Binding

They had fled before I reached the gate, so I closed it and shrieked at their fast disappearing backs. I had no means to lock it, so I gripped it firmly in both hands and uttered another short spell to bind it shut, at least for a while. I knew it would not withstand the force of the kretch or a band of determined witches. But the former was too big to get up the narrow steps to the battlements, while the latter could be killed one by one as they ascended.

That done, I returned to the castle. I expected the kretch to arrive before dawn.

B9 C10