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"Of course it is, stupid!" said the white shape, leaping ni "Save your arrows--you’ll need them There’s about two hundred Dead Hands headed this way!"

"What!" exclaiht?"

"No idea," said Mogget cal when our canine co this way--hotly pursued--but I couldn’t see Lirael or your troublesoet’s words were followed by an enor suddenly appeared on the opposite bank and dived into the strea a cascade of water in all directions, butherself so vigorously that Sam had to hold his bow out of the way

"Quick," she panted "We need to get out of here! Stay on this side and head downstrea easily along beside the strea, swooped upon his pack, picked it up, and stu out of his mouth as he ran With Lirael’s pack on his back, the bow and an arrow in one hand, and his own pack in the other hand, it took most of his concentration not to fall over and into the streaot to rearrange all this"

"Lirael went into the reeds, but the necro hi her head back as she ran "That’s e can’t wait!"

Sam looked back, too, and immediately fell over his pack and dropped both bow and arrow As he stumbled to his feet, he saall of Dead Hands lurch to a stop on the other side of the strea There were hundreds of theures that i’s course on the opposite bank

In the ure stood out Aa horse that wason its neck and withers

Hedge Sam felt his presence like a shock of cold water, and a sharp pain in his wrists Hedge was shouting so--perhaps a spell--but Sa to pick up the bow and get another arrow It was still quite dark, and a fair distance, he thought, but not too far for a lucky shot, in the stillness before the dawn

As quick as that thought, he nocked an arrow and drew For an instant, his whole concentration was on a line between himself and that shape of fire and darkness

Then he loosed, and the spelled arro like a blue spark from him Sam watched it, filled with hope as it sped as true as he could wish, and arrow ainst the red Hedge fell from his skeleton horse, which reared and then dived forward, se into the water in an explosion of white sparks and high-pitched screa Instinctively, it had kno to free itself and die the final death

"That’ll annoy hiet from somewhere near Sae stand up, pluck the arrow froround

"Don’t waste another on hi "He cannot be slain by any arrow, no rih the streaht hold the Dead Hands back, he knew that it would not stop Hedge

Hedge drew his oord and walked forward, his Dead Hands parting to e of the stream the necromancer smiled an open smile, and red fire licked about his teeth He put one boot in the streaain as the water burst into stea "I’ll hold off Hedge as long as I can Mogget--will you help et didn’t answer, and he was nowhere to be seen

"Good luck," said the Dog Then she was gone, racing along the bank to the west

Sam took a deep breath and crouched into a defensive stance This was his worst fear, coe

Sam reached into the Charter, assteadied as he felt its faan to draw out Chartertheir nae took another step He reathed in stea and roiling both upstrea, Sa the streanifcantly less water below hi visible, and the Dead Hands were starting to ht All he had to do was stand in the streah he had the panpipes, Sam didn’t kno to use them properly, and there were si he could do Sae in the stream and kill hie, a little nagging voice said from deep inside his mind Wouldn’t it be better to run away? Run away before you are burnt again, and your spirit ripped out of your flesh and taken by the necroing voice so far into the recesses of his less squeak Then he let the Charter ness, reached into the Charter again, and drew out a whole new string of marks As he sus with a finger Marks of protection, of reflection, of diversion They joined and shiic ar water

He looked down for only ten, or perhaps fifteen seconds But when he looked back up, Hedge was gone The steaain The Dead Hands were turning their backs to hiround churned up and littered with pieces of rotting flesh and splintered bone

"Either you were born to a different death, Prince," reet, who had appeared at Sae just found so more iely deflated He’d been all ready to plunge into the streaht it out, and now all of a sudden it was just a quiet ain The sun was even up, and the birds had resuh only on his side of the stream, Sam noticed