Sabriel ed Belisaere to be a ruined city, devoid of life, but it  so. By time ts toruly impressive  ringed ty stood, ts, of a size ed as ting elling of  be in Belisaere. “Good sun and s er”  typical greeting in toucone’s time.

    ty’s main . A o a vast pool, easily as big as ty or ty playing fields.  most ed. to tted bey imony to long abandonment.

    Only tern dock looked lively. trading vessels of bygone days, but many small coastal craft, loading and unloading. Derricks s; longss. No opped boottle more tly decorated frameing a patcables for tools for tomers. to be no sage of customers in general, Sabriel noted, as toucone steered for a vacant bert as if time ed.

    toucone let t go slack, and broug into t in time for to lose  an oblique angle into t lined t before s to a bollard, a street urc for her.

    “Penny for t,” he crowd.

    “Penny for t, lady?”

    Sabriel smiled, , and flicked a silver penny at t it, grinned and disappeared into tream of people moving along t precisely  furty. Belisaere  upon four lo tell, only t kno least ty’s area, ed hem.

    t of ty, on truly be said to be infested ten y could be. Even in Ancelstierre, sed anytoen t a big city by Ancelstierran standards, and it didn’t e cars t ly adding to Ancelstierran  noise for t ten years, but Belisaere made up for it ing, selling, buying, singing . . .

    “as it like ted at toucone, as to them.

    “Not really,” ansoucone. “t a market. It er, too, and people were in less of a rush.”

    tood on tcream of y and goods, umult, and smelling all ty replacing the sea breeze.

    Cooking food, ing w could only be sewage . . .

    “It  cleaner,” added toucone.

    “Look, I t find an inn or elry. Someay for t.”

    “Yes,” replied Sabriel. Sant to enter tide. t t ion or agreement  stank to  han sewage.

    toucone snagged a passing boy by tinued to eye toget, a silver penny co toucone folloly, and grabbed ioned Mogget after him.

    It  time Sabriel ouc gave ainly,  was a sudden grab . . .

    larger t serestingly calloused and textured. Quickly, s of rated on folloion of the crowd.

    t topped market, along one street of little bootreet of fish and fowl.

    t fish, clear-eyed and wriggling.

    Vendors yelled t buy, and buyers sed offers or amazement at ts, bags and boxes cy ones to be filled er, squid or s from palm to palm, or, occasionally, s into t-poucallholders.

    to gretle quieter.

    talls  trade unted. Sabriel, seeing an expert knife-man beer roed on sting out th.

    Beyond t ty ground. It entionally cleared, first tock, sill s t ran beyond and parallel to trip of eland. ty folk  of ty s, and ter t.

    tion, allos to be guarded—and sure  enougrol of arcop it, tted, ss against to a central arc’s four tiers, and there.

    Smaller arcinued on eacing t’s main c to prevent unautry by t er overhe Dead.

    Sabriel dreig ttention to extort a silver penny from toucone. te—even fourte— soldiers, cer mark, or race of Free Magic.

    Beyond t, streets e rically spouting fountain—ter jetted from tatue, a statue of an impressively crowned man.

    “King Anstyr toucone, pointing at tain. “range sense of s. I’m glad it’s still there.”

    “ better no sizenry  in league he Dead.

    “toucone, indicating t out of reaced blow.

    “Sign of t in ty, lord, lady.”

    turned back from to go on,  rang times, ting into flighe square.

    “’s t?” asked Sabriel. t he bell.”

    “Sunfall,” replied t s as if stating t be cloud coming, or somefing.”

    “Everyone comes in whe sunfall bell sounds?” asked Sabriel.

    “Course!” snorted ts or t you.”

    “I see,” replied Sabriel. “Lead on.”

    Surprisingly, te a pleasant inn. A  fronted onto a smaller square some tain Square. trees in t-smelling leaves and copious amounts of fruit, despite ter Magic, t Sabriel, and sure enouger Stone  trees, and a number of ancient spells of fertility, itude. Sabriel sniffed ted air gratefully, t ing the square.

    Bein bat er. Several large buckets . Sabriel closed to look at tillsteaming er in anticipation.

    “ill t be all, miss?” asked tseying.

    “Yes, t ting inking, s- and salt-encrusted armor and garments t ually stuck to er almost a  sea. Naked, sed  tefully into ter, taking up ted soap to begin removing t.

    toucone’s—voice. ter gurgling, t maid giggling. Sabriel stopped soaping and concentrated on t inct male voice, than one.

    t toucone laug, sharp, moans.

    omanly ones. Sabriel flusted eet time, to ter so s er, all , save for t, echoing in her flooded ears.

    did it matter? S toucone in t  t anotion— contraception—messiness—emotions. trate on planning.

    t  because toucone  young man s out of sc  was none of  even know his real name . . .

    A dull tapping noise on t of ter, just in time to isfied, masculine and dra moan from the wall.

    S to stick ’s pink nose appeared on the rim.

    So s up, er cascading dohere.

    Angrily, ss and said, “ do you ?”

    “I just t t you migo kno toucone’s room is t , indicating t room opposite t  got a bato knoairs in time, getting the local news.”

    “O t o t in tell  be long.”

    ty minutes later, a clean Sabriel, garbed in a borro asleep on top of it), crept on slippered feet ty common room and tapped ty, begrimed toucone on the back, making him spill his beer.

    “Your turn for t  refilled. Mogget’s in t mind.”

    “oucone, as mucion. “I just  to get clean, t’s all.”

    “Good,” replied Sabriel, obscurely. “I’ll organize for dinner to be served in your room, so .”

    In t, t take long, nor  sloively festive occasion. t, clean, o forget past troubles and future fears for a little while.

    But, as soon as t disearragon vinegar— reasserted itself, complete h cares and woe.

    “I t likely place to find my fat . . . t place, he way?”

    “Under toucone.

    “t o enter. All lie beyond t-guarded valley.”

    “You are probably rig your father,”

    Mogget commented from  of blankets in toucone’s bed. “But t is also t dangerous place for us to go.

    Cer Magic ly  our enemy . . .”

    “Kerrigor,” interrupted Sabriel. “But  be to sneak in—”

    “e migo sneak around the edges,”

    said toucone. “t er is very still—sound carries.

    And ter.”

    “If I can find my fat back to ubbornly, “tever confronts us. t is t t a complication t’s followed on.”

    “Or preceded it,” said Mogget. “So, I take it your master plan is to sneak in, as far as ucked a happens?”

    “e’ll go in the middle of a clear, sunny day . . .” Sabriel began.

    “It’s underground,” interrupted Mogget.

    “So o retreat to,” Sabriel continued in a quelling tone.

    “And t ss,” added toucone.

    “At noon, it’s a sort of dim ter.”

    “So,  back to safety ake there.”

    “It sounds like a terribly brilliant plan to me,”

    muttered Mogget. “ty . . .”

    ‘‘Can you tried, and I can’t. I ierre and forget t t eat up everytten Kingdom. Maybe it   at least I’ll be trying someto be and you’re alelling me I’m not!”

    Silence greeted toucone looked a looked at her, yawned and shrugged.

    “As it  thing else.

    I’ve groupid over tupider the Abhorsens I serve.”

    “I t’s as good a plan as any,” toucone said, unexpectedly. ated, though I am afraid.”

    “So am I,” ’s a sunny day tomorrohere.”

    “Yes,” said toucone. “Before oo afraid.”