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"Well, that’s shit luck," he said

Oliver ravity hich the words had been spoken He glanced at Kitsune, who paid hi the branches above, searching for any sign that there ht be some other spy about

Oliver turned to Frost, only to find the winter h he were a riddle that Frost could not sort out Oliver didn’t lanced at Blue Jay "We’d hoped that Twillig’s Gorge e for us, at least for a ti on We’ve no idea who the Jaculus callsdiscovered, we can be sure it o, then," Oliver said

Blue Jay frowned, glaring at the sky "If Gong Gong had been here, the thing would have been dead, and its h they were deep in the shade of the woods She hung her head slightly so that only her perfectis dead And so shall we be, I think, if we don’te truly exists And trust is hard to come by today"

"Isn’t it always?" the bird-man said, and then turned toward the river

Just ahead, the woods ended at a sheer cliff face and the Sorrowful River continued right through it, a stake through the heart, into a natural tunnel, perhaps soht of the sun extended only so far into the tunnel and then all was darkness The idea of wading into that river and letting the current take him into the dark was not at all pleasant, but neither was the thought of re for the Jaculus to return with more formidable associates

Still, Oliver stood and watched as Blue Jay went to the riverbank and stepped in without hesitation, water soaking into denis of his jeans a darker blue Oliver sht be, but Blue Jay was all right He could easily have transforh the tunnel, above the water

When he had waded in up to his hips, the river flowing around his waist, he paused and looked back, waiting in silence Oliver glanced at Frost, saw that the winterKitsune, and looked at her

She was still preoccupied with the trees, and he understood that she was faulting herself soht the Jaculus It was not that she suspected the presence of other spies, but that she wished there were ht redeelanced darkly at him and bared her tiny, sharp teeth "Go on"

He was about to argue, but Frost touched his arh hi his muscles ache Oliver pulled away, but nodded and started for the water At the edge he sat and re them around his neck, with his socks tucked inside He debated the wisdo that the river bottom would likely be quite rocky, but even if he didn’t -wet boots, they would actuallythe saic, he untied the jacket from around his waist, wrapped the Sword of Hunyadi in it, and carried them over his shoulder as he stepped into the river

Oliver hesitated a moment He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt for the single, large seed that the gods of the Harvest had given hiht be helpful to hi he wanted to do was to lose it or, worse, ruin it now But he chose to leave it where it was Better a da to stash it in his boots or hold it in his hand

Frost was right beside him As the winter man put his foot in, the water on the surface of the river just around his calf formed a thin layer of ice, which broke off and floated away, dissolving al toward Blue Jay The water turned frigid, the current cold where it had flowed past Frost, and Oliver shivered and let hiet ahead a few paces

Back on the bank, Kitsune spared a final regretful glance at the trees and then slipped into the river He expected the fur cloak to weigh her down, but the water see across the river as she waded deeper, and then pooling around her as the current quickened

"Let’s try not to get too deep," Oliver said "I’d rather stay onin the cliff and braced a hand on the rock "I’e is on the other side of the tunnel, where it opens up again to the sky, but there’s no telling what’s between here and there"

Oliver grimaced "Wonderful"

Then Blue Jay ducked his head and disappeared into the darkness, river and cave both see to s hilance Though Oliver knew that the winter reat deal on his mind, still it h by the ti in the cliff face The darkness beckoned Despite his fear, so The little boy in hiical, relished the idea of the place Sounds of dripping came from within, and echoes of tiny splashes--hopefullyelse

Oliver stepped inside, though still within reach of the daylight

As he moved out of the sun and into the darkness, the world shook around him, once, twice, a third ti back at hiht he could see a shower of dust and small rocks slide down the walls of the cave and into the water

"Kit, tell ht hand out to touch the rock wall

Her voice, when she replied, was hushed "Worse"

Oliver turned She had thrown her hood back and her face and body were outlined against the sunlight at theupriver

Perhaps half a mile north stood a creature as tall as the tallest tree--a towering, grotesque, albino giant Its back was to theed spurs that jutted out through the flesh

"What is it?" he said, only loud enough for her to hear hi around theuzzler, they call it According to legend, of course I’ve heard the tale, but never seen the thing The story says that the river is made of the tears of all the mothers whose children it has eaten"

"The Sorrowful River," Oliver said, a tight knot in his gut

"Must have co the other way"

"Why? If it eats children--"

"A flesh-eating giant ry," she said, and when she glanced at him there was a lean sort of desire in her eyes that was not at all sensual He wondered, as a fox, what Kitsune had eaten, then wished the question had never occurred to hio?" she said