The godmother nodded. “Then I may give it to you.” She reached into her sleeves. Metal flashed and Marra thought, Oh god it’s a knife she’s going to stab Agnes, and then, Why am I so frightened? She has never offered us so much as an unkind word. She knew why, of course. Vorling feared the godmother and Marra feared Vorling, links in a chain from predator to prey. I am a worm and Vorling is a starling. The worm has nothing to fear from the hawk, but I cannot quite convince myself of that . . . Shears. They were shears that the godmother carried. She caught hold of the tapestry and closed the
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