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It was E?" she said again She couldn’t see the hollow Didn’t knoas there

I took my hand away from its head, slid back fro"

"It doesn’t rine’s about to change!"

Crowded into the little room were all the children and all the freaks froainst the walls and crouched on the floor in a wide berth around the two yht E the spectacle The roo chair where Miss Wren had sat all night with Miss Peregrine was toppled on its side, the table of vials and beakers pushed roughly against the wall Althea stood on top of it clutching a net on a pole, ready to wield it

In the rine Miss Wren was on her knees, and she had Miss Peregrine pinned to the floorboards, her hands in thick falconing gloves, sweating and chanting in Old Peculiar, while Miss Peregrine squawked and flailed with her talons But no rine thrashed, Miss Wren wouldn’t let go

At soe had turned into so rine had so thoroughly do to be driven aithout a fight Both yrine’s feathers were everywhere, and Miss Wren had a long, bloody scratch running down one side of her face It was a disturbing sight, and many of the children looked on with openrinding into the floor was one we hardly recognized It seeht result froiving us encouraging nods as if to say, Al!

For such a frail old lady, Miss Wren was giving Miss Peregrine a pretty good clobbering But then the bird jabbed at Miss Wren with her beak and Miss Wren’s grasp slipped, and with a big flap of her wings Miss Peregrine nearly escaped froasps But Miss Wren was quick, and she leapt up andand thuain, whichour yh froht to protect her

Both yrineHer hu out over her bird nature

"Come on, Miss Wren!" Bronwyn cried

"You can do it, Miss Wren!" called Horace "Bring her back to us!"

"Please!" said Althea "We require absolute silence"

After a long tiround with her wings splayed, gasping for air, feathered chest heaving Miss Wren took her hands off the bird and sat back on her haunches

"It’s about to happen," she said, "and when it does, I don’t want any of you to rush over here grabbing at her Your ymbryne will likely be very confused, and I want the first face she sees and voice she hears to be mine I’ll need to explain to her what’s happened" And then she clasped her hands to her chest and murmured, "Come back to us, Alma Come on, sister Come back to us"

Althea stepped down from the table and picked up a sheet, which she unfolded and held up in front of Miss Peregrine to shield her from view When ymbrynes turned froive her some privacy

We waited in breathless suspense while a succession of strange noises came from behind the sheet: an expulsion of air, a sound like so their hands once, sharply--and then Miss Wren juhtened--her mouth was open, and so was Althea’s And then Miss Wren said, "No, this can’t be," and Althea stu the sheet drop And there on the floora human form, but not a woman’s

He was naked, curled into a ball, his back to us He began to stir, and uncurl, and finally to stand