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So he repeated what had happened to hiht by joining with--no, overriding his past

Cleaving

It was the only way

He rolled back his shoulders, unleashed his tres into the darkness He could feel theht painted the sky a hundred feet above hih to catch the attention of seven squabbling angels

Coasps and the beat of wings coround, flying fast and hard so that he soared over the boulder just as Caspan, but Daniel kept , swooped down upon his past self as fast as his love for Luce could take him

His past self drew back and held out his hands, warding Daniel off

All the angels knew the risks of cleaving Once joined, it was nearly impossible to free oneself from one's past self, to separate two lives that had been cloven together But Daniel knew he'd been cloven in the past and had survived So he had to do it

He was doing it to help Luce

He pressed his wings together and dove down at his past self, striking so hard he should have been crushed--if he hadn't been absorbed He shuddered, and his past self shuddered, and Daniel claritted his teeth to withstand the strange, sharp sickness that flooded his body He felt as if he were tu down a hill: reckless and unstoppable No way back up until he hit the botto came to a stop

Daniel opened his eyes and could hear only his breathing He felt tired but alert The others were staring at him He couldn't be sure whether they had any idea what had just happened They all looked afraid to come near his and spun in a full circle, tilting his head toward the sky I choose els all around him and the ones eren't there To the soul of the one true thing he loved the most, wherever she was I now reaffir And I will until the end

Chapter Fifteen

THE SACRIFICE

CHICHN ITZ, MESOAMERICA 5 WAYEB

The Announcer spat Luce into the swelter of a suround was parched, all cracked earth and tawny, dried-up blades of grass The sky was barren blue, not a single cloud to promise rain Even the wind seemed thirsty

She stood in the center of a flat field bordered on three sides by a strange, high wall Froiant beads They were irregularly shaped, not spherical exactly, ranging in color froht brown Here and there were tiny cracks between the beads, letting in light from the other side

Besides a half dozen vultures cawing as they swooped in listless circles, no one else was around The wind blew hotly through her hair and smelled likeshe couldn't place the smell, but it tasted own she had been wearing since the ball at Versailles was soaked with sweat It stank of smoke and ash and perspiration every tiled to reach the laces and buttons She could use a hand--even a tiny stone one

Where was Bill, anyway? He was always disappearing Soenda of his own, and that she was being shuffled forward according to his schedule

She wrestled with the dress, tearing at the green lace around the collar, popping hooks as she walked Thankfully, there was no one around to see Finally she got down on her knees and shi the skirts over her head

As she sat back on her heels in her thin cotton shift, it hit Luce how exhausted she was How long had it been since she'd slept? She stuh the brittle grass, thinking maybe she could lie down for a little while and close her eyes

Her eyelids fluttered, so sleepy

Then they shot open And her skin began to crawl

Heads

Luce finally realized what the asfro racks of impaled human heads

She stifled a screa carried in the wind--it was the stench of rot and spilled blood, of putrefying flesh

Along the bottom of the palisades were sun-bleached, weathered skulls, whipped white and clean by the wind and the sun Along the top, the skulls looked fresher That is, they were still clearly people's heads--thick manes of black hair, skin mostly intact But the skulls in the middle were someplace betweendried brown blood on bone The faces were stretched tight hat ered away, hoping for a breath of air that didn't stink of rot, but not finding it

It's not quite as gruesome as it looks

She whirled around, terrified But it was only Bill

Where were you? Where are we?

It's actually a great honor to get staked out like this, he said, ht up to the next-to- lowest row He looked one head in the eye All these innocent little laht to Heaven Just what the faithful desire

Why did you leave me here with these--