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She lifted a hand The prophecy had ended The attendant came forith a cup It vanished under the veil; the holy woain: a child’s laughter, the bleating of goats, theof the weavers, a waterfall of notes ered only by her usual halting speech, Brightness-Hears-Me went on "Go to the land of the stone giants where the phoenix flies The one with two fingers will guide you You reat loom that stands outside the city built by the tribe of Horn You would only walk into the knives of the Cursed Ones Go by the secret way You are the young one We rely on your strength The rest of us must wait If Horn is dead, then we must hope that the one she teaches as her apprentice is ready to take her place"

"If her apprentice survived the attack," murmured Adica

"We must prevail, or the Cursed Ones will make slaves of all of us"

With that, they were dised to relax, seduced into a doze by the heat and the ease offered by the soft pillows Adica stopped dead in the entrance, staring He had never looked more beautiful to her than he did at that moment as he woke and looked up at her: his expression radiant, his eyes bright, even his hair so white

He yawned, sipping at his wine "I had such a strange dream," he said drowsily He had such an expressive face, open and honest without being si like snow There was a wind at e creature stood behind h a spider crawled up her back, recalling what Brightness-Hears-Me had said about him But for once, he seemed not to notice her disquiet He lifted a handful of the , but as she bent to take theently pressed Alain’s hand aside with a stick before their hands could touch

"We are bidden to go," said Laoina

Startled, they discovered that a new guide had appeared, this one also swathed in black robes and hood Their supplies of water and food had been replenished After hoisting their gear onto their backs, they followed the saetation It was unbelievably hot, even in the shade The sun stood at zenith They could not possibly walk back across the sands to the stone loom When they halted in the shade of the last paluide lifted a rah Adica heard no sound issue fro a distant ridge Three of the lion woraceful strides, wings half open Their eyes, so uncannily inhuman in a face so like to human form, examined Adica, Alain, and the Akka wos folded under theuide indicated their backs

Laoina swore in her own tongue Adica could not move, unsure which was hotter: the breath of the sun, or her fear Alain stepped forward cautiously His back bowed under the weight of the sun’s heat as he crossed from shadow into sun He hopped fro at the heat of the sand, and finally dashed to the nearest sphinx As he clas trotted forward to sniff at the hindquarters of the huge creature She lashed her tail, once, to drive them off to a respectful distance, then kneaded her claws in the sand as she

"Cohted, like a child whose innocence frees it from fear

Adica touched Laoina’s elbow "Come," she said, for she saw that the Akka wo Surely these creatures are not ons!"

"Only because ar against the Cursed Ones," h "This I ainst evil spirits, and without warning ran to the second lion worass bound into her foot coverings sizzled as she ran Juot her chest and belly over the forequarters of the third lion wo over so that she sat astride as she had once ridden on the back of the Holy One Its rus as it rose

Rocked frorasped at its shoulders, groped for a handhold, and finally hooked her legs tightly around its wings and siainst its neck where she held on as well as she could

It proved, after all, easier than she had feared to stay on Its stride was sh fur chafed the skin of her thighs Her pack of regalia bounced unco her spine over and over, but she dared not let go with one hand even for an instant to adjust it