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"You shielded the horses," Jared said Seeing the sorrow and pain in Thayne’s eyes, Jared glanced at the wagon He quickly looked away from the remains of the other horse "How badly are you hurt?"

Thayne tried to smile "I’ll live"

Blaed walked down the road toward the so carefully Jared’s body ached in sympathy

Do my eyes look that haunted? Jared wondered

"I killed the away

Jared understood asn’t being said To protect Thera and Lia, Blaed had made the choice to step onto that private battlefield inside himself and wholly embrace the violent nature of a Warlord Prince What Jared had needed Randolf’s instruction to do, Blaed had done instinctively--and had been nothan Jared had been

Before Jared could think of so froin with, she now had the gaunt, dried-husk look of a witch who had channeled too h her body

"Lia?" she said plaintively, a desperate look in her eyes

No answer

When Blaedher arms out for balance

"Lia!" Thera looked around frantically

Ice coated Jared’s spine Wherewas Lia? Was she too hurt to answer?

"LIA!" Staggering over to the boulders, Thera tried to cli hysterically, she sank to the ground "LIIIAA!"

Jared turned toward the boulders, opening his inner barriers as he searched for Lia’s psychic scent, probed for so

"LIA!" Jared shouted

He scrah the boulders, slipped on torn-apart bodies, barely aware of theroan to his lefta Purple Dusk ring appeared above a boulder, found a handhold

Jared pointed his Red-Jeweled ring toward thebehind the boulder and waited

Brock stared at Jared, blood strea down his face

"Did they take her?" Brock asked hoarsely

Jared didn’t answer

"Is the Lady safe? Is the boy all right?" Brock’s blue eyes begged for an answer

"What happened?" Jared asked So for Lia

Brock licked his lips He coughed and spat out blood "Tooto hold the to shield Toh his shield Tossed hi up on that rock over there"--Brock jerked his chin toward a flat boulder a few yards away--"yelling if she didn’t give herself to them, they’d throw the boy to his death I told her--Itold her to stay down, stay hidden Told her I’d get Tomas Made it this far whenI saw before I went doas Lady Lia running toward that boulder and Garth swinging that daain and then said in a bewildered voice, "She was shielding that broken bastard And there was some kind of Craft wrapped around that axle They couldn’t touch hih skulls like they were ripe tomatoes Why did she do it, Jared? Why did she shield a male who’s already half-dead? Why did she risk herself for a half-Blood?"

There are no pawns

Jared didn’t answer There was so important But how, in the name of Hell, was a ?

A wo a battle cry

A child screaer that lived a the boulders

Jared ran to the flat-topped boulder and climbed up it as fast as he could

He saw Garth first

The big e nest of viper rats, pounding, pounding, pounding the faintly squeaking bodies into pulp Tears ran down his face, and each breath caht and saw Lia crawling away fro To hard on his hands and knees "Lia!" When she didn’t respond, he crawled after her and grabbed her foot "Lia!"

She didn’t answer him, didn’t notice hi to craay frorab the back of her coat, lost his balance, and fell on top of her

She still tried to crawl

"Lia!" Thera cried

Jared rolled off Lia and looked up

Blaed and Thera stu to her knees beside the now-still body When she couldn’t pry Lia’s fingers open, she used Craft to rip Toed the boy a few feet Thera ith hi hard, Jared turned Lia onto her back

Her tunic was so torn, she was alray eyes that stared back at hirotesque swelling of the viper rat bites on her jaw and neck, the swelling above her left breast Aching, he listened as Lia struggled to breathe Desperate, he tried to re Craft that would save her

Thera knelt beside him Tears ran down her face