I I O

A misty arm pointed back to Tol'chuk. Rise and claim the Heart. The burden is now yours.

Tol'chuk's eyes widened. He made a sound of refusal, speaking Og're.

Half-breed or not, you are og're, the shadowy figures answered dolefully. Take the Heart and fear not. We will remain in the stone between the two worlds to guide you where we can.

Still Tol'chuk balked, shaking his head.

The words of the ghosts grew sharper. Do you forsake your duty like your ancestor?

Tol'chuk's head sprang up.

The words softened. It is true. The Oathbreaker refused the mantle of guardianship in his time. Will you walk his path or your own?

Silence again pressed down on the cavern. Then Tol'chuk rose to his feet. Reaching over the bodies, he lifted the jewel from the tangle of limbs. Its glow flared brighter, as if it recognized him.

The assembly has been summoned for this night, the ghosts echoed. Go take your place as leader. Dark times lie ahead for our people. Even we can't see down that twisted path. Let the Heart guide you.

The three figures dissolved back to mists and drew into the stone, like smoke up a chimney flue. Words still flowed: As with your last journey, you know your first step' You know where you must go.

Tol'chuk's face tightened.

Jaston saw the understanding in his amber eyes and the fear.

Tol'chuk stared into the crystal planes of the heartstone as the last of the Triad vanished. Deep in his own heart, he felt familiar hooks take root. This same stone had guided him across Alasea, drawing him along the path to the carved mountain in Gul'gotha. But this time he felt no compulsion, no direction. From here, though he was linked to the Heart, he would need to decide his own path.

The fate of the og're people now rested with him. Dar't times lie ahead. Tol'chuk did not doubt the final words of the Triad. The Oathbreaker still lived. The Beast would not ignore his people forever, especially while his descendant plotted against him.

Tol'chuk lowered the stone and stared across the Triad's corpses to those kneeling beyond: males and females, the old and the young, the strong and the infirm. They knew nothing of the world beyond their lands, or of the danger on their doorstep.

Tol'chuk stood straighter, no longer hiding his half-breed status. What

++i had once shamed him now seemed insignificant. After the horrors and the acts of bravery he had witnessed on his long journey, by peoples from all the lands, such trifles as mixed blood paled to nothing.

As the Triad had stated, he was og're. These were his people. And it was time for him to wake them.

His eyes fell upon Hun'shwa. The leader of the warriors kept his head bowed. Hun'shwa, Tol'chuk said. Rise.

The og're obeyed, but would not meet his gaze.

I'll need three of your hunters to carry our fallen into the Chamber of the Spirits.

The other grunted to those who flanked him; they carefully began clearing the bodies. Hun'shwa addressed Tol'chuk. What of the Assembly, the summons?

Tol'chuk frowned; the warrior was right. The other tribes would gather at the Dragon's Skull, unaware of what had occurred here. His own Toktala clan must appear, too. He motioned to Hun'shwa. Gather our people. We will head out with the setting sun.

Hun'shwa glanced up, eyes flashing. But the Triad summoned the gathering, and now they are gone. Who will speak?

Tol'chuk had not considered that far.

Hun'shwa pointed to Tol'chuk and answered his own question. The elders called you the One. You must lead the Assembly.

Tol'chuk began to object, but he had no argument. It seemed the Triad had not wanted to give Tol'chuk a chance to shirk his duties. This very night, before all the clans, Tol'chuk would need to claim the mantle of spiritual leader.

He tightened his hold on the jeweled stone. If I must speak, I will need time to prepare.

Tol'chuk watched the elders' bodies being hauled toward the flame-lit crack in the back wall and remembered the last words of the Triad: You know your first step' You know where you must go. Tol'chuk sighed. Long ago, he had carried the limp form of Fen'shwa through the crack to the Chamber of the Spirits beyond. There he had first faced the Triad and had begun the path that had led full circle back to here.

Holding the stone to his chest, Tol'chuk strode through the cursed gate of his old homestead.

Where are you going? Magnam asked behind him. Tol'chuk pointed toward the bluish flames. He spoke without turning, without stopping. I must walk the path of the dead.