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mop of hair. He had, for once, heard well enough to understand, and frowned up at Tamwyn. “You is full of madness, lad. Certainly, definitely, absolutely.”
    “Maybe so, but I’m convinced it’s the only way to save Avalon.”
    “I think,” declared Nuic, “you also have another reason for going. Tell me now, hmmmpff, am I right?”
    Tamwyn swallowed. “Yes, old one, you’re right. I also want to try to find my father.”
    “Your father?” repeated Scree. “Krystallus? But he’s long dead.”
    “No one knows that for sure.”
    Scree scratched his hooked nose. “That’s true, I suppose. And if he’s even half as stubborn as you, Tam, he just might have survived.”
    Tamwyn grinned. “Everything I know about stubbornness I learned from you, brother.” Turning back to Nuic, he explained, “Maybe I can find him, somewhere between here and the stars.”
    “Hmmmpff. Or at least his torch.”
    Tamwyn caught his breath, remembering his frightful dream. “Torch?”
    The pinnacle sprite shifted on the snow. “His precious torch, said to have been a gift from Merlin himself. He carried it everywhere, on all his expeditions.” His black color rippled with a bit of red. “I heard him say once that the torch would never go out—until the moment he died.”
    Tamwyn stiffened. His mind flashed with the final moment of his dream, when his father’s body crumpled. And the torch went out.
    At last, Elli spoke again. “Listen to me, Tamwyn. You are a stupid fool. But that’s still no reason to throw your life away, questing for things that are impossible. The stars, your father—can’t you just see how crazy that is? They’re both out of reach.”
    He didn’t answer.
    “Maybe there’s something we can do right here,” she continued. “In the Seven Realms. Maybe Rhita Gawr is already down here! He could be hiding in some cave, along with his minion White Hands.”
    At the mention of the sorcerer’s name, Brionna tensed. He had stolen her beloved grandfather, her only family—and left her with a scar across her back, as well as deeper scars inside. Awkwardly, Scree reached out and touched her shoulder. But she just brushed his hand away.
    “Elli,” whispered Tamwyn, “I know this is crazy. And I’m scared, too—of more things than you know. But honestly, I have to try! To see what I can do. And also to see what I’m really meant to be.”
    For a long moment, she studied him. “Just what,” she whispered back, “are you scared of? Besides the stars, and what might be up there?”
    He cleared his throat. “I’m afraid of, well, what’s . . .” He moved closer to her, working his tongue. “What’s happening inside me.”
    She peered at him, a fathomless look on her face. “I understand,” she said gently. “The same thing has been happening inside me.”
    He frowned. “No, no, it isn’t. It can’t! You don’t know what I mean, what I’m feeling.”
    Suddenly her eyes seemed to burst into flames. “Oh, I don’t? I can’t? Is that what you think, you rock-brained excuse for a man?”
    Angrily, she slid off the Stone and stood facing him. “Well, I’ll tell you something, Tamwyn. If I ever did have feelings like that for you, I’d be—well, even stupider than you!”
    “Wait, no,” he sputtered, trying to explain. “You don’t understand.”
    “I understand just fine,” she snapped. “Just fine!”
    She turned and strode off, kicking up snow with every step.
    Before Tamwyn could do anything, Nuic tugged on his leggings. “Did I ever tell you, my boy, about your remarkable way with women? It’s a quality you inherited from your grandfather Merlin.”
    Tamwyn merely growled at him and started after Elli. Then, abruptly, he halted. He stood as still as the snow-frosted rocks all around, his expression one of utter surprise.
    Someone else was approaching—someone he recognized instantly from the songs of bards. But Tamwyn had never expected to see this creature. Not in all his