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"He's an elemental," said Miss Treason from her loom "Aye," said Rob Anybody "Gods, elementals, demons, spirits…sometimes it's hard to tell 'em apart wi'oot a map"

"And the dance is to welcome winter?" said Tiffany "That doesn'tof the summer, yes, that's--"

"Are you an infant?" said Miss Treason "The year is round! The wheel of the world must spin! That is why up here they dance the Dark Morris, to balance it They welcome the winter because of the new summer deep inside it!" Click-clack went the loo a new cloth, of broool "Well, all right," said Tiffany "We welco for me!"

"Why did you join the dance?" Miss Treason demanded "Er…There was a space, and--"

"Yes A space A space not intended for you Not for you, foolish child You danced with hiirl I have never heard of such a thing! I want you to fetch the third book froht on the second shelf from the top of my bookcase" She handed Tiffany a heavy black key "Can you e to do even that?" Witches didn't need to slap the stupid, not when they had a sharp tongue that was always ready Miss Treason also had several shelves of books, which was unusual for one of the older witches The shelves were high up, the books looked big and heavy, and up until now Miss Treason had forbidden Tiffany to dust the black iron band that secured theave theerous Tiffany unlocked the bands and wiped away the dust Ah…the books were, like Miss Treason, not everything they seeic books, but they had names like An Encyclopaedia of Soup There was a dictionary Next to it the book Miss Treason had asked for was covered in cobwebs Still blushing with shaet it free of the webs So! as they snapped, and dust fell off the top of the pages When she opened it, it sold lettering that had almost rubbed aas Chaffinch's Ancient and Classical Mythology It was full of bookhteen and nineteen," said Miss Treason, her head notTiffany turned to them "'The Dacne of the Sneasos'?" she said "Is that supposed to be 'The Dance of the Seasons'?"

"Regrettably, the artist, Don Weizen de Yoyo, whose famous masterpiece that was, did not have the sa," said Miss Treason "They worried him, for some reason I notice you mention the words before the pictures You are a bookish child" The picture was…strange It shoo figures Tiffany hadn't seen masquerade costu But she'd read about thee showed a s that looked like a man and a woman The woman was labeled "Summer" and was tall and blond and beautiful, and therefore to the short, brown- haired Tiffany was a figure of i basket shaped like a shell, which was full of fruit The littered on his beard "Ach, that's wha' the Wintersh," said Rob Anybody, strolling across the page "Ol' Frosty"

"Him?" said Tiffany "That's the Wintersster, eh?" said Miss Treason nastily "Dinna let hiht turn blue and fall off!" said Daft Wullie cheerfully "Daft Wullie, don't you dare say things like that!" said Tiffany "I wuz just tryin' to lighten thesheepish "That's an artist's impression, of course," said Miss Treason "What does thatShe knew it This wasn't what he was like at all… "It chin "He wouldna ha' seen him, noo, would he? No one's seen the Wintersmith"

"Yet!" said Daft Wullie "Wullie," said Rob Anybody, turning to his brother, "ye ken I told ye aboot makin' tactful remarks?"

"Aye, Rob, I ken weel," said Wullie obediently "What ye just said wuz not one o' the his head "Sorry, Rob" Tiffany clenched her fists "I didn't mean all this to happen!" Miss Treason turned her chair with some solemnity "Then what did you mean? Will you tell e? To mean is to think Did you think at all? Others have joined in the dance before now Children, drunkards, youths for a silly bet…nothing happened The spring and autumn dances are…just an old tradition,when ice and fire exchange their dominion over the world So happens For you, the dance beca has happened And now the Wintersed "I don't know When you were dancing, did you see anything? Hear anything?" How could you describe the feeling of being everywhere and everything? Tiffany wondered She didn't try "I…thought I heard a voice, or maybe two voices," she mumbled "Er, they asked ," said Miss Treason "Two voices? I will consider the implications What I can't understand is how he found you I will think about that In the ood idea to ar"

"Aye," said Rob Anybody, "the Wintersettin' ht a wee letter fro wee hag, Wullie We picked it up on the way past"

"A letter?" said Tiffany, as the loorubby, rolled- up envelope fro "It's from that wee heap o' jobbies at the castle back hame," Rob went on, as his brother hauled "He says he bides fine and hopes ye do likewise, an' he's lookin' forward to you bein' back hame soon, an' there's lots o' stuff about how the ships are doin' an' suchlike, no' verra interestin' in ma opinion, an' he's writ S W A L K on the bottom, but we havena worked out what that means yet"

"You read my letter?" said Tiffany in horror "Oh, aye," said Rob with pride "Nae probleer words, but it was rin faded as he watched Tiffany's expression "Ach, I ken you're a wee bitty upset that we opened yon envelope thingy," he explained "But that's okay, 'cuz we glued it up again wi' slug Ye wouldna ever know it'd been read" He coughed, because Tiffany was still glaring at hiles, and witches were the worst At last, when he was really nervous, Tiffany said: "How did you knohere that letter would be?" She glanced sideways at Daft Wullie He was chewing the edge of his kilt He only ever did this when he was frightened "Er…would you accept a wee bittie lie?" Rob said "No!"

"It's interestin' There's dragons an' unicorns in it--"

"No I want the truth!"

"Ach, it's so boring We go to the Baron's castle an' read the letters ye sent him, an', an' ye said the postman knows to leave letters tae you in the hollow tree by the waterfall," said Rob If the Winterse, the air couldn't have been any colder "He keeps the letters fra' ye in a box under his--" Rob began, and then shut his eyes as Tiffany's patience parted with a twang even louder than Miss Treason's strange cobwebs "Don't you know it's wrong to read other people's letters?" she dean "And you broke into the Baron's cast--"

"Ah, ah, ah, no, no, no!" said Rob, juet us on that one! We just walked in through one of them little wee slits for the firin' o' the arrows--"