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Brooks writhed on the ground, still trying to stick the wizard leaning over hi, as if in slowblindly with his belt knife The wizard fell

Jack knelt next to Brooks in one of those tiny bubbles of tio on forever "Coet you to Mercedes"

Blood dribbled from the warrior’s mouth "I’m done, Jack But I took ten of the bloody bastards wi’ ripped Jack’s hand, as if looking for confirmation Jack could only nod "All the tournaments I won, all the poor warriors I put down…not half so … satisfying"

Jack could scarcely speak "Up you go," he whispered, brushing away tears with his gauntlet "Quit irl, when you find her…she has talent," Brooks gasped "She’s a fine fighter Alas" And the warrior closed his eyes

Jack re at hi, his moccasins ith the dew, a toht to be

He stood, looked around The center of the battle had moved a hundred yards off Ellen He had to find her He cut a path through thehis sith deadly efficiency

Eventually, he extracted hih to note a clutch of White Rose wizards hard by the gate, seeainst some Red Rose wizards And in the midst of it all, he spotted Ellen and as left of her patrol-- for their lives

Ellen was her usual ar blows aside with her shield, rallying her depleted troops,life miserable for anyone who came within her reach

Jack bulled his way toward the arriors would insert the ene the White Rose wizards against the wall Her studded deniht, she was secured behind a phalanx of wizards and warriors

Madison?

So focused were the Red Rose attackers on their intended that Jack cut down a half dozen before they noticed he was there Even when he could no longer be ignored, only a feizards turned to deal with hiainst the White Rose They cut down one of the wizard defenders and stepped through the gap, only to be driven back by Ellen’s fierce counterattack

They’re after Madison, Jack thought, his ishly with the evidence before hi her?

Perhaps the Red Rose had been instructed to take her alive, orMadison withtheir best to kill everyone around her while leaving her untouched

Wizards poured onto the field in a see supply There izards behind them Wizards on all sides Red and White Rose wizards Unlabeled wizards It was as if all the repressed fury of the past centuries had been unleashed in this single battle If there hadn’t been sobefore he ever got close to Ellen

One by one, the small party of White Rose wizards was eli between the Red Rose and Madison Moss She was already bleeding from several wounds, but she wore that familiar stubborn "Try me!" expression as she faced down a half-dozen wizards She reached back behind and extended a dagger to Madison, hilt-first

Jack’s throwing star caught one of the wizards behind the left ear, and he pitched forward Ellen’s sword took out another Noas four to one, even odds where Ellen was concerned

She looked up at Jack, scowling through the blood and dirt on her face "Will you tell theh?"

Jack realized that she’d been ate, and noas just behind them But the defenders would never open it with hundreds of wizards just outside They’d have no idea who Madison was

"Mick! Go tell the the warrior that way Then, jostling past several wizards, Jack took his place by Ellen’s left side, where his southpaordplay would cover her nondominant side He could tell she was injured by the way she moved, and her tunic was stained dark with sweat or blood, he couldn’t tell

"Take Madison in," he suggested "You’re all beat up"

She shook her head and drew herself up Jack caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned A wizard had so on Madison, as trying to hold hi Devereaux D’Orsay

"Devereaux! Come away froet between the tarriors and the boy Claude D’Orsay