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Lia ignored hiround wasthe fenlands quickly They had pulled the boat off on the eastern bank of the river In herof the rivers in relation to the Abbey The Belgeneck e away from Muirwood It had surprised her to learn that Winterroas the fishing village at the end of the river

The insight caue "Colvin, we have been blind," she er first came to Muirwood, she said she was on the way to Winterrowd to investigate her husband’sboats along the coast to ferry her troops This was her plan all along"

He sucked in his breath "You are right," he said "Lure Demont to the north, Dieyre said Pull hi Muirwood unprotected The oldest Abbey of the realround is treacherous Let me hold your arm"

"Thank you," Ellowyn mumbled They were all exhausted "How far is it to the Abbey?"

"It is not the distance that is the probleues away, if that We could easily walk there before dawn if we could cross the river But it looks like they put torches along the shore to guide the boats in the dark The river is very wide You re it, Colvin? Even with a horse, the current was strong It is cold and we are tired"

"But we must cross it," Colvin said "The Abbey is on the other side…eventually"

"Yes, but the Belgeneck floods often and forms a lake at the bend Those waters are to the north of Muirwood With all the rain this season, the lake will still be there We could skirt around the lake on the other side Two other rivers ee It is called the Doe Bridge because deer often use it to cross the river The other river…well, ill be getting wet for that one But it is not as deep as the Belge and maybe the orb can help us find a shallow ford"

They walked in silence then, their breath co out in little plumes of mist from the cold Colvin broke the silence "Can we reach the Abbey before dawn?"

"We hts as dark as the woods

The hunter is patient The prey is careless Martin’s words teased her and tortured her She was so tired Her legs ached Her boots were soaked through Ellowyn’s teeth chattered with cold and she stumbled more and more, but she did not complain She clutched the cloak with one fist and Colvin’s ar herself to put each foot ahead

Lia glanced behind and saw the flicker of round She had not bothered hiding their trail There was only one way they could go and deceiving the pursuers would do little to help If Lia led them away from the river, what then? It would only put their enemies ahead of theht soon and she was not looking forward to it There were six torches Thatthe torches would be her targets If she shot the them, no one would want to hold the torches then It would cause squabbling If they abandoned the torches, so ht way to think? Was sheelse? Her mind eary She had not slept in two days Her stoer, but they ate as they walked There was enough water to last, but still she was thirsty

She reainst Aluer This was different – almost impossible There was an arer What would happen when they reached Muirwood? Would she be strong enough to summon the Abbey defenses? She was so tired Heartsick Would she be strong enough to sus? She knew the Abbey could defend itself Had not Maderos once said that an Alder force and left it there? What would it take to suh to counter the will of Pareigis?

A memory came to her suddenly, unbidden, of the tiainst his skill He had twisted aside all of her attempts to injure him It was only after Astrid lay dead that the Medium had commanded her to redeem Muirwood Blood had been spilled before the power of the Medium was there to save her Blood spilled Astrid’s blood