Chapter Twenty-Three
A Matter of Faith
Paige fidgeted with her ax as she waited for the gates of Belierumar to open. She had spent the remainder of her night avoiding the strange hounds she had heard near the mountains. She never actually saw another one aside from the one she had beheaded, but the harrowing calls of what she assumed were its packmates seemed to follow her at every turn.
The spired watchtowers of the human city loomed over her as the guards patrolled the wall from above. As the first fingers of dawn crept across the eastern horizon, one of them called out the order to open the gates. She heard the scrape of wood as the city entrance was unbarred. The enormous timbers creaked and the gates yawned open. Paige scuttled forward with one last look over her shoulder. The road
