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T hirty seconds later a very drowsy Jenna was outside the tepee with Septi on either side of her like sentries She blinked into the bright ht and looked around, puzzled

Ullr yawned and stretched, digging his claws into the darass

Far on the other side of the Su Under the cover of the raised voices Septiht now

Come on"

"But why? I&039;m so tired, Sep"

"Too bad, Jen You can&039;t stay here Co into the Forest at night No way"

"Corabbed an arm and lifted her off her feet

"Hey!" Jenna protested

"Shhh" Septimus and Beetle hissed

"Put into Princess voice, "Right now" Beetle and Septimus put Jenna down

"Come on, Jen," Septimus pleaded "You have to trust us Please"

Jenna trusted Septimus coht Reluctantly, she walked down the hill with Septi behind the warmth of the campfire and the circle of illuminated tepees like upturned yellow cones on the hilltop, and headed to the dark uncertainty of the Forest Even with the NightUllr by her side, Jenna felt fearful - and then she saw so that made her feel very afraid Far below, half hidden in the trees, was a flickering fla for Jenna stopped and glared at Septi her up again "There&039;s a Forest Wraith," she whispered "It&039;s heading straight for us"

"It&039;s not a Forest Wraith, Jen" The reen eyes shine "It&039;s Sa remarkably cheerful about the prospect

"I&039; the track between the tall Forest trees

"I&039; witches keeping ht

They&039;re a pain I don&039;t knohat Jo-Jo, Edd and Erik see in theht he did know, but he didn&039;t say anything He was too busy trying to keep up Sa branch of oak that had been dipped in tar and burned with a strong flame, and Beetle wanted to keep as close to it as he possibly could The track narrowed and plunged into a particularly dark patch, and the group was forced to travel single file, with Beetle the last in line Stories about wolverines picking off the weakest stragglers kept going through his head, and he was deter

Sam was a confident leader He strode on steadily and slowed only once when a long, rolling growl rumbled out of the darkness in front of therowl continued and on the path ahead Beetle saw the yellow glint of two pairs of eyes Suddenly Sam jabbed his torch into the dark - there was a sharp yelp and a sed fur Quickly, they hurried on, with Beetle al on Septi behind just in case the yellow eyes had decided to try their luck

A few an to feelflah the trees and he knew theyCaangly figures ju around the fire and ran to greet them

Beetle had never h Septimus had told him all about the larger versions of Septily with a wild look to them They wore an assort young witches, and they looked, thought Beetle, as though they belonged in the Forest even more than the witches did The only sireen eyes and the Heap hair - straw-colored curls that the Forest Heaps had turned into long, matted rat tails

"That was quick," said one with feathers woven into his rat tails

"Yeah," replied Sam, "and a lot quieter than usual"

"MarissaMarissa?" Another Heap with a collection of plaited leather headbands around his rat tails peered at the group behind Saht a load of kids Where&039;s Marissa?"

"For your information, Jo," said Sam, "this load of kids is your brother and sister, not to mention your sister&039;s panther" Sam waved his hand at Ullr, as almost invisible in the shadows The boys whistled, impressed "Oh" Sam tried to remember what Septimus had called the older boy with the black hair "Oh yeah, and there&039;s Cockroach"

"No, actually it&039;s Bee - " But Beetle&039;s protests were lost in the argu between Jo-Jo and Sary "So you haven&039;t brought Marissa?"

"No"

"Pigs, Sa around here I couldn&039;t see her and then when he was up at the Circle I couldn&039;t, and now he&039;s gone and I can and you haven&039;t brought Marissa"

"Well, you go get her, then," said Sa torch into Jo-Jo&039;s hands "I&039;ht stuff anyway You can do it"

"All right, then, I will" Jo-Jo strode off with the branch and Sao with a surprised look

"Will he be okay?" asked Septirinned "He&039;ll be fine on the way back that&039;s for sure

Marissa will scare anything away"

The two rehed Then one of them said, a little shyly, "Hello, Jen"

"Hello, Edd," said Jenna, equally shyly

"Hey, you can tell"

"Of course I can I never got you muddled up, did I? Not even when you tried to fool hed "No, you didn&039;t, not once," said Erik, re that they could sometimes fool even theirby the war snap and crackle of the logs and the faint sizzle of a row of tiny fish cooking in the background, Jenna listened to Septiht from the other side of the tepee

"Well, that&039;s just stupid," she said "Ephaniah wouldn&039;t do that Anyway, he couldn&039;t No one can give a person to someone"

"It&039;s different itches," said Septimus

"I&039;d like to see theht, Jen," said Sam "It is different itches There are different rules - their rules You think you are doing what you want, but then you find out that all along you&039;ve been doing what they want Look at Jo-Jo"

"Jo-Jo&039;s doing exactly what he wants," sniggered Edd and Erik

"Yeah He thinks," Sam muttered