Vinnevra spun around again, eyes closed, and flung out her arm to establish our direction. Where she pointed, I could see a brown smudge along the wal’s gray horizon—dust rising high in the air. Gamelpar leaned heavily on his stick, his right leg stil trembling. “You’re sure?” he asked. “I’m sure.” The great double-square tiles of Halo had continued to move along the inside of the wheel. Now the sun shone on their upper surfaces and revealed geometricaly patterned Forerunner metal, as with the bare segments we could see spaced at intervals along the sky bridge. Whatever landscape—if any—that had been layered on the tiles had been sacrificed, atmosphere spiled out into space along with land, animals, and, yes, perhaps even people— al to repair damage suffered during the war between the Forerunners. It is her way, to allow us to suffer. “No,” I said under my breath. “I feel her in me, it is not her way.” My experiences on the Halo had not yet rubbed out al my hopes for the Lifeshaper.
