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"I&039;ll irl?"

Isana&039;s voice careat

strain "She means no harm to Tavi I&039;m sure of that Beyond that I don&039;t know Hurry, Bernard"

"I will," Bernard said Then he stepped back into her vision and drank ahatever was in the cup "This man after you, with the swordsman Why did you expect him instead of me?"

Amara sed "He&039;s an earth and woodcrafter Very experienced He can find the boy" She lifted her head, looking at him intently "Let me up I&039;m the only chance you have to help Tavi"

He scowled "Why do you say that?"

"Because you don&039;t know these people," A to do next I know his strengths, his weaknesses And you can&039;t defeat his swordsman alone"

Bernard stared down at her for the space of a breath, then shook his head irritably "All right," he said "Prove it Anticipate him Tellto reion "He kneould expect hith But he didn&039;t follow He anticipated et ahead of the boy Check the causeway, the furies in the cobblestones He&039;ll have et ahead of the boy, so that he can cut him off" She opened her eyes and watched the Steadholder&039;s face

Bernard growled so quietly, and she felt a slow, silent shudder in the earth There was silence for a round, closing his eyes with his head tilted to one side, as though listening to a distant music

Finally, he let out a breath "You&039;re right," he said "Or seeh the road itself, and fast Horses, I think"

"It&039;s him" Amara said "Let me up"

Bernard opened his eyes and rose decisively He recovered his axe, gestured at the earth, and Amara abruptly found her liinal shapes, unwinding froain and recovered the sword and knife fro to help me?" he asked

A breath "Sir I swear it to you I&039;ll help you protect your nephew"

Bernard&039;s teeth flashed, sudden in the darkness "Good thing you&039;re not going after these people ood froh her belt "I hope your shoulder doesn&039;t hurt too much"

His smile widened "I&039;llet your fury to lift you again," he said He drew a piece of cord froh the back of his belt, and tied it closed in a loop He tossed the loop to her and said, "Keep your body behind e clear, but don&039;t go waving your head around, or a branch ht take it off"

Around itself ru run, the earth i him forith every step She turned and ran to keep up with him, but even in her best condition she would have been hard pressed to hold the pace She ed to take several steps to keep close to hi to the loop of leather cord, then leapt in the air, calling to Cirrus as she did

The presence of her fury solidified beneath her feet, and she flowed over the ground after the Steadholder, tugged forward by the cord If he noticed her weight dragging at hiht with perfect confidence and near-perfect silence, as though even the withered grass beneath his feet conspired to cushion the i

Before she had gotten her breath back, they had passed into the woods, and A at her face She hunched down in the Steadholder&039;s shadow, once jerking her feet up as he leapt a fallen tree that Cirrus hadn&039;t quite ed to carry her feet over

"Got them!" he said, in a round, Tavi&039;s partly in the water and" He snarled "And Kord is there"

"Kord?" Amara demanded

"Steadholder Criminal He&039;ll hurt them"

"We don&039;t have time for this!"

"So sorry it&039;s inconvenient, Cursor," Bernard snapped "I can&039;t feel your friends They&039;ve left the road"

"He e," Amara said "He never passes up a surprise attack It won&039;t be long before he gets to the boy"

"Then we have to defeat Kord and his sons first I&039;ll take Kord, he&039;s the old one The other two are up to you"

"Crafters?"

"Air and fire-"

"Fire?" Amara blurted

"But cowards The taller one is erous Hit them hard and fast Over the next rise"

Aathered the air beneath her and with a rush of swirling winds swept herself froh the stark branches of the barren trees and into the air above them