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Halliwell blinked De away froot in the way and Julianna stopped, but still she stared at Hunyadi in disgust

"No," said the king "She was not"

In confusion, Halliwell stepped forward Even as he reached for Julianna to pull her back, they both looked down at the bleeding corpse of the little girl who had guided theer looked human And her face…Tusks thrust fro dohere her nose and mouth had been Short, bristly hair stubbled her skull

"Oh, hell," Hallihispered

Julianna clapped a hand over her ed their way through the rain forest, the air thick and close, so dense it see terrain above sea level Coils ofdown frohtly falling rain, the whole forest churned with the rich sh the canopy of treetops above, the latesky was a blue-white haze

The winter h the brush swiftly, but heavily He did not belong in Yucatazca The heat and humidity wore not only at his spirit but at his physical self as well It eroded him The weather could not destroy him, of course; winter itself comprised his core But here in the rain forest, his form becah the trees, freezing the ainst

The cli back, lingering at the end of their little parade, watching the rain forest for sign of so in a line between them: Cheval Bayard and Chorti, Li and the Mazikeen

Despite his heavy robe, the Mazikeen seeh the heat and danation enveloped hirief for his lost kin, or so catastrophe

They would never reach Palenque, the capital, without co under attack Difficult to accept, but there it was There were siun to formulate his plan, he’d envisioned a s that so many would have been murdered or fled before he could repay his debt to Oliver and discover the identity of their enemy A small army would have been useful But with every mile they traveled into Yucatazca, Frost became more and more convinced that it had been a mistake to set out with half a dozen allies Without the strength of a larger force, he’d have been better off alone, slipping into Palenque as a silent assassin, a cold breeze that slit the throat of Ty’Lis

But there was nothing to be done about it now They were allies, and committed The winter man was determined they would make an attempt at stealth, but he felt certain it would fail The seven of theh the rain forest--they could hardly fail to attract attention

With a lol that seeer padded past Frost On his back, Li turned toward the winter man

"Do you see it?" asked the Guardian of Fire

Ahead, above the canopy, hazed in da heat, thrust the pinnacle of a pyrayptian sort, the structure had a broad, flat top, upon which was built a small square temple Wide stairwells--fifty feet across--led up the outer walls, steps to allow the high priests to cliods

Frost had been so lost in thought that he had not, in fact, noticed Perhaps a dozen large, red-winged birds soared above the pyra lazily It was difficult to see froht be, but if there was a tee, likely there ater Despite the level terrain, Frost suspected a river or at least a streaathered around

"It’s half a day to Palenque fro we can reo around any settlements We’ll move east, keep forest between us and whatever people worship at that teer alerted hilanced at the animal Upon its back, Li narrowed his eyes and the fire that flickered there burned higher as he glanced around, studying the forest Rain hissed into steaan to turn in a circle, slowly, also searching for the source of whatever it was that had unsettled hied protectively closer to Cheval

"What’s this, then?" Grin mumbled low, almost to himself

Frost looked past them all, at Blue Jay The trickster closed his eyes and tilted his head back, listening to the patter of the rain and whatever other sounds were in the forest

"Jay?" Frost said

The trickster shrugged "Not sure So dark"

"What do you say, sorcerer?" Frost asked the Mazikeen

The hooded s in his beard, brow furrowed in thought "No sorcery Whatever comes this way is not familiar to me"

Frost peered into the trees around the in and out of trees with stunning quiet, prowling in search of their watcher The winter er

"Let’s move on We will circle the settlean to h the rain forest The hazy sky see in upon the as it touched Li and the tiger, butwatched They had a Mazikeen a them, and creatures with reht to have been able to sense it

Wings fluttered above hilanced up to see the small bird dart above his head Blue Jay felt safer in that forh dancing Her rain-das upon her shoulders Chorti stayed close to her, h every raindrop posed a threat