Pug hovered a hundred feet above the battle and clapped his hands together, and a peal of thunder struck those below, knocking some of the riders directly underneath him out of their saddles.
Men looked up and saw a man floating in the air, and from that man a brilliant light erupted, a golden glow that was as bright as the sun. His voice carried to every man as if he were standing next to them: “This ends now!”
With a wave of his hand he sent a force through the air, a ripple which visibly distorted the air. The wave hit horses and knocked them down, throwing more men to the ground.
Men turned and ran.
Jimmy sat firm on a bucking, frantic horse, trying to bring the animal under control. After two more kicks, the animal set out at a run, and Jimmy let it, turning it and then bringing it to a halt. He turned the animal around and saw more animals running in every direction as Keshians raced back toward their burning wagons.
Then he glanced up to where Pug hung in the air and again came Pug’s voice: “This ends now.”
Then Pug vanished.
Nakor said, “Well, at least you got them to stop fighting for a while.” The three of them sat in an abandoned room in the palace, after the Prince had retired and the Keshian General returned to his army.
“I will get them to stop for good,” said Pug.
“Or what?” asked Miranda.
Pug said, “I’m sick of killing. I’m sick of destruction. But more than anything, I’m sick of the mindless stupidity I see on every side of me.” Pug thought of the losses to war he had endured, from his childhood friend Roland and Lord Borric to Owen Greylock, a man he had not known well, but one whom he had found himself liking from their winter together at Darkmoor. “Too many good men. And too many innocents. It can’t go on. If I have to . . . I don’t know, put up a wall between both armies, I’ll do it.”
Nakor said, “You’ll think of something. When the Prince and the General have time to calm down, you can tell them what you want.”
“When are you meeting again?” asked Miranda.
“Tomorrow at noon.”
“Good,” said Nakor. “That gives me time to see if what I think has happened has happened.”
“You’re being cryptic again,” said Miranda.
Nakor smiled. “Come along and see. We’ll get something to eat.”
He led them out of the room, then out of the palace, past guards who stood an uneasy watch knowing they might have to return to the walls and a terrible fight at a moment’s notice.
As they left the palace, they saw horsemen riding into the marshaling yard through the southern gate. At their head Pug saw his other great-grandson and waved.
Jimmy rode over and said, “I saw that display, Pug.” He grinned and Pug’s heart squeezed slightly when for a second he saw Gamina’s smile echoed in it. “You saved a lot of my men’s lives. Thank you.”
Pug said, “I’m pleased you were among those who benefited.”
“Is Dash . . . ?”
“He’s inside, alive, and until Patrick regains his strength, in command of the city.”
Jimmy laughed. “Somehow I don’t think he enjoys that very much.”
“Go see him,” said Pug. “We’re going to Nakor’s temple and will be back in the morning. We have a general meeting at noon to end this nonsense.”
Jimmy said, “I will be more than pleased to see that. Duko’s a marvel, and he’s managed to keep the South under control, despite this Keshian adventure, but we’re sorely tested along both borders, and I haven’t any idea how things go in the North.”
“That war is finished, too.”
Jimmy said, “I am relieved to hear that, Greatgrandfather. I will see you in the morning.” Nakor said, “Let’s go. I want to see what’s happened.”
They hurried through a city cautiously returning to normal activities as people ventured out of their houses. With so few people about, they reached the Temple Quarter of the city quickly.
No one was visible outside the tent, but once they stepped through, they saw a crowd sitting on the floor. In the center of the room the woman Aleta sat on the floor, rather than floating in the air, and the light about her was gone. So was the ill-aspected darkness which had hovered in the air beneath her.
Dominic hurried over and said, “Nakor! I am glad to see you.”
“When did this happen?” asked Nakor.
“A few hours ago. One moment she was floating in the air, and the next the blackness below her vanished, as if it had been sucked down through a hole, and she gently floated back to the ground, opened her eyes, and began speaking.”
Pug and the others turned their attention to what the woman was saying, and instantly Nakor said, “Her voice, it’s different.”
Pug had no knowledge of what the young woman had sounded like before, but he knew it could be nothing like what he heard now, for her voice was magical. It was soft, and yet easy to hear if one but took a moment to listen: a musical voice.