Watt-Evans, Lawrence - Annals of the Chosen 01 (58 page)

Without
a
word,
Breaker
joined
in
the
slaughter,
quickly spearing
the
remaining
animals
with
his
sword,
and
in
a
few seconds
the
chaos
and
noise
had
suddenly
ceased.
The
only sounds
were
the
drumming
of
the
rain
and
the
Archer's
labored
breath.

Breaker
crouched
in
the
wagon,
unable
to
stand
straight, and
looked
at
the
dead
squirrels.
He
prodded
a
few
with
the point
of
his
sword,
and
counted.

There
were
thirty-four
dead
squirrels
scattered
across
the bed
of
the
wagon.

"There
were
more
outside,"
he
said.
"There
were
two
atop the
wagon,
watching,
and
I
chased
more
away
when
I
came in."

"Fifty-four,"
the
Speaker
said.
"That's
the
most
he
can control."

Breaker
looked
up
at
her.
"How
do
you
know?"

Just
then
the
Leader
arrived
in
the
door,
and
the
Speaker glanced
at
him
before
replying,
"The
ler
told
me,
of
course. The
ler
of
the
dead
squirrels
were
furious,
and
eager
to help—the
Wizard
Lord
had
summoned
and
bound
them,
but had
made
no
death-bargain.
He
could
not
possess
them
outright,
as
he
did
the
deer—he
can
control
only
a
single
body at
a
time—but
he
had
spoken
their
true
names
and
called them
to
his
service,
and
they
could
not
resist
his
commands while
they
lived.
Once
they
were
dead,
though,
their
true names
were
altered
and
the
spell
no
longer
bound
them,
and they
could
tell
me
what
they
knew."

"And
what
was
that?"
the
Leader
asked.

The
Speaker
shrugged.
"Very
little.
They
knew
very
little. They
were
only
squirrels,
after
all—their
thoughts
were
of nests
and
climbing
and
nuts,
and
getting
out
of
the
rain,
not of
magic
or
human
schemes.
But
they
knew
the
names
the Wizard
Lord
spoke,
their
own
and
the
others,
and
they
told me
all
of
them,
all
fifty-four,
and
I
called
them
aloud
to
free them
from
his
power,
but
not
soon
enough
and
not
loud enough,
not
clearly
enough."
She
looked
around
at
the
dead animals,
her
face
sagging
with
dismay.

"The
two
on
the
roof
scampered
away,
looking
very
much like
ordinary
squirrels,"
the
Leader
said.
"I
believe
you
freed them,
in
any
case,
and
perhaps
some
of
the
others."

"Fifty-four,"
the
Seer
said.
"You're
certain?"

"Fifty-four
names
were
spoken,"
the
speaker
confirmed.

"I
couldn't
count
them,"
the
Seer
said.
"They
moved
too fast,
and
there
were
too
many.
But
when
I
focused
on
any one,
I
could
see
where
it
would
be."

"Why
fifty-four?"
the
Leader
asked.
"Was
that
all
the squirrels
in
the
area?"

The
Speaker
shrugged
again.
"I
don't
know,"
she
said. 'They
told
me
he
had
summoned
all
he
could,
but
whether because
there
were
no
more
nearby,
or
because
he
did
not have
enough
power
to
hold
more,
or
because
he
only
knew the
fifty-four
names,
they
did
not
say."