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He paused to knot the end of the thread, and this tiave me this surcoat With the trowel The Wall that it’s as if s That’s what I’ So I’ll do that, and I’ll do h, at least I will have done everything I could, everything that is in me I don’t have to try to be someone else, someone I could never be"
Lirael didn’t answer Instead, she looked away, back to where the Dog was returning, a li, repeating herself more clearly after she dropped the rabbit at Lirael’s feet Her tail had started to wag again, just at the tip "Dinner I’ll get another one"
Lirael picked up the rabbit The Dog had broken its neck, killing it instantly Lirael could feel its spirit close by in Death, but she walled it out It hung heavy in her hand, and she wished that they could sis had packed for theht, and if rabbits beckon
"I’ll skin it," offered Sa over the rabbit She had eaten rabbits before, but only either raw, in her Charter-skin of a barking owl, or cooked and served in the refectories of the Clayr
"A sht," replied Sam "In a little while, anyway The smoke won’t be visible, and we can shield the fla will eat hers raw, I’m sure"
"You should sleep," said Sam as he tested the blade of a short knife with his thuet an hour while I prepare the rabbit"
"Looking after your old aunt," said Lirael with a smile She was only two years older than Sameth, but she had once told hi the Abhorsen-in-Waiting," said Sameth, and he bowed, not entirely in jest Then he bent down and, with a practiced move, made a cut and pulled the skin off the rabbit in one piece, like taking the cover off a pillow
Lirael watched hiround with her head on her pack It wasn’t at all comfortable, particularly since she was still in armor and kept her boots on But it didn’tthe last blue fade away, the black creep in, and the stars begin to twinkle She could not feel any Dead creatures close, or sense any hint of Free Magic, and the weariness that had been in her came back a hundredfold She blinked twice, three times; then her eyes would stay open no more, and she sank into a deep and instant sleep
When she awoke, it was dark, save for the starlight and the dilow of a well-hidden fire She saw the silhouette of the Dog sitting nearby, but there was no sign of Sam at first, till she saw a round
"What ti stirred and padded over to her
"Close to ht it best to let you sleep, and then I convinced Sauard"
"I bet that wasn’t easy," said Lirael, levering herself up and groaning at her stiffenedhappened?"
"No It is quiet, save for the usual things of the night I expect Chlorr and the Dead still watch the House, and will do so for roped between the boulders and trod gingerly over to the spring It was the only patch of brightness in the calht Lirael washed her face and hands, the cold shock of the water bringing her fully awake
"Did you eat my share of the rabbit?" Lirael whispered as she made her way back to her pack
"No, I did not!" exclai "As if I would! Besides, Sameth kept it in the pot With the lid on"
Not that this would have stopped the Dog, thought Lirael as she found the s fire The pieces of rabbit inside had been siood Either Sah Lirael was glad that there was no hint of rosemary She did not want to smell that herb
By the time she’d finished the rabbit and washed her hands and scrubbed the pot clean with a handful of grit at the spring, the un to rise As Sam had said, it was somewhat past three quarters, well on its way to the full, and the sky was clear Under its light Lirael could clearly h to climb the Steps
Sa to his sword They didn’t speak--soht forestalled any conversation Lirael covered the fire as Sam splashed water on his face, and they helped each other shoulder their packs The Dog loped backwards and forwards as they got ready, her tail wagging, all eagerness to be off again
The Steps began in a deep cut that went straight into the cliff for twenty yards, so at first it seemed it would become a tunnel But it was open to the sky, and it soon turned to run along and up the cliff, striking ard Each step was exactly the saular and relatively easy, though still exhausting
As they climbed, Lirael caht, a single alh stone It was actually composed of hundreds of faces of slipped rock, as if a sheaf of paper had been propped up and es had slipped down The stepped path wastill it had to turn and be cut back deeper into the cliff in order to reach the next higher face