Sir Emeric, Shlomo, Caleb, and I met outside the inn, having had only just a few moments to throw our uniforms back on. Sir Emeric met us by the front door, pulling up all of our horses with him.

None of us said a word, hoping not to wake any of the people of Codul. With God's blessing, we'd slip out without anyone noticing.

But God, it seems, was not with us that night. Maybe it was because of my sins, or maybe He had some other reason. The sound of glass shattering echoed through the city, and black smoke rose over an orange glow like an early dawn. Dr. Yves' home was on fire.

"Fulk..." I muttered, both in concern and fury for the murderer.

The front doors of every home nearby opened and out walked the citizens, still rubbing sleep from their eyes.

"Fire!"

"There's fire! Get to the well!"

Sir Emeric turned to the three of us. "Ride! Now!"

We all mounted our horses and spurred them as hard as we could. The mares bolted off, their hooves beating the cobblestone streets to make our escape.

Though, we'd not ridden far before we heard a voice cry out, "The Crows tried to kill me! Don't let them get away!"

"Stop the Crows!"

"Kill them!"

The city gates lay far ahead of us, at the bottom of the hill. I might have thought our horses had wings for how fast they flew.

Yet, it didn't take long at all for us to hear the sound of hoofbeats behind us.

"STOP THEM!"

The twang of bowstrings, and arrows whistled past us.

"Don't look back!" Sir Emeric cried.

And we obeyed. A hail of arrows zipped past us. Behind me, Caleb yelped in pain. Part of me wanted to see if he'd been hit, and possibly go back to save him, but I couldn't. I kept my eyes ahead, at the city gates.

The cold night air whipped around me, howling in my ears like a woman in torment.

Zip.

My horse cried out, and before I knew what was happening she fell, throwing me from the saddle. I sailed through the air for but a moment before crashing into the stone streets. My body skidded and rolled down the hill, pain shooting through my every joint. Loud cracks and pops accompanied every hit, but I had no breath with which to cry out in agony.

Three horses rode past me. Then six more. Then ten more.

My head throbbed and spun, my world was a blur of darkness and multi-colored lights all around. My ears rang with a high-pitched sound, like a whistle screeching as a child held it against my neck.

Muffled voices approached, and I could barely make out their words. "Here's one!"

"Take him. The rest will come back for him."

Strong hands hoisted me to my feet. My head fell limp to one side, and agony shot through my arms and legs as they carried me away.

"We caught a Crow!"

Their voices were becoming clearer now, and the ringing in my ears was fading away. My gut threatened to expel every meal I'd ever eaten.

"Take him to the jail! If the others don't come for him, he'll hang!"