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"Here," she whispered, turning back and noticing that Colvin had not followed her in

"I do not need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better Kno to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly Sometimes silence, at the proper season, is wisdom and better than any speech"

- Gideon Penman of Muirwood Abbey

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

Fears

"Colvin?" she whispered

Silence

The Leering tangled her feelings, so she quelled it with a thought A pair of deep-set eyes, with the expression of torture, winked once with blue light She went to the edge of the opening and felt the prowling swarully wall, sword out, staring up at the woods

"I hear theht here," she said "They do not know the words, so they cannot pass Follow ed "I cannot"

"What?"

He was tre I silenced it The fear is not real but warns away others Coht"

He closed his eyes, shuddering "It is not the Leering"

He was afraid She could feel it bubbling out of hi about the dark, crouched hole terrified hi of branches, the crunch of dried leaves Several sets of boots, heading toward therabbed his ar

She pressed her ainst his ear "If they find us, they will kill us Coently on his ar lit the sky again, painting his face with shadows "This way Coent whispers lured hiully hole, she felt her way further in, pulling Colvin after her Her hand touched the stone and she pressed close against it "Eveleth Iduthe air with the musty smell of oil andColvin after her until they were in So splashed in the water outside Lia shoved Colvin ahead and turned back to the hole Asilver, sword in hand She could not see his expression, just the baleful glow of his eyes, re shut and willed its defenses back to life, feeding it with her strength As the doorway sealed, the noise froully vanished, replaced by their harsh breathing The darkness penetrated to their bones His teeth were chattering

She paused acaptured…or worse

Lia set down her bow and tugged open the drawstrings to the pouch She re the narrow tunnel The orb was brilliant in the dark, revealing their rime

She sat down suddenly, exhausted "You are afraid of confined spaces," she said softly, though knowing her voice would not carry beyond the thick Leering "Sit, Colvin I tested this tunnel recently It is safe Here, share ave it to me" She opened her leather sack and withdrew the s it in half, she broke it and handed a portion to hiainst the wall apart fro over, he took the bread and bit into it, shivering

"At least your eyebrow is not bleeding," she said, nibbling her share

It was quiet and they both ate slowly, she enjoying the sweet crust of the bread, the fresh doughy center After the run, she was starving and normally would have wished for a warm bath, a clean dress, and a table stacked with treats But a moment trapped alone with Colvin orth any deprivation She waited for hi hihostly "Why is it that youhed, his whole body treht I was the only one who humiliated myself," she answered "GiveGive "