An Epic Christmas: On The Eleventh Day…
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true Muse sent to me…
Eleven Normarch damosels
‘Carick stared, but it was several seconds before he made out the first flicker of movement. A few moments later the flicker became riders, weaving between tree trunks and creeping down the last plunge of hillside to emerge on open ground. They were keeping close together, moving steadily rather than at the decoy riders’ wild gallop. Carick counted ten horses…but one mount carried a double burden—the figure in front was collapsed forward over the horse’s neck, black hair mingling with the horse’s mane. Further back, a body was tied over a led horse, a long, silver-blond braid spilling from beneath the covering cloak.
He could see no sign of pursuers but the riders kept glancing back, so they could not be far behind. Foam swirled around the horses’ knees as they entered the ford—and a long, bestial cry emanated from the trees. All along the squires’ line the chargers plunged, and the eerie ululation made Carick’s skin crawl. The damosels’ horses scrambled to get clear of the water, their ears flat to their skulls as the first pursuers burst from the trees and streamed toward the Rindle.’
~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 20 — The Leas
.
Ah yes, a great sequence from the book.
I think someone else must have thought so, too, since it also “informs” the US cover. 🙂