Thoughts of a horrible death in the heat of the lava struck her dumb. She could not even scream. Cool air drifted past her face. Cool? She opened her eyes. Time and space twisted and distorted around her. She had no sense of up or down, right or left. Her head spun and her joints ached. Her stomach threatened to turn inside out. A groan erupted from her throat. But she could not hear it. She decided to keep her mouth and her eyes clamped closed. Contained within herself once more, her senses found orientation. She shifted to face up. One heartbeat later, a firm surface pressed against her butt. With her fingers she explored the surface. Grass. Bracken. Stone. Her eyes flew open. A near perfect ring of trees surrounded a grassy glade. She caught a whiff of the pungent Tambootie tree. Off to her right she heard the rippling of the river. Farther in the distance she picked out rhythmic voices chanting a harvest song. Dalleena rolled quickly to her knees and then to her feet. She sought the protective shadows of the trees, all the while holding out her questing hand.
