Cer Magic on Cloven Crest.

    It  on to t lurked in to t of ter Stone.

    It  least, in t he sun.

    t y  in turies t in ters of Deats o t, demonstrating an incredible o live again. A  didn’t kno possessed before a badly cast ing spear bounced from a rock and clipped its t, just enoug fees of frantic life.

    By s of  self on te for t preyed on lesser spirits, and served or avoided greater ones. Alo life. Its cy spirit erupted from beyond te, smases in turn, till it  ravening into Life. icular spirit errible confusion and a mig t, in t o sneak around triumply into Life.

    ty of recently vacated bodies ed it and ran aer, it found t no even decided to give itself a name. t too difficult for a partially decomposed mouto voice. A male name. t remember s original sex uries before, but its new body was male.

    It o instill fear in ttlements t still existed in ttlements turing and consuming to keep h.

    Cer Magic flared on Cloven Crest again, and t it rong and pure— but . trengt t rong magic meant a strong life. t life, needed it to s to replenis back into Deat tarted climbing tting eyes fixed on tant crest.

    Sabriel saall, pale liging over ter toopped several yards astretched in welcome.

    “Sabriel.”

    to come from mucood, but Sabriel smiled as s ting. Ab t Sabriel t s menstruated.

    tion at yverley College—none at all till you een. tories about menstruation en meant to scare. None of Sabriel’s friends y before ion sered Deatold  t summoned ion and ect   ansill Sabriel o return to Life.

    “he bell.

    t ans t  unexpected. Apart from ing, sions.

    Sabriel  really sure if tation  of ective magic left by her.

    “I don’t ime,” Sabriel continued.

    “I’d love to ask about . . . o at t, I need to kno to Fat . . . I mean Barhedrin Ridge.”

    tened, sures in  taken herself.

    “Go to t begins till it reac t be any cloud. Look to t red star, Uallus, near t of north.

    Follo star till you come to a road t runs from sout to nort. take t road for a mile to t, till you reacer Stone be. A patone leads to tely nortake t ends in a door in to Mosrael. Beyond tunnel, sloping sharply upwards.

    Beyond tunnel lies Ab tarry, do not stop, no matter w happens.”

    “ts.

    “Could you also . . .”

    Sopped as t of ed, “Go!”

    At time, Sabriel felt tection around antly, surned on  o t almost seemed to strengt hen fell away before her urgency.

    Sabriel reac of o Life.

    For a second, sed, suddenly freezing again and tted. A grinning, corpse-like creature  stepping ts arms reaco embrace ing out of a mouturally wide.

    to find ter Mage’s spirit ection. ttle, but it ed over and  see ter marks t danced beneat  a sno very fortunate, particularly as t blazed ill victim icularly young and strong. till and ed arms reaco embrace Sabriel’s neck.

    Just as ed fingers stretced top-t t ing Arts and, later, lost . raigo tent and t ripped to eight inches of air beyond.

    to puso scream again as Cer marks flared on te- sparks plumed between  ered.

    “Abed th one explosive jerk.

    Already, ting ted, Cer Magic burning ted nerves, freezing too- fluid joints. Fire rose in t, but o distract terrible opponent ried to ss skin, and retreat into t.

    “Abhings, alive and dead . . .

    I will o you . . .”

    t the shriek of seagulls.

    ted on and on, eco t, and t it bind  leaked out of t. to paralyzed fleso the bell-ringer.

    Fury seetruggle, but t.

    Sabriel c of t, t ill trying to use t   success. S into Deat  ter Stone loomed nearby and s it as an everpresent fear, like a cold jewel upon .

    In  tarry, do not stop, no matter w happens.”

    Sabriel t -first into t Saranet and o pure, unadulterated fear. After all turies of struggle, rue deat last.

    Sabriel took up a careful stance, o tc srolled it, s back of odd figure eig to eac ttle marcune, a dancing song, a parade.

    t forces grip him.

    Strange, inexorable po made urn to Deat patically, ruggled against t break free.  e, to fall at last truggle and used t of rengto form a semblance of a moutuff, a moutongue of darkness.

    “Curse you!” ell ts of Kerrigor! I will be revenged . . .”

    esque, gulping voice  free will.

    Saranet Kibeting shere was only snow under a long-dead corpse.

    Even t roubled Sabriel. t exactly familiar, toucedly belonged to one of ter Dead. tone did, as if tangible symbols of a ened.

    Sabriel coughe bandolier.

    o self clean, but surning it to t very tired as s t in  s move on immediately. ’s  ecold oo tone.

    too mucoo mucer Magic on t  to reacs blackest. ty over sky. Soon, tars e.

    Quickly, Sabriel scanned t stars t marked t’s Belt. S to car map in cinking as it cast a yello dare use any more Cer Magic till sone. t sly: ts ot. In Ancelstierre, ten degrees  of north.

    Norted, Sabriel started to make o t side of t, looking for t slanted doo t in darkness beloed to reac disappeared. At least teps to ts gentle slope proclaimed a long descent to the valley.

    In fact, it took several umbling and ser flame dancing a little  of oo insubstantial to really ease  er, and s aken for marsion. In any case, it ial he sky.

    So muc, as soar, Uallus. eettering and  be stilled, and a s arted  ing itself t keep moving, sood—particularly as the wind was rising once more . . .

    Sabriel laugly, almost erically, and turned o feel t erly, gaining strengte.

    Colder, yes, but it also cleared t to t—and t cleared broom-stroke of tared at it, took stock of ttle sarted off again, folloar, a  in the back of her mind.

    Do not tarry, do not stop, no matter w happens.

    ted as Sabriel found tter, sime.

    By time Sabriel found ter Stone be, no trace of t aking to ion of ire body. s oo, despite tton fat so t, face and ed. Sifully eaten a little every  no open her frozen jaws.

    For a s time, at tact Cer Stone t rose proudly beer-spell for . But soo tired to maintain it  tance of tone, and ted almost as soon as s’s  , and tion t she was being followed.

    It e, Sabriel   imagination.

    But s in any state to face up to anyt mig be imagined, so so go on.

    Do not tarry, do not stop, no matter w happens.

    ter Stone ter made t climbed Cloven Crest, but steeper. to cut t erode like granite, and t eps, carved ricate patterns.

    somet kno Cer marks, or symbols of any language t soo tired to speculate. Srated on one step at a time, using o puso avoid the flying snow.

    teeper still and Sabriel could see tical mass, a muco t by t s seem to get any closer as tco and fro, rising furthe valley below.

    turned again and tle  reflected back from a  stretco eith had ended.

    Almost sobbing o ttle ligo disclose grey, lic even  lig  jagged, impervious rock, going up and out of iny circle of illumination. to go.

    earily, Sabriel knelt in a patcogetrying to restore circulation, before drailled it carefully and concentrated  mig be  once again Sabriel felt sometried to judge ant t from s.

    ever it mig oo far ao ood up, and rang the bell.

    It made a sound like tens of parrots screec burst into tself into tiplying into thousand birds.

    Sabriel stilled t once and put it a t it fix its attention on  quicken its pace, like co a gallop. It eps at least four or five at a time. S t in  equal pace, but sill  to th and looked down, drawing her sword as she did so.

    ts of snoo step; impossible leaps, t ate up tance betite. It er rod. Sabriel cried out as s, and felt t o fearful pages in ions of evil poured into   t ed  could pass at s body of bog-clay and  placed inside as its guiding force.

    Sabriel  once, but t y miles from tierre, and it had been weak, already fading.

    trong, fiery, ne urned to one side, t running from a dog, but t  t its pointed  ran, a  s of someone falling to the squeal of fingernails on glass.

    Sabriel, a scream someuck and c, turned to t he pommel of her sword.

    “Open! Open!” ser marks raced t not t ones for forcing a door, a spell s like simes tables, but ter marks just  come, and imes ticking in ed Cer marks . . .

    t silence, truck on somet t  been tall and strangely narros dark oak lined er marks dancing tly at , touched Sabriel’s hip.

    Sabriel dropped hing happened.

    Sabriel tugged again, urning to look over  cringing at w she would see.

    t turned t corner and its eyes met  to bear tred and bloodlust glos gaze like a poker left too long in t  floeps, flames dripping from its mout.

    Sabriel, eyes still closed, pushe ring.

    to tely, sed side, s of c in.

    As t reac, and ting itself side-  o pass tal, t an arm inside. Flames boiled from its grey-green fles, and small plumes of black smoke spiraled from tench like burning hair.

    Sabriel, spraare in terror as taloned  for her.