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elven invitation. Not that we know where to go, anyway. She shrugged. But, it s an idea.
He glared daggers. I can t tell if you re being optimistic or sardonic. Besides, the boy s
father is much closer.
She glanced at Thalon. Yeah. The clues we d need are at the outpost we escaped
and we can t go there& Not that we know where that is either. There s only more danger for
everyone if we re caught there. She hung her head. Our best idea is to find and remain at our
camp. Bury the elf. I think the good chemman could find us there.
Who couldn t? Kelin snapped. He sighed. It s probably our best chance, however.
Riders! Thalon squeaked. Again!
What? Are the unicorns coming back? the blacksmith asked, stepping away from the
tree.
No, the boy replied. It s the black horse& with& shit.
The black horse led the way, but this time, he wasn t alone. This time, he carried a rider
in red armor bareback. Other horses with riders followed closely. Their armor didn t shine, but
instead seemed to dully mirror the colors of the forest around them. But, their drawn swords,
those shone, even through the rain.
The shock finally caught up with them with the rushed stench of sweaty horses and rain.
All Things Impossible Crown of the Realm Dalton 89
The riders fanned out around them. Everyone had a helmet with the visor drawn so they could
see none of their faces.
Thalon ducked behind Kelin, and clutched his belt.
The black horse stepped in front of them and glared with uncanny intelligence. The
bareback rider s size was to a man what the horse was to other horses. He couldn t have
ridden a normal horse. He was also wearing blood red plate mail. He lowered a lance at them
and the rain ran off its sharpened point. At least it was just rain, Der told herself, instead of
something much more precious. He cleared his throat. We ve seen many people out here who
don t belong. Chemmen, cultists and now you, so I m only going to ask once for surrender.
Kelin looked at Der, and then down at Thalon, the child with the brilliantly orange
chemmen eyes. Uh, this isn t what it looks like.
Der started swaying and groaned. She leaned forward. Oh no& With a tremendous
heave, she vomited right on the black horse s massive hooves.
All Things Impossible Crown of the Realm Dalton 90
Chapter Eleven
Trial
Are you putting me on trial? Vlade roared.
The chemmen king leaned away from the spittle and rage. He glanced to see himself in
the obsidian mirror, nothing there had changed. No, not as such, but something unimaginable
happened on your watch, and so you must be made accountable.
Vlade paced in tight circles. I was overseeing the re-capture of the calvar. Someone let
loose a pen! Damn fool! Absently, he rubbed some gray scars on his arm. He always did.
They reminded him of a time when he still scarred. That made him rub all the harder.
Nevertheless, the guards were under your command at the time, regardless of where
you were. He tapped his chin. What fool let loose those beasts?
I don t know, the commander snapped. He stopped pacing. It was very fortunate
timing, however, and those humans ran unseen through our sentries because none of them
were at their posts. Every last one was needed. He tried not to pick at the wound he d
received from a calvar.
The king frowned. They couldn t have& could they?
The other shook his head. No. They d have been devoured. Messily.
The ruler rubbed his forehead. How could this have happened?
The calvar? Neither of the cage locks were damaged. Surely no guard would be foolish
enough to try to feed them by opening the door.
The king hesitated. & Could it have been intentional?
Vlade s booming expression melted into confusion. A diversion, perhaps? No, it
couldn t be. There was no one to aid them, except perhaps a ghost.
The king leaned forward. How else could two tortured and dying humans slaughter
seven of our guards and escape? None of them raised alarm. He found that he was rapidly
drumming his fingers. All the guards have been questioned and punished?
Vlade looked down to find that he too was drumming his fingers. Duly.
And seven guards are dead. Seven. That shouldn t be possible. He glanced at the
mirror again and watched his face for just a moment, as if reassuring himself that he was still
here. He knew that chemmen would perish again, but not so close to him as this! It didn t
matter, his reflection told him, they had more than enough bodies. Darkreign only had so much
space after all.
The commander shrugged. There was evidence that the girl may have killed the guards
sent to torture her again. She may have taken a weapon&
And, what? What could a dying human girl do?
Vlade s face remained expressionless. I observed that she did demonstrate a powerful
will.
Seven, Vlade, seven of us. She s human. Well, mostly.
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