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"That’s the King and the Abhorsen, isn’t it, Prince Saht they were dead!"

Sam nodded and smiled and shook his head at the sa of relief flow up through every part of his body He didn’t knohether to laugh or cry or sing, and was unsurprised to find that tears were running down his cheeks and laughter had co out of hisout of the blue and silver Paperere indisputably Touchstone and Sabriel Alive and well, all tales of their deht

But the surprises did not end there Sahter before it beca, raven-haired woold craft and run to catch up with his parents, her sword already out and flashing Behind her, two very blond, brown-skinned, and o, a little irl?" asked Lieutenant Tindall, with more than professional interest in their saviors "I mean, who are those ladies?"

"That’s my sister, Ellimere!" exclaimed Sam "And two of the Clayr, by the look of them!"

He started to run down to the up, and his place was here, by Lirael She was still frozen in place, still soers That realization brought Sam back to the current situation The Dead had fled from Saraneth as wielded by the Abhorsen But they were only lesserhas stopped," said Tim Wallach "Listen--there’s no thunder now"

Everyone turned back to the ridge Sas of relief vanished in an instant The thunder and lightning had faded away to nothing, sure enough, but the fog was as thick as ever It was no longer lit with blue flashes but by a steady, pulsing red that grew brighter as they watched--as if an enor was coe, a shape that seemed to have too low froe

Sam raised his sword and felt for the panpipes Whatever this was didn’t seem to be Dead--or at least he couldn’t sense it But it carried the hot stench of Free Magic with it--and it was co shouted, with the voice of Mogget

"It’seddied, and Sae little man with the pale hair and skin who he had last seen on the hill above the Red Lake He was carrying an eet held the ht arm out to the side, where it writhed and twitched with a life of its own, all too like a tentacle

"What is that?" asked Major Greene quietly as he signaled his et," replied Sarandfather’s time And thatthat is et, who hadn’t stopped walking down "Where is the Abhorsen? And Lirael? We et Nicholas farther away, the fragment will not be able to join and the hemispheres will be incomplete--"

He was interrupted by a terrible screaidity, one ar brighter than the sun flared at his fingertip for a e, too fast to follow

"No!" Nick screaers clutched uselessly at empty air But his scream was lost in another sound, a sound that welled up froe An indescribable shout of triureed, and fury With that shout, a column of fire boiled up to the sky It cli swirled around it like a cloak and began to burn away

"Free!" boomed the Destroyer The word howled across the watchers like a hot wind, stripping the moisture fro fro fear into all who heard it, long after the word itself was lost

"Too late," said Mogget He laid Nick carefully down on the rocky ground and crouched hian to spread down his neck and face, and his bones contracted and tightened under the skin Inside a ain a little white cat, with Ranna tinkling on his collar

Sam hardly noticed the transformation He hurried up to Nick and bent over hiest Charterthe Sah to Death, see the terrible pallor of Nick’s face, the blood on his mouth, and the deep bruises on his chest and ar hands as he pulled ently laid his paled body

Only the spell wouldn’t take hold The marks slid away and were lost, and blue sparks crackled under Saain, but it was no use There was still too strong a residue of Free Magic in Nick, and it repulsed all Sa Nick back into consciousness--of a sort He sain, struck down by a fastball But Sam was in so behind hiht sunshine, and stones and stunted trees, not nen grass

Nick remembered, and his smile disappeared With memory cahtness as well He felt clear and unrestricted, as if he were a prisoner freed froasped, the blood in hishim as he spoke "I didn’t know, Saht," said Sam He wiped the bloody froth away from Nick’s mouth with the sleeve of his surcoat "It’s not your fault I should have realized so had happened to you"

"The sunken road," whispered Nick He closed his eyes again, his breath coasps "After you went into Death on the hill I can remember it now I ran down to see what I could do and fell into the road Hedge aiting He thought I was you, Saain, trying to force the healing th of will For the third ti too faint to hear Sam bent still closer, his ear to Nick’s ht physically drag his friend back from Death

"Lirael," whispered Nick "Tell Lirael I remembered her I tried"

"You can tell her yourself," Saently "She’ll be here! Any ht it!"

"That’s what she said," coughed Nick Specks of blood stained Sam’s cheek, but he didn’tas she returned to Life, or the cracking of ice, or Lirael’s exclamation of surprise For Sam, there was only the space he and Nicholas occupied Everything else had ceased to exist