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"It has been more than ten days, and no one has attacked," Csimenae said to Sanct&039; Germain late in the afternoon of the uid breeze hardly h all of the barn doors stood open Odors from the creamery on the south side of the walls mixed with stench of the midden, to the north-west, away from the little stream that leaped and shie walls "Are you certain of what you saw in the forest?"

"I a drop "They said they were going to take Mont Calcius" The barn was lit by the slanting rays of the setting sun, burnishing everything; the ani their tails to be rid of flies, but otherwise drooping as Sanct&039; Ger to their hooves

"But they have not co, and as he struggled to free hiht they have e and you misunderstood theh they have not acted yet," said Sanct&039; Germain as he went around to the off-side of the an to wield his rasp; in spite of the warmth of the barn and the effort of his task, there was no trace of sweat on him

"Perhaps they will not come, after all Perhaps the horses have kept theates, and we have weapons to fight with They ht and have looked for easier gah eer convinced of the danger

Sanct&039; Germain paused in his work "Perhaps Or it may be that they know more than you think" It was risky to venture so ht it judicious to draw her attention to the possibility of a spy in the village

"Do youAulutis&039; arm "Yes I suppose they would do They will knoe have strengthened our walls I still think they e They may choose one that is not as well-defended"

"Or they uard," Sanct&039; Ger lared at him "You think there are spies inside the walls, don&039;t you? Do not bother to deny it I can read it in your face You are certain that there are spies" She caught Aulutis&039; tiny hand in hers and held it "You believe that there are e ill betray their oaths"

"Yes I do," he said, looking up frolittered "How can you ihts about anyone in the village? You should know better than that, Sanct&039; Gerates How can I believe that they are foresworn?"

"Because they are men, and they are not alone in the world You would be foolish not to have some doubts," said Sanct&039; Geruard your son as you do if you were as certain as you claim to be" He finished his ith the rasp and let the ," she said with a show of indifference "You are not one of us You do not know-"

"I have been about the world, and I have seen men swear fidelity with treachery in their hearts Even the most honorable of men can turn to perfidy if he is driven to it" Most recently had been outside Baghdad, and had led to the death of nine men, as well as his own ordeal of heat and sun "You e of honor beyond any I have ever encountered"

"Well, and so I do," she asserted "You have let yourself be reedy and untrustworthy Here we knohat an oath ed behind a horse to my death"

"I hope, for your sake, that you are not put to the test But I encourage you to keep the night-guards patrolling" He went to the next mule and lifted her on-side front foot "Think about all you have done for Aulutis, and ainst that"

"You want to make me afraid," Csimenae said

"If that will keep you safe, then yes I do" He used the rasp as he went on "I also ask you to observe your people Soates, and they h the vows they have given to your son"

"You are a horribleabruptly on her heel and starting out into the glowing afternoon

"Possibly But I ht," he said as he continued his work

That night passed uneventfully, and the next, but the night after that there was a disturbance at the edge of the sheepfold that brought the night-guard running into theup for that purpose

"Thieves! Thieves!" Henabo shouted, bashing the shield one last ti sheep?" came the sharp cry from Csimenae&039;s house "They shall have none By my blood, they shall not!"

The uproar increased as the village roused froan to su out of doors, the wo to keep their few children from panic The men were not much better: they held clubs and knives but were irresolute in theiras if he had been bested in battle Frightened and dispirited, the villagers responded to Csie with a lack of enthusiasm that boded ill

If Csimenae are of this, she did not reveal it in her activity; she made her way to the center of the on that stood there "You know there is danger!" she shouted aloud "You know that we are set-upon by evil ht them off, or you will be their slaves and worse than slaves"

"They are of this place!" Rilsilin protested

"Not if they come to take it eapons and kill us" Csiuished it "We will not ht as possible to guide them"

"That was clever" From his position near the barns, Sanct&039; Germain marveled at Csimenae&039;s steadfast demeanor He held his Byzantine sword in one hand and a Ro for the next rush the attackers were about to e the walls

"Let each of you stand to his place by the walls and use the flails on the attackers Break their shoulders and their heads and you will have the victory, for there are fewer of the with purpose "If you defeat the attackers, you will be rewarded for your fealty to Aulutis If you fail, you will receive no mercy from the men outside the walls"

Rilsilin lifted his head and shouted, "Do not fight! They are our kinsmen They will do us no harm"

"Do you think so?" Csimenae demanded "There are no enemies as bitter as kinsmen But if you want to take your chances, you h the sheepfold, and pray you will be welco

There was athe others, and finally Henabo shouted out, "We raced" He climbed up beside Csimenae and raised his fist "Get your flails and your axes and your haht"

For a long moel"

That ended the reluctance: the e as they shouted their new-found determination aloud

Sanct&039; Ger their nervous behavior, their surging fro to their bleating; they were as useful watcheese "Not yet, not yet," he said quietly, wondering what the attackers were doing that kept theers hurried to take up their posts, weapons at the ready Everyone was excited, their senses keen; they kept their fear at bay Csi theilant, not to slack in their purpose

But the e defenders grew edgy, then sullen, at last beco sleepy and inattentive As exhaustion seduced theinations increasing the number and ferocity of their enethened, two of the guards drowsed off into fitful sluone back into her house to tend to her fussing son when there was an eruption of e of the trees, andon ropes between theh to cry out did, and in the space of two quick breaths all was confusion

One group of attackersit open while a second group ran at the barn with axes swinging Wood splintered and a h plank, e itself deeply in the ani the wall open for the an to strike out with her hooves, her teeth bared in warning The horseswhites and necks craning as they sought to flee

Sanct&039; Gere of the barn, his weapons ready to swing The long Byzantine sword huht the sword up in a smooth, backhanded stroke that stopped as it struck one of theof the barn roof In the next breath, Sanct&039; Ger back a secondHe advanced on thethem back One of the attackers landed a lucky blow on Sanct&039; Gerger that left him on his knees before Sanct&039; Ger out fro that caught the kneeling man on the temple; he went doithout a sound The third attacker shrieked and struck at Sanct&039; Ger-handled axe Sanct&039; Germain slapped the axe aith the flat of his sword and then lunged with his dagger The metallic odor of blood was thick in the air

Shouts and shrieks filled the night as the fighting continued; one of the two torches lit in the village was doused, so thatwas done in darkness When two of the attackers atteuards fell on them from their watches above them and braith fists and feet with as deadly intent as those with actual weapons in their hands

Sanct&039; Ger the side of the barn, driving back the attackers as he came upon them Two more men lay wounded by the tierian to admit him He paid little heed to the wound on his forearm, and none at all to the blood that dripped from it; there would be tierian noticed the wound, but said only, "The villagers are holding their own"

Nodding, Sanct&039; Germain said, "They will prevail if they do not let fear overwhelm theate there was a sudden shout of dismay, for the attackers had s over it The oers all but lost heart as the skull was battered to shards by the erian, cocking his chin in the direction of the market square "I will brace this door"

"Do not falter now!" Csi "If we fail now, then we deserve to be slaves! We deserve death!"

There was a bit of a rally, a few of the defenders taking up her challenge; the rest were too disheartened

Then Rogerian ca up with t torches in his hands "You must uphold the horses," he shouted to the to preserve their home"

In the creamery, Sanct&039; Ger down the door with axes His brace was not enough to withstand their assault, and so he took his sword and thrust at the es in the wood

One of thetwo of the door&039;s boards to kindling in five desperate blows His companion continued to hurl ie he defended Thehe hadthe weight of the blade carry it deep into the h

Thea wide spatter of blood behind He and the ered away froe of the door to ht be injured, but they could still be dangerous One of the er as he strove to escape Sanct&039; Geran to ers He kept after the back to see if any of the other attackers had discovered the gaping hole where the creamery door had been

As Sanct&039; Germain dispatched the second of the ates-the villagers had begun to fight once an to shore up the gates as the younger men took baskets of stones and climbed to the top of the walls to hurl these down on the an to chant; the words were harsh, in a language Sanct&039; Gernize, and theto the villagers, and soon hth syllable

Now the attackers hesitated, and two of theht down by a cudgel thrown by one of his fellows One of the attackers did his best to shout over the chanting, "This is deviltry! They are praying to de for us!"

Rocks showered down Froe-point at the side of the barn Sanct&039; Germain saw the attackers withdraw a short distance He took advantage of this lull to hasten to Csi, and a few of the villagers were flushed with premature victory "How many did you rout?" she asked as she reached the end of a cadence in the chanting

"Four," he answered "Two of them are dead and ill have to bury them"

"Oh, no," she said "Not until the kites and crows have picked their bones" She grinned her fury "They ainst us"

A few of the villagers added their support in vigorous shouting

Sanct&039; Germain knew better than to press the matter with her now Instead he told her, "I think they will make another rush, and soon"

"No," she said "They will vanish into the hills and ill never see theain" The last words were cries of triumph

"I fear they are not beaten yet; they may return for another assault," said Sanct&039; Germain "Keep ready until sunrise In case they have not accepted their defeat Reot no farther "Wounded?" She pointed to Henabo "Take one of the men with you and kill the injured We have no use for them here"

"Kill the For the first tiinning to dry "You cannot kill them"

"Yes We must Kill them They would have done as h to keep them as slaves-you know that as well as I do So they must die" Csiree," said Sanct&039; Gernored him "Kill them Now"

Henabo pointed to Nae-haates

Nael before going after Henabo, his cheeks flushed beneath his fuzz of youthful beard

"They will swear vengeance on you and on this village for-" Sanct&039; Germain protested, only to be interrupted

"Let them shatever they like," Csiainst us" She sers made loud cries of assent "They will not dare to attack us, no one will dare"

Pordinae shouted, "Let the it until it, too, became a chant

"There is no benefit in this," Sanct&039; Ger sound rent the night-part shriek, part sigh, it came with a pulpy thud

"That is ill become of all who attack us!" Csieon

The villagers cheered Then the cheers turned to screa out of the woods, their axes and ha a wounded ht as the ht! Kill theled to overco iron rake and started to climb onto the wall "Strike theers, and they strove once ht off the outsiders

It was a fast, ferocious skirmish: the attackers rushed at two sides of the walls, their haers clambered onto the walls and used rakes, hoes, and flails to batter at the hold

Sanct&039; Gerate and called out where the attackers were "Someone close the crea it was the weakest part of their defenses "And souard the barn! And the sheepfold!" He was shocked at ho men there were, and he realized how desperate they ht and steeled against the with the sweep of the fighting, he could sense the coht

Three of the attackers ed to cli to hurl rocks at the defenders until one of the villagers oad One of the fallen man&039;s felloas able to loose threecomrade, was driven from their place

When the end came, it was quick; the attackers lost their i their wounded with theled body after theers rushed to watch the retreat, confused by the suddenness of the withdrawal

Sanct&039; Ger hiainst the wall of the house, his arers who hurried past hierian&039;s voice cut through the cohtened up "What is it?" For he could see fro

"Csierian "She has beenhurt" He said this last in the language of the Mongols on the Old Silk Road "Ione has her"