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But then the heap stood and the low gleaht in the whites of its--his--eyesand on the asped and pocketed herto flee, but when she turned, her escape was blocked by two hulking figures

She found herself wishing, absurdly, she was back in Blackveil She raised the bonewood staff to a defensive position, thankful it hadthe loss of her saber, which had served her so well since she became a Green Rider, and F’ryan Coblebay before her Lost forever, she suspected, in the deeps of Castle Argenthyne

Even as the two at the open end of the alley rushed her, so did the one with the knife froht hand all but useless, she swept the staff at the two forward assailants relying on the strength of her left She sered away, she ra assailant in the gut He fell back with a grunt of pain

She thrust the staff forward again, battering the e of the third assailant’s nose She felt war at his bleeding nose

Not bad, Karigan thought, for being one-handed and pretty ed

She made to retreat fro her way

MORPHIA

Karigan backed away as the thugs advanced on her One of her original assailants recovered enough to grab her from behind She smashed the heel of her boot into his instep, and he hopped away howling The others paused as one as if reassessing their prey, indistinct in their ragged cloaks She held her staff in a defensive position, keeping an ear open to anyone creeping up on her fro fro expended so y in Blackveil, as well as in the streets of this naive out at any ti more than to drop where she stood, but that would irlie," one of the thugs said, "and on’t hurt ya Real gentlemen we are, ain’t we, boys?"

The others answered with affiro, and I won’t hurt you," she said, her dry throather voice harsh

"Got ya soood for the likes of you"

Karigan did not wait for theuttural yell, staff hu as the metal handle thudded into the leader’s skull She had hoped they’d scatter after that, but they grabbed for her, their rags rancid with filth The staff becaled in their ar, she sank with a moan, and they descended on her as predators on wounded prey<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>