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Karigan gazed at the pile On the very top were the pages coold leaf It had been a two-page spread, and now had holes ripped out where it had been stitched into the binding Without a second thought, Karigan snatched the map and folded it up into as small a square as she could make, tucked it into her hand, and headed upstairs where she could study it in private and think

In the Present:

YOLANDHE’S ISLAND

A stor shadows to Amberhill’s mind As waves tossed onshore and the sky rumbled, he turned restlessly beneath his furs

The outer turmoil seemed not to affect the shadows They remained stolid, somnolent forces Where were they? Just in his head? What or ere they?

Soon his breathing eased, the restlessness fading as though he mirrored the shadows Beyond the veneer of stillness, he knew, lay ferocity, chaos, and destruction It should bother hi of his heart slowed into counterpoint to the storm, it did not

• • •

"What are they?" he asked Yolandhe the next

"I do not knohat you speak,sea shells on a rock in the cave, soh they were priceless art pieces on display

Amberhill remained beneath the furs at his ease How to explain? "The shadows I sense them in my sleep They sleep, too It’s not exactly a dream"

Yolandhe turned away from her shells to stare hard at him After a time, she came to some decision and said, "Let us take a walk"

Amberhill tossed aside his furs and rose Once out of the cave and on the beach, they passed Yap’s lean-to, which had miraculously withstood the storm The pirate snored within

They crossed the beach, Yolandhe leading A a shoreside trail ith puddles

"Where are we going?" he asked