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Brak…So he had a na locket for Brak, if hisor oodness and wisdom he had left behind But as Brak was an assassin, a killer waiting in the woods to murder children, he doubted it No one would weep for Brak… as no one would weep for these two His fist tightened on the bow, bringing it up to draw a bead on the stocky man’s throat He would kill this one and wound the other, an arrow in the leg or the stomach would do it, then he would make hirowled in the forest, so the bow - too late, knocked flat by a hard one fro out as he did so, hitting nothing There were screaed to his feet, screa wet lashed across his face, stinging his eyes He staggered, tasting the iron sting of blood, wiping frantically at his eyes, blearily focusing on the now silent caht above a red stained one

Randoh his mind It tracked me…You’re beautiful… Followed me here to kill these men… Beautiful wolf… They killed Mikehl… No family resemblance…

STOP THAT!

He forced discipline on the torrent of thought, dragging air into his lungs, calh to move closer to the ca towards a throat that was no longer there, his face frozen in fear The whiner hadcut down His head isted at a sharp angle to his shoulders Fro the air around him it was clear his fear had n of the wolf, just the whisper of undergrowthin the wind

Reluctantly he turned to the sack still lying at the stocky man’s feet What do I do for Mikehl?

“Mikehl’s dead,” Vaelin told Master Sollis, water dripping from his face It had started to rain a few miles back and he was drenched as he laboured up the hill towards the gate, exhaustion and the shock of the events in the forest co to leave him numb and incapable of more than the most basic words “Assassins in the forest”

Sollis reached out to steady hi too weak to keep hiht “How many?”

“Three That I saw Dead too” He handed Sollis the fletching he had cut froate and led Vaelin inside Instead of taking him to the boys’ room in the north tower he led him to his own quarters, a small room in the south wall bastion He built up the fire and told Vaelin to strip off his wet clothes, giving hian to lick at the logs in the hearth

“Now,” he said, handing Vaelin ayou can re out”

So he told him of the wolf and the man he had killed and the whiner and the stocky man… and Mikehl

“Where is it?”

“Master?”

“Mikehl’s… remains”

“I buried it” Vaelin suppressed a violent shudder and drankhis insides “Scraped the soil up withelse to do with it”

Master Sollis nodded and stared at the fletching in his hand, his pale eyes unreadable Vaelin glanced around the roo it less bare than he expected Several weapons were set on the wall: a pole axe, a long iron bladed spear, soers and knives of different patterns Several books stood on the shelves, the lack of dust indicating Master Sollis hadn’t placed them there for decoration On the far wall there was sooat skin stretched on a wooden fraures and unfamiliar symbols

“Lonak war banner,” Sollis said Vaelin looked away, feeling like a spy To his surprise Sollis went on “Lonak boy children becoe Each band has its own banner and everyit”