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On the outskirts of the arena, right beside the entrance and carefully segregated from the men, sat the wohastly exciteain their glances strayed to Resa with expressions of pity – and dread

Capricorn arrived when the long benches were full There were no seats for the boys, so they squatted on the ground in front of the Black Jackets His face emotionless, Capricorn strode past the but a flock of crows that had asse his prisoners did he slow his pace to exalance For the fraction of a second life came back into Basta as his former lord and master stopped by the bars; he raised his head, his eyes pleading silently, like a dog begging for forgiveness, but Capricorn walked on without a word When he had seated himself in his black leather ars planted wide apart Obviously, he was the new favourite now

‘For heaven’s sake, stop looking at him like that!’ Elinor snapped at Basta when she realised that his eyes were still following Capricorn ‘He’s planning to feed you to his friend like a fly to a frog, so how about a little indignation? You were always so ready with a choice selection of threats: "I’ll cut your tongue out, I’ll slice you to pieces …" What’s happened to all that, then?’

But Basta only bowed his head and stared at the floor beneath his boots Elinor thought he looked like an oyster with the flesh and life sucked out of it

When Capricorn was sitting down the blaring ie forward They had put a horrible dress on her, but she held her head high, and the old wo her up on to the rostrum which the Black Jackets had set up in the le chair stood on the rostruotten it Elinor thought a gallows and a rope would have looked pie forced her up the wooden steps

‘Hello, darling!’ called Elinor when Meggie’s frightened gaze recognised her ‘Don’t worry, I’ you read!’

Everything had fallen so still on Capricorn’s arrival that her voice echoed over the whole arena It sounded brave and fearless Fortunately, no one could hear how hard her heart was haainst her ribs Nor did anyone notice that she was al with fear, for Elinor had put on her armour, the impenetrable and extremely useful armour behind which she had always hidden at tirief she felt, and lately there had been grief enough in Elinor’s life

One of the Black Jackets laughed at her words, and a faint sie’s face Elinor put her arm round Teresa’s shoulders and held her close ‘Look at your daughter,’ she whispered ‘As brave as … as …’ She wanted to coie to a hero from some story, but all the heroes she could think of were h for a coht, scrutinising Capricorn’s Black Jackets with her chin jutting defiantly

The Magpie had brought not only Meggie but an old uessed that this was the writer who had caused thelio, the creator of Capricorn, Basta and all the otherto life tonight Elinor had always thought more of books than their authors, and she looked at the old e There was a seat ready for him only a little way from Capricorn’s armchair Elinor wondered whether that meant Capricorn had found a new friend, but when Flatnose placed hilio was more likely a prisoner himself

Capricorn rose as soon as the old aze pass slowly over the long line of his ood and what bad service each had done hihter had died away, and not a whisper could be heard

‘There is no need,’ Capricorn finally began, raising his voice, ‘for me to explain to most of you why the three prisoners you see here are to be punished For the rest, it is enough for me to say it is for treachery, loose talk, and stupidity One ue, of course, over whether or not stupidity is a cri of death I think it is, for it can have exactly the same consequences as treachery’

As he said this there was a restless stir on the benches At first Elinor thought Capricorn’s words had set it off, but then she heard the bell Even Basta raised his head as its tolling sounded through the night At a sign from Capricorn, Flatnose beckoned to five men and strode off with theether uneasily, and soe However, Capricorn raised his hand to quell the !’ he called in so loud and cutting a tone that everything iain ‘A fire, that’s all And we kno to deal with fire, don’t we?’

There was laughter, but so anxiously at the houses

So they’d done it Elinor bit her lips so hard that they hurt Mortimer and the boy had started a fire No smoke yet showed above the rooftops, and, reassured, all the faces turned back to Capricorn as saying soence, but Elinor only half heard hih she kneas dangerous to do so

‘So much for the prisoners we have here!’ cried Capricorn ‘Now for those who got away’ Cockerell picked up a sack that had been lying behind Capricorn’s chair and gave it to hi up: a piece of fabric from a shirt or dress, torn and bloodstained

‘They are dead!’ called Capricorn to his audience ‘I’d rather have seen the for it: they were trying to escape and had to be shot Well, no one will miss the treacherous little fire-eater – alue has left us his daughter, who has inherited his gifts’

Teresa looked at Elinor, her eyes glazed with horror

‘He’s lying!’ Elinor whispered to her, although she too could not take her eyes off the bloodstained rags ‘He’s using my lies, my tricks! That’s not blood, it’s paint, or some kind of dye’ But she saw that her niece did not believe her She believed in the bloodstained cloth, just as her daughter did Elinor could read this on Meggie’s face, and she longed to call out to her that Capricorn was lying, but she wanted hier – to believe that they were all dead, and no one would coht, boast of a bloodstained rag, you h the bars ‘That’s really so to be proud of Why do you need anotherthere! You murder books, you abduct children …!’