The voice of Rhiannon spoke, once more, “ It is done ” he said. “ I have redeemed my sin.”
The Earthman felt the utter weariness of the being within him as the possession was withdrawn from his brain and body.
And then, again, he was only Matthew Carse.
XIX. Judgment of the Quiru
The whole world seemed hushed and still in the dawn as their barge went down to Sark. None of them spoke and none of them looked back at the vast white steam that still rolled solemnly up across the sky.
Carse felt numbed, drained of all emotion. He had let the wrath of Rhiannon use him and he could not yet feel quite the same. He knew that there was something of it still in his face, for the other two would not quite meet his eyes nor did they break the silence.
The great crowd gathered on the waterfront of Sark was silent too. It seemed that they had stood there for long looking toward Caer Dhu, and even now, after the glare of its destruction had died out of the sky, they stared with white, frightened faces.
Carse looked out at the Khond longships riding with their sails slack against the yards and knew that that terrible blaze had awed the Sea Kings into waiting.
The black barge glided in to the palace stair. The crowd surged forward as Ywain stepped ashore, their voices rising in a strange hushed clamor. And Ywain spoke to them.
“Caer Dhu and the Serpent both are gone—destroyed by the Lord Rhiannon.”