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"Also," Blue pointed out, dropping Adam’s hand, "did you notice the trees?"

It took Adam a mo to the branches were still pale yellow, but noas the yellow of fall, not spring Most of the leaves that surrounded the autue, leaves killed by the early frost of a winter that shouldn’t be near

Adam was torn by wonder and anxiety

"Gansey," he said, "what time do you have?"

Gansey twisted his wrist "It’s 5:27 PM Second hand’s still running"

In a little over an hour, they’d walked through two seasons Adaht Blue’s eye She just shook her head What else was there to do?

"Gansey!" Noah called "There’s writing over here!"

On the other side of a rock outcropping, Noah stood by a great block of chin-height stone Its face was sheared and cracked, striated with lines like Gansey’s ley sketches Noah pointed at a few dozen words painted low on the rock Whatever ink the author had used, it orn and uneven: black in soe is that?" Blue asked

Adam and Ronan answered as one: "Latin"

Ronan crouched swiftly by the rock

"What does it say?" Gansey asked

Ronan’s eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the text Unexpectedly, he smirked "It’s a joke This first part The Latin is pretty crappy"

"A joke?" Gansey echoed "About what?"

"You wouldn’t find it funny"

The Latin was difficult, and Ada about the letters, however, disturbed hier on it The very shape of them …

Warily, he asked, "Why is there a joke written on a random stone?"

The mirth had run out of Ronan’s face He touched the words, traced the letters His chest rose and fell, rose and fell

"Ronan?" asked Gansey

"There’s a joke," Ronan answered finally, not looking away fro"

This, Adam realized, hat had distressed him about the words Now that it had been pointed out, it was obvious that the handwriting was Ronan’s It was just so out of context, painted on this rock with an arcane piged and worn by the weather

"I don’t understand," Ronan said He kept tracing and retracing the letters He was badly shaken

Gansey rallied He couldn’t bear to see any of his number rattled Voice fir on world history, he said, "We saw before how the ley line played with tiht now on my watch It’s flexible You haven’t been here before, Ronan, but it doesn’t mean you didn’t come here later Minutes later Days, years, leave yourself athere was a chance tiht fold you here to find it"

Well done, Gansey, Adaht Gansey had crafted his explanation to steady Ronan, but Adam, too, felt ists of historical ic This hat they wanted

Blue asked, "Then what does it say after the joke?"

"Arbores loqui latine," Ronan replied "The trees speak Latin"

It was less, a riddle perhaps, but nonetheless, Adalanced at the trees that surrounded thereen fastened to a million wind-blown claws

"And the last line?" Gansey asked "That last word doesn’t look like Latin"

"Nomine appellant," Ronan read "Call it by name" He paused "Cabeswater"

Chapter 26

"Cabeswater," Gansey repeated

There was soical Cabeswater So in the New World Gansey read the Latin on the rock again -- the translation see -- and then, like the others, he looked around at the surrounding trees

What is this thing you’ve done? he asked hiht they do whatever Ronan said it would do that was better And then … I think we should say soreed, wondering at the strangeness of this place, that such a nonsensical suggestion should seeo farther in?"

Noah said, "Farther"

Since Noah rarely expressed an opinion, his word reigned Setting off again, they doubled back and forth across their own trail in search of water And as they walked, the leaves fell around theray, until the trees were naked Frost appeared in the shadows