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It did not take long for the nize the new threat A Qu horde He was easy to spot because his wings glinted as if each were a knife of polished steel Half his force split with hie as the prince’s troops cleared the orchard At a gallop, the two forces collided
Zacharias, beside her, grunted softly, as though he hi had two fingers in herhard, as she squinted at the landscape below; it was i on
Anna leaned forward The sun was shining in her eyes and it was hard to see
The prince, dragon heled Quman Horse and rider disappeared under the prince’s assault; the brilliant wings splintered and vanished as the fight swirled over theate closed behind theoes the fray?" Wolfhere’s voice surprised her
"Well enough, I think Don’t you ride with the prince?"
He chuckled softly as Zacharias glared at him "Nay, child I’m too old for battle"
"Look," said Heribert softly "They’ve routed them"
The field churned into chaos, Wendish soldiers pursuing the Qulant split his group into three; his dragon hel knot of Qu’s forces hunted down Qu’s lord where the slope and wood hid hied
"Quroup of fourteen Qu their horses aside when they saw the undefended tents, the ruined watchtower, and the square-walled little fort Wolfhere drew his short sword and crept carefully to the parapet walk, avoiding rotted planks and gaps in the floorboards
Zacharias yanked her down beside hiaps in the floorboards she saw Matto, Everwin, and thewith spears to cover the breaches that riddled the first floor of the tower Frole she couldn’t see Den, Johannes, and Lewenhardt, ere stationed elsewhere She stuck her hand into an alcove in the stone wall, drawing out the long knife she had laid aside just in case Zacharias and Heribert had staffs, but everyone knew that Heribert was pretty useless in a fight Hoell Zacharias could fight was a mystery to everyone, but the look of desperation on his face made her almost feel sorry for him
Heribert slid over to Anna "Don’t worry," he whispered "They’ll loot the camp and then ride away They won’t even knoe’re here"
"I kill the The cleric hissed softly and set two fingers over Blessing’s lips The little girl sighed disgustedly and shut her eyes
By now the sound of horses crashing through the undefended cae carried easily Fabric ripped Pots clattered A horse neighed Anna took little comfort in Heribert’s words She hid the knife up her sleeve so that, should a Quht think her unarmed and easy prey
What betrayed them she never knew Maybe it was only curiosity on the part of one of the Quman soldiers
She heard it because, crouched down, she could see nothing except her co parapet wall, and the sky A soldier ated the stairs, where one of the traps had been laid
A screa A body fell, wetly, in awful silence At once, the Quman shouted to each other and a rain of arrows spattered down along the parapet walk One slammed into the wall above Anna and flopped over to clatter onto the plank beside Heribert She peeped out over the wall
Crazy Lewenhardt had found himself cover on a slab of wall broken off on either side and therefore hard to cli now, picking his targets carefully A dis, then scrah Another shower of arrows followed; Anna ducked Through the floorboards she saw Everwin grab at a rope just as Matto yelled
"Three of theed soldier pressed through, leading with his spear Either the rocks crushed him or he leaped out of the way; she couldn’t tell as dust rose, screening her view Surly was already hacking at the central breach, trading bloith an unseen foe Shouts rose from Den and Johannes as Qu to the parapet She heard the sharp "twang" of the last trap released Wolfhere ran down the walk to aid theone more than ten steps when a Quman leaped onto the parapet between Wolfhere and the tower The stone archway, all that res fluttered as the wind picked up; several feathers, scraped off froulf of air beyond the wall