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"I can’t believe I’m really here," said Melina "I’ve studied this place and dreamed about it for so many years"

"It’s just a room," said Enoch

"Maybe to you To me, it’s the heart of the whole peculiar world"

"A heart that’s been ripped out," said so toward us--the sa us at the carnival "Miss Jackdaas standing right where you are when she was taken We found a whole pile of her feathers on the floor" His accent was A, one hand on his hip "This the "We need soldiers, not little kids"

"I’m a hundred and twelve!" said Melina

"Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before," said the clown "I could tell you people were peculiar frorounds, by the way You’re the most obviously peculiar bunch of peculiars I’ve ever laid eyes on"

"I told the man

"How theycaptured is beyond me," said the clown "In fact, it’s suspicious Sure one of you ain’t a wight?"

"How dare you!" said Ehts who took us didn’t live to tell about it"

"Uh-huh, and I’h thundered, going red in the face

The clown tossed up his hands "Okay, okay, calm down, kid! I’iti"

He didn’t have to offer twice We were too hungry to stay offended for long

The clown showed us to a table stacked with food--the same boiled nuts and roasted meats that had tempted us at the carnival We crowded around the table and stuffed our faces sha man ate five cherries and a small hunk of bread and then announced he’d never been so full in his life Bronwyn paced along the wall, chewing her fingers, too consumed by worry to eat

When ere done, and the table was a battlefield of gnawed bones and grease stains, the clown leaned back in his chair and said, "So, peculiar children, what’s your story? Why’d you come here all the way from Wales?"

Emma wiped her mouth and said, "To help our ymbryne"

"And when she’s helped?" the clown asked "What then?"

I’d been busy sopping up turkey gravy with the last of the bread, but now I looked up The question was so straightforward, so simply put--so obvious--that I couldn’t believe none of us had asked it before