Page 104 (1/1)

Rosethorn sainst us We become part of the wood; we don’t try to work spells on it"

"As you say," the soldier answered, clearly not believing her "I’m just here to run errands for you"

"We could use more water," Briar said The man nodded and left To Rosethorn, Briar said, "Will you handle catapults and I’ll take care of arrows?"

He did not have to ask her twice She sat and placed her palms flat on the earth on either side of her Briar sat cross-legged next to her and kept his eyes on the imperial forces He could not hear their officers’ cries, but he saw the next volley of crossbow bolts arch into the air He reached for the the memory of their lives as trees deep in the wood He called those lives out, encouraging the bolts to sprout and leaf They fought thethe bolts’ flight and draining their deadly power as they dropped to the ground He couldn’t reach all of theht of arrows, and the next, and the next, that he did not hear the groans of the catapults as Rosethorn called upon their owntheir metal fixtures and joins The catapults exploded into pieces as the wooden towers and throwing arms burst free of their constraints, sank roots, and put out branches Once a newborn tree was fixed in its bed, Rosethorn h occasional touches as he rested between flights of arrows A glimpse of Evvy as she drooped over Luvo and her horse’s neck told hi

A roar froe number of human throats drew Briar’s attention to the battlefield General Sayrugo’s tru the attack On their left, cavalry riders on both sides battled with spears and halberds On the right, a pit opened under the Yanjingyi cavalry They were trying to climb out, but the earth was dry It slid under the feet of horses and fighters, dropping them back on top of those ere lower down

Whose work? Briar wondered He looked at the different groups of sha The others were chanting, dancing, or standing with hands joined He felt ic roll off them in waves He made a silent vow never to vex the shamans

A shout drew Briar’s attention upward Twenty or hter than the boulders, they had been thrown by Yanjingyi es, not catapults His belly rolled and cramped He reached with his power but knew the attempt was useless The charcoal in zayao was dead wood, untouchable by Rosethorn and hiic Saltpeter, the third ingredient, was outside all three of them He had tried to tell Evvy it was part stone, but she did not believe him

The bohout their army Horses and soldiers shrieked Riders and foot soldiers raced to fill gaps in the front and shift the screa smoke rolled over the field

Briar tried not to listen to the cries for help as he reached underground with his power, seeking roots He groped in his jacket with one hand until he found a vial of strengthening oil The ene If he rubbed the oil on his hands to strengthen his power, he could get a wide swathe of grasses to trip the horses…

He was loosening the wax around the vial’s cork when fire, or a pain like burning, raced over his skin A led him out for attack He cried out and reached for Rosethorn She lay on the ground, doubled over on herself With a gasp she s up!" she shouted, though he saw no blisters on her pale skin

He fumbled to put the vial back in his pocket He felt more invisible flae’s teeth out in revenge He didn’t see fire, but he heard it crackle; his nose was filled with the stink of cooking flesh Tears of pain streaain He fell to his knees and began to crawl to her, shouting for Evvy and Luvo

He stopped at a pair of splayed brown feet Knotted brown hands yanked hiulfed hi burned, but he still couldn’t see the fire that crackled so convincingly on his own skin

Riverdancer grabbed hiain This tiyi, did they get a chance to collect your hair or your fingernails?" the translator bellowed in tiyon "Did they take clothes with your sweat on thexin women They had tried to be careful back in the Winter Palace, using their uest pavilion, but they could do little about the cushions and drying cloths they had used during all those ht have drawn enough of their essence from those to do theic and the uses of all things that were once part of a person on their journey east He was trying to re is or hair, when the pain swept over him and Rosethorn screaround beside his teacher as the shaan to dance, one foot up, one foot down Had he known Riverdancer wore tiny bells in her clothes? One foot up, one foot down in a strange, turning step She danced around Rosethorn and Briar, her bells singing Fine white crystals spilled fro, too Briar could see her words in the air They spoke of the strength of the laciers and rivers of Gyongxe Even though he didn’t know the language she used -- it wasn’t tiyon -- he saw and understood everything