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Daniel was lying very still, his eyes fixed on thestopped

Luce propped herself up on her elbows, noticed Dee across frohtly, her red hair loose and s; the strange creatures stood alert, huddled at the back of the sht, Annabelle and Arriane were asleep, or at least resting, their silver wings entwined uninhibitedly, like sisters

The cave was cal She was still tired

When she rolled over, nestling her back into Daniel’s chest so that he was cradling her with his right wing, her eyelids fluttered shut Then they flew open

She was face to face with Cam

He was inches away, on his side, head propped on his hand, green eyes holding hers as if they were both in a trance He opened his --

BOOM

The room trembled like a leaf For an instant, the air seee transparency Cam’s body shimmered, both there and so to flicker

"Tireed

Luce sprang upright, gaping at her own body in the sleeping bag, at Daniel’s hand on her knee, at Arriane, whose muffled voice called out, "I’wuzzntslapped her awake All of the before each other’s eyes Solidly present one hosts the next

The timequake had jarred loose a dimension in which they weren’t even there

The cave around them shuddered Sand sifted down from the walls But unlike those of Luce and her friends, the physical properties of the red rock remained fixed, as if to prove that only people--souls--were at risk of being erased

"The Qayoain"

Luce watched, queasy, as the Outcast’s pale wings flickered when he scrambled wildly toward the mouth of the cave

"This is a seismic shift in reality, Phillip, not an earthquake," Dee called, stopping Phil Her voice sounded like so her volume up and down "I appreciate your concern, but we’ll just have to ride this one out"

And then there was one last great boo which Luce couldn’t see any of theain There was a sudden hush around everything, so absolute that Luce heard her heart pounding in her chest

"There, now," Dee said "The worst of it is over"

"Is everyone okay?" Daniel asked

"Yes, dear, we’re fine," Dee said "Though that wasbehind her "At least it was one of the last seislances, the others followed her outside

"What do you mean?" Luce asked "Is Lucifer that close already?" Her brain scrambled to count sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset They blurred together, one long streas across the sky

It had beenwhen Luce fell asleep

They stopped in front of the Qayoels in the sculpture Roland and Cam soared into the sky and hovered about fifty feet in the air They gazed across the horizon, dipped close together to speak quietly Their enorly low on the horizon

"It is now the evening of the sixth day since Lucifer began his solitary Fall," Dee said softly

"We slept all day?" Luce asked, horrified "We wasted soasted," Dee said "I have a very big night tonight Colad you had your rest"

"Let’s get it on before another shift hits, before we have to fight off any Scale," Caain Their wings jostled lightly froht We don’t have any time to waste" Daniel produced the black satchel, which contained the halo Luce had stolen fro over the duffel bag, which bulged at the center, where he’d zipped the round cup of the Silver Pennon He placed both bags, unzipped, before Dee, so that all three artifacts sat in a row

Dee didn’t move