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‘What are you doing?’ Dustfinger tried to snatch them out, but Basta pushed hier stepped back, holding the can behind his back, but Basta grabbed it from his hands ‘Why, it looks as if our fire-eater would rather let soer cast hiid, he watched Capricorn’s men throw more and more books into the braziers In the end there were over two dozen copies of Inkheart on the piles of firewood, their pages crus

‘You knohat always got er?’ asked Capricorn as he took the petrol can fro a fire It wasn’t any problem to you, of course – you could even talk to fire, very likely one of those grunting brownies taught you how – but it was a tedious business for the rest of us The as always da for the good old days, youfriends, but I don’t shed a tear for any of that This world is far better equipped than the one we had to be content with for so er did not see He just stared at the petrol and ses sucked it up as greedily as if they elco their own end

‘Where did they all come from?’ he stammered ‘You always told ue’s’

‘Yes, yes, I told you all kinds of things’ Capricorn put his hand in his trouser pocket ‘You’re such a gullible fellow, Dustfinger It’s fun to tell you lies Your innocence always amazed me – after all, you lie very cleverly yourself But you’re too ready to believe what you want to believe, that’s your trouble Well, you can safely believethe petrol-soaked pile of books, ‘these really are the last copies of our ink-black home It’s taken Basta and the others years to track the libraries and second-hand bookshops’

Dustfinger looked longingly at the books, as a lass of water in existence ‘But you can’t burn them!’ he stamue’s book That’s why I told you where he was That’s why I brought you his daughter’

Capricorn ed his shoulders and took the book fro that Meggie and Elinor had been so eager to give hi Mo all this way, the book for which Dustfinger had betrayed them all

‘I’d have promised to fetch you down the ood,’ said Capricorn, looking bored as he flung the last copy of Inkheart on to the pile with its companions ‘I’m happy to make prohter froer was about to leap at hin to Flatnose

Flatnose was so tall and broad that beside hier looked almost like a child, and indeed the man took hold of hi, Gwin leaped off Dustfinger’s shoulder One of Capricorn’s ot away and disappeared behind one of the red coluer’s desperate atterasp Flatnose thought it greatly ah to the petrol-soaked books to touch the top voluie feel quite ill Mo took a step forward as if to go to Dustfinger’s aid, but Basta barred his way, a knife in his hand Its blade, narrow and shiny, looked terribly sharp held against Mo’s throat

Elinor screaie had never even heard before, but she herself could notat the blade against Mo’s bare throat

‘Let me have one of theie realize that he had not been going to help Dustfinger but was thinking of the book ‘I promise never to read aloud a line of it that mentions your naive one to,’ replied Capricorn ‘One day you ue after all, and I’d land back in that ridiculous story again No thank you very much!’

‘Nonsense!’ cried Mo ‘I couldn’t read you back into it even if I wanted to – how often do I have to tell you that? Ask Dustfinger I’ve explained it to him a thousand tis happen For heaven’s sake, believesmirk, Capricorn answered ue, but the fact is I don’t believe anyone You ought to know that by now We’re all liars when it serves our purpose’ And with those words he flicked the lighter and held its flaes almost transparent, like parchs caught light i black as the flaht fire, Dustfinger kicked Flatnose’s kneecap so hard that the o of hiled out of those powerful ar, he reached into the fla like a torch Dustfinger dropped it on the flagstone floor and reached into the fire again, with his other hand this tirasped hier was gasping for air

‘Look at the lunatic!’ sneered Basta as Dustfinger stared at his hands, his face distorted with pain ‘Can anyone explain what he wants so ht hiled in the market-place? Or the filthy hovels where he lived with other vagabonds? They s hed as the books slowly crumpled into ashes There was still a smell of petrol in the church, such an acrid sh Mo put a protective arm around her shoulders, as if Basta had threatened her rather than hiie, who could protect Mo?

Elinor was looking at his neck as anxiously as if she feared Basta’s knife ht have left its mark there after all ‘These fellows are out of their minds!’ she whispered ‘You knohat they say: when people start burning books they’ll soon burn hus Suppose we’re the next to find ourselves on a pyre?’

Basta seeht her eye, and with a twisted smile kissed the blade of his knife

Elinor fell silent, as if she had sed her tongue

Capricorn had taken a snohite handkerchief froers with it carefully, as if to wipe even the memory of Inkheart off his hands ‘Well, that’s done at last,’ he re embers Then, with a satisfied expression on his face, he climbed up to the chair that had replaced the altar Capricorn sank into its red upholstery with a deep sigh