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"At last, you begin to learn," said Sherration with a host you’ll actually like, you’ll stop threatening Sal Go get yourself cleaned up You reek of dead huered away She didn’t walk like a little girl: she walked like a grown ot out of her way

Sherman pulled his arm away from my shoulders as he transferred his hold back toto walk deeper into the lances our way, but nored us They had their own business to attend to, and ere just so round noise That, or they had been with Sherh to learn to stay out of his way All my early experiences with him told me that I could trust him, that he was my friend and would protect me He had been one of my handlers at Sy I’d experienced since my last visit to Syh as to make no difference It was his fault we’d lost Tansy It was his fault I was here But whether he was friend or foe, the only option I had was to go with hi to protect me, he’d do a better job if he knehere I was If he was planning to hurt

"Have you been keeping up with your linguistics, pet?" he asked "I know I haven’t taught you any neords the last few times we’ve seen each other I’ your vocabulary"

"Did you always knoas a tapewor to ask, but once it was out in the open between us, I realized that there were no other questions Anything else I ht have wanted to knoas dependent on how he answered me

"Oh, Sal My pretty, innocent little creature" Sher with him We passed more people, none of the "I knew so eventually--knew it in my bones, you could say" He chuckled like this was somehow hysterical Maybe it was, to him Tapeworms don’t have bones "Mother always told us we could only happen under proper laboratory conditions, but what she didn’t count on was that I was the closest she’d yet come to perfection Tansy ell, you’veto bite the hand that fed her Ada exactly as he was bid to question anything Whereas I was the snake in her garden I read all her files, and when I ran across so what people will tell you when they don’t yet realize that they need to be wary

"I asked her lab staff about biological interfaces and statistical probability I asked her technicians about skeletal structures and backup functions and how often blood circulated through the brain And I asked our lad to tell me as much as I wanted to know, because she didn’t think I’d have the background to understand what she was telling hta false identity for soood side" Sher look "You see what I did for you, Sal? I twisted the world into knots so I could make it a pretty bow to tie in your hair Your hu half so nice"

Bile rose inSo--had been intended as a form of courtship, like he could convinceon the proble the question," I said "People keep doing that to me I don’t like it"

"I do appreciate that you’ve started growing a spine It’ll make this much more of an equal partnership, and much less of a burden" Shernized you for what you hen they first rolled you into Syht, this is it This is what fate looks like This is the way destiny presents itself With a brunette on a stretcher, wetting herself and staring dispassionately at the ceiling You were the Holy Grail, Sal A natural chiration, yet awake through the entire process Most of us didn’t get to wake up until a full sixI honestly feel that it hampered our ability to coration as practiced here are based largely on your experience We have so much to thank you for"

We had reached the far end of the rill was half-lowered across the mouth of what had clearly been a departet under the grill, not letting go of rill creaked down and locked onto the floor as soon as ere through Because that wasn’t disturbing or anything

"You never toldthe slivers of ice that felt like they were piercing my heart I knew Sherman was on the other side of this conflict It didn’t uy

"What would I have said? ‘I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, dear, but not only are you not actually Sally Mitchell, you’re not even a hu new, and better, and everyone you have ever loved is going to view you as ato face me "Everyone but me, that is You have never been ashort of perfect I doubt that you ever could be You feel it, don’t you? The way your heart slon to beat along with mine"