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"Sorcery," he replied with satisfaction, as though she had answered him

Maybe she had

He whistled sharply After a bit his shaman, Cherbu, trotted up on a piebald ue resemblance to the patchwork cloak and trousers worn by its rider The two ed a feords, after which the shaot down on his hands and knees, and proceeded to sniff like a dog, following an unseen trail through the ruins Bulkezu followed hi nasal tone the Qus to entertain hi he had once translated for her:

"Has anyone suffered so much misfortune as I have?

Who pities the orphan, or the little bird that falls from its abandoned nest?

It would be better to be dead than

If my mother rose fro me any joy"

He paused The shaman had vanished Hanna looked around wildly, but she saw no trace of Cherbu or his patchwork cloak around The noises from camp, below them, seeranting respite froh the wreckage like a snake

An owl hooted White flashed off to one side, and Hanna turned in tihest wall of the burned chapel

"I’ if will alone, chiseled to a point and flung outward on a thought, would be enough to alert the owl to her presence as once, like a salute

One of the guards drew, aie bird, but Bulkezu spoke three soft words

A billowing cloud of ash blew up fro She blinked rapidly, shielded her eyes with a hand, and when she dared look again, the oas gone The shaman, coated with a white layer of ash over his patchwork clothing, stood in the midst of the ruined barracks where five Lions had died

"There," said Bulkezu "That’s where the fire started He can taste it, you know"