Oribas. He stepped around Addic and threw a handful of salt at the shadewalker’s face. It rained down in a fine dust. The
shadewalker stopped and hissed; for a moment its guard was down but Addic was too gripped by fear to strike at it. Oribas threw down a line of salt across the earth between them. ‘It cannot
cross!’ He shifted around between the trees, laying down more salt, trying to encircle the shadewalker.
The creature cleared its eyes. It advanced on Addic again and then reached the salted earth and stopped. Its head whipped around to Oribas as though it understood exactly what the Aulian was
doing.
‘Get your friend Jonnic back here!’
‘Jonnic!’
The shadewalker turned. It walked quickly now, straight at Oribas, swinging its sword in its hand. Oribas laid another line of salt. ‘Can you make fire? Do you have what you need?’
He watched Addic fumble in his bag and then shake his head. The shadewalker stopped abruptly again a few feet from Oribas, held by the salt a second time. Its eyes were white and a blue like water
from a glacier. Oribas hadn’t even known what a glacier was until Gallow had dragged him over the mountains, but he’d seen eyes like these before. Gallow had them. Ice-man eyes they
called them in the desert, always had, even long ago, and now he wondered: where had these shadewalkers come from, these men who’d once guarded the old emperors of the world? Too tall and
broad-shouldered to be Marroc, too pale-skinned to be Aulian. Or did the pale skin and those eyes simply come as a part of what made them?
They stared at one another. When Oribas walked toward the end of the arc of salt, the shadewalker moved with him. It kept moving, stepping gingerly along the line until it found its end and
looked up. Its dead face didn’t change but perhaps its eyes gleamed a little brighter as it sensed its victory. It advanced quickly. Addic cried out, turned and ran while Oribas simply
stepped over the line of salt to be on the other side. The shadewalker came at him, stopped abruptly at the salt and began to walk along the line again, looking for a way past. Oribas tracked the
arc of salt he’d laid out, slowly and carefully, trying not to look at the shadewalker stalking the edge of his barrier. He moved from one end to the other and laid down another line. The
shadewalker ignored him until it found a way through, but Oribas stepped calmly over the salt a second time and then stood and waited. The arc was three quarters of a circle now. ‘One more
dance, restless one?’
As soon as the shadewalker started looking for a way past again, Oribas ran, dropping salt as he went. When he was done he stepped back and watched. For a time the shadewalker followed the line.
After it had gone round the inside of the circle three times, it stopped and turned to stare at him.
Oribas bowed. ‘Can we both agree that you will wait here while I find my friends?’
7
THE RAVINE
B eyard demanded Gallow’s oath not to run away and so Gallow gave it to him. Now he was in his mail and with his shield and helm, sitting on
the back of a borrowed horse with the ironskin and a dozen Lhosir around him. Two were the men he’d faced on the Aulian Way – Arithas and Hrothin – and they stared at him with
open hatred and spat at his feet and growled
nioingr
to his face. Gallow wondered at the return of his mail and his shield and helm, but those were in case of Marroc archers hiding in the
woods. It seemed that among the villages in the high hills the Marroc were almost in open revolt.
‘We know about you,
nioingr
,’ snarled Hrothin.
‘That’s twice, Hrothin. Call me that a third time and you’ll have to give me a sword and let me kill you,’ said Gallow coldly. Beyard snarled and the two Lhosir backed
away, their surly glances raking over him.
‘Those two will be your watchers.’ Beyard watched them go. ‘One of the men you killed was Hrothin’s
shadewalker stopped and hissed; for a moment its guard was down but Addic was too gripped by fear to strike at it. Oribas threw down a line of salt across the earth between them. ‘It cannot
cross!’ He shifted around between the trees, laying down more salt, trying to encircle the shadewalker.
The creature cleared its eyes. It advanced on Addic again and then reached the salted earth and stopped. Its head whipped around to Oribas as though it understood exactly what the Aulian was
doing.
‘Get your friend Jonnic back here!’
‘Jonnic!’
The shadewalker turned. It walked quickly now, straight at Oribas, swinging its sword in its hand. Oribas laid another line of salt. ‘Can you make fire? Do you have what you need?’
He watched Addic fumble in his bag and then shake his head. The shadewalker stopped abruptly again a few feet from Oribas, held by the salt a second time. Its eyes were white and a blue like water
from a glacier. Oribas hadn’t even known what a glacier was until Gallow had dragged him over the mountains, but he’d seen eyes like these before. Gallow had them. Ice-man eyes they
called them in the desert, always had, even long ago, and now he wondered: where had these shadewalkers come from, these men who’d once guarded the old emperors of the world? Too tall and
broad-shouldered to be Marroc, too pale-skinned to be Aulian. Or did the pale skin and those eyes simply come as a part of what made them?
They stared at one another. When Oribas walked toward the end of the arc of salt, the shadewalker moved with him. It kept moving, stepping gingerly along the line until it found its end and
looked up. Its dead face didn’t change but perhaps its eyes gleamed a little brighter as it sensed its victory. It advanced quickly. Addic cried out, turned and ran while Oribas simply
stepped over the line of salt to be on the other side. The shadewalker came at him, stopped abruptly at the salt and began to walk along the line again, looking for a way past. Oribas tracked the
arc of salt he’d laid out, slowly and carefully, trying not to look at the shadewalker stalking the edge of his barrier. He moved from one end to the other and laid down another line. The
shadewalker ignored him until it found a way through, but Oribas stepped calmly over the salt a second time and then stood and waited. The arc was three quarters of a circle now. ‘One more
dance, restless one?’
As soon as the shadewalker started looking for a way past again, Oribas ran, dropping salt as he went. When he was done he stepped back and watched. For a time the shadewalker followed the line.
After it had gone round the inside of the circle three times, it stopped and turned to stare at him.
Oribas bowed. ‘Can we both agree that you will wait here while I find my friends?’
7
THE RAVINE
B eyard demanded Gallow’s oath not to run away and so Gallow gave it to him. Now he was in his mail and with his shield and helm, sitting on
the back of a borrowed horse with the ironskin and a dozen Lhosir around him. Two were the men he’d faced on the Aulian Way – Arithas and Hrothin – and they stared at him with
open hatred and spat at his feet and growled
nioingr
to his face. Gallow wondered at the return of his mail and his shield and helm, but those were in case of Marroc archers hiding in the
woods. It seemed that among the villages in the high hills the Marroc were almost in open revolt.
‘We know about you,
nioingr
,’ snarled Hrothin.
‘That’s twice, Hrothin. Call me that a third time and you’ll have to give me a sword and let me kill you,’ said Gallow coldly. Beyard snarled and the two Lhosir backed
away, their surly glances raking over him.
‘Those two will be your watchers.’ Beyard watched them go. ‘One of the men you killed was Hrothin’s
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