We climbed out of the valley until we were on the hill. Draco was ahead, holding the donkey. A pale sun shone on Aquae Sulis, and the stone was cleaner than it had been in a long time.
We reined in the horses and looked back. By the spring, facing us, was a group of people. I couldn’t make out their faces-one of them looked like the old lady who told me about Bibax. There was another old woman, a younger man, and a boy. Other figures crowded behind them. To the side of the water, by himself, was another man-dressed in the garb of a priest.
The old lady saw us, raised a hand. I looked at Gwyna. She was staring straight ahead, rigid. I raised my hand above my head. One by one, they seemed to dissolve in the dawn and the mist from the spring, until only a flicker of sun on yellow stone was shining from the waters of Sulis.
It was time to go home.