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She was re when she had to prepare the special drink Iza taught her to -ur had shown her how to stand in the shadows so she would not be noticed, and told her exactly when to move out of them, which made it seeic of those who dealt with the world of the spirits, but there was ic, too

She had felt so that she couldn’t quite explain or understand It was a hint of that certain strangeness she had occasionally felt ever since she had inadvertently sed the leavings of the -urs’ drink and followed them into the cave Fro drea sensations even when she ake

She shook her head to rid herself of the feeling, then looked up and saw that the others atching her S diffidently, she pulled her hand away fro, then looked toward the wo as she turned to lead the way along the passage

The lights frolinted faintly off damp walls with eerie hints of reflections as theythe corridor There was a tingle of apprehension in the air Ayla was sure they were going into the very heart of the steep lilad to be with other people, sure she would get lost if she were alone She tre, and a sense of what it ht be like to be in a cave alone She tried to shake off the feeling, but the chill in the dark, cool cave was not easy to dispel

Not far beyond the first one there was another mammoth, then more mammoths, then two small horses, painted priain, a line perfectly defining the shape of a horse was engraved in the lihted by a line painted in black Within the line, the horses were painted black, but as with the rest of the paintings, the shading gave the realism

Ayla noticed then that there were paintings on the right wall of the passage as well, so out and some in Mammoths predominated; it see the counting words, Ayla counted at least ten on both sides of the passage, and theredown the dark corridor, looking at the paintings ht to a halt by the arresting scene of two reindeer greeting each other on the left wall She had to see them better

The first reindeer, facing into the cave, was male He was painted in black, with the definitive shape and contours of the anih they were suggested by the arcing shapes rather than precisely painted with all their points His head was lowered, and to Ayla’s wonder and surprise, he was tenderly licking the forehead of a female Unlike the majority of deer, fe as in life, hers were smaller She was painted in red and her knees were bent so she could lower herself to accept his gentle caress

The scene , and it ht of ani in love before, but these seeht her to tears, she was so uides allowed her to spend some time They understood her reaction; they, too, were moved by this exquisite scene

Jondalar was also staring in wonder at the painted reindeer “That’s a new one,” he said “I thought there was a mammoth there”

“There was If you look closely at the female, you can still see so man in the rear explained

“Jonokol made that,” the woman in front said

Both Jondalar and Ayla looked at the artist acolyte with new respect “Now I understand why you are Zelandoni’s acolyte,” Jondalar said “You are extraordinarily gifted”

Jonokol nodded to acknowledge Jondalar’s comment “We all have our Gifts I aifted flint-knapper I look forward to seeing soet someone to make for me, but I can’t quite seem to explain it to any of the tool Dalanar would be co so I could ask him”

“He is planning to coive your idea a try, if you like,” Jondalar said “I enjoy a challenge”

“Perhaps we can talk tomorrow,” Jonokol said