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Blue Jay leaped into the air, spreading his ar toward Li and the Mazikeen Seconds later, all four of theuard and their Atlantean allies behind, leaving the bloody battle on the steps of Mahacuhta’s palace, leaving Palenque…

Leaving the winter man to his fate

The Sandman’s castle felt hollow, as empty and dead as an ancient ruin The only sound was the whisper of the wind as it blew scattered grains of sand across floors and walls Already, the sand had begun to drift and erode, obscuring edges and wearing at corners

Collette recalled the feeling of the sand falling away at her touch, at the way she had sculpted it and carved a doorith her hands She had thought because of that sheof the e, she must certainly have tapped into that

But noith only whispers there, she felt no connection to the Sand more than to leave it as quickly as possible Whatever had allowed her to carve the sand, to one

Kitsune had led theh that vast entry hall Collette showed the way to the stairs she had used to escape froly endless corridors and staircases of the castle, whose interior seemed far vaster than its exterior would allow They took care to keep to the outer walls, never entering a corridor or room that did not have s

"I hate to just leave hiht," Julianna said Despite her obvious elation at reuniting with Oliver, the shock and grief of witnessing Halliwell’s death was eating at her

"We have no choice," Collette told her, each tiht it up "If it’s at all possible, I swear to you we’ll come back We’ll bury him"

Such reassurances did not erase the haunted cast of her eyes

When they had reached the highest point of the castle, they found the tohere Collette had been a captive She shuddered and hesitated to go any nearer, reht of the panorama visible from that pinnacle Her reaction came not only from its beauty, but froer the trio of snow-cappedjungle of Yucatazca on the other

Oliver came to Collette and held her hand and reluctantly she ith hies of the pit that had been her prison, only darkness visible through the arched s that looked down into that hole The Sandht be dead, but still she did not feel safe here Her pulse raced and she bit her lip There were several stairwells leading down from this tower, but they chose the one directly opposite that which they had ascended

"I don’t care if this gets us where we’re going," Collette whispered to her brother as they went down again "I’ently and kissed her head Flanking her, Julianna reached down and took her hand Oliver fell back to make sure they weren’t followed, and up ahead, the fox-woman led the way, her harshly beautiful features hidden in the hood of her cloak At tiht of her for a few seconds, and each ti left alone and relieved to be away from Kitsune

Their descent proved as uneventful as their clih everytheir vieas of Yucatazcan jungle or the crashing surf The air had the salty tang of the ocean, and even in the night they heard the distant cry of sea birds as they passed the s There had been no physical awareness of this shift between one kingdolanced out athe sense of dislocation rocked her The Sandic and she wondered ould happen to it, now that he had been destroyed Would it collapse or erode, or would it stand open froht use to move from one place to another?

A mystery for another time

When at last Kitsune led theed, except of course for the view fro of the air Collette remembered all too well the hideous appearance of the sand-creatures that had been suers No trace of such things rereat hall

The doors hung open The chill of the one, replaced by a thick, huht but would undoubtedly be unbearable co

"Kit, how far from here to Palenque?" Oliver asked

The fox-woman flinched at the sound of his voice, or perhaps at the familiarity of his tone Collette watched her as she paused and turned to face the troubled her When Kitsune and Oliver had coe and nobility in the fox-woed

"I am not certain," Kitsune replied, as Oliver, Collette, and Julianna caught up to her, the four of the was lost in the darkness "Palenque is a full day’s ride on horseback fro the coast ill ee"

Julianna slipped her hand into Oliver’s "It’s a shah"

Kitsune turned away, jade eyes hidden beneath her hood, but before she did Collette saw the venoaze, a hatred directed at Julianna Only then did she finally understand that the fox-woman had fallen in love with her brother

This is trouble, she thought

But then Oliver was talking and Kitsune had started for the door again, back to the rest of them, and Collette became more concerned with their survival and their journey than with inconvenient matters of the heart

"I knoe could probably all use some rest, but--"

Collette shot hi here, Ollie"

He nodded "I know, Coll I wasn’t going to suggest it But we’re all exhausted, and if we’ve got a long journey ahead of us, we should try to get so under her eyes, but she stretched and smiled and her eyes were alert "I could certainly use so until we’ve put a lot of distance between us and this place"

A ripple of sadness passed across her face and she glanced at the ground They all knew she was thinking about Halliwell

Oliver put his ar anybody could do He was past listening to anyone--"

"He went a little crazy," Collette said quietly, looking around the the one where she had been trapped with the Sandman with the cries of his victims so close by "But it’s hard not to lose your mind a little in this place"

Julianna shook her head "He wasn’t crazy He was just…done There was so etting the answers he wanted, and sorrow over things he’d never been able to say or do with people he loved back hoazed at Oliver, sad and lost "He thought you could help hiet home"

Kitsune had reached the doors and she stood silhouetted in the ht She turned toward thereen eyes peering at theh the Veil There is no way home for you"

Cold Harsh But as callous as Kitsune’s words seeed Julianna close