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"Call etically, without taking his eyes fro, I will take his eneral because he can work battle kai, Parahan," the God-King assured hieneral A nuer ones lay at Hengkai’s feet, watching him Perhaps that hy the h in ordinary battle, but these strange beings were too athered in a particular order, his lipsHe passed his free hand over them That done, he shifted the beads to his free hand and murmured, then passed the other hand over them Briar felt a pressure on his ears, then a pop

"Don’t you feel better?" the God-King asked Hengkai "It can’t have been easy for you, holding such a vast spell for so long a tieneral did not answer him He sank onto the top step by the throne and put his head in his hands

Weishu did not even ask if he felt unwell He ducked Parahan’s sword and walked down the steps, ignoring the God-King He brushed past Rosethorn and Sayrugo, pointing to different Yanjingyi soldiers The others moved out of his way

"They will leave their weapons here," Sayrugo called as Weishu was about to pass through the open doors

"Very well," the God-King said "Weishu, you heard General Sayrugo"

The emperor did not move, but the soldiers he had chosen did They stripped off their sword belts and even their daggers, leaving them in a heap before they acco it, the God-King, Parahan, Souda?" Evvy asked Riverdancer when they passed her

The shaman shook her head "I have see toothat she spoke a little tiyon

They kept pace with Weishu and his soldiers as they passed fro’s palace onto the wall that encircled the city From there they followed the wall down, level by level All the way to the gate they saw that Gyongxe’s big and little gods had been fighting here, too They found Yanjingyi soldiers in s bundles of spider silk and others bloated and face-black with poison More ounded or hacked apart by sharp edges On and off Briar looked over the edge of the wall, inside the city and out Quite a few soldiers had juet away from whatever had attacked them up here

Weishu pretended to see none of the men and woates and the scene they had viewed in the spinneret pool No inch of ground on the plain was untouched The earth was dark from spilled blood Parts of it moved The creatures they had seen in the pool -- cave snakes, peak spiders, the eagle-headed horses Rosethorn had called "deep runners," nagas, ice lions and lionesses, and mortal snow leopards and cave bears -- wandered everywhere, together with huge red, blue, green, and orange ether withthose of the ene ar

Any sense of victory Briar felt over Weishu’s arht be walking into They were used to fighting their northern neighbors’ armies, horse nomads, and imperial Namorn’s trained army in the northwest The eic and creatures froiven a choice about joining the arlanced at Rosethorn She was even whiter than usual Only Evvy looked happy There was a sht sht More than maybe, after what they did to her

There was no expression on the e had to reach up to put a hand on his eneo back inside and talk about a treaty You won’t even think of breaking it when you get back to Yanjing, I know You can never tell what kind of spies will choose to come back with you"

They turned back toward the palace Briar chose not tofrom a silk thread -- or a spider thread -- on the eet ainst you if you stay behind"

As if he would let her go alone! Briar looked at Evvy, as shaking her head "I’ll keep Luvo company," she told them "There isn’t much I could do down there At least here we can help rebuild"

Rosethorn nodded She and Briar went in search of their medicines

GARMASHING, CAPITAL OF GYONGXE

A week later, Riverdancer came to the workroo with those healthy soldiers who reree

Rosethorn murmured, "Mmhmm" Briar made no sound at all They had spent s with their fast-growing barley With luck, the Gyongxin faret four short, plentiful harvests before the winter snows

"Hengkai did not go with hih her translator