Barrowlings dropped from the branches overhead, aiming to knock their target to the ground. Others waiting in the brush, ready to grab the unfortunate victim and drag him or her away; but the runners stuck together, and Iksthanis, Obi and Sevhalim dispatched any that came within their reach. Triss and Rea shot arrows at those they spotted overhead, dropping half a dozen in a minute. It wouldn't make a dent in the barrowlings' numbers, but Galen saw the shafts were not wasted.

Around each fallen creature, dozens more gathered, and from the wet tearing and snapping sounds, Galen guessed why: the barrowlings wouldn't let fresh meat go to waste, and for every one they killed, many more were distracted by an easy feast.

Still, plenty remained, and if they blocked the path ahead, they were doomed no matter how many Triss and Rea shot.

"Save your arrows," Sev yelled. "We will need them yet."

Fortunately, the barrowlings were still mostly behind them. It seemed that while they could move quickly over short distances, leaping frog-like from one spot to another, or skittering on all fours, they were not built for sustained speed. They kept up, but were not fast enough to get ahead of the runners as a coordinated group—which alone saved them.

The barrowlings grew more agitated by the second, and the pines rang with their awful shrieks.

"We must be near the edge!" Iksthanis said. "Clouds or not, they won't follow us from the pines in daylight!"

With this thought adding hope to their desperation, the weary group felt fresh energy hasten their steps. Ahead of them, light shone through the trees, and with the promise of freedom within reach, their hearts lifted even as the barrowlings howled.

Then, rounding a bend, they came to an abrupt and near-disastrous halt.

They had not found the edge of the pines; instead, a deep gorge cut a chasm in the earth at their feet. Those in the lead nearly ran straight into thin air, and then those who came behind nearly pushed them into it. With shouts of surprise, they managed not to fall, and Triss took hold of Behn, who had taken half a step into nothing, and hauled back from the brink.

Once they were all on firm ground, they took stock.

The gorge was wide but narrow enough to be spanned by a log of the largest pines. One of these stretched across it, felled from the opposite side for this purpose. Its thinner end rested in a natural divot of stone, lending it stability.

The sides of the chasm were vertical sheets of jagged stone, and fifty feet below a ran a torrent of swift water, fast and deep. On the opposite side, more pines awaited; but beyond these—just visible through the gaps—came the bright light of open air. They were close.

"One at a time!" Sev ordered, inspecting the makeshift bridge. "This log is older than the others we've seen—we must take care. Triss, you go first, then Rea with Zenír. You two cover us from that side with your bows."

"I will go last," Iksthanis said. "I am the heaviest. If the log breaks, best that the rest of you are safe across."

Sev nodded and gestured for Triss to go. She mounted the log, took a breath, and ran across, sure-footed and fleet. On the other side, she took up position and aimed at the trees where the barrowlings clamored, their agitation increasing as their chance at a meal slipped away.

"Rea, take Zenír."

Rea nodded and stepped atop the log, helping Zenír up after her. They started over, and Sev reached for Behn. "You next."

Behn shrank away, his face gray and a sheen of sweat on his brow, and Galen remembered he feared heights.

"I can't," he gasped, shaking his head. "I can't do it."

"You can, Behn!" Galen insisted, grabbing at his arm. "You've got to! Just keep your eyes on the other side and don't look down. It's just walking in a straight line!"

"I can't," Behn moaned. "Gods, Gale, I can't. I'll fall—I know it."

"We don't have time for this," Sev said. "Galen, go."

"No." Galen shook his head. "Behn first."

"I'll take care of Behn; you get to safety!"

Stubbornly, Galen refused. "You may be fine leaving your friends behind, but I'm not."

"He's right, Gale," Behn whimpered. "You know me. I got sick when I tried to climb the old apple tree, remember? And that was barely off the ground. I can't do it. I—"

"Behn, look at me," Galen ordered. He spoke softly, but Behn's bloodshot blue eyes locked with his. "Think about this: when we're safe, on the other side; once we're rested and clean, and out of this awful place, what lovely thing would you like to eat? I want to share it with you. Think about that, okay?"

Behn nodded, and took a shaky breath, but Galen saw firm resolve in his expression once more. "Okay."

He climbed atop the log, and with another shaky breath, began to cross. Galen barely dared to breathe, tense with dread as Behn progressed, one small, slow step at a time. Then, right in the middle, there was a loud crack, and he froze, arms spread wide to either side and knees bent.

"Did you guys hear that?" he moaned, keeping his eyes fixed on the opposite side.

"Keep moving!" Sev shouted. "For heaven's sake, Behn—move!"

With a whimpering cry, Behn forced himself into action once more, and Galen nearly collapsed with relief as his friend reached the other side and fell to the ground in a shaking heap.

"You next," Sev said, pushing Galen towards the log.

As he turned towards it, a swarm of barrowlings, having finally reached their threshold number, burst from the trees. They shrieked in the bright light and fell back quickly before torch and sword, but only to the shadow's edge. Triss and Rea picked off two, and the rest retreated a little further.

"They're testing us," Obi said, still nursing his bitten hand. "They can see we're fewer now."

"Galen, go." Sev shoved him towards the log again. He obeyed, and moved as quick and light as he could, and thankfully the log made no protest beneath his weight. Behn caught him a tight embrace on the other side, still shaking.

Obi came next, but as he reached the middle, the log creaked and cracked again. He fairly ran the rest of the way.

Only Sev and Iksthanis remained on the opposite edge, and they seemed to be arguing, though Galen couldn't hear what they said. The large man shoved Sev towards the log, and Sev swore, but turned, mounted the log and ran lightly across.

Then Iksthanis stood alone, and behind him the shadows moved.

"Iksy! Get out of there!" Obi yelled. "Come on!"

But the other man shook his head. "It will not hold me," he called. "I can see the crack from here. It will break."

"What is he saying?" Zenír asked, taking a step towards the edge so that Sev had to grab and hold him back. "What's happening?"

"You've got to try!" Sev called, but again, Iksy shook his head.

"It will not hold me, Sevhalim. You did not see, but it barely held you. It will break before I have taken three steps."

"Shit," Rea swore, and fired an arrow past Iksy and into the trees. Triss followed suit. Twice more, they shot before the barrowlings fell back once more. "There are dozens now. We can't hold them back much longer, Iksy! You've got to take the chance!"

"There is no chance," he said. "But I can give you a better one."

Kneeling, he braced himself and lifted the more slender end of the log. With a grunt and a shout, he swung it to the side and let it drop. It fell clear of the chasm's edge, scraped and slid down the wall of stone, and came to rest on a lip a few yards below.

But Iksthanis was right. The impact shuddered up the beam, and with a final crack, the log broke in two and fell with a crash to the wild water below.

"Iksthanis!" Zenír screamed, his face twisted with torment. "'Thanis, don't you dare, you hypocrite!"

On the other side of the gorge, Iksthanis straightened and stood, unbuckling the belt that held his ax and letting it fall to the ground.

"Zenír," he called, "this is not despair! In this life or the next, we will meet again—I swear it!"

"'Thanis, NO!"

But even as the barrowling swarm burst from the beneath the pines—far more than two archers could ever hope to stop—Iksthanis walked forward and dove headfirst towards the water below.

Zenír screamed, for though he had not seen him fall, he knew from the others' gasps of horror what had happened well enough, and Obi joined Sev to hold him back from following.

Fearing what he would see, but knowing he must look for the others' sake, Galen leaned over and scanned the tumult for signs of a body—living or dead—but there was no sign of their friend. The remnants of the log were just visible far downstream, and Galen realized the current must be terribly fast. If Iksthanis had survived the fall, he would not survive long after. Still, it was a better end than the barrowlings offered.

Triss and Rea continued to shoot arrows into the swarm, whose shrieks and howls of rage echoed up and down the chasm and through the pines with a clamorous noise, until at last they had enough and dragged their dead back into the shadows in retreat.

"Come," Sev said, still keeping a firm grip on Zenír. "Let's get out of these pines. There may be other crossings along this rift, and we must not waste the time Iksthanis has given us."

His face was pale but set, and his eyes were dry. Everyone else wept quietly as they set off through the last stretch of the Pinedark, to the open meadows and light woods of aspen and birch beyond.