BooksBarbecue
Back Witchshadow
Chapters (70)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Map
  5. Epigraph
  6. BEGINNINGS
  7. PART I
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. TEN
  18. ELEVEN
  19. TWELVE
  20. THIRTEEN
  21. FOURTEEN
  22. FIFTEEN
  23. SIXTEEN
  24. SEVENTEEN
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. TWENTY-NINE
  37. THIRTY
  38. THIRTY-ONE
  39. THIRTY-TWO
  40. THIRTY-THREE
  41. THIRTY-FOUR
  42. THIRTY-FIVE
  43. THIRTY-SIX
  44. PART II
  45. THIRTY-SEVEN
  46. THIRTY-EIGHT
  47. THIRTY-NINE
  48. FORTY
  49. FORTY-ONE
  50. FORTY-TWO
  51. FORTY-THREE
  52. FORTY-FOUR
  53. FORTY-FIVE
  54. FORTY-SIX
  55. FORTY-SEVEN
  56. FORTY-EIGHT
  57. FORTY-NINE
  58. FIFTY
  59. FIFTY-ONE
  60. FIFTY-TWO
  61. FIFTY-THREE
  62. FIFTY-FOUR
  63. FIFTY-FIVE
  64. FIFTY-SIX
  65. FIFTY-SEVEN
  66. TRICKSTER
  67. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  68. Also by Susan Dennard
  69. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  70. Newsletter Sign-up

When she risked a glance back, she found he was out of the water and sprinting up the shore. Too fast, too fast. Even though he was not Aeduan, whoever … whatever possessed his body was using his Bloodwitchery. He would reach her soon.

Which meant she would have to think her way out of this. That was all there was to it. Somehow, as she pumped her arms and tried to move faster, as pine needles sliced her cheeks and roots threatened to steal her legs, Iseult needed a plan.

Think, Iseult, think. Beyond this forest were the crystal pools, and beyond that, the river with rocks for crossing. If she could just get to those stepping-stones, then she could get to Owl and the horses. Surely not even Aeduan-who-was-not-Aeduan could outrun horses.

She reached a bend in the path, and flung a backward look. He was so close, his cloak bright and unmissable through the trees. She would not reach the pools before he caught her.

She wanted to scream. Wanted to end this chase now, call it quits like she used to as a child playing fox and hen. Running without pause always ended in tragedy for her.

So don’t run, her brain provided, right as she approached an immense pine, its lowest branches above her and its trunk three times as wide as she. Beyond it, the crystal waters shimmered in cold mountain air.

She knew her opponent and she knew this terrain. Not well, since she’d only just passed through, but she still had an advantage. Which meant it was time to pick her battlefield.

Another backward look. He was still there, though all she could see was his white cloak. She wore brown; she would not be so visible. And her footprints—they mixed with her others from before. It would be impossible to tell if she had stopped or continued on.

Iseult reached the pine, and with a bounding leap to avoid leaving fresh prints, she shot behind its wide trunk. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth and waited. For what seemed an eternity, she heard only her heartbeat galloping through her very skull.

Soon she heard footsteps. He was not as graceful as the real Aeduan, yet like the real Aeduan, he also couldn’t seem to smell her blood. One small boon, at least.

He did not slow at the pine, and as he passed it, Iseult circled around. Away from him. All the way behind him …

And something about that, about briefly gaining the upper hand—an Empress card against the Emperor, as Safi would say—gave Iseult the respite she needed. She could see her next actions, she could imagine the fight about to unfold. She abandoned her staff on the forest floor, unsheathed her new sword, and charged.