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.A rifle barked ahead of him.That could only be Sears Oliphant: Wright wouldsurely follow orders and keep Mijok and the giant women with him to protect thewounded& Abro Brodaa was fighting through to aid Pakriaa, not yelling, notexcited, keeping somehow an air of dreamy contemplation, as if the arms drivingher spear and dagger were not quite hers.Nisana cried out, "They are not following!They go back "It was true.Partly true.Here in this patch of bloody meadow there was not muchleft to fight.The defenders had functioned like a single organism, forming a newsemicircular line.Behind it was a quiet, where Pakriaa was gasping, pounding herfoot into a body that felt nothing. And this dear monster, this fat naked grotesque, panting and smeared withred this must be Sears Oliphant, late of John Hopkins University.The monstersmiled in a black beard."Few got by, oh my, yes.Tamisraa's girls fixed 'em had toclub m' rifle dirty cave man no fear, Paul no fear! Muscle man with an emptyhead.They had couple bowmen with 'em no harm done." No harm? Was heunaware of the broken arrow shaft below his ribs, deeply bedded, with dark bloodoozing around the wood? "They quit, Paul?""They haven't quit." He looked south, seeing why they wouldn't quit."Tamisraa got a bad one throat." Sears coughed painfully."I sent her toDoc he's just back of those trees.And my pets, Paul, my olifants, why, they'restanding fast, boy.With Abara, bless him 'bout half mile north.You can't beat'em.We must figure some way to ferry 'em over to the island must they're people,those olifants ""You go to Doc yourself, Jocko, and fast.That ""Oh, that, that.Mere prac'l dem'stration nobody loves fat man "The Vestoians would not quit because of what was coming half a mile away inthe south under a cloud of brown wings, coming fast.The horde would be ignoringthe omasha, striking them aside, spearing them when there was time, grantingthem the necessary toll for passage, and coming fast.Oh, they would be less thansix thousand now somewhat less.Meanwhile the remnant from the boats waswaiting, regrouping, drawing breath, readying itself for the climax of massacre,maybe deliberately postponing it until Lantis of Vestoia, Queen of the World, couldarrive to enjoy it.Paul tried again to count his people in the sturdy half circle.BlackElis was striding among them, a great stick in each hand, rumbling comfort andencouragement, and none of them shrank away from him.It looked like less than seven hundred.A hundred lost at the knoll; forty, Wrightsaid, in the first skirmish at the camp; twenty in Samiraa's night expedition.Perhaps three hundred in this last wave of the battle.And Samiraa herself; Duriaa;Tamisraa wounded, Pakriaa insane with grief; Lisson and Surok dead.LameKamisiaa Paul could not find her.Abro Brodaa still calm, unhurt, competent.Very well seven hundred against somewhat less than six thousand of the landarmy, somewhat less than four thousand from the boats.How I dreamed! There would be no southward drive to the island.The omashaalone made it an absurdity.He had been idiotic to imagine it.Pakriaa broke her spear across her knee.She walked out into the meadow towardthe advancing swarm.She looked back stupidly at Paul's shout, and Nisana ran toher, crying out in the old language.Pakriaa, with no change of expression, lungedat the captain, striking flat-handed across her face, forcing her back until Paulreached them to interfere and Sears caught Pakriaa's wrist, mumbling, "Comenow come with me, princess.""I am no princess.""I call you so," Sears said clearly, and speaking with sternness for possibly thefirst time in his life."Now come with me." Paul stammered, "Have Doc get that damned arrow out of you.Then he's to startnorth with the wounded at once.""North." Sears nodded."There are no gods," said Pakriaa."Yes, north.We'll catch up with you.""I thought of you as a god.""Think of me as a friend who loves you.It is better
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