Although the Night’s Watch patrol leader could not identify Gwendolyn Vance’s house, he immediately recognized Will, who was riding behind her clad in the black of the Watch.
“Will?” The captain called out hesitantly.
At the sound of the voice, Will snapped his head up.
“Logan?” “Will, it really is you!” Hearing Will’s confirmation, Ranger Captain Logan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
“Who are these people?
Why are you with them?
Where are Royce and Gared?
What happened to them?” Logan’s patrol had been sent out specifically to search for Waymar Royce’s missing party.
Back at Castle Black, the prevailing theory was that Royce’s group had fallen victim to Wildlings.
If their patrol hadn’t strayed too far, it implied a Wildling tribe had moved dangerously close to the Wall.
Logan’s mission was twofold: search for survivors and wipe out any Wildling encampments near the Wall.
It was pure coincidence.
Blackhand had led his clan south, and while gathering firewood, he had run straight into the searching rangers.
And if Will hadn’t mentioned being more familiar with the southern trails, Gwendolyn’s party would never have arrived here either.
Peeking from behind the trunk, Blackhand watched the heavy cavalrymen conversing with the Crows.
Spotting a Crow among the riders, his heart sank.
*Dammit, they’re together!* He signaled to his son, indicating the opposite direction, then flashed a hand sign.
A second later, Blackhand leapt up from the snow and sprinted into the unmanned woods.
“Dammit!” Bow in hand, Logan hadn’t even finished questioning Will before seeing the trapped Wildling burst into a run.
In a flash of reflex, he notched an arrow and drew toward the runner’s heart, only for the lance of the silver-armored knight to sweep in and block the shot.
“Take him alive.” A cold, clear voice sounded.
Only then did Logan realize the silver knight was a woman.
Before he could recover from his surprise, one of the Jingsai cavalrymen behind Gwendolyn spurred his horse forward, lance leveled.
The steeds of the Jingsai Guard were no ordinary warhorses, but descendants of the Cathayan Longma.
Though wingless and unable to fly, their strength and size eclipsed ordinary mounts several times over.
The horns on their heads were no mere armor decorations, but genuine horns sprouting from the creatures’ foreheads.
The half-dragon horse with crimson-furred hooves let out a fierce whinny and surged forward carrying its rider.
The rangers were stunned by the mount’s terrifying speed, as was the fleeing Blackhand.
Wind howled behind him as hooves rapidly closed in.
The next instant, the butt-end of a heavy lance struck Blackhand squarely across the back.
Pain flared along his spine.
Blackhand stumbled forward several paces before collapsing face-first into the snow.
“Father!” A smaller figure scrambled out of the snow.
Gareon had been crawling sneakily away, intending to flee in another direction, but froze as he saw his father struck down.
Forgetting Blackhand’s warning entirely, Gareon clutched his small wood-axe and charged toward his fallen father.
“Heh, there’s a little cub too.” The Jingsai cavalryman pulled the reins.
His half-dragon horse reared with a loud neigh, wheeled around, and charged straight at Gareon.
Gareon was clearly terrified by the towering rider and beast—nearly ten feet tall combined—yet he did not stop.
Raising his axe, he howled and kept charging forward.
The cavalryman didn’t hit him with the heavy lance shaft this time.
With a kid this small, even a single punch might kill him outright.
So he chose another method.
The half-dragon horse swept past Gareon in a flash, before the boy could even swing his wood-axe.
“Up you go!” Demonstrating superb horsemanship, the iron-armored rider reached down with one arm and scooped Gareon right off his feet, sweeping him up onto the saddle.
The rider’s feat drew cheers from his comrades behind Gwendolyn.
Clamping the struggling young Wildling under his arm, he trotted back to Gwendolyn, waving proudly to his peers.
“Commander, task complete.” The trooper cupped his hands in salute.
Gwendolyn nodded calmly.
Was this a meritorious deed?
Hardly.
Capturing two unarmored Wildlings was no great accomplishment; failing to bring them back would have warranted punishment.
“Let me go!” Pinched under the arm, Gareon thrashed violently.
The trooper, showing no patience, struck the back of the boy’s neck with the side of his hand.
The wriggling young Wildling instantly went limp and silent.
“My…
Lady?” Patrol Commander Logan swallowed hard as he watched the knocked-out Blackhand dragged back by another heavy cavalryman.
He decided it best to avoid any conflict with these people.
Hearing Logan’s voice, Gwendolyn looked down at the black-clad ranger.
Unlike Will, who had been brought back by Cassie looking bewildered and timid, this patrol captain carried himself with the demeanor of someone in authority.
“Thank you for the assistance, my Lady…
but might I ask where you hail from?” The troopers of the Jingsai Guard could not understand Logan’s speech; only Gwendolyn understood.
Instead of answering, Gwendolyn appraised Logan and his rangers.
“Are there only this few of you?” “Us?
Yes, My Lady.” Logan glanced back.
He had brought five rangers with him—veteran men of the Night’s Watch who formed the core strength along the Wall.
“No backup following you?” “My Lady…” Logan tightened his grip on his sword hilt, noticing that the cavalrymen behind Gwendolyn had quietly surrounded his men.
“On behalf of the Grand Cathay Empire, I extend an invitation for you to visit our camp.” Her words sent cold sweat trickling down Logan’s spine.
He darted a look at Will, signaling for him to do something.
“Say nothing.
Do nothing.” Gwendolyn glanced sideways at Will just as he opened his mouth, then turned her focus back to the brothers standing in the snow.
“Comply and come with us, and your lives will be spared.
Otherwise…” As she spoke, Gwendolyn whipped her silver lance through the air.
A silver flash cut through the air, followed by a sharp crack of splintering wood echoing in everyone’s ears.
The wrist-thick trunk beside her was speared clean through by the silver lance!