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and walked away; she wasn t young or especially pretty, but her body was
firm and slender in the right places so he drank his beer and watched her
glide about the room, knowing she was aware of him wherever she moved.
He bumped the glass on the table and she brought him another beer. When she
bent to take his coin, she mur-mured, I want you to hurt me.
He said nothing and she went away. The room was crowded, most of the drinkers
Nov s men. He watched her laugh and flirt with them, moving away from grabs
with a fluid grace that excited him. When she brought him his next beer, he
said, When?
I get off at midnight. Hour after. She slipped the coin in her apron pocket
and went away to answer another summons.
The negotiations continued as the evening wore on, a word or two at a time; he
let it go on, enjoying the game.
How much?
Five silvers.
You haven t the face for t or the youth. One.
Three.
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Two.
Done.
* * *
What do I get for it?
She looked at him, eyes heavy-lidded, hardened nip-ples showing through the
flimsy white cloth of her blouse. Anything you want, she said, her voice
slow and husky. Anything.
Where?
First farmer s landing, Calanda side. Shack there. An t much, but it s
private.
He dropped sail, looped the painter over a bin, and with a powerful twist of
his body swung up onto the land-ing where he stood tense, listening. There
were few trees about the shack, some patches of brush, but Nijilic TheDom was
high and nearly full, the trees were sickly and hadn t the leaves to hide a
sniper, nor was there cover anywhere close on this side of the river.
The door to the shack opened and a fan of faint yellow light spilled out. The
woman stepped into the light and stood waiting, naked, hands out and open.
He moved closer. Is anyone else there?
Yes, she said.
What!
An old friend of mine, to take care of me when you re finished. She s a
granny, no threat to anyone, and she knows how to keep her mouth shut.
Tell her to come out where I can see her.
The woman moved aside and a small shabby figure limped out, a tiny hunchback
with stringy white hair. She bowed to him, went to her knees with some
difficulty, and crouched there, waiting.
You. Move away from the door. When the woman was out of the way, he bounded
across the intervening space, glanced in the shack. It was empty except
for a lamp on the floor, a pallet with blankets, a pack in the corner
and a tray with a rope, a small whip and a jumble of other instruments. He
left the door and loped round the shack to check all sides; the silence was
profound, even the nixies silent in the river. He turned the last corner,
reached for her.
She backed off, nodded at the kneeling granny. Coin first, give it to her.
She paused in the doorway, leaned back against him, his armor dimpling her
soft flesh. Would you like my hair down? Most men do, it s very long.
All right, all right, do it.
When she d taken down the bands wound about her head, she caught a fistful of
her hair, rubbed it against his face under the mask, strands of it
coiling up, clean, sharp perfume in his nose, softness brushing across
his eyes. You can use it, she murmured, throw me about, stran-gle me with
it .... Her other hand came round suddenly, but, half blinded by the hair, he
didn t see it in time to re-act; it slapped against the eyehole of his mask.
His hands tangled in her hair, jerking her down with him as he fell; she felt
a shudder, then another, then he was still.
The old woman took the long pin from the Sleykyn s eye, rubbed it clean on
a bit of cloth and stabbed it through the strap on her fake hump, hunted
through his armor, retrieved his purse, and slipped it into a pocket in, her
skirt. There s gonna be trouble bout this n, Jasny.
Get his feet, I ll take his shoulders.
They carried him from the shack to the end of the land-ing, dropped him on the
decaying planks.
Jasny pulled his mask off, tossing it into the river. Nixies, come along,
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we ve got a new playtoy for you.
The water bulged with nixy heads,, glistening arms thrust up and waved; she
could hear their glubbing voices, though she couldn t understand what they
said. She put her foot against the Sleykyn s shoulder and shoved.
He rolled into the water; the nixies seized him and drew him under.
Jasny buttoned the shirt, tucked it into her trousers, then knelt to roll the
blankets into a bundle. I
know, Fletty. Nov s kryshes saw me talking to him. But I ve got no family
here, her mouth tightened, at least, none left. So that won t be a problem.
You should be safe enough, the few who ve seen you with me won t be talking
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