ahead of him-chunks of ice hissing in and out of the mist on steely waves.
Again there was the sound of something heavy slamming down behind them. The ground quaked, but this time the beast didn't seem quite as close. At least he hoped so.
A large wave boomed in from the side and Khysmet veered from the shoreline to escape it. The mistake was evident within a few seconds. Without the shoreline to guide them visually, and the sound of the sea lost beneath Khysmet's pounding hooves, they quickly became lost in the blizzard.
Their enemy, however, had no such trouble. The crashing sound suddenly gained on them-coming closer than ever before.
Then a beacon flared well off to the left and Safar turned Khysmet toward the light.
He heard a marrow-freezing roar and a cold foul breath blasted across his back. Safar fumbled a small pouch from his belt, bit the drawstrings apart and hurled the pouch and its contents behind him-his shouted spell ripped from his lips by the storm:
Cold to fire.
All hearts burn
As he hurled the last words into the winds one of the beast's claws caught his cloak, pulling him back. He jerked forward against Palimak, feeling cloth and flesh tear.
There was a spellblast behind him, followed by the howl of some great beast in pain, and the claw was snatched away.
The beacon grew larger in his view and then he gradually began to make out the shadowy figure of the horsewoman racing ahead of him through the storm-a bright magical brand held aloft in one hand.
There was a violent crash behind him and he realized the ice creature had only been slowed momentarily by his attack spell and was pursuing him again. From the sound of its roaring-hate mingled with pain-it was back to full strength, more determined than ever to bring them down.
He heard waves crashing on both sides of them and realized they were now out on the narrow peninsula.
