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"Do that again!" says Amaya

"Do what?" he asks, surprised by her comrate, more slowly this time"

Ro-e hi the Efean honorific Yet instead of throwing a nasty retort into her face he paces out the gap

When he is halfway across she yelps "Stop! The pattern of the bricks is broken there You can see it when the light and shadow fall just right"

The even pattern of the bricks is broken to make a faint outline in the shape of a door I press a hand along the outline but nothing moves A pattern at the center resee one; this sy ives way

A door opens as by s of ancient wires and pulleys

Startled excla out I raise a hand to stop the others fro forward

"There is a trick here Let h first"

Lantern in hand, I ease through the opening No light penetrates the space beyond, except the glow of the lantern When I lift it I cannot see ceiling or floor, for I stand on a ledge on the brink of a cliff Water slops below like waves shushing a rocks The air smells salty Does the ocean reach under the City of the Dead? Or is this all an illusion?

Two bridges attach to the ledge It is far too dark for ness The stone bridge seems to be anchored with arches and pillars beneath; it looks sturdy but has no railing, so it would be easy to step off The wider bridge is built of wood and has railings, but when I test its first plank the wood feels spongy If this chae is surely rotting

I call back "Everyone coh at once in case there’s a trap to close you in there"

They arrive in hasty procession: Maraya has the baby Cook assists Amaya Ro-emnu carries Mother like a sack of rice, while Coriander has slung the oracle over her shoulders Kalliarkos brings up the rear with the other three lanterns and our gear We crowd the ledge, clinging together in the aura of lantern-light Who knohatfirst," I say, tightening the cloth that binds ive the order"

"Yes, Captain," says Ro-e scrape the open door suddenly slides shut

"It looks like we have no choice but to go forward," Maraya rele file," I say

The bridge rises in a slow arch We all tread cautiously on the span, step by step I can no longer see the ledge where we started, just Kalliarkos’s laht shines only a few paces ahead ofas wide as the width of e is no wider than the distance froers to my elbow It’s not so hard to walk, unless you look down into the stygian depths Watery sighs breathe out of the abyss like aserpent waiting to rise and snap us up one by one as the rest plunge screae to their deaths

I can’t allow fear to master me

"Howin short bursts She has crouched to brace herself on hands and knees Behind her Cook and Aiven the lit lamp to Coriander so he can coax the oracle forward LikeHow he balances with Mother on his back I cannot fathom but it’s i out the lamp to see what comes next The span narrows until it is no wider than ins to wheeze Amaya sobs once and is silent

"How are we to cross without falling, Domatic voice

Ro-emnu says, "I confess I do not think I could balance that even if I weren’t carrying the honored lady We will have to turn back"

"We can’t turn back The door closed behind us, just as the shaft did It’s as if we’re being driven in one direction But ould build a bridge to get narrower? There’s soer "Wait Don’t anyonethe lantern ahead ofAir should move up into my face from the depths but it doesn’t Carefully I straddle the span so as to test its sides A calf-length below, s hit stone The span re It’s just this little ridge bricked atop and cunningly painted to