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Kitsune glanced back to the west and saw the rider approaching The horse galloped toward the bridge, perhaps a hundred yards away He had no chest plate, nor a helht arreen and yellow, the colors of King Hunyadi

"Come out of there! Show yourselves, now, and answer the question," snapped the nearest of the officers He stepped into the brook and the , a fool? You can see it’s him," snapped the other officer, older and ray, but his eyes were bright with vigor

Kitsune stood and stepped, rigid as a queen, fro, is it?" she said, and her tone gave bothtravelers like highwayleamed on his silver helm and on his blade "Your na--" began the other officer

"Shut your gob, Sergeant Matthias!" Clegg snapped, but he did not turn his attention away froh not as canny as the sergeant

"I a them their first full view of Oliver He caht, and they could see the scabbard that hung fronia upon it that matched the one on their chest plates

"As for my companion, as you can see, he bears the Sword of Hunyadi himself Now you shall sheathe your blade, or his will be drawn"

The rider enty-five yards fro over his boots He raised the tip of his sword and pointed it at Oliver "Your naeant Matthias shouted "It’s the Intruder!"

With a roar of frustration, Clegg rounded on the sergeant "That’s enough of you There are protocols to be--"

Kitsune glanced at Oliver, the thrill ofup in her, no different from the arousal that burned in her The situation was dire, but danger was delicious

"Fight," she whispered

Then she lunged at Clegg, copper fur cloak floating behind her on the air as she practically flew across the space that separated therabbed his wrist, turned the point of his sword toward hied the blade into his chest with such ferocity that his arm broke in several places

He fell onto his knees in the brook, and blood pooled in the water

Kitsune kept ht, she transfor The soldiers beyond Matthias were shouting to one another in a panic, drawing swords, one of the back into the trees

"Come, then, myth!" Matthias called "Traitor!"

She darted forward, his sword came down, and the fox leaped aside The blade thudded into the dirt, and Kitsune snapped her jan on his wrist, fangs sinking into flesh Matthias cried out and released his weapon, and then Kitsune was past hi for the others

The horse and rider reached the bridge, the clop of hooves on stone echoing off the woods and the water But the horse neighed loudly as the rider--a enuine--drew back on the reins

The lanced back Sergeant Matthias was reaching for his sword, scrabbling on the bank of the brook Oliver wielded the Sword of Hunyadi, pointing it at him as he approached

"Stand and surrender," Oliver said loudly

The fox growled as two of the soldiers rushed toward her One carried a sword and the other a pike He wielded it with the expertise of a master, and she hesitated ahim between herself and the

Kitsune leaped at hi on his crotch Blood spurted from his soft parts into her mouth and he screamed shrilly The other soldiers all shouted furiously, and that brought theer any hesitation If confusion or wariness had held theone now

Theround, hands clutched over his bleeding, roin The pike waved before Kitsune, the blade feinting toward her again and again, and she realized he was only buying tiain, beco human in the space between heartbeats Her cloak blosso across her face in a curtain as she rabbed the pike even as he thrust it at her With the strength of her kin, she snatched it fro and nearly falling

Behind her she heard a shout, and turned to see Matthias splashing mud and water at Oliver’s face Oliver took a step back, and twisted so that it spattered only his left cheek And as Matthias roared and juht through the sergeant’s exposed throat Metal covered the soldiers’ upper torsos and heads, but their throats were bare

Matthias could not even screaain and reared up, front hooves waving in the air But the er was clearly an expert horseer shouted "You’ll face the gallows for that"

Kitsune heard Oliver laugh

Then a chorus of shouts was raised and she turned to see the other soldiers running toward her But instead of the few she expected, there were an to streaht it a small foot patrol, but this was an entire detachment of soldiers, several dozen at least

She swore in ancient Japanese

"Kitsune!" Oliver called "This way!"

Breathless, she turned to see hier and his mount The an to run eastward on the road But Oliver was faster He grabbed the horse’s bridle with his left hand, sword still brandished in his right

The ani its head, but Oliver held on The er shouted at him, tried to kick hiht to have just tried to spur the horse on He was a er, not a soldier

Oliver parried the blow and jabbed hio of the bridle and took hold of thehi after her As she ran toward hian to rise, shouting in protest Kitsune grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged hiht, but she struck hiht drained fro’s colors from his arm and took the standard with her as she raced to the horse and leaped up behind Oliver

"You’re getting quite good at this," she said