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Sydney rushed up "Bok, return to me!" she yelled as loudly as she dared, for while the companions were far in the distance, the echoes of noises on the mountainside see across the facing ahead of theet around the side of the mountain," he told Sydney He juhly bound Catti-brie’s hands behind her back "If you cry out, you atch your friends die," he assured her "And then your own end will be htened look across her face, all the while pleased that the assassin’s latest threat seemed quite hollow to her She had risen above the level of terror that Entreri had played against her when they had first ainst her instinctive revulsion of the passionless killer, that he was, after all, only aand the coh the ravine," he explained to Sydney, "andthe path and close in from behind"

"And what of irl!" Entreri co to a servant He spun away and started off, refusing to hear any arguments

Sydney did not even turn to look at Jierdan as she stood waiting for Bok’s return She had no tiured that if Jierdan could not speak for himself, he wasn’t worth her trouble

"Act now," Catti-brie whispered to Jierdan, "for yerself and not for ry, and vulnerable to any suggestions that e has thrown all respect for ye, man," Catti-brie continued "The assassin has replaced ye, and she’d be liken to stand by him above ye This is yer chance to act, yer last one if e yer worth, Soldier of Luskan!"

Jierdan glanced about nervously For all of the h truth to convince him that her assessment was correct

His pride won over He spun on Catti-brie and sround, then rushed past Sydney in pursuit of Entreri

"Where are you going?" Sydney called after hier interested in pointless talk

Surprised and confused, Sydney turned to check on the prisoner Catti-brie had anticipated this and she groaned and rolled on the hard stone as though she had been knocked senseless, though in truth she had turned enough away frolanced her Fully conscious and coherent, her movements were calculated to position her where she could slip her tied hands down around her legs and bring them up in front of her

Catti-brie’s act satisfied Sydney enough so that theconfrontation between her two co Jierdan’s approach, Entreri had spun on hier and saber drawn

"You were told to stay with the girl!" he hissed

"I did not couard to your prisoner!" Jierdan retorted, his oord out

The characteristic grin ain "Go back," he said one last tilad, that the proud soldier would not turn away

Jierdan took another step forward

Entreri struck

Jierdan was a seasoned fighter, a veteran of many skirle thrust, he was mistaken Jierdan’s sword knocked the blow aside and he returned the thrust

Recognizing the obvious conte the level of the soldier’s pride, Sydney had feared this confrontation since they had left the Hosttower She didn’t care if one of them died now - she suspected that it would be Jierdan - but she would not tolerate anything that put her mission in jeopardy After the droas safely in her hands, Entreri and Jierdan could settle their differences

"Go to theht!" Bok turned at once and rushed toward the coust, believed that the situation would soon be under control and they could resu up behind her

Catti-brie knew that she had only one chance She crept up silently and brought her clasped hands down on the back of the ht to the hard stone and Catti-brie ran by, down into the copse of trees, her blood coursing through her veins She had to get close enough to her friends to yell a clear warning before her captors overtook her

Just after Catti-brie slipped into the thick trees, she heard Sydney gasp, "Bok!"

The goleaining with each long stride

Even if they had seen her flight, Jierdan and Entreri were too caught up in their own battle to be concerned with her

"You shall insultof steel

"But I shall!" Entreri hissed "There are many ways to defile a corpse, fool, and know that I shall practice every one on your rotting bones" He pressed in harder, his concentration squarely on his foe, his blades gaining deadly a all of his thrusts with deft parries and subtle shifts Soon the soldier had exhausted his repertoire of feints and strikes, and he hadn’t even co his mark He would tire before Entreri - he saw that clearly even this early in the fight

They exchanged severalfaster and faster, while Jierdan’s double-handed swings slowed to a crawl The soldier had hoped that Sydney would intervene by this point His weakness of stamina had been clearly revealed to Entreri, and he couldn’t understand why the lanced about, his desperation growing Then he saw Sydney, lying face down on the stone

An honorable way out, he thought, still e!" he cried to Entreri "We irl!" Jierdan yelled, hoping to catch the assassin’s interest He tried to break free of the co his sword "We shall continue this later," he declared in a threatening tone, though he had no intention of engaging the assassin in a fair fight again

Entreri didn’t answer, but lowered his blades accordingly Jierdan, ever the honorable soldier, turned about to see to Sydney

A jeweled dagger whistled into his back

Catti-brie stu, unable to hold her balance with her hands bound together Loose stone slipped beneath her and ile as a cat, she was up quickly

But Bok was the swifter

Catti-brie fell again and rolled over a sharp crest of stone She started down a dangerous slope of slippery rocks, heard the gole behind her, and knew that she could not possibly outrun the thing Yet she had no choice Sweat burned a dozen scrapes and stung her eyes, and all hope had flown fro the obvious end

Against her despair and terror, she found the strength to search for an option The slope continued down another twenty feet, and right beside her was the slender and rotting stu-dead tree A plan cah hope for her to try it She stopped for astuht have on the stones

She backed a few feet up the slope and waited, crouched for her impossible leap Bok ca away froht behind her, reaching out with horrid arms

And Catti-brie leaped

She hooked the rope that bound her hands over the stuainst the hold of its roots

Bok lumbered after her, oblivious to her intentions Even as the sturound, the goleer As the loose stones shifted and began their descent, Bok kept its focus straight ahead on its prey

Catti-brie bounced down ahead and to the side of the rockslide She didn’t try to rise, just kept rolling and scraain every inch between herself and the cruot her to the thick trunk of an oak, and she rolled around behind it and turned back to look at the slope

Just in ti stone