*** we were running towards the spot in our village from which i was picking up the thoughts of the old spirits . rory we were in the kitchen and i grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator . `` it does n't matter , '' said wacker , turning as red as a red , red quince . she only knew someone was willing to pay a large fortune to get it back . i passed her the blade of grass and picked another one . i looked from face to face , suddenly feeling terribly out of the loop . 