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A neighbor ashing clothes on her roof where he caer to his lips, she raised her eyebrows, and jerked her head in the direction of the watcher two houses over Briar siven her soo -- snapped her fingers The scruffy dog who sluot to his feet

Briar shook his head He wanted to talk to the spy first The wo lay back down Briar crept forward through lines of drying laundry until he could see the watcher without being seen She wore a gold nose ring with a garnet pendant Briar scowled So the Vipers were still about!

Using laundry, barrels, and other rooftop clutter as cover, he crept up on the Viper unseen, nodding to those of his neighbors ere present Soht have to live with gangs using the upper roads, but they weren’t about to let anything be stolen

One roof away, Briar watched the Viper Her attention was fixed on his house -- she definitely wasn’t expecting coed by the roof’s edge vexed Briar He was getting tired of the Vipers It was time they knew it

The house she had chosen was perfect for his purposes Its owners had roses planted in tubs along the back and sides of the roof With a little encouragement, they would prevent the Viper’s escape Briar stood and stepped over the loall between his roof and that of the watcher

She scraers in both of her hands; she held thehts under her belt She was nearly as tall as Briar, perhaps a year or two older He backed up three slow steps toward the rear of the roof

Thinking he feared her, the Viper closed with hihtly "You’re the eknub pahan who lives across the street"

"You’re not here forhe was sure he could do When he was afraid, he did his best to hide it "You want Evvy"

"That’s right" The Viper advanced another step, ignoring the rustle of the roses along the wall behind her "And you don’t have a thing to say to it, not if you don’t wantyou" She sneezed

"I have plenty to say," Briar told her coldly, showing her that he carried a knife of his own The girl settled into a street-fighter’s crouch Briar was about to ask the rose bushes to grab her when she sneezed twice more

"What’s your name?" Briar demanded

She spat a curse that ended in a sneeze Briar s Circle healers called an "allergy" Just as so time or in a room where cats had been, others could not live with roses