Ewin gripped the hilt of the stick in his hand. Everyone concentrated on the direction the light was coming from. Shadows waving eastward were trying to break through the firewall. The shadows gradually transformed him into a horse and rider with tall bulky shapes behind him. Ewin knew what these shapes were. The moonlight had revealed the rider's hooded cloak. Between the Shadows and Ewin and the others was just a magical firewall. All the shapes were black in the night. The sound of a horse's hooves…. Ewin recognized that voice.
Behind the black cavalry, the horned figures appeared in double rows, as if obeying the black cavalry. The sounds of boots hitting the ground sounded like a nightmare. Ewin counted nearly twenty horned shadows running left and right through the firewall. The black cavalry stood motionless, and suddenly raised his staff and attacked the firewall. Ewin could feel the pressure exerted on the wall. He lowered his cavalry staff to the ground, vanishing westward into the darkness, and the sound of footsteps roaring their horned shapes mingled with him into the darkness. Ewin stayed where he was, without moving a muscle except breathing. Finally, he took a deep breath.
The dark rider returned again in eerie silence, his shadowy mount pausing every few steps as it slowly walked down the road. The wind rose groaning through the trees; The horseman's cloak stood motionless as death. At the edge of the firewall, directly opposite Ewin, the horse stopped again, the shadowy opening of the hood turned toward where Abigial was crouching over Yelis.
He squeezed the tip of the stick in Ewin's hand. He felt the gaze just like in that town, and though he couldn't see it, he shuddered again with hatred. Even though it was cold, there were beads of sweat on Ewin's face. The Horseman advanced, and after a few silent steps he stopped again. Ewin couldn't take his eyes off her for a second. He feared what might happen if they breached the firewall. Suddenly the shadow galloped all over the wall. It was clear that he was looking for a weakness in the wall. Finally, the rider and the shadows beside him looked east and were lost in the darkness.
Ewin swallowed the air and wiped the cold sweat off his face with his arm. With a jolt, she gathered herself, hastily checked Yelis. David was muttering, but doing so in such a soft voice that Ewin couldn't make out the words. "We must hurry," said Uras, breaking the silence. Suddenly Ewin felt that his legs were losing the little strength they had, and he stumbled to his knees. Abigial looked at Yelis, who was delirious. Hot dreams, she thought.
Ewin struggled to his feet. David kept muttering something. Uras was the one to break the silence again. "We must reach the black lake. It will be safer for us there," he said. They took Yelis's stretcher and started to take lead-like steps one after another to reach the Black Lake. But they couldn't stop the voice that echoed in the back of their minds.