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"The opera,'' Ann says, twirling in her fancy dress. "The Mikado is still playing. We stole away!"

"The opera," Pippa says with a sigh."Is it madly elegant? You must tell me simply everything!"Advertisement

"It is dazzling, Pip. The women drip with jewels. A man winked at me."

"When?" Felicity says, disbelieving.

"He did! On the way up the staircase. Oh, and Gemma has come with Simon Middleton and his family. She's sitting in their box," Ann relates breathlessly.

"Oh, Gemma! I am so very happy for you!" Pippa says, giving me a kiss. Whatever misgivings I had about her have just melted.

"Thank you," I say, returning her kiss.

"Oh, it all sounds heavenly. Tell me more." Pippa leans against a tree.

"Do you like my dress?" Ann asks, twirling again for her inspection.

Pippa takes Ann's hands in hers, dancing with her."It's beautiful! You are beautiful!"

Pippa stops twirling. She looks as if she shall cry. "I've never been to the opera, and now I never shall, I suppose. How I wish I could go with you."

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"You would be the most beautiful of all, if you were there," Felicity says, making Pip smile again. Ann runs to me."Gemma, try the amulet."

"What's this?" Pippa asks.

"Gemma thinks her amulet is a sort of compass," Felicity says.

"Do you think it will show us the way to the Temple?" Pippa asks.

"We're going to find out," I say. I take the amulet from my handbag, turn it over. At first, there is nothing but the cold hard metal surface reflecting a distorted image of my face. But then, something changes. The surface grows cloudy. I move slowly in a circle. When I am facing two straight rows of olive trees, the crescent eye glows bright, illuminating a faint but obvious path.

"Stick to the path," I mutter, remembering Nell's words. "I think we've found the way to the Temple."

"Oh, let me see!" Pippa takes the amulet in her hands, watches it glow in the direction of the olive trees."How splendid!"

"Have you been that way?" I ask.

Pippa shakes her head. A breeze whistles down the trail between the olive trees, carrying with it a handful of leaves and the scent of lilac. Using the amulet's shimmering glow as a guide, we duck into the cover of the trees, walking for what seems a mile, past strange totems with the heads of elephants, snakes, and birds. We reach an earthen passageway. The amulet flares.

"Through here?" Ann says, panting.

"I'm afraid so," I answer.

It is tight and not terribly tall. Even Ann, the shortest of us, has to stoop to pass through. The softness of the trail gives way to

rockier ground. We come through the opening onto a path bordered on both sides by fields of tall reddish orange flowers that sway hypnotically. As we pass, the breeze bends them forward so that they brush gently across our faces and shoulders. They smell of fresh summer fruits. Pippa picks a bloom and tucks it into her fading crown.

Something flits past on my right. "What was that?" Ann asks, standing close.

"I don't know," I answer. I can see nothing but the flowers rippling in the wind.

"Let's go on," Pippa advises.

We follow the amulet's bright glow till the path ends abruptly at an enormous wall of rock. It is tall as a mountain and seems to go on forever so that there is no way around it.

"What do we do now?" Felicity asks.

"There must be some way through," I say, though I haven't the vaguest idea how."Look for a passage."

We press against the rocks till we are exhausted with the effort.

"It's no use," Pippa says, panting."It's solid rock."

We can't have come all this way for nothing. There must be a way in. I walk along the wall, moving the amulet back and forth. It flares briefly.

"What's this?" I say.

I turn it again gently and it shimmers in my hand. When I look at the rock, there is the faint outline of a door.

"Do you see that?" I ask, hoping that I am not imagining it.

"Yes!" Felicity cries."It's a door!"

I reach out a hand and feel the cold steel of a handle in the rock. With a deep breath, I pull on it. It's as if a great, dark hole has opened in the earth. The amulet's shine is strong.

"This would seem to be the way," I announce, though truthfully, I have no desire to step into that deep black well.

Felicity licks her lips nervously."Go on, then. We'll follow." pqdm.com