as Ilias signaled back and they spread out.
Amongst them moved Rolfe’s Mycenians,
bearing their heavy loads.
But it was the shape-shifter who began to
work first. Turning herself into a giant badger,
bigger than a horse, who scooped out the
frozen earth with skilled, strong paws.
The scent of her blood filled the air, but
Lysandra didn’t stop digging.
And when she’d finished the first pit, she
moved on to the next, leaving the group of
Silent Assassins and Mycenians to lay their
trap, then bury it once more.
The brutal wind moaned past them. Yet
they worked through the night, used every
minute given to them. And when they were
done, they vanished back to the city, invisible
once more.
Morath appeared on the horizon a day later.