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"The little singing girl," the woman said, her voice a hoarse whisper "She be tooken They tooken her away"

She turned away abruptly and disappeared into the shadowed interior of the cott Her children began to cry and to claw at her for food

The gnarled tree was dying, split al Perhaps it had once borne fruit But now its liles, punctuated by occasional wisps of brown leaves

The slected too But there were voices inside: a wo her in an angry, spiteful tone

Thomas knocked The voices becahtly

"Who you be?" the woman asked abruptly

"We're friends of Mart's," Thoht?"

"Who be it, Mum?" the child's voice called

The wo Finally Thomas called to the child, "Is Matt at ho hi with mistrust

"He runned off! And tooken food too!" A tyke called to them; his head, thick with tousled, unkempt hair, appeared beside the woman He pushed the door open wider

Kira looked in dismay at the cott's dark interior A pitcher, overturned on a table, lay in a puddle of soh which insects crawled The tyke at the door picked his nose with one finger, scratched hihed wetly and then spat so to the floor

"Do you knohere he went?" Kira asked, trying not to sho shocked she felt at the condition of these people

The woain "Good rid to him," she said She shoved the tyke to the side and pulled the heavy wooden door closed

After a moment, Kira and Thomas turned away Behind theoed," the tyke's voice said He e voice and came to theht, mischievous eyes

They waited

"What you giain

Kira sighed Life in the Fen was apparently a series of barters No wonder Matt had become such a clever manipulator and entrepreneur She looked helplessly at Thoive you," she explained to the tyke

He eyed her appraisingly "How about that there,to Kira's neck She touched the thong fro the polished stone

"No," she told the tyke, and her fingers curled protectively around the stone "This was ive it to you"

To her surprise, he nodded as if that made sense to him "That there, then?" He pointed to her hair Kira re, as she often did, with a simple leather cord of no value Quickly she pulled it loose and held it out

The tyke grabbed it and thrust it into his pocket It seemed to be a satisfactory payment "Our mum, she thrashed Matt so hard he was horrid bloody, and so hi back, not to the Fen," the tyke announced "Matt, he got friends who be taking good care of hiive hihed a little "And they h the tyke just stared, not understanding the word

"But he meant us!" Kira pointed out "We're the friends he meant!" She was concerned "If he tried to coo that he left here, and no one's seen him since He knew the way to --"

Matt's brother interrupted her "Hi a giftie for his friends That be you, miss? And you?" He looked at Thomas

They nodded

"Matt, he say that a giftie hed in exasperation "No, that's not the way it is A gift --" She gave up "Neveryou some blue!"

"Blue? What do you mean?"

"Dunno, ot blue yonder, and he be getting you some"

The woman reappeared in the open doorway and called in a shrill and angry voice to the tyke, who retreated inside Thoan to retrace their steps on the e Silent watchers still lurked in doorways The fetid air still hung humid

Kira whispered to Thoht perhaps ould find that he had been taken too Like Jo"