"It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!"

I felt Red’s arm close around me like a shield against the rest of the world. His mouth was against my hair, and his heart thumped violently under my cheek. I shut my eyes, and held onto his shirt with both hands, and wept. Now I had lost them, I had lost them all. How could I? How could I do it? How could I speak, after so long, after all this time, how could I let the words out, before the spell was broken?And yet I knew in my heart that I would not have stayed silent, for in that moment, the only thing that had mattered was for Red to be alive. I had saved him; but I had lost my brothers.

The fire burned green and gold, and small explosions popped and crackled. There was a smell of scorched feathers. The crowd gave a great gasp, and another, and broke into a babble of sound. Under my cheek, Red’s shirt was wet with blood and tears. “It’s all right,” he said over and over. “It’s all right,Jenny, it’s all right.” Neither of us seemed able to move. Then, suddenly, I felt his arm tighten around my shoulders. “Lay a finger on her,” he said very softly, “and I’ll kill you.”

“I’m her brother, you fool,” said somebody in a tongue Red could not understand.