t on a juryrigged platform of freseetering out over tern ered around t, readying it for flight.

    Sabriel looked up at it as sairs, an unpleasant feeling rising ing someto t t o be common in Ancelstierre, like t ics at t yverley College Open Day.

    Somethan a mechanical one.

    But t look anytierran airplane. It most closely resembled a canoe ail. On closer inspection, Sabriel sa tral fuselage  apered at eacral .

    ings sprouted on eac-back  looked very flimsy. tail didn’t look mucter.

    Sabriel climbed t feeps ations. truction material ’s name—ts of paper, bonded toget of laminate.

    Painted poripes along tail, it looked pretty, decorative and not at all airhy.

    Only ted on its pointed pro its capacity for flight.

    Sabriel looked at t at terfall beyond. Noers, it looked even more frigens of yards above its lip—a roaring mist to fly t reac even kno erproof.

    “en ellectually, sed t sting in t, to be launc toers—but omaco stay firmly on the ground.

    “Many times,” replied Mogget, easily jumping from tform to t. , till -face propped on t once fle to ternoon. But s c suppose—”

    “No,” said Sabriel, made aion. S  t was all.

    “No. I can’t.”

    “ell,” continued Mogget, after a tful pause, “tary co ride to le, I trust?”

    Sabriel ignored o be musical, o be able to o o sing.

    If t in Deat bells, or otruments, t recourse.

    A sending came and took o le it off, to at t. Anotook Sabriel’s arm and directed o o be a leatrung across t—obviously t’s seat. It didn’t look terribly safe eit Sabriel forced o climb in, after giving o t another sending.

    Surprisingly,  didn’t go ted floor. terial even felt reassuringly solid and, after a minute of squirming, sment, t able. So a receptacle at  took up a position on top of traps  be made  lying down.

    From  belo rim. It glittered in te afternoon sun, and s it resonate er Magic.

    Somet it prompted o breat,  breat stayed misted for a moment, ter mark slohe clouded mirror.

    Sabriel studied it carefully, absorbing its purpose and effect. It told  o raise ting o call the compass rose.

    t t er Magic, infused  o create somet .

    time passed, and t mark faded. to be only a plate of silver glass s, silent, fixing ter marks in  t  of truction. Peroo o create suching.

    “this,” Sabriel asked.

    “ion to me?”

    “A cousin,” purred Mogget, close to her ear.

    “Your great-great-great-great-grandmother’s cousin.

    t of t line. She had no children.”

    Maybe t, running er marks quiescent in t a lot better about t.

    “e’d best  continued. “It oo soon. Do you he marks remembered?”

    “Yes,” replied Sabriel firmly. Surned to till it ime for it to be unleasimes task, and for how many Abhorsens.

    “to them. “For all your care and kindness. Goodbye.”

    it last led back in t, gripped t led tes of ting e string of Cer marks in ting to  and lips, and out into the air.

    le sounded clear and true, and a c, groronger as Sabriel exo a merry, joyous trill. Like a bird revelling in fliger marks flo into tself. itling, t seemed to come alive, dancing dorous plumage.

    t so begin.

    trill ended e, and a Cer mark t she sun.

    It danced to to te. A second later, to the sky ahead.

    truggling noo ing ronger still, plucking at ting it for tension, tained pos ion of t last moment when freedom is assured.

    “Let go!” so t and up  into the broad valley beyond.

    It , and cold, a t or more  above t, test er marks shem properly pigeonholed.

    S free, and some fe, washe following wind.

    “turn more to t’s voice suddenly said beurbing he map?”

    “Yes,” replied Sabriel. “Sterlin, it’s called, isn’t it? It runs nornor- east most of time.”

    Mogget didn’t reply at once, to be t? e may as  to t branco a delta to camp on tonight.”

    “ just fly on?” asked Sabriel cheerily.

    “e could be in Belisaere by tomorro winds.”

    “t like to fly at night,”

    Mogget said, sly. “Not to mention t you   certainly lose control of tronger  is muc t seems at first. And too conspicuous, anyway. have you no common sense, Abhorsen?”

    “Call me Sabriel,” Sabriel replied, equally sly. “My father is Abhorsen.”

    “As you . tress” sounded extremely sarcastic.

    t  silence, but Sabriel, for , soon lost y of flig all, to see tiny patcs belorip of tiny building. Everyt, seen from afar.

    to sink, and ts fading ligive even prettier, Sabriel felt to descend, felt t t same desire and began to look as well.

    to treams and rivulets t terlin delta, and far off,  Sabriel could see ta, some as large as football fields covered rees and swo armspans of mud.

    Sabriel picked out one of ttisled dohe wind.

    It faded gradually le and to descend, occasionally nudged t by Sabriel’s control of ts oilt of a s yello, being Mogget, looked behem and above.

    Even so,  see til t of t long enougo turn and see t-moving sinctively, ser marks in ling turning to th.

    “Gore croo pursue  their suddenly enlivened prey.

    “Yes,” sed Sabriel, t sure ion rying to gauge  or not. Sesting trol, as Mogget o   results. But sure of Deat gave life to tten, skeletal forms.

    Gore cro last very long in sun and  . A necromancer rapped quite ordinary croual and ceremony, before infusing ted spirit of a single dead man or ruly carrion birds, birds guided by a single, if stupid, intelligence.

    they flew by force of Free Magic, and killed by force of numbers.

    Despite ill closing rapidly. t tripping featrid flesheir spellwoven bones.

    For a moment, Sabriel considered turning to ter of t murder of cro too many gore croo figicularly from an aircraft speeding along several  above t al fall—if t kill he way down.

    “I’ll o summon a greater ,  formation—tstretco snatctle of te bone s lighe sun.

    But till glossily black and gleaming ss of ted Dead spirit in ty sockets of their eyes.

    Mogget didn’t reply. Possibly,  even  feo attack, a strange, heir flesh.

    For a second of panic, Sabriel felt o purse, t tle came, sloic. ter marks felt clumsy and difficult in rying to pus on badly made rollers—t effort, to led notes.

    Unlike ening violence, picking up ting it for ing up a slender boat. Suddenly, t t Sabriel could barely make out ta merged into one continuous blur of motion.

    Eyes closed to protective slits, sriking ion lost, like small black stains against t.

    trying to come back toget tch up.

    Sabriel let out a sig it ies. t a fearful pace, and it arting to veer nort  supposed to do. Sabriel could see t stars tely turning tohe Buckle.

    It  to call up ter marks again, and o ease turn it back to t, but Sabriel managed to cast it. But to ronger, and sed more, till traigoly north.

    Sabriel, , eyes and nose streaming and face frozen, tried again, using all o force ter marks into to le sounded feeble, and ter marks once again vaniso ally lost control.

    In fact, it  as if te effect, for tc spiral, like a ball ts, eacaller t. Sabriel greo salvage enougo keep ried to calm t couldn’t gain to er marks slipped from ill all sely o traps in t as tried its best to ride torm.

    t s up just dropped, and   traps suddenly tig almost clas to stay connected . Jolted by t, Sabriel felt ion burn ao ing  it too s . It fell, nose tilting furtill t vertically, like a o the ground below.

    It ried to put some of rengto t to le  effect, save for a golden sparkle t briefly illuminated e, ely set, and too mucs o in a fees, never to return to t of Life.

    “Loose my collar,” me Sabriel’s ear, folloion of Mogget digging o o her lap. “Loose my collar!”

    Sabriel looked at  t t stupid, starved of oxygen, unable to decide. t of an ancient binding, a terrible guardian of tremendous po o contain an inexpressible evil, or uncontrollable force.

    “trust me!” . “Loose my collar, and remember the ring!”

    Sabriel s, but it  just to  s to all the collar so long ago.

    Surprisingly for suc spell, s little more t was open, and suddenly  heavy, like a lead rope, or a ball and chain.

    Sabriel almost dropped it, but it became ligantial. o exist.

    Mogget sat still, on o gloernal ligill  t gre-s, just a soo brigo look at. It seemed to ate for a moment and Sabriel felt its attention flicker beto almost formed back into t-s into four ss of brilliant , and to slide into the wings.

    te brilliance, and it abruptly stopped its . Sabriel ly for   t  to keep ill.

    Despite t, till falling. Sabriel, o fill treetops suddenly appeared belorange lig clipping tin roof.

    t yards above  still too fast to land  total destruction.

    Mogget, or  s t added bruises on top of bruises.

    For t time, Sabriel felt t t and to skid a little in t grass of the field.

    Mogget braked, and Sabriel cly lay its belly on to w s landing.

    But ted to reveal tly in th.

    too loo rise, and nooo sloo glide over a  least fifty yards across, totom of t below.