And there it is: the unknown, that sea of darkness containing all the knowledge he can never have . . . even though the source of this dream is Nomi, not him, and the insecurity showing through is both chilling and heartening. I'm lost, he thinks in the dream, but in the part of his nightmaring mind that is aware of where this comes from, those words are spoken in Nomi's voice.

The shadows bear down on him and their leading edges are raw, seeping wounds in the land.

He laughs.

RAMUS SAT UP quickly, still laughing, and wondered whether he could reverse the process of his worsening sickness. It burrowed in his head and gave him her nightmares, and though the pain flooded in again and drove him back to the ground, there was one ray of light that kept his smile. The hope that, somewhere in her sleep and across the miles, she would hear him laughing at her dread.

THEY NAVIGATED THEIR way south from rock to rock. Sometimes it was obvious which distant monolith was the largest, but other times it was difficult to tell. Whenever they had been placed, it would have been impossible to account for future shrugs in the landscape, fallen stones, growing trees or drifting mist. If he could not tell which was largest, Ramus consulted Lulah, and together they followed their best guess. It did not concern him unduly. The pages were right, and he had felt that beat through the land. He was confident that if they did stray from the trail, they would soon find it again.

He hugged every rock they came to, and each time he felt another encouraging beat. And there was the sickness, and the deeper, darker portion of his mind that no longer belonged to him. It was watching him, and he reveled in its attention.

A day out from the forest, Lulah started to settle again. Whatever dark memories those gray people had encouraged to resurface must have been dark indeed. Either that, or Ramus was far more able to deal with such guilt.

Because I'm going mad. But he would shake his head at that idea, even though it hurt to do so. I'm not going mad. I'm going sane. I'm looking for the future, and when I find it I'll make sure it's safe.

But he wondered. . . .

When he sat down during the evenings and examined those pages, he wondered where he was leading himself, and just how much he was being led.

RAMUS KNEW WHAT it was straightaway, and Lulah seemed terrified.

“That's the edge of the world,” she said.

“It's the Great Divide. Not the edge, just a boundary. Every boundary is there to be crossed.”

“No,” Lulah said, shaking her head and somehow transferring her unease to her horse. It stomped its feet, skittish and snorting. “No, it's the edge. Can't you see that? Can't you feel it?”