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She fixed herof the

By sunrise she reached the canyon where the Yanjingyi war party had captured her The deep song had called to her froain fro was too loud now There was no sleeping with that racket going on in her brain She staggered upright by the water and looked back the way she had come With horror she saw bloody footprintsto run and unable to The song was so loud that she did not hear the clatter of hoofbeats in the canyon

Turning a bend in the stone, she saw an opening in the side of the canyon: a cave Could she go there? There was plenty of loose rock above it and to the sides Did she have the strength to close the opening once she was inside, hiding where she had gone?

She halted The deep song had stopped In front of the cave she saw the strangest thing On the dirt was a polished lureen, deep purple, and clear crystal It looked like an eighteen-inch bear sitting on its haunches, one that had been s water until all of hientle point, not a sharp nose It was the friendliest-looking piece of stone she had ever seen

It cocked its head knob at her "Evu stone said It spoke with the voice of the deep song,every bone in Evvy’s body shiver "Will you enter?"

Evvy stu, and I will say it for you at some time, but not now I am the heart of the ri Skad Po" The stone creature turned and trundled deeper into the cave on very short legs

Evvy followed, leaning on her stick Glowing moss on the walls of the cave lit their way As they walked the tunnel opened up Norer, but not today Today she desperately held to the feeling of stone at the botto feet as they descended into the earth So intent was she that she didn’t notice when the cave’s entrance closed behind the overhead A few rocks fell and the floor shook slightly,her stumble

"What was that?" she cried, steadying herself with her ," the crystal bear assured her, his around rivers and hidden hot springs "Soon you will rest and heal Then you will tell me what you are I have never felt anyone like you in all my millennia"

Normally Evvy would have de stone had, and whatto her staff and liain

In the world above thecanyon On the walls of Fort Sa to every idiot in the arirl and a s to several gods that the emperor would never learn that she, too, had examined Evumeimei’s body and pronounced her to be dead She would have sworn the girl was dead, and if the emperor’s spies ever learned differently, she would pay very painfully

She could still save herself The bloody footprints showed that Evvy could not go irl back in her hands, Jia Jui meant to shackle her to her orist and take her to Emperor Weishu herself

So deep in her plans was Jia Jui that she didn’t notice the quiver in the ground until it was ri Skad Po, the canyon collapsed on soldiers and ain

THE TEMPLE OF THE TIGERS,

THE DRIMBAKANG LHO, AND

THE TEMPLE OF THE SEALED EYE

Once he had gotten used to the fact that Rosethorn and her horse had sis and turned to help ers He busily sent runaway toddlers, goats, and the odd group of boys across the Toed hill It hen he reached the temple fortress at the top of the hill that he sahy the place had the naures stood on either side of the front gate One, painted orange with black stripes, snarled realistically at anyone who rode toward it The other, carved of pure white stone with black stripes, looked as if the sculptor had caught it in s and claws extended Briar could even see every hair in the anixin people did not care for them Parahan and Souda’s people only bowed as they passed: Jiers were common, respected aniers, unlike Lango’s fighters, were clearly used to these tigers and even rubbed them on the side or paw Briar only relaxed once he ell inside the curtain wall He had half expected the tigers, like the naga queen of the Temple of the Sun Queen’s Husbands, to act unpleasantly alive

He ith Parahan for a look around when they were settled: The plan seemed to be for the soldiers to patrol a circle around the place while they waited for Rosethorn’s return They also expected the arrival of more warriors frou ht to familiarize the, with the stepped outer wall that was coe already fit in the lower courtyard as part of the teether with barns, stables, oats and fowl In the upper courtyard loomed the main house of worship with its dormitories, side temples, and kitchens