She stood looking
down into the expanse of the valley, hazed a sick gray by the
sacrificial fires. The mountains on either side blank and flat,
jagged lines against a yellow sky. The pyramids led off until they
disappeared into the smoke, a staggered line, white clouds billowing
from their peaks and trailing west. Stones in a silty pond. She made
the sign safety, three times.
I am safe, I am safe, I am safe.
Then she adjusted the mullein leaf mask around her nose, and started
down.
