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regained his feet.
    The clearing now vibrated with the intensity of battle. Two other knights had appeared from the woods to join Sir Baylor and his comrade. Each knight was engaged in a life-or-death duel with an evil warrior who seemed to defy Twitch’s perception of reality. The knights’ clothing was subdued, but each clearly bore the mark of the Prince. They seemed fearless. Each fought for his life and yet for something more.
    These men fought not as individuals, but as a finely honed team. When one knight faltered, another deftly moved to protect his companion, then quickly reengaged his foe again. As a force of four, the knights formed an impenetrable wall of protection. Twitch finally drew his sword as well, but it seemed a paltry action when he realized just how inadequate his skills were in comparison.
    “Kessler, Drake’s flank!” Twitch heard Sir Baylor command as he wounded an opponent, then ran to assist another knight. The one named Kessler moved with the speed of a panther to engage the warrior attacking the knight who had saved Twitch. After a few more moments of tenacious fighting, the dark warriors disengaged and retreated into the surrounding trees.
    “Where did they come from?” the knight named Kessler asked as he and his comrades scanned the area for more threats. Sweat dripped from ringlets of black hair that hung around his handsome, dark-skinned face. He was the first to sheath his sword.
    Sir Baylor just shook his head. With narrow eyes he continued his scan.
    “Yes, what happened, Commander?” The one called Drake turnedto face Baylor. He was a large knight, nearly equal in size to the warriors they had just faced. His sandy hair and bright blue eyes did little to diminish the fierceness of his countenance. “You know as well as we that they don’t attack without a purpose.”
    “You’re right, and I didn’t expect them here.” Baylor sheathed his sword and turned to face Twitch for the first time. “Where’s Gustav?”
    Twitch was still stunned by what he’d just experienced. He shook his head as if to awaken from a bad dream. “He didn’t come, sir.”
    The fourth knight abandoned his search at the perimeter of the clearing and walked toward the rest of the group, his sword and long knife still firmly in his grip. He walked past Twitch as if he wasn’t there and stood before Baylor.
    “We delayed another day for nothing? And risked this exposure?” he asked Baylor. The intensity of battle still lingered in his brown eyes. A half-grown mustache and sparse goatee gave his youthful face a roguish appearance.
    “Easy, Purcell,” Baylor said. “We lost nothing.”
    “And gained nothing,” Drake added.
    Kessler grinned. “You blokes needed to sharpen up a bit anyway.” He slapped Purcell on the shoulder as he walked to the ridge leading down from the mountain. “What’s next, Commander?”
    Purcell sneered briefly at Kessler, then sighed and sheathed his sword. He spun his long knife about his palm before snapping it into its own sheath. “Shall we prepare to leave, sir?”
    “It appears so.” Baylor shot a quick glance toward Twitch. “Rendezvous at the river. I’ll be there to join you shortly.”
    The three knights saluted and began their descent down Mount Resolute. Baylor stared hard at Twitch, who was keenly aware that his cheek was convulsing again.
    Baylor crossed his arms across his chest. “Why didn’t Gustav come with you … and why are you here?”
    “I … I wanted to talk to you about—sir, what just happened?” Twitch rubbed his chest, wondering if he found it difficult to breathe because of what he’d just seen or because of Baylor’s impact on him.
    “That was just a glimpse of the war I warned Gustav about.” Baylor looked from one side of the clearing to the other, then settled his eyes back on Twitch. “Why they attacked you is peculiar. Perhaps they thought you were Gustav.”
    “I don’t understand,” Twitch said.
    “You