Cadell wheeled around, and it was obvious Dru had seen what Cadell had done. He was shouting at his people, who seemed to catch on quickly because one by one, they all targeted a Fomorian and tried to draw it away from the center of the battle, ripping off pieces where they could and tossing them as far as they could manage.
Like Cadell, other dragons swooped down, shooting fire at the pieces of Fomorians and turning their bodies to ash.
“It’s working!” Carys had no sooner said it than she felt something massive knock the side of the coracle, and she flew across the wooden carriage, her head smashing against the wall.
Everything went black.
Carys woketo see Duncan driving his sword through an arrowslit while blood poured into the coracle. There was a great beating wind driving down on her face, and she could feel something dripping down her neck.
She touched her throbbing head, and her fingers came away wet with blood.
“Carys!” Duncan roared.
She was confused, blinking at the giant black-brown feathers floating into the coracle. Massive wings nearly as wide as Cadell’s body beat against the side, and she saw Cadell’s belly red with fire.
An odd, disembodied voice whispered in her mind.…cannot believe you are doing this instead of me.
Duncan pulled his sword from the arrowslit and ran to her. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s stuck to the side.” He put his hand on her head. “Can you move?”
Get your bow, idiot.
Carys blinked, still confused by what she was seeing when a long, black face with bloody, tangled hair peeked over the high wall of the coracle and opened its mouth.
It screamed, and Carys saw blood dripping from its fangs.
Shoot it.
Cadell was shouting in her mind:Nêrys, there is a harpy attacking the coracle!
The Fomorians brought harpies?
Duncan was bending over her, blood all over his clothes. “Carys, can you talk?”
“Help me up.” She struggled to sitting and reached for her bow. The air around her grew strangely still, and her peripheral vision grew dark.
Aim for the eyes.
Maybe it was the head wound that was making her hear voices, but Carys nocked an arrow, drew it, and all she could see was the eyes of the monster trying to climb into her coracle as she drew back her string.
Thwoosh. The arrow hit one eye and the harpy screamed.
Again.
Carys quickly drew another, aimed, and fired faster than she ever had in her training.
Its center of gravity is thrown back, stab it now.
The harpy was still clinging to the side of the coracle with two clawed wings, but its head was flailing and one claw was slipping off.
“Get your sword!” Carys yelled. “Stab it!”
Duncan picked up his sword, ran to the arrowslit, stabbed the harpy through the opening, then pulled back and swung the blade up and over his head.
Thunk! The sword cut clean through one claw and sank into the wood.
The harpy screamed again.
Duncan yanked the sword from the solid oak and swung it at the other claw.