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"What do you think killed it?" I ask

Justus shakes his head "I don’t know," he says "I suppose it could be a natural death There are a few tests I can conduct back at the temple to try and find out more" He lifts the bat carefully in his hands There’s a clean linen cloth in the bottoently inside, as if it weren’t past all feeling

"What was it doing out in the day?" I ask

"It ht," Justus says "It’s not the first They’re not immortal"

Of course not I know that But it’s very odd to see one of the bats dead

Justus straightens up, careful not to step on the he h," he says, "since we lost your one back inside the temple, I hear her

Maire

She walks softly She doesn’t step on any of the leaves or say a single word, but I still know she’s here, just as I did that day in the te," Maire says "They toldthat you would co to hear her say that about the trees They’reher even a hint of my real voice: "What do you want?"

"It’s not about what I want," Maire says "You know that It’s about what you want To go Above and find your sister"

"And you think you can help me"

"Yes," she says "I can I helped your sister and your reed to do so beforehand, the two of us start walking together Across the courtyard, people wave to one another and call out to friends passing by in gondolas A peacekeeper blows his whistle to warn a group of youth gathered too near the canal and they move away I feel a sudden fierce love for my city

"I can help you," Maire says, after we’ve walked in silence for a ti"

"You don’t know that you could rees, in a flat tone that sounds exactly likeme

She stops, and I realize that we’ve come to the back entrance of the teates and the ue

I haven’t been here since h this entrance to prepare our mother’s body When we finished, we had to leave her there and cli area, where we sat in our reserved seats to witness her body going up We were daughters of the Minister that day, one last time