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When ere finally out of sight we dropped the boats and flopped onto their overturned keels, our wheezing breaths echoing in the da dark "Please, please let them not have seen us," Emma prayed aloud

"Ah, birds! Our tracks!" Millard yelped, and then he stripped off the overcoat he’d been wearing and scra marks our boats had ht to our hiding place We could only watch his footsteps trail away If anyone but Millard had ventured out, they’d have been seen for sure

A , caked in sand, a red stain outlining his chest "They’re getting close now," he panted "I did the best I could"

"You’re bleeding again!" Bronwyn fretted Millard had been grazed by a bullet during our h his recovery so far was remarkable, it was far fro?"

"I threw it away It was tied in such a complicated manner that I couldn’t remove it quickly An invisible must always be able to disrobe in an instant, or his power is useless!"

"He’s even more useless dead, you stubborn ue This is going to hurt" She squeezed two fingers in the palm of her opposite hand, concentrated for a lowed, red hot

Millard balked "Now then, Eers to his wounded shoulder Millard gasped There was the sound of singeing meat, and a curl of s stopped

"I’ll have a scar!" Millard whined

"Yes? And who’ll see it?"

He sulked and said nothing

The balloons’ engines grew louder, then louder still, a above the cave, studying our footprints, preparing their assault Emma leaned her shoulder into mine The little ones ran to Bronwyn and buried their faces in her lap, and she hugged them Despite our peculiar powers, we felt utterly powerless: it was all we could do to sit hunched and blinking at one another in the pale half-light, noses running fro our enean to dwindle, and e could hear our own voices again, Claire mumbled into Bronwyn’s lap, "Tell us a story, Wyn I’m scared and I don’t like this at all and I think I’d like to hear a story instead"

"Yes, would you tell one?" Olive pleaded "A story from the Tales, please They’re my favorite"

The most maternal of the peculiars, Bronas rine It was Bronho tucked theht, Bronho read the arather them in warm embraces, her broad shoulders to carry them But this was no time for stories--and she said as y sarcasm "But skip the Tales for once and tell us the story of how Miss Peregrine’s wards found their way to safety without athe way! I’m ever so keen to hear how that story ends"

"If only Miss Peregrine could tell us," Claire sniffled She disentangled herself fro us from her perch on one of the boats’ overturned keels "What are we to do, headain Please wake up!"

Miss Peregrine cooed and stroked Claire’s hair with her wing Then Olive joined in, her face streaking with tears: "We need you, Miss Peregrine! We’re lost and in danger and increasingly peckish and we’ve got no home anymore nor any friends but one another and we need you!"

Miss Peregrine’s black eyes shimmered She turned away, unreachable