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"Sorry," sighed Lirael "I know it’s not his fault, and I won’t call him ‘your friend Nick’ anymore But he does have that letter Or actually, someone on the other side of the Wall has it, ill bethem"

Sam scratched his head and frowned in exasperation

"It depends on where they cross and who is in charge," he said despondently "I guess they’ll be intercepted at the Periular Ares So they h the Perie anyway, even if they wanted to If only we could get there first! I know General Tindall well--he commands the Perimeter And ould be able to wire my parents at the embassy in Corvere If they’re still there"

"Can we sail ourselves?" asked Lirael "Where could we get a boat that’s faster than the barges?"

"Edge would be the closest," replied Saained If Edge is still there I don’t want to think about how Hedge got his barges"

"Well, what about downstrea?"

Sam shook his head absently There was an answer, he knew He could feel an idea just lurking out of reach How could they reach the Wall faster than Hedge and Nick?

Land, seaand air

"Fly!" he exclai his arms in the air "We can fly! Your owl Charter-skin!"

It was Lirael’s turn to shake her head

"It would take me at least twelve hours to make two Charter-skins Maybe more, since I need some sort of rest first And it takes weeks to learn how to fly properly"

"But I won’t need to," said Sa owl skin before and I noticed that there’s only a few key Charter ht?"

"Maybe," said Lirael dubiously

"Well, h to carrywildly "It wouldn’t take any longer than it usually does Then we fly to the Wallum, cross itand take it fro, her expression a mixture of surprise and approval

"I don’t know," said Lirael "I’iant Charter-skin would work"

"It will," said Sam confidently

"I don’t suppose there’s uess I’d better give it a go Where’s Mogget? I’m curious to see what he thinks of your plan"

"It stinks," said Mogget’s muffled voice from the shade below the boulder "But there’s no reason why it won’t work"

"There’s one other thing I guess I ht have to do later," Lirael said hesitantly "Is it possible to enter Death on the other side of the Wall?"

"Sure, depending how far into Ancelstierre you go, just like with ic," Sam replied, his voice suddenly very serious "Whatwhat is it you ht have to do?"

"Use the Dark Mirror and look back into the past," Lirael said, her voice unconsciously taking on so, to see how the Seven defeated the Destroyer"

Chapter Fourteen

Flight to the Wall

"IT WAS HUGE," sobbed the er than a horse, ingswings that blocked the sky And it had ahorriblehorrible! The screechingyou ?"

The other members of the s up into the fading light of the evening sky

"And so A dog ings!"

His listeners exchanged glances of disbelief A giant owl they could accept, after the screeching they’d heard This was the Borderlands, after all, and in troubled tiht never to see had walked the earth in the last few days But a winged dog?

"We’d bestwoman who bore the Charter mark on her forehead She sniffed the air and added, "There’s sorest, unless anyone has a better idea Somebody help Elluf, too Give him some wine"

Quickly, the Travelers broke their camp and unhobbled their horses Soon, they were headed north, with the unfortunate Elluf swigging from a wineskin as if it ater

South of the Travelers, Lirael fleith gradually sloing beats It wasowl than as a noret, and both packs Sath and endurance into her, but a large part of the sustaining ic had been absorbed by the Charter-skin itself

"I have to set down," she called to the Disreputable Dog, as flying behind her, as pain coursed through her wings again She picked a clear glade a

Then she suddenly saw their destination There, beyond the forest--a long grey line snaking along the crest of a low hill, going from east to west as far as she could see The Wall that separated the Old Kingdom from Ancelstierre