"We will not kill him cleanly," the voice said. "We will shoot him in his arms, legs and belly, so he dies slowly and painfully, and then we shall do the same to the child."
"Fight me!" Melcorka pleaded. She was in uncharted territory here. She knew how to fight and how not to fight, but the duplicity of men such as the Osprey confused her. "Fight me clean!"
Another arrow hissed, to land a finger"s width from Eileen"s legs. The girl emitted a mighty scream. "Melcorka! Please don"t let them kill me!"
Melcorka saw Bradan shake his head, but the message could mean anything. She knew she could not let him and Eileen die for her. She took a deep breath; the Osprey had defeated her, by guile and duplicity. Fully aware that she would probably be dead in a few moments, Melcorka placed Defender
