A hand shook me. Tracker whispered, "Company coming. Trouble." Toadkiller Dog was at the tent flap, hackles up.

I listened. Nothing. But no point not taking his word. Better safe than dead. "What about Goblin and One-Eye?"

"Not finished yet."

"Oh-oh." I scrambled for clothing, for weapons. Tracker said, "I'll go scout them and try to scare or lead them off. You warn the others. Get ready to run." He slipped out of the tent behind Toadkiller Dog. Damned beast showed some life now!

Our whispering wakened Case. Neither of us spoke. I wondered what he would risk. I covered my head with my blanket and left. Sufficient unto the day the evil thereof.

Into the other tent, where I found both men in trances. "Shit. Now what?" Did I dare try waking One-Eye? Softly: "One-Eye. This is Croaker. We've got trouble."

Ah. His good eye opened. For a moment he seemed disoriented. Then: "What're you doing here?"

"Trouble. Tracker says there's somebody in the woods."

A cry came through the rain. One-Eye bolted upright. "The power!" he spat. "What the hell?"

"What is it?"

"Somebody just ripped off a spell almost like one of the Taken."

"Can you get Goblin out? Fast?"

"I can…" Another cry ripped through the woods. This one stretched out and out, and seemed as much of despair as of agony. "I'll get him."

He sounded like all hope had gone.

Taken. Had to be. Sniffed out our tracks. Closing in. But the cries… First one somebody Tracker ambushed? Second one Tracker gotten? Didn't sound like him.

One-Eye lay down and closed his eye. In moments he was back in trance, though his face betrayed the fear on his surface mind. He was good, to go under such tension.

There was a third cry from the woods. Baffled, I moved to where I could look into the rain. I saw nothing. Moments later Goblin stirred.

He looked awful. But his determination showed he had gotten the word. He forced himself upright though it was obvious he was not ready. His mouth kept opening and closing. I had a feeling he wanted to tell me something.

One-Eye came out after him but recovered more quickly. "What's happened?" he asked.

"Another yell."

"Drop everything? Run for it?"

"We can't. We have to get some of this stuff back to the Plain. Otherwise we might as well surrender right here."

"Right. Get it together. I'll take care here."

Getting things together was not much of a job. I had unpacked very little… Something roared out in the woods. I froze. "What the hell?" Sounded like something bigger than four lions. A moment later there were screams.

No sense. No sense at all. I could see Tracker raising nine kinds of hell with the Guard, but not if they had one of the Taken with them.

Goblin and One-Eye showed up as I began knocking the tent down. Goblin still looked like hell. One-Eye carried half his stuff. "Where's the kid?" he asked.