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"No," Izîl said "I will not ask her that She’ll only say no"

Karou watched, repelled, as Izîl argued with the thing, which she could see only in shadow Finally the graverobber said, "All right, all right, hush! I’ll ask" Then he turned to Karou and said, apologetically, "He just wants a taste Just a tiny taste"

"A taste?" She blinked Their tea had not yet arrived "Of what?"

"Of you, wish-daughter Just a lick He promises not to bite"

Karou’s stomach turned "Uh, no"

"I told you," Izîl muttered "Noill you be quiet, please?"

A low hiss came in response

A waiter in a white djellaba caht and expertly ai the hollows of the graverobber’s cheeks, ordered pastries, too, and she let hi, "So, what have you got?"

He dug into his pockets and produced a fistful of teeth, which he dropped on the table

Watching frohtened up All went still and silent around hi through them in just the way he knew the old beast sorcerer did

Teeth How hars, plundered froed, that was all they’d ever be In Brih, they became so much more than that

It was Akiva’s mission to end this foul trade, and with it, the devil’s dark irl inspected the teeth as clearly a practiced hand, as if she did this all the ti like disappointment She had seemed too clean for this business, but apparently she was not He’d been right, though, in his guess that she was noBrimstone’s work But what?

"God, Izîl," said Karou "These are nasty Did you bring therave It was hidden, but Razgut sniffed it out He can always find the dead"

"What a talent" Karou got a chill, i for a taste She turned her attention to the teeth Scraps of dried flesh clung to their roots, along with the dirt they’d been exhuh the filth, it was easy to see that they were not of high quality, but were the teeth of a people who had gnawed at tough food, smoked pipes, and been unacquainted with toothpaste

She scooped thes of her tea, swishing it around before du it out in a sodden pile of htly less filthy One by one, she picked them up Incisors, molars, canines, adult and child alike "Izîl You know Bri, girl," he snapped

"Excuse me?"

"Sometimes he does Once Once he wanted some"

Karou didn’t believe him Brimstone strictly did not buy immature teeth, not ani "Well"--she pushed the tiny teeth aside and tried not to think about sraves--"he didn’t ask for any, so I’ll have to pass"

She held each of the adult teeth, listening to what their hum told her, and sorted theaze darting from one pile to the other "They chewed tooafter they were dead No manners No table manners at all"

Most of the teeth orn blunt, riddled with decay, and no good to Bri, one pile was larger than the other, but Izîl didn’t knohich hich He pointed hopefully to the larger pile

She shook her head and fished soiven her It was an overly generous payment for these sorry few teeth, but it was still not what Izîl was hoping for

"So ," he ? Always the dead staring at me" His voice dropped "I can’t keep it up, Karou I’m broken I can barely hold a shovel any I’h"

Pity hit her hard "Surely there are other ways to live--"

"No Only death reer possible to live proudly Nietzsche said that, you know Wise led mustache and attempted a smile

"Izîl, you can’t mean you want to die"

"If only there was a way to be free…"

"Isn’t there?" she asked earnestly "There eting with his mustache "I don’t like to think of it, my dear, but… there is a way, if you would help ood enough--Ow!" His hand flew to his ear, and Karou saw blood seep through his fingers She shrank back Razgut must have bitten hiraverobber "Yes, you are a monster! I don’t care what you once were You’re a monster now!"

A peculiar tussle ensued; it looked as if the old itated, and Karou scraped her chair back clear of flailing limbs both visible and invisible

"Stop it Stop!" Izîl cried, wild-eyed He braced hiainst his own shoulder and the thing that perched there Again and again he struck, see to smite himself, and then he let out a shriek and fell to his knees His walking stick clattered away as both hands flew to his neck Blood icking into the collar of his djellaba--the thing ain The misery on his face wasto consider, she dropped to his side, taking his elbow to help him up