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Then everyone squeezed in, crushing me My diamond faces strained, trembled, then splintered The volcano creatures stuck threads ofto swaic

I fought I wasn’t liquid stone! What of my body? I tried to feel the hands and feet that had done so ood food I re to ache Deep inside I proet the tooth looked after The pro in the heat

I tried to rebuild ined hi water as I wanted to shed these fierce, hot creatures

While I fought to be whole again, they spun faster

Up, Carnelian whispered fiercely We’re going up here and now, Evvy You’re going, too You’ll find out what it’s like And we’ll shake the world e go

Up, up, UP! Flare shouted He and Carnelian darted to the top of the fault They pulled ed on theth had melted I was done

Gods of all stone be praised, Luvo said We are not too late

We won’t fall for this trick another time, Evvy She said it, but Carnelian still halted

Flare stopped too You don’t fool us We’re going out right here

NO I didn’t know this great, female voice, but it was familiar I knew the stones in it, from mica to obsidian to basalt It sounded like…Starns It sounded like the island

NO That e, too, smaller, but solid and just as unmovable I kneas odd, but he sounded like the island I’d seen next to Starns

NO, the two islands said together Their reat as the sea’s wrapped ers there, too They folded lobe of ic that was cool and solid I would have cried if I’d had eyes

Not here, fiery young ones, said Starns You will not destroy my waters

You will not shower death on our shores, said that second voice You ed Once we too broke free of the molten chambers under the earth That was Luvo Each of us was born like you and leaped free, like you But my friends here, the Battle Islands you would destroy in your new birth--

We are not ready to change, Starns told theether, we can stop you froe all you like