"You are humans," said the voice. "How wonderful!"
Falken looked upward, sensing a change in the light.
Something floated overhead. A ten-foot area of curdled glory, a core of blinding brilliance set in a lacy froth of fire.
The beauty of it caught Falken's throat. It shimmered with a sparkling opalescence, infinitely lovely—a living, tender flame floating in the rainbow light. It caught his heart, too, with a deep sadness that drifted in dim, faded colors beneath the brilliant veil.
It said, clearly as a spoken voice in his mind:
"Yes. I live, and I speak to you."
Sheila and Avery had risen. They stared, wide-eyed, and Sheila whispered, "What are you?"
The fire-thing coiled within itself. Little snapping flames licked from its edges, and its colors laughed.
"A female, isn't it? Sp
