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flying, riding a giant moth over the treetops. The moth arched into a sudden dive. Achan squeezed with his knees and grabbed for the saddle horn. No saddle! Only tufts of coarse hair. He grappled, lost his balance, and fell.
    He sat up, pulse drumming in his head. His doublet slid into his lap. Had that been Darkness pulling at his mind? It had seemed so real.
    Achan lay down and tried to focus his thoughts, not wanting that to happen again. Sir Gavin and Sir Caleb whispered to his left. If only Achan could use his supposed great power he could see into Lord Nathak's and Sir Kenton's minds and learn the truth of the past. He could find out who this mysterious chief bloodvoicer was who sought to divide Er'Rets.
    Currently, all he could do with his bloodvoice was shield his mind. He wanted to practice, but not what Sir Caleb had suggested, letting one person into his mind at a time. He wanted to practice reaching into the minds of others. He had done it by accident several times. But only when someone else had initiated conversation. So how did one initiate? And if Achan went wandering into someone else's mind, who would guard his?
    He tuned in to the sounds of the forest. The pecking, the occasional hiss, a rattling, the buzzing of hundreds of mosquitoes. Achan closed his eyes and pictured himself standing guard over his mind. If he couldn't leave his guard post, perhaps he could at least open the door and peek out. He imagined himself doing just that. He opened a steel door in his mind but stood on the threshold, should anyone try to enter.
    The results were instant. Hundreds of voices spoke, many in foreign tongues. He could hear Sir Gavin and Sir Caleb, and when he tuned in on their conversation, their voices magnified. He shifted his concentration to Inko, who dwelled over how they'd manage to go north. Achan smiled. The knights did not seem to sense him.
    A small thought distracted him from the knights. Hunger. A bird. It glided through the dark sky, over the shadowed outlines of trees, scanning the ground for its master, for it had news and wanted its reward. What news? Who was its master?
    These thoughts faded when Achan realized something else: even in the Darkness this bird could see! Incredible.
    A sniffle perked Achan's senses. He focused on the sorrowful sound. Crying. Alone. Muffled. Not wanting to be heard. Was someone hurt? In danger? Lost?
    I cannot do this anymore. The voice belonged to Sparrow. I do not know why you have allowed this to go on. The task is too difficult. I want to go home. I miss my family. Please, Arman, help me get home.
    Achan withdrew and rolled over, peering through the dark in Sparrow's direction, ashamed for intruding on the boy's mind. But Sparrow's words confused him. Sparrow was a stray. Strays were orphans. What family could he possibly miss? And why had he come along if he hadn't wanted to? Had someone forced him? Achan's stomach began to boil, slowly at first, then violently. He pulled his fingers into fists and squeezed.
    If that little fox was still working for Macoun Hadar...

5

    Achan awoke choking. Someone was dragging him by the neck of his tunic, off his bedroll and onto the moist ground. The wet soil seeped into his britches. He gasped for air. Sparrow. Macoun Hadar had sent the lad to kill him. The traitor! Achan grasped the spongy moss, searching for his sword.
    Pig snout! He'd left it drying in the tree.
    His fingers found the hand on his tunic. He pried--
    "Your Highness!" Sir Caleb released Achan's shirt and clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Get your sword. Quick."
    Achan paused to catch his breath, surveying where he'd last seen Sparrow. The boy pressed against a shadowy tree trunk, his already pale face ghostly in the dim light.
    Heart pounding, Achan watched the knights scrambled about, packing up gear. "What's wrong?"
    "Do as I ask," Sir Caleb said. "Quickly please."
    Achan clambered to his feet and the tree that held Eagan's Elk and its scabbard. He pulled the