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Show 84 only looked down at the plates he was holding when he tapped it with his fingers to get their attention. Lorin had to smile when David moved closer to Oliver and Oliver put an arm around his shoulders, not only because he could relate to their alarm but also because he could see, as they could not, that another angel was standing just outside the small circle they had formed, with several sets of plates on the ground beside him, and he knew what they would think when they turned and saw him. There was another one further off, stacking plates on a low table, and two more on the other side of the spring setting up a display among the broken limbs scattered across the ground. Not all of the plates were bound together by rings, and some of them looked more battered than others. Most of them, Lorin realized, were plates he had not seen. More angels were coming out of the woods, carrying plates. Oliver was looking around him with frightened eyes; his lips were white. David pawed his shoulder with both hands. The angel continued to turn pages patiently, thrusting the engraved surface under their noses and running his finger along a line from time to time. Lorin excused himself and got up to look for Martin. He found him behind a dead log in a stand of maples, kneeling and tugging at his side whiskers. He cleared his throat and Martin looked up with hot, frantic eyes. Lorin patted him on the shoulder and knelt down next to him. They'd start from the top again, he said; just take it slow and be methodical and sincere. He felt Martin's shoulders quiver under his supporting arm, but nothing happened. "Are you sure you're concentrating?" he asked. Martin nodded furiously. It took several tries, but on the third or fourth Lorin noticed, to his relief, that the air had started to turn bright again. He looked at |