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"Then how is that not certain?" asked Helen

"You weren’t listening I said if you live that long it will come to pass You may always choose otherwise"

"You mean suicide?"

Sibyl’s soft blue eyes shone with sadness "If you do not like one death, then it is your right to choose another"

What great news that was "How much ti out of time, Helen"

"What do you mean? Who’s all of us?"

"The Sentinels The hudorow more powerful with each moonrise and now that they have another Sentinel blade at their disposal, it will only get worse"

"Youto allow the Synestryn to win?"

Sibyl frowned and was silent for a longonly she could see "It is a turning point for them That’s all I can see What I do know is that if they have Kevin’s sword, they will be able to free the souls of the creatures slain by his blade and their arrow The Sentinels cannot afford such a setback--the work of an entire warrior’s life undone"

"Then we have to get his sword back"

Sibyl shrugged a dainty shoulder "I do not concern s They are the matter of warriors and I am not one You, on the other hand, are"

"A warrior? Hardly"

"Yes You are Regardless of what the Gray Lady would have you believe" Sibyl’s voice was as cold and hard as ice--not at all that of a child "You’re not trained, but the potential is there If you live long enough to fulfill that potential"

Helen felt a little shiver of unease slide down her spine Sibyl was not what she appeared to be Not by a long shot "Gilda said I would be useless in battle if I can’t use fire She thinksDrake"

"If you try to fight the Synestryn beside Drake without the ability to call fire, then Drake will die About that, there is no question"

"Then Gilda was right I can’t fight"

Sibyl rolled her eyes "You aren’t listening This is why I refuse to see people like you You never listen"

"I’ any sense"

Sibyl gave Helen a hard stare "No, I’ you what you want to hear You wantto be fine and that everyone will live and be happy and we’ll sing and hold hands and no one will ever hurt or be hungry again That’s not the way it is That’s not the way it will ever be The truth is e it Nothing"

Helen suddenly felt sorry for the girl What s she shouldn’t? Helen only had one vision and it had been hard to bear From all accounts, Sibyl had a lot of visions and she was only a child It had to be frightening and lonely for her "I’irl’s hand

Sibyl jerked away before Helen could touch her "Don’t I don’t want any ood "What can I do to help you?"

"There is nothing anyone can do for me I a"

"We all suffer, Helen If you truly want to do so for uide your actions"

Love for Drake? She liked hieous How could she help but like him But love? That was too scary to think about, so she set the thought aside for now She’d figure out how she felt about him later when her e, please If I do decide tochoose uarantee Drake’s safety?"

Sibyl shook her head, iven e are born is that ill die Even for one of our kind who lives for centuries, death is inevitable My advice to you is to embrace your death rather than fear it Let it co A ful death is the best any of us can hope for in life"

That was the saddest thing Helen had ever heard a child say, and she had to fight to keep fro Sibyl into her arms to comfort her Only the worry that it would hurt her allowed Helen to hold herself back "If you ever want to talk, or if you ever need a friend to just listen, I can do that for you, Sibyl"

The little girl blinked as if confused "No one has ever offered to do that for me before"

"I think the people here are all a little afraid of you"

Sibyl tilted her head to the side "Of course they are I kno every one of the to die"

That was too freaky to think about for long "Me, too?"

"Yes"

Helen just stared at her for a moment, stunned into silence

Sibyl casually sipped her tea "Aren’t you going to askto burn alive if I don’t kill h stress, thank you"

Sibyl gave Helen a sly, almost sinister smile "You don’t know nearly asin our world is what it seenored the question "You should go now Yourof opportunity is narrow"