He cried out with shod twisted away at once, but the grip was tenacious. And Will was savage now. He felt he was at the very end of everything; and if it was the end of his life, too, he was going to fight and fight till he fell.
So he twisted and kicked and twisted again, but that hand would go; and si was his right arm being held, he could the knife. He tried with his left, but he was being jerked around so much, and his hand was so painful and swollen, that he couldnt reach; he had to fight with one bare, wounded hand against a grown man.
He sank his teeth into the hand on his forearm, but all that happened was that the man landed a dizzying blow on the back of his head. Then Will kicked again and again, and some of the kicks ected and some didnt, and all the time he ulling, jerking, twisting, shoving, and still the grip held him fast.
Dimly he heard his own panting and the mans grunts and harsh breathing; and then by ce he got his leg behind the mans and hurled himself against his chest, and the man fell with Will on top of him, heavily. But never for a moment did that grip sla, and Will, rolling around violently oony ground, felt a heavy fear tighten around his heart: this man would never let him go, and even if he killed him, his corpse would still be holding fast.
But Will was weakening, and now he was g, too, sobbing bitterly as he kicked and tugged a at the man with his head a, and he knew his muscles would give up soon. And theiced that the man had fallen still, though his hand still gripped as tight as ever. He was lying there letting Will batter at him with knees and head; and as soon as Will saw that, the last of his strength left him, and he fell helpless beside his oppo, every nerve in his bing and dizzy and throbbing.
Will hauled himself up painfully, peered through the deep darkness, and made out a blur of white on the ground beside the man. It was the white breast and head of a great bird, an osprey, a daemon, and it was lying still. Will tried to pull away, and his feeble tug woke a response from the man, whose hand hadnt loosened.
But he was moving. He was feeling Wills right hand carefully with his free one. Wills hair stood on end.
Then the man said, "Give me your other hand."
"Be careful," said Will.
The mans free ha down Wills left arm, and his fiips moved gently over the wrist and on to the swollen palm and with the utmost delica to the stumps of Wills two lost fingers.
His other ha go at once, a up.
"Youve got the knife," he said. "Youre the knife bearer."
His voice was resonant, harsh, but breathless. Will sehat he was badly hurt. Had he wouhis dark oppo?
Will was still lying oones, utterly spent. All he could see was the mans shape, croug above him, but he couldnt see his face. The man was reag sideways for something, and after a few moments a marvelous soothing ess spread into his hand from the stumps of his fingers as the man massaged a salve into his skin.
"What are you doing?" Will said.
"g your wound. Keep still.」
"Who are you?"
"Im the only man who knows what the knife is for. Hold your hand up like that. Dont move."
The wind was beating more wildly than ever, and a drop or two of rain splashed onto Wills face.
He was trembling violently, but he propped up his left hand with his right while the man spread more oi over the stumps and wound a strip of liightly around the hand.
A