t blocks came a by sing, aggered back, ac to combat t seemed to eat at te-blond moustaccill stretco take him away.

    Sabriel looked at t, unsettling s sick too, allic taste in h.

    “e  open,” s. “trongly protected. I t toucone taking my o form a line reinforcement of ter Magic. Does everyone knoer marks for the opening spell?”

    the soldiers nodded, or said, “Yes, ma’am.”

    One said, “Yes, Abhorsen.”

    Sabriel looked at  affected by the Free Magic.

    “You can call me Sabriel, if you ,” srangely unsettled by w he had called her.

    t like ayed properly bloody dead.”

    “tainly.

    S — you could alell—but e . . .

    “,” said toucone. ured for o go in front of ly bow.

    “Let’s finis o do, Abhorsen.”

    Sabriel boion t  tual about it. to took a deep breattling into a determined mold.

    Beginning to form ter marks of opening in ook toucone’s os dark, serior in stark contrast  tles and tumbled stones. Beoucone urned to take enant Aire’s, Aire gripping a Sergeant’s, t teen Cer Mages in all, if only t rank.

    Sabriel felt ter Magic er and brigill s lost o tep bringing t all-too-familiar nausea, trollable s trong in ronger the sickness.

    S ter Magic go.

    Instantly, t, and a terrible scream ec, and Sabriel snatcered. A second later, steam billo all around t gouts of scalding steam, forcing Sabriel out, tumbling out of the hill.

    Sabriel and toucone oget five yards dorance to toucone’s stomacle, but botill for a moment, drained by trengt tinged .

    Around themselves up.

    “It didn’t open,” Sabriel said, in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice. “e don’t he skill—”

    S  . . . I wishing . . .”

    toucone , ter Mages—it he marks were reinforced enough.”

    “More Cer Mages,” Sabriel said tiredly.

    “e’re on the all . . .”

    “ about your scoucone, and t up, disrupting  dole.

    “toucone! I s . . . t be ty-five girls er mark and the basic skills.”

    “Good,” muttered toucone, from tle. Sabriel put out  on  odor of crusles.

    o lose  fell back down again.

    “t  to involve t . . .”

    “terrupted toucone. “t Ancelstierre  isn’t like t  last once Kerrigor breaks tones.”

    “t we were grown women.”

    “e need toucone, again.

    “Yes,” said Sabriel, turning back to of men gato tronger Cer Mages, peering back torance and thin.

    “t toucone  reminded me w more Cer Mages.”

    her, urgency in his face.

    “here?”

    “yverley College. My old sceacrix Green’s less than a mile away.”

    “I don’t t time to get a message t t tting sun, t c, t. “But . . .

    do you t o move the sarcophagus?”

    Sabriel t about tective spell t sered, t of t.

    to stop us moving ts of tand t it—”

    “And yverly College—it’s an old, solid building?”

    “More like a castle to defend this hill.”

    “Running er . . . No? t oo muco ! Private Macking, run doo Major tindall and tell  I  o move in tes.

    e’re going back to trucks, to yverley College—it’s on t a mile . . .”

    “Sout,” Sabriel provided.

    “Sout. Repeat t back.”

    Private Macking repeated to get aurned to the longservice corporal and said, “Corporal Anshey.

    You look pretty fit. Do you t a rope around t coffin?”

    “Reckon so, sir,” replied Corporal Ansacured o ther soldiers.

    “Come on you blokes, get yer ropes out.”

    ty minutes later, ted by sed from a local farmer. As Sabriel ed, dragging it y yards of trucks stopped t out electric liged telephone.

    Curiously, t seem overly frige its bronze surface sluggisomacer marks. S a  not a panicked one either.

    “e’ll o drive to toucone, as t ts can and the sickness much longer.”

    toucone seettering. “I’m not sure I can, either.”

    Nevert rope coucone climbed up to t and picked up t to  omac to rise into  look back at the sarcophagus.

    toucone said “tcco t up, and sook up t  a quick pace.

    “Is t as . . .” Sabriel said anxiously.

    to cover, and the horizon.

    “It’s a oucone ans to speak. “e’ll be t goes.”

    to buzz and cioned t Kerrigor mig did. Sabriel found  catcing  surface of t s . time s a glimpse of some tree’s pale bark, or a c. as t fog curling doer disc by time trucks turn off turning up t led to t-iron gates of yverley College.  Sabriel for a moment. But t rue. It ter part of  t . It ies.

    But like raveled.

    Electric ligly in tique glass lanterns on eite, but to mere sparks as ts strange cargo drove tes s   es to be locked before full dark. t   alerted o something else . . .

    “trucks and op near te-like doors to t’s stopped.”

    toucone brougo a , and listened, cocking an ear torue enoughe yverley village bell.

    “It is a mile,” antly. “Peroo far, the wind . . .”

    “No,” said Sabriel. S till on here was no wind.

    “You could al the sarcophagus inside, quickly!”

    So anding on teps outside tially open door, talking to an obscured figure  closer, edging ting soldiers, s ress.

    “enant-General Farnsley, I’ll have you know—Sabriel!”

    t of Sabriel in sucrange garb and circumstance seemed to momentarily stun Mrs.

    Umbrade. In t second of fisioned to est, treams of armed men rusartled figure like a flood around an island.

    “Mrs. Umbrade!” Sabriel sed. “I need to talk to Miss Greenly, and tter get t of taff up to top floors of tower.”

    Mrs. Umbrade stood, gulping like a goldfisill horyse suddenly loomed over her and snapped, “Move, woman!”

    Almost before h closed, she was gone.

    Sabriel looked back to c toucone ing of then followed her in.

    trance rucks outside, stacking the walls. Khaki-colored boxes marked “. Ball”

    or “BE P Grenade,” piled up beneatures of prizelettered boards of merit and scic brilliance.

    to t ters and piling pe ttered windows.

    Mrs. Umbrade ill in motion at trance ling along to of obviously nervous staff. Beair, s. Beair, and just able to see, orial fift doubt t t of to  tion .

    Just as Mrs. Umbrade reacaff, all ts  out. For a moment, total, s, ting, craso ther.

    Sabriel stood er from a s t,  t t t t greo tes and cast a steady yellos down by Mrs.

    Umbrade, and Sabriel recognized trix Green recognition, a sligurning of just one side of s  because Kerrigor ric substation, and t he village.

    As expected, Mrs. Umbrade  telling eac going on about rudeness and some General. Sabriel sarix beall, bent figure of tress, and waved.

    “And I  to ly laid ty on the back of her neck.

    “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Sabriel said, standing next to temporarily frozen form of tress.

    “But temporarily taking over. I am assisting Colonel o come doo t rix Greenudents, staff, gardeners, everyone—must go to top floors of toill daomorrow.”

    “ics Mistress. “’s all t?”

    “Sometly, cly be attacked by the Dead.”

    “So to my students?”

    Miss Greenwo frigeachers.

    Sion, and then added, “Abhorsen.”

    “to everyone,” Sabriel said bleakly. “But  ter Mages  even a chance . . .”

    “ell,” replied Miss Greenter get organized tcs— tter take cion to  to. Mrs. S round up Cook and t some freser, food and candles, too. Mr. Arkler, if you o fetche gymnasium . . .”

    Seeing t all rol, Sabriel sigside, past soldiers stringing oil lamps up in te t ill ligside, t sunlighe day.

    toucone and ts  noo glos os in blood. Apart from ts pulling t close to it. Soldiers ions on tying trip flares.

    But in all tion, ty circle around tening coffin of Rogir.

    Sabriel ooucone, feeling tance in ing at t of going any closer to t seemed to  radiate stronger  t fled. In tronger, its magic more forceful and malign.

    “Pull!” sed toucone, he soldiers. “Pull!”

    Sloones, inco steps, ting it over teps.

    Sabriel decided to leave toucone to it, and tle o es. Sood tcive against t of Kerrigor.

    And an unfamilar srange to ouc he allmaker.

    t reminded .

    strange combination of irascible companion to truct so kill t aarael . . .

    I left t not t  muc. I am t ignorant Aburies, and per sorely tried . . .

    A clatter of ss interrupted s, follo arcing up into ts yellorail reacos follo burst into a  slos , stretco the dark as far as she could see.