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Even as blind and disoriented as Karigan ith her head shrouded in the cloak, she guessed they were climar Hills She had to adjust her center of balance as her es in direction as though following a trail of switchbacks It round her

The air burned the raw flesh of her hands, knees, and elbows and sent feverish tingles shivering along her nerves Would she have a chance to pick the gravel out of her skin? She was lucky not to have been crushed by Falan, if one could call being captured luck The cutthroats had kicked and hit her into subods she did not think any of her bones were broken, though everything hurt

She continued to pray she gave Estora and Fergal time to escape There’d been too much confusion and pain to know if any of the cutthroats were sent down the road to look for theuess her own fate, and none of her guesses boded well

As she rode she felt almost as if she floated and she allowed her es of the plains caes that now see dreaentler, more pleasant time But she did not see the Frosts or their herds of horses or Ero the wolfhound She saw hirace beyond that of an ordinary horse His hooves made no sound on the earth, the breeze feathered his rasses Then he knelt on the ground beside her, waiting expectantly for her…for her to mount?

Her horse sturabbed at the poh her Gone were the ies of the plains, lost was the stallion frood’s steed anyway?

The cliuards, followed by cheerful greetings of welcoan heardon a pan,in the distance, voices in conversation, a ha…What was this place?

Amid the activity they came to a halt

“Welcome back,” someone said

“What ya got there, Sarge?”

“Get her down,” Sarge ordered

Rough hands pulled Karigan off her horse and held her steady when she staggered She concentrated so hard onthat she was surprised when the cloak was unbound and lifted froht until her vision cleared Many people ringed her, gawking There was Sarge and his band of cutthroats behind her and ordinary people of all ages before her, roups Sprinkled a any device

Muttering rippled through the crowd as aover her She stue’s o no farther

“Immerez,” she whispered

It was as if he stepped right out of a nightreen eye The other was, just as she re out froleamed on his bald head

Karigan shuddered with the h the northern Green Cloak, his whip snapping behind her Snagging her around her ankle till she cleaved off the hand that held the whip She looked down and saw a sharp shining hook where that hand had once been

If Karigan thought things were bad before…

“We have a problee said