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In the deep recesses of the cave is a sheet of water smooth as glass that seems to rise and fall at the same time. The flow of it makes me drowsy. It is the last thing I see before I fall asleep.
I am standing before a large well. The surface is alive with movement. It shows me things. Roses blooming fast on thick green vines. A cathedral adrift on an island. Black rock awash in fog. A warrior in horned helmet riding a fierce horse. A twisted tree against a bloodred sky. Asha's painted hands. Nell Hawkins. The green cloak. Something moves in the shadows, startling me, coming closer. A face.
I wake with a start. Felicity laughs merrily, showing off her hands, which have been painted in beautiful curlicues. She compares them with Ann's and Pippa's ornate designs. Asha sits across from me, her thick, scaly legs crossed.
"What did you see in your dreams?" she asks.
What did I see? Nothing that means anything to me."Nothing," I answer.
Again I see disappointment in her eyes. "It is time for you to go."
She leads us to the mouth of the cave. The sky is no longer blue, but a deep, inky night. Have we been here so long? The pots of incense belch their rainbow of color. Torches line the path. The Hajin stand beside them, bowing as we walk.
When we once again reach the rock, the door appears. "I thought you said that the only way out was to go forward," I say.
"Yes. That is true."
"But this is the way we've come!"
"Is it?" she asks. "Take care on the path. Walk quickly and quietly. The paint will keep you hidden from sight." Asha places her palms together and bows."Go now."
I don't understand at all, but we've wasted too much time already for more questions. We've got to get back to the path. In the glow of the amulet, I can see the delicate lines on my hands. It seems a scant protection from whatever may be looking for us, but I hope Asha is right.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
THE GLOW OF THE CRESCENT EYE LEADS US AWAY from the mountain till we are on unfamiliar ground. The sky is not as dark here. It's suffused with the light of a dark red moon. We're surrounded by the gnarled bodies of giant trees. Their branches arch high over our heads, those bare, twisted fingers of bark intertwining in an eerie embrace. The effect is rather like being in one long cage.
"Did we come this way before?" Felicity asks.
"Where are we?" Pippa asks.
"I don't know," I say. "It's a ghastly place," Ann says.
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted them. Filthy vermin!" Pippa says.
"Hush!" I say. In my hand, the amulet's glow has softened to a flickering glimmer, and then it's out like a candle snuffed."It's gone out."
"Well, that's a fine thing! Now how will we get back?" Ann mumbles.
The red moon bleeds through the spindly, stripped branches, casting long shadows.
"We'll use the moonlight. Keep walking," I say. Why has the amulet stopped working?
"Gracious, what is that smell?" Felicity asks.
The wind moves this way, and I smell it too. A smell like disease and filth. A smell like death. A breeze pushes down the corridor of trees from behind us, rustling our satins and silks. It is more substantial than a puff of wind. It is an announcement. Something's coming.
Ann's got her hand to her nose and mouth. "Oh, that is truly beastly."
"Shhhh!" I say.
"What?" Pippa asks. "Do you hear that?"
Riders. They're coming fast. A cloud of dust looms. They'll overtake us in a moment. The corridor ahead seems to stretch on for a mile. Can we squeeze through the spaces between the trees? The gaps are but slivers of light, too narrow to allow any of us to pass.
"Where've you gone?" Pippa asks, looking about.
"What do you mean? We're right here," Felicity says.
