“I must admit,” Prue lowered her voice and made sure there weren’t any personifates near, “I found the Hall of Lost Personifates a little creepy though.”

“I suppose. But it’s good to remember them, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but what will they do as time goes on? Fill the whole of the factorium with pictures and personifate shells?”

“Maybe they’ll build a new wing.” Agapantha smiled.

Silence fell for a while. Prue was still thinking about what Cora had done. “Do you really not mind, you know, about Cora taking your bed?”

Agapantha shrugged.

“She should have asked you,” said Prue.

“Honestly, it’s fine.”

Prue stopped walking and turned to face her. “It’s not fine. Who does she think she is?”

“It means more to her than it does to me,” Agapantha said, then continued walking.

At the messenger tower, a clackety door led to a metal spiral staircase that ran up the inside of the brick structure. They went around and around, until Agapantha said she felt quite dizzy. At the top, they emerged into a room with arched windows and a peaked high ceiling. The room was filled with comfy-looking sofas and tables covered in books and newspapers.

All manner of personifates lounged around: a great raven was reading on an armchair; a turquoise owl with pink eyes was in conversation with an emerald moth as long as Prue’s arm, both perched on the window sill, and a giant black bat hung from the ceiling in front of them. It opened its eyes.

“Can we help you?”

Prue cleared her throat. “Hello. I have a message.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” said an exotic, bronze-feathered bird with three sets of layered wings, as large as a golden eagle. “I’m Thackery, thunderbird personifate, the fastest in the tower.”

“Fastest? Certainly the most something,” said the green raven, looking up from his book.

“The most modest?” said the bat.

The owl and moth laughed and Thackery lifted his beak snootily.

“Nice to meet you, Thackery. I’m Frances and this is Agapantha. But I need someone who can take a message outside of Medlock.”

Prue noticed a pigeon perched on the back of a blue velvet sofa. “Are you free?”

There was a moment of silence, then the pigeon looked around at the other birds. “Well, someone answer the girl.”

Thackery extended his three sets of wings and gave them a little shake. “She appears to be looking at you, Lu.”

“Me? I haven’t had an assignment for many moons. It’s usually the others who get chosen these days.”

“I’m sorry,” said Prue.