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"Forward!" He heard hie out the command

He turned back to see his haphazard army ready to obey There… just feet fro

"Ah, come on, buddy, put down the sword!" Drew pleaded

Grant saw the fierce twist of Doug’s lips as he for raised his eance

"Shit!" Drew cried

And he rose, with tears in his eyes, and h Doug

He fell

Soainst Grant’s back Soained his balance, and turned back His opponent was fierce, driving hiht came his way

He swung the great, double-handed blade with all his strength and agility, catching his opponent just under the neck

The hel at her throat, trying to stanch the flow of blood, was Valeria

And for a es flooded into his vision Valeria… beautiful, laughing at his side, long ago…

When she had been young

Innocent…

And he hesitated

She’d had a daughter She’d ridden with François… because he had threatened the girl The daughter had lived… and the centuries had gone by…

And now, she screaround, and flying after hiainst the chest that he went down

Her arainst the sky The wind roared, and he heard again the baying of the derabbed the cross he wore around his neck, rolled when her sould have rent hiain He didn’t try to collect his weapon, but charged at her with the huge cross held high in his hands He sla the cross hard to her forehead and face

She screa

She fell to her knees

Looked up at him…

And he knew He saw her just as he had seen her centuries ago He saw the snarl of triuiven him before…

François had not been all that had driven her to evil She had found power, and she had loved it And he had saved her life long enough for the earth to tear and crumble…

And crush all her ene

He caught up his sword, and prepared to deal the death blow

"Conan!"

The cry caused hiin to take place in her eyes, in her features…

A smile…

That faded

He heard the whoosh of the sword For a moment, Valeria remained, frozen in time with that smile on her face

Then… her head fell to her side

"Move! He went to Valeria to fight his arm-to-arm combat this time!" Lucien told him And he pointed

The precipice was not what it had been before It barely jutted froed Stephanie there She was openly fighting him now, but he had her by the hair

And there was Arturo, ready to help hi her to her knees

"No!"

Again, his cry rose to the night sky, to the darkness, to heaven, and beyond He bounded upward, catching tree li to hurry his assent

"She is Valeria!" Someone shouted "She is the evil!"

They were mad; they were insane They had ridden with him, and they knew…

Or did they? They only knew that evil had been dug fro theain

Above the roar, he could hear the rise of François’s laughter

With a desperate,up on the edge where too ht Arturo first, sending the ht to the jaw Freed, Stephanie leapt up

"Get behind me!" he ordered her

"Grant! He’s a va the sword He knew he had a perfect and sure shot at the man’s neck

But François disappeared, and all he could hear was laughter

"Stephanie, get away!" he urged her He couldn’t fight François, and hold off the people ere slowly but steadilytheir way up the trail

"I can’t… I can , furious, all but frothing at the ain Grant deflected the blow, and started to swing

Again, the man started to disappear

"No!" Stephanie shouted

The i

The head of the

Stephanie fell, first to her knees… and then, to the earth

The wind ceased instantly

The clang of steel was hushed

The baying of the de since quieted

"Stephanie!"

Grant screa down beside her

And then, the noise began A tre that shook the earth It was deep, horrible, a rumble that seemed to shake all the world…