Ninebell's bells pulled the broken road downhill.
Valea's shattered hammer head slid toward the crack. The weighted guide rope snapped tight. Black-green water climbed the opposite way along a wet groove, carrying slivers of palace glass toward the guild city.
The rescued woman rolled off the broken shutter and caught the rope.
Aylin reached for her. "You cannot stand."
The woman could barely lift her head, but she dragged herself toward Ninebell. Her bleeding wrist left a mark on the chalk line. When Valea tried to turn her back toward the palace, she gave the Roadwright stop signal and pulled the rope again.
She had chosen a direction before offering anyone a name.
The woman touched the raw outline where her seal had been, pointed down the rope, and closed her fist as though bell teeth were shutting over it. Valea followed the gesture toward Ninebell's frame.
