CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Duncan braced himself as the boulder flew through the air, cringing, expecting to be crushed. Yet he watched, stunned, as its course was altered. Something had happened at the catapult, almost as if someone had sabotaged it behind enemy lines—and the boulder, instead of crushing him, of ending any chance of sealing the Gulch, fell short. Duncan looked down and watched as it crushed dozens of Pandesians, stopping their advance toward him.
It was a miracle. And the second chance he needed to seal the Gulch for good and save Escalon.
Duncan went back to prying the lodged boulder, straining all his muscles as he pushed the long spear with all his might.
Please, God, he prayed, give me the strength. I do not ask for life. I ask only to die in victory. To save my people.
