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he goes holobe to clear

De on his forehead it will clear before time,he said

Keth looked at him and s unusual

A properKeth out of the workshop

CHAPTER SEVEN

Tris watched the twowhen Deot a very favourable iht, once they d got over their originalabout the use of torture As hed questioned Keth, shed watched his face and listened to his voice He wanted to catch the Ghost, and she didn t think it was all about glory for Dema It didnt seem to be much about the yaskedasi, either, but Tris would settle for what she thought he did want, the end of the killers lawlessness

Once the lass shop to ask Keths cousin Antonou a favour Would he mind if she left Little Bear and Chiet the the faree, but his quiet, shy wife found a meal of table scraps for Little Bear Tris thanked theon to wait for her return She brushed the soot and dirt froreen dress woven and sewn by Sandry, it refused all stains and hardly wrinkled - and headed down the street

This Ghost mess revo lved around Khapik, and Tris had yet to see the place She had heard of it, long before they had reached Tharios Other travellers, learning where they were bound, sang the praises of Khapik: its gardens, its entertainers, its food, its wine The best per f oruests who saw them spread their names from the Cape of Grief in the south to Blaze-Ice Bay in the north Some men had spoken more fondly of Khapik than they did of their fa people theydtheir money for one holiday only, at Khapik

Shed seen Khapik when they rode into Tharios, of course, or at least, its brightly painted walls Norone there While she loved ht it folly to pay for such things when she had to watch every copper Now, though, Keths globes had given her an excuse at least to look around

She Joined a river of visitors all headed in the same direction, on foot, in sedan chairs, on horse-, caht her and Niko to Tharios had ons were permitted inside Khapik She wondered if the prathht soil and dead bodies ou t of Khapik by hand, without using their carts She wanted to ask a prathmun who drove his cart across the Street of Glass if that was the case, but there were toofro God on their foreheads

Some blocks past Touchstone Glass, above the shabby stores that sold overpriced iteht yellow pillars that marked Khapiks entrance They towered over the districts walls, whic h were painted with dancers, s, plates of steahts which lay inside The guards at the gate watched the flood of tourists go by them with blank faces, unimpresse d by the number and variety of the visitors

The moment she passed inside the wall, Tris felt cool round divided into sh to allow boats to pass along their length Inside the boats people lazed, nibbled on fruit, talked, or trailed their fingers in the water Squat candles burned inside flower-shaped cups that floated in the water, like fireflies that skimmed its surface: those who poled the boa t s avoided the candles with the ease of long practice Trees grew here and there along the banks, cooling the streets under them On the islands she saw delicate pavilions lit by lanterns and torches where roups

Scents drifted on the air: roses, jasmine, patchouli, sandalwood, cinnamon She heard bits of music and the splash of fountains Her breezes, which had colasser to run away and explore thetheuests break up into shtly kno tted inside her loose ned a bit

She had to walk a distance to leave the area where the streams flowed Beyond the houses, wineshops, theatres, tea houses, ga dens and shops that sold trinkets, p erfumes, scarves, even toys Here too were houses where entertainers performed for smaller audiences than those found in the theatres, in courtyards and in brightly lit rooauze curtains

Tris saw yaskedasi at street corners, beside the many fountains, on the stream banks, in courtyards, on the islands, on balconies and porches Six tumblers stood on one another s shoulders to shape the, rolling and landing on their feet Next to a many-tiered fountain Tris listened to a handso on a harp On the far side of the fountain an older wo torches An illusionist produced flowers and birds froether un der a trainers eye A woman draped in an immense snake and a handful of veils perched in a lo, stroking her pet When she saw Tris watching, she beckoned, but Tris shook her head and walked on