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was warped beyond endurance. I wasn t
aware that I was watching in fascination as
my feet, encased in sandals I d borrowed
from one of the monkeys since my boots no
longer fit, followed each other across the rich
brown earth beneath them, until Aerie-Smith
touched my shoulder.
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 What are you waiting for? he asked
carefully.  You are acting as though
something should happen.
 Pain, I murmured.  I m waiting for
pain.
It didn t come, at least not in the trip
across the pathway to the stone patio of the
villa. But as I stood in the vast front room/
dining room of the first floor, I realized that I
was waiting for another kind of pain as well.
My duffel bag had been brought into
the front room and dropped at my feet, and I
was wondering where to put it when the
thought occurred to me. I reached out to
grab the duffel and looked at Aerie-Smith
uncertainly.
 You re going to want sex now, aren t
you?
He d been busy conferring with a large
parrot, who perched on his arm and spoke
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like a man, so I assumed he was one. Aerie-
Smith was so surprised by the question that
he whirled around, dislodging the parrot
(who took a chunk out of his furry arm) and
knocking over something breakable and
probably valuable with his tail.
 Lot, he said to the parrot, his eyes
large and disconcerted, his tongue lashing
his whiskers between every word,  could you
excuse us for a moment?
Lot squawked and flapped off, leaving
Aerie-Smith and me looking at each other in
awkward silence.
 Why would you even ask that? he de-
manded, finding a napkin on the pre-set
table and dabbing at the blood on his arm.
 Here, I snapped,  let me. I took the
napkin from him and dipped it in a full flask
of water, wiping the blood off the fur in care-
ful swipes.
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 Answer my question!
I glared at him, irritated that he
wouldn t know what I was talking about to
begin with.  I m pretty. I don t care if you
like boys or not. I ve got a mouth that was
made to get a cock wet. Any man would think
it. I d seen my face in the windows as I d
taken one step and then another up the stone
inlaid walk. My lips were pink and soft and
full, and my chin was round and sweet. I d
seen achingly beautiful brides who looked
less ready for a man s bed. I was so pretty, I d
probably turn a woman who didn t like wo-
men right off.
 You just paid a queen s trousseau to
have me as a companion. I don t care how
horrible the task is at the end of the year.
You d have to be tempted. Any man would
have to be tempted. I just need to know what
to expect, that s all. I shuddered, remember-
ing the brutal hands on my body, the
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surprising, terrifying pain.  If I know it s
coming, I can prepare.
Aerie-Smith s uneven breath was so big
it ruffled my hair.  Naef& .
 Knife& .
 Naef, look at me!
I finished wiping the blood and tied off
the hurt, using the bulk of the napkin as a
pad. I d given myself many such hurts with
the woodworking tools. My hands were&
had been a mess of superficial scars, all in
stages of fading away.
I refused to look at him.
 Forget I said anything, I muttered,
when the silence waxed too oppressive.
 Naef has this happened to ?
 I was a fool for thinking you d stoop
that low, I interrupted, not wanting him to
continue, not wanting& oh gods. Not
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wanting his pity. I let go of his arm and
turned to grab my duffel. I felt the wind of
his arm as it passed me, trying to stop me,
and I ignored it.  I m sorry for the insult.
 Naef!
 I told you, I burst out before con-
trolling my voice,  my name is Knife. I hois-
ted my duffel, surprised once again by the
easiness of this new body, and turned toward
the stairs with their narrow strip of carpet,
leading up to what were obviously the
bedrooms.
 Which one is it? I asked, and the
thickness of his voice in reply came as a
surprise.
 The first one on the left. You have your
own balcony.
 That s generous, I told him, trying to
be reassuring.  Thank you. I started up the
stairs, still not looking at him. He didn t have
90/352
to open this wound. This was not his prob-
lem, not his hurt to doctor.
 If you re not going to say anything real
to me, he growled,  keep your bloody
thanks to yourself. I closed my eyes as his
padded footsteps thundered through the
house. The front screen door slammed, prob-
ably as he went out to help unload the rest of
the cart and the palanquin.
I kept my eyes closed tightly for a mo-
ment before I went up to see my bedroom,
which was once again mine, and mine alone.
Part IV
Prey
Aerie-Smith seemed to have recovered from
his fit of temper by that evening during din-
ner, which was a relief to me. He was nor- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]