"Don't listen to him." Wulfsen said. Mrs Spenser could face losing her children after she was someplace safe and her wounds were cared for. They neared where they left Star. "We're going to need a wagon, the boy can't ride either, not with a broken leg."

"If they didn't destroy it, Larrigan kept one behind the forge area. He used it for going for supplies and delivering orders," Sileas said softly.

"Hopefully it's still there." Wulfsen frowned. "We're going to need another horse. Star can't pull a wagon all the way back by himself."

"Lightning was being boarded at the inn stables but I doubt they left him behind. He's much too good of a horse to not take. I pray they didn't kill him. Thunder could possibly be still at the barracks, their stables are fairly well hidden," she said of her father's horse.

Wulfsen did not like how they were hoping that the horse and a wagon would be there- that they could very well not be there. "Yehudit can keep watch over your mother as well as the boy while we go look."

Sileas nodded. She half carried her mother over to where Yehudit and James were setting. Her mother had passed out which was probably a blessing. "We're going to look for a horse and a cart or wagon. Can you watch over Mama?"

"What happened to her?" Yehudit asked anxiously, thinking Aunt Brie looked so terrible she was afraid she would die on her.

Sileas lay Brie down and glanced at James. The boy was sound asleep. Some of the raiders, they...she..." Sileas took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "She's badly injured, she's going to need help from your mother when we get back to the keep." Sileas looked down at the ground. "They raped her," she whispered, her heartbreak obvious.

Yehudit's hands formed fists. "Did you kill the momzers?"

"We killed a few of them, some are laying out there dying. We need to come back after the leader. Mama needs Difyr quickly, no time to hunt him down," Sileas replied.

Yehudit clenched her teeth, angry that the momzer was getting away with it. "I'll watch her."

"Thank you. And pray that we find a horse, any horse and any sort of cart or wagon." Sileas handed her her short sword. "Here, in case you need protection."

Yehudit puffed out her chest with pride and clumsily wielded the short sword. "I won't let anything more happen to her."

"I know you won't. I trust you." And she did, but Sileas found herself wishing Questa was near for extra protection. She bent down to touch her mother again before going off to follow Wulfsen.

"I'm sorry that we did not find your mother when we were here earlier." Wulfsen apologized to Sileas. "If we were more thorough we may have saved her from so much suffering."

"If they had her out in the forest, they wouldn't have had a fire going yet since it wasn't dark. There was no reason to suspect they were still in the area." Sileas wiped at her eyes. "Did you see Sarah's...body...when you were here earlier? They didn't..." her voice choked up. "They didn't do anything like that to her did they?"

"They killed her, but that was it." Wulfsen said honestly. "They killed her quickly, I don't think she had much time to feel any pain or fear. I can show you where she is buried, it's not far."

It would be difficult, but Sileas needed to do it. "I would. That way when we come back to see if anything is salvageable I can bring something to mark her grave. Are my sisters and Larrigan near her?" The latter nearly broke Sileas just saying it.

"They were all buried next to each other." Wulfsen said. "It only seemed proper for them to be near each other."

"Aye. Larrigan adored them, they can all be together for him to watch over," Sileas said, her words catching in her throat.

Wulfsen patted Sileas's back. "That's what I thought."

Tears were streaking down her cheeks. "Papa didn't see the girls' bodies, did he?" She could only imagine how sick and devastated he must be feeling if he had.

Wulfsen sighed heavily. "It's best to think about how they were in life instead of how they died."

"I'm trying, but it's hard. I need to get a message to Haroth and let him know what happened too," she said.

"Take your time to send word to him." Wulfsen suggested. "The wagon is over there?"