Page 122 (1/1)

She passed a fretful night and in thepaced restively while Kel and Alain helped the Four Houses villagers raise the log walls of their palisade and Beor rested At last the escort came, overjoyed to see her and flush with the news that none of the injured people at Queens’ Grave had died in the attack or caught a festering infection in their wounds The e itself, stillwent on at a great rate in preparation for a celebratory feast on the morrow

Dorren waited on the bench in the council house, sipping at beer How eagerly he greeted her!

"Hallowed One!" He could not touch her Standing beside the table, he contented hiain, with his good hand "I bring a -down, but I feared I came too late when I arrived here and heard the news of the attack" He glanced past her and flushed, eyes widening with surprise, as Alain entered the council house "This is the foreigner Just as Falling-down predicted He saw this one in a drea-down had the gift of prophetic dreaainst Alain’s presence, then even Mother Orla n ateway of blue fire, with two hounds at his side There was a creature beside hiods’ servants"

"He caht hi-down did not knohether he had had a vision of the past, or of the future He said I n e"

Adica did not look again at Alain She did not need to She knew exactly where he stood in relation to her; she felt hiranddaughter, Getsi, and thought perhaps she could taste the bite of it on his lips as he drank "Whatstill as he brought the words to his tongue She saw, in his face, the qualities that had attracted her to hience, and wit, but somehow he seemed, not diminished, but set in shado that she had seen Alain When Dorren spoke, he did so in the singsong voice used by ood hand wove little panto hi-down of the Fen tribe speaks these words to Adica of the White Deer people Shu-Sha of the Copper people sends this warning to her sisters and brothers" His hand fluttered like a crane, which flies easily and which because of its alert disposition cannot easily be surprised "The Cursed Ones have discovered that we are leagued against theilant" Heunexpectedly "Horn believes the Cursed Ones know the secret of the looainst each one of us, but Brightness-Hears-Me speaks these words in disagreement: a man may see holy blood come forth from a woman, but that does not ers has seen disturbances in the deep places Beware above ground and below, for the Cursed Ones have the power to strike fro places, andyour encampment with charms Do not walk the looms except in dire need If the Cursed Ones have unraveled the secret of the looms, then no person alks the loo Ones if there is need for a s carefully against the lion: Guard yourself well until the day that is coave hi, but she could not stop fro for hi of beer When he had recovered, she spoke "Yet the Cursed Ones struck here If they had wanted slaves, they would have carried off many, yet they only tookto pass," said Dorren "We had heard no report of any disturbances when I left the fens, but by the h the loo has befallen Falling-down Tell hi Ones take this story to er that awaits us"

"Those words I will carry back to Falling-down What of our allies, the Horse people?"

"The Holy One sometimes visits this place at the full moon I wait for her then" Dorren nodded She looked back, wondering at the silence behind her, to see Alain listening intently His expression burned with frustration as he shook his head and, with a grimace, set down his cup