Epilogue

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The little girl had been deeply asleep when Pensevus began whispering to her. She did not know how long it had been, but by the time her eyes blinked open, her head was full of nightmares.

She knew just what she had to do.

The little girl rose to her feet and crossed the room.

Pensevus kept whispering. (He almost never stopped whispering.) She carried him dangling from one hand. (She carried him everywhere.)

She had only used the telephone once before, but Pensevus told her just what to do.

He always told her what to do.

She pulled a chair out from the corner and placed it below the telephone, then climbed it so she could reach the receiver.

She made six calls, one after the other. Her task was not even complete when the first Ymbryne alighted on the sill of her open window.

When each call was answered, she said only one thing.

"He's back."

Anna Peregrine--The Conference of the BirdsWhere stories live. Discover now