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Pony felt so then, a sensation, a rush, a tickle Confused, wondering if, in her longing to reach out to Pettibwa, she had unin-tentionally slipped under the power of the soul stone she oncethat course, Pony closed her eyes and tried to concentrate Then she saw theht she did, a trio of spirits, one an old h the room

Three spirits: Pettibwa, Graevis, and Grady?

The notion startled Pony as , she became afraid and wisely broke all con-nection to the soul stone She opened her eyes and looked down at Pettibwa - to see the woht this be?" Pony muttered aloud Had she subconsciously reached out so powerfully with the soul stone that she had grabbed Pettibwa&039;s diseot her terrifying answer as Pettibwa&039;s eyes flared red with deuttural snarl co from her opened mouth

Pony rocked back, too confused, too overwhelrew as the corpse&039;s teeth elongated into pointed fangs Up ca position, too suddenly, pluth, about Pony&039;s throat The horrified young wo her hands into every possible angle to gain leverage but rip

But then Juraviel was there, his slender sword slashing hard against Pettibwa&039;s bloated forearore could spill out

Elbryan was just about to sever the last of Bradwarden&039;s chains when Pony&039;s cry reached his ears He slashed hard with Te several steps before the chain even fell to the floor, Jojonah close behind He came around the bend in full speed, heard a tumult within the cell that held the body of Graevis, and kicked open the door

And then he stopped, stunned, for the anih its one chained wrist and now ca with red fires, its stu the ith a spray of blood

Elbryan wanted to go to Pony - above all else, he wanted to get by her side - but he could not rush off, and took some comfort when Jojonah thundered past behind him on his way to Pettibwa&039;s cell Out ca the de the spray of the bloody stu arainst the wall as Juraviel battled the creature The woo to Juraviel&039;s side, or that she should use the gemstones now, perhaps the soul stone to force this evil spirit froet past the horror at seeing Pettibwa, her adopted mother, in this state!

She forced herself to find a level of calet into the soul stone, she in the ht between the reaching ar his sword deep into the corpse&039;s heart, a sight that froze Pony in place

The dehed wildly and batted the elf&039;s hand from the sword hilt, then swatted Juraviel with a backhand that launched hi with it before it ever connected, dis, a perfect twist inthe de fro into the s, Jojonah slaht, taking it heavily into the back wall

And then Bradwarden entered, and the cell was packed full of bodies!

"What is it about?" the centaur gasped

With an unearthly roar, the demon launched Jojonah away, but Bradwarden found his answers quickly, and as the creature rushed forward, the centaur spun about and hit it with a double-kick that sent it careening back into the wall Bradwardenaway, fists pounding hard, a sudden and brutal beating that would not allow the deo on the offensive

"Get her out of here," Juraviel instructed Jojonah As the monk scooped Pony into his ar

All theout in the next seconds as the centaur rained blow after blow on the de bone into pulp Still, if he was truly har to find sorab at hi eyes, and how the demon howled!

"Oh, but ye didn&039;t like that one!" the centaur said, using the op-portunity to spin about and drive his rear legs right into the deainst the stone wall, the skull exploded in a shower of gore, but still the body fought on, ar wildly

Jojonah ushered Pony into the hall and set her down against the wall

"Da, lie down and die!" caed away to the door and then looked back, a dis-gusted expression on his face, waving for Pony to stay back

Inside the cell, Elbryan slashed hard with Te style, for he had stabbed the creature several tians, with little effect So he had gone to a hty sword in both hands and swinging it in devastating, slashing motions One of the demon&039;s arms was severed at the el-bow, and a downstroke of Teht at the shoulder

Still the creature caht-across cut of Teer ti

Jojonah looked away, understanding, as the great sword flashed across, lopping the head off When the reater, for that head, lying to the side against the wall, was still biting at the air, fires still burning in the eyes! And the body continued to press the attack

Elbryan punched out with his fist and knocked the body back, then took up Te around with the sword low, taking off one leg The corpse tu, and with the head, just a few inches away, snapping futilely at the air

The fires in the eyes were diht was over He rushed back into the hall, past Jojonah, past Bradwarden and Juraviel as they exited the first cell, to grab up the hysterical Pony in his ar," Bradwarden explained to Jojonah when the ory re about its shoulders, was still flailing against the wall, tearing at the stone

"But not for knohich way to turn," the centaur added, closing the door

Jojonah went to the ranger and the wo herself

"Deht in the eye "Those were not the souls of Graevis and Pettibwa"

"I saw the "I saw them come in, but there were three"

"Three?"

"Two shadows and an old h I could not see clearly"

"Markwart," Jojonah breathed "He brought them here And if you saw theone from this place, and quickly," Jojonah cried "Markwart is on his way, do not doubt, and with an ar Jojonah toward the saht thelanced back once at the side passage where they had put the guards, then took up the rear of the line, with Pony beside hi corridors would allow, and soon came upon the dock doors of the abbey, closed and with the portcullis down, as they had left them

Master Jojonah started for the crank, but Pony, steadier now and with a grim determination set upon her face, held him back She took out the h she eary and ee and channeled it into the stone With hardly an effort, it see holes

Elbryan went right to the great doors, lifting the locking bar and pulling one open He ain Pony, still in the throes of the levitationallatch," she instructed "Quickly"

They could hear the terrific strain in her voice, so Bradwarden ushered Jojonah out the open door, while Juraviel went behind Pony and gently eased her along, as well As she passed the open door and Elbryan, Pony put her other hand, holding the ainst the outside of the ic as well

The portcullis shifted dangerously over Elbryan&039;s head, but Jo-jonah, understanding what the clever wonetite froh the door and onto thebar Pony fell fully into thethe portcullis as Elbryan, too, caer pulled the door closed, and Jojonah released hisbar fell into place across the latches of the two doors Then Pony gradually let go of herit look as if these doors had not been breached

She turned about and blinked in the glare, as did the others, the ht through the thick fog lifting from All Saints Bay The tide was not in, but it was on the way, and so they set off i the trail to their horses

Snarling with rage, and despite the pretests of the two dozen brothers rushing about hih the doors to the dungeon area on the lower level

There was the battered Francis, the hood still tight about his head, struggling to stand, being helped by one of the other guards Elbryan had overpowered Farther along the corridor, just inside the doors of their cells, lay the destroyed bodies of the Chilichunks, Pettibwa&039;s still thrashing at the floor as the deled to the end

Markas not surprised, of course, since he had seen the in-truder, the wo over Pettibwa, on his escort of the derisly scene Some cried and fell away, others fell to their knees in prayer

"Our ene a hand at the pluht, Brother Francis!"

With so brother, Francis finally es-caped the hood and his bonds He started to explain that he had done little fighting, but stopped in the face of Markwart&039;s glare Francis wasn&039;t certain as going on here, hadn&039;t seen the Chilichunks&039; animated corpses, and wasn&039;t sure exactly who had destroyed the deh, and that notion sent rew ill at ease, even frightened, as he watched Pony runts were not of weariness, though she surely er, a prier stayed close to her, put his hand on her whenever the trail allowed, but she hardly looked at him, just continually blinked away any hint of tears, her jaw set firaze locked ahead

At the horses, Pony e hematite on Bradwarden, if the woman would loan him one, but the centaur brushed away that idea before Pony could begin to answer "I&039; a bit o&039; food," he insisted, and truly, he did look healthy enough, though quite a bit skinnier than the last time the others had seen him He patted his arave toand fast," the ranger warned, but Brad-warden only patted his less than a all the faster for o," said the ranger "At once Before the monks come out of their abbey to search for us And let us deliver Master Jojonah to St Precious on ti him the reins

Jojonah accepted thehter woman, and not he, should cliht the not for Brad-warden, but back toward St-Mere-Abelle, running full out, geht up to her twenty yards away and had to tackle her to stop her progress Now she was indeed crying, shoulders bobbing with sobs, but she fought against hiet back to the abbey to exact soer said to her, holding her tightly "They are too ht, even unintentionally clawed Elbry-an&039;s face

"You cannot dishonor Avelyn like this," Elbryan said to her, and that gave her pause Gasping, tears streaave you the stones to keep theo back to the abbey now, you will be defeated and the gemstones will fall into the hands of our - of Avelyn&039;s - eneht such turive hith seemed to fall away from the wo her face in his chest He led her gently back to the others and put her in place atop Bradwarden, with Juraviel behind her to keep her steady

"Give me the sunstone," he bade her, and when she did, he took it to Jojonah, explaining that they should put up soical attempts to find theh, so the ranger went to Syallop, putting St-Mere-Abelle far, far behind theh in the eastern sky

"Find thee and every roouarded! No!"

The otherback the way they had come to alert the rest of the library

When the reports filtered back to Markwart that the back dock doors had apparently not been opened, the search within the library intensified, and by reat structure had been scoured The outraged Markwart set up a central reporting area in the abbey&039;s huge chapel, surrounded by theh the dock doors," one of theleader had just returned to hin of entry

"But the doors were closed and barred, an impossible feat from outside the abbey," another ic," someone offered

"Or unless someone within the abbey was there to meet them, to open the doors for them, to close the doors behind theht drew an uncomfortable shift from every man in the room

Soon after, when it was obvious that the eneone fro parties and another two dozen outquartz and heh, for the Father Abbot was finally getting a true appreciation of the cunning and power of his real enee deeper than Markwart had ever known, one that he honestly believed would overwhelh, when he inter-viewed Francis and the two uard near the cells, when he learned more about these intruders who had coer to the place

Perhaps he wouldn&039;t need the centaur and the Chilichunks after all Perhaps he could shift the blaeer conspiracy within the Order Now, he understood Now, he had a scapegoat

And Je&039;hoould be bringing a contingent of Allheart soldiers

Markwart stood in his private quarters that night, staring out the"We shall see," he said, a hint of a grin spreading on his face "We shall see"

"You&039;re not even to ask for the stones?" Pony said, standing on the streets of Palroup had landed earlier that reat river on Captain Al&039;u&039;met&039;sSaudi Jacintha, which, fortunately, had still been docked in Areed to Jojonah&039;s request for help without question and without pay-ment, and with a promise that not a word of the impromptu ferry would be spoken to anyone

Juraviel and Bradwarden were still in the north, while Elbryan, Pony, and Jojonah entered Palmaris, the monk to return to St Pre-cious, the other two to check on old friends

"The sacred geiven into fine care," Jojonah replied with a sincere set no just rewards from the likes of Father Abbot Markwart"

"And you?" Elbryan asked

"I go to deal with one less cunning, but equally wicked," Jojonah explained "Pity all the monks of St Precious, to have lost Abbot Dobrinion to Abbot De&039;Unnero"

They parted then as friends, with Jojonah retiring to the abbey and the other twoto find soht them in the path of Belster O&039;Colee to see theer asked

"He went south with the Baron," Belster explained "To the King, so I&039;ve heard"

That bit of news pleased them immensely and filled them with hope, for word of the Baron&039;s demise had not yet reached the co, they went next to Fel-lowship Way, the tavern that had been Pony&039;s ho of Dundalis Profound pain assaulted Pony as she looked upon the place, and she could not stay, pleading with Elbryan to get her out of the city, back to the northland where they both belonged

The ranger agreed, but first turned to Belster "Go into the Way," he bade the innkeeper "You have been looking to remain in Pal-maris, so you told me They will need help in there to keep the busi-ness open and running smoothly I can think of none better suited for the job than you"

Before the innkeeper denied the request, he paused long enough to study the ranger and to follow Elbryan&039;s gaze to Pony

Then he understood

"The finest tavern in all of Palmaris, so I&039;ve been told," he said

"It was," Pony added griain!" Belster said enthusiastically He patted Elbryan on the shoulder, gave Pony a great hug, then started for the tavern, a noticeable spring in his step

Pony watched hied a smile, then looked up to Elbryan "I love you," she said quietly

The ranger returned her sently on the fore-head "Co for us on the road to Caer Tinella"