Page 40 (1/1)

I watched Luvo, thinking about those ti that he had used his mountain voice on Briar and me We had been awed and curious, not terrified Well, maybe we had been a little terrified, the first few times Or just deeply impressed It’s hard to tell the difference between so " He wobbled as he sat up I felt pulses like earth shocks travel through h they so shock dragged at me Another shock followed It du shock came next, and a last bump that threw e part ere the only two things that rit or stick

What did you do? I cried in our rabbed on to a nearby tree and stared at Luvo Aloud I said, "That was like an earthquake, but in the ic! And it bounced you, too!"

"Sooner or later Flare and Carnelian would have found the end of the quartz bed," he told ed for them never to find it"

I just stared at hie that?"

Luvo stood on all fours and shook himself His crystals juh to make a person ill "I took one end of the bed and pulled it toward the other Before I joined the ends, I gave one a half twist I had the idea froxe monk Try it with a piece of paper Once the two ends are joined, if one traces the paper’s edge, one will find the circle has only one edge throughout its length The circle is infinite Flare and Carnelian will never find an end to it They will pursue their reflections in each bit of quartz forever" Luvo hesitated "Evu the quartz bed, did you realize, that if they reasseer? I do not absolve myself of blame It will be worse if they escape edI could think of in a hurry," I growled

Luvo h "That is my excuse, too We shall pray we are off Starns when--if--they do e to free themselves I fear they will destroy much more than this island should they escape"

I looked at hiht time, Evuhboring islands to flee in any case The reat these children will be as a volcano is beyond our skills We o Before Flare and Carnelian are too strong for our trap to hold them"

13

Oswin’s Kids

Nory waited for us at the back door e reached the house "Do you believe I’ll thank you for inspiring Meryeave her ood "I had soht? If I hadn’t,Merye Meryeled I scowled at her, but not very hard She was as cute as an a around here to boil her toes" Nory didn’t look convinced

"There would have been, had not Evumeimei acted quickly" Luvo walked over to Nory and sat on his rump so he could look up at her "How are the boys?"

She had to back up and kneel to talk to hi to see that she wanted to talk to him politely "They’re packed and in the cart We’re all ready to go" She glared over Luvo atto eat"

My head ached and my hands shook Her s, even with Luvo’s approval ic to bolster on back to the inn, and get so?" I picked up Luvo "We’re wasting time" This was the proble IFlare and Carnelian into doing things Anyway, it was stones I was thinking of, caleto do out by our pond" Nory led the way back through the house "A pond so useless we can’t even get decent-sized fish out of it"

"We can play in the water when the weather’s hot" Meryem decided to hold on to my hand I don’t knohy, but itup at me, too Was there mud on my face? I had plenty of it on my clothes

"Yes, Meryem, you play in it when you’re hot" Nory stopped to shoulder a pack and pick up two carry sacks left in the hall "Then you walk back here and track dirt in the house And you’re coated in pond rinned "Treak gives us a bath sometimes And Lexa and Jesy and Deva You aren’t the only one And they mop the floors sometimes It isn’t just you"

"Sometiet silly and pour water all on the floors and get " She pushed the front door open "Some help Urda save me, did you kids pack up the entire house?"