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Luce turned to Bill Where are we? This place seen as the world of the Mayans, and just as far back in tied and opened his mouth to speak, but then--

Shhh, Luce whispered

Sniffling

So soft, hushed tears Luce turned toward the noise There, through an archway on the far side of the rooain

Lucethe stone floor in her bare feet The sobbing echoed, beckoning her A narroay opened up into another cavernous chas, dilow of a dozen se stone basin, and a small lacquered table stocked with black pottery vials of aroave the whole rooantic carved jade wardrobe stood in the corner of the rooons etched into its face sneered at Luce, as if they knew everything she didn't

And in the center of the chamber, a dead man lay sprawled on the floor

Before Luce could see anythingtoward her It was the salow she'd sensed from the other side of the Announcer

What is that light? she asked Bill

Thater, you see that? Bill sounded surprised That's your soul Yet another way for you to recognize your past lives when they appear physically different from you He paused You've never noticed it before?

This is the first tin You're ress

Luce felt heavy and exhausted all of a sudden I thought it was going to be Daniel

Bill cleared his throat like he was going to say sohtly for another heartbeat, then snapped out so suddenly she couldn't see for a mo here? a voice asked roughly

Where the light had been, in the center of the roo and too elegant to be standing over a deadto her waist, contrasting with her floor-length white silk robe Dainty as she was, she seeht

So, that's you, Bill's voice said in Luce's ear Your name is Lu Xin and you lived outside the capital city of Yin We're at the close of the Shang dynasty, so like a thousand BCE, in case you want to make a note for your scrapbook

Luce probably seeed animal hide and a necklacehad it been since she'd looked in a oyle

But then again, Lu Xin was standing vigil over a dead guy, giving Luce don't-mess-with-me eyes, so she seemed a little crazy herself

Oh boy Luce hadn't noticed the jade knife with the turquoise-studded handle, or the small pond of blood in the middle of the marble floor

What do I-- she started to ask Bill

You Lu Xin's voice was surprisingly strong Help me hide his body

The dead man's hair hite around his temples; he looked about sixty years old, lean and muscular underneath many elaborate robes and embroidered cloaks

I--um, I don't really think--

As soon as they learn the king is dead, you and I will be dead, too

What? Luce asked Me?

You, me, most of the people inside these walls Where else will they find the thousand sacrificial bodies that irl wiped her cheeks dry with slender, jade-ringed fingers Will you help irl's request, Luce 's feet Lu Xin readied herself to lift hi out the old Shang words as if she'd spoken them forever Was he--

It is not as it appears Lu Xin grunted under the weight of the body The king was heavier than he looked I did not kill him At least not--she paused--physically He was dead when I walked into the room She sniffed He stabbed himself in the heart I used to say he did not have one, but he has proven

Luce looked at the man's face One of his eyes was open His ony Was he your father?

By then they'd reached the huge jade wardrobe Lu Xin wedged its door open with her hip, took a step backward, and dropped her half of the body inside

He was to be my husband, she said coldly And a horrible one at that The ancestors approved of ourto be grateful for, if one enjoys ro's feet slowly to the floor of the wardrobe What part of the plains do you co's betrothal had not reached you? Lu Xin had noticed Luce's Mayan clothing She picked at the hem of the short brown skirt Did they hire you to perfor? Are you some sort of dancer? A clown?

Not exactly Luce felt her cheeks flush as she tugged the skirt lower on her hips Look, we can't just leave his body here Soht? And there's blood everywhere

Lu Xin reached into the dragon wardrobe and pulled out a crie strip of fabric froarment, with small black blossoms embroidered around the neckline But Lu Xin didn't think twice about using it to mop up the blood on the floor She snatched a second, blue robe and tossed it to Luce to help with the

Okay, Luce said, well, there's still that knife She pointed at the glea's blood

In a flash, Lu Xin slipped the knife inside a fold of her robe She looked up at Luce, as if to say Anything else?

What's that over there? Luce pointed to what looked like the top of a s's hand when they moved his body

Lu Xin was on her knees She tossed down the sopping bloodstained rag and cupped the shell between her hands The oracle bone, she said softly More i

What is it?

This holds answers from the Deity Above