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"Well, er, we'd better run," he ave him a smile It was an uncomfortable one, with a bit of a sles?" he panted when the Feegle arh the caves "Ach, they dinna like the taste o' us overmuch," said Rob Anybody as the shadows parted "It may be 'cuz we think aboot the drinkin' a lot--it makes 'eles struck, although that was hardly the right word It was rabbed; there were no claws If thousands of tiny weak things like shri to stop so He raised a hand as Roland staggered toward the boat THAT WILL BE SIX PENNIES, he said "Six?" said Roland "Ah, asna doon herewent sixpence!" said Daft Wullie ONE ONE-DAY ROUND TRIP, ONE ONE-WAY, said the ferryinning to feel little tugs in his head now Thoughts had to push hard to get as far as his mouth "Leave this tae me," said Rob Anybody He turned to look down on his fellow Feegles and banged on Roland's helmet for silence "Okay, lads," he announced "We're no' leavin'!" WHAT? said the ferryman OH NO, YOU LEAVE! I'M NOT HAVING YOU DOWN HERE AGAIN! WE'RE STILL FINDING THE BOTTLES FROM LAST TIME! COME ON, GET ON THE BOAT THIS MINUTE! "Crivens, we canna do that, pal," said Rob Anybody "We're under a geas to help this lad, ye ken Where he disna go, we dinna go!" PEOPLE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO WANT TO STAY HERE! snapped the ferryain," said Rob Anybody, grinning The ferry sound, like dice OH, ALL RIGHT THEN BUT--AND I WANT TO BE CLEAR ON THIS--THERE IS TO BE NO SINGING! Roland dragged the girl onto the boat The bogles kept clear of that, at least, but as the ferry Yan kicked Roland on the boot and pointed upward Scribbles of orange light, hundreds of the across the roof of the cavern There were oin', Mister Hero?" asked Rob Anybody quietly as he cli for the opportune htily He turned to look at the not-Tiffany "I' not to look directly at her eyes "You?" said the not-Tiffany, as if the idea were a is--" There was a bules were as thick as standing corn "Off ye go, then," said Big Yan Roland pulled the not-Tiffany along the path for a few steps, and stopped When he blinked, the path ahead was a writhing orange er than a breeze But they were in his brain, too Cold, and nibbling This was stupid It couldn't work He wouldn't be able to do it He wasn't any good at this sort of thing He ard and inconsiderate and disobedient, just like his…aunts…said Behind him, Daft Wullie shouted, in his cheerful way, "Make yer aunties proud of ye!" Roland half turned, suddenly angry "My aunts? Let me tell you about my aunts--"

"No time, laddie!" shouted Rob Anybody "Get on wi' it!" Roland looked around, his ht And I will not stand for this! He turned to the not-Tiffany and said: "Don't be afraid" Then he held out his left hand and whispered, under his breath: "I reht he could barely feel it, so thin he could hardly see it, a line in the air that was made up mostly of sharpness He'd killed a thousand enemies with it, in the mirror It was never too heavy, it moved like part of hi that clung and lied and stole "Mebbe ye can htfully, as bogles scribbled themselves into existence and died He turned to Daft Wullie "Daft Wullie?" he said "Can ye bring to mind when it was I told ye that so?" Daft Wullie looked baffled "Noo that ye mention it, Rob, I dinna recall ye ever sayin' that, ever"

"Aye?" said Rob "Weel, if I had done, just noould ha' been one o' those tih, aye? I said soht?"

"Aye Ye did, Daft Wullie A First I'm proud o' ye," said Rob Daft Wullie's face split in an enorrin "Crivens! Hey, lads, I said--"

"But dinna get carried awa'," Rob added As Roland swung the airy blade, the bogles parted like spiderwebs There were more, alwayshim free They backed away, tried new shapes, recoiled froles curled around the blade and squealed, and sizzled into nothingness on the floor-- --and so so for quite a while "Huh?" he said, opening his eyes "Ye've run oot," said Rob Anybody His chest heaving, Roland looked around Eyes open or shut, the caves were e hiet oot noo," said Rob, "or ye can hang aroond and wait for some chin He pointed across the river A pure les that there was no space between the for breath "I'll tell ye whut," said Rob Anybody soothingly "If ye are a guid boy an' rescue the lady, we'll bring ye doon here another time, wi' some sandwiches so's we can make a day o' it" Roland blinked "Er, yes," he said "Um…sorry I don't knohat happened just then…"

"Offski tirabbed the hand of the not-Tiffany "An' don't look back until we're well oot o' here," said Rob Anybody "It's kind of traditional" On the top of the tower, the ice crown appeared in the Wintersmith's pale hands It shone ht It was purest ice, without bubbles, lines, or flaw "I made this for you," he said "The Summer Lady will never wear it," he added sadly It fit perfectly It didn't feel cold He stepped back "And now it is done," said the Winters I have to do, too," said Tiffany "But first there's sos that make a man?"

"Yes!"

"How did you find out what they were?" The Wintersmith proudly told her about the children, while Tiffany breathed carefully, forcing herself to relax His logic was very…logical After all, if a carrot and two pieces of coal canbucket of salts and gases and metal should certainly make him a human It made…sense At least, sense to the Winters," said Tiffany "It is mostly only about what humans are made of It isn't about what hus that I could not find," said the Wintersmith "They made no sense They had no substance"

"Yes," said Tiffany, nodding sadly "The last three lines, I expect, which are the whole point I'm really sorry about that"

"But I will find them," said the Wintersmith "I will!"

"I hope you do, one day," said Tiffany "Now, have you ever heard of Boffo?"

"What is this Boffo? It was not in the song!" said the Winterse the world by fooling themselves," said Tiffany "It's wonderful And Boffo says that things have no power that huical, but you can't s It's just a nail in your heart Only a nail" And the tiht dreamily I kno the Story has to end I ht kind of way She pulled the Wintersmith toward her and saw the look of astonishh her feet weren't touching the floor The world beca to the future There was nothing to see but the Winters, nothing to feel but the warlobe of suer than any bonfire could ever be Where this takesthe waroing to have to stand on tiptoe, she added Thunder onin my left hand Fire above me… "Please," she said, "take the winter away Go back to your mountains Please" Frost in front ofelse"

"Then you cannot be huh to build a hoh to break a heart'" Balance…and it ca her up inside The center of the seesaw does not move It feels neither upness nor downness It is balanced Balance…and his lips were like blue ice She'd cry, later, for the Wintersmith anted to be human Balance…and the old kelda had once told her: "There's a little bitty bit inside ye that willna melt and flow" Time to thaw She shut her eyes and kissed the Wintersmith… …and dren the sun Frost to fire The entire top of the ice palace ht that cast shadows on walls a hundred htning, and spread out above the world like an uan to fall back as a soft, warm rain that punched little worhts, hadn't got a thought to spare She lay on a slab of ice in the soft rain and listened to the palace collapse around her There are ti that you can do has been done and there's nothing for it now but to curl up and wait for the thunder to die down There was solint that vanished when she tried to look at it and then turned up again in the corner of her eye The palace waslike a waterfall The slab she lay on half slid and half floated down a staircase that was turning into a river

Above her, huge pillars fell but went froush of ater in littering crown, Tiffany thought with a touch of regret Good-bye to the dress ood-bye to the ice roses and the snowflakes Such a sharass under her, and so et up or drown She et to her knees, at least, and waited until it was possible to stand up without being knocked over "You have so of olden light rushed into a shape It was her own shape, but her eyes were… odd, like a snake's Right here and noith the roaring of the heat of the sun still filling her ears, this didn't see Slowly, Tiffany took the Cornucopia out of her pocket and handed it over "You are the Suirl ould be me?" There was a hiss to the words "I didn't want to be!" said Tiffany hurriedly "Why do you look like e to watch yourself, and Tiffany noticed she had a small mole on the back of her neck "It's called resonance," she said "Do you knohat that is?"