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“Back to the city!” Illan cries. One of his men has Jiron behind him on the horse and they race toward Lythylla.

Before they move through the gate of the palisade, James glances backward and scans the battlefield for the warrior priest. All he finds is the oncoming soldiers and the dead, there’s no sign of him. Then they’re through to the other side and racing toward the gates of Lythylla.

When those on the battlements see them ride through the palisade, a cheer erupts and the gates swing open. The pursuing Empire soldiers stop at the palisade when they realize James and the others will reach the safety of the walls before they’ll have a chance to catch them.

Cries of ‘Madoc!’ and ‘Black Hawk!’ resound as they make their way through the gates. Lord Pytherian as well as the other leaders who were present during their initial meeting are there to greet them.

“Unbelievable!” one of the men says. “I heard rumors of what you can do, but I had no idea.”

Illan pulls up to a stop and asks, “Any word from Delia and Ceadric?”

Shaking his head, Lord Pytherian replies, “Not yet. We have riders out in that area and men on the walls looking for them.”

James swings down from behind Illan. “I hope she’s alright,” he says.

Chapter Nine

______________________

“Retreat!” Ceadric yells to his men. The press of soldiers is too great for them to break away effectively. Arrows begin flying from Hedry’s men, taking out those pressing Ceadric and giving them a chance to disengage.

The two forces that so recently made their appearance are closing fast. Most are foot though the force to their right has a contingent of cavalry as well. Delia scrambles to get her people back to their horses quickly.

“But there are three catapults that are still serviceable,” Orry states. The rest of the siege equipment is burning out of control despite the efforts of the soldiers that have made it to them.

“Leave them!” she hollers. When they broke off the attack, each grabbed their pack with what oil bombs they had left. James was most explicit in that they must remove all the evidence they can. Of course the shattered remains may give them some clue as to what happened anyway but why help them any more than they have to.

Ceadric and his men, now fewer by half a score, join them as they swing into the saddle. “Back to the river!” Delia hollers. Each realizes the way they came across is the only avenue left if they are to survive.

As they break into a gallop leaving the burning siege equipment behind them, the enemy forces begin forming an arc. “They’re going to drive us to the river and annihilate us against its banks,” Yern shouts.

“Not if we can find where we came across,” Delia hollers back. Two miles to the river with soldiers bent on their destruction behind them, they push their horses to the limit. They manage to maintain a constant distance between them and the cavalry coming up behind. The foot soldiers begin to fall behind.

After several minutes of riding, the river appears before them. “Beacon!” Delia hollers and a half mile away to the right, a light appears.

“There it is!” Devin exclaims.

Unfortunately, the force to their right has already passed the beacon which now lies behind their lines.

“What should we do?” Uther asks.

“Ride through them and kill them all!” Jorry yells with a touch of bloodlust in his voice.

“Ceadric,” she says. When she has his attention she says, “Fall back. Let me ahead.” She takes the lead and leads them on while maintaining a fast pace. From her remaining pouch she pulls one of the two crystals contained within. She moves to set it into her sling when her horse suddenly leaps to avoid an obstacle on the ground and the crystal falls from her hand.

“No!” she cries as the crystal hits the ground. She removes the remaining crystal from her pouch then gets it set into the sling just as…

Ka-Boom!

…the crystal which dropped on the ground explodes in a great eruption, throwing rocks and dirt into the air. Fortunately all their riders had passed the area before the explosion. The