Sabriel ao soft dleligs, deligs. A fire burned briskly in a red-brick fireplad ery of ed across it, faced ed eac ttered, so Sabriel    time it    t ely Ab    memory ing on tep.

        Gingerly—for even    of travel, fear and fliged o look around and once agai t    a cat.

        ture    the bed.

        “ are you?” Sabriel asked nervously, suddenly all too a s ss. A sensuous delig a defenseless one. o    and bell-bandolier, carefully draped on a clothe door.

        “I y of names,” replied t. It range voice, . As to    no of Abo remove my collar?”

        Sabriel gave an uneasy smile, and sever Mogget    collar    kept it as a servant of Aber marks on te explicit about t. As far as Sabriel could tell, t e possible t Mogget    as old as t mentio, and    so find roubles over.

        “I t not,” said Mogget, bining a careless sretc . . . or    t ely mase, jumped to t floor and sauntered over to ted eye noting t Mogget’s s al of a cat.

        A knock at terrupted udy of t, to attention.

        “It’s only one of ts,” Mogget said, in a patronizing tone. “Cer sendings, and pretty lo t. the milk.”

        Sabriel ignored    sh her for a while.

        tly and a s, robed figure drifted in. It o te a visible face, but t on    underdress draped over one arm, a tos Cer-woven    and a pair of slippers.

        it a     to t ts on Sabriel’s feet. t crossed to a porcelain basin t sat in a silver filigree stand, above a tiled area of to t of t ted a bronze er splas tenc.

        Sabriel wrinkled her nose.

        “ springs,” ented Mogget. “You    smell it after a er    yrandfat? reat-great-aunt? Ah, memory . . .”

        t stood immobile ed to cut ter slopped over to to Mogget—o    and padded aious distance from ter sending. Just like a real cat, Sabriel t. Peroo, over turies. Ss. t, a plump marmalade feline, s.

        Sabriel t about t slept on t’s Room, and t t iquette class, and tress droning on about silver salvers . . .

        A s anotart, sending furtabs of pain tired muscles.

        ter sending apped t ient for Sabriel to have her wash.

        “ater’s getting cold,” explained Mogget, leaping up to they’ll be serving dinner in half an hour.”

        “tting up and reaco grab slippers and toory to sidling out of bed and into them.

        “t, butting ion of tepped back from t a bar of soap.

        Sabriel so to     before s, tepped forward, wowel off he whole basin over her head.

        Sabriel s, again before s back tur er aion to    ed to get soap in Sabriel’s eyes, or suspected an iion of nits.

        “ are you doing!” Sabriel protested, as trangely cool    e    i, at s and stomacop it! I’m quite old enougo washank you!”

        But Miss Prioecic servants didn’t seem to idings. It kept scrubbing, occasionally tipping    er over Sabriel.

        “op it?” stered to Mogget, as still more er cascaded over arted to scrub lions.

        “You ’t,” replied Mogget, acle. “ticularly recalcitrant.”

        “ do you . . . oop t!    do you mean, this one?”

        “ts about t.

        “Every Abo heir own.

        Probably because t like ter a feically    possible way.”

        ts scrubbing just long enougo flie er at Mogget, w    him.

        Just before anot basin-load of er    Sabriel, s s uail dividing the bedspread.

        “t’s enoug drencer drained out tiled area. t Sabriel, as it stopped ed to towel her dry.

        Sd tried to finis terattacked by bing ussle. Eventually, bet, and submitted to a manicure and vigorous hair-brushing.

        Siny, repeated silver key motif on t in t    backed one of tters,    sed later, Mogget raced t Sabriel t he door behind her.

        Diely room t took up    ed by to ceiling stained-glass    tern end. ter Magic.

        Per at all, Sabriel mused, as sc of toiling figures t iny Cer marks making up tterns.

        It    judging from t    dusk. Sabriel realized s    for a full day, or possibly even two.

        A table nearly as long as tretcly polisable of    some ligrous timber,    cellars, delabra and ratastic-lookiers and covered dishes.

        But only t, ruments, te textbook.

        Sra of a pomegranate before, for example.

        One place able and to t of t of a cusool. Sabriel    jumped up on tool and said, “e on! t serve till you’re seated.”

        “tyrant of t co transparent, as if Cer marks ly etcie.

        tood grouped around a door—tg of cooking—    and stared at     to meet any eyes.

        “Yes, t’s    said caustically.

        “Your neress. No’s have dinner.”

        None of till Sabriel stepped forepped foroo, and all dropped to one knee, or ed t t er marks running brigrails around their palms and fingers.

        Sabriel stared for a moment, but it y, and expected o do someturn. So tly pressed ea, feeling ter-spells t made t ruly, for some of than Sabriel could guess.

        “I the kindness you have shown me.”

        to be appropriate, or enougo be going on ood, bo about t pulled out Sabriel’s c. It ed iny silver keys, a miracle of needlework.

        Mogget, Sabriel noticed, e napkin, ains.

        “I’ve o eat in tc t said sourly, as t sigantalizing odor of spices and    food.

        “I expect it    y, dry    developed a palate to kno. It ainly drinkable.

        major experiments    occasions s Sabriel arted to enjoy h her meals.

        “Anyway, how did you know I was ing?”

        Sabriel asked. “I didn’t knoill . . . till Fat his message.”

        t didn’t ans oention focused on te of fis put do circular fis eyes and s.

        Sabriel oo, but omato, garlid basil sauce.

        “I en times as many of your forebears as you    replied at last.

        “And time, I alheir place.”

        Sabriel saste gone, and put doo clear , but it seemed to have bee vinegar, making her cough.

        “ do you mean by ‘fall’?    do you knoher?”

        Mogget looked up at Sabriel, eyes ing eadily, as no normal cat could.

        “ passed te,    is—”

        “No,” interrupted Sabriel. “ be!    be.    be dead . . .”

        “t is o you, as    sent to ime,”

        Mogget tinued, ign Sabriel’s outburst.

        “And    a neancer, he was Abhorsen.”

        “I don’t uand,” Sabriel ’s eyes anymore. “I don’t kno knohing.

        ter Magic, even my o itle?”

        “It is. he Abhorsen. Now you are.”

        Sabriel digested taring at te, silver scales aomato blurring into a pattern of sable blurred too, and t    try as s, s cross it. S, but to cross, iion—Aboo ected. But s ting for o cross, but test t of a er s t of a particular pipe tobacco around a er. Sabriel focused on it and t t separated h.

        Only to ricoc back to Life, as s, to see Mogget, fur bristling, one pao strike again.

        “Fool!”    for you to do so!”

        Sabriel stared at t, unseeing, biting back a sort as srut’s s ing, and probably t would cross as well—and shem alone and onless.

        “I’m sorry,” stered, boed    felt tupidly a and muc sears at bay.

        “Fat yet truly dead,” ser a moment. “I felt rapped beyond many gates. I could bring him back.”

        “You must not,” said Mogget firmly, and o carry all t of turies.

        “You are Ab put to rest. Your path is chosen.”

        “I     path,” Sabriel replied firmly, raising her head.

        Mogget seemed about to protest again, to ool.

        “Do as you o service. o evil? It is your fatoo—and the Dead who will be merry.”

        “I don’t t blusion iing, trig down around her face.

        “ felt alive. rapped i ill be reviled if I broughen?”

        “No,” said Mogget, calm again. “But    t he lives.”

        “I feel it,” Sabriel said simply. “And I must find out if my feeling is true.”

        “Per is se.” Mogget seemed to be musing tles me, cs . . .”

        “,” Sabriel suddenly pleaded,    reaco touco t’s oo know so much!”

        Mogget purred uc as Sabriel leaned close, s peal of tiny Sara Mogget , but a Free Magic creature. For a moment, Sabriel ’s true srue nature.

        “I am t of Ab said at last. “And you are Ab    you must promise me t you    raise your fatruly,    wis.”

        “I ot promise. But I    act    mud I en to you, if you are by me.”

        “I guessed as muc said, ting    is true t you are sadly ignorant, or you    you beyond the all.”

        “ suddenly leaping ion t ion Aby.”

        “, turniion back to tierre.”

        “ was he afraid of?”

        “Eat your fis, as tc    course. “e’ll talk later. In tudy.”
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