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"Who’s your friend?" Briar asked Evvy

"She’s Diban Kangmo I told you about her She’s a peak spider She and her daughter helped heal ht me into his ods of the highest parts of theaway from the pool of spinneret fluid "I know it’s perfectly natural, what they make the webs from and all, but I think that looks nasty"

The milky pool spread over the floor until it was several feet across Diban Kanghtened and stepped away from it The peak spider that had placed Luvo on the dais now carried hie

As Luvo waited, an irew in the ate Briar did his best not to gape There were creatures out there Horse-like ones with eagles’ heads, thin legs, and olden beaks and silvery hooves cutting deadly wounds on horses and riders Lions that looked, iht beside snow leopards, cave bears, and nagas, fully fleshed, not painted Cave snakes shone as they slithered through the ranks of foot soldiers Peak spiders walked a webs over several soldiers at a time Giant vultures attacked fro the creatures the great bow, their foreheads on the bloody ground

And it was very bloody, Briar saw The creatures who fought for Gyongxe could die The Yanjingyi soldiers were dying, too The peak spiders had a stinger; it killed But they were vulnerable to arrows or swords Many of them lay sprawled in the dirt, their limbs and heads hacked away The horse-like creatures bled dark blood when they were cut down

"What are those horse things?" Briar asked, pointing

"Deep runners," Rosethorn answered, to his surprise "They live far underground"

"Sos," Luvo said "Sos make themselves"

There was move, was struggling away from the field of battle More turned to follow

"Cowards!" Weishu shouted "You will die for this!"

More soldiers saas taking place They abandoned their flags and fled, the strange creatures pursuing the the emperor "I think that if you want to live, you will have to ements, don’t you? Oh, hello, s fro looked at the one around the emperor’s neck "Is this little one yours? I won’t hurt it"

Briar could have sworn the skull on the serpent around the i Aon kai in particular was horrified and struggled to get away fro on his mustache He fell over Briar was in no way inclined to pick up the general

"I’d kill him" Souda eyed the emperor with intent "He’s earned it a es "And them"

"But there are soredom, you can’t worry about i to pay every rebel who ever dreaainst you"

I will never think of hi How does he not gohio crazy withods

"I don’t believe that" The e into the cracks between the stone tiles "Magic I can buy a thousand illusions like it Any of these hand wavers could have done the saes bound in spider silk on both sides of him "I de shrugged "Please yourself Zochen Brul, would you be so kind?"

That appeared to be the cave snake’s name It unwound fro’s side in a clatter

"I want a guard, as isout his robes as he stood His eyes glinted with his faance

Briar shook his head with reluctant adreat deal to shake Weishu’s sense that he was entitled to rule over everything, it seeirls would never allow it

"You reeably Suddenly he looked e to wake my city All ofdown at the cocooned Hengkai He stared up at his e to utter a word past the spider silk that bound hisasked the spider that lurked in the shadows behind Hengkai It reached out a long leg and touched the cocoon The silk shriveled and fell away frokai sat up and looked around himself on the dais He picked up several beads and held theuard closest to hiuard didn’t try to resist The big man strode up the steps to the throne and put the tip of the sword to Weishu’s throat