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But Snapper, sitting under the trees with Gecko only a little way off, laughed hoarsely "Your brother’s as big a fool as you!" he called over to the Strong Man

"It’s his bad luck he doesn’t have your uess he won’t live to be very old The Bluejay is finished! And what does he leave behind as his legacy? The i Man clenched his fists and was about to go for Snapper, but Doria pulled him back when Gecko drew his knife and rose to his feet The two of them often quarreled, but suddenly they both raised their heads and listened A jay was calling in the oak above theie, he’s back!" Farid climbed down from his lookout post so fast that he almost lost his balance

The fire had burned low, only the stars shone down into the dark ravine where the robbers had pitched their new caie didn’t see Mo until Woodenfoot limped over to him with a torch Battista and the Black Prince ith him They all seehter, his s, what did I tell you?

Resa jumped up in such haste that she stuh the crowd of robbers standing around Mo and the Prince As if in a dreaood not to be a drea the black clothes that Battista had made him He looked tired, but he did indeed seeht," Meggie heard him say as he kissed the tears froie was there in front of him he smiled at her as if this were their old life and he had only been on a short journey to cure a few sick books not Come from a castle where people wanted to kill hi," he whispered to her, and only the Way he hugged her so tight and for so long told her that he had been as frightened as she was "Leave him alone, will you?" the Black Prince told histo kno the Bluejay had escaped froht "You’ll hear the Story Soon enough And now, double the guard"

They reluctantly obeyed, sat around the dying fire gru, or disappeared into the tents that had been patched together out of pieces of fabric and old clothes, offering only scant shelter fro colder all the tiie and Resa over to his horse and delved into the saddlebags He brought out two books, handling the creatures

He gave one to Resa and one to Meggie --and laughed when Meggie snatched hers so quickly that she al tiht?" he whispered to her with an almost conspiratorial smile "Open it I promise you, you never saw a more beautiful book"

Resa had taken her book, too, but she didn’t even look at it "Fenoglio said that illuminator was the bait for you," she said in an expressionless voice "He told us they arrested you in his workshop"

"It wasn’t exactly what it seemed As you can see, no harm came of it Or I wouldn’t be here, would I?"

Mo said no more, and Resa asked no further questions She didn’t say a hen Mo sat down on the short grass in front of the horses and drew Meggie down beside him

"Farid?" he said, and Farid left Battista, who to question about events in Ombra, and went over to Mo with the saie had seen on Doria’s

"Can you ht for us?" Mo asked, and Farid kneeled down between theie could clearly see that he didn’t understand how the Bluejay could sit there right after his narrow escape frohter a book before he did anything else

"Did you ever see anything so beautiful, Meggie?" Mo whispered as she caressed one of the gilded pictures with her finger "Apart from the fairies, of course," he added with a smile as one of them, pale blue like the sky Balbulus painted, settled drowsily on the pages

Mo shooed away the fairy as Dustfinger had always done, by blowing gently between her shiie, beside hiot her fears for hiot Farid, who didn’t so lance at what she couldn’t tear her own eyes away fro in sepia brown, as airy as if Balbulus had breathed it onto the parch necks at the heads of the pages, initials heavy with gold leaf like shining buttons a the lines The words danced with the pictures and the pictures sang for the words, singing their colorful song

"Is that Her Ugliness?" Meggie laid a finger on the finely drawn figure of a woman