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He didn't like the grin that thought brought

The hills saw the start of several streaed and eventually formed the river that turned Derian'sone that looked especially deep and swift"This will do," she said

Selwyn eyed the steep and slippery-looking bank, thought he kneas co through the contents of her pack, she ordered him, "Fetch a stick"

"From the water?" he cried

Elswyth looked up at him "If you really want," she said "Myself, I would try to find one on the ground, or break one off one of those trees or bushes over there"

Farold swooped out of the dark to mutter, "Dumb twit," then snapped up a ht enough to see by, even when Selwyn stepped out of the circle of Elswyth's witch light He found a stick In fact, he found several, and he brought thenarled - having no idea what she needed it for Not a fire - for she'd definitely said one He guessed she'd find all of thelanced at them and only said, "Take one in your hand"

"Which?"

Then caestured impatiently "Any"

He held on to one and let the others drop

She must have had an endless supply of wool squares, for she took another one from her pack and placed it on his head "Now" she told hi He kneinced, but she continued, "Go into the stream, sit down, lie dohatever is necessary to be totally covered by the water - hold on to the stick, hold on to the wool, count to five - " That gave her a et to five," Selwyn assured her, stung A farh to tiain," she finished

He was sure at least half of this was sie of the stream et and flat and very slick He al his ar hold of both stick and wool head-covering The third time he wasn't as lucky The cold water closed in at about waist level - leaving hih," Elswyth called, as though he was stopping there, as though he didn't know the difference between the water being up to his waist and the water covering his head

He got up and waded to about et much deeper He had to sit in it, and it still didn't cover his head, so finally he had to lie back in the water, and then it closed over his face

Onetwothreefourfive, he mentally counted in the space of about one heartbeat But he didn't want to have gone this far for nothing - to have her send hiain, slower" So he countedbetween each number One Two Three Four Five

Except she had said, "Count" Now he suddenly wondered, Did sheto be the death of himself, Selwyn counted out loud His pace was faster than his second , but slower than his first "One, two, three" By the tione out of him in the saed "five," then sat up, gasping, hating hi how she talked hi on the stick, which - surprisingly - didn't break under his weight, and which - a He looked down and saw that it had becoed, too: Shirt and breeches had becoh-spun robe, and under his hand the square of wool had changed shape and material He lifted it and found a straw hat

"Get out of the water before you get soaked," Elswyth yelled at him

And, incredibly, he realized that the part of him that was out of the water was totally dry He made his way to the bank, and the water that had covered hiht you said you kne to count to five," Elswyth berated hiht you'd drowned"

She didn't, he noted, say anything about being worried, or about coet him He didn't explain that he'd beco at the hat and staff, "I didn't understand about the cloth and the stick"

"Magic can't ," Elswyth said "That's why I said I couldn't give you gold What - did you think I was just being difficult?"

Selwyn decided it was safest not to answer that question He saw that the hair on the back of his hands was thick and dark, and that his hands wereshe had inflicted on hi him stocky rather than just small, and darker, and - he felt his face - hook-nosed He said, "Thank you This ork out well"

"I doubt that," she snorted

Farold landed on his shoulder "The pilgrim and his bat are ready," he announced, "and doesn't that," Elswyth said,the offer to Selwyn - since he was so lucky - and not Farold "And it will be a srim," Selwyn said

"Then I will see you," Elswyth said, "in seven days Actually, now that you've wasted so much time, six and a half"

She didn't even wish him luck

Chapter Nine

Elsent, and finally there were no more reasons for Selwyn to call her back He wavered between relief and alarer needed to protect his head and arms froer of bargaining away more years of service to her; alar with Farold was no discernible iathered ild berries he could find in the dark, which left hier

"What are you doing?" Farold dean to look for a comfortable place to sit - to, perhaps, catch a little sleep

"Looking for a place to rest until hts in a ot the better part of terror, so he wasn't fussy; he settled down on a grassy area and tossed away only a couple sharp-edged rocks

"Oh, that makes sense," Farold told hi you do is take a nap"

"Excuse me," Selwyn said "You've been comfortably dead for the past three days I've had to live through theued "I won't evenyou back as a bat Let's see if you do better when it's your turn to die"

Selas unco it be his turn Rather than quarrel with Farold, he explained, "But I can't just walk into Penryth in the ht You know them They'd be convinced I was a thief or ruffian of so - which likely reed but didn't want to adive us the opportunity to talk"

"I'm not allowed to tell about the afterlife" Farold took hold of a nearby branch and hung upside down from it "That's one of the conditions, before people are allowed to leave"

"All right," Selwyn agreed slowly Now that he thought about it, he couldn't believe that he'd spent all this time with someone who had actually died and come back, and never once had he wondered to ask what it had been like - a question that had nagged at people throughout the ages He had been too caught up in his own concerns Farold gave hinize the expression even on bat lips, even on bat lips hanging upside down in the predawn dark "All right," he repeated, disappointed - now - that he wouldn't be able to ask the questions he had previously not thought to ask He went back to what he'd been going to say "Then let's talk about your enemies"

"I don't have any Everybody liked me"

"I didn't," Selwyn pointed out "And somebody killed you Or did you stab yourself in the back? Was it suicide after all?"