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find a person of
interest leaving these taverns for a more dubious destination. And tonight I
easily found my mark.
    The man had recently come to town; a tinker
with trinkets and chains, and anything else he could get his greedy hands on to
sell. Though, others would not have known that his goods were stolen. He had
killed for some of these items; worthless pieces of silver, some ripped from
the teeth of his victims.
    I waited patiently for him to roll out drunk.
He had a strumpet with him – a girl barely older than fourteen. Her
thoughts were open to me and I learned that she had been earning her living for
two summers already, possibly a trade handed down from her mother. The rogue
leaned on her heavily.
    ‘Here, you’re too heavy! I can’t be carrying
you home. It’s too far.’
    ‘Stop your whining, bitch.’
    And with that the man seemed to press even more
weight on the girl. They staggered along a track just outside the town. The man
did not want to spend any of his stolen coin on tavern beds and since the
weather was fine he had made a makeshift shelter off the track.
    He shoved the girl downward to crawl into the
small enclosure, prodding her rear as with cattle to move her faster. Once
inside he began to tear away her clothes with dog-like ferocity.
    ‘Wait a minute,’ she said. ‘We haven’t set a
price.’
    ‘Shut up,’ he shouted and slapped her hard
across the face. She touched her cheek but did not seem overly shocked. She
then proceeded to unlace the front of her bodice, but the man was impatient and
brushed her hands aside before ripping her clothes clumsily with short bullish
hands. Her protestation and skinny arms were no match
for the weight of him. The faded brown bodice was stripped from her body to
reveal a linen chemise.
    ‘What’s this? A secret stash of coppers!’
    I heard the tinkle of coins. A woman often hid
such in her hose but this girl still too young in the trade to bury her gains
while she worked.
    ‘That’s my earnings. Leave them alone.’
    From behind my tree I could make myself unseen
to humans. So quiet were my steps and skill at camouflage that I could watch
the events unfold.
    The girl scrambled for her coins and was halted
by a fist to the back of the head that thrust her forwards, face to the ground.
She lost a moment’s consciousness before attempting to sit up. The man pushed
her down again while shoving the coins in his own boots before beginning to
fumble the front of his breeches. He pushed the girl’s skirts roughly up her
thighs.
    I could not, of course, stand to watch anymore.
    As he raised his fist to land another blow
– for it wasn’t just the impending intimate act that motivated him but
something far more depraved and self-gratifying – I reached for his wrist.
He found he could not move his arm from the strength of my grip and his face
showed surprise that, at first, all he could do was blink drunkenly at me a few
times. I released him to wait outside.
    He lurched after me, unfolding his human form
slowly and thrusting his chest forward several inches, presuming that his
height would frighten me so that I might retreat. As you would expect, I did
not.
    Under the full moon we were now clearly visible
to one another; though my sense of sight was far beyond anything any human
could own. He charged at me, butting his head and shoulder into my chest
– but with scant effect on one such as me – while I landed my own
blow against his temple, splitting the leathery outer layers of skin and
felling him to the ground.
    ‘Strong for a scrawny fellow,’ he rasped. ‘But
bastards like you are all in a night’s work.’ While he contemplated his next
move I helped the girl up and gave her my coat.
    ‘Stay where you are!’ the man bellowed to the
girl trying to get up but, whether it was from the beer or as a result of the
strike, his feet slipped from under him.
    I used these spare moments to turn to the girl
and kiss her hand. She seemed unruffled by