Kerrick took his knife out and handed it over. Kalaleq ran his thumb along the edge and muttered with happiness. “Now I will tell you, then I will show you. For not only must you mix the blood and entrails of certain fish, bury them in a warm place to rot. Dig them up and seal them to rot some more, but you must then mix in the juice pressed from the roots of the tall flowers that blossom only on these shores. That is one of the reasons we return here to trade. Trade and dig these roots. They must be in the takkuuk, they always have been. They help it to kill. Will you also fish with the takkuuk?”

“We are hunters. We want it for our spearpoints when we meet the largest murgu in the forest.”

“It will kill them easily, have no fear.”

“We have had very much fear,” Armun said, then smiled. “But no longer.”

And she no longer had her own private fears. That Arnwheet would become more murgu than Tanu. That fear was gone now. Kerrick would go alone to see the marag on the island. He would talk to the creature as she talked to the Paramutan. That was all. And one day the thing would die and that would be the end of it. Now there could be an end to fear.

“You’re afraid to go to the island,” Dall said, spitting on the ground to show the strength of his feelings.

“I am not afraid,” Arnwheet said. “I just don’t want to go. You are the one that should be afraid, your father beat you when you went. I saw you crying.”

“I did not cry!”

“I saw you too!” one of the other boys shouted and jumped back when Dall swung about and tried to punch him.

Arnwheet started to move away. He was smaller than Dall and knew he could not beat him in a fight. He hoped that he would forget the whole thing. But this was not to be. Dall chased the other boy, then returned, still glowering in anger, stabbed Arnwheet painfully in the chest with his finger.

“I saw you go to the island with your father. I hid and I saw you and him go right up to the marag.”

“You don’t talk about my father.”

“Why not?” Dall was sneering with pleasure now and all of the others were on his side. “You want to stop me? Try to stop me. Your father is half a marag. I saw him go like this and shiver and shake.”

He twisted and danced about waving his arms and all of the boys thought this was very funny.

“You shut up!” was all that Arnwheet could think to say.

“And I saw Arnwheet doing it too, just like this, shake, shake, shake!”