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"On behalf of the animals of North America," whispered Karou, "can’t you just make her bite him?"
"I could, but Brimstone wouldn’t be happy As well you know, Bain is one of his er than she had even been alive, Bain had been supplying Bririzzly, black, and polar--and lynx, fox,He specialized in predators, always of premium value down here They were also, Karou had pointed out to Brimstone on many occasions, of premium value to the world How many beautiful carcasses did that pile of teeth ae gold box, each the size of a saucer and engraved with his own likeness Gavriels Enough to buy her flight and invisibility, and he pushed them across the desk to the hunter Karou scowled as Bain pocketed the slowly so as not to irritate Avigeth Out of the corner of one soulless eye, he cut Karou a look that she could alall to wink
Karou clenched her teeth and said nothing as Issa escorted Bain out Had it been only thatthat Kaz had winked at her from the estured Karou forward She heaved the canvas-wrapped tusks toward him and let the bundle collapse on the shop floor
"Be careful," he barked "Do you know the value of these?"
"Indeed I do, since I just paid it"
"That’s the human value The idiots would carve them to bits to make trinkets and baubles"
"And ill you do with them?" asked Karou She kept her voice casual, as if Briet himself and reveal, at last, the : what in the hell he did with all these teeth
He only gave her a weary look, as if to say, Nice try
"What? You brought it up And no, I don’t know the inhuman value of tusks I have no idea"
"Beyond price" He started sawing at the duct tape with a curved knife
"It’s a good thing I had so into the chair Bain had just vacated "Otherwise you’d have lost your priceless tusks to another bidder"
"What?"
"You didn’t givethem up and--well, I’m not sure he was a war criminal, but he had this certain indefinable war-criet theh, since you don’t approve of led the re beads of her necklace It was more of a bracelet now
She’d used her new itch trick on the ht of cranny itches on him until he fled the room Surely Briht, if he would say thank you Instead, he just slapped a coin onto the table
A s across Paris for you for a shing, while beardy gets aith double gavriels?"
Brinored her and extricated the tusks froa came to consult with hie, which Karou had learned from the cradle in the natural way, and not by wish It was a harsh tongue, growlso from the throat By comparison, even German or Hebrew seeurations, Karou helped herself to the scuppy teacups and set about replenishing her string of nearly useless wishes, which she decided to keep as a a hauled the tusks over to his corner for cleaning, and Karou conte home
Home The word always had air quotes around it in herit with art, books, ornate lanterns, and a Persian carpet as soft as lynx fur, and of course there were her angel wings taking up one whole wall But there was no help for its real emptiness; its close air was stirred by no breath but her own When she was alone, the eht of it, see to keep it at bay, though not enough Never enough
She thought of the little cot that used to be hers, tucked behind the tall bookcases in the back of the shop, and wished whiht She could fall asleep like she used to, to the sound of murmured voices, Issa’s soft slither, the scritch of wee elsething beasties scairl" Yasri bustled out of the kitchen with a tea tray Beside the teapot was a plate of the custard-filled pastries in the shape of horns that were her specialty "You ry," she said in her parrot voice With a sideward glance at Briirl, always running off hither and thither at not a irl," said Karou She grabbed a pastry and slulance, then said to Yasri, "And I suppose it’s healthy for a growing girl to live on pastry?"
Yasri tutted "I’d be happy to fix her a proper reat brute" She turned to Karou "You’re too thin, lovely It isn’t beco Karou’s hair "She should be leopard, don’t you think? Sleek and lazy, fur hot fro from a bowl of cream"
Karou smiled and ate Yasri poured tea for thears for Briht it was funny that the Wisher had a sweet tooth She watched as he bent back to his never-ending work, stringing teeth into necklaces
"Oryx leucoryx," she identified as he selected a tooth from his tray
He was unimpressed "Antelopes are child’s play"
"Give me a hard one, then"
He handed her a shark’s tooth, and Karou was reminded of the hours she’d sat here with hifin or shortfin?"
"Oh Uh" She went still, holding the tooth between her thuer Brimstone had trained her in this art since she was srity of teeth frorunted, which was about as close as he came to praise
"Did you know," Karou asked him, "that mako shark fetuses eat each other in the woust
"It’s true Only cannibal fetuses survive to be born Can you iine if people were like that?" She put her feet up on the desk and, two seconds later, at a dark look froain
The shop’s war her drowsy The cot in its little nook called to her, as did the quilt Yasri had"Brimstone," she said, hesitant "Do you think--?"
At thatsounded, violent
"Oh, dear," said Yasri, clicking her beak in agitation as she gathered up the tea things
It was the shop’s other door