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Noas having fun Quartz has as er’s-eye, in shades froates at the canyon’s bottom, as well as ah the white vein, then bounced along hexagonal rods of amethyst The faces and chunks told me their stories, about the tiain I slid through the long sides, seeingtheir surfaces

Evu off of every stone there I shrieked and shot upward I opened my body’s eyes and looked for hireen and purple and crystal bear worn down by water

"Why did you do that!" I shouted "That hurt!"

"We have company," Luvo said quietly You would never believe he hadwith the sound of his voice "You should greet her"

"I was fine! I wasmy own business! I was just--"

Nory stepped intoabout? And where did you find the talking rock?" She stood next to us, her arlared at her "Why are you here anyway?" My head hurt badly enough from Luvo’s voice that I didn’t care if I was rude or not "You’re not a e"

"Treak’s all full of reetting free of the house for the day Not that it’s your business, Person Who Looks After Her Mage As titles go, that’s not very impressive Will you answer my question or not?"

I stared at her How did soued? "Do your parents worship at the Fire temple every day of their lives?"

"Myand sank while it attacked Winding Circle eight years ago My father and older brother worshipped Urda and Lakik like sensible people, praying to Lakik’s good-luck side Pirate chasers mistook them for fierce outlaws and killed theods at the s bothered Nory, it didn’t show on her face "You still haven’t toldstones I had stuck in on hi on the dry grass "I sensed the co of Evumeimei and her friends when they approachedI had never felt the spirit of any human like Evumeimei before, and so I left the inside of es are a copper a pair," Nory told him scornfully "At least, they are in the real world, not this pile of droppings in the Pebbled Sea"

"But none like Evumeimei She is alive The world is hers, or she will round Luvo is a dear, but being a mountain for thousands of yearsstones in the air, but er with the other That hot, itchlike tingleit back with me from the stones in the dead canyon? Now that I was up here, I knew that I felt the power that Jayat and his ht It was down below the canyon floor

I picked up th found new paths If I reach down far enough, I couldI wasn’t by myself "I could maybe find out what happened to the old lines, whatholes Another was obsidian One was feldspar What were volcano rocks doing up here? I brushed the area around me with my power More volcano rocks Mount Grace was covered with them

Never mind those, I told myself What of all that power far beneath the canyon? That line went soic down to touch it The line passed out of my reach under the mountain I wondered if I could pick it up on the far side of the peak

At our present rate of travel, we’d be another couple of hours riding around the top of Mount Grace, even if the grown-ups were done talking My body’s itch was getting worse, the fizz spreading into ot down the other side of themy arms

I can’t explain what I did then I just did it I ran back to the clearing and threw the bridle on ed before I think I had taken the animal by surprise Once I had done that, I was in too much of a hurry to bother with a saddle I sirabbed the reins, and kicked it in the sides

I don’t even reh I aallopingthe rocky, twistyto stop and rest the horse now and then I would wipe it doith handfuls of grass I even reht be acid in the streaht of it Otherwise, my ic seep into the of power I wanted that sure sense that greatness had touched these stones I searched far ahead of round The fizzing grew into the thunder of waterfalls throughthe horse and trust it knew the road, because I couldn’t see anyic I saw only stones