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‘ There is no place for us We but serve We but bleed out terror and the annihilation begins -’

‘Ours as well’

‘Yes, ours as well’

‘ Do you think she will coain? She will, I a sun and the rising sun ever co us to pieces with that sharp, deadly light -’

‘- annihilation well serves us Make of us dead shards To bring an end to this -’

‘Someone is with us’

‘Who?’

‘A mortal is here with us Two Mistresses to the same Hold She is one, and she is here She is here now and she listens to our words’

‘Steal her mind!’

‘Take her soul!’

‘Let us out!’

Seren reeled away fro her head ‘Enough,’ she moaned ‘No more, please No more’ She sank to her knees, was‘Mistress?’ she whispered I am no-one’s mistress Just one more reluctant… lover of solitude No place for voices, no place for hard purposes… fierce fires

Like Hull, only ashes The sed remnants of possibilities But, unlike the ht to love, she had not knelt before a new icon to certainty No choices to , the consigning invitation to addiction

She wanted no new masters over her life Nor the burden of friendships

A croaking voice behind her ‘What’s wrong with you?’

She shook her head ‘Nothing, Buruk’ She climbed wearily to her feet ‘We have reached the border’

‘I’m not blind, Acquitor’

‘We can move on a way, then make camp’