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Her lips reh her eyes that he knew she wished to say so to him But what? The question ripped his aze for it A plea for help? An apology? A farewell?

He was likewise aware of his inability to do anything for her His bonds would not allow hi cold racing through him would not allow hi, lips straining to ies, pleas, accusations

‘Take that one to the ship, as well,’ Sheraptus ordered the netherling holding her

It was only when Kataria was hoisted up onto a powerful shoulder, only when her eyes began to fade as she was hauled through the surf, only when her gaze finally disappeared as she was tossed over the edge of the black boat that he recognised what had dwelled in her gaze

Nothing

No words No questions Nothing but the sa beyond a desperate need to say so that he had felt inside of him

And only then did he realise he could not let her disappear

‘Very well, then,’ Sheraptus said, pointing to a cluster of netherlings ‘You five You have … pleased me I think you deserve a reward’ He barely hid his contees ‘The to else can be destroyed’

‘What?’ Togu spoke up, eyes going wide ‘We had a deal! You said--’

‘I say s,’ Sheraptus replied ‘All of theive as I please And really, you’ve been quite rude’

‘Sheraptus … Master,’ Greenhair spoke, ‘I gave them my word that--’

‘Bored,’ theCome or stay, screas hurried back to their boats, Sheraptus idly shaping his earthen staircase and returning to his own vessel Greenhair reluctantly followed hied e fled White, milky eyes settled on helpless, bound forms

Lenk cared not, did not hear the Kataria slide out of view, vanishing into the darkness He sed hard, felt his voice dry and weak in his throat

‘Tell me,’ he whispered, ‘can you … can either of you save her?’

No h his blood, sent his ainst bonds that suddenly felt weak So dark spoke within him

‘I can’

Twenty-Nine

THE SCENT OF MEMORY

The grandfather wasn’t speaking to him anymore

Unfortunately, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still there

Gariath could see him at the corner of his eyes, held the scent of him in his nostrils And it certainly didn’tnoise

‘We had to have known,’ hewhere ‘At soa were strong That’s why they came to us They eak That’s e aided them That e did, back then’

Of all the aia How far back, who ‘they’ were, when the Rhega had ever helped anyone as a mystery for people less easily annoyed He wasn’t even sure who the grandfather was speaking to anymore, either, but it hadn’t been him for several hours, he was sure

The shift had begun after they had left the shadow of the giant skeleton and its great grave of a ravine behind therandfather suddenly became as the wind: elusive, difficult to see, and constantly flitting about

He talksthan the wind

He had long given up any hopes for corandfather vanished if Gariath tried to look at him, met his questions with silence, nonsensicalback then, too,’ the grandfather muttered ‘We had reason to in those days More births, more pups We killed only for food Survival wasn’t the worry it is today’

Granted, Gariath admitted to himself, he wasn’t quite sure how the effects of senility applied to sorandfather such The skeleton had obviously been the source, but further details eluded both Gariath’s inquiries and, eventually, his interest

The grandfather had faded froo Now, the forest opened up into beach and the trees lost ground to encroaching sand Now, he ignored sight and sound alike, focused only on scent

Now, he hunted ahis nostrils with the deepest of breaths, an afterthoughtdead But it was there, the scent of the Rhega, drifting through the air, rising up froround, across the sea It was a confident scent, unconcerned with earth and air and water It had been around longer, would continue to be when earth and air and water could not tell the difference between themselves

And he wanted to screaain, the desperate yearning that had infected him when he had last breathed such a scent He wanted to roar and chase it down the beach He resisted the urge He denied the hope The scent was a passing thought He dared not hope until he tracked it and felt the meh to hope when he found the Rhega again

‘Wisest,’ the grandfather whispered

Gariath paused, if only because this was the first tih the spirit’s spectral lips in hours

‘Your path is behind you,’ he whispered ‘You will find only death ahead’

Gariath ignored hi his trek down the beach Even if it wasn’t idle babble, Gariath had been told such a thing before Everyone certain of his inevitable and i thus far

And yet, what his ears refused to acknowledge, his snout had difficulty denying

Broken rocks, dried-up rivers, dead leaves, rotting bark – the scents crept into his nostrils unbidden, tugged at his senses and deht was difficult to track, the source he followed difficult to concentrate on

Each tie, he was reminded of the hours before this e

Of the lizard …

His ain, no reen reptile- a palle, yellow eye He heard the creature’s voice, understood its language He drew in the creature’s scent and knew its name

Shen

How could he have known that? How could he still know that? The creature had spoken to hia Hoas that possible? There weren’t enough Rhega left on the raveyard, for the thing to recognise him And he was certain he had never seen it before

And yet, it had intervened on his behalf, saved him from death Twice, Gariath ade of violent resolve that had swept through hi into unco questions

Questions, he reminded himself, that you have no time for Focus If you can’t feel hope, you sure as hell can’t feel confusion until you find therandfatherfor us here’

‘There n, a trace of where they went,’ Gariath replied, instantly regretting it