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. It would be flattery to pretend that I recognized you because of your noble bearing.Jonand Zoë had told me you were with them, so I eliminated all who fell short of the appearance ofan Emperor.I m afraid I identified you by elimination.But hearing you speak, I know I chosethe right man. Still, even though I m sure you are the Emperor, Lyla continued,  other women willexpect proof beyond what I ve asked for.Not many are as willing to rely on appearances as I. And you want to know if I have that proof? Yes.He laughed. I m afraid I left my crown in Kar. Have you nothing? Nothing but my word. Well, we ll have to rely on that.Fortunately, many have left the valley, so there ll befewer for you to convince.Most of the able-bodied women have gone to defend the easternentrance to Bent Lake.We learned several days ago that the Bearded Men and their allies hadmassed at the foot of the pass.The women believe the Chosen have come to the aid of theBearded Men, and that once we overcome the second, the first will go home.But I m certain thatthe opposite is the case that the Chosen are our real enemies. You are right about that, the Emperor told her. The Chosen are a greater enemy thanyou can imagine. And that means that even if we re able to turn back the first wave of invaders, there aremore behind them. Many more, but perhaps not that many.At least not at present.They ve sent a largearmy to subdue what they probably consider a handful of opponents.It s not likely thatreinforcements are on the way.Not unless they call for them, and if they sent for them tomorrowit would be weeks before they arrived.At least a month and probably much longer.For the timebeing, the army we see is the army we must keep from entering the valley. Have you seen them yourself? Lyla asked. That s the problem.I haven t seen them, so it s impossible to know how many troopsthey have. I counted three thousand men in white. It was Peter speaking.He had been standing ata discrete distance while Lyla spoke with the Emperor, but now he advanced a few steps. Iwatched them pass along the road and counted carefully.But of course that was two days ago.More men might have joined them from the North. Thank you for that information, Peter.Once more you prove invaluable, the Emperorsaid.At the sound of Peter s voice, Lyla had turned to look at him.Then, when the Emperorspoke his name, Jon observed her tremble slightly. Three thousand plus a few hundred Bearded Men, she said. It seems a large number,given how few we have to oppose them.But we have no choice.A few hours ago a runner fromBent Lake brought word that the Bearded Men had begun to move into the pass this morning.Bynow the fighting must have begun. How is the pass defended? Zoë asked. Archers are stationed above the midpoint of the pass where the road is narrowest, andthis side of the archers we ve blocked the road with a wall of stones and timber that s guarded bywomen from this valley along with men and women from Bent Lake. It sounds like a good plan, the Emperor said. As far as it goes.But we have only so many archers and they have only so many arrows.That was one of your mother s accomplishments, Zoë.She trained Bent-Lakers with the bow andtaught them to make arrows.But if enough of the enemy can get beyond the archers, they lloverwhelm the wall and its defenders.Our best hope is fear.If we kill or wound enough in theirfirst assault, they may withdraw.And when they return for they re sure to return we ll havemore warriors to oppose them. We re even training the boys who would have left last summer.At first, the womenresisted this plan, but when Helen suggested they go to live with the Bent-Lakers instead ofremaining here, it was agreed to let them take up arms.They re too young for hand-to-handcombat, but if they can handle a bow they ll add to our numbers.And now you re here, YourHighness.That gives us more reason to fight.The women with torches arrived and the group began its descent to the village.Jon fellback, first mingling with Falco s men, then moving behind them, to walk with the twobowwomen who were bringing up the rear.They were surprised when he spoke to them, but thefact that one of the Mothers had approved his entering the valley made things right.Moreover,they remembered the story of Jon s escape and considered it a brave act.Not everyone in thevalley believed him a murderer. And you ve been to Kar, Naxa said. Imagine that. It must have taken weeks, Philippa added. Yes, it took a very long time. Tell us about it, Naxa said. Yes, we want to hear everything but not tonight.It s hard to talk when you re walkingdownhill, and when we get to the bottom, who knows what s going to happen? But later whenyou have time to sit down for a long conversation. OK You promise? Naxa asked. Yes, I promise.2The Mothers had left the hall in confusion; hearing news of the enemy at the pass, they dagreed that the only possible response was to secure the gate to the inner valley [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]