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Daniel gnashed his teeth The Scale must have known he had no respect for them or their meddlesoh-flown e the fallen to one side: He still had to honor their requests So seemed odd about this one, but who other than a member of the Scale could have found a way into his Announcer?
I'el nodded, as if he already knew this You search for Lucinda?
Yes, Daniel blurted out I--I don't need help
You do The angel nodded You missed your exit--he pointed down, toward the place in the vertical tunnel where Daniel had just coel sed teeth We wait and watch We see who travels by Announcer and where they go
I didn't know that policing the Announcers fell under the Scale's jurisdiction
There isthrough She'll be well on her way by now You o after her
Daniel stiffened The Scale were the only angels granted vision between Announcers It was possible a Scale member would have seen Luce's travels
Why would you want to help el frowned Lucinda is a part of your destiny We want you to find her We want you to be true to your nature--
And then to side with Heaven, Daniel snarled
One step at a tis to his sides and pluh the tunnel If you want to catch her, his deep voice rumbled, I'm here to show you the way I knohere the connection points are I can open up a portal between the tissue of past tis attached
Daniel was lost The Scale had been a nuisance to him ever since the War in Heaven, but at least their motives were transparent They wanted hiuessed it would behoove theel was right One step at a time All he cared about was Luce
He tucked his wings in at his sides as the angel had done and felt his body el, he stopped
The angel pointed Lucinda stepped through there
The shadoas narrow and perpendicular to the path Daniel had been on It didn't look anythan where Daniel had been headed before
If this works, he said, I'll owe you If not, I'll hunt you down
The angel said nothing
So Daniel leaped before he looked, feeling a wind lick wetly at his wings, a current picking up again and speeding hi--sohter
Chapter Nineteen
THE MORTAL COIL
MEMPHIS, EGYPT PERET--THE SEASON OF SOWING
"You there, a voice bellowed as Luce crossed the threshold of the Announcer I should like s No--h into a vast white roo up a lofty ceiling A faint scent of roasting meat was in the air
The room was empty except for a tall platform at the far end, which had been dressed with antelope hide Atop it sat a colossal throne, carved froreen pillows, and adorned along the back with a decorative crest of interlocking ivory tusks
The man on the throne--with his kohl-riold-capped teeth, bejeweled fingers, and tower of ebony hair--was talking to her He had turned away fro a papyrus-reed script, and now both men stared at Luce
She cleared her throat
"Yes, Pharaoh," Bill hissed into her ear Just say Yes, Pharaoh
Yes, Pharaoh! Luce shouted across the endless chamber
Good, Bill said Now scrah a shadowed doorway, Luce found herself in an interior courtyard surrounding a still pond The air was cool, but the sun was fierce, scorching the rows of potted lotus flowers that lined the ay The courtyard was huge, but, eerily, Luce and Bill had the whole thing to thee about this place, isn't there? Luce stayed close to the walls The pharaoh didn't even see me step out of nowhere
He's too i people He saw movement in his peripheral vision and deduced that someone was there for him to boss around That's all It explains why he also didn't seearb fro his stone fingers He pointed to a shadowed niche in the corner of the courtyard Hang tight right there and I'll be back with so a little more ? la mode for you to wear
Before Luce could strip off the Shang king's cuyptian shift dress He helped tug off her leather gear and slipped the dress over her head It draped over one shoulder, tied around the waist, and tapered into a narrow skirt ending a few inches above her ankles
Forgetting anything? Bill said with a strange intensity
Oh Luce reached back into the Shang armor for the dull-tipped starshot tucked inside When she pulled it out, it felt so much heavier than she knew it really was