The smaller nightshade lumbered forward, making slow progress as it hit the tangle of logs and branches strewn across the river. Arrows began to fly through the air, sinking into the grey-brown skin of the creature's torso. A limb appeared out of the vines and creepers to the left of the nightshade's body, a bushy branch that swiped across its trunk, and the arrows were all knocked away as if they'd never been there. The glaring eyes shifted, and the nightshade turned, moving across the river in the direction from whence the arrows had come.

"No!" Miro shook his head as one of the Dunfolk ran out of the trees, a wicked hunting knife in his hand. The small man reached the nightshade and started to hack at the creepers at its base. Faster than it had moved thus far, the arm-like branch at the nightshade's side shot out as it picked the hunter up around the waist with hooked wooden fingers. A second arm appeared and grabbed hold of the hunter's lower half, the two limbs pulling until Miro heard a great tearing sound and the screaming warrior was torn in two. The nightshade threw the two pieces into the river and continued forward, arrows hitting it in a continuous hail.

Once the way forward was clear, the second nightshade followed, the great trunk swaying as it moved across the scattered trees and branches, water streaming from its base as it moved through the river.

Miro looked again at his zenblade. The slightly curved sword shone silver in the afternoon sunlight. He held the hilt in both hands and ran his eyes across the symbols that covered it from one end to the other.

Ella had made this zenblade, just as she had made his armoursilk, soon after the battle at the Sutanesta where she had astonished even master enchanters with her skill. There was no one Miro would trust more with his life.

And, Ella being Ella, she had added some new matrices to the zenblade and given Miro's armoursilk new properties. A bladesinger's song was complex, and Miro had been fearful to add so many activations, but he now felt that this was the time to try the new abilities out.

Miro opened his mouth and started his chant. Rather than building up to it, he pushed himself to direct his song straight to the most powerful sequences of all, where he would turn the zenblade blue and his armoursilk would blaze like lightning.

As the light of the runes lit up the forest the bigger nightshade's malevolent eyes turned. The creature's arms came out, the fingers clacking together, and Miro knew the nightshade had seen him.

Fear hit him with sudden force. Miro voice shook and his song faltered, until with a croak he stopped, and it was gone altogether.