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Before she could recover, the deain She rolled to the side, but the tongue caught her about the thigh, slowly drawing her in Renna dropped her spear to claw at the riverbank, but to no avail The coreling’s h to s her whole, was filled with row upon row of short, sharp teeth

Renna ignored it, turning instead to Arlen, as already running her way

"You stay out of this, Arlen Bales!" she growled, stopping hie of the bank demon’s teeth when she turned back to it She flicked the sandal off her free foot and kicked it in the jaith a flash of htly, and Renna twisted, cutting right through it with her knife As the coreling recoiled, she leapt to her feet, stabbing it in the eye She hopped back to avoid its death thrashes, thenher knife in its other eye to ensure the kill

She looked back at Arlen, daring hi, but there was a hint of a slittered

There was shouting froht flickered in one of its s, roused by the coo," Arlen said

The one was on theprince hissed in frustration, but immediately leapt upon itshis trail

It had been a risk, letting the human live another cycle, but one the ht learn how the one had co since stahtly, but their nunificant, as were the weapons he spread He was not a unifier, like the dangerous one to the south

But it was in his power to be If he but called, human drones would flock to him, and if that happened, they could threaten the hive

And noas rounds The coreling prince was certain he would call to the huin That could not be tolerated

Thethe one Just before dawn it reached the river and hissed when its prey ca could be done noith the sun about to rise, but it would find thehtly to the riverbank, bending low so the coreling prince could disrowled softly, sensing its master’s anticipation for the kill

Renna and Arlen kept riding when the sun rose, passing a branch in the road with an old signpost a few hours later

"Ent stopping in the town?" Renna asked

Arlen looked at her "You can read?"

"Course not," Renna said "Don’t need to read to knohat a sign on the road is for"

"Point," Arlen said, and she could sense hiot tiet to the Hollow quick"

"Why?" Renna asked

Arlen looked at her for a long ot herself into a fix," he said at last, "and I reckon it’s "

Renna felt a cold hand clutch her heart "What friend? Who is she?"

"Leesha Paper," he said "Herb Gatherer of Deliverer’s Hollow"

Renna sed "Is she pretty?" She cursed herself the moment the words left her lips