Chastity looked beautiful as she lay on the ground. As beautiful as a stilt can look anyway. Except for the purple lump on her forehead. She seemed at peace. Her hair fanned out on the ground like sunlight. I felt Ragnar’s hand grip my shoulder. He yanked me backward and in a flash of blurry sky I was flat on my back.

“Give her air!” he barked. He crowded over her. I got to my feet. My shredded clothing barely hung on my body. The right side my of chest was red and raw from the scraping it took. My right hand oozed blood from the cut on the glass.

Boards and stones crashed to the ground as the remains of the house shifted. The rest of the roof tumbled in and a few boards slid down the pile. Beetles rumbled in fields around us. The distant clopping of the satyr's hooves grew louder until Reese burst through the wheat. He nearly trampled Chastity as he jumped over her sprawled body. Ragnar ducked and grimaced. Reese spun around and gaped. His eyebrows arched and his pimpled face stretched into a look of despair.

“Is she dead?” he asked. He shifted from one leg to the other and then ran in a tight circle around us.

“Get Jenna!” Ragnar said without looking up. He smoothed Chastity’s hair back from the purple bump on her forehead. Reese clopped around us. He nervously approached Chastity and then quickly backed off.

“She’s breathing,” Reese said.

“Find the mage!” Ragnar said without looking up. Reese looked back and forth from me to Ragnar. Ragnar turned his head and stared at Reese.

“Go!” Ragnar said. Reese flinched and ran back into the wheat field. He almost ran over Freya as she came through the wheat, but she glided smoothly out of his way.

She looked at Chastity and then down at me. She said nothing. She looked just past my shoulder.

“She is going to need help, Drexel,” she said. I looked to my right and Drexel stood just inches from me. I nearly jumped in surprise and then tried not to look startled. Drexel just looked at Freya and shrugged. The sound of hooves returned as Reese came through the wheat with Jenna on his shoulders. He nervously jumped around Chastity and Ragnar.

“Put me down,” Jenna said in a stern but steady voice. Reese bent forward and dumped her on the ground. She picked herself up with a scowl and walked to Chastity. Jenna closed her eyes and placed her hand on Chastity’s forehead. She let her chin drop to her chest and breathed in time with Chastity for several breaths.

“She needs a physician, I can’t do much for her. I'm still not sure of the extent of her injuries.” Jenna said. She looked at Freya.

Freya looked at Ragnar.

“Spanton is not very far away,” Freya said. Ragnar shook his head.

“It is too dangerous,” he said.

Freya started to reply.

“It was decided that we would stay out of cities and towns,” Ragnar said. Freya’s light green skin darkened.

“We need a physician's help,” she said.

“When have we not needed help?” Drexel asked with a smirk. Freya ignored him.

“Chastity is dying. There are people there who can save her,” Freya said.

“That is exactly why it is too dangerous,” Ragnar said. His voice grew louder. “The last thing we need is to be seen by some Government thug!”

Freya looked at Chastity and then back at Ragnar.

“There are people in Spanton that are resisters.” Freya said.

A smile stretched across Ragnar's face.

“Resisters,” he said with a laugh.

“I remember the resistance! Do you?” he asked. He pointed at Freya. He looked at the others.

“We were all together in Buba! I remember, do you? Two months and you forget? Cloda's concert in the park? The resistance? 'Raise up your arms, listeners!'” he raised his fist. “How long did they last? ten minutes?”

"Cloda was betrayed" Freya said.

He brought his fist down onto his open palm. “They said, ‘The great Cloda will turn her fans into fighters,’” his voice took on a mocking tone. “And what happened then?” He pointed to the ruin of the house. “We rabble-roused the most pathetic rebellion in Twaddle history. 8 minutes of rebelling ended right after the guards disemboweled the hapless crowd. Cloda's 'Song of Liberation' was cut off before she even got to the first refrain.” He raised his arms. “And now this.” He pointed at Chastity. “This one's done in by a dung beetle!” he said. His arms dropped by his sides.

“There's no resistance. Cloda failed. Chastity will die and we will live out our short lives as fugitives before we are finally rounded up and ripped to pieces in the playrooms of the Bupinders’ flunkies.” He shrugged.

There was silence except for the rumble of a beetle far off. Reese shifted his weight from one leg to the other.

"Ragnar, dont be an ass" Freya said.

"What in the name of Kraken are you people talking about?" I asked.

"Cloda was betrayed, the guards were ready for the uprising. We escaped together, and never saw her again." Freya said. It's a long story. Ragnar's trying to rewrite history"

“She won’t last more than a day,” Jenna said.

“Then start digging her grave,” Ragnar said.

Freya looked at Drexel.

“You have some friends in Spanton, Drexel,” she said. Drexel looked surprised.

“Me?” He asked.

“Don’t tell me that you’re little band of crooks doesn’t have somewhere there to disappear to when things get ugly,” she said.

Drexel looked at Ragnar and then at Freya.

“Ok so we do, but, things are far too ugly." Drexel Said. "How safe could we be there? The reward on our heads is enough for any one of my former fellows to live on for a year". "Thats why we're hiding out in a beetle infested abandoned mansion in the middle of nowhere."

“It is settled. Drexel and I are taking Chastity to Spanton.” She looked us over. “Who else is coming?” Freya asked. Drexel smiled uneasily.

Ragnar said nothing. Drexel was silent as usual. Reese looked at the ground. Even Jenna was quiet. Freya knelt next to Chastity.

“I’ll go with you,” I said. I looked down at Chastity. Her breathing was shallow, her face seemed paler already. Ragnar laughed.

“Where did you get such courage, kneebiter?” he asked. I stared at him. I looked all the way up his long legs to his squinting, stilt eyes. I jabbed my finger at him.

“You wouldn’t last a day in a smooger pit, anyway ive got nothing to lose. I wasnt at Booba or whatever it was.” I said.

Ragnar smiled. “Good luck to you,” he said.

“I will stay by your side, Freya” Jenna said. Her ears fanned out to the sides. Ragnar’s smirk turned into a weak smile.

“Me too, Im not afraid of any Bupinder! You all got me out of Buba alive, we can't split up now! ” Reese said. He walked over to Chastity.

“Come with us, Ragnar,” Freya said. “ We could use your help”. Ragnar raised his eyebrows and looked down at Chastity. He looked like a man accepting his own death.

“Fine,” he said.

Jenna stayed with Chastity while the others prepared to leave. Reese wandered to the wreckage of the house and picked at the rubble.

“I lost my weapon in here somewhere,” he said. The rubble shifted with a crash and he jumped back. To the right of the house, an old stables stood, barely intact.

“Reese! Get away from there and give me a hand,” Ragnar said. He emerged from the stables pulling an old wagon. The wagon had two wooden wheels and a beam that jutted out. Ragnar and Drexel lifted Chastity onto the wagon. We made our way through the wheat. Ragnar and Reese pulled the wagon. The rest of us followed. The wheels squeaked loudly in the still air.

Even with the wagon slowing them down, I had to stay on the verge of a run to keep up with the long strides of the stilts. We made our way through the wheat and onto the overgrown road. To the East, the road led back from where I’d come. I could barely make out the goblin's bridge in the distance. I coughed up a glob of phlegm and spat towards it. It sailed through the air and then smacked into the dirt with a little puff of dust.

“Impressive, Telle,” Freya said. She frowned. I turned and followed the others as we took the road to the West. Freya and Drexel moved silently, both rolling natural 20's. Their taught muscles and thin legs carried them gracefully ahead.

I gasped for air and struggled to keep up with the stilts and greenies. My legs burned. At the crest of a hill we stopped to catch our breath. The road headed into the woods on the Western edge of the farmland. The forest was dark compared to the bright yellow of the wheat fields. After a few minutes, we resumed our march. I was tired, but each step in the hot sun brought me further away from the smoogers, and for that I was thankful. Sweat ran down my face and into my eyes. I was thirsty, but there was little water.

We passed several beetle trenches, but no bugs emerged nearby, thank Kraken. Chastity’s breathing became more labored as the day wore on. The bump on her forehead darkened. Black rings formed under her eyes. Jenna sat on the cart beside her, with her hand on her forehead. Jenna mumbled prayers the entire day. Chastity only got worse. Her breathing came in shallow, short gasps. I prayed quietly.

“Oh Kraken, sustain my friend. May your horn miss her.” We came to end of the wheat and the beginning of the forest. “And us,” I added as the sun sank in the sky and the trees cast long shadows across the road.

“Spanton is a town at the far edge of the wood,” Freya said to me. She looked at my face and smiled. She must have known what I was thinking.

“We have friends there,” she said.

“Or not,” Ragnar said.

“Or not,” Freya agreed. “In any case, it is our only hope,” she said quickly. We walked into the darkened forest. The road became a tunnel through the branches that closed overhead. The trees were skinny, but tall. Their branches ran over each other and wound around until the entire road was surrounded by wall of thin twigs. Wicked thorns ran the length of the branches. In the depth of the forest I saw a flash of white. At first I thought it was my imagination, but then I saw another, closer to the road. It was a bone. The wide thighbone of a stilt dangled among the trees. Not only one. I walked to the edge of the forest. Deeper in the forest, entire skeletons hung among the branches. They were still upright among the twigs. Sharp thorns stuck into the bones.

We marched solemnly for hours. Finally, in the distance, the forest opened up. The canopy pulled back to reveal the end of the forest.

The woods were quiet. Nothing made a noise. Only Chastity’s labored breathing broke the silence. My stomach growled loudly. Reese jumped to attention.

“I’m starving!” he announced.

“We are all hungry,” Freya said. She rolled her eyes.

“Let’s catch some food!” Before anyone could say anything, Reese rushed into the woods. Within seconds he was several strides into the forest.

“Stop!” Freya shouted. “Get back here! There is no food. Nothing bigger than an insect can live in a sharpwood forest,” Freya said. Reese looked back at us. He scowled in defiance.

“How do you know so much?” he asked.

“Just try to come back,” Freya said. Reese took a step toward us. He screamed in pain as the thorns tore at his skin.

“It’s a one way forest,” Drexel said. Reese took another step toward us. Thorns pulled at his skin. Red lines appeared across his chest.

“It hurts,” he said.

“Of course it hurts it's sharpwood!” Ragnar shouted.

Reese whined and cursed as he ripped his way back out of the branches that held him. He emerged nearly naked and covered in red lines. He sucked on his bleeding fingers and clopped angrily in circles around us.

“Know-it-all treeloving barkbaits,” he said to Drexel and Freya. “You elves spend way too much time with plants.”

“You won’t find those trees enjoying any elf bones,” Drexel said. "But let's stop and wait a bit for sundown before we try to get into town"

Reese scowled. He sat next to Ragnar.

"I thought Saytrs were woodland creatures too" Ragnar mentioned.

"I grew up with my Mom, leave me alone" Reese said.

"Did you all know each other before Cloda's rebellion?" I asked.

"Most of us have history with each other" Freya said, "Chastity introduced me to Drexel many years ago. Drexel knew Ragnar. Ragnar and Jenna were working with Cloda when we met her."

"I met up with em at the big concert/uprising," Reese said, "I was trashing some of the town guard and they pulled me out. These guys saved my ass!"

"And look at the thanks we get" Drexel said.

The sun set. We sat in darkness. Ragnar gave orders to move out of the forest. He and Reese pulled the wagon. I ran to keep pace. The trees opened overhead and I could see the outlines of the others in the starlight. The sound of fast water came from ahead. We finally emerged from the woods.

Just in front of us sat an enormous stone bridge. It was big enough to be a town. In fact, the bridge itself was a town. A central corridor ran straight through the bridge-town, making a direct route over the river that ran beneath. Flanking the road was a maze of tiny side streets filled with stalls and cramped houses. The sharpwood ran almost to the edge of the water and began immediately on the far side of the bridge. The entire town hovered over the rushing water below.

We crept in the darkness onto the bridge.

“Halt! Who would enter Spanton?” A stilt guard leaned out of a shack on the side of the road. Ragnar approached him.

“Good evening, sir. Before I answer, could you indulge a simple question?” he asked.

“What is it?” the guard asked gruffly.

“What is that shadow over your shoulder?” Ragnar asked. The guard turned to find Drexel right behind him. There was a thud and the guard slid out of view.

“Quickly,” Ragnar said. He waved us forward. Reese’s hooves clopped on the stone bridge. The wagon’s wheels squeaked loudly on the incline. Ragnar lifted Chastity off the cart and threw her over his shoulder. We left the wagon by the guard house. Drexel came from the back with the guard’s shirt in his hands. He ripped it into several strips and then reached for one of Reese’s legs. Reese jerked backward and knocked into Ragnar.

“I’m going to quiet you down a little,” Drexel said.

“Do it,” Ragnar said. Reese frowned and stuck his hoof toward Drexel. Drexel took the strips of cloth and tied them over Reese’s hooves. We made our way up the bridge in near silence except for the muffled clopping and the roar of the river below.

We took a turn off the main corridor and wandered through alleys and past crooked stone houses. The town was clearly a settlement of stilts, but the houses were small. As we walked past a few streets, I noticed that the few stilts who were outside walked with a stoop. Drexel walked to the door of a small cottage and quietly rapped his knuckles on the wood. A small window in the door opened just a crack.

A surprised female stilt looked at Drexel. She stuck her head out of the window and looked at the rest of us with wide eyes.

“This ain’t right!” she said in a loud whisper to Drexel. “Good people, I don’t know what you want, but you must go!” she said to the rest of us.

“Let us in, Florence,” Ragnar said.

The woman stuck her head out the hole in her door and looked us over.

“We need help,” Jenna said. The woman looked down at Jenna. She looked at Chastity on Ragnar’s shoulders and frowned. She whispered to Ragnar.

“How could you?” she asked.

“These things happen. We’ll be gone tomorrow,” he replied. She started to close the window. Drexel held the window open.

“Flo, please, a little help,” he said. She looked us over and frowned.

“Damnit,” she said. She closed the window. There was a scraping sound and then the door began to open. Ragnar pushed the door open and ushered us inside. We piled into a one room shack with a thatched roof. Ragnar dropped Chastity on the floor and shut the door.

“You can’t stay." the woman said. Everyone's heard of the trouble at Buba. Ragnar, people are watching this house,” She looked at Drexel. “You weren’t wrapped up in that too were you? Surely you’ve not gotten into politics, Drexel!” she said.

“Don’t be silly,” he said. She looked relieved.

“It’s not like you to ask questions,” he added. She smiled guiltily.

“I can find you a bit of help for that one, but then you’ve got to go,” she said.

“I’m hungry!” Reese said. The woman walked to the back of the room and opened a cupboard.

“This will have to do.” She held out some bread and a piece of cheese. Reese swallowed the cheese in two bites and started to bite into the bread. Freya snatched the bread from his hands and tore it into pieces. She handed the bread out to the rest of us while Reese pouted.

“Open the door only for two knocks,” the woman said and left before anyone could say a word. Ragnar barred the door behind her.

“Can we trust her?” Reese asked. Nobody answered him.

I gnawed on my share of the bread. It was old, but I didn’t mind. It was more than my usual dinner. The others seemed less pleased. Freya poked around the cupboard and found a pitcher of water. She poured a little down Chastity’s throat and passed the pitcher around. I gulped until Ragnar pulled the pitcher away. He drank and passed the pitcher to Reese. He finished the water. I looked around the house. The ceiling was low for a stilt house. The floor was cold stone with a burlap rug over it. I lay on the rug.

The others also lay sprawled on the floor. The room wasn’t even wide enough for the stilts or the elves to stretch out. If I were not so cold and tired, I might have chuckled. Jenna and I were the only two that were comfortable in a stilt house. The room was lit by a flickering candle. The shadows under everyone’s eyes danced across their faces. Reese nodded off. Everyone seemed to be losing the fight to stay awake. I gave up and tried to sleep.

“Open in the name of the Law!” Shouting came from the end of the street.

I sat up. The others blinked and looked around. The candle that lit the room had burned down to the nub. The flame sputtered and shadows danced wildly on the stone walls of our tiny room. Freya pulled a candle from the cupboard and lit it.

“Do you think they found the guard?” she asked. Ragnar shrugged.

“My friend turned us in for all I know,” he said. He glared at Drexel.

The sound of hooves clattered off the stones outside. There was more shouting and banging in the distance. A quick pounding came at the door. Freya looked at Ragnar.

“She said two knocks,” Ragnar said. More knocking followed. Nobody moved. Reese jumped to his feet and hit his head on a rafter.

“Ouch,” he said.

“Silence,” Ragnar said loudly. The shouting came nearer.

“Please!” came a plea from the other side of the door. Freya jumped to her feet.

“That sounds like Cloda!” she said.

"Who?" I said

“Who is it?” Freya asked.

“Freya, quickly child, let me in,” the voice said. Freya pulled the bar off the door and opened it. A stilt with a gray frock and a hood pulled over her face rushed into the room and shut the door behind her.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the woman said.

“Cloda! What…” Ragnar said.

“I barely eluded that guard,” Cloda said.

“How did you find us here?” Freya asked.

“I've been looking for you since Buba. That battle was lost, but there is still hope for our rebellion.” Cloda said. "I was hoping you might turn up here eventually. The few people I escaped with thought you to have fled these lands, but I suspected that your devotion to our cause would keep you close."

“It would seem you were right,” Ragnar said.

"Id scold you all for not being more subtle in bypassing the town sentry, but your clumsiness did enable me to hear quickly of your arrival. And I am not the only one."

“Are they still following you, Cloda?” Drexel said, peeking outside through the hole in the door. Cloda looked at me. Her eyes searched my face.

“Who is this little one?” she asked.

“My name is Telle Smellme,” I said.

“Were you at Buba?” she asked.

“No, but I keep hearing about it,” I said.

“We found him recently,” Drexel said.

“I see.” She waved her hand as if to brush off the topic. “Did you ever think you would meet the great Cloda little fellow?” she said with a smile in her voice.

“No maam. You’re some kind of leader, right?” I asked.

“What?” her voice took on an edge. “You do not know of me?” Her breath felt like a blast of icy wind in my face. Drexel spoke up.

“He was raised in unfortunate circumstances, your Benevolence. They had no knowledge of art where he was reared,” Drexel said with a bow. Cloda took a deep breath and seemed to relax.

“I see. You poor thing. I am Cloda, a performer in this great land of Twaddle.” She smiled a compassionate smile.

"What an understatement!" Reese said.

“She's a motivational singer, Telle,” Freya said.

"Shes the most famous person in the world!" Reese said.

“Indeed,” Jenna said. “Im amazed you are alive, Cloda, We need your help.” Cloda looked at Chastity.

“Oh my. Of course you do,” Cloda said. “We haven’t much time. I’ll do what I can, and then you must leave at once. I have arranged for our departure,” she said as she stood over Chastity. Drexel looked at Cloda.

“You’ve arranged for our what?” He asked. Cloda ignored him.

She kneeled next to Chastity and began to hum. She closed her eyes and swayed back and forth. As her humming grew louder, it took on a melody. The melody grew. It soared up and down, it filled the room with a glorious sound. The sound flowed into every corner of the room. It bounced and swirled through that tiny space. I felt covered in music. I felt the vibration of the humming against my entire body. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever imagined. Then Cloda opened her mouth and sang. The humming never stopped, even though she sang. The melody continued underneath the strange words that wove themselves through the music.

The sound wrapped in and around me. I closed my eyes. The song reached into my body, my mind. Each note pounded through my heart and washed into my blood. The music ran across my skin and crept into my bones. It swam through my veins and shot like shocks through my nerves. She sang in a language I had never heard. I did not know the meaning of the words, but my soul understood. It felt as if she were singing only to me. She sang to my body, to all that made up my being.

The words traveled through me. I swooned and nodded. I breathed the music in the air. I opened my mouth and tasted the sweet sound as it crossed my tongue and filled my lungs. Slowly her words vanished and then the humming also came to an end. I took a breath. The air without the music tasted stale. I opened my eyes. Everyone smiled. Chastity lay with her head in Cloda’s lap. Her eyes were open. The wound on her forehead was gone. I held up my hands. The cut from the glass was healed. When I inhaled I felt no pain in my side. All my cuts and bruises had vanished. Everyone glowed. Reese’s cuts from the sharpwood had healed. Even his pimples were gone.

“Thank heaven you found us, Cloda,” Chastity said.

“And thank you, Telle, for saving me from that awful house.” She smiled at me. I beamed at her. I was euphoric. Cloda’s smile vanished. She looked at the door. A sound that had been in the background suddenly took on meaning. There were horses in the street and pounding on the door.

“Open up in the name of the Law!” a voice shouted from outside. Everyone snapped out of their reverie. Cloda motioned silently for us to stand.

"Is there another exit?" Cloda whispered.

Ragnar shook his head. The others searched for an exit frantically.

“This shack is near the edge of the bridge, A boat shall be beneath us soon. That is our escape,” she whispered.

"Cloda you're amazing" Reese said.

Freya was tearing away sections of the thatched roof on the far side of the room.

"Freya's making a back exit" Drexel said.

“Open the door or we break it down!” The pounding shook the door and rattled the bar that held it shut. Reese reached for a knife.

I ran over and pulled myself up to look out the hole in the low ceiling. The shack's back was on the very edge of the bridge. The black water of the river rushed beneath us. I didnt see any boat.

“Telle, we need time. Answer the door. They don’t know you here!” Freya said. She pointed to the door. There was more pounding.

“Give me time to slide back the bar. It’s stuck!” I shouted through the door. I was too short to reach the window. I rattled the bar.

Reese had poked his head though the hole as Freya worked to widen it. "Cloda, is that your boat?" He said.

“It’s here!” Cloda said. As I slowly slid the bar back from the door, Ragnar squeezed through the remaining thatch and vanished. I heard a thud as he landed on the boat below. Then Freya lifted herself through the hole. I removed the bar and lifted the latch, just as Reese dropped Jenna out of the hole and then slid out after her. I heard a clatter as he fell into the boat. Chastity was the last. She slipped through the hole as the door swung open. Cloda moved in front of the hole to block it from view.

A stilt in metal armor stared down at me.

“What kept you?” he asked. His right hand held a shiny metal sword.

“Sorry. I was…sleeping.” I looked at Cloda.

“Lazy kneebiter,” he said. He held out a piece of parchment. It had a sketch of Freya and a sketch Ragnar.

“Have you seen these fugitives?” He thrust the pictures into my face.

“No, sir,” I said. Cloda began to hum behind me.

The stilt looked over my shoulder. He saw Cloda and then he stepped into the room. She ducked behind him and shut the door. The guard looked down into the hole in the floor. Cloda slid the bar across the door, locking it. The guard spun around.

“Its... You're Cloda...you're Cloda! You're under arrest!” he said. He raised his sword. Cloda opened her mouth and her voice instantly filled the room. A thousand voices spoke at once.

“To the river!” she commanded me. I ran under the Guard’s arm and pulled myself up to the hole. An old stilt looked up at me from a raft lashed to the bridge below. The others looked up at me too. It looked like a long drop. I stepped back from the hole.

Cloda’s voice bounced off the walls. She screeched an angry song. Pain shot from my ears into my head. My eyes stung, the air itself boiled with rage. My lungs burned. The guard waved his sword in front of his face and staggered back.

“Stop!” he said.

Cloda’s song reached a crescendo. She held an impossible note. The thousand voices converged and the full power of her song struck the guard. He dropped his sword and stepped back against the wall. His hands went to his face. A thousand terrible shouts came from Cloda’s mouth. He fell to his knees. Cloda’s song suddenly stopped. The guard fell forward onto his face.

Shouts came from outside. Cloda looked at me.

“Take his weapons!” She said. I pulled a dagger from the guard’s belt. A stream of blood ran from under his face and pooled by his ear. I picked up his sword and ran to the hole.

“Watch out below!” I shouted as I dropped the sword and the dagger through the hole. There was more pounding at the door. The tip of an axe appeared in the wood.

“Telle!” Cloda said. Her voice blasted me like a thousand angry voices.

“The boatman will take you far up the river to a better place, a beautiful place. Heedon Springs. My leader is there. He will know how help you. He will know what to do. He is called Gorgon. He will know you are coming!” She pushed me through the hole. I tried to hold onto a rafter, but my grip failed. I screamed as I fell. I slammed into the boat.

I looked up in a daze. Cloda stuck her head through the hole in the roof above us. The water raged under the raft. We were held in place by a rope that was tied to a giant support post of the bridge. Cloda sang a fierce song. Her voice howled like wind in a midnight winter storm. The sail on the raft suddenly billowed.

“Quickly Cloda! Jump!” Freya shouted. The old stilt on the rudder looked worried. The river rushed underneath us. There were splashes downstream .

“Look!” Reese pointed to the source of the splashes. Anvils tied to ropes plunged into the water. The ropes stretched back up to the bridge. Geysers shot up as dozens of anvils struck the water. Within seconds the entire south side of the bridge was a wall of ropes. If we flowed downriver we would surely be entangled.

Cloda’s voice grew louder. Wind whistled past us. The old stilt was adjusting the sail on the middle of the raft. The sail flapped violently in the wind.

“I’ve got to cut us free! The sail will shred!” The old stilt shouted over the wind. A tear appeared in the sail. He reached for the rope but Ragnar caught him by the wrist.

“We must wait!” He pointed up to Cloda. It didn’t matter. The rope snapped with a crack. The raft shot upstream as we rode the howling wind. Cloda dropped from the hole above us but she was too late. Our raft sailed upriver. Cloda fell with a splash behind us. Ragnar reached for her but she was swept out of reach and toward the ropes downriver.

We could only watch as she vanished into the darkness. The old man strained against the rudder as our raft shot up the raging current. An arrow shot from the hole in the bridge and stuck into the wood at the back of the raft. It quivered as it stuck there. The old man leaned and groaned as if he bore the strain on the mast and the rudder himself. The wind carried us past a bend and the Spanton bridge vanished behind us.