Gamayun remained in her trance state for what seemed an eternity. Her return, sudden and shocking, was announced by a sharp intake of breath and a scream, as though she were being cut open while still alive.
It shocked Antomír back into awareness of himself. He looked down at his hands again. They were different now, thinner somehow. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he was fading into nothingness faster than he thought.
“Parfyon?” said Gamayun, looking around wildly. She had a filmy white covering on her eyes. She didn’t see them. “Are you there?”
“I am. And so’s your pet.”
Antomír seethed, but said nothing.
“Antomír, you are here? Good.”
She turned back to staring into the endless fields of stones and bones.
“She does that sometimes,” said Parfyon, shaking his head. “It doe
