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top of me.
    When we had recovered enough to be able to move again, he
rolled off me to lie on his back.
    “If I release you, will you attack me again?”
    I thought about it for a bit. If what he said was true, our
next stop was to get the Amulet and destroy it. He’d said he’d take me with
him. If he didn’t destroy it, I’d have another chance to take it off him and
return to the Three. If he was telling the truth, well, then maybe it was best
that I knew that. If they had stolen me as a child, if I was their slave, it
was best to know. If I aided Crispin now, I was sure I could convince him to
help me find out the truth.
    “As long as you destroy it, like you say you’re going to, I
promise.”
    He nodded in acceptance and reached over to untie the knots
binding me. I stretched out after he’d done so, still feeling languid and
satisfied. Crispin stood smoothly, grabbed a pair of jeans out of the chest and
pulled them on before sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at me
seriously.
    “The Amulet is hidden in a valley in the mountains, not too
far from here. We should go as soon as it’s light out.”
    “No, we need to go now. We’ve waited too long already. The
tracker will be after us soon. We need to fly directly there right now.”
    He looked at me questioningly before giving a slow nod. I
pulled my leathers back on and stood. He joined me and turned around, offering
me his back. I climbed on carefully, thinking it had been a long time indeed
since I’d had a piggyback ride, and we were off.
    Crispin flew as smoothly as he did on the way here and we
twisted and turned through the dark tunnels. Suddenly we exited from an opening
cut high into a cliff face. I gasped in shock as we flew out and the mountains
spread out below me. We swung into a steep dive and I laughed in exhilaration
as the wind whipped through my hair and my stomach dropped. He chuckled at my
delight and came out of the dive sharply, banking to fly close to the ground.
We sped along for about an hour and my limbs were starting to stiffen and ache
before he swooped to a halt and entered a small fissure in a cliff face. He put
me down carefully and I took a moment to stamp some feeling back into my legs
and rub my arms before we headed off.
    The terrain was rough and I had to pay careful attention to
my footing as we went. The fissure widened as we continued down into it before
making our way out into a partially sheltered valley floor. Vegetation grew
here and there amid jagged rock spikes that reached into the sky. I looked
around me in wonder. It was an amazing place. Crispin smiled at my reaction and
picked his way carefully among the rocks, heading toward a small, high ledge
cut into a vertical rock face that loomed above the rocky ground. We reached
the bottom of the cliff and I stared upward. From below, the small shelf was
invisible.
    “It’s too fragile for two,” he told me, ruefully.
    I looked into his eyes steadily. I thought about reminding
him he said he would destroy it but decided not to. He looked back at me and I
felt as if he were reading my thoughts for a moment. Without another word, he
took off. He landed lightly on the ledge and I saw him bend down to a spot I
couldn’t see. I saw his lips move, though I couldn’t hear what he said, and
when he straightened again I saw a small wooden box in his hands.
    I held my breath and stared up at him. If he returned to me,
then I would have to believe him. My whole world would change. If he flew
off…well, at least the Three wouldn’t have any cause to think I’d betrayed
them. I took a second to pity the little witch and then saw Crispin looking
down at me. I wondered if he was thinking the same thing I was. If he was
wondering if he could trust me after all.
    He stepped off the cliff ledge and plummeted toward me,
stopping just before he hit the ground. I exhaled with relief and smiled at
him.
    “Now, how do we destroy it?” I asked, wanting to get it over
and done