Ghosknight: Resurrection - Excerpt 6 (transition point between beginning and middle)

P. watched the road from above. The two ghostknights rounded the bend just when he expected them. George and Ishra, he had served with them briefly on his first tour of the Barrowastes. They were both solid men, good fighters, and effective ghostknights, if a bit unimaginative. He nodded at the ghostly form of Liam who slid onto the road behind the ghostknights. They sensed something amiss almost immediately.
As they turned to face the threat, Liam changed. P. could not tell what the ghostknights actually saw, but it terrified them. They ran towards the ford as hard as they could. Liam kept pace behind them. P. waited until they had disappeared, then walked north to the bank of the river. He signaled to R.
The fire ghast stood on the far side of the river where the stream narrowed. Earlier, before leaving for the second ambush, K. had used his wraithly chill to freeze this section of the river. A wall of water was building up behind the narrow opening, just beginning to spill over the sides and back into its proper channel.
At P.’s signal, R. spread flames across the surface of the ice wall. In moments it cracked. Chunks of ice and an enormous mass of water surged downstream. If the timing was right, the two ghostknights would reach the ford just before the water. If they got there too soon, Liam would hold them there with an illusion on the other bank. George and Ishra were good ghostknights, but P. suspected Liam’s illusions would put even Mabel to shame. They would be enough to put George and Ishra where P. wanted them to be.