But when Tamora saw the red glow, and smelled the smoke, she still—
“Whatcha readin’?”
When Viv glanced up, she found the gnome tapping her lips, eyes half-lidded with amusement.
“You don’t care,” Viv said flatly.
“Must be interestin’. I mean,you’rereadin’ it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The gnome shrugged. “Oh, nothin’, really. Lookin’ atcha though…” She gestured to Viv with a hand, as though the answer was obvious. “Guess I just figured you’re more of a steelswingin’ sorta gal?Probably gotta be pretty good to catchyourattention. Or, I dunno. Short.”
Viv simply stared at her. Usually that was pretty effective.
The gnome didn’t seem to mind. “C’mon, what’s it called?”
“Piss off.”
“Okay, thatdoessound like a book you’d read.”
“Can I get you anything?” the tavern kid asked breathlessly as he squeezed through the crowd, dirty mugs looped around his knuckles.
Viv worked the frown off her face and pointed at his hands. “Same as last time. A couple of those, and a couple of whatever lunch is.”
“For both of you?” The kid gestured between them with the mugs.
“If she’s buyin’, I could always eat,” piped the gnome.
“No,” replied Viv firmly.
When he disappeared back into the crowd, Viv sighed and set the book on end so that the girl could read the title. “There.”
“Heart’s Blade, huh? Well, thatisa better title.”
Viv snorted and shook her head, very pointedly returning her attention to the pages.
“How’d ya get the wound?”
Viv glared at her. “In a battle.”
“Oh, hey, nowthat’sthe kind of story I wanna hear.”
“Not interested in telling it.”
“Aw, come on. Tell you what, you spill, and I’ll swap chairs after. We both get what we want. Deal?”
“Everybody wants to make a deal today,” muttered Viv. “Fine. But we switch first.”
A pause. “All right. You welch on me though…”
“And what, you’re gonna stab me with one of those?” Viv scoffed.
The girl drew one of the knives from her bandolier, flipped it a couple feet into the air, and caught it point down on one fingertip. She shrugged as she balanced it there.
“Very flashy.” Viv rose, which took a few seconds as she heaved herself up and onto the crutch.
True to her word, the gnome swapped places, and Viv settled with real satisfaction into her accustomed chair. “Thanks for warming it up for me.”
