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trade.
    “That’s what I thought,” said Coral.
    “I don’t know,” said Savn. “I was just thinking, I sure wouldn’t like to walk into a place and have everybody staring at me like that. It’d scare the blood out of my skin.”
    “Well, it didn’t seem to disturb him any,” said Lan.
    “No,” said Savn. “It didn’t.”
    Tuk said, “We shouldn’t talk about him. They say Easterners can hear anything you say about them.”
    “Do you believe that?” said Savn.
    “It’s what I’ve heard.”
    Lan nodded. “And they can turn your food bad when they want, even after you’ve eaten it.”
    “Why would he want to do that?”
    “Why would he want to kill Reins?” said Coral.
    “I don’t think he did,” said Savn.
    “Why not?” said Tuk.
    “Because he couldn’t have,” said Savn. “There weren’t any marks on him.”
    “Maybe he’s a wizard,” said Lan.
    “Easterners aren’t wizards.”
    Coral frowned. “You can say what you want, I think he killed him.”
    “But why would he?” said Savn.
    “How should I—” Coral broke off, looking around the room. “What was that?’
    “It was on the roof, I think. Birds, probably.”
    “Yeah? Pretty big ones, then.”
    As if by unspoken agreement they ran to the window. Coral got there first, stuck his head out, and jerked it back in again just as fast.
    “What is it?” said the others.
    “A jhereg,” said Coral, his eyes wide. “A big one.”
    “What was it doing?” said Savn.
    “Just standing on the edge of the roof looking down at me.”
    “Huh?” said Savn. “Let me see.”
    “Welcome.”
    “Don’t let its tongue touch you,” said Tuk. “It’s poisonous.”
    Savn looked out hesitantly, while Coral said, “Stand under it, but don’t let it lick you.”
    “The gods!” said Savn, pulling his head in. “It is big. A female, I think. Who else wants to see?”
    The others declined the honor, in spite of much urging by Savn and Coral, who, having already proven themselves, felt they wouldn’t have to again. “Huh-uh,” said Tuk. “They bite.”
    “And they spit poison,” added Lan.
    “They do not,” said Savn. “They bite, but they don’t spit, and they can’t hurt you just by licking you.” He was beginning to feel a bit proprietary toward them, having seen so many recently.
    Meanwhile, Tern had noticed the disturbance. He came up behind them and said,
    “What’s going on over here?”
    “A jhereg,” said Coral. “A big one.”
    “A jhereg? Where?”
    “On your roof,” said Savn.
    “Right above the window,” said Coral.
    Tern glanced out, then pulled his head back in slowly, filling the boys with equal measures of admiration and envy. “You’re right,” he said. “It’s a bad omen.”
    “It is?” said Coral.
    Tem nodded. He seemed about to speak further, but at that moment, preceded by a heavy thumping of boots, Vlad appeared once more.
    “Good evening,” he said. Savn decided that what was remarkable about his voice was that it was so normal, and it ought not to be. It should be either deep and husky to match his build, or high and fluty to match his size, yet he sounded completely human.
    He sat down near where Savn and his friends had been seated and said, “I’d like a glass of wine, please.”
    Tem clenched his teeth like Master Wag, then said, “What sort of wine?”
    “Any color, any district, any characteristics, just so long as it is wet.”
    The old women, who had been studiously ignoring the antics of Savn and his friends, arose as one and, with imperious glares first at the Easterner, then at Tem, stalked out. Vlad continued, “I like it better here with fewer people. The wine, if you please?”
    Tem fetched him a cup of wine, which Vlad paid for. He drank some, then set the mug down and stared at it, turning it in a slow circle on the table. He appeared oblivious to the fact that Savn and his friends were staring at him. After a short time, Coral, followed by the others, made his