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"Jeremiah Alexander MacKenzie," Brianna said, in awful tones, "you are a Bad Boy!" She checked him hastily for blood or injury, found none, and fetched hih to ave her an instant qualery, and quelled the iain

"Jeremiah!"

Bunches of dried rose rack and shredded One of the gauze shelves of the rack itself had been pulled loose, the fabric ripped and hanging Bottles and jars fro; so round salt had been rifled, handsful of the crystals tossed around with abandon

Worst of all, her mother’s amulet lay on the floor, the little leather pouch torn open, flat and empty Scattered bits of dried plants, a few tiny bones, and other debris lay strewn round it

"Ma--I should have kept a better eye on--" She had nearly to shout her apologies, to be heard above Jehtly at the noise, looked round the surgery, taking hasty inventory Then she stooped and picked Je a hand lightly over hisineffective, she patted the hand over the gaping orifice, producing a "a-wa" sound thatat once He stuck a thu loudly round it, and pressed a filthy cheek to Claire’s shoulder

"Well, they do get into things," she said to Bree, looking , it’s only a bit of a oodness, and I keep the poisons up high, too"

Brianna felt her heart begin to slon Her hand felt hot, pulsing with blood

"But your amulet" She pointed, and saw a shadow cross her mother’s face when she saw the desecration

"Oh" Claire took a deep breath, patted Jemmy’s back, and put hierly picked up the liled feathers

"I’m sorry," Brianna repeated, helplessly

She could see the effort it cost, but herto pick up the bits and pieces fro forward, hiding her face

"I always did wonder as in this thing," Claire said She gingerly began to pick up the tiny bones, collecting them carefully in the palm of one hand "What do you think these are fro a wary eye on Jeht lanced up at her, surprised "Aren’t you clever--look" She plucked a small, papery brown object fro to look closer, Brianna could see that the thing that looked like a cru, the fragile leather dried to translucence, a bone slender as a needle curving through it like the central rib of a leaf

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog/ Wool of bat, and tongue of dog," Claire quoted She spilled the handful of bones onto the counter, looking at them with fascination "I wonder what she ave , Claire swept up the crumbled bits of leaf--at least Brianna hoped they were real leaves--into her hand, and sniffed theery that she herself couldn’t distinguish anything beyond the overwhel sweetness of honey, but evidently herout individual scents

"Bayberry, balsa like a truffle-hound "Bit of sage, too, I think"

"Arsesht of you?" In spite of her distress, Brianna laughed

"Ha bloody ha," hethe little heap of dried plant matter onto the table with the bones "Otherwise known as water-pepper It’s a rather irritating little thing that grows near brooks--gives you blisters and sine, if you happen to carelessly sit on it"

Jeical cla to decide whether it was edible Brianna debated taking it away froiven that her , decided to let hies

Leaving him with Claire, she went back to the kitchen to fetch hot water and so was there but was sound asleep, snoring gently on the settle, hands folded on her rounded sto back with the bucket of water and a handful of cloths, she foundround on hands and knees, peering under things

"Have you lost solanced at the botto, bar the honey-jar The other bottles had been neatly stoppered and replaced, and everything lookedas she peered under the cupboard itself "A stone About so big"--she held out a hand, thu a sphere about the diarayish-blue Translucent in spots It’s a raw sapphire"

"Was it in the cupboard? Maybe Mrs Bugher head

"No, she doesn’t touch anything in here Besides, it wasn’t in the cupboard--it was in there" She nodded at the table, where the amulet’s empty pouch lay beside the bones and plant debris

A quick search--and then a slower one--of the surgery revealed no sign of the stone