Page 32 (2/2)

"We will have the city pillaged before the dawn, then we can flee out to the open sands," one of her coe the city and hide the supplies and the valuables out in the desert," she did agree ?But ill not run Not this tihtabout her, all keenly aware that somewhere around thirty thousand Behrenese warriors would soon converge on Avrou Eesa

"Pagonel is not far," the woman explained

"We would still be sorely outnuular, or even as half, of their force," Brynn replied, a grin widening on her face as she thought of yet another way she ht stick a pin into the eye of the Chezru Chieftain and hispeople, and particularly into the eye of Yatol Tohen Bardoh

"What do you know?" one To-gai-ru woman asked her

"We can outride theaze to the west, to the line of distant heights thatdown the narrow passes out of the steppes, north and south, then she and Agradeleous could catch them m a vulnerable position indeed

She nodded as she considered that her fighting that day was not done She had to go out with the dragon, anyway, she knew, to go and infore group of the fleeing Behrenese have camped just to the west of us," another scout reported soon after, and beside the woradeleous hiru that order to all of her fi leaders ?Let theth"

"That he ht overrun Avrou Eesa with complete confidence?" anoth man asked

"That he will encircle Avrou Eesa to prevent any escape"

"Your great dragon cannot fly us all out of here quickly enough, as it did to bring us down from the plateau,"

came one concerned reply

But Brynn only s that it was indeed tie some Behrenese soldiers openly

As dusk fell over the steppes, the desert already dark behind the down fro a narrow and rocky descent to the Behrenese floor

"He force- to catch up to us," Brynn yelled to the dragon ?The dog Bardoh is angry, and his anger will be his downfall!"

Agradeleous beat his wingsthe plateau line, sweeping down froht across that long and narrow line The beast banked and swept past, breathing forth his fire, i those poor Behrenese who could not flee or find any cover behind the rocks The dragon&039;s tail thrashed as he passed, splintering stone and sending ht by coa-nize their archers up high on the plateau ledge and for those caught along the narrow trail to find cover, or to scra de-fensive forradeleous struck hard and struck repeatedly during that tirew stronger, as volleys of arrows filled the sky and great ballistae prepared their deadly shots, Brynn brought the dragon out from the plateau, and shouted down, ?Avrou Eesa is radeleous rushed off to the south, flying fast along the plateau line and repeating the destruction on the second Behrenese force, that of Shauntil This aranizedfast for safety with little daer and her dragon flew to the south and then to the east, and eventually, they saw the distant fires of Pagonel&039;s force

There, the dragon set Brynn down outside the encampment, and she went to her allies

"It seeonel warned her privately, after the gath-;ng of commanders had dispersed so that the warrior woman and her::end could share sorowsmore aanized," Brynn replied ?The Chezru Chieftain will send even more out ainst us A third force will march from Jacintha, and then a fourth, I am "ertain, and they will catch us, and any one of the forces could likely de- trov us, or at least weaken us enough to render us ineffective"

Pagonel nodded gria-nized all of To-gai behind you, you could not defeat the Behrenese in force"

Then it was Brynn&039;s turn to nod, and grimly ?Avrou Eesa has fallen, and Yatol Bardoh will force-ain - I pray to Joek that I will find the chance to wet my blade with cursed Bardoh&039;s own blood"

"Even if that opportunity costs you the greater war you have waged?"

The question erness, and made her consider carefully her current course

"These plans ork," she said

"Is it a necessary chance?"

"It is one that seeain"

"Great?"

"Great enough," Brynn insisted ?Every victory will become more diffi-cult as we draw the Chezru Chieftain&039;s power out of Jacintha Let us take every victory as we find it On radeleous and I struck at both Behrenese forces filtering down froai We did not kill many - a hundred, perhaps - but likely many more than that now desire to flee the ar No kills No blood for blood That is theof all for a warrior"

The reement ?If Chezhou-Lei Shauntil is as focused on his march toward Avrou Eesa as you presume, then he will not see us"

"And then ain," Pagonel ad fast with an angry arradeleous, we can supply; they cannot," Brynn insisted ?And To-gai-ru can outride Behrenese How long will they chase us? How soon e forge enough of a lead to flatten yet another city?"

"How soon will Chezru Douan send another thirty thousand out against you?"

The question was sobering, because Brynn understood that Douan could do just that

But Brynn only nodded and accepted the possibilities ?You understand your role, and the tionel assured her

Brynn sradeleous were gone, flying back to the north Brynn didn&039;t strike at Shauntil&039;s force on the return trip, recognizing with a couple of high fly-bys that the Chezhou-Lei warrior had his army ready to strike back hard immediately But they did indeed hit at the less-prepared ar the final lines of soldierstheir way down from the plateau, for Bardoh had not even kept his earlier forces asseht out toward Avrou Eesa

Agradeleous feasted on the weakened end of that Behrenese line, reat satisfaction in seeing ned course, fleeing north and south, apparently deserting Bardoh&039;s arth of To-gai, for she and her leaders would never have left sofor his warriors, beyond the goals he desired; Brynn knew that her oarriors recognized that she did not subscribe to that losing philosophy