Looking past Thane the Nightmare froze Eventine and Kyot with a hateful stare. "I will take your arrows, foul Archers, pluck them from the bows, before you ease your fingers on the strings."
Thrusting both women aside Krulshards strode across the chamber towards Thane. "You are mine, Gallopersp.a.w.n!" he shouted, throwing his head back and cackling with delight, but he stopped, rooted with doubt, his mouth hanging silently open, his bone black fingers pointing up into the domed roof.
"What is that?" he hissed, releasing the Archers from his hateful stare, and they both bent their bows, the grey goose flight feathers touching their cheeks.
"Wait!" cried Eventine. "Look at the gla.s.s arrow-blades; they are beginning to glow. There must be daylight here in the City of Night."
Thane made a grab for the dagger but stopped, looking up
into the dome above his head to see what had made Krulshards hesitate in his moment of victory. A fine trickle of stone dust was falling, he could hear a grating sound in the roof. A sharp metal point, twisting and turning, suddenly broke through the black rock; a pinpoint of light flooded through the darkness, burning a bright white light on to the gla.s.s-tipped arrow blades.
"Thane," a faint voice shouted from somewhere above the dome. The trickle of dust and pebbles became a torrent as the chamber roof collapsed in a thunderous shower of rocks.
Sunlight flooded the high chamber, casting long shadows across the dusty floor.
Krulshards screamed, shrinking back into the malice away from the light, grabbing with his fingers for the shadowy hood.
Twisting his head he saw his own shadow spread out across the floor and jumped backwards away from it. The life thread glittered in the sunlight as it closed around Elionbel"s throat.
"Aim at the life thread," Eventine cried and in that instance Kyot knew the wisdom of Fairday"s words and, clear-eyed he aimed at the spider-thin and glittering thread. Both bows sang together, loosing their blazing gla.s.s-tipped spines across the
chamber.
Thane looked up past the shadowy malice up through the collapsing roof and saw the sky edged with stoops of owls, proud Warhouses and fierce Border Runners. Wave after wave of them leapt down into the chamber, neighing and growling, as they fell upon the Nightshards. Mulcade and Rockspray stooped through the ragged hole, the summer scarf stretched taut in their talons, its sparkling light driving back the shadows.
Thane laughed and pointed out into the sunlight where high above the mountainside a mighty owl hovered, shadowing the sun as he searched, following the Warhorses towards a black dust-filled hole.
"Eagle Owl!" Thane shouted, seeing the flash of bright metal in the owl"s talons. "Fairday foretold that you would
come to me but I doubted his wisdom. Come to me quickly for I have great need of the blade you carry!"
"Tread on the Nightmare"s shadow!" Willow cried out as he struggled to free himself from the pile of roof rubble that had collapsed and brought him down into the chamber.
Thane hesitated, turning to search for Willow"s voice as Eagle Owl plunged to earth.
"Step on his shadow and freeze him before he vanishes amongst the Nightshards! Quickly, quickly!" Willow urged, rising to his feet, his stone searcher ready to plunge into the nearest Nightshard.
Eagle Owl burst into the chamber, delivering the sword into Thane"s outstretched hand.
Elionbel choked as the life thread burned a black mark around her throat, she heard the arrows sing and shut her eyes as the gla.s.s blades cut into the life thread, exploding in one flash of white light. Briefly the thread tightened, the severed ends thrashing and wriggling as it withered away.
Reaching up Elionbel tore at it, digging her broken fingernails into the slippery skinless sinews.
"Mother!" she screamed, kicking out at the Nightbeast, Kerzolde, as he bent over Martbel, stabbing at her with his cruel curved dagger.
Kerzolde jumped away beyond the full stretch of her chains and fled. Clutching the baby, Kruel, secretly inside his armoured jerkin he dodged away amongst the Nightshards and vanished into a dark hole at the far end of the i-.
chamber. Elionbel rose, shouting a curse, to follow but Kerhunge rushed past her, knocking her down next to Martbel.
"Mother!" Elionbel cried, gathering her up into her arms, "oh Mother, Mother!" she wept, rocking her backwards and forwards.
Martbel slowly opened her eyes, searching blindly in the shafts of sunlight. "Daughter," she whispered, her lips hardly moving.
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"I am here," Elionbel answered, weaving their fingers together.
"Hide my shame, child, bury all knowledge of the b.a.s.t.a.r.d beast. Promise me that you will take it from the folds of the malice. Promise me."
Elionbel bent low, tears of despair and love coursing down her cheeks. "None will ever know of it, Mother."
"Not even Thane. Promise me, child."
Elionbel nodded, biting her lips.
Martbel sighed, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth.
"Kill it, Elionbel, I beg you. Kill it before all Elundium is cursed with its eternal darkness."
Elionbel blinked away her tears and dabbed away at the blood on her mother"s lips. "I swear that I will kill it," she whispered.
Martbel smiled, her eyes growing pale and distant. "Tell your father that I love him. Tell him .. ."
Martbel slumped forwards, her head sinking into the crook of Elionbel"s arm. For long moments she knelt holding her mother, whispering her promise, deaf and blind to the battle that raged all about her as the Warhorses and the savage Border Runners fought amongst the Nightshards and the Nightbeasts that flooded into the chamber. Kyot and Eventine moved as one through the chamber following Krulshards,
felling every blind beast he tried to reach. The centre of the chamber was littered with dead Nightshards. Krulshards ran amongst them, trying to lose his shadow, but always Thane was a pace behind him and whichever way he turned the Archers were destroying his Nightshards, crumpling their shadows to nothing. There was nowhere left to hide.
Turning, he lunged with two black blades he had drawn from beneath the malice. Slashing with hatred he cursed at Thanehand.
"Here, Nightmare, here," cried Thane, ducking under Krulshards" thrust. Gradually he had been moving into the
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main shah of sunlight away from where Elionbel was chained, drawing the Nightmare towards a tall column of stone that rose towards the broken roof. Movement on the edge of his
sight made him look quickly back.
"Elionbel!" he cried with joy to see her safe and alive, huddled on the chamber floor with Martbel in her arms.
Laughing, he looked back into Krulshards" eyes. Now there was no lure, nothing to trap him and divide his purpose. Now he could destroy the Nightmare.
Krulshards stepped backwards, into the bright ray of sunlight, stumbling with fear, and turned to flee but the severing of his life thread had weakened him and Thane quickly overtook him, treading firmly on his shadow, freezing him to the floor.
"I know your weakness, Nightmare!" he cried, raising his sword.
"NO! NO!" Krulshards screamed, dropping both black blades and throwing his hands across his face to shut out-the light. The Nightshards and the Nightbeasts in the chamber hesitated at their master"s scream, turning helplessly towards him.
Thane lunged forward, both hands gripping the hilt of the sword Eagle Owl had delivered and drove it against the folds of the malice. Bright sparks danced along the blade, spraying up in stinging fountains of hot metal as the shadowy fabric shredded into ribbons. Deeper and deeper the blade sank, melting the armourer"s new-forged steel, buckling and splitting it away from the long splinter of black Nightmare steel forged into its centre.
Krulshards felt the point of the sword cut into his flesh and lashed out, tearing desperately at Thane"s face, hooking his bone black fingers around his neck.
"Thanehand!" he screamed, tightening his grip.
Thane choked, stumbling on to his knees, gasping for breath.