Two huge black crows settled on his shoulders. Their eyes burned red. More crows circled Catcher. Frogface materialized on the neck of her horse, chattered briefly, vanished. Come. We should arrive just in time to save the day. The voice she used was that of a happy kid contemplating a prank.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mather stuck his head into the room. Hes on his way, Willow.

Swan grunted, opened shutters for more light. He looked out at Blades camp and its satellites. The gods themselves were on Blades team. Recruits had een arriving in droves. None of them wanted to enlist in the Radishas guard. Hed had high hopes when he had invented that. But the Radishas name carried less weight here than Blades. And, damn him, he was as stubborn about sticking with Lady as Cordy was about the Radisha.

Cordy, Cordy, why the hell dont we just go home? he muttered to himself.

Blade came in, escorted by Mather. That human stump Sindu was right behind them. He was like Blades shadow, anymore. Swan did not like the man. He was creepy.

Blade said, Cordy says you have something.

Yeah. We finally got one up on you. He had begun fielding patrols of his own after Blade started expanding southward. Our boys grabbed some prisoners.

I know.

Of course he did. There was no hiding from each other here. They did not try. They remained friends, however much they disagreed. Blade did most of his planning in that room, on the map table there. Anything Swan wanted to know he could see right there.

There was a big dust-up at Dejagore the other night. Shadowspinner hit the burg with everything he had. He grabbed our friends by the short hairs. Then what should pop up but two giant fire-breathing riders in black armor flinging thunderbolts around and kicking ass wholesale. When the smoke cleared away it was the Shadowlanders that got whupped. One of the prisoners saw it with his own eyes. He said Shadowspinner had to yank everything out of his trick bag to hold those two off. Heres the way they say it went down.

Swan kept a close eye on Blade while he chattered. There was some emotion showing through that bland facade.

He finished his tale-What you think, old buddy? Those two miracle visitors sound like anybody we know?

Lady and Croaker. In their costume armor.

Bingo! But?

Hes dead and shes in Taglios.

Two in a row. Give the man a prize. I think. So what the hell really went down? Sindhu. What you grinning about, man?

Kina.

The others looked hard at the broad man. Mather said, Descriptions again, Willow.

Swan repeated.

Mather said, Kina. The way shes described by people who know her.