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, Xantha,was Yalis reply s a dhasku

I to be late

Tris smiled at the remark about her nose She was above all a realist, and her nose was long She also had no intention of going home, but it eet of Yali to worry

What if she listened to her breezes for the Ghost? He took his victierly, Tris su a double handful from the streets of Khapik, then sent theht hear soain, looking at the sights as she listened to dollops of conversation that came to her on currents of air With the ease of practice she listened only for so unusual in the bath of chatter about money, music, politics, affection, e xcitement and boredom She also considered the situation she and Keth had been plunged into

If the Ghost was grabbing yaskedasi, he did not do it a the processions, clusters of perforate traffic Someone would have seen hily Tris followed thefor Khapiks hazards They were endless There were too es, alleys and blind curves for the arurim to patrol The courtyard s shrank; the houses rose to three and four storeys Many outdoor stairways led to flat rooftops A fugitive could go up there and run the length of the district to escape pursuit, if he knew his way

Tris wandered down an alley, eyeing the houses on eithe r side Business was done back here Her breezes told her what sort of business it was Intent on her surroundings, toying with the end of one thin braid, Tris walked on, ignoring those who offered to sell her various iterip her wrist; a man pulled her close s a nice little ar, his tunic rumpled and stained ine you re sweet to me, Ill be sweet to you

Tris looked up until she ripped it tightas they locked on his Her free hand itched to undo a spark-braid m not what you think I am

Thehere by your loneso for Give ain

Tris slaht down on to his sandalled foot The drunk yelled and let her go, then reached for her again little rowl ll learn respect for er of his hand and pulled it back in its socket until he hoith pain She had learned the stoer-hold fro instruction in all the ways they knew to end an unpleasant conversation s a dreadful thing,she said grier, a respectable tourist can t enjoy the sights without so in her way And I do so hate stupid people

She stepped back as she released his hand, yanking the tie off a spark-braid Then she waited, holding it as she watched theon someone as clearly drunk, but she didn t want anyhand as he glared at Tris Soaze made him think at last to the uard, next tiuard,Tris replied you?She walked off, sending two breezes in her wake to warn her if he attacked It seeh He stumbled off in the opposite direction

It was just after h to hear the Ghost snarlto kill you!, then have him wait for her to trace that particular bit of wind back to the killer Instead she spread her awareness through the ground until she found the web of streams, and followed her sense of theate

Ghost or no, she thought that she had not wasted her time This walk had been instructive While shed dealt with the drunkard, not a single nearbyor door had opened; no one had peered over the edges of the roofs No wonder there were no witnesses when the Ghost seized his victims There were too h to stop a disturbance

All that Tharian love of order applies only outside the Khapik fence, she thought griood her classes, not anyone else They ought to be asha aspect of her walk, of course, was her failure with her breezes Shed hoped for soht hear the Ghost at work What he did was no doubt accomplished in silence She needed to see what the winds saw, not just hear it Surely if anyone could do it, it would be her She could scry the present, though she couldnt control what she saw And she worked in winds and puffs of air all the ti thehtning globes as a goal, though she still believed it would takeuseful froht by other lobes She wondered if thereabout Keth that ainst people he knew Once the Ghost was accounted for, would Keth est it to him, so he could prepare hilass, not deal in ugly crime