stolen the key.”
“Huh? Whassat? What was you saying, sor?”
Finn looked up into a dirt-stained face, a sun-blistered nose, a tangled beard and septic eyes. All on the body of a hulk in overalls.
“You're quite mistaken, sir. I said nothing at all.”
“Ruuunka youga hoom,” the man said, or words to that effect. “You'd best not be sayin' it again.”
“Finn,
please.
” Letitia rolled her eyes. “We are guests in this land. You're acting just awful. You're acting like Julia now.”
“Yes, I suppose I am,” Finn said, taken aback by her words. “I certainly won't do it again.”
And, with that, underneath his cloak, Julia Jessica Slagg dug brassy teeth into his flesh.
“I'll get you for that,” Finn muttered, sucking in a breath.
Once more the crowd began to shout, even louder, even more frenzied than before. From the break in the crowd, a high-wheeled wagon appeared, drawn by more hat people still. As the wagon drew closer, Finn could see it held an iron-barred cage. And, within the cage, clinging to the bars, was a naked, frightened man with a mop of shaggy white hair.
“Oh, dear, get me out of here, Finn,
please.
”
Letitia's mouth was so dry she could scarcely spit out the words.
“I'd love to,” he told her, “but there's nowhere to go.”
He squeezed her hand, harder this time. No great help, but the best that he could do.
The villains brought the wagon to a halt near the fountain at the center of the square. Four of them hurried to the back of the cart and lifted off long wooden boards. They had clearly practiced this before: it was hardly any time before a rough-hewn structure took shape, a crude apparatustwice as tall as a man. Three other louts opened the cage and dragged the naked man out.
At once, the poor fellow shouted and flailed his limbs about. The crowd began to cheer. Clearly, they liked the show so far.
The victim wasn't young, but he was still full of fight. After much effort, his captors managed to bind him to the wooden device. The fellow strained against his bonds, threw back his head and howled.
“I—am—going—to be sick,” Letitia said, closing her eyes against the sight. “I really mean it, Finn.”
“No. No you're not. That's not a good idea.”
Holding Letitia about the waist, he turned to a doughy, middle-aged woman standing next to the man in overalls.
“Excuse me,” he said, “could you possibly tell me what they intend to do with that man?”
The woman smiled, showing Finn a row of blackened teeth. Dentistry, Finn decided, was in its infancy here.
“Why, same thing they al'ays does. Goin' to hang 'im, skin 'im and string 'im out.”
“They—what?”
Finn felt his stomach do a flip. The Master of Chairs had threatened this very same treatment, not half an hour before.
“After that,” the woman added, “they'll fire 'im up, black 'im to a crisp. How comes you doesn't know that?”
“We're new here, we don't know the local customs yet. By the way, does the word
inn
have any meaning to you? We're looking for a—”
“Finn …”
Letitia was swaying, much like a sapling in the wind, her mouth sagging open, her eyes rolling back. Finn held her close, caught her before she fell. For a very petite and slender being, she seemed to find a great deal of weight somewhere.
“Come on, come
on
,” he whispered, slapping her very lightly on the face, “you cannot do this, Letitia. I simply won't have it, do you hear?”
“Lay the victim down flat,” Julia said, poking her snout through the folds of Finn's cape. “Elevate the feet, slightly higher than the head. Loosen the clothing a bit, apply cool cloths to the wrists and the neck. Linen, now, not sacking or wool, neither cotton nor flax, not—”
“Quiet!”
Finn grabbed the lizard's copper nose and pushed her roughly out of sight. “Where do you think we are, in Master Spencer's ward, up on Zod Hill? I am not a physician, Julia, I don't have a healing spell. I don't have any
“Huh? Whassat? What was you saying, sor?”
Finn looked up into a dirt-stained face, a sun-blistered nose, a tangled beard and septic eyes. All on the body of a hulk in overalls.
“You're quite mistaken, sir. I said nothing at all.”
“Ruuunka youga hoom,” the man said, or words to that effect. “You'd best not be sayin' it again.”
“Finn,
please.
” Letitia rolled her eyes. “We are guests in this land. You're acting just awful. You're acting like Julia now.”
“Yes, I suppose I am,” Finn said, taken aback by her words. “I certainly won't do it again.”
And, with that, underneath his cloak, Julia Jessica Slagg dug brassy teeth into his flesh.
“I'll get you for that,” Finn muttered, sucking in a breath.
Once more the crowd began to shout, even louder, even more frenzied than before. From the break in the crowd, a high-wheeled wagon appeared, drawn by more hat people still. As the wagon drew closer, Finn could see it held an iron-barred cage. And, within the cage, clinging to the bars, was a naked, frightened man with a mop of shaggy white hair.
“Oh, dear, get me out of here, Finn,
please.
”
Letitia's mouth was so dry she could scarcely spit out the words.
“I'd love to,” he told her, “but there's nowhere to go.”
He squeezed her hand, harder this time. No great help, but the best that he could do.
The villains brought the wagon to a halt near the fountain at the center of the square. Four of them hurried to the back of the cart and lifted off long wooden boards. They had clearly practiced this before: it was hardly any time before a rough-hewn structure took shape, a crude apparatustwice as tall as a man. Three other louts opened the cage and dragged the naked man out.
At once, the poor fellow shouted and flailed his limbs about. The crowd began to cheer. Clearly, they liked the show so far.
The victim wasn't young, but he was still full of fight. After much effort, his captors managed to bind him to the wooden device. The fellow strained against his bonds, threw back his head and howled.
“I—am—going—to be sick,” Letitia said, closing her eyes against the sight. “I really mean it, Finn.”
“No. No you're not. That's not a good idea.”
Holding Letitia about the waist, he turned to a doughy, middle-aged woman standing next to the man in overalls.
“Excuse me,” he said, “could you possibly tell me what they intend to do with that man?”
The woman smiled, showing Finn a row of blackened teeth. Dentistry, Finn decided, was in its infancy here.
“Why, same thing they al'ays does. Goin' to hang 'im, skin 'im and string 'im out.”
“They—what?”
Finn felt his stomach do a flip. The Master of Chairs had threatened this very same treatment, not half an hour before.
“After that,” the woman added, “they'll fire 'im up, black 'im to a crisp. How comes you doesn't know that?”
“We're new here, we don't know the local customs yet. By the way, does the word
inn
have any meaning to you? We're looking for a—”
“Finn …”
Letitia was swaying, much like a sapling in the wind, her mouth sagging open, her eyes rolling back. Finn held her close, caught her before she fell. For a very petite and slender being, she seemed to find a great deal of weight somewhere.
“Come on, come
on
,” he whispered, slapping her very lightly on the face, “you cannot do this, Letitia. I simply won't have it, do you hear?”
“Lay the victim down flat,” Julia said, poking her snout through the folds of Finn's cape. “Elevate the feet, slightly higher than the head. Loosen the clothing a bit, apply cool cloths to the wrists and the neck. Linen, now, not sacking or wool, neither cotton nor flax, not—”
“Quiet!”
Finn grabbed the lizard's copper nose and pushed her roughly out of sight. “Where do you think we are, in Master Spencer's ward, up on Zod Hill? I am not a physician, Julia, I don't have a healing spell. I don't have any
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