The antlered thing hit Hest Sorn's shield hard enough to fold the iron rim around his arm.
He went backward through two warders and stayed on his feet. Runes cut into the shield flashed red beneath a hide made from roadglass, black water, and pieces of Ninebell's broken street.
Hest dug in. "Brace the left!"
Warders locked shields. Drowned antlers lowered and pushed them all toward the flooded stair.
Aylin wanted Jiang and the scarred woman behind the healer screen before the line broke. The bells had other plans.
Bronze rang above Westbell. The road beneath the woman's cloak pulled toward the source frame.
Iron answered from the warder tower. Gates dropped across both ends of the street, trapping the two women inside with the monster.
A clear note sounded farther uphill. Breath mist left Aylin's mouth and streamed toward a glass tower.
Roots burst through the paving stones around the broken shutter. They wrapped its runners and held the wounded woman in place.
