The Trees And The Night (Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the wall, his saber tip laying on the rock before him. The exhausted Guardsman was useless to them. Should she move forward and engage the enemy or remain where the Keltaran told her? If she moved against the enemy, would she simply hamper Granu’s fighting style?
    Suddenly, a Hackle spun past the Keltaran and the attack from those below made it impossible for Granu to focus his attention on the beast. Vieri understood her roll. The Hackle gained higher ground on the prince. Granu’s back faced the beast but he must have sensed its presence. The Keltaran slid to his left, using the wall to partially protect himself. Still, he exposed himself to an attack from behind.
    “WINDRIDER!” bellowed the prince.
    Vieri reacted. She leapt forward and her hands moved in a flash. One of her daggers spun through the air and hammered into the back of the Ulrog as it edged down upon Granu. The stone man howled in pain. It wheeled and faced up the slope, glaring at its attacker. One hand held a massive cleaver and the other fumbled in the small of its back to remove the dagger.
     The remaining Ulrog sensed the change in the battle. Their pressure forced the Keltaran against the rock wall. They hemmed Granu in, pushing forward and surrounding him. The giant no longer took the offensive, but fought desperately to defend himself.
    Several more Hackles slid past the struggle with the giant and moved up to confront the Windrider. Vieri’s hands shot inside her cloak and she readied herself. The wounded Ulrog abandoned his attempts to remove the dagger from his back. He charged up the slope gripping his cleaver with both hands. A pair of Hackles followed closely behind.
     
    Cefiz fought the blackness that threatened to overtake him. The rapid elevation change combined with the strenuous ascent proved too much for the weakened Guardsman. His injured lungs screamed in agony. They fought to consume enough air to satisfy them. Darkness crept in from the sides of his vision as the lieutenant drowned in his own blood. He watched helplessly as a trio of Ulrog charged up the slope toward Vieri.
     
    The lead Ulrog was three yards from the girl, racing hard up the slope, when Vieri took a half step back then launched herself above the narrow trail. Instantly, the great, black wings snapped open and gathered in the thin mountain air.  The jagged cleaver slashed down at the girl even as she rose up and out of its path. The Ulrog’s eyes widened with dismay. The girl hovered over him for a moment and he stumbled forward beneath her.
    Vieri’s body snapped in the air like a bullwhip. Her torso flexed and spun clockwise, carrying her extended left leg through the air with tremendous force. The girl ripped the gossamer wings inward to increase the speed of her rotation as she leveled her foot at the Ulrog’s head. She prayed the force would be enough to carry him over the cliff.
     Immediately Vieri sensed her error. The thin mountain air did not give her enough lift and she dropped more rapidly than she anticipated. In an instant she adjusted. The Windrider locked her knee and sent it crashing into the Ulrog’s head. Pain shot through her leg, but the sight of the Ulrog being launched toward the precipice rewarded her.
    Vieri followed through on her spin. Her hands dove inside her cape, locking on a second pair of daggers. The remaining Ulrog would be more difficult than the first, but Vieri mastered the Borz dagger long ago.
     
    Cefiz’s mind screamed in terror. The Windrider was unaware! She dropped to the trail, flicking a pair of menacing blades from beneath the folds of her cloak and facing the pair of rushing Ulrog. Her cape billowed behind her in the mountain breeze, one stony hand tangled within its folds, the other rocky claw clinging desperately to the ledge of the great mountain.
    Cefiz struggled to his feet, extended his saber and staggered down the slope.
     
    Granu roared in desperation. The giant was oblivious to the fate of his