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smoke and sunlight. They had made it halfway through the
Horde s blockade. Er ril clenched his fist tight on the lead. Almost there!
They must make it!
But the horses were slowing, their hearts giving out after the long day of
terror and racing. Smoke blew across the trailhead, erasing the promise of
escape. It now seemed the entire world was just spiders and ash.
Tol chuk s head appeared at Er ril s shoulder. The og re stayed silent. No
words could help now.
At least the girl got out safely, Er ril said as the horses slowed.
All be not lost yet, the og re said. As long as we be moving, there be
hope.
With his words, the horse on the left died, crashing to the mud, its harness
ripping free of the wagon. The other horse bucked, tangled in the legs of the
dead horse. Then this one, too, fell to the trail defeated.
The horse never even tried to get up, simply raised its neck once, looking
toward the wagon as if to apologize; then life fled from its eyes.
The wood now lay silent with death.
Escape lay only a small distance away, yet it might as well have been a
thousand leagues.
Er ril was suddenly knocked aside, his one hand grabbing for the side of the
wagon to keep him on the driver s bench. From the corner of his eye, he saw
Tol chuk roll through the front opening and over the side of the wagon.
Er ril straightened. What are you doing? he cried.
Tol chuk had a knife in his clawed hands. The og re hurriedly sliced loose the
tethers and harnesses to the horses and dug his nails into the backs of their
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spider-encrusted carcasses. With two grunts, he flipped the horses bodies
aside, as a child might a soiled rag doll, then gathered the harnesses over
his own shoulder. Spiders now danced across the og re s back and legs.
Tol chuk& ? Er ril s voice died in his throat. What could he say? Death lay
as surely within the wagon as without.
As long as we be moving, there be hope, Tol chuk said, repeating his earlier
words. The og re leaned into the gathered harnesses, and his feet sank into
the mud. He took a step, then another. Once the wagon began to roll, the og re
dug harder with his legs.
Er ril twisted in his seat, frantic for some way to help but unable to think
how. He had never felt so useless. All he could do was watch as the og re
bunched his muscles and dragged the wagon behind him.
Though the pace grew no faster than a crawl, at least they were moving. With
blood pounding in Er ril s ears, time slowed to match their creeping pace.
As Er ril watched, spiders plagued Tol chuk, but luckily the main bulk of the
Horde was drawn to the carcasses of the horses, an easier meal than the
thick-skinned og re. Still, enough spiders remained to thickly coat Tol chuk s
legs. And even though the og re had bragged earlier of his people s thick
hides,
tree bark itself was no obstacle to the corruption of the Horde. From his
seat, Er ril could see tendrils of green smoke rising from Tol chuk s thighs
as the poisons ate at his flesh, trying to weaken a spot so their bites could
kill. Lines of pain marked the og re s back and neck.
Tol chuk could not last much longer.
Suddenly a fierce gust blew down the throat of the trail and cleared the way
of smoke. Sweet Mother!
The meadows were only a horse length away! Er ril jumped up. Lost among the
ash and gloom, he had never suspected they were so close. You re almost
there! Er ril cried in encouragement to the laboring og re.
Tol chuk raised his face, then stumbled a step at the sight. Regaining his
footing, Tol chuk leaned harder into the harnesses. The view of freedom seemed
to renew the vigor in the og re s stride. His strong legs ate up the last of
the distance, and the wagon was soon rolling into open meadows.
As soon as they entered the grasslands, the spiders fled from Tol chuk s body
and raced back to their shrouded trees. Seemingly the Horde feared to abandon
its shadowy roost. Still, Tol chuk continued to haul the wagon until they were
clear of the trees and only green grass surrounded them.
Once safe, Tol chuk stopped, his legs wobbling under him, and dropped the
harnesses. He tried to swing around toward the wagon, but his legs gave out,
and he collapsed to his knees into the wet meadow.
Er ril leapt from the wagon and raced toward the og re. Tol chuk s burnished
skin was marred with white streaks and pocks from the assault of the spiders.
When Er ril reached him, Tol chuk s face was still clenched with pain, and his
breath rattled with wheezes and a coarse cough. The og re rolled two bloodred
eyes up to Er ril as the plainsman leaned over him.
We did it, didn t we? Tol chuk gasped.
Er ril placed a hand on the og re s shoulder. Where his fingers brushed one of
the pockmarks, Er ril s skin burned fiercely. He could only imagine the pain
the og re still suffered. You did it, my friend. It was your heart and bone
that saved us.
Tol chuk nodded. Good. As I said, we og re be thick of skin. With those last
words, Tol chuk s eyes rolled back, and the og re slumped to the grass.
Before Er ril could check to see if Tol chuk still breathed, a voice cracked
across the open meadow.
Back from your demon! Do not make us feather your corpse with arrows!
Er ril straightened and saw a band of twenty or so green-cloaked figures rise
from the deep grass, each member armed with a tautly bent bow. Instinctively,
Er ril reached for his sword belt, but just as quickly, he realized this was a
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battle he could not win. He searched the determined faces that surrounded him.
No, now was not the time to fight.
Er ril raised his arm and opened his palm in the common gesture of surrender.
Wrapped under a thick blanket, Vira ni still lay nestled among the tufted
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