Marian watched the words in the next paragraph forming, read them quickly and gasped.
“What is it?” Phoebe broke the chant.
Marian slapped the book shut again and threw it on the counter.
Without answering Phoebe, she rushed from the room.
* * * * *
There were four of them, five with the figure standing outside the trees watching.
The rain was driving down and the wind was whipping through the trees. Royce had more than enough experience to battle four opponents; he had done it in the past. But these seemed to be filled with otherworldly strength and he didn’t have his sword. It was his wedding day; he didn’t think he’d need his sword. If he’d had his sword, he’d have mowed them down like just as much wheat in a field.
He only had the dagger he carried at his belt.
And his strength.
It served him well but it was the battle of his life.
With a fierce roar, he surged up from the crouch they’d forced him into and he threw two off his back, exposing his belly. A third came in for the kill.
At that moment, Mallory drove forward, head bent low, scattering the others, knocking Royce aside and taking the dagger that was meant for Royce through his own throatlatch.
The warhorse went down with a mighty crash.
* * * * *
There were four of them and three of them were on Colin while one of them dragged Sibyl away.
She struggled, hissed, spit and kicked.
She saw through her battle that Colin had managed to get a hold of one and, with a fierce roar, he threw it flying through the air.
He shrugged off the other two as if they were merely annoying gnats and surged toward Sibyl.
But the wraiths quickly recovered and pounced yet again, stalling his progress and beating him down.
It was then that Sibyl felt the blade at her throat.
* * * * *
Even with Mallory’s sacrifice, Royce was losing.
He felt it.
He knew it.
The strength was leaving him, draining out of him. His attackers seemed without limits, relentless. It was almost as if they were sucking his own power from him and using it against him.
And still the figure watched from the trees.
He knew with a certainty that he was going to die.
But he would do it like a warrior and go down fighting. This he vowed.
And it was then the strangest thing happened.
* * * * *