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The boy shook his head helplessly. "Not one that will not bring you within sight of them, General. They picked their spot well."

The princess steepled her fingers, bowed her head, and touched them to her brow. "We must find a way to distract them. I need to think."

A memory came to me unbidden—the highwayman on the journey to the City of Elua. I had summoned the twilight and shot him in the thigh. "My lady…" I swallowed, recalling another memory. My mother's voice, a hare frozen in the twilight, seeing its death. It is a grave gift and one never to be used lightly. Surely this was a grave matter. "My lady, I could bring you to fall upon them unseen."

Her blindfolded head lifted. "What you suggest is dishonorable."

"Mayhap, but—"

"No." Her voice was gentle but firm. "Even if it were not, it is too dangerous. Halfway into the spirit world is not far enough to protect you from the arrows of forty desperate men, Moirin, and you are the one person I dare not risk." Her head turned in the direction of distant Snow Jade Mountain. "I fear your gifts will be needed before the end."

A handful of farmers were whispering with the boy. One of them came forward, his expression tentative. "Noble Princess?"

She turned to him. "Yes?"

"There may be a way." He nodded to the nearer mountains. "The boy says Naxi folk live in the hills. They've no loyalty to Lord Jiang; he's tried to outlaw their customs. It might be that a couple of us could get through, looking no threat. Naxi folk hunt with slings. If they were to attack Jiang's men from above… is that what you mean by a distraction?"

Her face lit with fierce hope. "Very much so. What is your name?"

He flushed with pleasure. "Chen Cao, Noble Princess."

She nodded. "Chen Cao. I will remember this. Go with the boy, and see if you can find the Naxi and sway them to our cause."

He bowed three times in quick succession. "Yes, Noble Princess! I will not disappoint you, I promise!"

The wait was agonizing. At Snow Tiger's order, we moved our company as close as we dared approach without being detected. She made the mounted men check their arms and gear thoroughly, lest Jiang's men grow weary of waiting and decide to investigate. When it was done, she beckoned to me. We rode some distance from the others.

"I will have to unloose him again," she said softly. "Even with the aid of Naxi slings, we are no match for forty archers. I must get among them at close range, and…" She didn't voice the thought. We both knew. "If you summon your magic, for yourself alone, before I lower the blindfold, do you think it might help?"

I felt sick. "Mayhap."

Yes. The dragon's voice was sure. If she is in the twilight world, she can see me. I will know.

"Then will you do so the moment I give the order to ride?" the princess asked.

"Of course, my lady."

The sun crawled slowly across the sky. We waited and waited. How many hours, I could not say. I worried about the farmers, simple tools clutched in their hands. I worried about Bao and the stick-fighters, none of them trained to fight in the saddle. I worried about the princess, sure to take the gravest risk on herself. I worried about the dragon, wondering what would become of him if she were slain.

I would end, he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," I whispered, and worried more.

At last, there came the sound of shouting in the distance. I'd never heard the sound of men surprised by an unexpected attack, but it was unmistakable.

"Now!" the princess cried.

Her mount pricked its ears and surged forward. With fierce cries, the other riders followed her, the unmounted fighters pelting after them on foot. Beside Master Lo, I struggled to breathe the Breath of Earth's Pulse, fought to find a calm place within myself and summon the twilight.

It came hard.

I felt the unreasoning wave of panic that slammed into the dragon when Snow Tiger lowered her blindfold, the spiraling rage that followed; and I felt him fight it with sinking despair. It gave me strength to find what I needed. I breathed in the twilight, breathed