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Her breath caught ‘The Beast Hold’

He glanced at her ‘What?’

‘The Bone Perch Elder, Crone, Seer, Shaman, Hunter and Tracker The Stealers of Fire Stolen frooddess The false goddess, or so clai the Nerek I aes on the tiles those of beasts? For the Beast Hold, Ithe poorer versions The skins of beasts, draped round dark, squat savages That is what you will see on the oldest, purest tiles Do not pretend at ignorance, Udinaas You brought us here, after all’

They were approaching the nearest barrows, and could see, studding the raw earth, countless objects Broken pottery, jewellery, iron weapons, gold, silver, small wooden idols, scraps of cloth The remnant possessions of the people buried beneath

Feather Witch h ‘They left the treasure on the surfaces, instead of burying it with the bodies What a strange thing to do’

‘Maybe so looters won’t bother digging and disturbing the corpses’

‘Oh, plenty of looters around here’

‘I don’t know this real

The look she cast him was uneasy

Closer now, the destroyed city loo to the bases of ht wooden pillars Black, withered strips of seaweed Above, the cross-sectioned profiles of fras And, in theflesh – not hu, reptilian head, dangling from a twisted, torn neck Entrails spilled from a split belly Taloned, three-toed feet Serrated tails Misshapen arhtly coloured cloth, shiny as silk

‘What are those things?’

Udinaas shook his head ‘This city was struck by ice, even as it was torn from our world Clearly, that ice held its own ancient secrets’