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.There were forty such bolts, each grasping the end of a chain reach-ing back across the gorge to an identical bolt.A solid deck of teak and gundrus pine was laid down on the chains,timbers which were impervious to the weather and so dense, they refusedto burn.The sides of the bridge were guarded by fine wire nets, and thedeck was easily wide enough to pass eight horses abreast.The engineersswore the structure would carry an army.They showed the mathematicsto prove it, and Rogan had seen it done.His gut clenched as he watched the shadows creep with the rising sun.Every bush, every tree, was outlined in rosy dawn light which should havebeen beautiful.His throat was dry, and weariness was banished in a rushof fresh, prickling sweat.He looked sidelong at Tristan, who was slit-eyedagainst the glare, pensive, and said quietly, There s no dishonor in return-ing to Althea.Go back if you want to.But Tristan s helmeted head shook deliberately. My whole life hasbeen lived for this.and they re here already, Rogan. He was breathless,hushed. Across the bridge.Don t you see them?The warbells changed pitch as Rogan held up a hand to shield his eyes.And there they were, blue banners, red and gold, bobbing toward thebridge from the Listow road. How keen is your vision? Rogan won-dered. Look for Bardolf himself.All this madness revolves around him. I don t see him," Tristan murmured. I don t have eyes like aShochene. None of us does, Morgan said wryly.Her horse was prancing at thehead of the column, under the banners. The archers have orders to takehim first.As you said, Rogue, all this madness revolves around him, and ifyou take the hub out of the wheel it flies apart.The bells changed pitch yet again, and Rogan s heart squeezed asShevan Armes bellowed, Cover! They re firing!One of Shevan s small conceits was that he had Shochene grandpar-ents.At a distance his eyes were sharper than a man s had any right to be.He joked that he could see the glint in a sparrow s eye from half a mileaway, yet he could not read what was on the table a foot before him.And288he was right, the air was suddenly heavy with arrows.Rogan lifted the shield, turned the horse and hunched his left shouldertill the upper curve of the shield rasped on his helmet.Tristan had beentrained to do this when he was a boy, and he still knew how.The horseswere armored with thick leather plates that would stop a half-spent arrow.Now they waited.Shafts rained down around the west side of thebridge.Rogan counted three volleys before they paused and Harbendane sarchers returned their fire.For minutes, the sky might have been thick withangry hornets, swarming wasps.Few arrows reached as far as the Altheacompany, but cavalry on both sides of the bridge was thoroughly pinneddown.When the air cleared again Shevan s voice bellowed across thecohorts. They re coming over!The warbells chimed again, on a different note, a different rhythm.Rogan turned his horse back toward the bridge and looked out in the shadeof his flat hand.Tristan brought his horse so close, their knees touched, andasked sharply, Do your ranks not come to order? No. Rogan relaxed his shoulders, let the shield lower, as the saw aclear sky. No, m dear, we re the last line of Althea s defense.We wait andwatch. But, Rogan, Tristan protested, if you don t meet them on the bridgewe ll be fighting them at the city gates! You described the bottleneck, howtwo men can hold a hundred. So I did, and it s the least of what we want, Rogan said bitterly. Now, hush, Tris.Keep your eyes on Amadeus.A groan of inexpressible frustration issued from Tristan, but he sealedhis lips and looked for the shaman.Amadeus was standing beside hishorse.His sword was in its scabbard, his hands were folded into thesleeves of his robe, and his face was less serene than simply blank.He wasso deeply tranced, he could not have been aware of the distant, ringingthunder of movement from the bridge, nor the shouts of men and horseson either side.A bodyguard of four soldiers and four acolytes, and Imogenof Raman herself, stood around him, and he had entrusted his safetycompletely to them.A dozen men and horses had gone down under the hail of arrows.Bondsmen were carrying out the men, and leading the wounded animalsto the wagons where surgeons and horse doctors waited to treat them.TheThered in losses were light, but Rogan could not guess Bardolf s losses.Figures made small by distance had appeared on the bridge, andRogan swore as he realized Bardolf was sending footsoldiers over first
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