“IS THIS A sick joke?” Noon asked. He stared at the stone head, unable to look away.

“Why would he make a cast of Konrad?” Rhiana asked.

“It's no cast,” Ramin said. “When I left Lulah and that bastard, Konrad was sitting on his horse behind me. I had to tie him on. Whatever Ramus had done had frozen him, and all he could do was scream. And even his screams...” He trailed off, and Nomi thought, The head will finish his sentence. The head will speak! But its face remained unmoved.

“His screams?” Beko asked.

“Not his own,” Ramin said. “They were changed by whatever was changing him.”

Beko shook his head, as though to make sure he still could. “What happened?”

“Before we left Lulah, Konrad lost fingers. They broke off. Snapped. And as we rode I tried talking to him, listened for his reply, but he could not speak. I'm not sure he even heard. He kept his head down and barely moved, as if he'd forgotten how to ride. His horse became agitated. I was trying to watch out ahead and around us, as well as keeping one eye on Konrad. The rain was heavy, and for a while I felt things hitting my shoulders and head. Spiders, I think, though I couldn't see in the shadows. So I was looking out for them as well, and I wasn't looking when he fell from his horse. I only heard. A heavy impact. His horse kicked and stomped, happy to be free of the weight, perhaps, and my own mount threw me and ran. When I went back to Konrad he was... broken.”

Nomi looked at the stone head and wondered whether it was changed all the way through.

“Shattered,” Ramin said. “He shattered when he hit the ground, and I couldn't just leave him there. But the rest of him was too heavy for the horse. So...”

Beko stepped forward and knelt before the head, just out of touching distance. He looked at it for a while, then stood and backed away. “He still has his silver earring.”

“And Ramus did this?” Nomi asked. “You saw him?”

Ramin shook his head. “He ran from us, hid inside a burial cairn. Konrad went after him while Lulah and I faced each other down. He wasn't gone for long, and when he returned he was already... infected.”

“How did Ramus do it?”

Ramin shrugged. “I don't know. But he said he'd given Konrad the words you seek, and that Konrad could carry them back to you.”

“This is bad magichala,” Rhiana said. “Very bad. This is cursed work, and we should have nothing to do with it.”

“Just where are we going?” Ramin asked. He darted at Nomi, his usually cheerful demeanor now hard as stone.

Nomi took a step back but the big Serian had stopped before her. “The Great Divide,” she said.