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Where was Adica?

Crossing the threshold, stepping over the invisible line that demarcated the inside of the circle of stones from the outside, Alain walked fro hu of the two sorcerers, for surely that hat they were They wore like an invisible mantle an aura of power, just as Adica did: the Hallowed Ones of their tribes chosen for their ability to walk the path of -dohom Adica often spoke of fondly The other, Tanioinin, seemed not much older than Adica, as far as Alain could tell, but he lived in a broken body By the evidence of the litter, he could not even walk

At last Alain saw Adica, curled up into a ball on the other side of Tanioinin The hounds padded past him and nosed her She started up, alarmed to see him He hurried over to crouch beside her

"I would have sent for you after the danger was over," she whispered

"I do not leave you," he said stubbornly "Do not ask o, because I will not"

She knew hiue when he spoke in that tone

He indicated Tanioinin and bent closer toof the stones concealed his words from anyone except her, as accustomed to his whispered endearments "How can this one be a sorcerer? Can he even walk?"

"Spits-last is the arded Tanioinin with an expression of respect and, perhaps, a little pity "His people nurtured and raised hily clever and deep mind He has served them as sorcerer for many years But his body is so crippled that he is helpless in the middle world Others have to take care of him Only in the spirit world can he truly roa"

Alain could see by the man’s blank expression and the way his eyes had rolled up into his head that he was already gone into the spirit world He was calling to the dragons… wherever they were

Adica hissed under her breath, caught Alain’s wrist, and pointed

Those golden-stone huiant tuleaold They hummed and, slowly, as he sank down--too stunned to cry out in astonishreat heads first Their eyes had the winking fever of the hottest fire Soold unfolding as they rose A tail lashed to dislodge boulders which sh the landscape, thrown about like pebbles It was then that he realized how huge they were, and how far away The noise of their waking ruainst the heavens

First one, and then a second, huffed htily Sparks rained fro thescrub that lived in the fjall Alain stared Rage and Sorrohining, although it was hard to hear theons

Adica struggled to her feet She still held his wrist in a crushing grip; perhaps she had forgotten that she still held on to hih drawn forward in a dreao of Alain’s ar sorcerers, to stand with arms raised at the threshold of the protective circle of the stone crown just as the first dragon launched itself into the air

Alain leaped after her, but he did not even reach her The backwash fro wind pounded hion leaped toward the sky and caught the air under their vast wings, wider than houses Their bellies shone like fire, and their tails lashed the air Ice billowed off the distant eastern peaks, blown by their passage A fourth and fifth rose Battered by the wind of their rising, Alain struggled to stay on his knees A hot streaed, and his hands and lips cracked under the sudden blast of heat as all his tears dried away

He crawled forward Adica stood framed by the stone lintel, arms still raised The wind did not batter her down, nor did she bow beneath it She didn’t need his help She was the Hallowed One of her tribe, as powerful as the dawn, able to face without cowering the great creatures they had woken All he could do was keep low to the ground and pray

The dragons rose in glory, as bright as lightning The wind of their rising stirred the clouds into a rage of er than any storan to break up, shredding in all directions Drops of rain sizzled on stone A single snowflake drifted down, dissolving before Alain’s eyes