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"Ride quickly!" said Ekkehard, behind thelant drew his sword, because he could not stand his ground without his sword in his hand, even knowing the sas useless

"Back up," said Liath to him "I need a clear shot"

She drew but held it, lips parted, gaze drawn as tight as the bowstring Her braid hung down her back Her chin was lifted and her shoulders in perfect alignleam Her eyes flared with blue She was as beautiful as any creature he had ever seen, bright, poised, and deadly No wonder he loved her so alla shuddered as they caht of this cloudy day hurt their essence Light hurt them, because they were creatures formed out of shards of darkness They were pillars of black s, faceless but not voiceless He heard thelant Liathano Liathano" And, more faintly, "Liathano" One for him, but three for her Why not twenty? Why not a hundred? He eating; he was cold

They glided forward over the ground

"Nay!" shouted Fulk "Stay back! Stay back!" He sounded likely to weep, but he had seen galla before No human weapon could defeat them

Liath loosed her first arrow

The leading galla vanished with a ringing wail, and a sizzle, and a snap The ser heard his own name, only hers

"Get away froriffin feather from her quiver He sheathed his sword and rode to her to pull a feather out of the quiver The hard vanes cut right through his leather gloves and into the skin below, but the pain seemed trivial compared to the threat

"Daray, but her hands were steady "Move off I need a clean shot"

He reined Fest aside and sa close those other two creatures had come, as if the death of the first one had caused theent, or only mindless servants? She shot A second winked away

The wind gusted out of the east, and the third galla veered west as though blown off course by that wind Liath set oneaway up the road, the cowards She swore as the arrow slipped crookedly in her bloody hands

There came, from behind, a sudden horrible shriek of pain and fear and a cacophony of terrified screams He shifted, and what he saw made his breath catch Ekkehard’s troop had fallen back froet out of the way of the fourth galla which eed unexpectedly from the western trees Theucinda’s horse bolted, so panicked by the deht for the galla co out of the woods

Too far to shoot

Liath had seen She fixed her gaze on Theucinda The girl tugged hopelessly at the horse’s reins Ekkehard screa in a line that quickly separated Theucinda froalla The horse veered sharply away fro hard, shouting out in pain The horse galloped out of the way The galla passed through the fire behind her, untouched by the fla Theucinda unharlant, "and forto hear Liath’s reply, he drove Fest forward toward the third galla, which had by now tracked back to approach the stench of iron and blood swa but that cla on and on It seele to reach as tall as the trees, a vast horrible black tower Singing death Singing give ht and leaned left with the griffin feather extended, and slashed right through it

Fest charged toward the trees with nervous energy He fought the gelding back around to see the fourth galla disappear between one gasp and the next Smoke poured into the sky as the fire spread Men shouted in confusion, but he heard, faintly, Fulk’s colant could not catch his breath He rested in the saddle for the longest time as his troops herded Ekkehard’s party into line and retrieved Theucinda’s skittish irl limped but seemed otherwise unhurt One of Fulk’s soldiers had been duhtly

Liath rode up beside him She wiped sweat off her forehead and afterward clasped his wrist with her unbloodied hand "You’re clammy" Her voice shook, but she held steady