asked Avner. The youth stood on the ramparts of Castle Hartwick, looking across the Clearwhirl’s eastern channel. In the distance, the stone giant Gavorial was disappearing into the dusk, the former king of Hartsvale gripped securely in his hand. “Now that you’re the queen, what’s going to happen to us?” Brianna laid a warm hand on the youth’s shoulder. “I don’t know,” she said, “What do you suppose should happen to you?” The boy cast an apprehensive glance over at Basil. “What do you think?” he asked. “We did steal those books, you know.” The verbeeg scowled. “Stealing implies personal ownership, which, as you know, is a rather archaic concept-especially among my people,” he said. “Besides, books are no good unless someone’s using them. They shouldn’t sit endlessly on some shelf.” “That’s not a very good answer,” Tavis said. Basil scowled. “Very well, then,” he said. “I suppose we shall have to return them to Earl Dobbin’s family.”
