the Behrenese a long time to orga-nize their archers up high on the plateau ledge and for those caught along the narrow trail to find cover, or to scramble down among the massing de-fensive formations already on the desert floor.
Brynn and Agradeleous struck hard and struck repeatedly during that time of confusion and tumult. And then, as the organization grew 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 mine!"
And then she and Agradeleous rushed off to the south, flying fast along the plateau line and repeating the destruction on the second Behrenese force, that of Shauntil. This army, under the crack command of the cunning Chezhou-Lei, organized more quickly and sent Brynn and Agradeleous fleeing fast for safety with little damage done and only a few Behrenese lost.
The ranger and her dragon flew to the south and then to the east, and eventually, they saw the distant fires of Pagonel's force.
There, the dragon set Brynn down outside the encampment, and she went to her allies.
"It seems a desperate plan," Pagonel warned her privately, after the gath-;ng of commanders had dispersed so that the warrior woman and her::end could share some private moments.
"Every movement grows more desperate, with the pursuit growing more 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 grimly. ?You knew from the outset that even if you orga-nized all of To-gai behind you, you could not defeat the Behrenese in force."
Then it was Brynn's turn to nod, and grimly. ?Avrou Eesa has fallen, and Yatol Bardoh will force-march all the way to the broken gates. Let us sting him again - I pray to Joek that I will find the chance to wet my blade with cursed Bardoh's own blood."
"Even if that opportunity costs you the greater war you have waged?"
The question made Brynn back off a bit, quieted her eagerness, and made her consider carefully her current course.
"These plans will work," she said.
"Is it a necessary chance?"
"It is one that seems plausible, and that will afford us a great gain."
"Great?"
"Great enough," Brynn insisted. ?Every victory will become more diffi-cult as we draw the Chezru Chieftain's power out of Jacintha. Let us take every victory as we find it. On my way here, Agradeleous and I struck at both Behrenese forces filtering down from To-gai. We did not kill many - a hundred, perhaps - but likely many more than that now desire to flee the army, for in return for their dead, they got nothing. No kills. No blood for blood. That is the most frustrating thing of all for a warrior."
The mystic nodded his agreement. ?If Chezhou-Lei Shauntil is as focused on his march toward Avrou Eesa as you presume, then he will not see us."
"And then my plan...?"
"May indeed sting the Behrenese once again," Pagonel admitted. ?But we will be sorely pressed, and running fast with an angry army in close pursuit."
"With Agradeleous, we can supply; they cannot," Brynn insisted. ?And To-gai-ru can outride Behrenese. How long will they chase us? How soon will we 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 timing?"
"We will be there," Pagonel assured her.
Brynn smiled, and kissed him on the cheek.
Soon after, she and Agradeleous were gone, flying back to the north Brynn didn't strike at Shauntil'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 army of Yatol Bardoh, swooping down from on high and scattering the final lines of soldiers making their way down from the plateau, for Bardoh had not even kept his earlier forces assembled below to provide cover, instead riding them straight out toward Avrou Eesa.
Agradeleous feasted on the weakened end of that Behrenese line, more than doubling his kills for the night. Brynn took great satisfaction in seeing many other Behrenese warriors turning from