Lanterns lit tudy, old brass lanterns t burned er Magic in place of oil. Smokeless, silent and eternal, t as tric bulbs of Ancelstierre.

    Books lined too tory above.

    A redable sat in ts legs scaled and beady-eyed, ornamental flames licking from t gripped eacabletop.

    An inkable. C, tery black ion on tif.

    table s. “Dragon desk” , and s even reacable.

    Sabriel ran  and t sensation, t doucked under ogeto o ter of table. t among t predator, possibly asleep, possibly ing to spring. Its binding er marks burned in t  closed. the Dead.

    ting mark after mark, and  even recognize most of ter cer four in t book.

    ty cers in each volume.

    Doubtless t  , but sill felt too tired and so get more doalk to Mogget, tudy for an o bed. Even four or five waking oo mucer he loss of consciousness involved in sleep suddenly seemed very appealing.

    Mogget, as if  top of teps and sauntered over to sprastand.

    “I see you  book,” ail flicking backwards and forwards as he spoke.

    “take care you do not read too much.”

    “I’ve already read it all, anyway,” replied Sabriel, sly.

    “Per. “But it isn’t al is several t one.”

    Sabriel so s s t t  bravado— ter, under ion, but  memory ed pages of tome. If it cs contents as  well—sold  s was necessary.

    “My first step must be to find my fat.”

    “I   stated, y. arted licking his paws.

    Sabriel froic sory teac scen  “tion.

    “Just tell me w saw  his plans were.”

    “ you read ed Mogget, in a momentary break from cleaning himself.

    “?” asked Sabriel, excited. A diary remendously helpful.

    “ook it . “I  seen it.”

    “I t you o ion.”

    “t mumbled, moutomacongue alternating between words and cleansing.

    “A messenger came from Belisaere, begging for  could pass them.

    Abed t to it t, Belisaere being Belisaere. But .”

    “Belisaere. t’s a town?”

    “A city. tal. At least it was, will a kingdom.”

    “as?”

    Mogget stopped s. “ did teac sc been a King or Queen for t for ty. t’s wo a darkness from which no one will rise . . .”

    “ter—” Sabriel began, but Mogget interrupted h a yowl of derision.

    “ter crumbles too,” he mewed.

    “it a ruler, Cer Stones broken one by one  Cers ted—”

    “ do you mean, one of t  Cers?” Sabriel interrupted in turn. S for t time, s saug so quiet about tate of the Old Kingdom.

    But Mogget , as if topped , o be trying to form  noth.

    Finally,  tell you. It’s part of my binding, curse it! Suffice to say t to evil, and many are he slide.”

    “And ot it,” said Sabriel. “Like my father. Like me.”

    “It depends  said, as if ed t someone as patently useless as Sabriel  I care—”

    trapdoor opening above topped t in mid-speech.

    Sabriel tensed, looking up to see arted breat it er sending, its black  flopping over t came do unlike ts—s c and back. It boo Sabriel, and pointed up.

    it it ed o look at sometory. Reluctantly, s over to t rapdoor, carrying  toucal rungs.

    Emerging into tory, till lit by t, red ligting sun, giving an illusion of . S  t s it otally . tiled roof rested on transparent iced toget t, complete  draft t reduced its perfection to a more human level.

    A large telescope of gleaming glass and bronze dominated tory, standing triump on a tripod of dark all  observer’s stool stood next to it, and a lectern, a star c still spilled across it. A toe ing carpet lay under all, a carpet t , colorful constellations and hick, richly dyed wool.

    t to ted out tos pallid, Cer-dra .

    Sabriel looked t eye from t-falling sun. e tops of to te an inner quailing about w she would see.

    As s ill there.

    But  so t, Sabriel sensed it , temporarily just an unpleasant statue, a foreground to otive s bustled about in some activity behind.

    Sabriel stared a little longer, t to telescope, narro,  as srated on w was side.

    Unaided, s been certain   t elescope, drawn so close s schem away.

    to a partner’s leg by an iron c in ting presence of t. t of ts or lengtimber, taking teps to the river.

    ts empty, timber left behind.

    Sabriel depressed telescope a little, and almost groion and anger as sogetimber, and ts. As eac o bridge to stepping-stone and locked in place by slaves   o tone.

    ticular part of tion ed by somet lurked eps. A mans of blackest nigte.

    A necromancer’s S t scorned the use of a body.

    As Sabriel c of four boxes  out to t stepping-stone, spiked in place, and to its t felloening t  into ter, e folloer. terfall as its ers took ter, Sabriel felt t.

    t topped , eit tarily made more afraid of ters. But teps moved tos legs like treacle, pouring doep in turn. It gestured for some of to o tepping-stone. to cluster unhe spray.

    tated t t on to stir and rock fortle, so tion gingerly trod on to tepping-stone, taking no scater.

    “Grave dirt,” commented Mogget, elescope. “Carted up by to enougo cross all tones.”

    “Grave dirt,” commented Sabriel bleakly, cs and more timber. “I ten it could negate ter. I t . . . I t I would be safe ime.”

    “ell, you are,” said Mogget. “It’ll take at least until tomorroe, particularly allo overcast. But t means a leader. Still, every Ab may just be a petty necromancer ter brain for strategy t.”

    “I sle Cloven Crest,” Sabriel  said slo said it elling ts of Kerrigor. Do you kno name?”

    “I kno,” spat Mogget, tail quivering straig be I cannot speak of it, except to say it is one of ter Dead, and your fat terrible enemy. Do not say it lives again!”

    “I don’t kno t, ed, as if in turmoil betance.

    “ you tell me more? the binding?”

    “A . . . a perversion of . . . the g . . . g . . . yes,”

    Mogget croaked out . to gro ion, he could say no more.

    “Coils fully. ttle doubt t some evil po  s, if o go by.

    Selescope again and took some  in t lig time  s a pang of sympato deation, only to be brougted  over terfall  fate. truly, terrible place, o slavery and despair.

    “Is t?” selescope around  degrees to look at tepping-stones going too, and anot tered on too many for Sabriel to fighrough alone.

    “It seems not,” she answered herself grimly.

    “ of defenses, t?”

    “t need to fig. “For t is a ratrictive one. And t, t like it.”

    t to omimed somets arm t looked like  a snake hrough grass.

    “’s t?” asked Sabriel, figo break into erical laughter.

    “t?”

    “t. “tself. It can be invoked to rise almost to t of times your  above tepping-stones. Not, till it subsides, in a matter of weeks.”

    “So  out?” asked Sabriel. “I can’t  weeks!”

    “One of your ancestors built a flying device. A Paper, launc over terfall.”

    “Otle voice.

    “If you do  continued, as if  noticed Sabriel’s sudden silence, “t begin tual immediately. ter and tains are many leagues upstream. If ers noomorrow.”