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His head shot backward as an arrow punched through his eye and popped his helht his helhis fall

Rolling thecarefully, Buskin turned the spas uard’s neck at the base of the skull The twitching stopped immediately Buskin turned expressionless eyes on Teia and et to work Still shocked, she returned to the spot and peered south There were three soldiers standing on the dock, chatting with each other and enjoying the rising dawn All three had bows, but all were unstrung, as if they expected to have warning

They’re dead and they don’t even know it yet

The dock was barely fifteen paces long, and had two s as they rubbed and bu out a beaht, Teia could see that all threeto bethru another arrow sht Teia had been so focused on the dock, she hadn’t even noticed that there was a little shack for the guards And two ht of thetoward the docks

"Three," Tugertent said It wasn’t a count of the guards; it was a countdown, and moments later, three arrows jumped into the air as Teia watched

The guard farthest left took an arrow through the side of his neck It must have cloven his spine, because he fell instantly, lirabbed the side of his neck, which was spurting blood like a fountain A di the arrow intended for his neck It spun his hel The archers all loosed another volley Teia couldn’t see if they’d hit the man or not, but when he dove into the water, his dive looked purposeful

"Go!" Buskin hissed The three archers ran down the trail, arrows fitted to their bows

Teia drew her knife and followed the what else to do She turned the beah the leather flaps over the s She saw atoward the door

"Hut!" she whispered "Front door!"

Tlatig was already headed toward the hut, and as the front door opened, Teia saw her loose an arrow froht--the leatherflap diauze would--she saw hiertent were out on the dock, searching the water It was still dark enough that the sun didn’t help the up and down the length of the dock, peering into the depths as well as they could

Teia’s paryl bea, but ht

"There!" She pointed "Swi--underwater--twenty paces distant Heading for the shore to the north

"Balls," Tugertent said "Swi in full mail Didn’t think you could even do that" She drew an arrow "I got this one" Froht she saw a tiny shi soldier reached the shore seventy paces distant or ertent’s arrow met his bare head, and he slumped back into the water Teia swore that the arrow had curved slightly in the air What the hell?