“We want to be free.” The voices merged, the left eye still glowing red, the right burning yellow. “Our sister may be prepared to sacrifice herself. But we are not. Our sister may be in thrall to Dee and the Elders. We are not. We did not side with the humani after the fall of Danu Talis, but we did not fight against them either. In time, the humani even came to worship us, and their worship made us stronger. Every war they fought, every battle won or lost, they fed us with their pain and memories. They even mourned us when we disappeared from the World of Men. And that is more than any of our own clan, kith or kin did. None of them cared or raised an objection when the Morrigan bound us, trapped us, enchanted us. Sorceress, we owe loyalty to neither Elder nor Next Generation.”

Perenelle pressed the butt of the spear on the muddy floor, holding the wood just below the metal head, and leaned on it. The muddy sigil pulsed softly, like a slowly beating heart, warm against the side of her face, and she could feel the faintest thrumming through the length of wood.

“Free us,” the Crow Goddess continued urgently, “and we will be in your debt.”

“It’s a very tempting offer,” Perenelle said. “But how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you will not set upon me the moment I free you?”

The web-trapped creature smiled, black lips drawing back from long white teeth. “Because we will give you our word-the word of a warrior, the unbreakable word of the Crow Goddess,” the yellow-eyed goddess snapped.

“And because you have the spear inscribed with the Archon glyph,” the red-eyed goddess added.

“Archon?” Perenelle asked. She had heard the word perhaps twice before in her long lifetime.

“Before the Elders, the Twelve Archons ruled this planet.”

“Before the Elders?”

“The world is older and wilder than you think.” The Crow Goddess smiled. “Far older. Much wilder.”

Perenelle nodded. “I have always believed that.” The idea of the Archons was fascinating-Nicholas would love it-but she focused on more practical matters. “Can you carry me from the island?” she wondered aloud. Her grip tightened on the spear. Much depended on the creature’s answer.

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then the goddess said, “We cannot do that. As light as you are, you would be too heavy for us. Those of us, Elder and Next Generation, who have the ability to fly have almost hollow bones. We’re not strong.”