'I've never seen centaurs at all except in pictures,' said Agnes.
'Must've come down out of Uberwald,' said Nanny. 'Nice to see them about again.'
Agnes hurriedly lit the candles when she got into the cottage, and wished there were bolts on the door.
'Just sit down,' said Nanny. 'I'll get a cup of water, I know my way around here.'
'It's all right, I-'
Agnes's left arm twitched. To her horror it swung at the elbow and waved its hand up and down in front of her face, as if guided by a mind of its own.
'Feeling a bit warm, are you?' said Nanny.
'I'll get the water!' panted Agnes.
She rushed into the kitchen, gripping her left wrist with her right hand. It shook itself free, grabbed a knife from the draining board and stabbed it into the wall, dragging it so that it formed crude letters in the crumbling plaster:
VMPIR
It dropped the knife, grabbed at the hair on the back of Agnes's head and thrust her face within inches of the letters.
'You all right in there?' Nanny called from the next room.
'Er, yes, but I think I'm trying to tell me something-'
A movement made her turn. A small blue man wearing a blue cap was staring at her from the shelves over the washcopper. He stuck out his tongue, made a very small obscene gesture and disappeared behind a bag of washing crystals.
'Nanny?'
'Yes, luv?'
'Are there such things as blue mice?'
'Not while you're sober, dear.'
'I think... I'm owed a drink, then. Is there any brandy left?'
Nanny came in, uncorking the flask.
'I topped it up at the party. Of course, it's only shopbought stuff, you couldn't-'
Agnes's left hand snatched it and poured it down her throat. Then she coughed so hard that some of it went up her nose.
'Hang on, hang on, it's not that weak,' said Nanny.
Agnes plonked the flask down on the kitchen table.
'Right,' she said, and her voice sounded quite different to Nanny. 'My name is Perdita and I'm taking over this body right now.'
Hodgesaargh noticed the smell of burnt wood as he ambled back to the mews but put it down to the bonfire in the courtyard. He'd left the party early. No one had wanted to talk about hawks.
The smell was very strong when he looked in on the birds and saw the little flame in the middle of the floor. He stared at it for a second, then picked up a water bucket and threw it.
The flame continued to flicker gently on a bare stone that was awash with water.
Hodgesaargh looked at the birds. They were watching it with interest; normally they'd be frantic in the presence of fire.
Hodgesaargh was never one to panic. He watched it for a while, and then took a piece of wood and gently touched it to the flame. The fire leapt on to the wood and went on burning.