Excerpt:

A familiar sound echoed through the fighting, plaintive and beseeching. I turned my head without thinking, searching for the person or thing in need. Had another one of our soldiers died? How many more lives would be lost before the gray afternoon wore out? Half a dozen archers on the highest rampart had lowered their bows; they were pointing and staring at a dark creature running headlong across the valley. As I watched, my own bow held uselessly at my side, I felt something grab me from behind. I screamed.