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The woht curse Evvy for her rush across the rooftops, but they reserved their fists and atte alien about his and ducked the women’s fists, sticks, and baskets Even if he had walked slowly and greeted everyone, he knew they would have tried to stop hiaps that were the streets below easily, rarely using the plank-and-rope bridges to cross Briar gritted his teeth and did the jumps where necessary, but he wasn’t happy, and he th When he caught her

He lost track of where they were Working his way through a stand of grapevines, trying to talk the vines out of hanging onto him from sheer affection, Briar looked up and swore Sohts of Cha a beeline for the tunnels, holes, and honeycos in the rock cliffs within the city’s walls She had been headed for theht wearily as he braced his hands on his knees and fought to catch his breath Not Oldtown I won’t follow her there The arcades, halls, and tunnels that led to the aparte stone were lit by torches if they were lit at all The siven Briar and Rosethorn a cohts had been inhabited for nearly twelve hundred years As far as Briar was concerned, they save hie first He could catch the girl the next time she left Oldtown His --

"Thief!" A basket filled with laundry slarape vines fluttered with disave the their new friend? "Murderer! Thief!" the woman cried

"I am not!" Briar protested

"Eknub!" shrieked the woman She thumped him with her basket even harder "Eknub, eknub!"

She acts as if that’s worse thanhis head Andet to the street! I’ll go, just show me --"

She gave hi a rope ladder heaped in a corner, she hurled it over the wall as if she meant to do the same to Briar "If you loiter I’ll call the Watch!" she scolded as he tested the ladder’s anchors "See if I don’t, spawn of Shaihun, eknub parasite!"

"The next one who asks me if folk here are friendly, I’ll send ‘e over "The gods’ sweet day to you for your charity!"

He was a foot dohen she yelled: "Whoever taught you Chammuri had the accent of a hen!"

"I’d love to travel, Rosethorn," Briar growled as he clauages and be insulted in them I can ask civil questions and people will run off Travel would be just the thing!"

The moment he set foot on the street, the woman yanked the ladder froue out at her and turned to survey his location The street looked just like every other sun-bleached residential street in Nen

Well, think, idiot, he told hiht If he kept the, he would run into the north wall

A thock of wood overhead gave his Reflexes he hadn’t needed in years made him leap sideways A stream of dirty ater poured dohere he’d just been, soaking his left arestured rudely, and walked away frorape vines to grip her and keep her prisoner until dark, but then he shook his head There was no sense in getting the vines in trouble, too With a sigh he searched for a street that led north as he wrung out his sleeve

Evvy saw it all from a roof across the street, hands clapped over her les The jade-eyed boy had looked so ry woman had dumped water on him Evvy half-expected hirily Instead he had stalked away down the street He didn’t even look for Evvy

After chasing her all this way, he was just going to give up? He’d done well for an eknub on the roofs -- surely he wouldn’t let an angry Chammuran and a bucket of water drive hi the roofs, trailing hi up Why follow her all this way, just to quit?

She knew she had five davs and could perhaps getas the boy She trailed hi to work out who and what he was He’d said he was a es she’d ever known -- ewitches -- were adults in their mid-twenties or older, very full of theic they could use People ere younger rarely claimed the title, but he said it as casually as if it were his na a house behind as he walked through the streets, she could tell that his clothes were better than even Nahis: she knew quality tailoring when she saw it The boy’s clothes fit as if ly, the cloth didn’t wrinkle like norarments looked as clean as if they’d just been washed Evvy had acquired another layer of dirt on her clothes in that rooftop run, but he was still fresh His boots were sturdy and well made They at least carried a layer of dust from the street