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As he raced toward the Keen Keengs, he saw Chorti grip his attacker by the throat and lift hiround The wild , shredding it entirely The Keen Keeng reached for Chorti’s eyes, trying to gouge theedof bone and wet ripping of flesh, tore out a handful of pink organ flesh

The one with the cracked skull leaped toward Cheval Again she kicked it This tiht it in his arh he uely human form The trickster was disappointed that he would have to kill the aie

Grin reached up, wrapped an ar’s head, and with a swift jerk broke its neck He dropped the dead thing to the ground

CHAPTER 9

The castle of Otranto stood on a hillside above a broad lake whose cale of the castle It was a grilory of war rather than pride Round towers marked each corner and the outer walls less Near the top they were lined with iron spikes to prevent cli Even in peacetime, there were soldiers on the battleate

Hunyadi’s flag waved in the breeze fro was in residence

Oliver rode alone toward the castle on a road that curved northward through fertile far from berries to barley In the distance, the span of two entire hills displayed an orchard full of fruit trees Pickers carried barrels to wagons drawn by horses, and children ran ast the trees Despite the distance, Oliver fancied that he could hear their laughter

S fishermen who had poles and nets On the far side of the lake there grazed herds of sheep and cattle Beyond that, near the forest, he saw several farmhouses spaced quite far apart, cos and the like, he presu co was in residence Absurd, of course, that these people would simply disappear when Hunyadi was back in Perinthia

In truth, it was alive with or and honest effort than any place he had seen on this side of the Veil Rather than a step into another world, it felt to Oliver like a step back in ti to put in a hard day’s work, Otranto atehouse The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the land, and stretched the dark silhouette of horse and rider so that they were unrecognizable The Sword of Hunyadi hung in its scabbard at his side The letters for the king were in the saddlebag He rode noard a castle full of soldiers who had orders to execute hier bore any real resemblance to the man he once had been, but he wondered if that was because he had changed so draiven free rein

A laho buried hirasp of his father--that had been the way the world knew hioverned his old life were no longer valid He was desperate to save his sister, and to find his way back to Julianna But all of the yearnings that had e, to indulge fantasy as an actor no matter how foolish his father deemed it, had forain, the actor in hi, he would have to create a character, and his performance would have to be perfect But Oliver had always felt e As an actor, he could be anyone and do anything There was freedom in that

Kitsune had ridden behind hi hi the path to Otranto They had passed fares, and no one had attempted to question them--or even stop the they had stopped at a grist ratefully accepted bread that the rain

When at last they had come over a hill and seen the towers of the castle in the distance, Kitsune had tugged his sleeve and told him to stop She had disive her that time to slip into the castle if she could He’d rather not have had to ride up to the castle alone, but if he had any hope of going unrecognized, he could not approach the king’s men accompanied by a Borderkind, and by Kitsune in particular

Diazed up at him with those jade eyes and then dashed down the hill and into a small copse of trees She would work her way toward the castle and within its walls, if possible Oliver would not know if she had succeeded until he saw her

He rode toward the er and the horse snorted with exertion

On the shore of the lake, Oliver saw several fisherate One of the pole with a singular nonchalance, as though catching fish was entirely beside the point and the siaze away from the lake, and he slowed the horse so as not to unduly alarates open and the portcullis within already raised--the two guards in front were joined by two more All four wore a heavy brown leather ar, and helmets of leather and iron that were unlike any he had seen before The iron was both cap and fra down on either side and buckled at the throat for protection

The soldiers put their hands upon their swords but left the forward

Oliver presu their ride, Kitsune had faeneral protocol of the Two Kingdoms When he had first crossed the Veil with Frost, he hadn’t any reason to need to know such things Now, though, he was quite glad that he did He su into character just as he would have on the stage

"I dislike your tone, sir," Oliver declared, glaring at the soldiers from the superior position of his saddle "My name is Gareth Terlaine and I ride fro Letters that bear the royal seal Matters of government are not for soldiers or couriers We do our duty Mine is to deliver letters Yours is to stand aside and make way for one who bears thelanced at the banner tied around his arm, just as the real courier had tied his own Kitsune had stolen the arave them even the ’s colors," said one of the men

The officer sneered him into silence

"You’re dressed oddly, courier Like a peasant, e merchant Aside from the royal banner, you’ve no uniform to speak of"

Oliver sentle horse shit cleaned fro stitched and you’re called up suddenly as the courier on duty has fallen ill, you wear the best you have to hand, and the colors of the king No shaered in the officer’s eyes He held out a hand "The letters"

"Not on your life or ravely

No courier in service to the king would hand over letters bearing the royal seal to anyone but the king hi Kitsune had spent several h that had been a very long tied since, but he had faith in Kitsune She was a trickster, after all A cunning creature

The officer drew his sword

Metal singing, the other soldiers followed suit

The officer barked an order and there was a ruckus above their heads Oliver glanced up, pulse racing, to see half a dozen archers leaning over the battles back The arroere all aimed at his chest