toucone could see ty ing and clapping, decayed ing togeteady, slo all the back of his head on edge.

    A gly noise, ing ioning mouths.

    toucone  once, in a quiet sea.

    t close to ood, forming a great mass of sing soucone couldn’t make out ill Mogget, -sight, explained.

    “to to make a corridor,” ttle cat o us.”

    “Can you see tair?”

    toucone asked. rescent, stinking corpses lined up in mockery of a parade. I s.

    t been a delay of two hundred years . . .

    “Yes, I can,” continued Mogget, all beast s flesy flames. A Mordicant. It’s croucer, looking back and up like a dog to its master. Fog is rolling doairs be—a Free Magic trick, t one. I wonder wo impress?”

    “Rogir al,” toucone stated, as if  be commenting on someone at a dinner party. “o be looking at  as Kerrigor, no different Dead.”

    “O . “Very different.

    y.

    erribly rus like t.”

    toucone srying not to t t.  of to t fog, a mad attack—but even if  ter-spelled t on ter, at ts of empo of ting rising in volume.

    toucone squinted, confirming ing across ter beto they’d made.

    “oucone, surprised by  like ed a mile,  going thump . . .

    A terrible oucone leapt back, nearly  dislodging Mogget. t of tampeding to s as it ran.

    toucone sed, or screamed— sure—t s bot, crouco receive t deep in ter.

    “t!” yelled Mogget, toucone to till-frosted Sabriel.

    toucone barely ime to absorb tion, and a split-second image of somet collided ection, and toucone’s out-t swords.

    Silver sparks exploded  drooucone and t back several yards. toucone lost ing, and  under, er bubbling into ill-screaming mouth.

    would be on omach muscles.

    fle of ter, s guard again, but tact, and t retreating, backing aopped t toucone didn’t recognize, till ter drained out of his ears.

    It er, coming closer and closer, till treating Mordicant , and lost to sight.

    “Did my tle brothe fog.

    “O’s claws on  ioningly.

    “Sometouc, I t’s happening?”

    tood at tried to stop t Gate.

    Per of two Abhorsens . . .

    Noed. Sabriel didn’t know why.

    Someo be able to see into Life, or to  o a non-existent door.

    Sabriel, on tood like a soldier, keeping cones made t of Deattractive o Life, and sed to find many Dead rying to take advantage of t it  so. to be alone in tureless river, ter.

    Abrating even o a are and toucly on the arm.

    “It is almost time,” ly. “ you to take . . . toucone . . .

    and run for tairs. Do not stop for anyt all. Once outside, climb up to top of to t Yard.

    It’s just an empty field nooucone  tc got there—”

    “A Papererrupted Sabriel. “But I cras.”

    “there are several around,” replied Abhorsen.

    “t—ty-sixtaugo construct t so tell you ierre. Fly as close to troy it!”

    “ will you be doing?” whispered Sabriel.

    “ meeting her gaze. “Give me your sword, and . . .

    Astarael.”

    tarael the Sorrowful.

    eeper.

    Sabriel didn’t move, made no motion to o its poucrap. arted to undo trap t arael, but Sabriel’s  tightly.

    “t be anotogether—”

    “No,” said Ably pus go, and ook Astarael carefully from t couldn’t sound. “Does the walker?”

    Numbly, Sabriel y hands hung open by her sides.

    “I o te,” Ably. “I knos and s. I do not kno everyt lives must go time. t is t governs our  it also governs us. You are ty-t taug time to die.”

    for. For a moment, sood like a stringed puppet at rest, t , feeling t fabric of . So diminisill once again stle girl, running to  tes. As sing of . Only noime-  piece, counting ing till it ime for o die.

    Siging around stretc go.

    turned toget into Life.

    Kerrigor laug rose to a manic crescendo, before suddenly cutting to an ominous silence. ter noed forainty. toucone, drencly droc aut nerves of a mouse captivated by a gliding snake. Some it o see teness of t by filtered sunlig ty paces or more from the edge . . .

    A cracking noise beart, and turn, a jolt of fear suddenly overlaid urning  to Life! Ice flakes fell from ture flurries, and to several small floes and drifted away.

    toucone blinked as t fell ayhe sword and bell.

    “ter!” exclaimed toucone, as their eyes and moved.

    But no one  instant a terrible scream of rage and fury burst out of t out across ter.

    toucone turned again, and t croucs eyes and long mouter.

    Be, ed s bogclay ood somet mig of as a man.

    Staring, toucone sa Kerrigor ried to make tly ined look like t eitaste ood at least seven feet tall, ed and narroed. oo too long, and o ear.  bear looking at, for ts burning  eyes at all.

    But sometle of take a man, make retc . . .

    t lauguated by the snap of his closing jaws.

    ted as his body.

    “I am fortunate. three!”

    toucone kept staring, ill someten,  like . ed Kerrigor and tterfas, t, the golden cup . . .

    A urned ook  sword from his grasp. he suddenly refocused, gasping for air again, and saw Sabriel.

    S s o close in then, his vision narrowing, like a halfremembered dream.

    time devoid of frost. ermined, but ion as toucone oc  , going into danger . . . t Mogget too . . . yes, urn and go back, put Mogget’s collar back on, try and fight Kerrigor . . .

    “Run! Damn you! Run!” screamed Sabriel, as urned.  of rance , for t tection. Unurning o run faster, t dead, numbed by savage pins and needles. ing, and drumming, drumming fast. too, raised loud, ec cavern. t, and a strange buzzing, crackling sound t  rathan heard.

    tair, but Sabriel didn’t slacken  of total darkness.

    toucone lost  again, and tumbled up teps togetriking sparks from tone. Still tumult from being, all magnified by ter and tness of tting ty of perfection.

    It started softly, like a tuning fork ligruck, but gree, blorumpeter of inexible breatill t tarael.

    Sabriel and toucone botopped, almost in mid-stride. t a terrible urge to leave to s baggage. ts—tial selves—ed to go, to go into Deato trongest current, to be carried to the very end.

    “t audible te. Soucone dying,  to  to expect to Death.

    “Fig!” so slap he face. “Live!”

    Still e, sing y blood filling bot rate again, concentrate on Life, on living.

    urned  igill te of Astarael slowly died.

    Silence came at last. Gingerly, t eacoucone s Sabriel lit a candle before   eac. Sabriel’s eyes , toucone’s mouth bloody.

    “ ?” toucone asked huskily.

    “Astarael,” replied Sabriel. “t calls everyone o Death.”

    “Kerrigor . . .”

    “ill royed.”

    “Your fatoucone mumbled. “Mogget?”

    “Dad’s dead,” said Sabriel.  o tears. “e. Mogget—I don’t know.”

    S to pick up taken from toucone.

    “Come on,” so get up to t Yard. Quickly.”

    “t Yard?” asked toucone, retrieving  he Palace?”

    “Yes,” replied Sabriel. “Let’s go.”