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.I did not want to startle you all.”“Well, you certainly startled me,” Sir Nickleby remarked, remembering that first night when he had been on guard duty, and caught Nisa watching their camp.Nisa had to explain a lot to him in that moment, and Sir Nickleby had to take a closer look at her, but he was convinced in the end that she was the Old Man’s daughter, and doing her father’s duty on this trip, watching over them.He had almost laughed at the thought of Nisa and Iibala meeting, until he had learned that had already happened.“My daughter certainly is a wonder,” Sir Nickleby had muttered to himself, hearing Nisa’s story about what had happened between Basha, Iibala, and the birds just before the militia tryouts.Perhaps he had confessed too much to Iibala when he had told her what happened to him on the night Berevus had betrayed his militia, but it was necessary for him at the time.She had been complain too much about his odd, mournful behavior, which worried her, and he had to tell somebody the truth before all of the lies and rumors swallowed him up.“Anyway,” Nisa said now, crossing her arms as Sir Nickleby turned back to her, “You should be more careful from now on.The boys are getting restless.” She said.“How do you know that?” Sir Nickleby asked.“They took off three minutes ago down a side trail.” Nisa pointed.“They said they would race a mile down the trail and back before you got back out of these bushes.”“What?” Sir Nickleby said, running out of the bushes as Nisa shook her head.The Old Man would have been upset with her to learn that she had allowed the boys, especially Basha, to get out of her sight, but she thought that Sir Nickleby deserved to learn a lesson of his own about ignoring his duties.Sir Nickleby mounted his horse and took off, galloping the wrong way.He went down the main road instead of the hunter’s path that he must have missed.“Sir Nickleby! Wait!” Nisa cried, coming out of the bushes and seeing his misdirection.However, she was forced to hide herself again when she heard the approach of two horses coming onto the main road from the hunter’s path.She witnessed the crash of the falcon into Basha, Oaka’s appearance, and the Wolves.Nisa lifted her head as she saw the last of the Black Wolves running after Basha and Oaka, unaware of her existence when they were concentrated on their prey.She muttered, “You’re not getting them,” and quickly went to fetch her bag.She should have been more careful with her own charges.His horse galloping down the road, Sir Nickleby muttered to himself, “Why can’t they just wait for me? Is it so hard for them to sit still?” He paused and muttered to himself, “Better make it ‘lords and ladies,’” still thinking about the speech.He peered about in search for the side trail until a howl echoed throughout the forest and Sir Nickleby’s horse reared up as he pulled on the reins.He could not figure out where the noise was coming from.“Sir Nickleby!” Basha called out, from behind him.Sir Nickleby turned his head around, and saw one of the most horrific sights he had ever seen before, coming his way.The boys were riding their horses like all of the demons of the shadow worlds were after them, and they were.Black Wolves, Hyena Wolves, a whole pack of them, like the one that should have been there when he had discovered the scout in the forest last Suma.They were after the boys, they were after Basha.He couldn’t believe how time slowed down as everything moved, fast as lightning, towards him.“Well, I suppose I shall have to do my job!” Sir Nickleby called out, and jumped down from his horse as the animal bolted.It was harder than it looked to make such a jump.He managed to land on the ground with a roll, and stand up again, unsheathing his sword.He was too old for this sort of action, leave acrobatics to young people like Nisa.“Keep going, boys!” Sir Nickleby called out to them as the boys were trying to rein in their horses.“I’ll catch up!” He waved them on, still sore.The horses ran on again, as smoothly as lightning streaking across the sky in jagged lines, when the boys could not stop them, and then Sir Nickleby strode out into the middle of the road.“Come on, you bunch of dogs from in-bred mothers!” Sir Nickleby roared.“Have at me, Wolves!” He cried out as the pack launched itself at him; he would not die without some pain.Oh, Iibala, he was sorry…Something had happened, or was happening, Doomba sensed, opening his eyes behind the mask in the Wastelands, south of Arria, although he could not tell just when or where it had occurred, or what it was [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]