Page 58 (1/2)

"It won't do the First Lady any good to go charging off in the wrong direction," Amara called back "I don't like them, but Aldrick's people know their business When one of their fliers reports in, we'll et anywhere we need to be the er "Look The cyclone teams"

Small, dark clouds of fliers swept down in ranks over theforces As A the air, made treacherously turbulent by the extended fury of the slow- the Alerans had held before the vord Citizens and Knights Aeris seized upon thatits own mo the furious winds and spinning theether - and then in half a dozen places just behind the front coluround The cyclones roared, howling out a ground-scorching wail of hunger, and began to rush ra the creatures like ants and tossing theh the air - when they didn't drive tiny bits of detritus through their carapaces like so many diminutive arrowheads, or simply rend them limb from limb on the spot Each cyclone was shepherded by its own team of windcrafters, each of which kept its ownback upon Aleran lines Wind white for a shroud of slide out of the cyclones and swept down to attack anything within their reach upon the earth

Amara shook her head She'd been trapped without shelter in a furystorm that had called up windmanes once before - and the deadly, ind furies had nearly torn her to pieces Gaius Attis was creating hundreds , and they would haunt the region for decades, if not centuries to co a threat to holders, cattle, wildlife -

Aht In this respect, at least, she thought Aquitaine was quite right - if the vord weren't stopped, here, now, there wouldn't be any holders Or cattle Or wildlife

We aren't just fighting for ourselves, she thought We're fighting for everything that lives and grows in our world If we do not thron the vord, nothing of e knoill remain We will simply cease to be - and no one will be left to remember us

Except, she supposed, for the vord

Amara clenched her hands hard and restrained herself fro her own skills into the battle being fought below

"Countess?" called Veradis in a shaking voice

Aer wohtly lower than Amara was She altered her windstream until she had maneuvered into position beside the Ceresian Citizen "What is it?"

Veradis pointed wordlessly at the causeway leading up from the southwest

A the road into clearer visibility At first, in the di But then flickers of light farther down the road drew her attention, and she found herself staring at