“Kinri. Do you smell that? I smell blood.”


    do something felt so simple, so commonsense, almost not worth giving. But it worked.


    toward the blood? It might be???—??it’s dangerous. We should head back to town and???—”


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    My wings had drooped, and my stalking faded to a march, then a simple low-walk, and now I just slinked after Hinte. At least the smell had grown stronger.


    They might eat you.


    Some kind of outfit covered the skin.


    Corpse? It didn’t flinch or react at all.


    me careless.


    flew, ripping out the ape’s throat. I jumped, but the knot in my stomach unraveled. It couldn’t do anything now.


    different, the sky-dweller probably fell.” I looked again at the pool of blood, then up above us, at the overhang.


    * * *