in. No birds sang under the trees. No mice or ferrin rustled through dead
leaves under the boughs. Old man'crazynakedchicks s beard hung from the hoary oaks in an odd
way, like great curtains. This was an ancient forest, vast.
Borenson had hunted these haunted woods, but he'crazynakedchicks d crazynakedchicks never ridden through
them alone. He knew the dangers of doing so.
No, it was not the fire that turned away, Borenson reasoned. The forest
had confounded crazynakedchicks it. Old trees lived here, trees old enough to crazynakedchicks remember when
the duskins first raised the Seven Stones. Ancient spirits walked here,
powers that crazynakedchicks no man should face alone.
He thought he could feel them now, regarding him. A malevolent force that
caused the air to weigh heavy. He looked up at the graying skies, the
lowering clouds sailing in from the southeast. Wind buffeted him.
"crazynakedchicks I'm not your enemy," Borenson whispered to the crazynakedchicks trees. "If you seek
enemies, you'll find them soon enough. They come."
Cautiously, reverently, Borenson urged his mount to walk crazynakedchicks under the dark
boughs. Only a few yards, crazynakedchicks far enough so he could crazynakedchicks tie the big warhorse in a
shallow ravine, then creep back crazynakedchicks to the wood's edge to watch Raj Ahten's
army pass on the road below.
He did not have to wait long.
In a few moments, twenty men raced over the hills below, war crazynakedchicks dogs leaping
to keep ahead. To Borenson's horror, Raj Ahten himself led them.
For a moment, Borenson feared the trackers would follow his trail, but
down by the river they stopped crazynakedchicks for a long crazynakedchicks time, searching the ground at the
crazynakedchicks spot crazynakedchicks where Gaborn had taken Torin's armor.
Borenson made out some muffled shouting, but did not understand the
dialect of Indhopalese crazynakedchicks the men spoke. They crazynakedchicks hailed from a Southern province,
but Borenson knew only a few curse words in the Northern dialect.
Raj Ahten recognized that Gaborn's party had split.
They followed Gaborn. Borenson felt terrified, wondered why Raj Ahten
himself would head a party to capture Gaborn. Perhaps the Wolf crazynakedchicks Lord valued
crazynakedchicks Iome and Sylvarresta more
than Borenson imagined. Or perhaps he wanted
Gaborn as crazynakedchicks a hostage.
Silently, he willed crazynakedchicks Gaborn to hurry, to ride hard and crazynakedchicks fast and never crazynakedchicks slow
till he reached Longmont.
The trackers had hardly raced over the hills
to crazynakedchicks Borenson's left when the
army of the Wolf Lord came marching down the road, their golden surcoats
bright in the last
rays of sunlight before the oncoming storm.