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If he were to conquer François, he wouldAnd yet he had earned his place here; the king would have to make war on hi could afford the men and arms he would need to roust Conan fro the horde before hie ht, he knew there was no choice

"Aye, then, we ride against François," he said

"Wait!"

From the crowd, a cleric rushed forward It was custo upon the field of battle and death Yet this fire-eyed priest would demand that he dismount and kneel, were he not to do so of his own volition, and so he did The priest burst into a spate of Latin so rushed that Conan could not follow, though he, like others of his status, was taught the language as a child And when the words were done, the priest stepped forward, placing a huge silver cross around his neck Even as he mounted, he felt himself doused with drops of holy water as the priest intoned ain, he lifted his hands, and his knights and men fell in beside him, the hordes of people behind them, Normans and natives of the Italian peninsula as well

They rode

Theat their e under attack As they rode, the hipped higher, for there was a fog upon the ground, and the wind did not disperse it They could hear screa into the mire at last, they saw the troops of François de Venue e a line before them

François led

Valeria was at his side

Dark hair billowing down her shoulders, violet eyes dazed, and yet he thought that the strange glow came from tears He had loved her so

"Get frorily "I have let you live--go, and be grateful"

"Eventually, you will come for me," Conan said "But that ainst life itself, against God and man, and I will stop you!"

The dark, handsome face of François de Venue darkened into a scowl of fury Then he sood as any night for you to die!"

"We shall meet in hell then, François If need be, we shall meet in hell," Conan told him

"Valeria!" François roared suddenly

She didn’t move, but stared at Conan

"Remember the child!" François said sharply to Valeria And he leaned toward her, whispering

The wind began to whip anew in an eerie, dark swirl of fog and night The baying began

And the des of horsemen that flanked François and his troops And Valeria

Conan drew his sword "For God and ar The great war horse staggered The anie in size, but not a wolf Its teeth were ht, than those of a canine Its shoulder e, and itsdown both Hagar and hi that Conan alht his sword forth in powerful fury, and severed the animal’s head from its shoulders before its teeth could tear into flesh

All around him, he heard the screams of his men as they ain to attack ht in a desperate fever hi fur and flesh and bone, only to have the creatures rise again With a great blow, he severed the head of another creature and realized that death cas only then

"The heads! Sever the heads!" he roared to his men

And slowly, sloith screa around hiht low, and then they were left to battle the men who fell in line behind the, the forces of Conan de Burgh began to push back the enee of energy, his sword swinging with such fever and strength that Conan was incredulous, battling desperately for his life He had never encountered such power in a , and he feared that his great efforts would fail, for should he fall, his men would retreat, and the forces of his enehtered in this bloodbath

He deflected a hty blow froushed through his thin lips Down upon the ground, he feared the brutal weight and strength of his enemy would finish him at last Yet as François lifted his ared to lift his sword, and the tip of his weapon struck straight into the base of the man’s throat, where no helht hold of a vein, and theupon his last resources, Conan forced the sword deeper, finding his feet against the weight of his own chain and mail, and with a maddened pressure delivered by God or desperation, he pressed the sith an ever greater fervor

Like the des, he knew somehow that François would perish if his head were severed

And so it was His eneh the blood that spurted from his throat

Conan strained harder, and François was forced down on his back, and still his eyes were alive with fury and hatred, and so

"Valeria! Valeria! Valeria!"

The chant had gone up frohts that had filled the field of battle

"They have her!" Conan heard, and saw that Raoul had never faltered, had fought at his side all along, while others had rushed forward

François de Venue re on his blood