Something roused her, pulled her out of her trance. Her knees were no longer resting on the cool sand. Her lungs filled, and in her peripheral vision something moved. The curtain of heat still shimmered in the distance, but shapes were moving in the haze. Fragments melted and reformed as the splinter of rock had done. The griffin rose suddenly, like a mountain heaving. Irenya staggered back. The creature swung around, scattering grit in a great cloud. It crouched, wings arched, ears tilted forward. The powerful hind legs of a lion tensed and the tail lashed. A tall figure with red-gold hair appeared in the curtain of heat. Other figures followed. The griffin shrieked a warning.
The figures dissolved, but Elaaron came on, step by step, the outline of him shifting and wavering in the strang
