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"And the collar?" he inquired, his voice softer yet "How’d you get rid of it?"

Evvy lowered her hands "I broke it with a rock"

Briar s: ht it was a cheap collar," she explained, al "You don’t need a lot of iron to hold a scrawny piece of crowbait like me" It was her old master’s favorite term for her "You n that ic" in Chairl who’d been seated, waiting for hiets frustrated if you get older and you don’t do anything real with it, so it breaks out"

"Why can’t you teach"I already know you, and you know the rules and things" What she didn’t, couldn’t, say was that she was con-ness, she still felt as if she’d known him all her life He was quick and inventive, as she’d learned to be, living on her own She ht vex and puzzle him, but never once had she seen pity in his eyes, even when she’d let slip that she’d been a slave Never once had he treated her as a child, a fee," he said wearily "It’s iic" To the girl whose leg he cleaned he said, "You can’t scratch fleabites open like this -- they get infected Or if you do, wash the scratches out right off, with clean water -- that means it’s been boiled And soap if you have it"

"Oh, sure, pahan," she retorted with a quick smile "I left some under my pillow just the other day"

Briar returned her s the rest of her over while he held onto her foot Evvy s-and-kiss irls and boys

"Tell you what," Briar said to the girl "You know the aloe leaves they sell in the irl nodded, and tried to tickle the inside of his ar that bites on these" The Cahed and shifted her weight fro more time on swollen fleabites than he did on broken arested, "and when you itch, break a piece off and rub the juice on the itch It’s good for burns, too" Carefully he se over thelance fro lashes "I’ot up and walked over to a group of Cauts huddled in a corner

Briar looked at Evvy, as shaking her head "What?" he demanded

"You want a cloth to wipe the drool off your chin?" Evvy asked wickedly

Briefly he looked the way she felt so, lost and lonely Then he shed the sad look and said tartly, "Keepsour faces and you’ll need spectacles It happened to one of h for one wife, let alone more," Evvy objected as she followed hi sweat fro boy’s face "It’s a e used at home, for somebody that’s closer than blood family, your best friend Don’t you have h I keep to ed up," Briar replied, his faceboy’s arm, above and below the splint "I lived in a place a lot like Oldtown for years All the kids were ganged up, unless they were crippled or sih sometimes I wonder about the simple part"

"I’ any Caut’s attention How could someone as clever as he was not understand? Unless he told the truth, and he had belonged to a gang

No, that was too outlandish Old gang kids worked in inns, or peddled rags, or labored on fars They never becaers alant this, and that, and so They’re your friend, and why can’t you help, and you’d be safer with us, and then they try to show you what you’d be safe froh it’s nice if I feed them I like that"

Briar frowned at her "The Vipers wouldn’t’ve grabbed you if you had a gang," he pointed out

"No, the other gang would have grabbed ’s rude no matter who does it," she retorted "Let someone try it on you sometime and see if you like it"

They es, coaxed people to drink the sharp-scented tea he’d brewed, and gave out more medicines Evvy watched him, fascinated For all his fine clothes, he didn’tthe sick, as if he’d wiped aeat, blood, and vomit all his life

He stopped at last and looked around "I think we’re just about done," he remarked