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Tavi ran for his life

The courtyard was a mass of confusion and o: away from the man who had killed Atsurak Tavi spun, dashed around a pair of struggling Marat warriors, and fled toward the other side of the fort He heard a roar of wind above hiround Tavi yelped and tried to make sure that he didn&039;t stab hi along the stones of the courtyard

When he caht Aeris in full ar toward him, the spear in his hand held extended Tavi clawed at his pockets Even as the Knight came on, Tavi hurled a handful of rock salt he had taken froht, and then dove frantically to one side

The Knight let out a sudden shout, clawing at the air-but he dropped to the ground,for a pair of desperate steps, and began to tu stones Tavi heard one of his liht shrieked

Tavi regained his feet, looking around hihts Aeris had risen above the courtyard, looking for hiionares, the huge swordsman Tavi had seen in the stable at Bernardholt spotted hi to clean any opposition out of his way The man who had killed Atsurak was nowhere to be seen

Tavi ran away froth of the stables, toward the center of the fort and the far gate Surely there would be someone there asn&039;t already hips-deep in Marat by now, or a safe building that he could hide in

Tavi reached the end of the stables at the saure, dressed in a half-buckled breastplate and a heled out of the doors of the stables, shouting, "I&039;!"

Tavi slaround The ed to keep a grip on the orn handle of a spade The ripped the spade in both hands, raising it

Tavi shielded his head with his arms "Frederic!" he shouted "Fred, it&039;s me!"

Frederic lowered the spade and stared "Tavi? You&039;re alive?"

"Not for long!" he panted, struggling to his feet "They&039;re trying to kill me, Fred!"

Frederic blinked His helmet fell over his eyes

Tavi reached up to push it away, and saw the next Knight Aeris swooping down at him as he did He reached into his pocket for more salt, but in his haste he had turned the pocket inside out, when he had drawn out salt before It had all fallen out as he ran

"Tavi," Fred said "The Steadholder says I&039;m not to take that helmet off-"

"Look out!" Tavi said, and bulled into his friend, overbalancing the larger boy and taking hi down, and Tavi felt a sudden, hot sting on one arht flying on past, circling around again "Tavi," he said, stunned, looking at the boy&039;s ar "They&039;re trying to kill you!"

"I can&039;t tell you how glad I a at the sudden flash of pain Blood had stained his shirt, but he could move his arm "It isn&039;t bad Helphis fear and confusion "Who are they?"

"I don&039;t know," Tavi said "But he&039;s coain!"

Tavi turned to duck into the building-only to see, at the far end of the stables, the unainst the doors on the far side, blade in hand

"Can&039;t get out that way," Tavi breathed He looked back around behind hiht Aeris had been joined by one of his coe "Fred, we need Thumper"

"What? But Thuht!"

"Salt, Fred We need salt to throw at those windcrafters, a lot of it!"

"But-"

"Hurry, Fred!"

The Knights Aeris hurtled toward theripped at his knife and looked around wildly, but there was no place to run

Frederic stepped forward, in front of Tavi, his spade gripped in both hands He let out a yell that grew into a deep-throated roar and drew back the spade When he brought it around again, it ca arc that ht just before his sword could reach Tavi&039;s friend

The blow cruh he had been round in a single short, violent motion Tavi had no doubt at all that Frederic had crushed the life fro wildly at the next Knight, as the man swerved to avoid hilittering on so on the blade of the spade, hard white luht Aeris&039;s wind-strearound and rolling with bone-breaking violence into the wall of one of the barracks

Fred stared at the twoHe turned to Tavi and stammered, "I already had my spade salted After I hit that first one, when I orking on that boulder" He blinked at the spade, and then at Tavi "Are you all right?"

Tavi sed and looked back over his shoulder at the interior of the stable Inside, someone had leapt out of the shadows at the swordsman There was a confused blur of outlines, a short cry-and then the swordsripping his spade "Tavi? What do we do?"

"Give "

Without warning, a Marat warrior hurled hi hiainst the wall of the stable Tavi let out a croaking shout and swung his knife weakly at the Marat warrior, a blood-slanced off, barely breaking the Marat&039;s skin

The warrior tore at Tavi with his fangs, drawing back just enough to sla the breath fros and stars into his vision

Fred loomed up behind the warrior, shoved one brawny arm beneath his

chin, and wrenched the Marat back fro a strangled scream of protest "Tavi!" Fred shouted "Run!"

Tavi landed on the ground, woozily, and pushed himself to his hands and knees He looked up to see the swordser still clutched in his fist, and startedoff into the wild melee of the courtyard

Tavi ducked the butt of a legionare&039;s spear, slipped on a dark wetness he did not take the time to look at, and scranized fronized Tavi before striking and yelled soh the tumult and din

Wind roared over the courtyard once ht Aeris hovering, eyes searching over the courtyard His gaze swept to Tavi and stopped The man&039;s eyes widened, and he dived doard him

Somewhere close, Tavi heard the screa He slipped past a stout old holder hauling a wounded legionare back out of the main knot of combat in the courtyard&039;s center, to find a knot of horses, riders wielding spear and blade and forcing their way across the courtyard

"Hashat!" Tavi shouted

The Marat&039;s head whipped around, white , and she flashed Tavi a fierce smile "Aleran!" she called, her voice merry Her eyes snapped into place above his on the back of her horse The beast plunged forward, all but bowling Tavi over, then reared Tavi looked up in ti for him slash at Hashat and miss, only to have the Marat&039;s saber whip across his face The ed to thrust hi drunkenly away from the courtyard One of the other warriors spun with one of the heavily curved Marat short bows in his hands, and loosed an arrow that felled the Knight from the sky

"Bah!" Hashat shouted at the archer Theanother arrow She lifted the bloodied saber to her teeth and extended a hand to Tavi "Up, Aleran!"

Tavi took her hand and was startled by the slender woht cushion of a saddle the Marat used, wrapped one of his arms around her waist, and shouted to the warriors near her in a

tongue he could not understand Together, the horses turned and plunged toward the outer wall, forcing their way through the crowd of screa?" Tavi shouted

"Your people have been forced back onto their wall!" Hashat shouted She shrugged, and Tavi saw a number of loops of black cloth over her shoulder- the dark sashes worn by the enehts "Wolf and Herdbane were closest to the walls Our people are fighting their way here through theet onto the wall or to fall back to the other courtyard!"

As Tavi watched, the butt end of a spear scythed through the air and took one of thehilass knife into his throat, and then as blood fountained froether with the scalp

Hashat, seeing this, let out a piercing screa its hooves at the chest of the fallen Herdbane warrior The , one side of his chest warped oddly One of the other Marat raised his spear, but Hashat lifted a hand, spitting a command The spearman nodded and whipped the spear down at the Marat, its tip leaving a long cut over the Marat&039;s ribs He slashed again, into an X, and then the horses surged on

"What was that?" Tavi asked

"He took Ishava&039;s scalp," Hashat snarled "Atte, Aleran"

"Why didn&039;t you kill him?"

"Because ill not lose Ishava&039;s strength We ht, Aleran, ill partake of that Herdbane and let Ishava rest"

Tavi blinked and stared at Hashat The Horse heade, and she only smiled when someone hurled another spear at her, and she had to raise up on her stirrups to cut it out of the air with her saber

They reached the wall, but the press of the combat had forced them to the northwest corner of the courtyard, where part of the wall had collapsed when Doroga&039;s gargant had coa!" Tavi shouted "Where is Doroga?"

"Out!" Hashat responded "We got hiant and sent him

back to his people" She looked around the courtyard and shook her head "We cannot re forced inside your walls by our people"

"My friend!" Tavi said "Fred! Tall boy carrying a spade! He&039;s back by the stables! You have to help him!"

Hashat looked back at Tavi, expression dark Then flashed him a brilliant smile "I will help him Now, Aleran Stand up Hold on to my shoulders"

Hashat rode close to the crumbled section of the wall and looked up into the sun to see figuresup there One of the where he had been cut, his feet on the Marat saddle, his hand on Hashat&039;s slender, strong shoulders He shoved the gold-handled dagger through his belt and grabbed on to the rope Hashat glanced up at hi in the air, as whoever was up above began pulling the rope up

"Fade!" Tavi exclaimed

Fade let out a happy hoot and hauled Tavi up onto the broken section of the wall The slave&039;s scarred face twisted into a grotesque srasped Tavi&039;s shoulders and then hurried hie of the broken walls

At the top, several legionares crouched upon the battle and exhausted None were unwounded They crouched with their backs against the crenellation, their shields held between them and the courtyard below Bernard crouched there, too, but rose to come to Tavi and clutched at his arm fiercely "Tavi!"

"Uncle! Where&039;s Aunt Isana?"

Bernard shook his head, his face pale "We got separated" He took the boy&039;s shoulders and guided hiainst the stone, and kneeling with his own body between Tavi and the courtyard Tavi looked out at the battlefield outside the fortress, awed He had never seen soto kill one another The battlefield outside was as confusing a jurander scale Gargants screa a slow but steady path toward the walls, while wheeling groups ofpacks of Wolf warriors or disorganized bands of Herdbane with their uncontrollable warbirds

"Great furies," Tavi breathed

"Get your head down," Bernard ruion shield and held it across his body, facing the courtyard "Someone still stops to shoot an arrow once in a while"

"What about Aunt Isana?"

Bernard grunted, as so struck theall we can, boy Stay down!"

Fade let out an alarmed cry from behind his shield, and Tavi looked back in ti leap froap in the wall Amara landed on the battlerunt of effort and wor

"Tavi?" she said, her eyes widening "I never thought you&039;d make it out of that"

"I had help"

"Do you have it?"

"Yes," Tavi said He turned the knife&039;s handle toward her and passed it over Aet this to the First Lord"

Bernard grimaced "What&039;s Giraldi have to say?"

"We&039;re cut off," Amara said She wiped sweat fro "Horse and Gargant are pushing the other Marat into Garrison They hold the west courtyard except for the wall East courtyard has pulled all its people back into buildings for defense Giraldi thinks that Doroga&039;s people will drive a wedge between Herdbane and Wolf within the hour and they&039;ll have to quit the field"

Bernard blew out a breath "An hour" So his shoulder into Tavi&039;s "We aren&039;t going to last that long My sister?"

"She&039;s in one of the barracks in the east courtyard, with Grao in with him"

"Good," Bernard ruionares cried out Tavi looked up and saw an arrow protruding from the man&039;s upper shoulder It didn&039;t look like a life-threatening wound, but within a few seconds, the man&039;s head rolled on his neck and he fell quietly to his side

Bernard grabbed Tavi&039;s arm and crab walked down the battle it over both of therione" Then he frowned and leaned closer "This isn&039;t a Marat arrow"

The next legionare on the wall abruptly jerked His head snapped back, where a few scant inches of his helmet showed over his shield He blinked, a few times, and then blood ran down between his eyes and over one temple His eyes unfocused, and then he toppled to his side as well, the arrow piercing his heled Fade down the wall and flicked a glance around his shield "It&039;s him," she hissed

The thirdin close-too close The next arrow slammed into the shield itself, pierced it, and went on into thecry, blood suddenly a froth on his ionares dying on the wall beside him It had happened so fast It hadn&039;t taken half a minute for the unseen archer to kill three et out of here," the last of the legionares stammered He started to rise "We can&039;t stay here"

"Stay down, you fool," Bernard shouted

But the legionare turned to run down the wall, toward the rope that lay coiled by the gap As soon as he rose, he cried out, and Tavi saw a thick black arrow iround with a shout, landing on top of his shield

The next arrow struck square against his ear Theto sleep, and didn&039;t ain

"Damn you, Fidelias!" Amara shouted, her voice raw

Tavi looked up and down the wall Behind hia had crushed into the wall Before hi until they reached a wall of solid rock The builders of Garrison had used the old granite bones of the hills on either side of the fortress to serve as its north and south walls, and they were little more than a sharply sloped face of rock "Can we cliet out that way?"

"With all those Knights Aeris?" Amara shook her head "We wouldn&039;t stand a chance"

The courtyard itself, Tavi could hear, seethed with the cries of Marat and their beasts, the occasional screa of wolves,

the whistling shrieks of herdbane Even if they did cli pan and into the fire