“te,” said toucone. “e be able to move him.”
“Yes. I kno t of o tones. “I to go into Deatc back.”
“!” exclaimed toucone. ter, as the echoes rang, “here?”
“If our oection . . .”
Sabriel continued, t danger at bay.”
“Most danger,” toucone said grimly, looking around, trying to peer past tigtle globe of light.
“It rap us it, so close to tones. I kno I couldn’t do it alone, at t.”
“e so combine our strengths.
t keep ch, we should manage.”
“ do you t?” asked toucone, turning ttle animal on his shoulder.
“I roubles,” grumbled Mogget.
“And I trap. But since o be done.”
“I don’t like it,” woucone.
Just standing to tones took most of rengto enter Deatempting fate. migal made by tones? For t matter, ansion, studying ter. toucone folloantly, forcing o move in s steps, minimizing the splash and ripple of his wake.
Sabriel snuffed out it t, t her open palm.
“Put your s did not invite conversation or argument. toucone ated—
boter. Instinctively, tle tigo give h.
“Mogget—keep cructed.
So visualize t mark, t of the four cardinal wards.
toucone took a quick look around, too, draion.
Pain s to Sabriel’s. to focus. t spread up above ing tic pains. But o just one tion of a diamond of protection.
Finally, t mark floook root in the reservoir floor.
it opening to face t mark.
till, and boting and s finally began its gloence. Sabriel’s and feverisoucone’s flesed violently beting and serrible rengtchen recovered.
t mark rial of endurance.
Sabriel lost concentration for a moment, so toucone o making unpleasant otally out of control. t mark floer.
Desperation gave truggled for ill it almost squirmed from t. But at t moment, Sabriel spent all to free oucone pus of two and sorrow.
tly doo brilliance, brilliance dulled by ter. Lines of Cer-fire ran from it to t mark, from East mark to Souto est mark and back again. te.
Immediately, t a lessening of terrible presence of tones. tcurned to toucone’s legs and feet. Mogget stirred and stretc significant movement aking up position around toucone’s neck.
“A good casting,” Sabriel said quietly, looking at through eyes half-lidded in weariness.
“Better t one I cast.”
“I don’t knotered toucone, staring do terfire.
ill or under a raig he fanged end of a snake.
S artled, and aring at tion of for t time, lines of care, and ttle sad around till shere were yellowing bruises on her cheekbones.
Siful and toucone realized t of erms of as a all . . .
“I’d better be going,” said Sabriel, suddenly embarrassed by toucone’s stare. to traps t h.
“Let me oucone. ood close, fumbling iff leat spent on tection, he bells.
Sabriel looked doempted to kiss t center, a tiny part marking ter s.
trap came undone, and toucone stepped back. Sabriel dreilling the bell.
“It probably be a long for you,” sime moves strangely in Deat back in too, so you and Mogget should leave . . .”
“I’ll be ing,” replied toucone firmly.
“ time it is down here anyway?”
“And I’ll , it seems,” added Mogget.
“Unless I to s of . May ter be h you, Sabriel.”
“And ill couldn’t sense any of t t . . .
“e’ll need it to be replied sourly. “One her.”
“I ,” turned to face tarted to raise ions to enter Death.
Suddenly, toucone slos almost t rathan her cheek.
“For luck,” toucone said nervously.
“Sabriel.”
So t tionless form. A second later, ice crystals began to crack out of ran in lines dohe sword and bell.
toucone cill it greoo cold, treated to tice of turned outed to er-fire as if rolling ttlements of a castle.
Mogget coo, from ernal luminescence.
Boten turned to gaze at Sabriel.
to Deatoo easy—by tones.
Sabriel felt tes, proclaiming easy entry to Life for any Dead nearby. Fortunately, t of tones—tug of the river.
Sabriel started forely, carefully scanning t t in ters. But notoacked, save tant t.
So t Gate, ing just beyond t t stretc as far as so eit mist, turbulent rapids going to t, and on to te.
Remembering pages from t seetongue h raw power.
t parted, revealing a series of erfalls t appeared to drop into an unending blackness. Sabriel spoke some more ured to t and left h her sword.
A pating terfall like a finger drater. Sabriel stepped out onto it, and ers cras closed up and, as ed to make step, th disappeared.
t . t current. t oo.
Not total darkness promised at terfalls, but t quality in its greyness. A blurring effect, t made it difficult to see furtouch.
Sabriel continued carefully, using o probe tted by many necromancers and not a ferust o tread confidently a speed.
Al. test trace of it to Life. So go on.
te ially an enormous least t , and ligo o its rim. Sabriel icularly careful e—so sense ts tug against an early age. Sopped ried to focus on tly raging whirlpool.
A faint squelcurn, s full arm-stretc circle of Cer-spelled steel. It struck Dead spirit-fles jumped back, at t scream, but se oo close.
t stepped back, its ly severed neck. It to begin trailed dos knees, into ts all, possessed a mouteet s eyepits, a ceristic of te.
It snarled and brougs long, ske of ter to try and straigs tempting to rest it back atop the cleanly hewn neck.
Sabriel struck again, and to t, te across ter. t o te.
tood arted to cautiously step sides remaining of it.
Sabriel c cautiously, debating o bind it to o send it on its o final deat using t everytes at least—and s t.
took anotep, and fell sideo a deep scrabbled ter, but couldn’t pull itself up and out. It only succeeded in getting across into t, into te.
Once again, Sabriel recited o of ering range in this place of leeching cold.
iters of te sloilled. tex separated out into a long spiral path, winding downwards.
Sabriel, c rode out to tarted doo swirl again.
t to Sabriel it seemed only a matter of minutes before s into t.
tricksome place. ter ter too—still grey, but you could see fart. Even tous current of a tickle around t.
But t time, Sabriel broke into a run, sprinting as fast as soe, just visible in tance. It Gate—a erfall concealed in a .
Be announced t gave Sabriel didn’t spare t. Notand t. You simply ran as fast as possible, o reac gate—whichever way you were going.
ts er sound. Sabriel didn’t look, but only ran faster. Looking over ion of a second, and t migo reace, stunned flotsam for t beyond . . .
toucone stared out past tice, listening. ant dripping.
Somettempting to be surreptitious. too, from tensing of cat paws on his shoulder.
“Can you see anyt into till blocking t from ts, t tervals of sunlig, in any case, too far ao benefit from a sudden return of sun.
“Yes,” of tair.
the reservoir walls.”
toucone looked at Sabriel, no, like a ering statue. like shaking her shoulder, screaming for help . . .
“ kind of Dead are t kno t S of ty, and Mordicants, like t of them all.
Except for w Rogir . . .
“tered Mogget. “All ty putrescent ones, too. t just walking.”
toucone stared again, trying by so see—but till er. too still for as a foolision. Any suced s.
“ are tilting t. o eady, but ttle flame flickered, clear evidence of tiny s ran down his arm.
“Just lining up along the walls, in ranks,”
Mogget like an honor guard . . .”
“Cer preserve us,” toucone croaked, in of absolute dread and terrible foreboding. “Rogir . . . Kerrigor.
be here . . . and he’s coming . . .”