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Hiswas clear; Amy followed The old cat led her toward a s

She opened the door and stepped inside The darkness was total; hoould she find her way? She felt along the wall, searching for a switch There A bank of lights flickered to life At the center of the s a circular staircase Mouser was standing on the top step He turned to look at her, issued one more insistent meow, and descended

The stairs spiraled down At the botto search for a light switch; then she sahere she was A wide tube, leading in only one direction, forward Mouser ell ahead of her, dragging elongated shadows over the walls His urgency was contagious, drawing her deeper into this underground world They cath of pipe lay on the floor beside it A open, revealing a ladder She turned to consult Mouser, who aze with a skeptical look

Not for me, I’m afraid You’re on your o

She descended So awaited her at the botto terrible and sad and full of longing Her feet touched down Another shaft, wider than the first Water trickled along the floor At the far end, she saw a circle of light Now she knehere she was: one of the spillway tubes It was low just as a shadow ure

She knew

Ah the bars: a long, crooked claw, the digits distended, tipped with curving talons As their palh and then around her own She felt no fear, only a spreading lightness Her vision blurred with tears

A

Their hands held fast The feel of his touch had dispersed to every part of her, bathing her in its warmth-a warmth of love, of home It said: Always I will be here I will be the one to keep you safe

My brave girl My brave Areat sob shook her, a flood of pure eht of her life

-What’s happening to me? Why do I feel like I do? Please, tell me

His face made no expression, for there could be none; all that he as in his eyes

All your questions will be answered He is waiting for you, in the ship I will show you the hen the time comes

-When? When will it come?

But Amy knew the answer even as she spoke the words

Soon, said Wolgast Very, very soon

Chapter 29

REFINERY COMPLEX

Freeport, Texas

Michael Fisher, oiler first class-Michael the Clever, Bridger of Worlds-aroused from a deep and dreamless sleep to the sensation, un hi hi, sex-fired sweat Flyers, he thought, hadn’t they just done this? Most of the night, in fact? Hugely, hilariously, in every position allowable to hu berth the approxi," she announced with a grin "I hope you don’t ot started without you"

Well, so be it, Michael thought There were certainly worse ways to face the day From the flush of her cheeks, he could tell that Lore ell on the way, and, coun to rock her hips, the weight of her sex lapping against him like waves on a beach In and out went the waves

"Not so fast, mister"

"For Christ’s sake, keep it down!" a voice barked fro in here"

"You’re !"

This conversation see in so but thin curtains for privacy, you learned to tune things out But the feeling was more than that Even as his senses sailed away into pure physicality, so about sex, its hypnotic rhythms, prompted in hi three steps behind his body, sightseeing its way through a landscape of various concerns and sadnesses and ees that rose before hiasket that needed replacing The delivery schedule of fresh crude down from the depot Meht about Above him, Lore continued on her journey, while Michael drifted in this current of nment with hers It seemed the least he could do

And in the end, he did Lore’s accelerating passion won the day By the tione The clock above the hatch read 0630

"Shit"

Michael swung his feet to the floor and yanked on his jumpsuit Lore, behind him, wrapped her arms around his chest

"Stay I’ll make it worth your while"

"I’ain, Karlovic will chew my ass for breakfast" He stuffed his feet into his boots and swiveled his face to kiss her: a taste of salt, and sex, and so all her own Michael wouldn’t have said it was love between them, exactly Sex was a way to pass the time, but over the months their relationship had evolved, little by little, into soain, weren’t you?"

"Who, me?"

"Don’t lie" Her tone wasn’t bitter,to fk all the worries out of you" She sighed and relaxed her grip "It’s all right Go"

He rose froloves from the post "I’ll see you later?"

She had already lain back down on the cot "That you will"