Ghost took a hesitant step back toward the box, and Terrowyn stopped her. “No. I said no knife. If ya grab fer the knife while th’ healer’s here, I’ll have to stop ya. And neither of us wants that. Aye?”

  Nodding, Ghost replaced her foot where it had been moments before.

  A good-natured, cheerful smile lit Kara’s face; a smile made all the brighter by the dark face surrounding the dazzling set of bright, white teeth. “I know you. You’re the imp that tosses pebbles down onto my head whenever you see me snacking on an apple.” Knowing skellies didn’t like people’s full attention locked onto them, Kara turned her attention to Terrowyn. “I swear, I haven’t been able to finish an entire apple since your skelli discovered I bring them to snack on.”

  Resting her hands on her hips in mock disapproval, Terrowyn glowered at the girl. “Ya what? Wait’ll I get my hands on ya.”

  Ghost grinned and playfully cuffed the side of her head.

  “That’s right. Now, here’s yer slice fer lettin’ the healer come.” She held out half a slice, which Ghost immediately stuffed in her mouth, barely chewed, and swallowed.

  “Ach. How many times do I have to tell ya to eat slow?” Terrowyn turned to Kara to explain Ghost’s actions. “I never understood why she gulps her food down quick like a dog until I saw a nint and skelli grab another skelli after she’d put some food in her mouth. They pried her jaws open and scooped out th’ food so they could eat it instead.”

  Kara nodded, “These children are starving in the Codpiece.”

  “Aye, but do ya remember when we tried to put pots of stew and such out for ‘em? They wouldn’t come because they thought it was a trap. Anyway.” Terrowyn looked at Ghost. “Ya have two choices.” She held up a finger and began speaking very slowly so Ghost could understand. “One. Ya move past me, so I’m between you and th’ knife.”

  Ghost’s brows descended, but she waited to hear the rest.

  “Or, we all go out in th’ room where the healer can check ya. You can stay closest to th’ openin’ so yer closest to yer knife. Which will it be?” Thinking it would be easier to check her out in the open, Terro held up a slice of apple. “If ya go to th’ openin’, I’ll give ya a slice. Now, what’ll it be?”

  By the lowered brows and pursed lips, it was easy to see Ghost didn’t like either option. Terrowyn held up the apple and raised her brows.

  Ghost looked down and then back up at Terro. “Grab?” She wrapped her hand around herself as though someone was grabbing her.

  “No. Ya have me word, Ghost. Nobody’ll grab ya.” She adamantly shook her head. “Nobody. Ya hear?”

  Apparently believing Terro, Ghost nodded and pointed to where Kara waited at the end of the opening.

  Both Kara and Terrowyn stepped out into the aisle, and Ghost hesitantly came forward.

  Since she’d heard the conversation, Shirin had backed up to the stairs. She remained, though, because she’d only seen quick glimpses of the skelli and wanted to get her image locked in place in case she needed to find her for some reason.

  Terrowyn saw her and explained her presence to Ghost. “My Commander’s here, too. She won’t grab ya or hurt ya. I promise.”

  The two women backed further away, and a dirty face surrounded by a mop of curly brown hair peered around the corner at Shirin, who remained perfectly still. The hair was a ragged mess, but the eyes shone bright and intelligent from a skeletal-thin face. Shirin watched as the skelli slowly emerged from hiding. The sun was shining through the window now, making it possible to see. Darkness still clung to the shadows, but most of the room was visible despite the still-gloomy interior.

  The girl was smaller than a normal nine-turn child, but that was to be expected. Her clothing was little more than rags, but it was the blood staining the rag covering the back of her left thigh that immediately caught her attention. Shirin glanced at Kara and Terrowyn, who’d obviously noticed the bleeding, too.

  Kara smiled again. “Well, Ghost. I need to come close to look you over. Is that okay?”

  Ghost pointedly looked at the apple slice in Terrowyn’s hand.

  Shirin recognized rage building in the Guardian, who was staring at the blood and not looking at Ghost’s face. She decided to risk scaring the skelli because she’d heard Terro promise a slice of apple if she came out into the aisle.

  “Terro.” When Terrowyn pulled her eyes away from Ghost to look at her, Shirin said as cheerfully as possible. “I believe you promised an apple slice if our little friend came out of hiding.”

  Realizing her anger had distracted her, Terro forced a smile onto her face. “Ach. So I did.” She broke a slice in two and handed it to Ghost. Right before the girl grabbed it, she snatched it back. “Eat it slow.” She held it out again, and Ghost put it in her mouth and chewed while keeping feral, watchful eyes on those around her, making sure no one intended to take the food from her.

  Kara repeated her question. “Can I come look at your sores?”

  Terrowyn pulled out the second biscuit Geller had given her and bounced it up and down in her palm a few times. “I’m gonna have to get ya a belt pouch to keep all yer extra food in if ya keep this up.”

  Ghost glanced at Shirin and then at Kara. To everyone’s surprise, she pulled off her tunic and held it close to her chest. Welts from something smaller than a belt covered her arms and back.

  She wasn’t as dirty as Shirin would have guessed. “I’d thought she’d be dirtier than that.”

  “The owner of one of the stables pays her a copper to clean and wash his water troughs. He lets her climb in to wash off before she scrubs out the first one.”

  Kara looked back and forth between the two women. “In a horse trough? And I’m willing to bet you made some kind of deal with him to make that happen.”

  Terrowyn nodded, “It’s not exactly clean water, but it’s better than nothing. It’s a cold bath, but it does th’ trick. And aye, he’s doin’ me a favor.”

  Not knowing that any street urchin would bathe on a regular basis, Shirin crossed her arms and indicated Ghost with a lift of her chin. “And your skelli actually bathes? I’ve never heard of a skelli keeping…well…at least moderately clean before.”

  Terrowyn grinned and nodded at Ghost. “She started a few turns back when I told her she was stinkin’ like th’ sewers. She’s a smart one, my little skelli.”

  Ghost returned her grin and nodded.

  Terro continued, “She carts th’ dead skellies and nints out to th’ forest and buries them, too. I’ll bet ya never heard of one doin’ that, neither.”

  Shirin studied the welts on Ghosts arms, chest, and back. “Yes, I knew that from when the City Guard was trying to find out who was taking them off the trash heaps before they could be burned.”

  Kara took a few hesitant steps toward Ghost, who watched her warily. “I see the welts. Looks like rope to me. But I’m most worried about your leg. Will you show me that?”

  Ghost looked pointedly at the biscuit.

  Terrowyn chuckled, “I forgot to give ya one fer takin’ off yer tunic, huh?” She broke off a piece of bread and came close enough that Ghost could take it from her, which she did.

  Kara matched her steps to Terro’s, so she was closer as well. “Can you turn for me so I can see your back?”

  Ghost did a complete circle, never taking her eyes off the healer. When she was halfway turned, she whipped her head around to keep her in sight.

  “Thank you. You can put your tunic back on.” She kept her eyes on Ghost but spoke to Shirin. “I know from our clinics that people in the Codpiece aren’t comfortable taking off their clothes.” When Ghost put her tunic back on, Kara pointed to the bloody trews. “Can you show me your leg?”

  Not needing the prompt this time, Terrowyn held out some bread.

  When Ghost’s eyes lit with a mischievous glow, Shirin laughed quietly, “She’s got you trained, Senior Guardian.”

  The affectionate way Terrowyn watched the girl worried Shirin. She’d never seen her with the skelli and hadn’t really understood the extent of her attachment. Skellies rarely lived past their tenth nameday, or at least they didn’t remain in the Codpiece much past that age. They were either caught and sold as slaves, or they began selling their bodies to put bread in their mouths. If, or rather, when that happened to Ghost, she wondered how their normally taciturn Senior Guardian would react. Shirin made a mental note to discuss the issue with Sábria. Something was going to have to be done, and soon. This incident proved that decisively.

  Instead of pulling her trews down, Ghost tore the hole over the bloody patch bigger and held it open. A deep gash the length of a finger started mid-thigh and ran diagonally down her leg.

  Kara pursed her lips and glanced at Terrowyn. “I’m not sure how we’ll do it, but that needs treated. If we don’t, if she lives in the sewers, sepsis will set in.”

  Terrowyn glanced at Shirin, who shrugged, “Bring her to the Temple if you can. Otherwise, you may need some….” She didn’t know whether Ghost knew what sleeping herbs meant, so she raised her brows to ask the question.

  “Some herbal water.” Terrowyn used the term Geller had tried earlier.

  “Exactly, and that opens up a whole new set of problems when she awakens. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. Ailith is at the bottom of the steps waiting to help you with whatever you may need.” With that, Shirin headed down to see how much more time the extra Blades, magistrates, scribes, and healers might be needed. She was anxious to get back and talk to Sábria about Ailith’s revelation and about Terrowyn and her skelli.

  Terrowyn watched her go and then turned her attention back to Ghost. Squatting so she was on a level with the girl, she tried to explain what needed to happen. “Well,” she pointed to the gash, “that’s not good, little skelli.”

  Ghost glanced down at her leg and then back at Terro.

  “Do ya remember that nint a while back who had a cut on his arm that got infected?”

  At Ghost’s blank look, Kara pitched in. “I imagine the cut got green and gooey, and…” she glanced at Terro, “he probably died?”

  Terrowyn nodded.

  Ghost scratched her chin and looked at her leg again.

  Lowering her knee to the floor, Terrowyn tried again. “If th’ healer doesn’t fix yer leg, that’s what will happen to th’ cut, and ye’ll die.” There was no use softening her words. Skellies weren’t children to be coddled. They knew better than most the realities of life and death. “So, if ya come to th’ Temple with me and Kara, she’ll fix up yer leg proper.”

  Kara’s face brightened, “And the best part is we have a lot of food in the infirmary…at the building where we treat cuts like that. And you’ll have your own bed, and if you like, we have a tub of hot water where you can soak some of that dirt off you.” Taking her cue from Terrowyn, she knelt as well, bringing her face on a level with the girl’s. “But nobody will hurt you. Do you trust Guardian Terrowyn?”

  Ghost, who hadn’t understood much, understood the word trust. Terrowyn had used it enough during her life to know it meant she could count on Terro to help her. She looked into Terrowyn’s eyes and nodded.

  Terrowyn knew Ghost hadn’t understood most of what Kara had said, but it would be better if she went to the Temple on her own and then woke up there instead of being drugged here and waking up in a strange place. “Ghost. Ya can’t run when we get outside. What do I do if I have to chase ya down?”

  Again, the humor shone from Ghost’s eyes as she playfully cuffed herself on the side of the head.

  “This is important enough that I’ll run ya down if I have to.” She held Ghost’s gaze to make sure she understood.

  Ghost retreated back inside the gap and returned carrying her new knife.

  Terrowyn pointed to it, “And I’m sure our armorer can find ya a sheath fer carryin’ yer knife. And I can get ya some new togs, too.” She stood and motioned for Ghost to precede her. “Just so ya know, there might be some nobs and pidges still in th’ buildin’.”

  Jenx had joined Ailith at the bottom of the stairs, and they moved out of the way when they saw Ghost’s face peering out at them.

  Terrowyn came up behind the girl and motioned for her to go down. She pointed at Jenx and Ailith. “You two come with us. If she runs when we get outside, we need to stop her. She has a bad cut on her leg that Kara needs to fix, and if we lose her, she’ll probably end up dead in the sewer.”

  The Blade and her shiv nodded their understanding. Ailith had seen her share of wounds gone bad. She’d had to tend a tentmate who’d lain on a muddy battlefield for two days, and by the time she’d found him, his leg had swollen to two times its normal size. The odor coming from his wound had been so putrid that she’d had to set a cot outside beneath a tree to take care of him. When she’d finally found a healer to come check his wound, the man had simply shaken his head and walked away.

  She looked at the little skelli and made up her mind that if she ran, she wouldn’t get away. Falling into step behind Terrowyn, Ailith glanced into every room to see how many captives still remained. She was surprised to see the noble lady who had demanded Ailith release her standing in front of Commander Shirin with her hands on her hips, berating the tired-looking Blade.

  Shirin glanced over the woman’s shoulder at Ailith as she walked by and heard the woman screech, “That’s the one. I want that one punished for ignoring me. How dare she walk away when—”

  The woman’s voice petered out as Ailith followed Terrowyn, Ghost, and Jenx down the stairs to the third floor. She’d just begun her descent when she heard footsteps running down the stairs from the fourth floor.

  “You!”

  Hearing the woman’s irritating, acidic voice behind her, Ailith silently hoped the three in front would pick up their pace. No such luck. A hand grabbed her by the back of the collar and jerked her back. Knowing it was probably the noblewoman, she didn’t react the way she normally would when accosted from behind. She simply relaxed and allowed the woman to stop her forward momentum.

  The irritated voice of the Commander sounded like she was speaking through gritted teeth. “Let her go, Octavia. She has her work to do.”

  “I will not! I demand she be punished for ignoring a noblewoman of Tuviste.”

  Terrowyn had stopped in the middle of the staircase, staring up at the altercation.

  Raising her hands to her sides, Ailith looked to Jenx, silently asking her handler what she should do. It wouldn’t be difficult to wrest the woman’s hands from her collar, but there might be a problem of a peasant attacking a visiting noble, even if that peasant was a member of Elyon’s Blades.

  The Commander’s voice was cold when she repeated, “Let her go.”

  The woman raised her voice several octaves and pulled harder on Ailith’s tunic. “I will not!”

  An angry noblewoman screeching at a Blade was enough to frighten Ghost, who pivoted, skirted past Terrowyn, and flew down the stairs.

  Terrowyn tried to snatch the skelli’s tunic but only caught a ragged piece hanging off the back. “Ghost!” She took off running after the girl with Jenx in hot pursuit.

  Ailith ducked out of her tunic, left it hanging from the woman’s hand, and ran after them, wearing only her under-kirtle over her breastband and trews. One thing strong legs were good for, at least in Ailith’s case, was speed.

  The other two raced out the front door of the warehouse, but Ghost was too fast for them. She used a technique that had been perfected by skellies and nints for untold generations of street rats. By the time Ailith shot out the door, Ghost had hit a garbage bin in a narrow alley and propelled herself higher on the opposite wall, where her foot landed on top of a protruding brick. That brick gave her enough purchase to kick off and just barely reach the top rim of the roof on the wall above the garbage can.

  Ailith yelled at Terrowyn, who was standing by the wall looking up at Ghost. “Guardian! Boost me!”

  Terrowyn had worked on the streets long enough to be quick on the uptake, and without looking around, she turned slightly and clasped her hands down by her knees. Ailith jumped and slipped her boot into Terrowyn’s hands. With a loud grunt, the Senior Guardian launched Ailith high enough that she was able to catch hold of Ghost’s knee as the girl was clambering over the edge.

  Relying on one of the two women below to catch the skelli, Ailith grabbed the gutter, jerked Ghost off the roof, and released her grip on the girl. The pins holding the gutter let go, and within moments, she, too, was in an uncontrolled fall. Unfortunately, the momentum of pulling Ghost off the roof flipped her upside down. She had a heartbeat to yelp, “Fowk!” before two sets of arms stopped her with her feet in the air and her head a hair’s width from the hard cobblestone street.

  “Got her?”

  Ailith heard Terrowyn’s breathless question before one set of hands released her, and the other grabbed her around the waist and flipped her right side up, setting her upright on her feet. When she felt steady enough, she looked up into the Commander’s smiling brown eyes and then glanced over to see Ghost fighting both Terrowyn and Jenx.

  Behind them, standing in the door to the warehouse, Octavia ordered Shirin to attend her. Surprised at the woman’s temerity, Ailith turned to stare at her. The woman’s unkempt red hair hung limply down her back. Ailith thought the lips looked cruel. Definitely haughty, but she detected a cruelness behind them she recognized after dealing so often with the unlamented Prince Ewell.

  “Shirin, how dare you abandon me like that? And to leave me holding that filthy, sweaty uniform is absolutely unacceptable!”

  Ailith turned back to the Commander in time to see her roll her eyes and murmur, “Fowk.” Ailith’s mouth dropped open to hear the Commander utter her signature swear word. Shirin shocked her even more by winking and tousling her hair. “Good job, Ailith. Now let’s get you dressed again, shall we?”

  Nodding, Ailith glanced back at what was happening with Ghost. The child hadn’t stopped biting and kicking, so Ailith walked over, grabbed her by the hair, and reverted to her street cant to get the girl’s attention. “Oy. Caien up, ya damn fowkin’ skelli. They’re tryin’ to puff ya, so caien t’it.”