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There was no way of knowing how the Tiste Edur warlocks had found it, or came to understand its nature and the potential within it But they had bound it, fed it blood until its strength returned, and it had grown, and with that growth, a burgeoning hunger

And now, I must find a way to kill it

She could sense its approach, drawing ever nearer beneath the Edur raiders Along the harbour front below, soldiers were crowding the fortifications Crews readied at the trebuchets and ballistae Fires were stoked and racks of hull-breaching quarrels heeled out

Arahathan in his black furs had positioned himself at the far end of theEdur fleet He would seek to block the spirit’s attack, engage it fully for as long as it took for Nekal Bara to ically draw close to the entity and strike at its heart

She wished Enedictal had re to his battalion at Awl Indeed, she wished the Snakebelts had ed, Enedictal could have then shattered the Edur fleet She had no idea howthe spirit – it was possible they would have nothing left hich to destroy the fleet Itthe harbour front

And that is the absurdity of ate each other Unless one cadre finds itself outnumbered …

She had sixthe companies of the Cold Clay Battalion arrayed below They would have to be sufficient against the Edur warlocks acco the fleet Nekal Bara orried, but not unduly so

The red sails fluttered She could just ging The fleet was heaving to Beneath the lead ships, a dark tide surged forward, spreading its ht bruise into the harbour

She felt a sudden fear It was… huge

A glance down To the lone, black-swathed figure at the very end of thewide

The spirit heaved up in a swelling wave, gaining speed as it rushed towards the harbour front On the docks, soldiers behind shields, a wavering of spear-heads So pitch from one of the trebuchets Fascinated, Nekal Bara watched its arcing flight, its s wave It vanished in a smear of steam

She heard Arahathan’s roar, saw a line of water shiver, then boil just beyond the docks, lifting skyward a wall of steae ait