Sif and Marin hadn’t gained too much ground on him and he caught up to the women quickly despite the pace Sif had set for them. Phelan squinted at the sky as he came into line with them, frowning.
“Either this is going to be a short fight, or we’ll be tangling with this thing after sundown,” he observed.
“Assuming they’ve found the thing,” Marin said. “We’ve got no way of knowing if it’s that close.”
“It’s that close,” Sif said. “Trust in that. The damned thing is really close.”
“How the hell are you so sure?” Marin asked, brow furrowing. “What the hell are we dealing with, anyway?”
“A nightmare come true,” Sif said. “Spawn of the serpent that would swallow the world.”
“What?”
“Thordin killed its father,” Sif continued, ignoring Marin’s question. “It was a long time ago, but these things have long memories and longer lives. It doesn’t matter if he died once already. The lindworm won’t care. It’s out for its vengeance and it won’t stop until it’s killed or it kills him.”
“We’re not going to let it kill him,” Phelan said.
“I know,” Sif said, reining in her mount for a moment, dropping back to a slower pace. Phelan overshot her by a few strides before circling back. The was a wistful, pained look in her eye. “He’s right to be angry with me, you know.”
“You did what you had to do.”
“No,” Sif said softly. “I did what was easier and told myself that it was hard. As much mischief and annoyance and trouble his brother was, Phelan, being with him wasn’t hard. Not like losing Thordin was. Not like watching him is right now. This is so, so much worse.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “I can’t lose him again, Phelan.”
“You won’t,” Phelan promised. “But we’d better hurry if we’re going to be the difference they’ll need to deal with this thing”
Sif squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, kicking her horse into a gallop once more.
