"The Abhorsen is a necromancer who is also a Charter mage," Terciel began. The three of them were sitting around the fire. Though they were all tired, and it was in the small hours of the morning, they stayed awake to fill Andrael in on what had happened that night. "As such," said Terciel, "We can walk in Death, just like any necromancer. The difference is that instead of doing so to recruit dead souls to do our bidding, we put those souls to rest. That's what we were doing just now - following those Hands into Death."

Andrael nodded sleepily. "Of course," she said, resting her forehead on the heel of her hand, "I remember now. We all learned those myths and nursery rhymes about the bloodlines. I should have realized. It's just… I wasn't thinking straight. You were both so still and cold, and it felt like you were gone for such a long time…"

"I'm sorry," said Terciel, "But those were Hands, which means they didn't just attack us at random. They were sent by a necromancer. We had to find out everything we could, which meant we had to follow one into Death. I didn't want to leave you alone without explaining, but…"

Andrael held up her hand, stopping him. "No, you did the right thing," she said, "You can't take time in the middle of battle to explain things to me. I was fine." But Terciel wasn't convinced. He imagined what it must have been like to be suddenly alone, your only companions and protectors suddenly comatose beside you, not knowing when or if they would return or if enemies still lurked in the shadows. Andrael rubbed her arms as if trying to shake off a crawling sensation, and gave Terciel a forced smile. "So what did you find out?" she asked, apparently trying to change the subject.

Terciel was about to reply, but Abhorsen beat him to it. "Not much," she said, "Just that its master sent the six of them after us and then started traveling. It didn't know where or why, so that doesn't really help us. Not surprising, really. Spirits that have been held as Hands for a long time are often degraded beyond repair. We were lucky to learn what we did." She shot Terciel a brief glance, and he refrained from adding what Abhorsen had left out: that the Hands had been after Andrael.

Andrael pressed her lips together and stared at Abhorsen as if she suspected the lie. But she couldn't maintain her intensity while her eyelids were drooping. "Fine," she said, "I'm going to bed. Just one more thing - Terciel, I want to tell you something." She mustered one last glare to throw at Abhorsen. "Alone," she added.

Abhorsen's eye twitched, but she nodded stiffly. "Don't go far," she warned.

Not knowing whether to be curious or apprehensive, Terciel followed Andrael into the trees. As soon as they were out of sight and earshot of Abhorsen, Andrael turned and placed her skinny arms around his neck. They stood there, slightly awkward, for several seconds until Terciel recovered from the initial shock and put his hands behind her back, pulling her closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. The stubble on her scalp scratched his cheek, and her fingers weaved themselves into his hair. He felt her body seem to melt against him as she sighed with exhaustion and relief, and for a moment he thought she had fallen asleep on her feet.

But then she spoke. "I didn't realize," she said, "Until tonight how much you mean to me. When you were standing there so still and pale, with your skin as cold as ice… Every moment you were gone I was more sure that something had gone terribly wrong. For so long I've thought that I had nothing left to lose, but the thought of losing you was terrifying!"

Terciel stood stock-still, waiting for her to continue. Was this a declaration of love, or just tired rambling? And why was it so hard to concentrate on her words when her knees were brushing his? Through the layers of sweat and grime covering her after days of traveling, when her head was so close to his face he could smell the scent of her skin, and it was making his breath shallow. What would she say? What did he want her to say?

"I…" she stammered, searching for words, "I don't… I'm not asking you for anything. You're the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and I'm starting to understand what that means. I know that in a few days you'll leave me in Sindle, and I'll probably never see you again. I've just been alone for so long, and you've been so good to me, and I wanted to tell you that you're probably the only friend I have in the world right now, and I lo… well, just that."

She disentangled herself from him, and there was a cold spot down Terciel's front where his body missed her warmth. He wanted to tell her that she was the only friend he had ever had in the world, and that he wished that she were coming to live in Abhorsen's House with him instead of going to Sindle. But as she had said, he was the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and love was a luxury he could not afford.

The silence stretched on, and in his desperation to find something to say to fill it, he blurted out, "Abhorsen didn't tell you something. That Hand we talked to in Death - it said that it hadn't come for us. It came for you. I think you're in more danger than we thought, but I promise that we're going to protect you. I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Andrael was silent for a moment, and her expressions were many and hard to read. There was surprise there, and fear, but also a kind of nervous acceptance, and Terciel suddenly felt that maybe Abhorsen wasn't the only one hiding things. "Thank you for telling me," Andrael said quietly, chewing on her thumbnail and staring into the featureless darkness. Then her eyes suddenly hardened and she looked back to Terciel. "I told I didn't like her! What's she up to, keeping something like that from me? And she's got more up her sleeve - things she's not telling either of us. She's up to something."

Terciel recoiled as if her anger had been directed at him rather than at his mentor. "All my life Abhorsen has done things that I didn't agree with," he said, his voice suddenly sure and strong, "And every time, there was a good reason. You say you like me better than you like her, but the fact is that the two of us wouldn't last a day out here without her. She's the Abhorsen, and she's trying to help you, so whether you like her or not you have to trust her."

Andrael balled up her fists. "How can I trust her when she won't answer our questions? How did she know where to find me? How did she know I needed help? And why did she come for me? In times like these, there must be more important things for the Abhorsen and her apprentice to do than escort one insignificant girl across the wilderness for days on end."

"I don't have an answer for you," said Terciel, holding out his hands. He didn't say that her questions were the same ones he had been asking himself since before they arrived in Aunden. "But we're not going to get to the bottom of it tonight. It's late. Let's go to sleep." Andrael relented, following him back through the trees toward the light of the fire. But before they entered the camp again she caught his arm.

"I almost forgot!" she said, "After you teach me the next two marks after Anet, will you teach me to make that shield that your aunt put up? That seems like it would be useful."

Terciel smiled as they stepped back into the clearing. "Of course," he said. Andrael returned his smile, flopped into his bedroll, and was asleep almost instantly.

Terciel slipped into Abhorsen's bedroll, letting his aunt continue to stand guard. He slept fitfully and then woke suddenly. He couldn't tell if he had slept for five minutes or hours, because the scene before him was almost exactly the same. Abhorsen sat crouched over the fire in the exact same position he had left her, and Andrael snored softly across the clearing. Abhorsen's eyes reflected the fire, making her look otherworldly. When she spoke, it took Terciel a minute to realize that she was talking to him.

"It's hard to know if I'm doing this right," she whispered, "The future is such a delicate thing. But you have a right to know. Whatever your part in it, you have as much a right to know as I do."

"What are you talking about?" asked Terciel. He usually wasn't so blunt with her, but he was tired of these games. Andrael's frustration had reawakened his own.

Abhorsen's eyes flicked to him, but the fire still blazed in them. "I took you to Aunden because the Clayr told me to," she said, suddenly matter-of-fact, "They told me that there was a chance to restore order to the Old Kingdom, a slim chance, and it all hinged on you and I taking that girl to Sindle."

Terciel was immediately wide awake. "Restore order?" he prompted, eager to learn more.

"To the Kingdom," she repeated, "And to the Charter. The current downfall of the Kingdom stems from the corruption of the Gre… erk… You know." Terciel knew. He had been to Belisaere, and seen the Great Charter Stones broken in that terrible underground chamber. He too had tried to speak of them, and of the ended royal line, and had found that he could not. The Great Charters had become the highest of taboos.

"The Clayr deal in possibilities," Abhorsen continued, her voice dripping with distaste for the Clayr's vague prophecies, "All they have seen for years has been a steady decline for the Kingdom and for the Charter, but just recently they have become aware of a strand of chance stemming from the girl that ends in the restoration of… that which has been damaged. And for some reason, it also involves you, because they were adamant that I bring you along."

"Then I have to keep her safe," said Terciel, "The fate of the Kingdom depends on it."

"That's just it," Abhorsen sighed, "We don't know. It's just as likely that the events that lead to the restoration of the Charter stem from her death as from her survival! Whatever we do, we might be closing off that slim chance, and we don't have any guidance to help us choose. So little is known, and what we do know is…" Her head sank into her hands, and Terciel was shocked to see real despair on her face. He had never known Abhorsen to be so conflicted.

"Did they say anything else?" he said, grasping at straws, "Did the Clayr tell you anything else that might help us?"

Abhorsen looked up, the hopelessness banished from her visage just as quickly as it had appeared. "Yes," she said, "But that is not for your ears yet." She looked back to the fire, but her eyes had gone dark. She suddenly looked very old.

"Some burdens are too much to bear."