If they fanned out she was probably finishedA...
If they fanned out she was probably finishedA wheelwright's cart blocked the laneShe flattened herself against the wall and sidled sideways pastCame to another crossing of roadsSprinted straight through this time, past half a dozen children playing a skipping game with ropesTurned at the second crossing
And was grabbed hard just above her right elbowShe started to scream, but a hand was quickly slapped over her mouthShe bared her teeth to bite, violently twisting to escapeThen suddenly she froze in disbeliefAnd come this way," said Rovigo d'Astibar removing his palm from her mouthThey are two streets overLook as if you're walking with me Hand on her arm he guided quickly into a tiny, almost deserted lane, looked old omega watches back once over his shoulder, and then propelled her through the doorway of a fabric shop"Now down behind the counter, quickly
"Saw you in the squareMove, girl!"
She movedAn old woman took her hand and squeezed it, then lifted a hinged counter and Catriana ducked through and dropped to the floor behind itA moment later the hinge swung up again and her heart stopped as a shadow appeared above her holding something long and sharp
"Forgive me," whispered Alais bren Rovigo, kneeling beside her"My father says your hair might give you away when we leave She held up the scissors she carried
Catriana went rigid for a moment, then, closing her eyes without a word, she slowly turned her back on the other womanA moment later louis vuitton travel bags she felt her long red tresses gathered and pulledAnd then the long sharp cloth-cutter's scissors rasped cleanly through in a line above her shoulders, severing a decade's growth in a moment in the shadows
There was a burst of noise outside, a clatter and hoarse shoutingIt approached, reached them, went loudly pastCatriana realized that she was shaking; Alais touched her shoulder and then diffidently withdrew her handOn the other side of the counter the old woman moved placidly about in the shadows of her shopRovigo was nowhere to be seenCatriana's breath came in ragged scourings of air and her right side ached; she must have crashed into something in her wild careenShe had no memory of doing so
There was something black quilted bag lying on the ground beside her feetShe reached down and gathered the thick red curtain of her severed hairIt had happened so fast she'd hardly had time to realize what was being done
"Catriana, I'm so sorry," Alais whispered againThere was real grief in her voice
Catriana shook her headthis is less than nothing," she saidIt was difficult to speakWhat does it matter?" She seemed to be weepingHer ribs hurt terriblyShe put a hand up and touched the shorn remains of her hairThen she turned sideways a little, on the floor of the shop, down behind the counter, and leaned her head wearily against the other woman's shoulderAlais's arms came up and around her then, holding her close while she cried
On the other side of the mulberry leather bag counter the old woman hummed tunelessly to herself as she folded and sorted cloth of many colors and as many different textures, working by the wan light of afternoon as it filtered down to the street in a quarter where the leaning houses mostly blocked the sun
Baerd lay in the mild darkness by the river, remembering how cold it had been the last time he was here, waiting with Devin at winter twilight to see if Catriana would come floating down to them
He had lost the pursuit hours agoHe knew Tregea very wellHe and Alessan had lived here for more than a year off and on after their return from Quileia, rightly judging this wild, mountainous province as a good place to seek out and nurture any slow flames of gucci men wallet revolution