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He began to cry

Chapter 8

The Copper slept but couldn’t rest He ate but didn’t enjoy He eliminated but felt no relief More often than not he perched near the river tunnel, losing himself in its steady echo

Auron and Wistala would co for hi for him, and both knew he used the pool They’d never felt the pain of iron rods, or soft, pro whispers and kind touches that left one’s head in a ed cavern pools, according to the bats, and his snakes were ressive than ever--at least as far as the bats were concerned One got some cousin of Thernadad’s

Which was just as well The Copper had lost count of the nuathered in the cave, each with a sad story, each begging for just a lap or two from a nipped-open vein He’d be about to say no, and then Thernadad or Ma at an earhole or push stray chin whiskers back into place and remind him of his escapes from death

He dipped his stiff, dwarf-broken tail in the river, watched the cut itin the direction of the flow…

"Water Spirit, you brought me here for a reason Give me your wisdo to take him back just yet Scarred, lamed, and probably never able to fly thanks to the wound froon’s existence What feer than a leap fro to Thernadad’s brother, Enjor, there were dragons somewhere upriver of him That arrowhead in the current pointed toward theons?

He re, Father’s indifference, Mother’s shunning Anger bubbled in his fire bladder

Sometied scuttling thing crawling along just under the surface of the water, ed his snout in, grabbed it, flipped it out, and cracked its shell with a quick stoued out the whitish, rather tasteless rit helped the digestion and was a pleasant change from the dirty, hairy taste of rat If only he had Jizara to join him in the hunt One could swim and toss the crabs out of the river; then the other could smash them before they could retreat back to the water

Jizara’s death was a crime A betrayal piled on a betrayal

He could al beside the river

He hurried away, back to the holes in the cavern ceiling where the bats liked to roost

He listened for a particular pair of squeaky voices

"Oh, shove off! Y’nose be dripping all over"

"Faaaa!"

"Thernadad, you up there?"

The bats quieted Thernadad climbed out of his hole and worked the back of his head with his gripping claw "Sir be wanting so?"

"I need to speak to your brother"

Thernadad clawed his way across the cavern roof, poking his head into holes, clietting swatted in return

"What be going on Party?"

"Oooh! Watch it, cousin"

"Enjor! Rouse yourself, y’fat tick Sir wants to speak to you"

The brothers’ er bat’s energy despite her aging frame "Is a feed on?"

"What do you want, et back tothat best, et across that he couldn’t get back to his own kind without help--help froet around the idea that they could travel together While bats understood sharing living space, the idea of traveling together didn’t cole" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>