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"The earthquakes that have come since we trapped them are not normal earthquakes" Luvo kept his voice down "They feel more like the waves of the ocean, but far below the earth’s stone shell"

"It’s the others," I told Luvo "The ones Flare and Carnelian said never had the nerve to do anything I think they rong The others want Flare and Carnelian to lead the for theets to break out into the open"

Luvo began to pace I leaned back and waited, closing my eyes My head ached ferociously

Luvo halted "I will build shields between the lower depths and the trap we have made for Carnelian and Flare Obsidian drawn from the riverbed, I think The obsidian will show the other spirits their own faces, nothing else It will reflect, not reveal"

"Granite to back it, though," I suggested "If the volcano spirits get close enough, they’ll melt the obsidian Granite will slow them down What do you want me to do?"

"Guard me as you ride to the ships," Luvo ordered "Azaze and Tahar ait no longer Dawn is just a short time away Pick me up"

When we caht Everyone was up and one back to sleep Tahar was bundled up in a hooded robe She sat on the seat of her little cart, screeching orders Jayat stood at the head of the pony that drew the cart It looked like he was going to walk

Osaited with Nory, Treak, and his other foster-kids He carried a huge pack on his shoulders as if it weighed nothing, and a pair of kittens in a basket on one hip If he orried, he didn’t look it His head was cocked He stared into the distance, his lipssmall cloth packs onto the backs of the little children They rode the tired-looking ponies who had been harnessed to the cart before it collapsed When Nory saw lare that would have peeled paint Treak and the older kids did the same I went to saddle Spark

Once I’d taken care of that, I placed Luvo in his sling and hung it from the saddle horn He was as still as dead rock The best part of his one into the earth I strapped s into place Rosethorn had cared for her own horse She was talking quietly with Azaze and Myrrhtide

"I don’t care if we have more days, perhaps!" Tahar’s old voice was crystal clear above all of the others She was talking to one of the village woot fields plowed or wood chopped, you brainless nit! Will you wait for earthquakes to pull your house down, or the volcano to burn it? We’re leaving! The rockhis kind, but he himself admits there’s a chance the spirits will escape the trap Jayat, stop ogling Norya Move this collection of splinters!"

Oswin turned to look at the old e "What about Dubyine, Karove, and their people? They went back to Snake Hollow Should we send word that we’re leaving?"

Azaze snorted "Let them stay and loot until the volcano cooks theround "That for Dubyine and her stinking crew May they eat ash cakes and drink molten stone"

For all that everyone said that Tahar wasn’t rab amulets and press them to their lips Either they didn’t want to take a chance, or they feared Tahar’s ill-speaking As far as I was concerned, Dubyine and Karove had called Rosethorn a thief That settled it for e Stuff

With everyone awake, the cooks fixed breakfast When it was done, there was enough predawn light to see by It was ti the road, finally I joined the line at the end, with the herd animals and the kids atched them It wasn’t the fanciest place in the caravan That’s why I was shocked when Myrrhtide rode back and fell in beside aped at him He never asked how I felt "I know it’s kind of dark, but you have to be able to tell you’re talking toto Your health is iht now you and Luvo may be our best protection from a tomb made of lava" When I stared at him, shocked, Myrrhtide snorted "What? Because I spent the last day in the lake I’m too preoccupied to understand the obvious? Rosethorn and I can do very little against a volcano You are all the help we have"

"You don’t think we ht so I don’t have any right to callevery ic e You have learned the most i volcano children, why do we rush along today?"

I have no idea why it spilled out of ht still call s so badly Rosethorn was busy I could see her up ahead She was growing vines to pull fallen trees froh And Myrrhtide was actually listening to me

He took s up in his own mind "Luvo didn’t believe these other spirits were a probleics join in spots He thought they were just stupid and didn’t care We believed if we trapped Flare and Carnelian, that would be enough" SixI looked around We were passing a tall series of granite slabs On our other side was a slope that led to the river