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"There!" Duke Kalas cried to his soldiers, pointing to the wo countermanded, and then he motioned for Kalas to sit beside him "Let us see how this plays out," Danube explained to the sur-prised Duke "This has been Markwart&039;s fight fro"

More soldiers, more monks, and even common folk, rushed into the courtyard

"To the wall!" cae centaur crash through the hedge at the top of the eight-foot wall Bradwarden could not s and the bulk of his torso over the barrier before crashing Then he and his rider rolled over, falling to the ground, Nightbird kicking far away froroaned, struggling to rise Nightbird started for hi fast, waved hihtbird turned to face a soldier charging in with sword raised over-head, er&039;s head in half

Up cahtbird&039;s crossed ar theHe let the sword descend a bit lower, then threw it up high, punching the soldier in the face Then he grabbed thehis hand between the sol-dier&039;s hands, taking his sword In the saer&039;s free hand smashed the round

Now Nightbird had a sword, and the door of the great house was in sight But a dozen soldiers and twice that nu Danube cried, standing tall in his carriage Neither ainst the ed

"Only hi the house and let no others enter!"

"You take a great chance," Constance reave her and Kalas was one of the coldest either of them had ever seen "Daht-bird and Pony ee as victors with the Father Abbot&039;s head in hand"

Constance&039;s eyes widened at the bold declaration, but Duke Kalas s his King in a great hug

Nightbird reached the door just as Je&039;howith and Francis caer - and was prohty punch, one that put hirass

Old Abbot Je&039;howith put up his hands and stepped aside

"Ever the diploed on Chasewind Manor from every section of Pal-maris, wealthy merchants and lowly peasants; a crowd of St Precious&039;of Behrenese, chanting loudly for the release of Captain Al&039;u&039;met

Duke Kalas moved his forces, soldiers andback the crowd The Duke understood that this whole situation could explode into a riot In that case, he infor was paramount, no matter who had to be trampled into the dirt

For the h the yells intensified One h the line of soldiers, sprint-ing for the manor house

The soldiers stopped him before he reached the doors

"Do you knoho I anize the forlanced nervously at Kalas, as far to the side Despite De&039;Unnero&039;s insistence and bullying, though, the Duke shook his head and the soldiers held their ground

De&039;Unnero turned toward the King&039;s carriage "I de Danube cut him short "Hold the house secure!" he cried to the soldiers "None are to enter!"

De&039;Unnero broke away, sprinting for the door When soldiers beat him to the mark, he continued his run around the front of the house, then along the side

Duke Kalas instructed several men to follow, but he wasn&039;t concerned, for Chasewind Manor had only two doors, the great front entrance and a suarded, on the side of the house opposite where the former Bishop had run

Frustrated, De&039;Unnero ran frantically around to the back Then he skidded to a stop looking up at the onelarge enough to accoround

In front of the house, Brother Brauh the gates by Allheart soldiers Kalas ordered the men to take them away to a prison, but Danube overruled hi decided "This may well determine their fate Keep them secure, but allow them to bear witness"

Anotherin with the crowd Roger spotted Bradwarden i but obviously wounded, held steady between two er felt as trapped as his friend, for there seemed no way in All he could do was stand and watch

Once inside thePony, for she had left a trail of devastation: twisted roaning reat, pillared hall and up a wide, sweeping staircase Then down another narrow hall and into the most deco-rated corridor in all the house And at the far end of the long corridor, he spied a door, carved and decorated, and he kneithout doubt that Pony was behind that portal

And so was Markwart

The soldiers caround

De&039;Unnero ignored theer He glanced at the soldiers and snarled, and theto keep back

De&039;Unnero looked to the"You cannot escape," he heard one soldier say, and then he was flying, up, up

On Nightbird ran, along the huge, decoratedoverlooking the back gardens, thinking to put his shoulder down and barrel right into the room But then he fell aside with a surprised cry as thecrashed in, De&039;Unnero, bursting into the hall

In the blink of an eye, the two etin his great chair, the e she considered evil in huet out of St Precious," Markwart congratulated "Master Engress died for that"

"You intend to kill everybody who opposes you," she replied, "destroy the forward suddenly in his chair "Because I aht, you fool I speak to God"

"You speak to Bestesbulzibar, none other!" Pony snapped back, advancing undaunted She lifted her arerly, all her hatred leading the way

But the spirit of Markaiting for her, and though she hit it with all the ed to push the spirit back toward the physical fore

Markwart, so powerful, held her at bay, retaliating with the power of a deer of De&039;Unnero, knew that he had to fight a long and progressive dance, gaining one tiny advantage at a time From their previous battle, he understood that De&039;Unnero was his equal, or near it, and that every aained, leading to the next

And yet, how could the ranger endure such a prolonged, calculating dance when that ornate door at the end of the hall beckoned to hi Markwart, a foe who had beaten her before? How could he wait?

He charged powerfully at De&039;Unnero, closing ground and thrusting ahead with the unbalanced sword he had taken frouard outside

De&039;Unnero leapt above and to the side, and ca hi the sword har her," theto the side, keeping between Nightbird and the door

Nightbird didn&039;t take the bait He came off the wall cal hi dead out here He skipped forward and stabbed, then fell back as De&039;Unnero, one arer, countered with a sudden rush and swipe

Forward cahtbird&039;s reach and was retreating cautiously before the sword could get anywhere near theany brazen offensive attacks and neither giving the other any opening

But then, from within the room, Pony cried out

De&039;Unnero&039;s ser to consider the door

Nightbird charged, stabbing and slashing

And De&039;Unnero charged, feinting a leap then diving to the ground, aunder the extended sword and s and tearing and throwing the ht his sword up, forcing De&039;Unnero to skid to a sudden stop The ranger used that break to roll backward, landing lightly on his feet and co forith two quick steps and a thrust to De&039;Unnero&039;s shoulder Had it been Teer&039;s hand, the blade would have slashed right through, tearingbone But this sword nicked away

Still, theat his huhtbird, perfectly balanced But he did not appreciate the true power of those feline legs De&039;Unnero stu in his claws quickly - and launched hiht him between sword thrusts, slapped the blade aside, and drove on, slahtbird&039;s ar was all the more deadly since one of the reat cat

Nightbird felt those claws digging into his back, near his kidney With a great burst of strength, he believed that he could break the hold, but he rec-ognized that in doing so, De&039;Unnero&039;s tiger paould tear half his back away! He dropped his sword and squirht hold

De&039;Unnero clenched all the tighter, claws extending, stabbing deep holes

But Nightbird had his right arer paw, and worked sloith his superior strength to throw the y to keep his footing as well as his tight hold

Now the ranger flexed his shoulders, weakening the rasp Iron- cordedhier pahile the human hand slipped farther and farther away

Then he saw a change co over the reat fanged htbird snapped his head forward suddenly, brutally sated He ha he was out of ti a clawed paw, he roared and threw his arony as De&039;Unnero&039;s claws scored deep lines across the side of his lower back, slashing all the way around to the side of Nightbird&039;s rib cage

The ranger&039;s right hand slapped the changing face, while his other ca a tight hold with both, screa De&039;Unnero froainst the wall He pulled the ain, and then a third ti paws, one swipe of which caught the ranger on the side of the face, digging a line beside his eye

Nightbird let the o with the third slaht and left repeatedly, to the monk&039;s face and upper chest Then he leaped back, paused, and lunged, forehead first, squarely into the ured face

De&039;Unnero&039;s legs buckled, but the ranger wouldn&039;t let it end so easily One of his hands caught the chin, one the crotch, and up went the er turned and rushed across the corridor, pur-posely aireatthe h the glass to fall the thirty feet to the ground

Lurching with pain, feeling his guts spilling out his side, Nightbird looked out theand was satisfied when he saw that the dangerous creature lay still on the lawn, broken and bloody atop the sharp shards of glass

Not even bothering to retrieve the sword, for he knew that such a weapon would be useless against Markwart - and knew, too, that his own strength was fast fading - Nightbird went for the door

Their struggle, greater than on the darkened Palht, now beca over into the physical

Outside the asped as one and fell back, for the house thru black and white, s blowing out of their casings

"Pray that Markwart does not e Danube whispered to his two friends, and to Je&039;howith, who had e

Kalas and Constance were already doing just that, and the old abbot, horrified by the spectacle before hi on the lawn, the closest man to the house, could only stare helplessly

The door flew open and a pair of youngaway, crying for mercy from God

The stunned Francis did not dare to enter the place

She had no child within her, no vulnerability, and so she fought with all her strength and all her rage

But she could not win Pony knew that The spirit within Markas too strong, i she had ever known She struggled valiantly, hit hiy and willpower she could round as minute after minute slipped past

The force of Markwart, surprised by the strength of the woer to tower over the woulf her as if to s her Yet he could not, and so they struggled, and both of theainst Pony, that she would tire first, despite her rage

But then the woman felt a touch on her physical shoulder - and the te her backward It was a gentle touch, though, the stroke of a friend, of a lover, and then, sohtbird, coether then!Markwart telepathically impartedBetter to be done with both of you, to be rid of the troubleso fro over the her, bonding in an embrace as intimate as any the couple had ever known

On came Markwart But now the tere one, linked spiritually as they had often usedbi&039;nelle dasada to link physically Together they stopped the progress of the Father Abbot, together they pushed the dark spirit back toward its host Each inch of ground cost they

They pushed on, the ranger taking the lead, putting his spirit against the strikes of Markwart, accepting the punish that Pony did not, knew that his physical for If he told her, or even let her know, she would rush froht and turn her attention with hematite to his wounds

But Elbryan had known the sacrifice needed in co into this battle, and he understood, too, that Pony could not afford such a retreat, that if she went to tend him, Markould destroy them both

They were near Markwart now, and all three knew that to push the spirit back into its host, and then to follow it,in, roared at theer&039;s physical form He felt it and understood what it foretold This was the test of his faith, he knew, the test of all his training This, the ultier

By every instinct within him, he had to stop, had to tell Pony, had to live

He drove on instead

Markwart screamed, telepathically and physically Elbryan heard it, but it seemed distant

All the world seereat burst of black light, a great dark flash, and then the house went quiet Francis rushed in, as did Danube and his advisers, Roger and Bradwarden, and noneat the entryway, King Danube looked back and called to his soldiers to bring the prisonerin the balance," he explained

At the back of the house, Belli&039;mar Juraviel paused only for a moment to consider the broken forreat hallway

Pony felt the spirit of Markwart break apart and knew the h, as she felt another spirit diminish, as she watched Elbryan&039;s life force fade fast before her The woman came from her trance, back to her corporeal for at her in disbelief, to see Elbryan lying next to her, his body very still and very pale, surrounded by blood

The woman fell over her lover, called to him desperately, tried to reach out for hione, she felt the floor co her in a profound blackness

Markatched with horror They had beaten hiuided hiht, but as a separate being! For now the Father Abbot knew the truth of it, and knew his life to be a lie, his course to be one of darkness and not redemption

He could have killed theht from his mind at that terrible moment He went to them, confused, and when he realized thefeet down below in the house, he scooped the woed, to the door

He ca the sht beside it

Poor Juraviel didn&039;t knohat to roan and sensed that the old man - and how old and battered Markwart appeared! - would not, could not, har had happened to Markwart; the elf understood that the ht to put his sword into the man&039;s back anyway, and refrained only because he realized the terrible conse-quences such an actionto take her away froht her so much pain, but then he saw his friend, who had been as his son, lying still on the floor

Juraviel rushed to Elbryan&039;s side He tried to tuck the spilling guts back with his bare hands

But it was too late, he knew

The ranger opened his green eyes

"Pony lives," Juraviel said, er&039;s ashen face

"She won," the ranger gasped "The deed" His eyes rolled back and closed and he drew in a deep breath

"Your son!" Juraviel said to him, made him hear in the very last instants of his life "Your son lives, in Andur&039;Blough Inninness, under the care of Lady Dasslerond!"

Elbryan&039;s eyes opened, his grip tightening on the elf&039;s ared a smile

And then he died

Bishop Francis, first up the stairs and first into the grand corridor, ca Pony in his arrabbed his ently on the floor, then catching the falling Markwart and easing his way down

The others crashed into the hall behind hi," Markwart said to Francis,a weak smile "With Jojonah, with Avelyn Yes, with Avelyn I should have recognized the truth"

"No, Father," Francis started to say

Markwart&039;s dark eyes opened wide and he grabbed Francis tightly, with strength beyond his broken fra See to my Church, dear Francis Become the shepherd of the flock and not the dictator But beware - " A convulsion hit the rasp to fall back to the floor The youngerhis head up

"Beware!" Markwart said again "Beware that in your quest for human-ism you do not steal the mystery of spiritualism"

Another convulsion wracked the man, and when it ended, the Abellican Church had no leader

"She is alive!" Bishop Francis heard Roger cry behind hi furiously over the woemstones in the process

Behind theDanube and his advisers, with soldiers behind the the h he was, pushed through the Allheart line and past the King, heading for the room at the end of the hall Some soldiers moved to pursue, but Danube motioned the through the door

"Is dead," Bishop Francis answered softly

"Assassin!" Je&039;howith shrieked "The Father Abbot&039;s blood demands justice! Guards!"

"Shut yourfree of the soldier holding hiht to step back and let the monk free "If Dalebert Markwart is dead, it is because of the dark road he chose to walk!" Braue!" Je&039;howith yelled in the man&039;s face, but the next order to shut up came from a most unexpected source

"You heard the ood abbot," Bishop Francis insisted "We will discuss this e that we must quickly convene"

"Brother Francis!" Je&039;howith started to protest

"But I warn you," Francis went on, ignoring the ainst Brother Brauainst you"

Je&039;howith sta, but Danube offered no support

Francis turned to Pony, and to Roger, who nodded that he believed the wo words," said Francis, "the tie in the Church Look at her, the disciple of Avelyn, named as an outlaw And yet, I will nominate her as the Mother Abbess of the new Church"

"What foolishness is this?" Je&039;howith demanded

"At the same time I nominate Brother Avelyn Desbris as a candidate for canonization," the surprising Bishop Francis added

"St Avelyn!" Brother Viscenti cried

"Impossible!" shouted Je&039;howith

"Why do we tolerate theed a chuckle, for in truth, he had heard enough from the troublesome Abellican Church "I hereby dismiss the office of bishop of Pal little room for debate "And I warn you all Put your house in order, else I shall do it for you If a monk can assume the role of bishop, then si in the role of Father Abbot!"

Francis looked to Brau the signal, wondered if he would survive with his position of abbot intact

Bradwarden ca the body of Elbryan, and there would be no time of celebration for those who had known the man as friend and companion

Brother Brauer fell over Pony, sobbing for hi in the glass from the smashed , Belli&039;mar Juraviel looked up one last time, his heart broken He understood that it was tih Inninness, time for him to run away from the humans and their foolish battles

What he could not understand, though, was how the body of Marcalo De&039;Unnero had disappeared