When the goblins moved the unconscious Hunters, they’d stripped them of any weapons they could see. But every Hunter worth his or her salt carried at least one concealed dagger, and these appeared now: long, short, curved, and serrated, but all extremely sharp. With a weapon in their hands again and their Elder shouting orders at them, the Hunters were starting to look more alert, and, Twelve noticed, much, much angrier.

“Guardian,” Hoarfrost called, forcing his way through the crowd to Dog. “What’s the situation out there?”

Dog stepped back to allow Hoarfrost to peer through one of the ragged cracks in the door. Twelve seized her chance and darted forward as well, pressing her eye to a gap. Her heart sank. The training ground glowed green in the goblin-light, enough to see hundreds of goblins amassed in front of the armory, Victory and Morgren among them. Swords, axes, and armor glinted. Twelve gulped—suddenly the Hunters’ daggers looked much less impressive.

Hoarfrost blinked as he noticed her crouched next to him. “Well,” he growled, “what do you reckon?”

She wasn’t sure where it came from, but the words that emerged from her mouth weren’t those she intended. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear from one of your more reliable students?”

Did she imagine the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth?

“You’ll do,” he said dryly.

Twelve bit her lip. “We need to get to the armory and they know that,” she whispered.

He nodded, his eyes hawklike on her.

“There’s no way in other than across the training ground,” she went on, thinking hard. “Victory will defend it with everything they’ve got.”

“That snake!” Hoarfrost spat. He took a deep breath, “Go on . . .”

“But we have Dog,” Twelve whispered fiercely. Dog had lowered his head to listen and a low growl sounded from him. “The first attack, when Seven was taken, was all just a decoy to get rid of him.”

“What?” Hoarfrost whispered, his horror obvious.

“Victory told me herself,” Twelve said grimly. “They fear Dog more than anything else. He could break through their lines, clear a path for us to the armory.” She glanced at Dog for confirmation and the growl grew louder.

“Of course I can,” Dog said, a fierce fire in his eyes. “It is what I was made for. And I could smash into the armory itself. Widen the doorway for faster entry.”

Hoarfrost nodded once and stood, his back very straight. Quickly, he relayed the plan to the Hunters and they fell into formation behind Dog, tension humming through them. Six, Five, and Seven pushed their way to the front to stand beside Twelve.

“Ye four clear off upstairs with the others,” Hoarfrost said. “Ye’ll only be in the way out there.”

For once, Twelve’s anger felt controlled. Hoarfrost wasn’t the enemy here. “We’re the only ones with proper weapons,” she pointed out.