" the one that whupped Galdran Merindar?" Unbidden, Shevraeth's voice spoke inside my head: "You have never lied to me..." I thought desperately, And for a brief moment I envisioned myself snarling Except it wasn't going to stop them; I could see it in their eyes and in the way the woman gripped her sword. "No," I said. "He knocked me off my horse. But I'd taken an oath, so I had to do my best." I drew in a shaky breath. "I know I can't fight forty of you, but I'm going to stand here and block you until you either go away or my arms fall off, because this, too, is an oath I took."