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The knoll lay but a spear’s throay A rough palisade was already rising as Captain Thiadbold ordered the defense As their wagon rolled in, it was coap in the wall Anna leaped off the wagon just as Thieot their shoulders under the wagon’s bed and tipped it up on its side Its contents spilled everywhere A bag of grain ripped, and wheat poured onto the ground while ons trundled up, they were corralled to fill in gaps in this makeshift redoubt; even oxen and horses were tied up across such gaps Only the painted wagon of Bayan’s mother was left untouched

But it was already too late

A Qus had whipped his unruly men into formation The line split The main force of the Quht flank of the retreating line of infantry, while a s arrows as they rode Anna hauled Blessing up the knoll to crouch in the shelter of a beech tree, her arirl

So close Arrows fluttered through the branches Men shrieked in pain The line of retreating Lions curled back, trying to protect their back, and to protect the last of the wagons now racing for the knoll It was impossible that they wouldn’t all be killed before they reached the knoll They were less than a bow’s shot away

Lewenhardt took aim and loosed his arrow The Qu hi line of Lions The old Lion at their center shouted orders In groups of three and four,to extend the flanks so that the line kept extending--at the cost of the center, so far unchallenged Most of the wagons had now reached the knoll, been tipped over, and set up to fill in gaps, but they didn’t have enough to make it all the way around the knoll

A few arrows launched fro the left A band of ten Lions charged off the knoll to prevent that line of their coht the Que of spears and shields retreating evenly before them

"Gotfrid!" cried Thiadbold from the knoll "Close up!"

As Lewenhardt and other archers shot rapidly, and accurately, the line still out in the clearinga dozen of their ed cheer rose fro for them on the knoll It was a suard was gone, obliterated, except for the of battle breaking out as the Quoing to wrap up the line of ion at a ti hard, as he grabbed Blessing’s ared her up to the top of the knoll

"Won’t go!" cried Blessing, waving her wooden sword, which she had ht, too!"

Anna slapped her on the ru, Que The leader, now on a new ainst the knoll Riders spread out in a circle around the knoll and moved in Near the top Heribert found an old oak with a bit of a hollow burned out, where some traveler had once hidden out froainst her protests and stood with her own body blocking the opening

The eight slaves had brought Bayan’s mother, discreetly concealed in her litter, to the top of the knoll Now they crouched around her

Anna s fast

Quman riders closed Because their arrows came from all directions, it was impossible to find a tree that could protect on all sides Some lord’s concubine, a woman with beautiful blonde hair now fallen free over her shoulders, began to curse and throw stones at theh the chest

Lewenhardt and the other archers made them pay dearly Every arroenhardt loosed struck human, or horse flesh The Quman were no fools Every person on the knoll who picked up a boas quickly dropped by a hail of arrows Many of the archer, but he had a way of shifting, almost like a twitch, that ered out of the path of the incohs and ar, scrabbled about gathering spent arrows and placing them at Lewenhardt’s feet